Gilpin observer., 1912-01-11

uAA W UdCkS
When again he stood on his feet he
was In the shadow Of the outer gate
way. tho curtain Of the second wall
confronting him.
Casting about, he discovered the sec
ond gateway at some distance to the
left. and started toward 1t, forcing a
way through tangle Of scrubby un-
dergrowth. weeds and thorny acacia.
but had taken few steps ere a heavy
splash In the river below brought him
up standing. with q humping heart.
After an irresolute moment he turned
back to see for himself. and found his
apprehension only too we'll grounded;
the swordwide bridge was gone. dis
placed by an agency which had been
prompt to seek cover-though he con.
fessed himself unable to suggest
where that cover had been found.
He gave 1t up. considering that It
were futile to badger his wits for the
how and the wherefore. The impor.
tant fact remained that he was a pris.
oner In dead Kathiapur. his retreat
cut of, and Here he made a sec.
ond discovery, infinitely more shock.
ing: his pistol was gone.
Turning back at length. he made his
way to the second gateway and from
It to the third. under the lewdly
sculptured arch Of which he stopped
and gasped. forgetting as for the first
time Kathiapur the Fallen was re-
vealed to him in the awful beauty Of
its naked desolation.
A wide and stately avenue stretched
away from the portals, between rows
Of dwellings. palaces Of marble and
stone. tombstones and mausoleums
with meaner houses Of sun-dried brick
and rubble. roofiess all and disinte-
grating in the slow. terrible process
Of the years.
AS Amber moved forward small.
alert ghosts rose from the under
growth and scurried silently thence:
q circumstance which made him very
unhappy.
The way was difficult and Amber
tired. After a while, having seen
nothing but the jackals. an owl or
two. several Thousand bats and
crawling thing which had lurched
along in the shadow Of a wall some
distance away. giving an admirable
imitation of a badly wounded man
pulling himself over the ground. and
making strange cultural noises-Am-
ber concluded to wait for the guide
Naraini had promised him. He turned
aside and seated himself upon the
edge of broken sandstone tomb. The
silence was appalling and for relief
he took refuge in cheap irreverence.
Home" he observed, aloud. never
was like this"
A heart-rending sigh from the tomb
besind him was followed by rattle
Of dislodged rubbish. Amber found
himself Unexpectedly in the middle of
the street, and. without stopping to de-
bate the method of his getting there
with such unprecedented rapiditv.
looked back hopefully to the tomb. At
the same moment black-shrouded
figure swept out Of It and moved a few
PAGES down the street, then paused
and beckoned him with a gaunt arm.
II WISH" said Amber, earnestly. II
had that gun"
The figure was apparently that of
native swathed in black from his head
to his heels and seemed the more
strikingly peculiar in view Of the fact
that, as far as Amber could deter
mine. he had neither eyes nor features
although his head was without any
sort Of covering. He gulped over the
proposition for an instant. then
stepped forward.
Evidently my appointed cicerone,
he considered. "Unquestionably this
ghost-dance is excellently stage-man-
aged. Though. Of course. had
TO pick out that particular tomb"
He followed in the wake of the fig-
ure. which sped on with a singular
motion. something between a walk
and a glide. conscious that his eoua-
nimity had been restored rather than
shaken by the incident
He held on in pursuit Of the black
shadow, passing forsaken temples and
lordly pleasure houses, all marble
tracery and fretwork. standing apart
in what had once been noble gardens.
sunken tanks all weed-grown and
rank with slime, humber dooryards
and cots on whose hearthstones the
fires for centuries had been cold-his
destination evidently the temple Of
the unspeakable Eye.
AS they drew nearer the leading
shadow forsook the shade Of the walls
which he seemed to favor. sweeping
hastily across a plaza white with
moonglare and without pause on into
the black, gaping hole beyond the
marble arch.
Here for the nrst time Amber hung
back. stopping score Of feet from
the door. his nerves a-jangle. He did
not falter in his purpose; he was go.
ing to enter the inky portal, but
r. would he ever leave It? And
the world was sweet to him.
He took frm hold of his reason and
went on across the dark threshold,
&ool, throA ,,nAAr<olo otridoo into tho