Up went the Rhamdas deploying to right and left against the silver
walls. The crimson and blue uniformed guards remained behind,
lining the lane through the throng. At the foot of the steps Chick
stopped and looked around, and again he felt numb at the sheer
vastness of it all.
For he was looking back now at the portal through which the
procession had marched; a portal now closed; and above it,
covering a great expanse of that wall and extending up almost into
the brooding cloud above, was spread a mighty replica of the tri-
coloured Sign of the Jarados.
For the first time Chick felt the full significance of symbolism.
Whereas before it had been but an incident of adventure, now it
was the symbol of mystic revelation. It was not only the motif for
all other decoration upon the walls and minor elements of the
temple; it was the emblem of the trinity, deep, holy, significant
of the mystery of the universe and the hereafter. There was
something deeper than mere fatalism; behind all was the fact-
rooted faith of a civilisation.
But at that moment, as Chick paused with one foot on the bottom
step of the flight, something happened that sent quivers of joy
and confidence all through him. Someone was talking--talking in
English!
Chick looked. The speaker was a man in the blue garb of the
Senestro's guard. He was standing at the end of the line nearest
the stair, and slightly in front of his fellows.
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