Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-11-12
he Lost Continent
1Elel
BY CUTCLIFFE HYNE
Published Bros. Copyright, 1880 BY Hy.a
By cUTcLIEEE HYNE.
the dignity of his office.
But, if the din of the fighting was any

the dignity OF MS ONCE. 40 if
But. ift the din of the fighting was any
guide, mine was narrowing king ON.
vEvery hour it seemed to grow Aerosr
and more near, and It was clear that
some of the gates in the passage up
the cleft in the clih, impresnable
though all men had thought them, had
yielded to the yehemence Of Phorsn-
ices attack. And. indeed. II was
scarcely to be marveled al. With all
her genius spurred on to fury by the
blow that had been struck At her by
wrecking SO fair a part Of the city, the
empress would be no light adversary
even for strong place to resist, and
| the Sacred Mountain was no longer
strong.
Defenses Of stone, cunningly planned
and nightly built, 1t still possessed,
but these will not fight alone. They
need men to line them, and, moreover,
abundance of men. For. always In .
storm of this kind some desperate fel.
lows will spit at death and get TO hand
grips, or singers and archsrs slip. In
their shot, or the throwing-Ars gets
home, or (as here) some new-fangled
machine like Phorenice's Are tubes
make one in a thousand of their wAv-
ering darts find the life; and 80, though
the general attacking loses his hun
dreds, the defenders also are not With
out their dead.
The slaughter, as it turned out, had
been prodigious. AS fast as the storm
ers came up, the priests who held the
lowest gate remaining to Us rained
down great rocks upon them till the
narrow alley of the stair was paved
with their writhing dead. But Pho
renice stood on spur of tho rock be-
low them urging on the charges. and
with an insane valor company after
company marched up to hurl them
selves hopelessly against the defsnses.
They had no machines to batter the
massive gates, and their attack was -
pathetically useless 81 that Of child
who hammers against wall with an
orange; and meanwhile the terrible
stones from above moved them down
remorselessly.
Company after company Of the
troops marched into this terrible
death trap, and not . man OF all OF
them ever came back. Nor wac 10
Phorenice's policy that they should do
SO. In her lust for this Anal conquest,
she was minded to pour out troops till
she had filled up the passes WITH the
slain, so that at last she might march
on to level fight over the bridge Of
their poor bodies. II was no part Of
Phorenice's mood ever TO. count the
cost. She set down the object which
was to be gained, and II was her pol
ICY that the people of Atlantis were
there to gain it for her.
Two gates then had she carried in
this dreadful fashion. slaughtering
those priests that stood behind them
who had not been already shot down.
And here came down from above 10
take my share in the fight. There was
no trumpetto announce my coming. no
herald to proclaim nv quality. hut4ths
priests as sheer custom picked up
"Deucalion!" as battle cry: and
some shouted that, with q king to lead,
there would be no further ground lost.
1t was clear that the name carried to
the other side and bore weight with IL.
A company of poor, doomed wretches
who We're hurrying up stopped in their
charge. The word "Deucalion!" was
banded round and handed back down
the line. thought, with some grim
satisfaction. that here was evidence
l was not completely forgotten In the
land.
There came shouts to them from be-
hind to carry on their advance; but
they did not bulge; and presently Q
/ glittering officer painted up, and COM
menced to strike right and left among
them with his sword. From whore
stood on the high rampant above the
gate I could see him plainly and recog-
nized him at once. '''
"It matters not what they use for
/ their battle cry" he was Shouting.
aYou have the orders Of your divine
empress, and that is enough. You
| should be proud to die for her wish,
| you towards, And if you do not obey.
/ you will die afterwards under the in
struments of the tormentors. very
painfully. AS for Deucalion, he is
dead any time these nine years"
/ "There it seems you lie, my Lord
Tatho!" shouted down to him.
He started and looked up at me.
$50 you are there inrealtfuth, then
Well, old comrade, am sorry. But It
is too late to make composition now.
You are on the side of these NANCY
priests, and the empress has made an
edict that they are to be rooted out,
and ] am her most oPediept servant"
You used to be skillful OF fence" I
said, and indeed there was little
enough to choose between US. "If 1t
please you to stop this pitiful killing,
make yourself the champion OF your
side, and will stand for mine, and we
will fight out this quarrel ii some fair
place, and bind our parties 70 abide BY
the result"
ut would be a grand Aght between
us two, old friend, and It goes hard
with me to balk you tit. But cannot
| pleasure you. am general here un-
der Phorenice, and she has given me
the strongest orders not to peril my
self. And besides. though you are a
great man, Deucalion, you are not
chief. You are not even one Of the
three"
II am king"
Tatho laughed. Few but yourself
would say so, my lord" :.
"Few, truly. but what they are
they are powerful. L was given the