4
THE NORTH PLATTE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE.
""""" -tS':3 s sar-;:!t ""-i- Jopyrijlt 19ia , by Barry Irving GrcoftoS " :js!xc . --
11
SYNOPSIS.
Pnf.ssor Desmond of the Peak obsorvn
tor, uiaej a great sensation throughout
tli imitry by announcing that what np
Iji iri tn do a satellite Ih approaching at
I .nfli speed. Destruction of the ciirtli l
f ir il Punic prevail everywhere. The
k if 'llito barely mlssea the cnrtli. 'flip at
mohp'iprlc illsturhnnt'o knocks people tin-
nnx us, but does no damage. A lciif
lit jnni; a cabalistic design flutters down
Hmotitf the. guests nt a lown party. It Is
Irl-n'i'il in design with a curious ornn
)ni ii worn by Doris l'ulton A hideous
man Ukp being with hugo wings descends
In tin midst of the guests. Ho notices
DorH' irnnment and starts toward her.
The m.n fear Iih Intends some harm to
Doin ind a flerco buttle ensues. In which
Tnllli t and March, suitors of Doris, and
PDffnor Desmond arn Injured Tlio Hy
ing man Is wounded by a shot from Tol
nvr hut escapes by Hying away. A far
n r r-ports that the (lying man carried
'IT ( H young daughter Peoplo cvery-vlr-
are terror-stilckon nt tho possl
tiillilci for evil possessed by thn mon
' ter Tlie govornor offers a reward of
(Mt.W) for his capture, doad or alive. Put
tarn 11 thn first of tho nvlators to re
spond Aftor a thrilling chaso In the air
lie Is thrown from his mnrhlne by tho
Hying man and killed. North and a score
lof other aviators nrrlve. The re
'ward Is Increased to a million. Tho avia
tors find themselves outdistanced nnd out
maneuvered by tho Hying man. Artillery
proves futile A nogreas Is tho latest vic
tim Tho aviators go to tho sceno of tho
tragedy, some 200 miles distant. Doris In
vites March o accompany her on n horse
back ride. They nro Joined bv TolUvnr,
much to March's disgust. While tho men
are rounding up tho horses, which have
become unaccountably frightened, tho fly
Ihg man suddenly swoops down and car
ries Doris off.
CHAPTER XI. Continued. ,
Pausing not at al they wont plung
ing down with tho reqkloBBness of
doHpair, stumblod ncross tho boulder
littered bottom, dragged themselves
weak with exhaustion up tho opposite
Blopo and staggered to tho summit
as their foe, Invigorated by a half
hoilr'H rest, aroso Just ahead and con
tinued his flight apparently aa fresh
an when ho had started hours before.
Keeling of brain and hopeless of heart,
their breath coming In sobs, they fol
lowed At two o'clock March, suddenly
arousing himself, found that ho had
boon struggling on In n daze, a semi
conscious stato whcroln ho had stum
bled along aa In a dream aB ho clam
bered over jagged, upheaved masses
and dragged hlmsolf painfully up
steep aflconts that led ever up nnd up
towunls distant and towering peaks
that roceded as steadily as ho ap
proachod; his oyea ovor fastened up
on a grotesquo flying thing that alter
nately flappod onward llko a mam
moth bat or roostod vulturollko upon
some eminence as It clutchod n form
which It was hearing closoly nnd peer
od with hugo, lnscrutlblo oyoa at him
self tolling on with lnilnlto weariness
bolow Ahead of him the Flying Man
waHjunt In tho act of rising onco more
with his burden. On ono side of him
towered tho smooth shouldor of tho
mountain tbut loomed up another
thousand foot, upon tho othor n steep
nlldo that led down equally as far to a
torrent, tho thunder of whoso volco
ramo faintly to his cars. Somo miles
ahead and rising dizzily wna tho flat
MP-faco of a tablo mountain with pro
cIpltouB cliffs surrounding it, wild nnd
desolate, tho hnunt of no living thing
oxcopt mountain snoop and wandering
eagles. Was It to this InacccsBlblo
place, this vory heart of desolation,
Unit tho enemy was leading thcm7
March could but vaguely wondor.
Whcro was Clay? Ho looked bohlnd
JUHt la Jlmo to sea tho othor go down
upon hlB blooding knees In a stumbling
full and llo motionless. For tho first
tjino since tho start he halted, hesi
tated, thon with nn cxclnmntlon of
doapalr hurried back to the alien one
and turned him ovor Tho eyes woro
bait rlosml. tho mouth gasping llko
Chat of a suffocating flsh and tho head
tolling limply. DoBpalr aelzod him.
lSiich breath that ho drow pierced- his
bosom llko a dagger nnd hla head
liwinit giddily. Ills own hands and
knoeii wero torn and blood caked and
hlH throat llko old parchment. It
'Boenwd hopeless, worso than hopoloss,
do go nn alone, yet go on he must to
bin last breath, his last Btep, his Inst
rrawl and Clay must take caro of him
violf" Ho turned to pursuo IiIb way and
n;iw that tho creature beyond had al-
lourty settled to tho rockB and was
qi My watching them. March ran hla
h tad ncross his oyoa to clear them
frjm tho sweat. Since tho other wna
nit increasing tho distance between
them, perhaps it would bo wise upon
lilri part to rest also. Should ho con
t'nuo on in his present condition It
would be but a short time boforo ho
would collapso as Clay had done, and
then tltoro would bo no eye to mark
tho direction of tho mounter's flight.
On the othor hand should ho rest for
a wbll'i ho would bo ahlo to take up
tlip pursuit with renowed vigor, and
peril ipa by that tlmo Clay would bo
ubln to accompany him Ho throw
Jalmanlf upon tho rocks
The deslro to. sloop fell upon his
eyollde aa a ' dead weight. Fatlguo
doadenlng nB an annesthetlo, bo bo
numbing as to roqulro tho utmost ef
forts of hla will to koop it from Btupo:
fyfng bis sousos, possessed him from
bruin to too. Tho pain was gone from
hlH limbs, but in its plnco waa tho
numbness of paralysis. Hla lioad, too,
hu ioasoil to reol, but it waa hum
mlutf like n lilvo
Fighting uncon
sclousnesa with nil his strength of body
and will ho raised hlmsolf to 1. sitting
position nnd again looked ahead. T.ho
onemy was stjiinttlng where ho had
alighted last, his head drooping for
ward and hla hand rcatlng on tho form
of tho girl whom he had laid at hla
foot. That ho was not asleep a Blight
uneasy movement now nnd then in
dicated, but that ho was vory weary
his sunken nttltudc gave strong evi
dence Although hla body was not
unprotected by that of hla captive
tho dlstanco waB too far to preclpl
tato mattors by a pistol shot which
If It hit elthor of them might almost
as likely strlko tho girl.
Again slumbor, so nenrly overmas
tering that for a moment tho world
swam darkly boforo his eyes, surged
down upon tho watcher, and again
March was compelled to painfully be
stir himself to keop from unconscious
ness. Ho forced his eyelids apart,
throw back his head and breathed to
tho bottom of his lungs. Ills respira
tions grow more regular, less frequent
Ho folt his head begin to clear and
fresh strength surgo through his
limbs. Strong, nctivo and In perfect
lienlth his recuperatlvo powers wero
unusually good, yet tho last three
hours of Incessant scramble and run.
slido and climb, stumble and fall, had
been Bovero onough 0 sorely tnx the
most hardened mountaineer. But bo
had rested for fully half an hour now
nnd onco moro folt cnpablo of resum
ing tho grind. Tho first grisly horror
which had grlppod him hnd given way
to cold desperation. Ho nroso, stretch
ed his stiffened limbs nnd walked awk
wardly to Tolllver, shoving him with
his foot. "Get up," he roughly com
manded. Tho oyes of the prostrato ono
openod, gazed at him for a moment
blankly, thon filled with a wild light.
Ho struggled' painfully to bis feet,
gazed about, saw tho crouching form
ahead and shambled onward without
spoaklng, March closo at his heels.
For a short distance they proceeded
with no indication upon tho part of
tho roosting croaturo nhead to evi
dence that ho olthor saw or hoard
thorn, and a wild beast glaro came in
to Clay's eyes aa ho drow his pistol.
Thon aB an awkward foot Bont a stone
rolling tho Flying Man glanced quick
ly around, saw hla peril and with one
swoop or his nrm swung tho girl be
tween himself and thoso who woro
closing in on him. Doris had evident
ly seen them as well, for she raised
her bend for an instant, almost imme
diately lotting it fall aaftho becamo
limp ngatn; whllo her captor launch
ing himself from tho point whoro he
hnd rested bodily Into space flow
heavily along tho mountnln Bldo That
he was nenrly as distressed as thom
Bolvcs March felt convinced. Perhaps
ho had flown far that day boforo pick
ing her up, porhnps her weight was
too great for him to boar by tho hour,
Reeling of Drain, and Hopeless of
Heart, They Followed.
perhaps ho hud boon woundod by tho
men of tho flying machines and wna
gradually losing his Btrongth tho pos
sibility of 9110 or moro of his conjec
tures bolng correct stimulated Alan
like n gla j of strong wine, nnd his
logs becoming moro llmbor again with
ubo lu prossod forward nearly aa rap
idly us ho had upon tho boglnnlng of
tho pursuit. Tolllver, also groatly re
freshed by his Hhort slumbor nnd
working tho stlffnoss from IiIb nuiBolos
with ovury stop also again ran nl
moBt lightly. Closo upon onch other's
heels thoy rncod ovor tho unovon
rocks.
Thoy passed across a treacherous
- slide of Bhulo rock whcro a misstep
Wkd
il
Wv -
would bavo brought half n mountain
side down upon thorn In a roaring ava
lancho, thon entered upon a narrow
passngo whero upon ono side tho
mountnln roso sheer to tho swimming
sky, whllo upon tho other it dropped
into a Blckenlng abyss. This scant
way they traversed with tho reckless
nesn of mountain sheep, and soon leav
ing it bohlnd found themselves upon a
broader way. Boforo them sank a
gorgo, slant nnd dcop, n good mllo
wide; beyond It nroso tho towering
helghtB of the tabic mountain towards
which they had been stumbling since
tho beginning of the pursuit. AcroBS
tho gorgo the flying thing was already
boating his way, and with but an in
stant's pause In order to pick out their
path the pursuers wont scrambling
down. Dislodged rocks flew from be
neath their feet and with leaps of
over increasing length clattered to
tho bottom far below where they land
ed with echoing roars. In their slides
their clothing was ripped to pictur
esque rags and their bodies raked and
skinned pitiably. They reached the
bottom, scrambled acroaa and faint
and dizzy once moro began tho steep
ascent. Climbing, dragging themselves
from rock to rock, often upon their
hands nnd knees, blinded by sweat,
gasping, they slowly mounted until a
steep field of Jumblod masses split
from the penks by the erosion and,
lightnings of untold nges lay before
them, and over thlB ghaotly field of
unutterable desolation and brooding
sllonco thoy went in a InBt hoart
breaking scramble until they reached
tho baao of tho final cliff that aroao
aa ahcer as a wall for hundreds of
feet to the broad, flat surfaco of tho
mountnln'B summit. Clay staggering
to tho face of tho cliff pointed despair
ingly upwnrd. His face was that of
an old man, furrowed and drawn,
ghastly pale, his mouth opon, hlo eyes
wild and rolling. Alnn's glance fol
lowed tho raiaod finger. Two hundred
feet above them and struggling des
perately, sometimes striking tho cliff
with IiIb pinions, sometimes falling
back a fow feot, but always recovering
himself and mounting higher, tho ono
whom thoy had chased throughout
that awful day was bearing his proy
yard by yard to tho height above.
Then with a last desperate effort ho
reached tho summit, hovered a second
at its edge and thon disappeared, a
smothered cry of triumph falling llko
a knoll upon the ears of thcrso who
gasped below. Horror-stricken and
utterly spent both of tho pursuers
sank upon the stones with tho bou!
sickness of despair upon them.
Mnrch staring with sunken oyes
ncrbss tho broad gulch which thoy had
last slid into and with Infinite toll
worked their way out of, could from
tho height at which he sat sco miles
of the tortuous courso along which
thoy had lashed themselves by pure
strength of will. Yonder waa tho
mountain 8ldo with its devil's trap of
Inclined shnlo across which they had
cropt aa ono might creep tho Bteop
aldo of a roof, hitching thomaelvea
along with the slow painfulnoss of
woundod men upon a battlefield. There,
also, was tho narrow trail along tho
ledge of overhanging rock whoro a
stumblo would have landed them in
shnpeless masses hundreds of feet be
low. Unck of that, dim in tho dis
tance, was tho hugo bouldor by tho
sldo of which ho had fought his bitter
battle against the stupor of exhaustion
ns ho panted himself back to life whllo
Tolllvor had slept, back of that again
and interminably away the ragged
crest over which thoy had staggered
aa thoy aroso from tho othor gorgo
with its chaotic bottom of fallen rock
mnsBea. what a distance thoy hnd
come what Incredible efforts thoy
had put forth with ull tho world swing
ing In n blood red mist boforo tholr
glnzed oyes j what tortures of mind
and body thoy hnd endured nnd nil to
now bo bufllod by a moro matter of
hundreds of feetl And Doris still In
tho hands of that foul monster who
now safo in his eyrlo no longer need
bo hold back by tho restraint of fear.
DoiIh! Doris! Gront God, what could
ho do! It scorned as though ho must
go mad In his ngony. His hands
clenchod until thoy woro whlto nnd
bloodloss nnd ho bit his lips until tho
blood came to koep from crying out
right to tho brooding cliffs. The nau
sea of horror grlppod his stomach un
til ho became deathly ill anil shivered
as ono with tho ague, tho cold por
bplrntlon bursting from hla brow, weak
as a cat. Ho rollod ovor upon hla face
with his lingers burlod In his hair,
fighting bnck tho deathly falntnoss
with all his powors of roslBtance. It
was too horriblo to bo real therefore
it must bo a nlEhtmaro from which ho
would presently awake, or falling In
that Iobo hla sonsos to a verity. Hu
man roason could not long withstand
such agony.
A nolso ut hla sldo brought him to
a Bitting posturo. Clay had regained
his foot and was sturlng about in a
bowildorod way, hla clothing in ruga
und Ills lncorated hands twitching con
vulsively. "I bavo rostod and now 1
am going to got her," ho said In a
si-nngo volco. "I told her that I lovod
her bettor than all clso and that I
would sacrlflco my life for her if it
should come to tho test. Well, tho
test hns como and I am going to her,
como what may." Ho started oft upon
a hobblo and, Mnrch, struggling to hlB
feet, called after him:
"Clay!"
Ho paused and faced about, his brow
wrinkled, staring at Alan aa though
at a stranger. His tonso faco though
deoply drawn by fatlguo and suffering
was no longer distorted as it had
been earlier In the day, but hla eyes,
deoply sunken and circled by rings as
dark as though made by blows from a
fist, glowed unnaturally. "Yes," he
said after a moment. "I know you
now. You nre Mnrch. What are you
doing here?" Alan, who had often
thought as ho looked Into tho other's
eyes that some latent disorder slum
bered there, now know that tho man
was unmistakably mad. Yet undoubt
edly somo reason remained, and such
as it was ho would try and appeal to
It.
"Whero aro you going?" ho, asked
quietly.
"Going?" Ho passed his hand swift
ly in front of his oyes as though to
sweep something from In front of
them "why, I am going to got her, of
course. Whero else should I bo going
at such a tlmo?" He turned as if to
stnrt away again, but once more Alan
halted him.
"Do you know if there is a way up?"
"Most certainly, clso how would I
know whero to go? I scaled it onco
throe years ago when I was hunting
3heop. There is a way, an awful way,
and I nearly lost my llfo upon it. But
I climbed It once and I shall again."
March watching him closoly know not
what to think. Mad aB the othor un
doubtedly wns, there was a calm con
viction in his manner that left the lis
tener greatly puzzled as to whether
Ills disordered mind but imagined tho
prior feat, or whether tho remnant of
his orderly Intellect still remembered
It as a fact. Bo that as it might, he
well knew that Clay was an enthusi
astic and daring hunter who had spent
many weeks among these cliffs, and it
waB not at all improbable that he was
speaking of actualities. At any rato
It would do no harm to accompany
him. The cliff was hopelesB of ascent
whoro they stood, and even though his
companion was laboring under a delu
sion they might stumblo across somo
placo whoro they could drag them
selves up. He once moro nerved hlm
solf to physical effort and stepped for
ward, but at his first pace the faco of
the othor underwent a violent change.
Onco more tho features worked and
the mouth twitched, whllo his eyes
blazed llko an angry wildcat's.
"Halt," ho commanded fiercely.
March paused. What insane fear or
hatred had suddenly taken possession
of tho other's twisted mind he had no
iden, thoreforo ho must question htm
quietly, ascertain, nnd then strlvo to
reason with .him. Ho eyed him stead
ily. "Well, what Is it?" ho domanded.
"I nm going alone. You must re
main behind."
March slowly shook hla headv "No,
you must not say that. I may be of
assistance to you, and Is this not a
matter for both of us aa mon?" Tho
queatlon seemed to infurlato tho other
beyond self control.
"For both of ua!" ho fairly yelled.
"No, It is a matter for mo alone for
mo who loves her In a way that auch
at you can no moro concolvo than you
can ftoncclvo of pain and agony and
woeks of sleepless wretchedness
passed in calling aloud to her thrpugh
tho ondloss hours of torturing nights.
And always you stood between us
with your silly attentions and school
boy declarations of puppy love. Yet
what did it gain you? Nothing but re
fusal upon refusal. She loves you not
nt nil niid you shall not nccompany
mo up tho path which I learned at tho
risk of my own llfo for sho Is mine,
promised to mo by betrothal ray af
flnnced wifo. If you go to her And a
way of your own, but this way is mine
nnd mine alone.
"Clay," said March sternly as ho
took 0. forward stop with chin thrust
out, hla heart sinking novertholess at
tho other's words, "I do not bellovo
you. Sho novor promised to marry
you." In nn Instant tho madman nau
whipped out hiB pistol and leveled it
at hla follower's head.
"Fool, for tho last time stand back."
Cold ns doatli March faced him.
"You aro losing your bond. If you
lovod hor na you protend If you were
ongaged to hor as you say. you would
wolcomo my assistance. If wo rescue
hor tho honor shall bo yours and If
sho confirms your assertion I will
novor crosa your patliB again. But un
til then I yield not nn Inch In my right
to go to her. If you know n way up
that cliff I am going up it also, with
your permission if you will grnnt It,
without it if you dony mo. Tho knowl
edge of certnln death would not pre
vent mo from going to tho Inst atop I
am nblo to take." Ho stitrtod forward
again with hla oyoa fixed atondlly upon
tho ono boforo him, Booking to got IiIb
hands upon him, disarm him and talk
him Into a somblnnco of reason, but
ho had underestimated the desperation
of tho lnsano mind that lay behind tho
leveled weapon. From head to foot
Tolllver quivered llko a wind
thrummed reed.
"Then if you will not listen to me
you shall dlo llko t fool you havo
always been." Heavily tho weapon
spoke, nnd Alan reeling throw up his
hands and camo crashing down upon
tho rocks, whllo tho other drouchlng
llko a cat over Its felled prey watched
him as Intently. But no Bound came
from tho fallen one, no movement, and
thrusting his revolver back into his
pocket ho wont picking his way ovor
tho Jumbled mass, his lips muttering
nnd face working as his glowing eyes
sought the dizzy way up which he had
pulled himself in that desperate hunt
of three years before.
CHAPTER XII.
The Ascent.
Rising for threo hundred feet as
straight up as tho side of one of tho
loftiest skyscrapers built by man tho
cliffs nroso, split from the mountain
top by tho wedges of the llghtnlnga
and guarding the summit by walls of
almost absoluto perpendicularity. In
that hunt of tho past ho had seen a
sheep upon tho summit, and thereforo
know that there must be a trail lead
ing trtho top despite tho fact that It
was classed as Inaccessible to human
foot. Determined, thereforo, that he
should bo tho first human to trod Its
top, for miles he had worked his way
aboiU it with keenly searching eyes as
ho sought for the placo whore tho first
step must bo made If he would at
tempt the ascent, found il at last, des
perate and scanty to the extremo yet
barely possible to ono of much activ
ity and steadiness. And with little
regard for probable consequences he
had undertaken It. It had been a su
preme test of nerves and poise, but ho
had conquered it at last, reached the
desolate, boulder haunted plateau and
killed his sheep, and then had eat tor
hours upon tho sheer edge as ho
nerved himself for what soomed a de
scent impossible to human being ox
copt nt tho expense of life or splin
tered bones. Yet having como up ho
must go down, and down ho eventual
ly and safely arrived though great
good fortune attended him and at
last had stood beside the broken body
of his kill which ho had been obliged
to tumble bodily from tho height. That
awful ascent and descent had ever
slnco haunted him as an evil dream, a
thing not to bo attempted again for all
the wealth of tho world, but now with
tho woman ho loved borno there In tho
loathsomo embrace of that arch enemy
of all mankind ho sought for tho sui
cidal path again with straining eager
ness. Of March lying inert back there
upon the rocks whoro his bullet had
felled him ho gave scarcely a thought.
Obsessed by tho idea that ho nlono
could save tho woman he sought, ho
would havo regardlessly Blaln any
thing, man or beaBt, that ho imagined
might in nny way Impede his progress.
Before him there lay a narrow shelf
leading upward for a score of feet,
broken, insecure and seeming to end
In nothing but tho blank wall itself,
but he recognized it instantly and
stopped upon It. Arms extended, flat
tening himself against the rock as a
leech clings, he felt hla way upward
with Infinite caution, his flngors grip
ping each tiny crevass with tho tena
city of tho tentacles of a squid. Ho
reached the end of the narrow shelf
and thero balanced precariously upon
six Inches of outcropping, cast his
glance cautiously upward and about.
Several foet to tho right was another
foothold equally Insecure, but leading
upward again, and with tho caro with
which ono treads a taut wiro he placed
his foot upon it, found a shallow fin
ger hold in tho cliff and ralBod himself.
For fifty foet moro ho climbed as a fly
Ecales a wall, periled his life upon tho
two-inch support of a jutting point,
mounted again with tho suporhunian
cunning and strength of tho lnsano
and at tho ond of n half hour's well
nigh miraculous offort found for the
first tlmo during tho nscont a shelf
largo enough to rest upon. Ho was
half way up now, nnd with a hundred
and fifty feot of beetling cliff abovo
and aa much ompty space below ho
sat down for a moment's heavy breath
ing. Through his disordered mind thoro
ran riot a strange medloy of tho real
and tho unreal. Well enough he know
that ho was scaling this height to
savo tho womnn whom ho loved, yet
ho now conceived tho Flying Man to
bo of tho supernatural, a winged mon
ster of tho InaccosBiblo cliffs, a dragon
of tho noisome caverns that lay bo
ncath tho gorges, and that ho wa8 the
knight chosen from all othora becauso
of his superior strength and valor to
go forth and slay him at tho portals of
his rock bound domain. Well, slay
him ho would beyond tho shadow of a
doubt, but already tho sun was gotting
low, tho climb waB still long and des
porato and ho must be on his wny lest
night and cortain death should over
take him flattened against the blank
wall of tho dragon's castle. Once more
ho cautiously arose to resume his ef
forts. He scanned tho pllff. Just abovo
his head was another projection which
promised a foothold could ho but
reach It, and burying Ills fingers In a
crack and finding nn inch wide sup
port for hla foot ho drew himself slow
ly upward. Tho slightest slip of hand
or foot meant Instant death ndw, and
hla fingers gripped tho Btone until
they grew whlto and bloodless from
tho strain. Slowly ho raised hlmsolf
found nnother grip and another tiny
support nnd with an effort that sent
the blood surging to his temples
brought himself gasping ono notch
higher Here again tho ascent becamo
a trifle less precarious for a ways and
another half-hour found him within n
fow feet of tho summit. Hero of all
places during the nscont ho camo tho
nearest to plunging tho whole distanco
to the rocks below, but a last des
perato struggle saved him and weak
and trembling from tho supreme ef
fort ho threw himself down safely
over tho edge. For a moment ho rest
ed, then cautiously arose and looked
about.
Upon a far distant western peak tho
sun was balanced like a broad gold
coin poised delicately. Its horizontal
rayB Bwept tho plateau upon which ho
stood, but of tho heat that had grid
died him during that day of frenzied
pursuit scarce a vestige remained in
tho thin air. Oh, that awful pursuit!
Hla brain had seethed as a cauldron,
hla body reeled llko a drunken man's,
his numbed limbs responding to tho
driving power of his will as mechanic
ally as the unfeeling plstonB of a ma
chine; tho uncanny flying monster
bearing the woman of his heart ever
closo before his glazed eyco, whllo
Match, his .accursed rival, had ridden
upon his back and borno him down
llko an old man of the sea. At times
it had seemed as though ho would go
mad. March! Had he shot him? Yes,
it dimly seemed to him that ho had.
and had loft him dead upon the rocks
below. What of It! Had it not been
that ho had been compelled to carry
him on his back all day ho would have
reached this height an hour before
perhaps would havo reached it In ad
vance of tho flying ono and been pre
pared to meet him aa ho alighted.
What mattered a dead man or two in
a case like this when a dragon was to
be slafn and a princess his princess,
to bo rescued! Ho laughed quickly,
sharply, a single explosive sound more
like the bark of a beast than tho
sound of a human voice. He turned
and faced the plateau.
Desolation. It stretched away in a
broad sweep on either hand, chaotic,
volcanic, lumbered with tho left over
debris of mountain making a junk
shop of the unuseablo fragments of
creation. Boulders little as pebbles,
hugo as houses woro strewn on every
side, scattered broadcast, grouped In
piles, heaped in monuments. Barren
spaces lay between them. No living
thing invested tho aolltudo savo him
self and those to find whom ho had so
desperately risked his llfo in tho
ascent. To his disordered mind It
Alan Came Crashing Down.
seemed a battlefield well planned for
the combat to come, for around these
jumbled masses ho could creep like a
panther until ho could find tho dragon,
and hnvlng found him
Silence. It invested all, throbbing,
pulsating, ringing In his oars llko tho
volco of a Boa sholl. It hung quivering
In tho alr lying upon him ub a smoth
orlng weight and filling all Infinity. Tho
rapid exhaust of his lung3 waa lost In
Its unocholng vastnosa, und whan ho
uttorod Incoherently hla volco was
snatchod from his lips and its lumo
dissipated in tho void until but iu
whispered ghost remalnod.
(TO BE COkTINUCD.)
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