Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-06-25
HEART OF THE WORLD.
BY II. RIDER HAGGARD.
4 Strange Story, Taken From Manuscript Be-
queathed by an Old Mexican Indian to Els
Friend and Comrade, English.
man Named Jones.
Copyrighted. 1894. by b Rider Haggard.
CHAPTER K.

HOW MoLAs DIED.
For some few minutes we rested to
recover our breath, then we started
forward again. In front went the girl,
Maya, our guide, whom the senior led
by the hand, while behind followed
self. At first these two had run as
quickly as the rest of us, but now all
the fatigues and terrors that they had
undergone took hold of them, SO that
from time to time they were forced to
stop and rest, which is little to be
wondered at, seeing that for five days
they had eaten no solid food, for it was
Don Pedro'S purpose to Starve their Sc
cret out of them.
Slowly and with much toll we forced
a path through the tropical forests.
This forest that seemed SO destitute
of lifewas peopled by millions of in
sects, all of them venomous. Garrapat-
as, tiny gray flies, wood wasps, and
ants black and red, tormented us with
aloud in our misery, then remembering
our danger pushed on again.
Thus two hours and more passed till
reaching little stream that ran
through a ravine in the forest, we
paused to drink and cool our fevered
feet and hands. Ziba1bay sank ex-
hausted upon the bank, where I
while his daughter sat herself down on
a stone in the stream, suffering it to
flow over her feet and ankles that by
now were swollen with ant bites and
bleeding from cuts of thorns and
grasses.
Presently she looked up and seeing
the senior standing on the bank talking
to me, invited him with motion of her
hand to seat himself beside her
SWhat is YOUR name. white man?''
she asked.
flames Strickland"
flames Strickland" she repeated.
with some difficulty. 81 thank you,
James Strickland, for rescuing nv
father from torment and me from in
suit, and because of that deed I, MAYA
of the Heart, whom many have served,
am your servant forever"
"You should thank my friend, Don
Ignatio," he said, pointing to me-
For a few moments she looked at me
searchingly, then replied:
Il thank HIM also, but I thank you
the most, for your hand rid me of that
hateful man and saved u.s."
sit is early to return thanks, lady"
he said; 1--WE are not out of danger
yet
81 have little fear now that we have
escaped from that dreadful house." she
answered, almost indifferently, ''since
our hiding place is near. And how can
they find us in this forest? Harl! what
was that?"
AS she spoke faint and distant sound
fell upon our ears, such sound as
might have been made by a bell struck
far away at night.
''That is how they will find u.s." he
said. springing to his feet. do you
hear, Ignatio? The dogs have hit our
trail. Which way does our road run
now, lady?"
along the banks of the stream"
"Then we must go forward in the
water" said the senior; Its our only
chance, for the hounds cannot track us
there"
Not more than three hundred PAGES
from the banks of the little stream we
came upon high mound densely over
grown with trees, between the boles of
which appeared masses of cut stone
This is the place, gasped Zilbalbay.
''Look, yonder above us are the walls of
the temple, and here is the ancient
stairway that led to it." And he pointed
to long fight of crumbling stone steps
almost hidden in ferns and bushes. IN
these steps we went with caution,
Molas carrying Zilbalbay upon his
broad back.
The staircase was in three flights, the
top fight, now almost entirely broken
away, emerging on what once had been
a broad and splendid terrace, but to-day
was chaos of stoneworI, in the crew
ices of which grew bushes and even