He bowed his head once in return to Nehal's greeting, but as he began to
speak he interrupted him, and in a low, chanting voice uttered the last
words he was ever heard to address to any living creature:
"Speak not to me, Son of the Night and Day, for the Spirit of the Holy Yog
is on me, and his tongue speaketh through my lips. Behold, mine eyes see
with his into the wells of the future--my heart stands still for fear of
the things that are to be. I see a Holy Temple and hear the ring of
Accursed Footsteps. I see a young man at daybreak, beautiful, strong and
upright, and I see him stand beneath the high sun like a blade of withered
grass. I see him go forth in the morning with laughter on his lips, and at
nightfall his eyes run blood. A voice calleth him from the thicket, and
wheresoever the voice calleth him he goeth. He standeth on the banks of
Holy Ganges, and behold! the waters burst from their course and pour
westward to the ocean. Behold, then shall he draw his sword against his
people, and from that hour he shall serve them and become theirs. Then
shall the doors of the temple be closed for ever, and the lips of Vishnu
silent. Go forth, son of the Evening and Morning Star! That which is to be
shall be till the stream of the Future ceaseth to flow from the mouth of
Heaven!"
Nehal Singh listened to this strange, disjointed prophecy in perfect
silence, his eyes following the fierce stare of the old Brahman into the
oily waters of the Sacred Pool.
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