V
RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
King of the Khyber
MXlllCS
I
CHAPTER XVI Continued.
10
"Listen, while I tell you nil from tho
beginning 1 The slrknr sent me to dls
cover what inny be this 'Hcurt of the
lulls' men talk ubout. I found thcHC
caves and this I I told tho slrknr u
Uttlo nbout the cuvch, and nothing at
All nbout the sleepers. But even ut
Hint they only believed tho third of
Whnt I said. And I bnck In Delhi I
bought bookH. When I had reud enough
I came buck hero to think. I kuew
enough now to be sure that tho sleeper
Is u Roman nnd tho 'Heart of the
Hills' n Grecian maid. She Is like me.
That la why I know sho drove him
to mako an empire, choosing for a be
ginning these 'Hills' where Homo bad
nover penetrated. I have seen It all In
dreams. And because I wus all alone,
I saw that I would need skill and much
patience. So I begnu to learn.
"Times I would go to Delhi and
dance there u little, nnd a little In
other pluces onco Indeed beforo a
viceroy, nnd once for tho king of Eng
land. And all the whllo I kept look
ing for tho man thu man who should
bo llko the sleeper, even as I am like
Her whom he loved 1 Thcro was none
llko the sleeper until you came. And
when the world war broke for It Is
i world war, a world war, I tell you I
thought ut last that I must manage
ill alone. And then you camel
"But there wero mnny-I tried many
especially after I abandoned tho
thought that tho man must resemble
tho Sleeper. Thcro was a prince of
Germany who came to India on a hunt
ing trip. You remember?"
King pricked his ears nnd allowed
himself to grin, for In common with
many hundred other men who had
been lieutenants at tho time, ho would
nco have given nn car nnd an eyo
to know the truth of that affair. Tho
grin trnnsforced his whole nppeurnnce,
until Ynsmlnl beamed on him.
"I'm listening, princess 1" ho remind
ed her.
"Well ho came tho prlnco of Ger
many. I offered him Indln first, then
Asia, then tho world even as I now
offer them to you. The slrknr sent him
to seo mo dunce, and ho stayed to
henr mo tnlk. When I snw at last that
ho has the head and henrt of a hyena I
spat in his face and threw food nt him.
TIo complained to the slrknr against
me, so I told tho slrknr soim. not
much, Indeed, but enough of the
things ho and his officers hud told me.
And tho slrknr suld nt once that there
wns both cholera nnd bubonic plague,
and ho must go home I Ills officers
laughed behind his back. Ever since
that tlmo thero hnvo always been Ger
mans In communication with me, and
I have not onco been In tho dnrk nbout
Germnny'fl plans nlthough they hnvo
alwnys thought I nm In tho dark.
"I went on looking for my mnn.
There enmo thnt old Bull-wlth-n-benrd,
Muhammad Anlm. He thinks ho Is tho
TDt-ALTfcAj
VBnj'f
"The Old Gods Who Built These Caves
In the 'Hills' Are Lauahlnnl They
Are Qettlno Readyl Thou and I"
man, having moro strength to hopo and
more will to will wrougly than any
man I ever met, except a German. I
hnvo oven been suro sometimes that
Muhammad Anlm Is a German; yet
dow I am not sure.
"From nil tho men I met and
watched I hnvo learned all they knew I
And I havo never neglected to tell the
alrkar sufficient of what men have told
me, to keep tho slrknr pleased with
me I It was fortunate that I knew of
a German plot that I could spoil nt tho
last minute. A million dynumlto
bombs was n big haul for tho slrknr I
My offer to go to Khlnjan nnd keep tho
Hills' quiet wus uccepted that same
day I
"But what aro a million dynamlto
A Romance of Adventu
By TALBOT MUNDY
Copyright by the Dobbt-iterrlll Company
bombs! Dynamite bombs hnvo been
coming Into Khlnjun month by month
these three yeursl Bombs nnd rifles
and cartrldgcsl Muhnmmnd Anlm's
men, whom he trusts becuusc ho must,
hid It all In a cave I showed them, that
they think, and he thinks, has only one
entrance to It. Muhammad Anlm scnled
(t, nnd ho hns tho key. But I havo
tho ammunition !
"Thero wus another wuy out of thnt
cave, although thero is none now, for
I hnvo blocked It. My men, whom I
trust because I know them, carried ev
erything out by tho back way, and 1
hnvo It all. We, my warrior, when Mu
hammad Anlm gets the word from Ger
many nnd gives the sign, and tho 'Hills'
aro afire, and tho whole East roars In
tho flamo of the Jihad wo will put our
selves nt the head of that Jihad, and
thu East and the world Is ours 1"
King sinfled nt her.
"The East Isn't very well armed,"
ho objected. "Mero numbers "
"Numbers?" She laughed at him.
"The West has the West by the throat I
It Is tearing Itself I They will drag In
Amcrloa 1 Thero will be no nrmed na
tion with Its hands free nnd while
those wolves fight, other wolves shall
come and steal tho meat! Tho old
gods, who built these caves In tho
'Hills,' aro laughing! They are get
ting rendy ! Thou nnd I"
As sho coupled him nnd herself to
gether In ono plun she reud the
changed expression of his face tho
very quickly passing cloud that even
the best-trained man cannot control.
"I know!" sho asserted, sitting up
right and coming out of her dream to
face facts as their master. She looked
moro lovely now than ever, nlthough
twice us dangerous. "You aro thinking
of your brother of his heud 1 Thnt 1
am u murderess who can never bo your
friend 1 Is that not so?"
He did not unswer, but his eyes mny
huve betrayed something, for sho
looked as If he had struck her.
"Oh, I hnvo needed you so much,
these muny years I And now that you
huve come you want to bate mo bo
cmusc you think I killed your brother 1
Listen !
"Without my leave, Muhumraud Anlm
sent live hundred men on n foray
townrd tho Khyber. Bull-wlth-a-beard
needed an Englishman's head, for
proof for u spy of his who could not
enter Khlnjan caves. They trappy J
your brother outside All Mnsjld wltb
fifty of his men. They took his hend
ufter n long fight, leaving more thau
u hundred of their own in payment.
"HUII-wlth-a-bcard was pleased. Bu
ho whs cureless, nnd I sent my men to
stMil tho hend from his men. I needed
evidence for you. And I swear to you
I swear to you by my gods who hnvo
brought us two together that I first
knew It was your brother's hend when
you held It up in tho Cavern of Earth's
Drink I Then I knew It could not bo
unyhody else's head I"
"Why bid mo throw It to them,
then?" he naked her, nnd he wus nwnre
of her scorn beforo tho words bad left
his lips.
Sho leaned bnck again and looked nt
him through lowered eyes, as If sho
must study him all anew. Sho seemed
to find it hard to believe thnt ho really
thought so In tho commonplace.
"What Is a head to me, or to you
a heud with no llfo In it carrion!
compared to whnt shnll bo? Would
you hnvo known It wns his hend if you
hud thrown It to them when I ordered
you?"
Ho understood. Somo of her blood
wus Russian, noino Indian. Sho stood
up, und of courso ho stood up, too. So,
sho on tho footstool of tho throne, her
eyes uud his wero on n level. Sho lnld
hands on his shoulders and looked into
his eyes until he could seo his own
twin portraits in hers, thnt wero glow
lug sunset pools. Hcurt of tho Hills?
Tho hcurt of all tho East seemed to
burn in her, rebellious 1
"Aro you believing me?" sho asked
him.
Ho nodded, for no man could havo
helped believing her. As sho knew
the truth, sho wns telling it to him,
as surely as she was doing her skill
ful best to mcsmerlzo him. But tho
secret scrvlco Is mudo up of men
trained against that.
"Comol" sho said, nnd Btepplug
down sho took his nrm.
Sho led him past tho thrones to
other leather curtulns In n wull, and
through them Into loug hewn passages
from envern to cavern, until even tho
Bock of Glbrnltnr seemed llko a doll's
houso In comparison. Sho showed him
a cavo containing greut forges, whero
tho bronzo hud been worked, with
charcoal still piled up ngulnst tho wall
at ono end. Thero wero copper and tin
Ingots in thcro of a shapo he hud never
seen.
"I know whero they enmo from,"
sho told him. "I mnde It ray business
to know nil tho 'Hills.' I know things
tho hlllmen's great-great-great-grand-fathers
forgot I I know old workings
thut would mnke a modern nation rich I
Wo shnll hnvo money when wo need
It, never four I Wo shnll conquer In
dia whllo tho English backs aro turned
and tho best troops nro overseas."
Then sho called him her warrior nnd
her well-beloved and took bim down
MM-wZSS5
re
n long pnssnge, holding his band nil
the wny, to show him slots cut In the
floor for tho uso of nrchers.
"You entered Khlnjan enves by a
tunnel under this floor, well-beloved.
Thero Is no other entrance I"
By this time "well-beloved" wns her
name for him, although thero wns no
nlr of finality nbout it. It wns ns if
she pnved tho way for use of Athclstun
nnd thnt was n sacred nnmc. It wns
amazing how she conveyed thnt Im
pression without using words.
"The Sleeper cut theso slots for his
nrchers. Then he had another thought
nnd set these cauldrons In plnce, to
boll oil to pour down. Could any army
force a way through by the routo by
which you entered?"
"No," ho snld, marveling nt the ton
weight copper cauldrons, one to encb
hole.
"And I hnvo more than a thousand
Mauser rifles here, nnd more than a
million rounds of ammunition 1"
Sho showed him a cave In which
boxes wero stacked in high, 6quaro
piles.
"Dynamlto, bombs I" she boasted.
"How many boxes? I forget! Too
'crv
WdNfr?,
"They Will Lay Waste India! They
Will Butcher and Plunder and Burnt
It Will Be What They Leave of
India That We Shall Build Anew
and Govern."
many to count ! Women brought them
all tho way from tho sea, for even
Muhnmmnd Anlm could- not mnko
Afrldl riflemen curry loads. I hnvo
wondered what Bull-wlth-u-benrd will
sny when ho misses his precious dyna
mite I"
"You've enough In thero to blow
tho mountain up!" King advised her.
"If somebody fired n pistol in here,
tho least would be the collapse of this
floor Into tho tunnel below with a hun
dred thousand tons of rock on top of
It. Thero Is no other way out?"
"Earth's Drink 1" sho said, nnd ho
rondo a grlmaco thnt set her to laugh
ing. But sho looked at him darkly after
thnt nnd he got tho Impression thnt tho
thought wns not new to her, nnd that
sho did not thank him for thu advice.
Ho began to wonder whether thero
wns anything sho had not thought of
nny loophole sho had left him for
escape any Issue she had not fore
seen. Sho showed him whero eleven hun
dred Mauser rifles stood in racks in
another cave, with boxes of ammuni
tion piled besldo theiu each rlflo and
cartrldgo worth its weight in silver
coin a very rajah's runsoml
"The Germans are generous In some
things only In some things very
mean In others I" sho told him. "They
sent no medical stores, and no blan
kets I"
Past caves whero provisions of ev
ery Imaginable kind wero stored, suffi
cient for nn army, she led him to whero
her guards slept together with tho
thirty special men whom King had
brought with him up tho Khyber.
"I havo five hundred others whom I
dnro trust to come in here," sho snld,
"but they shall stay outside until I
want them. A mystery Is a good thing 1
It is good for them nil to wonder whnt
I keep In hero I It is good to keep this
sanctuary; It makes for power I"
Pressing very close to him, sho
guided him down another dark tunnel
until ho nnd sho stood together In tho
Jaws of tho round hole nbovo tho
river, looking down Into the Cavern of
Earth's Drink.
Nobody looked up nt them. Tho
thousands wero too busy working up a
frenzy for tho great Jlhnd thnt was to
come.
Stacks of wood had been piled up,
six-man high in the middle, and then
fired. Tho bent camo upward llko a
furnaco blast, and tho smoko was a
great red cloud among tho stalactites.
Hound nnd round thnt holocaust the
thousands did their sword-dance, yell
ing us tho devils yelled nt Khlnjan's
birth, They needed no wine to craze
them. They wero drunk with fnuatl
clsm, frenzy 'nst!
r
lfBHf bBbbbbbbB
' r Mfk
Ynsmlnl shouted In ! car; for tho
din, mingling with the river's voice,
made n volcano chord. "They will lay
wnsto India 1 They will butcher and
plunder nnd burn I It will be whnt
they lenvo of Indln thnt wo shnll build
unew nnd govern, for India herself will
rise to help them lay her own cities
waste 1 It Is always so! Conquests
always are sol Cornel"
She tugged ut him nnd led him bnck
along thu tunnel nnd through other
tunnels to the throne room, where she
mude him sit nt her feet ngnln. The
food had been cleared away In their
nbsence. Instcnd, on tho ebony tnblo
thero wero pens nnd Ink and pnper.
CHAPTER XVII.
"You know where Is Dar es Sa
lanm?" nsked Ynsmlnl.
"East Africa," said King.
"And English warships watch the
Persian gulf and all tho seas from In
dia to Aden?"
King nodded.
"Have tho English nny ships that
dlvo under water, in these wnters?"
"I think not. I'm not sure, but 1
think not."
"The grenades you havo seen, nnd
the rifles nnd cartridges wero sent by
the Germans to Dar cs Salaam, to
suppress a rising of African natives.
Does It begin to grow clear to you, my
friend?"
He smiled ns well as nodded this
time.
"Muhammad Anlm used to wait with
a hundred women nt a certain place
on tho seashore. What ho found on
tho bench thero he mnde the women
enrry on their bends to Khinjun. So
they worked, ho nnd tho Germans, for
I know not how long with the Eng
lish watching the Bens ns on land lean
wolves comb tho vnlleys." s
"What were tho terms of tho Ger
mnn bnrgaln?" King asked her, "Whnt
stipulations did they make?"
"With the tribes? None! They
wero too wise. A Jlhnd wns decided
on in Germany's good time ; nnd when
that time should come ten rifles in the
'Hills' nnd n thousand cartridges would
mean not only a hundred dend English
men, but ten times thnt number busily
enguged. Why bargain when thero
was no need? A rlflo is what It Is.
Tho 'Hills' nro tho 'Hills V "
"Tell me about your lamp oil, then,"
he said. "You burn enough oil In
Khlnjan caves to light Bombay! That
does not come In by submarine. Tho
slrkar knows how much of everything
goes up the Khyber. I havo seen tho
printed lists myself a few hundred
enns of kerosene n few score gallons
of vegetable oil, and nil bound for far
ther north. There Isn't enough oil
pressed among tho 'Hills' to keep theso
caves going for a day. Whero does It
all como from?"
She laughed, as a mother laughs at
a child's questions, finding delicious
enjoyment In Instructing him.
Thero are three villages, not two
days' march from Kliobul, whero men
hnvo lived for centuries by pressing
oil for Khlnjan enves," sho snld. "The
Sleeper fetched his oil thence. Tho
Sleeper left gold In here. Those who
kept tho Sleeper's secret paid for tho
oil In gold. No Afghan troubled why
oil wns needed, so long ns gold pnld
for It. And I know whero tho Sleeper
dug his gold I"
They sat In silence for a long whllo
after that, sho looking nt tho table,
with its ink and pens nnd paper, nnd
ho thinking, with hands clnspcd round
ono knee ; for It is wiser to think than
to talk, even when n woman Is near
who can read thoughts that aro not
guarded.
"Athclstun I" sho snld at Inst "It
sounds llko a king's namo! What wns
tho Sleeper's name? Was thero such
a nnmo In Rome?"
"No," ho said.
"What does It mean?" she asked
him.
"Slow of resolution l"
Sho clapped her hands.
"Another sign 1" sho laughed. "Tho
gods lovo me! There always Is a sign
when I need one ! Slow of resolution,
nrt thou? I will speed thy resolution,
well-beloved! You wero quick to
chnnge from King, of tho Khyber Rlflo
regiment, to Kurrnm Khnn. Chnnge
now Into my wnrrlor my denr lord
my Klnff ngaln!"
Sho rose, with arms outstretched to
him. All her dancer's art, her un
tamed poetry, her witchery, wero ex
pressed In n movement, ner eyes melt
ed as they met his. And slnco ho stood
up, too, for manner's sake, they wero
eye to eyo ngaln nlmost lip to Up.
Her sweet breath was In his nostrils.
In nnother moment sho wns In his
nrms, clinging to Jilm, kissing him.
And if nny mnn hns felt on his lips
tho kiss of nil tho scented glnmour of
tho East, let him tell what King's sen
sations were. Let Caesar, who was
kissed by Cleopatra, como to llfo and
tnlk of it!
King's arm Is strong, and ho did not
stand llko nn Idol. Ills head might
swim, but sho, too, tasted tho delirium
of human passion loosed and given for
a mud, swift minute. If his henrt
swelled to bursting, so must hers huve
done.
"I hnvo needed you I" sho whispered.
"I havo been all nlono! I havo needed
you I"
Then her lips sought his ngaln, and
neither spoke.
Neither knew how long It was before
sho begnn to understnnd thnt ho, not
she, wus winning. Tho human answer
to her nppcnl wns full. Ho gnvo her
nil sho nsked of auTulfdtldn, Kiss for
kiss. And then her arms did not
cling so tightly, nlthough his strong
right arm was like a stanchion. Bo-
nmso ho know thnt he, not she, wns
winning, ho picked her up In his nrms
nnd kissed her ns If sho wero n child.
And then, becnuso ho knew ho had
won, ho set her on her feet on tho foot
stool of tho throne, and even pitied
her.
She felt the pity. As sho tossed the
hnlr bnck over her shoulder her eyes
glowed with another meaning dnngcr
ous llko n tiger's glare.
"You pity me? You think becnuso
I lovo you, you can feed my love on
n pinto to the Indian government?
You think my love Is n weapon to uso
ngulnst nio7 Your lovo for mo mny
wnlt for a better tlmo? You nro not
so wise ns I thought you, Athclstun I"
But ho knew he had won. Ills heart
was singing down Inside him as It had
not sung slnco ho left Indln behind.
But ho stood quite humbly before her,
for had ho tot kissed her? He knew
he had won. Yet If anyone had asked
him how ho knew thnt he had won, ho
never could havo told.
"If you wero to go back to India ex
cept ns Its conqueror, they would strip
tho buttons from your uniform nnd
teur your melals off and shoot you
In the bnck ngalnst a wall I My slgnn
turo Is known In India nnd I am
known. What I write will bo believed.
Rewa Gunga shall take n letter. He
shall tnko two four witnesses. He
shnll see them on their wny nnd shall
give them the letter when they reach
the Khyber and shnll send them Into
India with It. Havo no fear. Bull-wlth-n-bcnrd
shnll not Intercept them,
ns I hnvo intercepted his men. When
Rewa Gunga shall return und tell mo
he snw my letter on its wny down tho
Khyber, then we shnll talk again
you nnd I! Come!"
Sho took his arm, ns If her threats
had been caresses. Triumph shone
from her eyes. Sho tossed her brave
chin nnd laughed at him, only en
couraged to greater daring by his atti
tude, and by tho time they reached tho
ebony table and she had taken the pen
nnd dipped it In tho Ink, sho wns
chuckling to herself ns If the ono good
Joke hud grown Into n hundred.
Sho wroto In Urdu, with an easy,
flowing hnnd, nnd In two minutes sho
hud thrown snnd on the letter nnd hnd
given It to King to read. It was not
llko a woman's letter. It did not waste
a word.
Your Captain Kin? has been too much
trouble. Ho has taken money from tho
Germans. Ho adopted natlvo dress. He
called himself Kurram Khan. Ho slew
his own brother &t night In tho Khyber
pass. Theso men will say that ho car
ried tho head to Khlnjan, and their word
is true, for I, Yasmlnl, caw. Ho used tho
head for a passport, to obtain admittance.
Ho proclaims a Jihad 1 He urges Invasion
of India! Ho held up his brother's head
beforo fivo thousand men and boasted of
the murder. Tho next you shall hour of
your Captain King of tho Khyber ritles,
ho will bo leading a Jihad Into India. You
would have bettor trusted me.
YASMINL
Hu read It und passed It back to her.
"They will not disbelieve me," sho
said, trlumphuut ns tho very devil over
a brandered soul ull hot. "They will
bo suro you aro mad, and they will
believe tho witnesses!"
"Rewa Gunga shall start with this
today I" she suld, with more umuse
meut than malice. After thut she wns
still for a momeut, watching his eyes,
at a loss to understand his careless
ness. Ho seemed strangely unabnsed.
Ills folded arms were not defiant, but
neither wero they yielding.
"I lovo you, Athclstanl" sho said.
"Do you lovo me?"
"I think you aro very beautiful,
princess 1"
"Beautiful? I know I am beautiful.
But is that all?"
"Clever 1" he added.
She began to drum with tho golden
dnggcr hilt on the tnble, nnd to look
dnngerous, which Is not to infer by any
means thnt sho looked less lovely.
"Do you lovo me?" sho nsked.
"Forgive me, princess, but you for
get. I was born east of Mecca, but my
folk wero from tho West. Wo nro
slower to lovo than some other nations.
With us lovo is moro often growth, less
often surrender at first sight. 1 think
you nro wonderful I"
She nodded nnd tucked tho scnled
letter In her bosom.
"It shnll go," sho said darkly, "nnd
another letter with It. They looted
your brother's body. In his pocket they
found tho noto you wroto him, nnd that
you asked him to destroy! That will
bo evidence. That will convince I
Come I"
Ho followed her through leather cur
tulns again and down tho dnrk pus-
-DtAinV
VTiUfHT
"Do You Lovo Me?" She Asked.
sriUolnt'o tho outor chnmbcr; and tho
Illusion wns of walking behind a gold-en-linlrcd
Mndonnn to some shrlno of
Innocence. Her pcrfumo wns llko In
censo; her mnnner perfect reverence.
Sho pnsscd Into tho cave where the
two dend bodies lay like a high priest
ess performing n rite.
Walking to tho bed, she stood for
P IT
minutes, gazing nt tno Sleeper end uj
queen. And from the new angle from
which King saw him tho Sleeper's like
ness to himself was nctuully startling.
Startling weird llko an Incantation
were Yasmlnl's words when nt Inst sho
spoke.
"Muhammad lied! Ho lied In his
teeth I Ills sons hnve multiplied his
llol SIddhatthn, whom men hnvo called
Gotmnii, tho Buddhn, wns beforo Mu
hammad nnd ho knew moro! Ho told
of the wheel of things, nnd thcro Is a
wheel I Yet, whnt knew the Buddha of
the wheel? lie who spoke of Dharma
(the customs of the law) not knowing
Dharma! This Is true of old there
was a wish of tho gods of tho old
gods. And so these. two were. There
Is n wish ngnln now of the old gods.
So, are wo two not ns they two were?
It Is the same wish, nnd lo! Wo are
rendy, this man nnd L We will obey,
ye gods ye old gods!"
Shu raised her nrms and, going closer
to the bed, stood thcro in nn attitude
of mystic reverence, giving and re
cclvlng blessings.
"Deur gods 1" she prayed. "Dear old
gods older than theso Hills' show
me In n vision what their fault waa
why theso two wero ended before the
end I
"I know all the other things ye hnve
shown me. I know tho world's silly
creeds hnve mndo It mnd, nnd It must
rend Itself, nnd this man and I shall
reap where the nations sowed If only
wo obey! Wherein, yo old denr gods,
who lovo me, did these two disobey? X
prny you, tell me In a vision 1"
She shook her hend and sighed. Sad
ness seemed to have crept over her,
llko a cold mist from tho night It
was as If sho could dimly see her
plans foredoomed, and yet hoped on In
splto of It. The fatalism thnt she
scorned ns Muhammad's He held her
In its grip, and her natural courage
fought with It. Womanlike, she turned
to King In that minute and confided to
him her very Inmost thoughts. And he,
without nn inkling ns to how sho must
fall, yet knew that she must, and pitied
her.
"Have you seen thnt brenst under
the armor?" she asked suddenly.
"Come nearer! Como and look! Did
she kill him? Was that a dagger-stab
In his brenst? I found perfume In
theso caves great Jars of It, and I uso
It always. I think thnt scent is the
prcscrvntlve. Athclstun listen ! I
think ho would hnvo fnllcd her! I
think sho stnbbcd him rnther thnn se
nun nm, nun iiiuu Hwnunweu poison;
Afterward their servnnts lnld thj
thero. She smiles In drnth bccausoRne
knew the wheel will turn nnvf tnnt
uuum uica iuui ne iookh Kyitn be
cause ho knew less thnn shc.n Is nl
ways woman who underst, nnd
mnn who fnllsl I think sV10 8tnbbed
mm. sue snouia nnve ioycj njra Met
ier, nmi men mere w
hnve been
better than
no need. I win love y
sho loved him I"
She turned nnd
her eyes, so that It
him wltb
all Us man-
hood to hold him
from being her
slave thnt mlnut
For in that mln-
uto she left no.,cnnrm exercised
sox mesmerism DeHty flattery
(her eyes cjjuld flnttc.s a dumb dog's
flntter n b'Jntsmnn) grace unutterable
mystciy she used evry nrt on him
she knew. Yet he stood the test
'Even If you fnll me, well-beloved,
I will love you! The gods who gnvo
you mo will know how to mnke yon
lovo; nnd lessons are to learn. If yon
fall mo I will forgive, knowing thnt In
the end tho gods will never let you fall
mo ! You aro mine, nnd enrth Is ours,
for the old gods Intend It so 1"
She seemed to expect him to tnke her
In his arms again; but he stood re
spectfully and mndo no nnswer, nor
nny move. Grim nnd strong his Jowl
wns, llko tho Sleeper's, nnd the dark
hair threo dnys old on It softened noth
ing of Its lines. Ills Roman nose and
steady, dnrk, full eyes suggested no
compromise. Yet he wns good to look
nt Sho hnd not lied when she snld
sho loved him, and he understood hexy'
and was sorry. But he did not Uv
sorry, nor did ho offer any argument to
quench her love. Ho was n servant of
tho rnj ; his llfo nnd his lovo hnd been
India's slnco tho dny ho first buckled
on bis spurs, and Ynsmlnl would not
havo understood that
Nor did she understand that, even
supposing he had loved her with all hla
heart, not on nny conditions would ha
have admitted It until absolutely free,
nny more thnn thnt If she crucified him
ho would lovo her the snme, -supposing
thnt ho loved her nt all. Nor did she
trust tho "old gods" too woll, or lei
them work unnlded.
"Come with me, Athclstnn 1" sho snld.
Sho took his nrm found Uttlo Jeweled
slippers In a closet hewn In tho wull
put them on and led him to tho cur
tnlns ho hnd entered by. Sho led do.wn
tho steps, nnd nt tho foot told ttra tl
put on his slippers, as If bj vero a
child. Then, hurrying as 12 those opal
eyo-: of hers wero Indifferent to dark
or dnyllght, sho picked her wny nmong
bowlders thnt ha could feel but not
see, nlong a floor that was only smooth
In places, for a dlstanco thnt was long
enough by two or threo times to lose
him altogether. When ho looked back
there was no sign of red lights behind
him. And when he looked forward.
thcro was a dim outer light In front
una a whiff of tho cool fresh air that
presnges the dnwn I
Sho led him through a enn on to
ledgo of rock thnt hung thousnnds oi
reet nnovo tho homo of thunder, a
ledgo less thnn six feet wide, less than
twenty long, tilted back townrd tho
cliff. Thero they snt wutchlng th
stars. And thcro Uicy saw tho dawi
come,
(TO BB CONTrNUED.)
'Arklno Back.
Tho Vicar Whnt n dreadful plngui
of caterpillars, John I
John Ah ; nn' oo let looso tho lira'
pair of 'em? Noah I Sketcau
WUIJ.1
Wared
"Veiled
bri.i.
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