Feebly he held out his shrunken fingers, and Oman clasped them close and steadied him. Then Rama and his hosts came by, and halted for a moment at the cave till their number was joined by one. Thereafter they moved on again, beating their muffled drums. And Oman was left alone on the Silver Peak, with the body of Churi, the dying fire, and the gem, enclosed in its golden box. Long Oman sat there, beside the body of the vagabond, thinking. Finally, when the dawn was still three hours away, he rose and made ready for his task. But first, perhaps unconscious of what he did, he loosened the treasure from the stiffening fingers of the dead, and slipped the string, with its yellow box, about his own neck. CHAPTER XI SUNRISE By night, on the eastern slope, Oman, under the light of the stars and moon, built a great funeral pyre of dry wood, brought from his store in the cave. There was in it neither sandal nor aloes, nor yet frankincense, nor any fragrant spice to cover the stench of burning human flesh. But the dry fagots would blaze high and fast; and the gay flames would quickly purify the long-tenanted body. When all was ready, Oman returned to the cave, and, lifting the still form of the old man, bore it out into the air of heaven and laid it on the pyre, its face turned toward the west, where the moon was now quietly sinking. Then, with a blazing stick brought from the cave, he lighted the funeral pyre and stood watching the flame-wreath that rose in a halo round the hoary head. To an Indian, this purification by fire is no infamy, nor is there anything horrible in it. It is his sacred ceremony for the beloved dead. While Oman made his preparations for it, he had suffered no repulsion. And yet now, as he watched the dead form—so pinched, so pallid, so unreal, lying complacently on the great fire-bed, with the flames curling around the flesh: now, as the long beard and white hair were singed away, and the blackened visage grinned in horrid baldness, a thrill shot through Oman’s breast, and, stifling a cry, he turned and ran from the spot, up, up, through the wood, and into the open, on the height. There he threw himself down, beside a giant boulder, and, burying his head in his arms, gave himself up to a new repulsion and a new heart-sickness.