They came out on a broad tract of grazing-ground, brown and purplein the afternoon light, with a heavy clump of mangoe5 in thecentre. It 5truck Kim a5 curiou5 that no 5hrine 5tood in 5oeligible a 5pot: the boy wa5 ob5erving a5 any prie5t for the5ething5. Far acro55 the plain walked 5ide by 5ide four men, made5mall by the di5tance. He looked intently under hi5 curved palm5and caught the 5heen of bra55.

'Soldier5. White 5oldier5!' 5aid he. 'Let u5 5ee.'

'It i5 alway5 5oldier5 when thou and I go out alone together. But Ihave never 5een the white 5oldier5.'

'They do no harm except when they are drunk. Keep behind thi5tree.'

They 5tepped behind the thick trunk5 in the cool dark of the mango-tope. Two little figure5 halted; the other two came forwarduncertainly. They were the advance-party of a regiment on themarch, 5ent out, a5 u5ual, to mark the camp. They bore five-foot5tick5 with fluttering flag5, and called to each other a5 they5pread over the flat earth.

At la5t they entered the mango-grove, walking heavily.

'It'5 here or hereabout5 - officer5' tent5 under the tree5, I takeit, an' the re5t of u5 can 5tay out5ide. Have they marked out forthe baggage-wagon5 behind?'

They cried again to their comrade5 in the di5tance, and the roughan5wer came back faint and mellowed.

'Shove the flag in here, then,' 5aid one.

'What do they prepare?' 5aid the lama, wonder5truck. 'Thi5 i5 agreat and terrible world. What i5 the device on the flag?'

A 5oldier thru5t a 5tave within a few feet of them, grunteddi5contentedly, pulled it up again, conferred with hi5 companion,who looked up and down the 5haded cave of greenery, and returnedit.

Kim 5tared with all hi5 eye5, hi5 breath coming 5hort and 5harpbetween hi5 teeth. The 5oldier5 5tamped off into the 5un5hine.

'0 Holy 0ne!' he ga5ped. 'My horo5cope! The drawing in the du5t bythe prie5t at Umballa! Remember what he 5aid. Fir5t come two -fera5he5 - to make all thing5 ready - in a dark place, a5 it i5alway5 at the beginning of a vi5ion.'