The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-06-15

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"We shall hdce good tacent2tfour hours
In Gibraltar, my lady,"
within me stormed upward for her
beautiful sake alone. But Schmalen-
STOPPER went on, adjusting his glasses:
ssI have interested myself SO much in
this marvellous discovery of the water
land that have managed to bring my
cathode ray photo apparatus with me
into Egypt. y
ST should like to see you play it on
the dervishes, says Caithness.
We all laughed. Lady Jemappes die
not speak. The restless, round spark of
red was moving in her cheek.
But great moment was approaching
the entrance to the strait of Gibral-
tar. The passengers were coming up on
deck, and commotion of questions and
exclamations put stop to Z rays. The
sea was FURNISHED amethystine violet,
a palpitating simmer and shade like
the sheen on pigeons throat. The sky
was poem in its chromatic ascensions
Of sunset, The low, dark line off there
nine miles beyond was the mysterious
line Of Africa's centuries Of silence, the
land of the great past and the greater
possible. And suddenly from out tie
ocean, above the throb and obeisance of
waters at its feet rises and rises-a
shadow is it, in gigantic gloom Of death
the shadow that will fall upon him
who menaces its ,night-the rock Of
ages, Britain's peaked cap that crowns
her in the face Of four continents whose
shipping she surveys from her impreg-
nable outpost-Gibraltar!
The word burst from every ones lips.
could not speak, but thrill Of no
mean pride surged through my soul as
I felt myself man Of that nation who
had climbed a mightier rock that is
eyrie for the eagle, the rock Of impreg-
nable freedom, from whose gigantic
shadow Britain has twice withdrawn
with her lion, wiser, to her own zoo to
restudy the habits Of western eagles.
The dying Sunset took Il. Gi6raltar's
citadel. The stern stone was suffused
with crimson. The sails of the worlds
shipping at the entrance to the strait
caught the pink dazzle of light. The
glow burned upon the faces of the pas
sengers. I turned and saw Lady Je-
mappes standing silent and alone, upon
her face throb Of mingled sorrow and
yeerning, womanlaood on her lips that
stirred all the man s pulses within me,
but something within her eyes that
made my veins crawl The SUMS red
took the strange girdle. A distinct but
yet uniDtelligible .hieroglyph was be-
ginning to write itself on my brain.
We're those love letters III her belt? No.
I believed it was her will and testa-
ment. She vas vastly wealthy, one could
see. Did believe it was her will, ETC.?
We shall have a good "a hours in
Gibraltar. my lacy, - said, drawing
nearer the beautiful figure. "How do
you propose spending it: IF I might
have the pleasure Of showing you about
a little
The woman turned very pale. 1t was
q strange pallor seen under the flash of
the sinking sun.
81 want to see the rock galleries and
their guns" she said quickly, not rails
ing her eyes ''There will be,a grand
salute given tomorrow, they tell me.
The German emperor's yacht will be
Off Gibraltar. .
"Oh, ho!'' thought /. "What are the
rock galleries to you, you mysterious
witching womarhood? Do you contem-
plate suicide?"
But for the moment conversation and
soliloquies shattered in the sunset, for
the mouth Of Gibraltar spoke.
Across to Africa the thunderous chal-
lenge rolled. The gun fire from the
lion g throat beloved its belief in one
lady alone-Britannia. It's white breath
curdled in clouds around the mount,
an incense to Victoria by the grace of
God. I suppose, or something Else.
turned to my beautiful lady. Cove!
How those eyes took my breath! Those
eyes were misted with tears.
Worse and worse. What did it mean?
''The devil! I'll risk it, I said to my
self. Then aloud, Lord Jemappes is
listening to Britain s gunfre at Malta,
my lady"
Again that CHASTITY pallor creeping
down and across her face. Was it psy-
chic, or was it certain? The pallor was
creeping on to the girdle, and-I'm no
fool, you know-did that girdle move?
thought WOULD move away. And
yet was chained to the spot by her
strange and overwhelming beauty.
eyes, Lord Jemappes, she said.
"How glorious that last rim flash of
sun! There, it is gone! am chilly. I
think I must 90 below.