Chapters 5 and 6 Summary

The ship arrives in Bombay, where Edgar catches a train through India. The train stops occasionally at small stations where local traders press up against the windows, trying to sell items to the passengers. At one station a boy stands outside Edgar's window until he is curious enough to ask what he is selling. The boy tells him that he sells poems and will tell him a story about the 'leip-bya' of Burma. Edgar asks how he knows where he is going and the boy replies that his poems are 'daughters of prophecy.' Edgar pays, but the train moves away too quickly for him to hear the poem.

At Calcutta Edgar gets off the train and boards a ship, which travels to Rangoon in southern Burma. On the way, Edgar reads more about the history of Burma:

Once the Shan...