"A real surprise," Lee said.
"How have you been?"
"Fine--just fine."
"Taking a little trip, I see."
"Yes. Getting around a little. Seeing the world."
A mad conversation in the light of the questions he had for Mr.
Clifford; and the things Mr. Clifford could logically have had to tell
him.
But a new and exhilarating independence had sprung up in Lee Hayden. He
realized he was not the same man Clifford had rescued and drugged in
New York.
"You really get around," Lee said.
"Oh, yes. I have a lot to do."
Lee turned away.
"See you again sometime."
"I hope so--and by the way, there's a man you might like to talk to. I
think you'd feel free to ask him questions. Perhaps he'd feel free to
answer."
"Good--where can I find him?"
Mr. Clifford considered for a moment, then said, "I'm going in that
direction. Jump in."
Lee obeyed, throwing his rucksack in the back seat--the rucksack he'd
acquired, along with cash, for his expensive pigskin two-suiter.
Mr. Clifford tooled the Ford carefully through the streets and out
onto the dusty, country road leading northeast. No word was spoken for
many miles; until Lee extended a hand toward the horizon. "Beautiful
mountains."
"The Himalayas. The roof of the world."
"No mountains on earth quite like them."
"Rugged, aren't they?--and beautiful."
"By the way, how is Daphne?"
"In excellent health, I'm sure. I haven't seen her for a long time."
Mr. Clifford turned off the road and pulled up beside a parked Cadillac
sedan. Nearby was a small hut and a tiny enclosure. Within the
enclosure, a goat munched on dry, colorless hay.
In front of the hut a man sat cross-legged. He was very old and thin.
His skin was burned black by the sun and he wore only a white sheet
wound loosely around his body. His head was completely hairless and he
looked as though he had sat there for years without moving a muscle.
A woman sat on the ground in front of him. The sun was just setting
and its rays played on her magnificent white hair; upon the wealth of
color in her dress--a dress, Lee estimated, that must have cost several
hundred dollars. Yet she sat in the dust before this ancient Indian
and hung upon his every word.
"We will wait," Mr. Clifford said.
After a while, the woman got to her feet and approached the Cadillac.
Lee saw her beautiful, calm, unlined face, and he was struck by her
resemblance to Daphne. She looked nothing like Daphne in either face
nor figure, yet they had in common an arresting mystic beauty that
seemed to come from within.
The woman smiled at Mr. Clifford who smiled back. No word was said.
After she backed the car out and swung into the road, Mr. Clifford
said, "Wait, please," and got out of the car. He approached the
cross-legged man and sat down in the dust.
They talked for a long time and when Mr. Clifford got up and returned
to the car, it was after dusk, and the heavens over India were filled
with great flaming stars.
"I'll leave you now," Mr. Clifford said. "The man by the hut is known
only as Abat Krishna. You may approach and talk to him."
"Thank you."
Clifford hesitated before getting in behind the wheel. His eyes turned
toward the dark horizon.
"There is danger ahead for you."
"I am not afraid."
"Perhaps you will find what you want. Perhaps you will die."
"I will find my way. You said I might question this man?"
"You may ask him anything you like. Goodbye."
Mr. Clifford started the motor and drove away. The goat sent a bleat of
farewell through the star-lit darkness.
* * * * *
Lee went to the hut and sat down in front of Abat Krishna. The Indian
regarded the heavens and remained silent.
"Who," Lee asked, "are the Great Ones?"
"There are many names for the group. They have been called the Great
White Brotherhood. They have been referred to as the Chosen Ones. But
that name is misleading in that none are really chosen. The way is open
to all. Nothing is given, all is earned."
"Is Mr. Clifford a Great One?"
"Possibly. I do not know."
"Was it sheer chance that he found me in the gutter and lifted me up?"
"Nothing is sheer chance, my son. The most casual movement of an
insect's antenna is carefully planned."
"What do the Great Ones do?"
"Their duty--which is as simple and ordinary to them as ours is to us."
"How may they be recognized?"
"That would be difficult."
"Where may one find a Great One?"
"Anywhere. Wherever their duties and their destinies call them."
"_What_, exactly, is a Great One?"
"A child of God who, through his own efforts, has prepared himself--or
herself--for greater understanding of God's laws; for deeper awareness.
With this of course, comes greater responsibilities, and greater
achievements."
"I have heard that there are men in India--"
"Why necessarily India?"
"--that there are men on this earth who can walk on water; who can pass
through solid substances. Is there any truth in that?"
"I do not know. I have never met such a person."
"Do you believe that such persons exist?"
"The answer to that is difficult. Do you have complete understanding of
all natural laws? All God's laws?"
"No. I have very little knowledge of them."
"Then I might put it this way: A man walking through solid matter
would seem to you to be violating a natural law. But a trick of
elementary sleight-of-hand--the vanishing of a coin--could appear the
same to a child. So perhaps the answer lies in comparatively greater
understanding."
Lee regarded Abat Krishna. Abat Krishna calmly regarded the heavens.
Lee said, "But the _greatest_ Great One of all is the man with the
golden eyes. Am I correct?"
"You are correct."
"I seek him."
"A worthy endeavor. I have sought him for many years."
"But I know where he is."
"You are indeed fortunate."
"I saw him in what many might consider a dream. But I know it was not a
dream!"
"I'm sure it was not."
"I saw him in a cave high in one of the Himalaya Mountains."
"There are many mountains in the chain."
"I shall find the right one."
"I'm sure you shall."