He moved forward, counting breathlessly.
“Nine,” he breathed at last, and turning to the left he stood and waited.
He did not know how long he waited, for time had ceased. Then suddenly the darkness was gray. Gazing straight before him, he raised his arms, as he had been told to do. In front of him, some distance away, was the gray stone wall of the room. On it was a monstrous shadow, the shadow of a head with four horns and humped shoulders beneath it. It wavered a moment, then stood still. Four horns—that was a little queer. Or perhaps it was not so queer. There were gods with many pairs of arms, and once he had seen the picture of a goddess with a hundred breasts.
He stood gazing, and thus he would continue to stand till the world grew old. But suddenly he was released from the visio
