Don had lent him a copy of The Wayfarers , and on the 8th Reading sketched Baba's portrait from the photograph on the frontispiece and sent it to Baba the next day to see. Baba looked through the sketch pad and returned it to him after he had signed the drawing on the side.
Baba sent a message to Reading to fill the sketch pad with drawings of him and remarked to the mandali: "It is not necessary for William to see me, as my having signed his drawing is tantamount to his having had my darshan."
On 10 August, Bill Reading rode a bicycle to Meherabad, where he was given a tour by Padri and was introduced to Mohammed Mast. Padri coaxed the mast into shaking hands with Reading and, in Bill's words, "The instant we touched hands a sensation not unlike a mild electric shock — minus the jolt and corresponding discomfort — swept through my body."
Reading further recalled, "After I took some photographs of Mohammed, Padri suggested a cup of tea, which he served in his room. While talking to Padri the sensation of Baba's 'presence' came over me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I started to weep. Baba's presence seemed to emanate from Padri and his sincere and simple life."
After listening to Padri talk about Baba over tea, Reading's emotional state calmed and they took a walk up the hill, because Padri wanted to show him Upper Meherabad and Baba's Tomb. In Reading's words, "There is one other event that to this day I am very glad I did, although I don't fully understand why ... The place seemed deserted as Padri left me alone in Baba's Tomb to attend to some chore. I walked around looking at the mural on the ceiling when I suddenly felt a strong urge to get into the crypt. I clambered down the end near the entrance to the Tomb and crouched down up the other end. And I thought of Baba and what it would be like when his body would be placed here. After five minutes or so, I climbed out and went outside to see where Padri had gone."
Padri later said to Don he was touched by the young man's sincerity.