Sometimes a rock obscured them, and sometimes they passed under overhanging trees or disappeared beneath the arch of a bridge or fantastic tower that spanned the way.... Each time a little nearer to the city and to the great seated figure of the Buddha of the mountain.
And when the two figures halted a minute at the gate and disappeared within the wall Kou Ying made a significant gesture to the men; and the little retinue in the clearing on the mountain above the valley fell on their faces in silence....
Across the valley, the great Buddha brooded, and above it rose the temple and two thin trees, transparent in the gray morning light.
And on the high plateau that faced the god, the single figure of Kou Ying stood erect among the kneeling men and kept watch for a signal from the gate or the city wall.
XXIII
Through his barred window, the old priest looked out at them with unseeing eyes.
There was an interval and he stood beside them, looking down at their dusty clothes and travel-stained faces with quiet, understanding gaze.
Even before the interpreter came, with his high, sing-song words that translated their wishes, even before Richard More took from his pocket the yellow map and laid it in the old priest’s hand, they knew that they were come to the end of their search.