Many times the company sat down to rest. Ranni and Pilescu felt sure that the stairway led to the summit of the mountain. It was a marvellous piece of work, that stairway, beautiful all the way. Here and there, set at the sides, were glittering lamps in the shape of a rayed sun. These were so bright that the children could hardly bear to look at them.
“I think we must be going to the very top of the mountain,” said Ranni. “It’s soon sunset — and sunworshippers usually pray to the sun at sunrise or sunset. We shall probably see them at their worship!”
Ranni was right — but he did not guess what an extraordinary place the summit of the mountain was!
Panting and tired, the little party climbed the last of the flight of steps. They came out through a great golden door into a vast corridor, with tall yellow pillars built in two rows.
“Goodness!” said Mike, stopping in amazement. “What a view!”
That was the first thing that struck everyone. The view from the top of the Secret Mountain was simply magnificent. All around rose other mountains, some high, some lower, and in and beyond stretched the green valleys, some with a blue river winding along. It took the children’s breath away, and made them feel very small indeed to look on those great mountains.
After they had feasted their eyes on the glorious scenery all around them, they turned to see what the summit of the Secret Mountain was like. It was very strange. For one thing, it had been levelled till it was completely flat. There was an enormous wide space in the centre, floored with some kind of yellow stone that shone yellow and orange like the flight of steps up which they had come. Around this wide space, on three sides, were long pillared corridors — and on the fourth side was a great temple-like building, overlooking the steepness of the eastern side of the mountain.
The children, with Ranni and Pilescu, were taken to the great temple. The wind was very rough and cold on the top of the mountain and everyone shivered. A red-haired man came up and flung shimmering cloaks around their shoulders. These were lined with some kind of wool, and were very warm indeed.
Everyone was taken to the top of the temple, where a tall, rounded tower jutted. From this tower they could see the setting sun, falling over the rim of the western sky. As the sun disappeared, the Folk of the Secret Mountain fell on to their knees and chanted a weird song.
“A sort of prayer to the sun, I suppose,” said Ranni grimly. He spoke to Pilescu in his own language. “I don’t much like this, do you, Pilescu?”