Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-10-18

and have but small stock OF any
phrases except the driest. Remem-
Der, Phorenice, week agone 1 did
not know what love was, and now
that have learned the lesson, some
what of the suddenest, the language
remains still to come to me. My in
wards speak; indeed they are full of
speech; but cannot translate into
bald cold words what they say"
And here surely the high gods
Cook pity On my tied tongue and my
misery, and made an opportunity for
bringing the ceremony to an end. A
man ran into the square shouting,
and showing wound that dripped,
and presently all that vast crowd
which stood on the pavements ard
the sides al the pyramids and the
roofs of the temples took up the ery
and began 10 feel for their weapona.
The rebels are in!" 'srhey have
narrowed path into the cityt"
'Ihey have killed the cave-tigers end
taken gatel" They are putting
the whole place to the STORM"
'1They will presently leave no poor
soul of us here aIve!"
There then was termination of
our marriage cooings. With rebels
merely biting at the walls, it was fine
to put strong trust in the defenses,
and easy to affect contempt for the
besiegers' powers, and to keep the
business of pageants and state craft
and marryings turning on easy
wheels. But with rebel soldiers al
ready inside the city (and hordes of
others doubtless pressing on their
heels), the affair took a different
light. It was no moment for further
delay, and Phorenice was the first to
admit it. The glow that had been in
her eyes changed to the glare Of the
fighter as the fellow who had run
up squaNed out his tidings.
! stood and stretched my chest. I
seemed in need of air. Here" I said,
us work that can understand more
clearly. will go and sweep this
rabble back to their burrows, Pho
renice."
"But not alone, sir. I come too. It
Is my city still. Nay, sir, we are too
newly wed to be parted yet"
Have your WILL" I said, and to-
gether we went down the steps of
the throne to the pavement below.
Under my breath said farewell
to Nais.
Our armor-bearers met us with
weapons. and we stepped into ntters.
and the slaves took us off hot foot.
The wounded man who had first
brought the news had fallen in a
faint, and no more tidings was to
be got from him; but the growing
din of the fight gave us the general
direction, and presently we began to
meet knots of people who dwelt near
the place of irruption running away
in wild panic, loaded down with their
household goods.
1t was useless to stop these, as,
fight they could not; and If they had
stayed they would merely have been
slaughtered like flies, and would in
all likelihood have impeded. our own
soldiery. And SO we let them run
screaming on their. blind way, but
forced the filters through them
with but very little regard for their
coward convenience.
Now the advantage Of the rebels,
--i.e-, IL ee-..~ te-=',-r- 1ooassd upon ~
q soldiers eye, was thing of little
enough Importance. They had driven
a tunnel from behind a covering
mound, beneath the walls, and had
opened it cleverly enough through
| the floor of middle-class house.
They had come through into this,
collecting their numbers under its
shelter. and doubtless hoping that
the marriage of the empress (of
which spies had given them informa-
esas9 wa<sla sap the watchfulness of
the city guards. But it seems they
we've discovered and attacked before
they were thoroughly ready to
emerge, and, as a fine body of troops
were barracked near the spot, their
determination would have been mere
ly matter of time, even if we had
not come up.
It did not take trained eye long
| to decide on this, and Phorenice,
with q laugh, lay back on the cush-
ions of the litter, and returned her
weapons to the armor-bearer who
came painting up to receive them
"We grow nervous with our married
life, my Deucaion," she said. 1--WE
are fearful lest this new-found hap
piness be taken from US too sud.
denly"
But was not to be robbed of my
breathing-space in this wise. Lei
me crave a wedding gift of you,"
said.
ut is yours before you name it.
''Then give me troops, and set me
wide city gate mile away from,
here"
"You can gather 500 as you GO
from here to the gate, taking 200 OF
| 6 !.
| n9i!51gse;ad1 1l z1z,s = T#