Warren sheaf., 1905-12-14

Deny me not. l pray unee' Ken
kenes entreated earnestly. Never was
q greater stake upon the saving Of
time than in this strait, which is tlie
peril OF spotless womanhood. can /
80 alone. There IS no need that thou, |
shouldst waste an hour of thy needed
sleep for me. pledge thee shall con-
duct myself without thee as u should |
beneath thine eye, and none need ever
know went alone.'' .....,.. RE.
The ancient keeper Weakened at tie.
earnestness OF the young. man.
'Canst thou open the gatesE'
II nave not forgotten from the daily
practice that was; mine for. many.
weeks"
'"Then 90. and let no. man, know of:
this"
kenkenes thanked him gratefullvandi
went at once. @-F
In chambers hewns in solid rock tile
monarchs of the eighteenth and nine
teenth centuries were entombedt All
along the walls Of the gorge nature had
secured the sacred resting place of the
sovereigns against trespass from the
end and sides of the chasm, and Egypt
had dutifully strengthened the, one
weak point in the fortifcation-the, en-
trance-by the gateway OF granite: But
there was no vigilance, of guards. Who
soeyer knew how to- open, the" gates
might enter the valley. The secret rof
the bolts was known only among; the
members Of the royal family. and the
court. To Kenkenes, whose craft as n "
sculptor had taught him the intricate
devices used in closing tOmbs, the open-
ing Of these gates was simple:N.
He let himself into the valley and;
closing the valves behind him, went. up
the tortuous gorge, .darEened by the:
shadows of the walls He continued
past the mouth of the valleys southern
-herein were entombed the kings
=. 'ne eisllte>, dynasty. Here in
this open space lie coulu seee, civ
cling bats, which before he could oni
near above his head. Somewhere anon
the rocks up the noonlit hollow an ov
hooted. But the tombs he sought wer
IN the upper end Of the main ravine.
With trembling hands he pushed til
doors, rough with Inscriptions. and th
great stone valves swung ponderousl
inward, the bronze pins making III
sound as they turned in the sockets
kenkenes entered and closed the nor
tails behind him.
Instantly all sound of the outside
world was cut off-the sound Of tht
wind, the chating of the sands on the
hills above, the movement and cries
OF night birds. beasts and insects. Alb
solute stiffness and original night sur
rounded him.
With all speed he lighted his lamp
but the harfng flame illuminated only
"A little space in the brooding, lowering
~blackness about him.
He moved forward, his path only
discovered to him, step by step as the
light advanced, the sumptuous frescoes
done by the hand of his father emerg-
ing. one detail ut time The solemn
figures fixed accusing eyes upon him
from every frieze; the passive counte-
2nance Of the monarch himself con-
1ronted him from every wall One
ponderOus chamber after another he
traversed, for the tomb penetrated the
very core Of the mountain.
The innermost crypt contained the
altars. This was the sanctuary, the
holy of holies, never entered except
by hierarch
When KenkeneS reached the fina)
threshold he paused Thus far his
presence had been merely midnight
Intrusion. If he entered the sanctu-
+, ;r
thought Of the distress of Rachel and
dared. g@
The first alabaster altar glistened
suddenly out OF the night like bank
of snow. Kenkenes' sandal grated on
the sandy dust that lay thick on the
door. Not even the keeper had en-.
tered this crypt to remove the accu-
mulated dust Of six years.
In this chapel the signet had been
lost.
Kenkenes set his light on the floor and
began his search. The first time he
searched the floor he laid the lack Of
success to his excited work. The sec
ond time the perspiration began to
trickle down his temples, Thereafter
he sought lengthwise and crosswise,
calling on the gods for aid, but there
was no CLINT Of the jewel.
At last, sick with despair, he sat
down to collect himself. Suddenly
across the silence there smote sound.
For moment Kenkenes sat trans
fixed, and in that moment the sound
came nearer He remembered the in
junction of the old keeper. Human
or supernatural the newcomer must
not find him there. He leaped behind
the altar of Shaemus, extinguishing
the light as he did So He flung the
corner of his kamis over the reeking
wick that the odor might not escape,
but his fear in that direction was ma
terially lessened when he saw that the
stranger bore fuming torch.
On one end of the short pole OF the
torch was knot of flaming pitch: on
the other was bronze ring fitted with
sprawling claws. The stranger set the