Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1888-03-22
Nose glance,l 1enlnl I'm.

i whispered 10 lie ;nllIldr that both OF
US working together cou Id hardly dig out
his length in a week.
You could 90 it yourself in half the
night hissci the Familiar, while l hold
the lantern for you, il you'd only put to it.
hope the whole s.ioie5on is in mail and as
well preserved rs tic head This proves
my theory that Indian tribes buried their
dead in mounds, and some of them had
reached high state OF civilization
Don't deceive yoGr5elf,' said l. This
proves my theory that al ancient race made
this continent great when the old world was
plunged in barbarism.'
81 threw out shovelful of earth, sad 1elt
as if had struck somebody The Familiar
lifted his lantern and flashed il arcInd. We
both saw. standing II unUinEhg gravity
on the ridge Of fresh cGrli. L tail Indian
who never moved q Il,3c.c ,5uile the Ian.
tern pierced hin, - .-a.-.i r turned our
light around t. cI'@-e nf Tie PIT. and be-
hold. We W.. -, lllee: by q rag of saw
ages. The se-Ty.Iigi r: - n revealed their
war pai-.t, Ii 80: la eyes. their
InGrcasn tiJi: = ey,5s- l..-.' wrinkles in
their skin
..Nei,aer Tic J'-.-2'5:ar =. ! spoke: we felt
under d 8pall ha.5 ,i4c familiar WAS
pushed into the pit, almost s!aothcring me,
Thought it WAS ii trick Bat some hand
took my spade, and earth Showered back
into that hole with terrific swiftness. We
endured the shower Of clay, tramping it
under our feet il dance 50 rapid, or we
should have been buried. The Familiar, las if
bewitched, still moved his lantern around in
a circle, and there stood every brave motion
less while the spade ciinilou and the dirt
fell in. In brief time we stood on level
earth. still tra!nplng earth where the hole
had been. Bat then the lantern was flung
against a tree. the Indians seized us and we
were tied to saplings before l could realize
any thing except deer-hide throng which
cut palpably into r1y wrist.
"The elder Indians stood in a group, while
timber, young ones collected chunks, twigs,
whole stumps, to wall us in for burning.
Instead of preparing my mind for DEATH
l found myself Illuminating On the Familiar's
immense capacity for combustion, and won
derlng if he would not burn up richly like q
| barrel Of tar.
| GAS our fires mounted so did the spirits
of our captors, who were so determined to
! keep from the white man the secrets Of
! their ancient land They danced and threw
tomahawks awhile; then they paused and
stared; then they fell upon their knees in
two circles and all blew the flames. can
still see those aquillne noses bent to
earth, those leathern cheeks distending and
collapaing as they blew. But that ghostly
fire of the past, rubbed in the beginning
out of two hard sticks, would not take hold
of the breathing present. 1t failed even
! to warm us. And when those wretched be-
| .ings became convinced Of that fact, they
rose with one accord and tomahawl1ed each
| other and threw each other into the
fire, in true Indian fashion, until the Famil-
lar and were walled about by their charred
! figures and not one brave was left.''
II don't believe there's word O. truth in
it," commented Nose.
''How can you be so incredulous!" re-
! mOnstrated Gurley.
''Why, it don't stand to reason" argued
! Nose.
''Imagination,'' said McArdle, spreading
| his hands airily, lis fine thing, Noses"
''Oh, isn't it!' murmured Phoebe, watch
ing the fire. Its q kind of wonder palace
that you can step into out Of any thing.
May be Lazarus had hi; head in such pal
ace. Whatever your self lacks you will
find in perfect self in that wonder palace.
So that it seems as if God gave us sixth
sense with which we can enjoy things we
| don't possess"
.'What on earth is the girl tallkin' about2"
said Randy Thompson.
''She is tuning her imagination for the
story about the North,'' volunteered Gurley.
81 thought one out a long while ago." said
Phoebe, ''when was reading Scandinavian
| things about Thor and Sif and Wodin-but
this is about hill Troll.''
''Now. what's a hill Troll!" complained
Randy.
''He was little spirit fellow, sometimes
| good and sometimes bad, who lived inside a
hill.''
There amt none of them things" said
Nose, with conviction.
''There was this one Troll' insisted
Phoebe, land he quarried rock. And one
night when he put up his quarrying tools
wrinkled dwarf came and offered to show
him away down in the heart of the earth a
diamond finer than any the sun ever saw.
He did not hesitate to follow the dwarf.
And if l find that diamond, I'll put up my
Quarrying tools for hundred years." said
the Troll.
''They went down and went down until
the Troll began to distrust his guide and
called halt. They were under the very
ribs Of the earth. I'll go no further says
the Troll.
'The dwarf laughed. Don't you hear a
DOOulluS SOuuu! says uc.
ayes
"Well, that's the sound made by people
on the other side of the earth trying to pick
this diamond out
''The Troll hurried on again until he felt
smothered, and stopped again, saving:
"'rll go no further
Don't you hear the tapping of waterv
cries the dwarf
ayes
"Well, that's the wash of the open sea,
contendlng with men for this priceless
thing
''The Troll thought, If this way leads to
the open sea, can easily rise through that
to the surface So on he went.
But presently they came under rock
dome hung with stony icicles, and at their
feet Tapped a reservoir of water full Of
human fragments and pieces of ships.
"'Here's the end of the SEARCH grinned
the dwarf The diamond brought you to
seek is that whirling Maelstrom which cuts
its planes Of waters on this coast. The way
is closed up behind you; now get out if you
can through the Maelstromr
''Then the dwarf disappeared just as il
there never had been a dwarf. and the Troll
stood under the roar of the Maelstrom, his
knees shaking; he felt himself dead Troll
For in those days the Maelstrom was boil
ing whirlpool miles in circumference. When
sailors became suddenly aware of gliding
across field of water depressed toward
some unknown center, they knew the Mael.
strom had them. First she described huge
circle, as if swinging them around her vic
TINS head. Then they felt her fury. She
whirled and beat them, she rolled them over
and crunched them in her awful jaws, out
OF which no ship or man ever rose again.
pretty soon voice near the Troll said:
"a 1x,aor Tuoll l,,A