RETURN JOURNEY 287
balanced on one foot. Ramdas now shrank himself and
doubling up held on to the twig with both his hands. All
the time the slender twig was oscillating to and fro most
ominously.
Here he looked down. The depth below was tremend-
ous, but hurrah! Ram, you are a miracle-monger! The twig
on which Ramdas was resting belonged to a tall tree,
starting from the very base of the precipice. He descended
slowly, and gradually came upon the stouter branches of
the tree. Now the descent became easy, the tree was a
veritable giant of the forest, a tree so tall that Ramdas had
never seen the like of it before. He at last reached the
bottom. Now Ram had his laugh at Rarndas1 expense.
Ramdas was silent. Every time he was beaten, and Ram
would have the upper hand.
Again Ramdas lighted upon a cave into which he
entered and shouted out a loud outcry of " Hari Om," but
there was no response. Thenceforth he had to pass through
many a declivity, but easily. He was now running at full
speed, frisking and dancing on the rocks. At last he found
himself again suddenly on the banks of the Ganges. Here
he had to execute a small feat on the edge of a rock
projecting into the river. On the sandbank he sped on until
he reached Phulchetty. In Phulchetty there was a dharma-
shala managed by Punjabee sadhus. When Ramdas ran
towards the building, a young sannyasi welcomed him with
open arms. He actually took Ramdas in the folds of his
arms and embraced him heartily as if he had met a long
lost brother or child.
He took Ramdas inside the dharmashala, seated him on
an asan, massaged his legs for some time, and fed him
sumptuously with infinite love. Ram, it is all Thy doing,
Thou eternal love, manifest everywhere.
From Phulchetty, the same evening, Ramdas walked up
to Swargashram, now only at a distance of two miles,
which he reached before dark.