Then I remembered the Tataka . ' He told Kim the story of the elephant with the leg-iron , as he had told it so often to the Jam priests . ` Further testimony is not needed , ' he ended serenely . ` Thou wast sent for an aid . That aid removed , my Search came to naught . Therefore we will go out again together , and our Search sure . ' ` Whither go we ? ' ` What matters , Friend of all the World ? The Search , I say , is sure . If need be , the River will break from the ground before us . I acquired merit when I sent thee to the Gates of Learning , and gave thee the jewel that is Wisdom . Thou didst return , I saw even now , a follower of Sakyamuni , the Physician , whose altars are many in Bhotiyal . It is sufficient . We are together , and all things are as they were -- Friend of all the World -- Friend of the Stars -- my chela ! ' Then they talked of matters secular ; but it was noticeable that the lama never demanded any details of life at St Xavier 's , nor showed the faintest curiosity as to the manners and customs of Sahibs . His mind moved all in the past , and he revived every step of their wonderful first journey together , rubbing his hands and chuckling , till it pleased him to curl himself up into the sudden sleep of old age . Kim watched the last dusty sunshine fade out of the court , and played with his ghost-dagger and rosary . The clamour of Benares , oldest of all earth 's cities awake before the Gods , day and night , beat round the walls as the sea 's roar round a breakwater . Now and again , a Jain priest crossed the court , with some small offering to the images , and swept the path about him lest by chance he should take the life of a living thing . A lamp twinkled , and there followed the sound of a prayer .
XXXXX watched the stars as they rose one after another in the still , sticky dark , till he fell asleep at the foot of the altar .
Bhotiyal Kim Learning Physician Sahibs Tataka Whither Xavier chela rosary