'My first move after getting back to civilisation was to seek an interpretation of that legend. There are one or two European works on Tibetan, and I collected these and brushed up my knowledge of the language thoroughly; but after much hard study I found I was still unable to make sense of the inscription. The words were simple enough, but they seemed to resolve into phrases that would not come out by any ordinary method of translation. I could see far enough into the fog, however, to understand that this legend had been composed by a monk, and I assumed that the wording must be couched in some secret phraseology known only to the Tibetan priesthood. Without special knowledge I could get no further. What was I to do? I dared not show the inscription to any Tibetan of my acquaintance, for I had already a shrewd suspicion that it contained facts I should desire to keep to myself. 'I bethought me of Lhassa, the headquarters of the Tibetan faith. Thither I went, posing as a Chinese convert anxious to qualify for monastic orders, and by virtue of a handsome solatium to the abbot of a big monastery I gained admittance. There I learned many strange things, Mirlees, but little that was of any use to me. Before long I became convinced that the peculiar form of language in which my legend had been written was not known at Lhassa. But the time I spent there was not wasted. I discovered the monastic meaning of two vitally important words in the inscription, which, translated into ordinary Tibetan, came out as "Phagspa" and "Shigatse." That gave me the clue. The legend had been written by a monk of the monastery of Phagspa, in the city of Shigatse, and thither I must go for further enlightenment. I went. Here I found far greater difficulty in obtaining admission, and it was only by heavy bribery I was able to do so at all. Also, I was obliged to take a vow to reside in that gloomy monastery for ever. All went well for a while, and most hopefully for my quest. There _was_ a secret form of language used by the inmates of that place, and it was not long before I began to acquire the elements of a vocabulary in it. Yet despite my utmost care, I could not remain there without arousing suspicion. From the questions I was obliged to ask, put them as artlessly as I might, the monks soon gathered that there was some ulterior motive in my coming, that I possessed a secret which they would very strongly desire to discover. I was watched night and day. The position became unbearable. At last one of the priests who had been detailed to instruct me in the religious observances of the place intruded on my privacy in a most exasperating fashion, and it ended in blows. Several other monks came to this fellow's aid. Well, you have seen me in a ruction, Mirlees. I seldom enter such an affair without leaving my mark on it. I knocked down two of the Tibetan clergy and threw a third against a great wooden pillar so violently that I fear he perished as a result.