I also have lost it , ' he said sadly . ` It is one of the Gates to the Way , but for me it has been shut many years . ' ` What is the talk ? ' said Kim , abashed . ` Thou wast wondering there in thy spirit what manner of thing thy soul might be . The seizure came of a sudden . I know . Who should know but I ? Whither goest thou ? ' ` Toward Kashi -LSB- Benares -RSB- . ' ` There are no Gods there . I have proved them . I go to Prayag -LSB- Allahabad -RSB- for the fifth time -- seeking the Road to Enlightenment . Of what faith art thou ? ' ' I too am a Seeker , ' said Kim , using one of the lama 's pet words . ` Though ' -- he forgot his Northern dress for the moment -- ` though Allah alone knoweth what I seek . ' The old fellow slipped the bairagi 's crutch under his armpit and sat down on a patch of ruddy leopard 's skin as Kim rose at the call for the Benares train . ` Go in hope , little brother , ' he said . ` It is a long road to the feet of the One ; but thither do we all travel . ' Kim did not feel so lonely after this , and ere he had sat out twenty miles in the crowded compartment , was cheering his neighbours with a string of most wonderful yarns about his own and his master 's magical gifts .
XXXXX struck him as a peculiarly filthy city , though it was pleasant to find how his cloth was respected .
Allahabad Benares Enlightenment Kashi Kim Prayag bairagi lama leopard years