Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-05-25

/ neck here so that We are not surprised,
will seek stones to carry us''
How about this MANI said Leonard,
! pointing to Nam, who lay face downward
on the snow, apparently in dead faint.
oh, we must keep him awhile baas.
He may be useful if those priests come. If
not, l will taig with him before we start.
He is asleep and cannot run away
Then Leonard went to the top of the
neck, which was distant some 20 yards,
and Otter began to search for stones suit
able for his purpose.
As for Inanna, she turned her back to
the ice bridge, at which she scarcely dared
to look, and sat herself upon rock. In
doing so the jewels in the bag struck
against her knee and jingled, and the
thought came into her mind that she
would examine them while she waited,
partly because she desired to distract her
thoughts from the vision of the terrible Or
deal which lay before her, and partly to
crafty a not unnatural curiosity. Open
ing the mouth of the bag, she thrust her
fingers into it, and one by one drew ont
the biggest gems which were jumbled to-
gethor then', placing them on the rock be-
side her. In less than minute she was
feasting her eyes upon such collection of
priceless jewels as had never before glad
dencd tho sight Of any white woman, even
in her widest dreams. Indeed till now
Juanna had not thought it possible that
stones so splendid could exist ON the hith-
er side of the walls of heaven.
First there were great sapphires roughly
squared and two enormous round star
rubies These had formed the eyes of the
colossus, which were removed on the NOR
row of their arrival, the star rubies repre-
senting the blood red pupils. Then there
was heart shaped ruby of perfect color
and without flaw, almost as large as a
jackdaw s egg, which, on the days of sac
rifee, had adorned the breasts of the chief
priests of the People of the Mist for many
generations. Next came the greatest Won
ders of this treasure = two marvellous
stones, one a sapphire and one a ruby
fashioned respectively into models of the
statue of the dwarf and Of the hideous
shape of the water dweller Then there
were Others dozens of them, some rudely
cut and some us they came from tho
mines, but every one of them singled out
for its remarkable size, Hawlessuess or its
perfect fire and beauty.
Juanna arranged them in rows and
stared at than with ccstasy-and where is
the woman who would not have done SOP
till in contemplating them she forgot the
present tcrrors of her position. forgot ev-
eTything except the gorgeous loneliness and
infinite value of the wealth of gems which
she had been the means of winning for
Leonard.
Among other things that passed from
her mind at this moment was the presence
of Nam, who, overcome by rage and e1-
haustien, lay in seeming faint upon the
snow within 13 PAGES of her She never
saw him lift his head and lock at her with
an expression as cold and cruel as that
which Otter had seen in the eyes of the
water dweiler when he lifted his head from
it's led of rock. She never saw him roll
slowly over and over across the snow to-
ward her, pausing q little while between
each turn of his body, for now she was oc-
cupied in replacing the jewels one by one
into their bag of leather.
At last all were in, and with a sigh, for
1t was painful to lose sight Of objects SO
beautiful, Juanna drew the mouth of the
bag tight and prepared to place it around
her neck
AT this moment it was that hand,
withered and lean with age, passed be-
meath her eyes and swiftly as the snatch of
an eagles talon seized the bag and rent it
from her grasp. She sprang up, with a cry
Of dismay, and well might she be dslnay-
ed for there, running from her with in
credible speed, was Nam, the jewels in his
hand. Otter and Leonard heard her cry,
and thinking that the priest was escaping
sped to cut him off But he had no idea
Of escape-at least not of such escape. as
they expected. Some 40 yards from where
Juanna had been sitting little promon-
tory Of rock jutted out over the unclimba-
bic gulf below them, and toward this spot
Nam directed his steps. Running along
the ridge, he halted at its end Indeed he
must do so unless he would fall l, 900 feet
or more to the bottom of the ravine be
meath. Then he turned and faced his plIr-
suers who by now had reached the edge
of the cliff
Come one step nearer he cried, ''and
| let this bag fall whence you never shall
recover it, for 10 foot can tread these walls
of rock, and there is water at the bottom
of the gulf"
Leonard and Otter stopped, trembling
for the fate of the jewels.
Listen, deliverer," cried Nam. You
came to this land to seek these trinkets, is
it not so? And now you have found them
and would be gone with them? But before
you go you would kill me for vengeance's
sake because l have shown you to be
cheats and have sought to offer you up to
those gods whom you have blasphemod,
but the red stones you desire are in my
hands, and il l unclasp my fingers they
will be lost to you ana all the world for
ever. Say, now, if bring them back to
you in safety, will you swear to give me
my life and suffer me to go my ways in
peace?"
Eyes, VIC will swear it," answered
Leonard, who could not conceal the am
guish of his anxiety. Come back Nam,
and you shall depart unframed bus il
you let the stones fall then you shall FOL
low them.'
You swear it," said the priest con-
temptuously. "You are come to this, that
You will sacrifice your revenge to satisfy
your greed O white man, with q noble
heart Now l will o'ermateh you. for l.
who am not noble, will sacrifice my life to
disappoint you Of your desires. What!
Shall the ancient holy treasure of the Peo-
pie of the Mist be stolen by two white
thieves and their black hound? Neveri l
would have killed you all had time been
granted TO me, but in that l failed, and l
am glad that have failed, for now will
deal you bitterer blow than any DEATH
May the curse Of Jal and AGA cleave to
you, you dogs without kenneth May
you live outcasts and die in the dirt, and
may your fathers and your mothers and
your children spit upon your bones as :
dol FAREWELL and shaking his olsen
gagged hand at them he spat toward them,
then, with sudden motion, hurled him.
self backward off the point of rock and
vanished into space, bearing the treasure
with him.
For awhile the three stood aghast and
stared at each other and the point Of rock
which had been occupied by the venerable
form of the late high priest Then Juanna
sank upon the snow, sobbing.
'It is my fault" she walled, all my
fault. Just now l was boasting to myself
that had won wealth for you, and have
lost everything. And We have suffered for
nothing, and, Leonard, you are beggar.
Oh, it is too much too muchl'
Go ont there, Otter, /" said Leonard in
hoarse voice, pointing to the place whence
Nam had hurled himself, ''and see whcth-
err there is any chance of onr being able TO
climb down into tho gulf"
The dwarf obeyed and presently re-
turned, shaking his head. 1t is impossi-
bic, baas,' he said The walls of roak
arc sheer as though they had been cut with
q knife. Moreover there is water at the
bottom of them, as the old wizard said,
for can hear the sound OF it. Oh, baas,
baas, why did you not kill him at first or
let me kill him afterward? Surely told
you that he would bring evil on u.s. Well,