The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1902-03-20
o D The D o
Lost Continent
By CJTcLlFfE HYNE.
CHAPTER x.--CoxrrSuEp.

NY hHbb oh
me to husband then, and ] will be n
good man to you. Hut. as I am bidden
speak to Phorenicc the woman now,
and not TO the empress, l offer her
fair warning that I will be no puppet."
She looked ut me sidelong. 81 have
been master 50 long that think IL
will come as enjoyment TO be mastered
some times. No. Deucaiion, promise
that--you shall be no puppet. In.
deed. IL would take n lus,y lung to
do the piping ~ you were 10 dance
against your will"
"Th.n MS man and wife we will live
tog, ihcr In the royal pyramid, and we
will rule this country with all the wit
that II has pleased the high gods 20
bestow on us. These miserable dif-
ferenccs shall he swept aside; the reb-
hunt. and fight the beasts In the prov
inces. and the Priests elan shall he
pacifcd. Phnrcnice, you and | will
throw ourselves brain and soul into
the government, and we will make
Atlantis rise as n nation that shall
once more surpnss ali the world for
peace and prosperity"
Petulantly she drew her hand away
from mine. "Oh. your conditions. and
your Atlantis! You carry crud, ness
In these colonial manners Of yours.
Dcucalion. that pals on one after the
first blunt flavor has worn away. Am
I tO do all the wooing? Is there no
little thrill Of love under all your ice 2"
"In truth. do not know what love
may he. have had little enough
speech with women all these busy
years"
eve were pair, then. when you
handed, though have heard sighs and
prostrations from every man that ear
ries beard In all Atlantis. Some Of
them tick.ed my fancy for the day.
but none Of them have moved me
deeper. No, also have,not learned
what this love may he from my own
personal feelings. But. sir, / think
that you will teach mc soon, IL you go
on with your coldness."
"From what ! have seen. love is for
the poor aud the weak. and for those Of
highty emotions"
"Then ! would that another woman
were empress, and that ] were some
addressed creature Of the gutter that
o strong man could pick up by force
and carry away to his home for sheer
passion. All! How could revel in IL!
How ! could respond IL he caught my
whim." She laughed. "But I should
lead him a sad life OF II IL my liking
were not so strong a. his"
"Wc are as We are made, and we
cannot change our inwards which
move us."
She looked ut me with n sullen
glance. "If do not change yours.
my Deucalion. there will be more trou.
BILE brewed for this poor Atlantis that
you set such store upon. There will
be III doings In this coming household
OF ours II my love grows for you. and
yours remains still unborn"
believe she would have had me rOn.
die her there In the golden castle on
the mammoth's shaggy back, before
the city streets packed with curious
people. She had little enough appetite
for privacy at any time. But for the
life OF me I could not do It. The gods
know ] was earnest enough about my
task, and they know also how ID re.
PEELED me. But wa. a true priest
that day, and had put away all per-
sonal liking to carry out the COM
maDls which the council had laid upon
me. II ! had known how to set about
II. would have fallen in with her
mood. But where any OF those sha.-
low. bedizened trincrs about the court
would have been glib.y in his element,
stuck for lack of dozen words.
But here. by n lucky chance for me.
nm incident occurred which saved me
from further batting. The rebels out.
side the walls were conducting their
days attack with vigor and some in
teiligence. More than once during
our procession the lighter missiles
from their war engines had sang up
through the air and split against n
building. and thrown splinters which
wounded those which ihrongcd the
streets. Still there had been nothing
To ruiile the nerves OF anyone at all
used to the haps Of warfare, or IN
any way to hinder our courtship. But
presently. u seems, they stopped
hurling stones from their war en-
gines, and took to loading them with
carcasses Of wood lined with the
throwing fire.
Now against stone buildings these
did little harm, save only that they
scorched horribly any poor wretch
that was within splash Of them when
they burst; but when they fell upon
the rude wooden booths and rush
shelters Of the poorer folk, they set
them ablaze instantly. There was
no putting out these fires.
These things also would have given
TO either Phorenice 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
whiff 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
snake drifts grew more dense, and
here and there a tongue of flame
showed pale beneath the sunshine, II
stopped abruptly and began TO