The Mistery of Belicena Villca column . We exhibited only three Mauser rifles of World War I , weapons according to our supposed profession of merchants , while we hid in our clothes the Luger pistols of service and in the backpacks the fearsome Schmeisser submachine guns .
We camped one day in the Garro Mountains and crossed the Assam without stopping longer than necessary . We soon found ourselves at an altitude of more than 2,000 mts ., rejoicing to leave behind the tropical regions , infested with wild animals and by the no less savage bandits of the Angka tribes , Michi , Dafla , Abors , etc . A path that meandered up the eastern slope of the Himalaya slowly led us towards Bhutan .
In the village of Taga Dzong we were greeted with great joy , as if we were ambassadors of some western power , which caused us great contrariety because we did not want to attract the attention of the English or any true diplomat of whatever the nation . However , the mystery was soon clarified , when verifying that two envoys from Von Grossen had been waiting for our arrival for months to guide us to Punakha : they were two Lopas , officials of the Deb Rajah of Bhutan .
Accompanied by the slim but vigorous Lopas , also of Aryan Race , we crossed numerous small valleys , nestled between mountain ranges of huge altitude . After each step of the Himalayan slope we ascended hundreds of meters , not being infrequent the paths , or dvaras , of 4 or 5 thousand meters . The Lopas spoke Bodskad , the Tibetan language that I , as Ostenführer , understood perfectly . In the dialect of Jam they explained to us that we would not go directly to Punakha because there , next to the Deb Rajah , was an English garrison : Karl von Grossen was in a nearby monastery , under the protection of the spiritual head of the Country , the Dharma Rajah .
At last , we arrived at the Taoist monastery , built on a mountain covered with eternal snows and from which a rugged path started , only suitable for pedestrians , crossing the Himalayas and leading to Tibet . Von Grossen and his assistant came out to meet us – Heil Hitler ! I was afraid you would not arrive on time – he told us for all greeting . – Heil Hitler ! --I replied-- The SS Haupsturmführer Doktor Kloster Hagen and the SS Haupsturmführer Doktor Hans Lechfeld , – I introduced my companions – and I ' m SS Sturmbannführer Kurt von Sübermann . Sieg Heil , mein Standartenführer ! Von Grossen observed me closely , with scientific curiosity . – So you are the mysterious Initiate on whom might depend the Fate of the Third Reich ? --he wondered in amazement-- I imagined you some other way ! – How ? I exclaimed , disturbed by the indiscreet frankness of the Standartenführer .
--Don' t take it the wrong way --he said , smiling for the first time-- but it is that here it has been spoken a lot about you , perhaps more than in Germany . You know : these people have highly developed psychic faculties and for several weeks you ' ve been perceived while approaching . I would not exaggerate in the least if I affirm that all spiritual Tibet knows at this moment your arrival in Bhutan ! Well then , von Sübermann : you have been psychically observed and described in many different ways , hence my doubts . There are those who maintain that you are a Great Saint , and others , on the contrary , who make of you a terrible Warrior . --Again, the question was painted on his face-- . But we know that you are the latter , right ?
There was an hint of doubt in Von Grossen ' s voice that annoyed me exceedingly .
– Indeed , Kamerad Von Grossen ! According to the Rule of the Black Order I am a Warrior , a Wise Warrior . I don ' t know what appearance did you suppose I should have , but have no doubts that I am capable of killing in the most terrible way . And that I will kill in that way anyone who tries to frustrate my mission .
– Bravo ! Von Grossen exclaimed with evident sincerity . I ' ll insist : you must excuse my surprise but , after so many months of waiting , and hearing the craziest stories from the mouths of the lamas , I no longer knew for sure what kind of man I was expecting . I am glad that you are a complete SS officer , Von Sübermann !
Karl von Grossen and Heinz Schmidt , who would not say a word or say it later on , because he was too sparing , had reached us five kms . before the Monastery . When arriving we were invited to go to a comfortable room , where wood and guano burned in a stone hearth ; outside the temperature was ten degrees below zero .
We were not really in a simple monastery of lamas , as I had supposed , but in a small citadel surrounded by a dissuasive wall : behind the walls there were three buildings of very different architecture . The most imposing , was the Palace of the Dharma Rajah , where the spiritual Leader of Bhutan resided in Winter . The second most important was an ancient Pagoda , perhaps the Oldest construction of the whole . – It is a Temple magnificently carved in a single colossal piece of stone-- Von Grossen explained to us when we crossed the outer courtyard-- . It dates from the times when this region was dominated by the Buddhist Priests of Manipur : the Temple was dedicated to the Cult of the Manu Vaivasvata , who rules the present mânvântâra or Manuantara , that is to say , the
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