And beyond it and eastward and westward rise peaks
behind peaks, against the dark blue Himalayan sky. Far away below to the
south the clouds of the Indian rains pile up abruptly and are stayed by
an invisible hand.
Hither it was that with a dreamlike swiftness Karenin flew high over
the irrigations of Rajputana and the towers and cupolas of the ultimate
Delhi; and the little group of buildings, albeit the southward wall
dropped nearly five hundred feet, seemed to him as he soared down to it
like a toy lost among these mountain wildernesses. No road came up to
this place; it was reached only by flight.
His pilot descended to the great courtyard, and Karenin assisted by his
secretary clambered down through the wing fabric and made his way to the
officials who came out to receive him.
In this place, beyond infections and noise and any distractions, surgery
had made for itself a house of research and a healing fastness. The
building itself would have seemed very wonderful to eyes accustomed to
the flimsy architecture of an age when power was precious. It was made
of granite, already a little roughened on the outside by frost, but
polished within and of a tremendous solidity. And in a honeycomb of
subtly lit apartments, were the spotless research benches, the operating
tables, the instruments of brass, and fine glass and platinum and gold.
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