Swift was their passage at first, hurrying through ranks of their own men, sweeping through corridors and ways whose granite floors proved all too well the cost at which the advance had been made. Lord Vibhishana, shaking his head at sight of these grisly scenes, said sorrowfully, "Though we win our cause, yea, even though the last of my brother's hirelings pay in full for the havoc he has wrought, not in a thousand years shall the citadel of Lanka be cleansed of this horror, this blood and this disgrace. It is a shame upon my soul and on the name of Videlia that these dead lie about us." Even the Captain Kohrisan, whose valor Ramey Winters knew well, seemed shaken by what he saw. He said puzzledly, "Would that the Lord Sugriva were here to advise me. I cannot understand. Ever it was my belief that men are kind and noble and good. They are the rulers, the Chosen Ones. Why, then, must they slay and be slain? Even we of the jungles do not wantonly kill. For our loins or bellies, for warmth and safety--for these things only do we attack other beasts." Ramey answered him gravely, "In your time and in my own, Kohrisan, man has proven himself more the brute than the mute beasts over whom he claims superiority. Do not ask me why this is; I do not know. All I can hope is that you new men will bring to us something of your own jungle sense." A spasm passed over the little ape-human's face. As ever, it was difficult to read what emotion he portrayed. He said anxiously, "You--you do not mock me, Lord Ramaíya?" "Mock you?" "The Lord Sugriva, who gave us human speech, human thought, told us we were, indeed, 'new men.' But ofttimes I wonder if this be true--or if he spoke only from kindness and sympathy. It was the habit of Lord Ravana to taunt me and my brethren. 'Parodies of man,' he called us. 'Poor imitations masquerading in human dress--'" But his plaint was left unanswered. For now they had come to the opening at the base of the tower. A spiral staircase loomed before them, winding around and around the inner wall of the needle to its uppermost chamber. A swift estimate by Ramey placed the tower's height at approximately two hundred feet. It was hard to guess accurately, for the spiral staircase was interrupted now and again by platforms, rendering the top of the tower invisible from below. Shafts of light pierced openings at intervals, but for the most part the needle was shadowy and silent. * * * * * In single file, with Vibhishana leading, then Ramey, then Kohrisan and Syd, they started up the staircase. Past one stage ... then another. A third. At the fourth level the one-time regent of Lanka stopped wistfully for a moment to look down upon his isle through one of the openings. What he saw brought a gasp to his lips, and the others running to his side. He pointed an anxious finger. "Below! See--warriors approaching the Tower. Was it Tauthus' plan to send a detachment after us, Ramaíya?"