The Washington times., 1911-08-12
CHAPTER Xxx
The Signal

There were no remnants of food,
clothing, empty tins, or debris of any
kind to suggest a deserted camp or
The recent struggle; nor was there
the faintest sound
For a minute felt as If l must
have been dreaming. and yet knew
Lnat what l had Just witnessed was
an actual fact. Where had they gone?
There was not even the remnant of a
broken lantern
Cropping my way back to the road,
l went to the edge of the precipice and
cliff mournfully, but brought no sound
OF life. Again and again called, but
there was no answer. Having done
all l knew how, sat down to smoke
Gwynne would turn up presently. My
ability to do this was case of nat
ural compensation.
l have often observed that in eX-
treme crises, when We have reached
the end of our power to act, that ma
ture will step in with her own tools
and do the work, provided We let go
and give her a chance. When we let
go, we don't care, and when we don't
care, something is bound to happen:
indeed, something has happened. How
ever this may be, l smoked as peace
fully as If resting in my tay9rite cor
ner at the Gander Club. There was
nothing to do, and did II.
Before l had finished, Roedler was
standing before me.
Peter" he began in a strained
here while we can"
He took out his watch and held it
to the light.
twelve o'clock! If you're ready
we'lI make that dive for the lamas-
"What's become of the English
men?" / asked.
"What Englishmen"
"Fenchurch and Chumley."
He had seen nothing OF them since
leaving Gim-ra, and presumed they
were still there.
exclaimed, in amazement:
"Do you mean that you didn't
know they were here?"
Gwynne knew of nothing but the
shooting. The sound of it had wax
ed him, and he had hurried off in the
direction from which it seemed to
come. Finding the stairway, he
the road in safety. His one
thought was that was in trouble. He
had shouted, but received no answer,
doubtless due 10 the great rock mass
his narrow road, stopping from time TO
time to call and listen. Hearing no
more shots, he concluded that he must
have been dreaming, and turned back.
Then, when he saw me sitting quietly
smoking, he was convinced that this
was the case, and that all was right.
Hence his want Of knowledge and lack
Of surprise upon reaching me. But now,
when I told him the story of all that l
had seen and heard since leaving him
asleep in the airship, he was greatly as
tCrished.
And you've no idea what has become
Of them?"
Not the slightest. They simply dis
appeared"
Gwynne searched the cave, as had
done, but with like result. l showed him
the crack overhead through which l
had witnessed the scene, but 1t revealed
"peuced queer! Can't understand it.
And you're dead sure, you couldn't
have been mistaken in the men?'
1 told him there was not the shadow
of a doubt about their identity; that l
had recognized them distinctly. that the
shooting was genuine, and that the
smoke had nearly blinded me. / showed
my eyes in proof OF the assertion.
Queer there's no blood about the
place"
the floor Of the cave was as clean as II
swept. There was nothing to indicate
q struggle. We concluded that the
Englishmen had escaped-possibly that
they had slain their enemies, or per-
haps that they were pursuing them.
THAT darn rumbling in the air sounds
like the Tsanpo, and believe those
lamas waylaid the Enghshmen to block
their scheme of finding tt
You mean the monastery"
"Well-or the river either. Only a
dead man can go through It, and l
doubt If even he could do so without
you evidently don't think we'll of
the river?"
ION the contrary, think too well Of
It. Maybe you'll know why little
later But, come. let US get out Of this,
He started ahead with his lantern.
followed with mine. We climbed the
rough stairs to the level, where the air
ship awaited us. It was twenty minutes
after midnight when all was ready for
Again we were lifted bodily aloft.
The cold night enveloped us; the stars
looked down.
Gwynne was anxious He was busiIy
staring into the blackness beyond.
Higher, higher, into the icy air we rose,
while upward loomed the inquisitive
ghosts of the Himalayas to watch and
emulate our position.
It's that blank wall TO leeward I'm
trying to look over" said Roedler at
last, without turning. There's some
thing in its shape that looks familiar
But the wall crept skyward as we did,
while the air grew colder and less suited
to the wants of man. A vast, empty
bowl, with clipped and ragged edge, was
set beneath us. Could we clear the rim?
Never for a moment did Gwynne falter.
His determination to rise above the OBJ
stacle was fixed; his eyes set hard upon
the rampant
heights: stars we had not seen before
were peeping at us from over the ridge
We were conquertng. Another world
would soon be spread below. Then
Gwvnne gave the flier dip toward that
awful crusted edge.
A minute more and we would be look
irg down upon the ground which no hu-
man eye had ever seen, or human foot
step traversed. I could see that Gwynne
was working hard to clear 1t, but the
ship could rise no higher.
But on we Swept-nearer, faster,
toward the SCARED and uplifted face Of
the monster that stood there to crush
CT pass below our swiftly flying vessel.
Which would II be?
A collision was imminent, the wreck
Of the airship was assured, had not
Roedler called loudly at that instant to
heave over the tins. Immediately we
began to throw overheard our canned
provisions, and, so tightening the vessel,
she responded at once, and, rising
against the black wall, reached the
summit and swept ahead The immedi-
ate danger was passed-or it seemed SO.
A sea of snow and ice was spread
close beneath our car-perhaps not
twenty feet away. It dipped, It swelled.
rose and fell. Great jags OF uplifted
rock challenged our ability to pass
them. Horrible chasms-eorges. pits.
and valleys-opened up below, and from
their watery depths flung back the
stars upon our strained and wondering
eyes. We sat there huddled IN our
robes, not daring to move lest the ef-
fort provs disastrous