7

The Mystery of the Invisible Third Man

And the secret of the treasure they were unknowingly seeking was in the painting. Jim couldn’t find it. But they filmed it, and they all saw it without recognising what they saw.

Three men stood at a distance while they filmed. Two of the men were museum workers. But the third man came to them and, addressing Lao, said:

‘The Treasure map is there, in that painting. Follow the map carefully. Follow it truthfully, for the map is in you. Eat the inscription. Eat it over and over again when you are hungry. But don’t eat the acorns. The Oak Tree is sacred, and is your secret symbol. Avoid the evil shade. Don’t forget that the landscape is greater than the tomb. Death is merely Time’s inscription, a beautiful absence. Don’t dwell too long in Arcadia. This is fatal. For if you dwell too long there, you become the tomb, and your life its inscription. Arcadia looks backward. There is a great and mysterious beauty in this, a haunting wisdom. But look forward. Go forward. Come down from the mountain. Return to the Valley. And begin again. There you will find the Treasure, not at the end, but at the beginning.’

And then the eloquent third man turned and left the great hall of the museum. And when Lao asked everyone who he was, nobody could say, nobody knew, because nobody had seen him.

And Lao puzzled over this third man even when he awoke.