On The Second Day They Left The Last Village Behind Them And
Entered The Wild Country That Surrounds The Great Mountain, And
Rested In The Huts That Had Been Prepared For Them On The Banks
Of A Stream Of Cold And Sparkling Water.
And the Rajah's hunters,
armed with long and heavy guns, went in search of deer and wild
bulls in the surrounding woods, and brought home the meat of both
in the early morning, and sent it on in advance to prepare the
mid-day meal.
On the third day they advanced as far as horses
could go, and encamped at the foot of high rocks, among which
narrow pathways only could be found to reach the mountain-top.
And on the fourth morning when the Rajah set out, he was
accompanied only by a small party of priests and princes with
their immediate attendants; and they toiled wearily up the rugged
way, and sometimes were carried by their servants, until they
passed up above the great trees, and then among the thorny
bushes, and above them again on to the black and burned rock of
the highest part of the mountain.
And when they were near the summit, the Rajah ordered them all to
halt, while he alone went to meet the great spirit on the very
peak of the mountain. So he went on with two boys only who
carried his sirih and betel, and soon reached the top of the
mountain among great rocks, on the edge of the great gulf whence
issue forth continually smoke and vapour. And the Rajah asked for
sirih, and told the boys to sit down under a rock and look down
the mountain, and not to move until he returned to them. And as
they were tired, and the sun was warm and pleasant, and the rock
sheltered them from the cold grind, the boys fell asleep. And the
Rajah went a little way on under another rock; and as he was tired,
and the sun was warm and pleasant, and he too fell asleep.
And those who were waiting for the Rajah thought him a long time
on the top of the mountain, and thought the great spirit must
have much to say, or might perhaps want to keep him on the
mountain always, or perhaps he had missed his way in conning down
again. And they were debating whether they should go and search
for him, when they saw him coming down with the two boys. And
when he met them he looked very grave, but said nothing; and then
all descended together, and the procession returned as it had
come; and the Rajah went to his palace and the chiefs to their
villages, and the people to their houses, to tell their wives and
children all that had happened, and to wonder yet again what
would come of it.
And three days afterwards the Rajah summoned the priests and the
princes and the chief men of Mataram, to hear what the great
spirit had told him on the top of the mountain.
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