fore him, utterly exhausted, the old man, who had risen,
contemplated us solemnly with his dim eyes. He spoke, but we did not
understand. Again he tried another language and without success. A third
time and our ears were opened, for the tongue he used was Greek; yes,
there in Central Asia he addressed us in Greek, not very pure, it is
true, but still Greek.

"Are you wizards," he said, "that you have lived to reach this land?"

"Nay," I answered in the same tongue, though in broken words--since of
Greek I had thought little for many a year--"for then we should have
come otherwise," and I pointed to our hurts and the precipice behind us.

"They know the ancient speech; it is as we were told from the Mountain,"
he muttered to himself. Then he asked--"Strangers, what seek you?"

Now I grew cunning and did not answer, fearing lest, should he learn
the truth, he would thrust us back into the river. But Leo had no such
caution, or rather all reason had left him; he was light-headed.

"We seek," he stuttered out--his Greek, which had always been feeble,
now was simply barbarous and mixed with various Thibetan dialects--"we
seek the land of the Fire Mountain that is crowned with the Sign of
Life."

The man stared at us. "So you know," he said, then broke off and added,
"and _whom_ do you seek?"

"Her," answered Leo wildly, "the Queen." I think that he meant to say
the priestess, or the goddess, but could only think of the Greek for
Queen, or rather something resembling it. Or perhaps it was because the
woman who had gone looked like a queen.

"Oh!" said the man, "you seek a queen--then you _are_ those for whom we
were bidden to watch. Nay, how can I be sure?"

"Is this a time to put questions?" I gasped angrily. "Answer me one
rather: who are you?"

"I? Strangers, my title is Guardian of the Gate, and the lady who was
with me is the Khania of Kaloon."

At this point Leo began to faint.

"That man is sick," said the Guardian, "and now that you have got your
breath again, you must have shelter, both of you, and at once. Come,
help me."

So, supporting Leo on either side, we dragged ourselves away from that
accursed cliff and Styx-like river up a narrow, winding gorge. Presently
it opened out, and there, stretching across the glade, we saw the Gate.
Of this all I observed then, for my memory of the details of this scene
and of the conversation that passed is very weak and blurred, was
that it seemed to be a mighty