said Ratri, gulping a sweetmeat and waving a fleshy
hand. "He is less withdrawn. He speaks more, even
jesting. He drinks of the wine we bring him. His appe-
tite is returning."
"Yet, if he should meet with an agent of Trimurti,
the final doom may come to pass."
Ratri chewed slowly.
"It is not likely, though, that such should be abroad
in this country, in these days," she stated. "The animals
will see him as a child and will not harm him. Men
would consider him a holy hermit. The demons fear
him of old, and so respect him."
But Yama shook his head. "Lady, it is not so sim-
ple. Though I have dismantled much of my machinery
and hidden it hundreds of leagues from here, such a
massive trafficking of energies as I employed cannot
have passed unnoticed. Sooner or later this place will be
visited. I used screens and baffling devices, but this
general area must have appeared in certain quarters as
though the Universal Fire did a dance upon the map.
Soon we must move on. I should prefer to wait until
our charge is fully recovered, but..."
"Could not certain natural forces have produced the
same energy effects as your workings?"
"Yes, and they do occur in this vicinity, which is
why I chose it as our baseўso it may well be that
LORD OF LIGHT 23
nothing will come of it. Still, I doubt this. My spies in
the villages report no unusual activities now. But on the
day of his return, riding upon the crest of (he storm,
some say the thunder chariot passed, hunting through
the heavens and across the countryside. This was far
from here, but I cannot believe that there was no
connection."
"Yet, it has not returned."
