Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-02-22

hard, and this darkness was soft and
yielding, in the manner of enveloping
hangings. Directly above me was n
narrow, Jagged and irregular strip of
sky with stars. l splaShed in the
brook, finding its waters strangely
warm, rustled through the grasses, my
head back, chin out, hands extended
as one makes his way through a house
at night. There were no sounds eX-
cept the tinkle of the sulphurous
stream. Successive bends in the can
yon wall had shut off even the faint
est echoes of the bacchanalia on the
beach,
The way seemed much longer than
by daylight Already in my calcula-
ton 1 had traversed many times the
distance, when with a jump at the
heart l made out a glow ahead and in
front of it the upright logs of the
stockade.
To my surprise the gate was open.
1 assembled the gentle slope to the val
Iey's level and stumbled over man
lying PROSTATE, shivering violently and
moaning.
bent over to discover whom it
might be. AS did so a brilliant light
seemed to fill the valley, throwing an
illumination on the man at my feet
/ saw it was the Niger and perceived
at the same instant that he was almost
beside himself with terror. His eyes
rolled, his teeth chartered, his frame
contracted in q strong CONFUSION, and
the black of his complexion had faded
to washed out dirty gray, revolving
to contemplate. He felt my touch
and sprang to his feet, clutching me
by the shoulder as a man clutching
rescue.
my Gawdv he shivered. "Look!
Oar it is again.
He fell to pattering in tongue I'M
known to me-charlns, spells undoubt-
edly to exercise the devils that had
hold of him. l followed the direction
of his gaze and myself cried out.
The doctors laboratory stood in
plain sight between the two columns
of steam blown straight upward
through the stiffness of the evening.
1t seemed bursting with light. Every
little crack leaked it in generous
streams. while the main illumination
appeared fairly to bulge the walls out
ward. This was in itself nothing ex-
traordinary and indicated only the ac'
J tivity of those within, but while l look
ed an irregular patch of incandescence
suddenly splashed the cliff opposite
For a single instant the very substance
of the rock glowed white hot. Then
from the spot Il shower of spitefu
u nv, ~
the light was blotted out as suddenly
as it came.
At the same moment it appeared al
another point, exhibited the same
phenomena, died, flashed out at still
a third place, and so was repeated
here and there with bewildering RI
pidity until the walls of the valley
cracked and spat sparks. Abruptly
the darkness fell. AS abruptly it was
broken again by a similar exhibition
only this time the fire was blue. Blue
was followed by purple, purple by red
Then ensued the briefest possible
| pause, in which a figure moved acros:
the bars of 'light'escaping through TIT
chinks of the laboratory, and then The
whole valley blazed with patches O
varicolored fire. 1t was not a refiec
ton. 1t was actual physical conflagra
ton of the solid rock in irregula
areas. Some of the fire shapes wer
most fantastic. And with the uneX
pectedness of a bursting shell the sur
face of the ground before our fee
cracked into a CHASTITY blue flame.
The Niger uttered cry in his throa
and disappeared. l felt a sharp breatl
on my neck, an ejaculation of surpris
at my ear. 1t was startling enough t
scare the soul out of man, but
held fast and was just about to ste
e forward when my collar was twiste
| tight from behind. | raised both m
n hands, felt steel and knew that l wa
@ in the grasp of Handy Solomon's claw
re The sailor had me foul. l did m
5, best to twist around, to unbutton tn
= collar, but in vain. 1 felt my win
y leaving me; the CHASTITY blue light wa
, shot with red. Distinctly l heard tn
l. mans sharp intaken breath as som
d new phenomenon met his eye, and b
IS great oath as he swore.
st by the mother of God" he criet
is "it'S the devil"'
n Then l was jerked off my feet, an
d the next l knew 1 was lying on N
ID back, very wet on the beach. tt
d day was breaking, and the men, quiz
sober, were talking vehemently.
If 1t was impossible to make out VIII;
r they said, but as Handy Solomon an
10 the niger were the center of discu
4. sion l could imagine the subject.
lie felt very stiff and sore and hazy
d my mind. My neck was lame fro
Il the dragging and my tongue dry fro
e. u the choking. For some time lay in
~ half torpor watching the lilac of daw
ci' change to the rose of sunrise, utter
NC Indifferent to everything. They ha
W thrown me down across the first ri:
~ of the little sand dunes back of Il
ne tide sands, and from it l could at ONT
II, look out over the sea full of the res
% less shadows of dawn and the lar