Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-04

"Oh, yes" said Lady Citation: but he's
out of reach at present. He is at his old tricks:
taking party of Americans through the cave.
1t is getting to be mania with him. And one
of them," she went on, is no end of a hon,-a
perfect colossus of multimillionaire."
BY the name of Beaumont"
do you know him?" This by way of
answer.
NO." he said; "but wish did. What is
he 1ike?"
Il have only barely seen him. Evelyn took
him and dragged him into the cave as if he
meant to keep him for ransom. They have
would 60 and tell them to come OUT
do you really mean it," he asked.
Yes, and if the rest won't come, fetch
Beatrice. need her."
He nodded, and set out upon her Grand.
CLIMBING the wooden steps that led over
the ramparts of the fort, he got taper
from the signal man, lighted it with what he
noticed was his last MATCH and turned into
the black mouth of the cave.
The cave was a natural formation, of a sort
common enough in all the islands of the archi-
pelago. There was one a good deal like it,
only not nearly so big, under Fort House on
Horse Island. This one at Georgetown was
levels, connected in some places naturally, and
in Others by the hand of man, by steep and
tortuous galleries.
Smith had visited it too often to feel any
surviving interest in the place itself. He was
entering it this time partly because he thought
unofficial glimpse at the big multimillionaire
with whom he had set out to try conclusions.
He traversed rapidly the length of what was
somewhat grandiloquently termed the grand
gallery" crossed small circular chamber,
whose title to interest was well, popularity
reputed to be bottomless, and thence through
a mere fssure in the wall entered what the
guides always proudly termed The Hall of
Stalactites." They were really beautiful,
those thousands of great white marble icicles.
and Smith checked his pace and shaded his
taper with his fingers for look at them.
Then, as the reverberation of his footsteps
died away, he heard another sound that sur
Prlsed him intensely. 1t was very faint, just a
long drawn and rather tremulous whisper,
breathed between, he could have sworn, a pair
of human lips. There were associations con-
nected with that room which might have rem
dered such a sound acutely terrifying to the
superstitious; but Smith had neither super
StitlonS nor nerves.
He turned quickly and looked in the di-
rection whence the sound had come. In order
to see better, he raised his little wax taper high
above his head.
A ND then in an instant he stood in total
darkness. He had, as it happened,
touched with the wick of his taper the dripping
tip of a stalactite, which hung just over his
head. But in the fraction of second before
IHc uSuL WcHI OUT uc lldO udO LlI1c 10 see a
vision.
Seated on ledge not ten feet away from
him was a young woman. The vision had
been vivid as it was brief; but it was curiously
lacking in details. What he had left of it, as
he stood there staring into the dark, was less
a sharply outlined memory than a poignant
sensation of pleasure.
She must be beauty, he thought, to have
left him tingling like that,-to have made his
heart lose a beat in that disconcerting way,
and then go racing ahead to make up for it.
She must have been rather more than beauty,
indeed. Smith plenty of them, and they
did not affect him like this. There must have
been strangely candid, ikable spirit looking
at him out of those eyes of hers. He felt sure
of that though he had no idea of the color of
them.
He caught the sound of that indrawn breath
again.. and a barely more than whispered
"Oh!''
At that he spoke. $50 you are real are
your" he said Il was half inclined to doubt
it. May ask how in the world you happen to
be marooned down here?"
Il came in with party" she said, "and
didn't want to be bothered with a taper. l
stayed behind for one last look at these iccles
When l turned to follow, everything was dark
like this. There wasn't the least little bit of
light to show which way they had gone.
called out; but couldn't make them hear"
Il know" he said. THE passage makes
sharp turn, and there aren't any reflections