The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-04-20

there aDds IN me.
| glimpse of Hargreaves, with the limp
figure Of the girl on one arm, standing
like a hero god of old, with his weapon
| flashing in and out among the yellow
bodies of his assailants. Then heaved
the stone with what might there was
in me.
There was rumbling crash, and
fireplace and hearth and roaring fire
crumbled and sank into yawning
chasm. Hargreaves gave back pace,
and heard the shear of his saber as it
cleared wide circle before him.
"Down with your he shouted, and I
leaped blindly.
He was beside me in an instant, still
carrying the girl and swinging his
bloody weapon. caught up twist of
the blazing fiber, and we dashed down
the arched passageway as those who
fly for their lives.
We were none too prompt At a
turn in the corridor well hole gaped
black above us as we darted beneath it..
A throbbing heart beat later thunder
ing avalanche of debris poured down
from above and blocked the passage.
Hargreaves sank to his knees with
his burden. ''That's what the old man
meant" he gasped. s.It's a trap,
sprung from above to cut us off.
Thank God, we're on the right side of
it and they're on the other! Lend a
hand here, will you?
l thought he wanted help to carry the
girl, but he was trying to lift her to a
shelflike niche in the wall At the
touch of her rounded arm 1 started
back.
Good heavens! She's deadv 1 ex.
claimed.
He nodded. 81 knew it when 1 cut
her down, but wouldn't give those
fiends the satisfaction of burning her."
! folded the shapely hands across her
breast and looked long and earnestly at
the beautiful face. 1t was more white
than Indian, and l have seen its pro-
totype now and then among the daugh-
ters of our mountaineers.
"She was dead when they brought
her in" l said in hushed whisper
"She killed herself to escape worse
thing What shall we do with her?
We mustn't forget that she died for us
for two strangers who were no more
to her than voices speaking her ia
ther's tongue
He put his arm over my shoulders
and drew me away
Lets get out Of here, in Gods namep'
he said brokenly. SIN sick with hor-
rors. She>is safe here-from them and
from all Others"
For weary hours after the tuft of
fiber burned out we stumbled on in the
pitchy darkness. was choking with
thirst, and when we came upon a CUR
Cling stream | went down ON my face
and drank deeply. When l rose, Har-
greayes' voice sounded afar off,
follow the stream" he said, and a
moment later saw the fare of match
in thin creviee at the end Of the gal.
lery. Hargreaves was beyond the bar
rier, and he held the burning splint at
arms length in the crevice.
Lie fiat on your face in the water
and crawl under" he directed, and
when Joined him: s'It's the place
where we found the first arrow. Are
you good for the rest of 1t, or shall we
lie down and try to get little restY'
/ would not have stopped for kings
ransom, and together we toiled on
down the great entrance gallery,
splashing through the pools and push.
ing on doggedly until we stood once
more in the dragons mouth, with the
cold blast chilling us and the blessed
dawn redding the thrice welcome sky.
looked at my watch, which had mi
raculously escaped a wetting.
-Four O'clock" / said. "Was it only
IL hours ago that we dropped out of
the world to live a hundred years in a
single night? 1t can't be. It's all a
frightful dream, Hargreaves."
He smiled, with a touch of his old
light heartedness. and we set out to
trudge across the plowed fields to
Shellmound station.
'.This isn't dream" he replied,
touching the blood stained saber.
Neither is that thing you've got under
your arm"
/ looked down and saw that through
all the viclssitudes of the furious bat
tie and mad flight had clung to my
hideous trophy-the bronze idol snatch
ed from its niche in the old soldiers
gyatto,