The Washington times., 1911-08-17


that we had been engaged upon tn,
work. Fortunately, 1t was satiSfactor!
and no questions were asked, Gwynn,
displaying certain papers that went fol
maps Of the valley and the greater emf
nences. The respect for the Tashi wa!
enhanced, while our own position wa!
fortified
Gwynne was determined to make up tC
the chedas, and 1 could see that botl
Za-look and Kuh took kindly to his
advances. He declared it was his only
hope Of finding the girls, a task which
he admitted was more difficult than he
anticipated, although he had fores0,r
the proba bility of delay on account OF
the vastness of the lamasery and tee
chances that the women would be
guarded.
Thus far there had been neither dis
coVery nor the prospect of IL, anC
Gwynne was discouraged. 1t was use
less to talk to the abbot. He showed
his teeth whenever the subject was
Vbroached, and the boys were silent,
although Gwynne believed they knew
more than they would tell
was toiling down the rocky way
that led to the air-ship when he over
took me. / could see that he was
agitated.
Peter" he began hastily, the jig's
up. The Narneys have gone off with
the Englishmen and left us in the
lurch."
What Englishmen?" 1 was dunn
founded.
"Fenchurch and Chumley. They came
while we were away.I
How do you know-at least, what
makes you think"
Know! The boys told me So
But they always said there were
no such girls"
"Undoubtedly-bu 1t may have paid
them to say so. You must remember
they're under the lash Of the lamas."
The liars!
"Of course they're nars-an Tibetans
are liars"
Perhaps they're lying about this,
too"
Impossible. They gave me a de-
scription with the names. They knew
nothing about the men, and couldn't
describe what they hadn't seen. No.
st all happened a day or two ago, while
we were in, the cavern. They've out
stripped us In the race, and We must
make the best of 1t, which, l confess,
doesn't look like much. AS for our bet
with the Ganders, we may as we'll
count that lost, too"
How the deuce
But l was too furious to go on. The
story was incredible. That these stran-
gers should have Outwitted uS-that our
plans, our superior knowledge, and the
air-ship should be SO lightly set at
IT was hUmiliaung. Then how had they
succeeded IN finding the girls when we
had failed? Had they taken the
lamasery by storm, or had the monks
been bribed? 1t was all very mys-
terious. In fact, so much so, that l
doubted it.
But We know that Fenchurch and
Chumley were on their way"
True, they may have come and gone
while we were in the cave, but l doubt
II they got the girls. They had no
more power than you had, neither had
they the knowledge of the people nor
the necessary equipment. Depend upon
it It's another of their lies. Perhaps
they think it's a good way to get rid
of US"
Gwynne was thoughtful. We con-
tinued our stroll toward the air-ship.
is it possible to get confirmation Of
the story" l asked
Il think not l hardly dare broach
the subject. 1t may hinder our pros
poets If it should prove untrue"
The news was SO astounding that l
or believed it. Had the journey failed
at last? Had all our efforts been frus-
trated? Was it possible that a yak
was better than an air-ship? Ignorance
more efficient equipment than knowl-
edge?
We had left the goatskin gunnies
with their contents in the fiier i'm
mediateIy after our escape from the
cavern. and were now merely going
TO see that all was safe. The vessel
had never been discovered. and noth-
ing in II had been disturbed. Armed
with the power to renew our journey
at a moments notice We were unable
to do so from the fact that we had
failed in its object.
l recalled the red light in the window,
but could not locate it The structure
was too vast-Our relative position to
the rocks that supported it altered. At
80, icfn Sph ct hoN
seen it, provided 1t were yet burning.
Suddenly a thought struck me.
Let's rig up the ship and track back
IN the night. There's no moon, they will
Elil burning we can't fail to see"
He was enthusiastic, and wondered why
st had not struck him before.
''It will settle the question:" he de-
clared. IF the light is out, the girls
have gone"
So that night we made ready for a dip
into the clouds again. The lamas were
be, when We slipped quietly through the
great arched pOrtal-by the mani wall
and onto the rough-hewn path below.
Fortunately there were no dogs at Tad
sa-fuh, and our progress was undis-
turbed. We groped our way by the un-
certain light of the stars to the base of
the promontory-Gwynne thinking 1t
safer to show no light-thence We
stumbled on over rocks, Wild StuDDle
and cobblestones, to the air-ship.
Here GWynne lighted the ubiquitous
butter lamp. A thorough examination
showed that everything was in order,
though time was required to get ready
the power BY a little after midnight
we were aboard. In ten minutes more
We were rising into the air.
More buoyant than ever, we climbed
the face of the precipice. once more
the great rock masses of the Himalayas
were sinking around us. The JOY OF II;
the power, all came back as II l had
never known it before.
Down with your light there! Down
with your light
l had been holding the lamp too high'
and Gwynne's voice warned me that we
were in full view of the lamasery WIN
dows. Across the great gulch they were
staring out upon US. One pair 9f sleep
less eyes might arouse the brotherhood.
/ put out the light and stared over the
rail. Nothing but the dull mass of those
terrible walls and the awful heights of
the Himalayas. The stars above, but no
raw or glimmer of artificial illumtnant.
Tad-sa-fuh was asleep.
On we sailed. now farther, now nearer
higher lower. We approached the
huge pile from every point. We looked
a. II from every angle-somber, forbid |
ding. uncouth-positively gruesome, 1t
stood there. But the red light was not
in evidence
A cry from Gwynne startled me.
There 1t is. by Heaven!' he shouted. |
In the angle of a bastion. partly hid |
den by the overhanging masonry, 1t
peeped at us from its hiding-place. 1t