Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-10-11

within" She laughed. But ] should
lead hin = sad life of It if my liking
were not 30 strong as his"
We are as We are made, and we
canAet change our inwards which
move u.s.
she looked at me with a sullen
glance. III dc not change yours,
ny Dsuoalion. there will be more trou-
bas brswsA fer tAis poor Atlantis that
yea set such store upon. There will
~ III asiags - this coming household
e1 ssrs II ny love grows for you, and
years RENAME eth unborn."
IbsMsve sAs would have had me 1on-
de her there N the golden castle on
Ns nannsth's shaggy back. before
tie city streets packed with curious
people. She had little enough appetite
for privacy 1t any time. But for the
life Of me I could not do 1t. The gods
know I was earnest enough about my
task, and they know also how it re-
PEELED me. But was true priest
that day, and had put away all per-
sensl liking to Garry out the com
mands which the council had laid upon
me. II had known how to set about
1t, I would have fallen in with her
mood. But where any of those shaI-
low, bsdizened triflens about the court
would have been gibly in his element,
stuck for lack of dozen words
But here, by q lucky chance for me,
an incident occurred which saved me
from further batting. The rebels out
side the walls were conducting their
days attack with vigor and some in
telligence. More than once during
our procession the lighter missiles
from their war engines had sang up
through the air and split against q
building, and thrown splinters which
wounded those which thronged the
streets. Still there had been nothing
to rufhe the nerves of anyone at all
used to the haps of warfare, or III
any way TO hinder our courtship. But
presently, II seems, they stopped
hurting stones from their war en-
gines. and took to loading them with
esrcasses OF wood lined with the
throwing Are.
New against stone buildings these
did little harm. save only that they
soeseAed horribly any poor wretch
that was within splash of them when
they burst; but when they fell upon
the rude wsedsn booths and rush
sheltArs Of the poorer folk, they set
them ablaze instantly. There was
no putting out these fires.
These things also would have given
to either Phorsnice or myself little
enough Of concern. as they are the
trivial and common incidents Of
every siege; but the mammoth on
which we rode had not been SO prop
erly schooled. When the first blue
whit Of smoke came to us down the
windings of the street, the huge red
beast hoisted Its trunk, and began to
sway its head uneasily. When the
smoke drifts grew more dense. and
here and there tongue of flame
showed pale beneath the sunshine, it
stopped abruptly and began to
trumpet.
The guards who led it rugged man
fully at the chains which hung from
the jagged metal collar round it's
neck. SO that the spikes ran deep
into Its flesh, and reminded it keenly
of its bondage. But the beasts ter
ror at the FIRE, which was native to
its constitution, mastered all its new
bought habits Of obedience. From
time unknown men have hunted the
mammoth in the savage ground, and
the mammoth has hunted men; and
the men have always used fire as
shield. and mammoths have learned
to dread fire as the most dangerous
of all enemies.
Phorenice's brow began to darken
as the great beast grew more FESTIVE,
and she shook her red curls viciously.
Some one shall lose head for this
laundering" said she. ~ ordered to
have this beast trained to stand in
different to drums, shouting, arrows,
stones, and fire, and the trainers as
sured me that all was done, and
brought examples"
I slipped my girdle. Here" said,
"quick. Let me lower you to the
ground"
She turned ON me with CLEAN.
"Are you fearful for my neck then,
Deucalion?"
II have no mind to be bereaved be-
fore have tasted my welded life"
"Pish! There is little enough Of
danger. I will stay and ride it out.
I am not one OF your nervous wom-
en-, sir. But go you, If you please"
"Thsre is little enough chance for
that now"
Blood flowed from the mammoth's
neck whore the spikes of the collar
tore 1t, and with each drop, so did
the tameness seem to ooze out from
1t also. With wild squeals and trum-
petings 1t turned and charged vicious
ly down the way 1t had come, scat
tering like straws the spearmen who
tried to stop 1t. and moving a great,
swathe through the crowd with its
monstrous progress. Many must
have been trodden under foot, many
killed by Its murderous trunk, but
only their cries came to US. The
golden castle, with its canopy of
royal snakes, was swayed and tossed
SO that we two occupants had much
ado not to be shot off like stones
from catapult. But l took brace
with my feet against the front and
one arm around a pillar, and clapped
the spare arm round Phorenice, so as
to offer myself to her as cushion.
She lay there contentedly enough,
~