"This was not primarily to scale a peak of the Himalayas, nor
even to visit Khatmandu, but to endeavour to obtain a glimpse of
the Temple of Fire!
"That has excited your curiosity, gentlemen. I don't suppose any
one here has ever heard of the Temple of Fire.
"By some it is regarded as a sort of native legend but it is more
than a legend. It is a fact. For seven years I have known it to
be a fact, but my tongue has been tied. Listen. Even down in
Bombay, the coming of the next great Master is awaited by certain
of the natives; and for more than ten years now it has been
whispered from end to end of India that he was about to proclaim
himself, that disciples moved secretly among the people of every
province, and that the unknown teacher in person awaited his hour
in a secret temple up near the Tibetan frontier.
"A golden key opens many doors, gentlemen, and at the time of
which I am speaking I had obtained more information respecting
this secret religion or cult than any other member of the white
races had ever collected, or so I thought at the time. I had
definite evidence to show that the existence of this man, or
demi-god--for by some he was said to possess superhuman
powers--was no myth, but an actual fact.
"The collecting of this data was extremely perilous, and one of
my informants, with whom I had come in contact while passing
through the central provinces, died mysteriously the night before
I left Nagpur.
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