The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-10-04

N4QHliDbeu IiRIN CSkta uAy -
But there he faltered and stopped.
turned about. under an irresistible
impulse ef fear. and would have fed
had not sheer necessity compelled
4 him to stop again There was "A light.
siiffused yellow glow. faint but I'M
Mistakahls, SHINING out % the win
dows OF the nut
He knew he could not 60 back to
the Aurora without that rox. IL was
necessary both To his future safety
and his present command ~ the situ-
alton. His one hold upon those sui
len followers of his depended up"n
hts being imperVions alike to terror
and to defeat II he We're Ia 90 back
now without accomplishing HIS pur-
pose, it would only he "A question OF
DAYS before they murdered him They
all hated him. enough for that. he
knew.
Yet. even under that necessity, IT
was three or four minutes before at
the command Of his burly viii he
began creeping forward on hands and
knees toward the lighted window OF
the hut.
And when he reached a point where
be could command its interior, his
knees slipped out from under him
and he lay prone upon the ley beach,
his face buried in his outstretched
arms For those two sailors had told
the truth,
Presently ne drew himself UP and
suuatted back on his launches. star
4 ing. Human or not. the figure there
I In the hut seemed unaware of his
presence II was staring at the OK
/ piring flame OF the candle in pro-
found abstraction. When II stirred
~ presently II did. 1t was with "A nat
urai. human motion. And then the
candle went out.
In the few seconds Of silence which
I followed, his terror returned upon
him with full force. But IT went
away ms suddenly as i, had come. and
I with Its recession there surged up IL
II him a wave of british anger Il
4 was no ghost that had sat in con
\ templation over the contents of thai
box. for II was moving now, with hui
man eps--faltering. uncertain
footsteps. at that And when IL APP
peAred, Just visible and no more. out
side the doorway, II called aloud IL
human voice-~a woman's voice.
At the sound of II. he drew him
aeif up. towevering. before her. and
10, became visible to her--a mon
Atrous. blurred. uncertain shape,
And she cried out: this time ir
terror Then, before he could spring
upon her and XIII her with his hands
as his british instinct Of rage urged
j him To do. he started back suddenly
and himself cried out
For faint circle Of light. waving
wandering, unearthly was shining
straight down upon both Of them
Through the fog--out OF the sky It
self.
Looking up he saw overhead a
single, great luminous eye, and In tbs
reflection Of its own slight upon tbs
! Ice. very family the facric of out
stretched wings
Then from up there overhead, he
4 heard a Voice--a quiet voice. II N
here" ii said Don't be afraid
Rlindis, Roscoe t'ung up his hands
whitfield around and fell. scrambled
to his feet again and fed, like q
man bag ridden, down the shore.
As he did so. he heard ragged
volley or shots from the direction OF
the Aurora This sound of plain hui
{ man fighting, which he understood
and did not fear. helped restore tt
equilibrium his mind. which a mo-
n1ent before had been tottcring &c
absolute destruction. once he coufc
get back to his boat and feel tht
oars under his hands again-once ht
found himself pulling out toward the
yacht. no matter how desperate the
odds awaiting him there might be
against him. he would, he felt, bt
himself once more.
He ran on and on down the beach
! He had not passed his boat. he knew
hut he finally realized that he had
passed the place whore he had
brought the boat ashore.