The Mistery of Belicena Villca of the Gobi at its eastern end ; and the lake , with all precision , is the Lop Nor . At last a geographical area that conforms to the reality of the German maps !
But , if outside the Valley of the Immortals , the world was still the same , inside the Space and Time were as distorted as before , the Traitor Gods and the Priests of the White Fraternity stalked us to block our way or attack us , and we still had to locate Ernst Schaeffer . The latter happened ahead of schedule . Indeed , while we observed marveled at the Xinjiang , the Kaulika monks explored the hundred square meters of the summit and within minutes brought shocking news : at the foot of the South slope there was a camp ! We ran there and checked it out with binoculars . There was no doubt : it was the German camp !
The small glen , which looked more like a gorge , was about 500 m long and 50 m wide , and in Winter it fulfilled the function of transporting the snow of a gigantic glacier , like a titanic stone channel . It was oriented from East to West , and at each end , gorges allowed to enter or exit : from the inside , it could be seen that the West gorge was flanked by the sculptures of two huge armed bodhisattvas . For some reason , the expedition did not dare to cross that stone portal so eloquently ornamented , and decided to camp at the opposite end of the glen , next to the entrance gorge . You could see that they had already been in that place for a few days , and that perhaps they were thinking of staying longer , since they had unpacked all the equipment and rationally distributed , after a rigorous castrametation : they even had two sentries , one to the East and the other to the West of the camp .
For the long cherished moment of running into the expedition of Schaeffer , Von Grossen drew up an approach plan that only lacked adding tactical details according to the circumstances . Given the present case , it was only necessary to confirm the positions and functions of each one so that the squad would be ready to execute the plan .
Accordingly , we descended in silence to the entrance of the glen , site where the path of the summit disgorged . Already there , Von Grossen , Oskar Feil , the Gurkha and I , with the Daivas dogs , remained hidden for a few minutes , while the three SS officers and the eight Lopa monks were deployed around the camp . They were to stay safeguarded and cover our next step forward , in anticipation of a misunderstanding or something going wrong .
Unsuspectingly , the sentry was smoking , distracted by his own thoughts , perhaps recalling the distant fatherland . The three Germans suddenly appeared in front of him and he thought he was dreaming . But it was too late to react , especially when seeing the black mouths of the Schmeissers : the Luger , the dagger , and the MP40 submachine gun passed into the hands of Von Grossen .
– We are officers of the Third Reich --explained Von Grossen-- but we can ' t take risks . Heil Hitler !
Approach the camp now , very slowly , and notify our arrival ! – Heil Hitler ! --the troubled sentry replied . With exquisite delicacy , he peered into each one of the six tents and communicated what was happening to its occupants . Many , possibly , will have supposed the sentry was raving .
In seconds 20 or more men were gathered , but you couldn ' t tell who was an officer or noncommissioned officer because they were all dressed in civilian clothes . One of them let out an exclamation and took several steps closer :
– I know you ! You ' re the Standartenführer Karl von Grossen ! What the Hell are you doing here , in the armpit of Tibet ?
– And I know who you are , Standartenführer Reinhard von Krupp – replied maliciously the always well-informed Von Grossen , remarking the degree and the name of the officer . From his years in the Gestapo , Von Grossen kept the bad habit of putting some suggestive emphasis when naming people , implying that he possessed confidential or compromising information about them .
– We ' re here to ... --Von Grossen was going to continue , when he was interrupted by the appearance of Ernst Schaeffer .
It is possible , and even more , very likely , that Schaeffer lost irreversibly reason when faced with that unexpected spectacle . To understand it , you have to imagine what it would be like for him to have reached the Valley of the Immortals , a step away from the Sanctuary of the Queen Mother of the West and the Gate of Chang Shambhala , and verify that instead of the Arhats appeared a group of Germans , one of them his sworn enemy . And next to him , inexplicably , came the propitiatory victim , Oskar Feil , and the missing Gurkha . – Ahahahah ...! --he gave a demential yell and cried out-- shoot , kill them all ! The SS , officers and troop , raised their rifles but waited for their Standartenführer to confirm the order : Schaeffer was an officer of the Abwer and he had no direct command over the Schutz Staffel . That indecision prevented an armed confrontation with unforeseeable consequences .
– They are Germans , men of the SS ! – Von Krupp tried to explain , stunned by Ernst Schaeffer ' s mind-boggling attitude .
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