Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-10-15
The Lost Continent
By cUTcLIEEE HYNE.
PAnAsa cspy,i.h. o.. ), cv,e,s. ,v,.
By cUTcLlEFE HYNE.
And finally a. tn. .qu.r. began to 4,

Copy.ieht, f0es. ~ cutcli6s Hyns.
And finally as the square began to fill
with people come to cape at the pa.
gsant Of to-day. the clippings and the
scafolding were cleared away, and
with Il the bodies OF some half.soore
Of workmen who had died from acci-
dents or their exertions during the
building, and there stood the throne.
splendid In its carvings, and all ready
for COMPILE ton. The lower part stood
more than two man-heights above the
ground. and NO stone Of It's courses
weighed Less than 20 men; the upper
part wss double the weight Of any Of
these, snd was carved 50 that the
royal snake sncircled the chair and the
great hooded head overshadowed It.
But ~ present the. upper part was not
on iss bed. being held up high BY NIT
ing-rsms. for what purpose all men
knew.
II was TO face this scene, then, that
I came out from the royal pyramid At
the summons of the chamberlains In
the cool OF next morning. Each great
man who had come there before me
had banner-bearers and trumpet tiers to
proclaim his presence; the middle
e'ssses were In all their bravery Of APP
pasel; sad even poor squslid creatures,
With ribs OF hunger showing through
their dvsky skins, had turbans and
wisps Of color wrapped shout theis
heads TO mark the gaysty OF The day.
The trumpsts proclaimed my COM
ing, end the people shouted welcome;
and, With the gorgeous chanbsrlains
walking backward In advance, went
across to scarlet awning that had
been prepared. and took my seat upon
the cushions beneath IL.
And then came Phorsnice. my bride
that was to be that day, fresh from
sleep, and gorgeous Ia her splendid
beauty. She was borne out from the
Pyramid In an open litter Of gold and
ivory By fantastic savagss from Eu-
rope, her own rsAnement of. feature
being thrown up into all the higher
relief by contrast with kheir british
ugliness. One could hear the people
draw . deep breath OF delight as their
eyes hrst fell upon her; and 1t il easy
TO believe there was not man In that
crowd which throngsd the square who
did not envy ne her choice, nor was
there . soul present (uniess Ylga was
there somewhere veilsd) who could by
any stretch imagine that was not
'ovsrjoysd In winning % lovely wife.
For myself. I summoned up all the
irsn OF my training to guard the ex-
prsssion OF my face. We were here on
ceremonial to-day ghastiy enough
effair throughout all Its aots. II you
choose. but still ceremonial; and
was minded to show Phorenics q grand
manner that would leave her nothing
70 cavil 1t. After all that had been
gone through and endured. did not
intend . great scheme to be shattered
BY letting my agony and pain show
themselves In either . shaking hand or
twitching cheek. When II came to
The point. I told myself. I would lay
the living body Of my love In the hol-
low beneath the stone az calmly and
with Is little outward emotion az
though I had been . mere priest car.
fying out the burial Of some dead
stranger. Aud she, on her part. would
not. ! knew, bstray our secret. With
her. too. It wss truly; Before all. AT.
lAatAs.s
I think IL spared . pang TO ind that
there was 20 b no mocksry or Zip.
psncy In what went forward. All
was solemn and impressive; and,
though . certain gra ndeur and somber.
ness which bit deep into my breast was
lost 70 the vulgar crowd, fancy that
the outward shape OF the double sac.
rihce they witnessed that day would
not be forgotten by any Of them, al.
though the inner meaning OF IT all was
completely hidden from their minds.
When II suited her fancy, none could be
more strict on the ritual Of ceremony
than this many-moodsd empress. and
II appeared that on this occasion she
had given command that all things
were to DO carried out with the rigid
sxactnsss and pomp Of the older man.
ner.
So she was borne up by her Eu-
.ropeans on the scarlet awning, and I
handed her to the ground. She seats
ed herself on the cushions and beck
oned me to her side, entwining her
fingers with mine, as has always been
the custom with rulers OF Atlantis and
their conSorts. And there before US
ss We sat body OF soldisry marched
up. and, opening out. showed Nais In
their midst. She had collar of metal
round her neck, with chains d depending
from 1t firmly held by a brace Of
guards, SO that she could not run in
upon the apears of the escort, and thus
get quick and easy death, which is
often the custom Of those condemned
TO the more lingering punishments.
But 1t was pleasant to see that she
still wore her clothing. Raiment,
whether of fabric or skin, has its value,
and custom has always given the gar
ments Of the condemned to the soldiers
guarding them So, as Nais was not
stripped, could not but see that some
one had given money to the guards as
. recompense, and in this I thought I
saw the hand Of Ylga. and felt a graft
tuds towards her.
The soldiers brought her forward to
the edge Of the payilion's shade, and
she was hidden PROSTATE herself be-
fore the empress; and this she wisely
did. and SO avoided rough handling
and force. Her face was pale, but
showed neither fear nor defiance, and
her eyes were calm and natural. She
merchandising what was due TO At
lantis, and was thrilled with love and
pride ~ I watched her.
But outwardly, l, too. was impa ssive