Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-01-02

ana now we gulhefeu up tne great gems,
and such Of the ornaments as might With
sase be carried, and these hid, as mary as
could, within the folds Of my robe. And
her breast. Heavily laden with priceless
treasure, we gave one last look at ths
dreadful, solemn place, at the great sxr.
.ophagus, and the sphinx whereon it rested,
whose face of awful calm seemed to raock
Us with its everlasting smile OF wisdom.
Then we turned and went from the tomb.
At the shaft we halted. called to the
sunuch, who stayed above. and methought
that a faint mocking laugh answered me.
Too smitten with terror to call again. and
fearing that, should we delay, Cleopatra
would surely swoon, seized the rope, and,
beng strong and quick, mounted by 1t and
gained the passage. There burnt the lamp,
but the eunuch saw not. Thinking surely
ttat he was little way down the passage
and slept-as, in truth, he did bade Cleo
patra make fast the rope about her middle,
and with much labor drew her up. Then,
having rested awhile, we moved on with
the lamps to seek the eunuch.
sHe hath been stricken with terror, and,
leaving the lamp, hath fed" said Cleo
patra. 'Oh, ye Gods! who is that seated
therea''
/ peered into the darkness, thrusting out
the lamps, and this is what their light fell
on-this, at the very dream whereof my
soul sickens! There, facing US, his back
resting against the rock, and on either side
his hands splayed upon the floor, sat the
eunuch-dead! His eyes and mouth were
open, his fat checks dropped down, his thin
hair yet seemed to br.stle, and on his coun-
tenance was frozen such stamp of hideous
terror as well might turn the beholders'
brain. And 10! fixed by its hinder claws,
even to his chin, hung that mighty bat
which, flying forth when we entered the
pyramid, vanished in the sky, but which,
returning, had followed us to Its depths.
| There it hung upon the dead mans chin,
slowly rocking itself to and fro, and we
could see the fiery eyes shining in its evil
head.
| Aghast, utterly aghast, we stood aud
! stared at the hateful sight; till presently
! the bat spread his huge wings, and, loosing
his hold, sailed to US. Now he hovered be-
fore Cieopatra's face, tanning her with his
wings. Then with scream, like woman's
shrek of fury, seeking his violated tomb,
the accursed Thing fitted on and van
ished down the well into the sepuIchers.
fell against the wall. But Cleopatra sank
in heap upon the floor, and, covering her
head with her arms, she shrieked till the
! hollow passages rang with the echoes of her
cries, ttldL Seeileu 10 grow anu 0uuUic anu
rush along in volumes of shriii sound.
'Riser' cried, ''rise aud let US hence
ere the Spirit shall return to haunt usl If
| thou iost suffer thyself to be overwhelmed
here in this place, lost art thou forever"
She staggered to her feet, and never may
forget the look upon her ashy face or in
her glowing eyes. Seizing lamps, with a
rush we passed the dead eunuch's horrid
I form, holding her by the hand. We gained
the great chamber, where was the sar-
cophagus of the Queen of Menka-ra, and
traversed its length. We fled along the
passage What if the Thing had closed
the three mighty doorss No, they were
open, and we sped through them; the last
only did I stay to close. / touched the
stone, as I knew how, and the great door
crashed down, shutting US off from the
presence of the dead eunuch and the Hor-
ror that had hung upon the eunuch's chin.
Now we were in the white chamber with
the sculptdred panels, and now we faced
the last steep ascent. Oh that last ascent
Twice Cleopatra slipped and fell upon the
polished floor. The second time-'twas
when half the distance had been done-she
let fall he. lamp, and would, indeed, have
rolled down the slide had I not saved her.
But, in doing thus, I, too, let fall my lamp,
that bounded away into shadow beneath US,
and we were in utter darkness. And per.
chance about us, in the darkness, hovered
that awful Thing!
BE braver' cried 30 love, be brave
and struggle on, or both are lost! The way,
though steep, is not far; and, though it be
dark, scarce can we come to harm in this
straight shaft. If the gems weight thee
cast them awayi'
''Nay," she gasped, ''that will not !;
this shall not be endured to no end. I die
with them!'
Then it was that / saw the greatness OF
this woman's heart; for in the dark, and
notwithstanding the terrors we had passed
and the awfulness OF our state, she clune
to me and clambered on up that dread
passage. On we clambered, hand in hand
with bursting hearts, till there, by the
mercy or the anger of the Gods, at length
we saw the faint light of the moon creeping
through the little opening in the pyramid
One struggle more, now the hole was
gained, and, like breath from Heaven
The sweet night air played upon our brows
icllmbed through, and, standing on the pile
Of stones, lifted and dragged Cleopatrs
after me. She fell to the ground and ther
sank down upon it motionless.
With trembling hands pressed upon the
turning stone. 1t swung to and caught
leaving no mark of the secret place of entry
Then I came down, and having pushet
away the pile of stones, turned to Cleopatra
She had swooued, and notwithstanding tht
dust and CRIME upon her face, so pale il
was that at first believed she must be dead
But, placing my hand upon her heart, fell
1t stir beneath; and, being spent, l lune
myself down beside her upon the sand t.
yather up my strength again.
iTo BE Continued