Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1911-03-12


For a while she did not speak at
all; then, as II replying TO com
msns Of his, che said
Yea, re beautiful But,
Philip. it'a dead. Dead"
Not this air that has ozone spar
king all through II. II is alive enough
to make your blood dance, It's doing
that now"
He tried to persuade her TO take q
little exercise along the length OF the
tunnel, but she demurred TO that In.
stead, she asked him 20 bring out
some bearskins and lot her sit there
at the clifi.head looking out.
"And,' she supplemented. III you
want TO know what should like most
OF all, II would be to have you bring
your wings so that can see you fly.
ing again, and a field-glass that can
watch you through"
lie felt some hesitation, partly out
Of fear Of leaving her and partly
from q doubt concerning HE own
strength but neither OF these reasons
was one he cared 10 avow. So he un.
furled the bundle that had lain dis
used 30 long. spread and tightened
and tested t. and at last, with nod
of farewell TO the girl, dived on the
clift.head.
Any doubt he may have had CON
cerning his strength disappeared at
once. The mere touch Of those great
wings OF his seemed 10 bring II all
back, and hope and Joy and confidence
along with II,
He made HIS dive as shallow as pos.
sible. and In the sheer cxuberance OF
delight at being once more a.wing, he
beat his way aloft again by main
strength, towering like a falcon. All
his old power was here unrmpaTed
yet every sensation II brought him
was heightened and make thrilling by
long disuse. BY means Of those great,
obedient wings Of his he played upon
the caprioious, vagrant air with the
superb insolence Of mastery. Every
trick Of flight was at his command,
the flashing dive Of the piratieal frts.
gate bird, the corkscrew spiral of the
tern, the plummet-like pounoe of the
hawk, and at last, the majestic, soar,
ing drift Of the king Of them all, the
albatToss.
So he hung there In midsky, and the
world. white. frozen, immaculate
looked far away. The old, god-like
serenity. untroubled. untrammeled, un.
afraid, came back TO him. The soul
opened its gates, up there, lost Ito
boundaries, and all the spirit Of the
sky came In, immense. cold, clear as
the all.pervadins ether. This was
Nirvana, though the old Buddhist
adopts who had philosophical about II
had never conquered the SHY, had
never bathed In II as Cayley on his
wings was bathing now.
The declining moon sank lower, till
the refracting Ice crystals that filed
the air caught its light slantwise and
danced with II so that II fiiokered like
a willo' .the-wisp. The sky deepened
from its bright steelblue to purple.
The silver light upon the snow faded,
through lavender and lilac, to a pur.
pie OF its own, only less deep than that
Of the sky itself But the stars burned
brighter and brighter. until Il almost
seemed they sang:
''Harping In loud and solemn choir
With unexpreEsive notes.
The words projected themselves
quite unsought into his mind. He
spent moment or two, wondering
where they came from, and then It
came to him. II was q part of two
lines from the Hymn on the Ma,
uyity."
Somehow, the thought OF Christmas
gave his soul wrench that brought
II back into the world again. They
had lost their reckoning Of time, and,
for anything he knew, this might hA
synIIAAaus avs. rernaps tnose 5Uuu
we're oaroling their Christmas chimes.
Perhaps, down In the world Of men,
the windowe were hung with holly and
soorways with mistletoe.
Before his thoughts had advanced
an far o. that he was flying down to-
ward the cliff-head. He could only
guess at the length Of time that had
elapsed nee he left Jeanne, on her
heap Of Srins, there in the mouth Of
the snow tunnel II must have been
an hour or more, for the moon had
been shining when he started, and
now almost the last Of its twilight had
died on the horizon.
A sharp sense OF his swn delin.
ouency In having left her TO her own
resources for 40 long, when she had
80 few resources 70 draw upon. In
creased TO q sudden alarm for her
safety, when he made out the black
mouth OF the tunnel and saw that
there was no light at the farther snd
of It. she couldn't have been waiting