he moved his hands in a mysterious manner, and recited in a hollow voice:
"Bhut, pret, pisach, dana,
Chhee mantar, sab nikal jana,
Mane, mane, Shivka khahna … ,"
and the miracle happened as foretold by the Brahman.
Every night the turtle grew, and in the morning it had increased its length by a span, for three days in succession; then it decreased for another three days, until at the end of the week it was again a little animal one span in length.
And this took place although the cage was put underneath the bed in which Oughtred Couzens slept. And there was no explanation for it.
Only Krishnavana had taken the precaution to doctor Couzens's good-night cup of tea with a dose of hemp, to creep into the tent night after night, and to put a different turtle into the cage.
At the end of the week Couzens was a nervous wreck. His old creed was dead, his heart was empty, and he was eager to swallow the new belief, eager to absorb India and in the process become himself absorbed.
