In Ghostly Japan

or turned beneath the foot. Sometimes a dislodged mass would clatter down with hollow echoes; sometimes the substance they stepped on would burst like an empty shell. . . . Stars sharpened and pulsated; and the darkness deepened.

"Do not fear, my son," said the Bodhisattva Sanskrit: a being who has attained enlightenment but delays entering Nirvana to help others., guiding him: "there is no danger, though the path is grim."

Under the stars they climbed—fast, fast—ascending by the help of superhuman power. They passed through high zones of mist; and they saw below them, ever widening as they climbed, a silent flood of clouds, like the tide of a milky sea.

Hour after hour they climbed; invisible shapes gave way under their feet with dull, soft crashes; and faint, cold fires This likely refers to "will-o'-the-wisps" or the phosphorescence created by decaying organic matter. sparked and died with every breaking.

And once the young pilgrim laid his hand on something smooth that was not stone—and lifted it—and dimly saw the cheekless grin original: "gibe," meaning a taunt or sneer; here referring to the skeletal smile of a skull. of death.

"Do not linger like this, my son!" urged the teacher’s voice; "the summit we must reach is very far away!"

On through the dark they climbed, and continually felt beneath them the soft, strange break—