Telegram-herald., 1889-11-21

E "a TIE exhflzrSr1nx sense ~ freedom
snzpPes "a fingers - tns c&zIksLs Cd
priest
The d4y wzs better chosen thzn ~ tns
+ nrsE m0Ds1g OF HI reEols ! guessed
While vzs continuing ard extending
rhs exploration previously interrupted
by ny accident the storm orcke ne
F peace h4d been treacherous after al
some sp4rk fsI on the combUSutls IA
tsrial q race passion and triczl jealousy.
s01 there Was disastrous ouIoaTsE u
F sangtlu@ry fury. BIT q tbs ~ TIE
F TINE. a. / say, ! was 10 Ignorance. The
care that came II ne vas q different
s0Et When . declining sun warned ne
F = work my way downward II dld lot
E Wish - camp 0uC, / made a bluEder aud
E took my bearings - indlnerengly that !
was lost
Instead Of striking the track looked
Z for. had sLrayed into . desolate gulch.
strewn with the debris u mighty rocks
+ shattered. no doubt, ia some remote nat
( urll catastrophe How u escape anew
NOT. except by the weary expedient u
+ retracing my steps. A wall Oi sdamant
/ blocked the path IN front. Suddenly
+ halted, IN The cover Of a huge bowlder.
I 4 mysterious figure. which / instantly
/ recognized again. was at work amongst
+ the stones htgle distance ahead. appar-
I emily bmyiag treasure. / saw bundle
I after bundle pushed into yawning hol-
/ low Ni-h stupened gaze | watched.
! What genius of Desert Mountain was
/ thlss Uncourh. dunroOed. dwarfish; |
10 not wonder that. for space. be-
I iieve IN a being Of other lineage than
I the human But when the strange,
squat figure moved OF. l was sufficiently
7 daring or sufficiently magnetized 10 fol
I low.
Pursuit was unexpected, and stealth
/ ruled my conduct. | was led by winding
ways into yet another place Of bewilder-
ment. or Burmese ruby mines knew
little 10y report and reading. Now
was in one. On every side were tokens
/ Of the fact. abruptly realized, that caprice
| had brought me into one of natures no
table treasure houses. Astonishment in
duced carelessness. Ny foot overturned
a stone, and my presence was discov-
cred.
1t was an instant Of curious crisis
And fancy my unwilling guide was as
uncertain Of result as myself But was
IN light just then, and ne was in shadow,
and it gave him the advantage Of quick
knowledge. He came forward, not even
pausing as he heard the click Of my
weapon, drawn against eventualities.
Closer scrutiny revealed deformed
Burman boy, with the stamp equally of
intelligence and suffering on his pinched,
prematurely old countenance. And it
was a startling thing that he called me at
once by my name, without prefix or ex-
planation.
"What do you do here, Ho-Ton?' he
asked in a shrill, troubled voice.
Il want the path to the lower village"
l answered. 81 have missed it."
At last got clew to much that was
puzzling.
"You are far out of your way. You
can not reach the zyat tonight 1t will
be better to stay in father's-in our cave
again. Come"
| obeyed the word and gesture, and
very few PAGES brought US through a
steep descent on to my old ledge, and
thus once again into the familiar quar-
ters of Moung Kos secret home.
My geni of the mine, then, was Moung
Kos son?
"Hark!" said he. And a terrified look
came upon his countenance.
listened, but could hear nothing. Ny
senses were less acute than his.
"Yes, yes; it has come, as he said it
would, the boy cried, shifting his breast.
And his eyes dilated with fear
what is your troubleY" l asked.
though could already guess.
"Hark, l say, again. he answered in
an agony; "the wailing is louderl There
is fighting below in the valley. Oh, will
they kill him?'
Kill the loved and revered phoonghie,
of whose lapses from orthodoxy there
seemed no current suspicion! thought
it very unlikely. Yet the foreboding
words of the seer echoed in my memory.
The eventide went in anxious watch
ing and waiting. 1t was marvellous how
the one touch OF nature made us kin.
But the boy spoke no word Of his past
When the morrow dawned two anx-
iOus faces watched from the friendly
veil Of the bushwood the bend Of the
great valley. A solitary wayfarer came
into view. Relief, ringing into exu5e-
rant JOY, was in my companions accents:
ut is my father. lie is safe,7 the
poor lad said.
Alas! the gladness was doomed to a
speedy eclipse. | thought that Moung
10 crept upwards slowly, and staggered |
as he walked. And once within the /
mountain fastness it was plain that bis
somber forecast had not been so false as
we would willingly have believed.
Moung Ko looked at me first with con- |
sternatiOn and then. was almost sure. !
content. know that, with genuine I'M
seifishness, he wished me well A man |
was n man and a brother to Moung Ko. /
whether he were Burman or Briton. II /
Is the glory of the wOrld-bond that in al (
lands there are these hearts loval to hu. +
manitv. But the phoongbie reeled and +
sank upon tire Goor. Tothe boys horror
and my own we saw that his coarse robe +
was dyed crimson at the side he gripped !
SO tightly. Moung 10 was wounded
Il was my turn to play the surgeon. /
aided. as to appliances. By the devoted. /
dsspairing son. But nv skill was in 4
fniJely below Moung Kos Il was Ire .
patients suggestions that | had TO i-.-
low.
And it will be in vain the Old priest
gasped, YEARLY. the time u az hand 4
have known it from the FIRST II isrnv f
fate and deserve II. Listen. and vii