The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, December 28, 1917, Image 8
THE 8EMI.WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. King The Most Picturesque CHAPTER XlVContlnued. 9 Rewa Gunga spoko truth In Delhi when ho assured King he should eomo day wonder at Yusmlnl's dancing. Sho becamo Joy and bravery and youth I Sho danced a story for them of the things they knew. Sho was tho dawn light, touching tho distant peaks. Sho wob tho wind that follows It, sweeping among the Junipers and kiss lng each as Bho came. Sho was laugh ter, as tho little children laugh when tho cattlo nro loosed from tho byres at last to feed In tho valleys. Sho was the scent of spring uprising. Sho was blossom. Sho was fruit 1 "Very daugh ter of tho sparklo of warm sun on enow, sho was tho "Heart of tho Hills" herself I Nover was such dnnclngl Never such an audience 1 Never such mad applause I Sho danced until tho great rough guards had to run round tho arena with clubbed butts and tent buck trespasser? troflc? have mobbed Imv. And nrcry movement overr ariclous wondcr-curvo and step with which sho told her tulo was as purely Greek as tho handle on King's kntfo and tho figures on tho lump-howls And us tho bracelets on her urra. Greek 1 And sho half-modern Russian, ex-Klrl-wlfo of a seml-clvillzcd hill ru'Jnh t Who taught her? Thcro Is nothing mvr, evon In Khlnjan, In tho "Hills 1" And when tho crowd defeated tho lurena guards at last and burst through too swinging butts to selzo licr and fling her high nnd worship her with eand barbaric rite, sho ran toward tho shield. Tho four men raised It shoul dcr high again. Sho went to It Uko a leaf In tho wind sprang on It ns If wings had lifted her, scarce touching It with naked toes and leapt to tbo Bridge with a laugh. Sho went over tho brldgo on tiptoes, like nothing clso under heuven but Yasmlnl at her bowltchlngcst And without pausing on tho far sldo sho ganccd up tho hewn stono stairs, dived Into tho dark holo and wqb gono I "Oomo 1" yelled Ismail In King's ear. could havo heard notlilng less, for he cavorn was llko to burst apart from the tumult "Whither?" the Afrldl shouted lu disgust. "Docs the wind ask whither? Come llko tho wind and seol Thoy MH rcmombor next tliat they havo a fcoae to pick with tlico 1 Oomo nway I" " That Boomed good enough advice. 116 Sallowed as fast as Ismail could shoul or a way out between tho frantic hill loon, deafened, stupefied, numbed, al most cowed by tho ovation they wore jiving tbo "Heart of their Hills." CHAPTER XV. As thoy disappeared after n scramblo through tho mouth of tho samo tun sol thoy had entered by, n roar went hp behind tlicra llko tho birth of earth tunkes. Looking back over his shoul fler, King saw Yasmlnl como back Into the bolo'B mouth, to stand framed In It m& bow acknowledgment For tho space of flvo minutes sho stood In tho Never Was tuch Danclno. "V i . . . & i a i aJkAar nnia un iimir ami nrnrniimrr win , erowd below. Then sho went, nnd the faards began to loose random volleys at the roof and brought down hun dredweights of splintered stalactite Within a minute there wcro n hun dred men busy sweeping up tho splin ters. Is another minute twenty Zakka fchels bad begun a eword danco, yell ing like demons. A hundred Joined them. In three minutes moro the wholo arena was a dlnsing whirlpool, and the river voice was drowned In shouting and th stamping of naked feet on stoae. "Cornel" urged IeraalL and led the way. King's last Impression was of earth's of the Khyber By TALBOT MUNDY Copyright by Th Dobbt-Mertlll Company womb on flro nnd of hellions brewing wrath. Tho stalactites and tho hurry ing river multiplied tho dancing lights Into n million, nnd tho great roof hurled the din down again to make confusion with the no7 din coming up. Ismail went llko n rat down a run, nnd It becamo so dark that King had to follow by cor. Ho Imagined they wcro running back toward tho Icdgo under tho waterfall ; yet, when Ismail called a halt at last, panting, groped behind a great rock for n lamp and lit tho wick with a common safety match, they wcro In a envo ho had nover Been before. "Whero nro wo?" King asked. "Whcro nono dure seek us. Art thou afraid?" asked Ismail, holding tho lamp to King's face. "Kuch clnr iialiln hul 1" ho answered. "There l no such thing ns fenrl" Suddenly tho Afrldl blew tho lamp out, and then tho darkness became "riii '.Thought itself left off less thun a yard nway. "Ismnll 1" ho whispered. But Ismail did not answer him. no faced about, leaning against tho rock, with tho flat of both hands pressed tight against it for tho sake of Its company; nnd almost at onco he suw a llttlo bright red light glowing In tho distance. It might havo been below him ; It was perfectly impossible to Judgo, for tho darkness was not measurable. "Flowers. turn to tho light I" droned Ismail's volco nbovo sentcntlously, nnd turning, ho thought ho could sco red eyes peering over tho rock, no Jumped, and mado a grab for tho flowing heard that surely must bo below them, but ho missed. "Llttlo fish swim to tho light I" droned Ismail. "Moths fly to tho light I Who is a man that ho should know less than they?" Ho turned again and stnred at tho light Dimly, very vaguely ho could mako out that a causeway led down ward from nlmost whcro ho stood. Ho was convinced that should ho try too climb back Ismail would mcroly reach out a hand nnd shovo him down again, and there wns no scuso in being put to that indignity. Ho decided to go forward, for there was oven less sonso in stnndlng still. So ho stooped to feel tho floor with his hand beforo deciding to go forward. Thcro wns no mistaking tho finish given by tho trend of countless feet Ho wns on a highway, and thcro nro not often pit falls whoro so many foot havo been. For all that ho went forward as a cortaln Agag onco did, and It was many minutes beforo ho could seo n certain glowing blood-red In tho light behind two lamps, at tho top of n flight of ten stono steps. When ho went qulto closo ho Baw carpet down tho mlddlo of tho steps, so ancient that tho stono showed through in places; nil tho pattern, supposing It over hnd any, wns worn or faded away. Carpet nnd 'steps glowed red too. His own fnco, nnd tho hands ho hold in front of him wero red-hot-poker color. Yet outsldo tho llttlo clllpso of light tho durkness looked llko a thing to lean ngalnst, nnd tho stlcnco was so intenso that ho. could hear tho artorlos Blng Ing by his cars. Ho saw tho curtains movo slightly, apparently In n llttlo puff of wind that mado tho lamps waver. Then ho walked up tho steps and at tho top ho stooped to oxnmlno tho lamps. Thoy wcro bronze, cost, polished and graved. All round tho clrcuraferenco of each bowl wero figures in half- relief, representing n woman dancing. Sho wns tho womnn nf thn Imtfn.MU and of tho lamps In tho nrenn I But no two figures of tho danco wcro alike. It was tho Bamo woman dancing, but tho artist hnd chosen twenty differ ent poses with which to lmmortallzo his skill, and hers. Both lnmps burned sweet oil with a wick, nnd each had a chimney of horn, not ut all uullko a modern lump chimney. Tho horn wns stnlncd red. As ho set tho sccoud Inmn down ho becamo nwaro of a subtle, Interesting smell, and memory took him bnck at onco to Ynsmlnl's room In tho Ohnndnl Chowk in Dolhl whoro ho hnd smelted It first It was tho peculiar scent ho hnd been told wns Yasmlnl's own n blend of scents, llko a chord of music, in which musk uia not predominate. Ho took three strides and touched tho curtains, discovering now for tho first time that thero wero two of them, divided down tho middle. They wero of leather, and though thoy looked old ns tho "Hills" themselves, tho leather was supplo as good cloth, "Kurrara Khan ha! I" ho announced. But tho cchb wns tho only nnswor. There was no sound beyond tho cur- tnlns. With his heart In his mouth ho parted them with both hands, startled by tho sharp Janglo of metal rings on n rod. So ho stood, with arms outstretched, staring staring staring with eyes skilled Bwlftly to tako in dotalls, but with a brain that tried to explain formed a hundred wild suggestions nnd then reeled, Ho wna faco to faco with tho unexplnlnable tho rlddlo of Khlnjnn caves. Tho leather curtains slipped through his fingers and closed behind him with Romance of the the clash of rings on n rod. But ho was beyond being Btartled. Ho was not really sure ho was In tho world. Ho wns not certain whether It was tho twentieth century, or 55 B. 0., or ear lier yet ; or whether time had ceased. The place whero ho was did not look llko n cave, but a palace chamber, for tho rock walls hud been trimmed Bquaro nnd polished smooth ; then they hud been painted puro white, except for n wldo Dluo frieze, with n line of gold leaf drawn underneath It. And on tho frieze, done In gold-leaf too, was the Grecian lady of tho lamps, always dancing. Thero wcro fifty or sixty figures of her, no two nllke. A dozen lumps were burning, set In niches cut In tho walls at measured Intervnls. They wcro exactly llko tho two outsldo, except that their horn chimneys wcro Btnlned yellow instead of red, suffusing everything In n golden glow. Opposite him was u curtain, rather llko that through which ho hnd en tered. Near to tho curtain was n bed, wnoso great woouen posts were cracked with age. In splto of Its age It was spread with flnenew linen. VtAvnx (AlrVM On It, Above the Linen, a Man and a Woman Lay Hand In Hand. Richly embroidered, not very ancient Indian draperies hung down from it to tho floor on clthor Bide. On It, nbovo tho linen, a man nnd a woman lay hand In hand, and tho woman was so exactly llko Ynsmlnl, oven to her clothing und her naked foot, that It was not posslblo for n mnn to bo self possessed. They both seemed asleep. It was minutes beforo ho satisfied himself that tho man's breast did not rlso and fnll under tho bronzo Roman armor and that tho woman's Jeweled gauzy stuff was still. Imnatnntlon nlnved such tricks with him that In the still ness ho Imagined ho heard breathing. After ho wus suro thov wero hoth dead, ho Went neurcr, but it wns n mmuto yet beforo ho know tho woman wns not sho. At first n wild thought possessed him that sho had killed her- BOlf. Tho only thing to show who bo hnd been wero tbo letters S. P. Q. It. on fl great plumed helmet, on n llttlo tablo by tbo bed. But sho was tbo womnn of the lamp-bowlB and tho frieze. A ure-Bizo stono stntno in a corner was so llko her. nnd llko Ynsmlnl too. thnt It wns dlfllcult to decldo which of tho two It represented. Sho hnd lived when ho did. for hop fingers wcro locked In his. And ho hud lived two thousand years ago, be cuuso his armor was about as old as that, and for proof that ho hnd died In it pnrt of bis breast bad turned to powder Ineldo tho brcnstnluto. Tim rest of his body was wholo and per fectly preserved. Stern, hnndsomo In n hiph.iinni.-pri Ilomnu way, gray on tbo temples, firm lipped, ho lay llko an emperor In hnr ness. But tho prldo nnd resolution on his fnco wcro outdono by tho serenity of hers. Very surely those two hnd been lovcr. Both of them looked voumr nnd healthy tho woman younger than tmrty twenty-uvo at n guess and tho man perhaps forty, perhaps forty five. Every stitch of tho man's cloth ing hud decuyed, so that his armor rested on tho naked skin, extent for n dressed leather kilt about his middle. Tho leather was as old as tho curtains at tho entranco, nnd ns well prosorved. But tho woman's silked clothing was ns now as tho beddlug. Yet, they both died about tho snmo time, or how could their Angers havo been Interlaced? And Bomo of tho Jewelry on tho wom an's clothes was very ancient ns well ns priceless. no looked closer at tho finuom tar signs of forco nnd suddenly cntieht his breath. Under the woman's Almsy sleovo was n wrought gold bracelet, smaller thnn that ono ho himself hnd worn In Delhi and up tho Khyber. Ho raised tho loose slccvo to look moro closely at It, and 'tho movement laid V TV v Rifles Decade bare another bracelet, on tho man's right wrist. Size for size, this wns tho snmo 08 tho ono that had been stolen from himself. Memory nromntcd him. no folt itn outer edge with a Anger nail. Thero wns tno nttio nick that ho had mado in the soft cold when ho struck It ngalnst tho cell bars In tho Jail at tho Mir Man palace I lie touched tho gold. It was warm. Do repeated tho test on tho woman's wrists. Hers wns warm, too. Both bracelets had been worn by a living being within nn nour " Ho muttered nnd frowned In thought nnd then suddcnlv iumncri hnokwnrd Tho leather curtain nenr tho bed hud moved on Its bronze rod. "Ari't thoy denrs?" n volco said In English behind him. "Aren't they sweet?" Yasmlnl stood not two arms' lengths away, 'lovelier than tho ilnnd womnn because of the merry life In her, young unu warm, aglow, but looking llko the dead woman und tho womnn of tho frieze the woman of the lump-bowls tho statue como to life, speaking to him In English more sweetly than If It hnd been her mother tongue. The Jiingnsii nbuse their lnneunce. Yns mini caressed It und mado it do its work twice over. Being dressed ns a native, ho sninnmeu lew. Knowing him for what ho was, sho cave him tho Ronnn- stained tips of her warm Angers to kiss, nnu no thought sho trembled when he touched them. But a second inter Bho had snatched them away and wns treating him to raillery. "Man of pills nnd blisters I" sho said, "tell mo how thoso bodies nrn nro- served 1 Spill knowledge from that icarnea skuii or thine I" Ho did not nnswer. IIo iipvpp simnn In conversation nt any time, having mnuo ns many friends ns enemies by snylng nothing until tho spirit moves him. But sho did not know thnt yet. "If I knew for ccrtuln why those two am not turn to worms," sho went on, "nlmost I would choose to die now, whllo I am benutlfull What would they sny, think you, King sahib, If thoy found us two dead beside thoso two apeak, man, speak I Has Khln Jun struck you dumb?" But ho did not sneak. Ho wns stnr. lng at her arm, where two whitish marus on tho skin betrayed that brace lets nnu been. "Oh, thoso I They nro theirs. I would not rob tho dead, or tho gods wouiu turn on me. I robbed von. in stead, whllo you slept Flo, King sa mo, wuiio you sleptr But her steel did not Btrlko on flint It was her oves thnt flnshod. Ho wnnld havo dono better to havo seemed ashamed, for then ho might have fooled her. at least for a while. Rnt having Judged himself, ho did not care a ug ror ncr Judgment of him. Sho realized that Instantly nnd hnvlncr found n tool that would not work, discarded It for a better one. Sho grow coufldentlnl. "I borrow them," sho cxplulned, "but I put them back. I tako them for so many days, and when tho dny comes tho gods llko U3 to ho rnrt! You wero near death when I took tlio bracelet last night Tho tlmo wus up. I would havo stabbed you if you hnd tried to prevent mel" NOW ho SDOko at Inst nnd pnvn hop n Arst gllmpso of an undo of his mind sho had not suspected. "Princess." ho Bald. Ho nsod tho word with tho deference, noma men pnn combine with effrontery, so thnt very icnuerncss nns barbs, ''xou might hnvo hnd that tiling back if you had sent n messenger for It nt any time. A word by a servant would huvo been enough." "You could nover hnvo reached Khlnjnn then I" sho retorted. Her eyes uasncu again, but His did not waver. "Princess." ho snld. "whv snonk of what you don't know?" Ho thought sho would strike llko a snnke, but sho smiled at him Instead. Aim wuen Yasmlnl has smiled on n mnn ho has never been lust thn nnmn man afterward, ne knows more, for ono thing. Ho has had a lesson In ono of tho finer arts. "I will sneak of what I do know." sho said. "No, thcro Is no need. Look I Look I" Sho Pointed nt tho bed nt thn mnn on tho bed flncers locked in thoso of a womnn who looked bo llko herself. Ho looked, knowinc well thero wns something to bo understood, thnt stared hlra In tho face. But for the llfo of him ho could not determlno question or answer. "What Is In your bosom?" eho asked him. Ho put his hand to his shirt. "Draw it out 1" she said, as a teacher drills a child. Ho drew out tho cold-hllted kntfn with tho bronzo blnde, with which a man hnd meant to murder him. He let It llo on tbo palm of bis bund nnd looked from It to her nnd bnek nirnln. Tho hilt might havo been a portrait of Her modeled from tho life. "Hero Is another Uko It." sho mild stepping to the bedside. Sho drow back tbo woman's dress at tho bosom and showed a knlfo exactly llko that in King's hand. "Ono lay on her bosom and ono on his when I found them I" sho snld. "Now, think ngnlnl" Ho did think, of thirty thousand pos sibilities, nnd of one Impossible Idea that stood up prominent among them nil nnd Insisted on seeming the only likely one. "I saw tho knife In your bosom last night," sho said, "nnd laughed so that I nearly wakened you." "Why didn't you take It with the bracelet?" King asked her, holding it out. "Tako It now. I doii'Uwnnt It." Sho ncccpted It nnd laid It on the mun's bronzo armor. Then, however, she resumed It and played with It. "Look aguln 1" sho snld. "Think and look ngnlnl" Ho looked, nnd he knew now. But ho still preferred thnt sho should tell him, und his lips shut tight "Cnn you guess why I changed my mind about you wise man?" Sho looked from him to the man on tho bed and buck to him ugaln. Hav ing solved the riddle, King had leisure to bo Interested in her eyes, nnd watched them analytically, llko a Jew eler appraising diamonds. They were Btrnngely reminiscent, but much moro changcnblo and colorful thun any he had ever seen. They had tho burning trick of changing whllo ho watched them. "Having sent u man to kill you, why did I ceaso to want to kill you? In stead of losing you on the wuy to Khln jnn, why did 1 run risks to protect you nfter you reached here? .Why did I suvo your llfo In tho Cavern of Earth's Drink tonight? You do not know yet? Then I will tell you some thing else you do not know. I wns in Delhi when you were I I watched and listened while you and Itcwa Gunga talked In my house I I wus In Rewu Gunga's currlago on the train that ho took und you did not I I huvo learned nt first bund that you are not a fool. But that was not enough I You had to bo three things clover nnd brnvo and ono other. The ono other you nrel Bravo you hnvo proved yourself to be I Clever you must be, to trick your way Into Khlnjan caves, even with Ismail at your elbow 1 That Is why I saved your life because you aro thoso two things nnd nnd ono other I" Sho snatched a mirror from a llttlo Ivory table a modern mirror bad glass, bad art, bad workmanship, but silver warranted. "Look In it and then nt him I" she ordered. But ho did not need to look. Tho man on tho bed was not so much like himself as tho woman was llko her, but tho resemblanco seemed to grow under his eyes. King wns tho taller nnd tho younger by several years, but tho noses wero the same, and tho wrinkled foreheads ; both men had the samo firm mouth; both looked llko Romans. CHAPTER XVI. "Athelstan!" Sho pronounced his given namo as If sho loved tho word, standing straight again nnd looking into his eyes. There,, wero high lights In hers that out gleamed tho diamonds on her dress. "Your gods nnd mlno have dono tills, Athelstan. When tho gods comblno thoy lay plans well indeed 1" "I only know ono God," ho answered simply, as n man speaks of tho deep things In his heart. "I know of many I They lovo mo I They shall love you, tool Many are better than onol You shall learn to know my gods, for wo nro to bo part ners, you and 1 1" Sho took his hand again, her eyes burning with excitement nnd mysti cism nnd ambition llko a fever. Sho seemed to tako moro than physical pos session of him. "What brought them hero? Tell mo that!" sho demanded, pointing to tho bed. "You think bo brought her? VAUrtrrAJC- "Can You Guess Why 1 Chanaed My Mind About You Wise Man?" tell you sho was tho spur that drove him ! Is It a wonder thnt men called her tho 'Henrt of tho Hills?' I found them ten years ago and clothed her and put new linen on their bed, for the old was all rags and dust Thero havo always been hundreds nnd sometimes thousands who knew tho secret of khlnjan enves, but this has been a secret within n secret. Someone, who knew the secret beforo I, sawed those bracelets through und fitted hinges nnd clasps. Tho men you saw in tho Cnvcraj, of Earth's Drink havo no doubt I am tbo 'Heart of tbo Hills' como to llfo I They shall know thee us him within a llttlo while!" She held his hand a llttlo tighter and pressed closer to him, laughing softly. He stood as If mado of Iron, nnd that only mndo her laugh the more. "Tales of tho 'Henrt of tho Hills' havo puzzled the raj, haven't they, these many years? They sent me to find tho sourco of them. Mo I They choso well I Thcro nro not many llko me t I hnvo found this ono dead wom an who was like me. And In ten years, until you came, I hnvo found no man llko hlml" She tried to look into his eyeo, bat he frowned straight in front of aim. Ills native costumo and Rangar turbaa did not mako him seem any less a man. His Jowl, thnt wns beginning to need shaving, wns as grim and as sat isfying as tbo dead Roman's. She stroked his left hand with BOft fingers. "I used to think I know how to dnncol" sho laughed. "For ten years I have taken thoso pictures of hor for my model nnd have striven to learn what sho knew. I hnvo surpassed her I I used to think I knew how to amuse myself with men's dreams until I found this 1 Then I dreamed on my, own account 1 My dream was true, my warrior I You havo come! Our hour has como I" Sho tugged at his hand. Ho was hers, bouI and harness, if outward signs could prove It "Cornel" she said. "Is this my hos pitality? You nro weary nnd hungry. Como 1" Sho led him by tho hand, for it would havo needed brute forco to pry her fingerc loose. Sho drew aside tho leather curtain that hung on n bronzo rod near the bed, led him through It, nnd let It clash to again behind them. Now they wero In the dark together, nnd It wns not comprehended In her scheme of things to lot circumstance llo fallow. She prpssed his hand, and sighed, nnd then hurried, whispering tender words he could scarcely catch. When they burst together through a curtain at the other end of a passago in tho rock, his skin was red under the tnn nnd for the first time her eyes refused to meet hlo. "Why did they choose thnt cave to sleep in?" sho asked him. "Is not this n better one? Who laid them there?" Ho stared about Thoy were in a great room far moro splendid than the first There was a great fountain in the center splashing In the midst ol flowers. They were cut fiowers. The "Hills" must havo been scoured for them within a day. Thero wero great cushioned couches nil nbout and two thrones made of Ivory and gold. Between two couches was n table, laden with golden plates and n golden Jug, on pure whlto linen. Thero wero two goblets of beaten gold and knives with golden handles and bronzo blades. Tho wholo room seemed to bo drenched In tbo scent Ynsmlnl favored, and thero wns the samo frieze running round nil foui walls, with tbo woman depicted on II dancing. "Come, we shall eat I" sho said, leadi lng him by the hand to a couch. She took tbo ono facing him, nnd they las llko two Romans of tho emplro with tbo tablo In between. Sho struck a golden gong then, and' a natlvo womnn camo In, who stare,' at King as if she had seen him boforq and did not like him. Yasmlnl nodded to tho servant, who clappe.d her hands, At onco camo n stream of hlllmen, robed in white, who carried sherbet In bottles cooled in snow and dishes fra grant with hot food. "Ho recognized his own prisoners from tho Mir Khan Palace Jail, and nodded to them as they set tho things down under the maid's direction. When thoy had fln ished eating Ynsmlnl drove tho mnld nwny with a sharp word; ho brought an Ivory footstool nnd set it about a yard awny from her waxen toes. And she, watching him with burning eyes, wound tresses of her hair around the golden dagger handle, making her Jew els glitter with each movement "Tho gods of India, who aro the only real gods, what do they think of it all 1 They havo been good to tho English, but they havo had no thanks. They will stand asldo now and watch a greater Jihad than tbo world has over seen I I love them, and they lovo me as you Bhall lovo me, too I If they did not love both of us, we would not both bo here I We must oboy theml" Nono of the East's amazing ways of courtship nro over tedious. Lovo springs into being on an Instant hnd lives a thousand years insldo an hour. Sho left no doubt as to her meaning. Sho nnd King wero to lovo, as tho East knows love, and then tho world might havo Just what they two did not euro to tako from It His only possible course as yet wns the defensive, nnd there Is no defense llko silence. He was still. "Tho slrkar," sho went on, "tho silly slrkar fears that perhaps Turkey may enter tho war. Perhaps a Jihad may bo proclaimed. So much for fear I I know I I hnvo known for a very long tlmo 1 And I havo not let fear trouble me at all I" Her eyes wero on his steadily, and sho read no fear In his, either, for nono was there. In hers he saw nmhitinn trlumph already excitement the gamblers lovo of all tho hugest risks. Behind them burned genius nnd th devilry that would stop nt nothing. As tho general had told him In Peshnwm. she would daro open hades gate and nuo mo uevu uown the Khyber for me tun oi it. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Crushed Possibilities. Jones, the cub reporter. ho looked as melancholy ns a fat man can wnen ue entered tho city editor's ofllcc. "Why was my Btorv idiir.,n - v f x v Uv asked gloomily. "An act of mercy." snld tho odi - Si '1 13 i M', "You fell down on it first" "1