Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-04-27

and, in the tangle of the Elusive for
est, was no longer able to find my
panel for certain l had to begin all
over again, at random, feeling. FUN
bling, cropping.
Now the fever laid hold Of me il
my turn for 1 found nothing,
absolutely nothing. In the next room
all was silence. We were quite lost
in the forest, without an outlet, a
compass, a guide or anything. Oh,
knew what awaited US if nobody came
to our aid Or If l did not find
the spring! But, look as l might, ]
found nothing but branches, beautiful
branches that stood straight up be-
fore me, or spread gracefully over my
head. But they gave no shade. And
this was NATURAL enough, as We were
in an equatorial forest, with the sun
right above our heads, an African for
est.
N. de Chagny and I had repeatedly
taken off our coats and put them on
again, finding at one time that they
made US feel still hotter and at an
other that they protected US against
the heat. / was still making a moral
resistance, but NJ. de ChGgny seemed
TO me quite gone" He pretended
that he had been walking in that for
est for three days and nights, with
out stopping. looking for Christine
Daae, From time to time, he thought
ne saw her behind the trunk OF a tree,
or gliding between the branches; and
he called TO her with words OF sup
plication that brought the tears to
my eyes. And then, at last:
"Oh, how thirsty l am" he cried,
in delirious accents.
l too was thirsty. My throat was
on fire. And, yet, squatting on the
floor, l went on hurting, hunting,
hunting for the spring o. the invisible
door especially as 1t was dan
gerous to remain in the forest as eve
ming drew nigh. Already the shades
Of night were beginning TO surround
us. 1t had happened very quickly;
night fails quickly in tropical coun-
tries suddenly, with hardly
any twilight.
equator, is always dangerous, parJicu-
larry when, like ourselves, one has
not the materials for a fire to keep
of the beasts Of prey. l did indeed
try for a moment to break OF the
branches, which | would have lit with
nay dark lantern, but ! knocked my
self also against the mirrors and re-
= ",
images of branches TO do with.
The heat did not 90 with the day
light; on the contrary, it was now
still hotter under the blue rays Of
the moon. l urged the visCOuEt TO
hold our weapons ready TO ire and
not to stray from camp, while went
on looking for my spring.
Suddenly. we heard a lion roaring
a few yards away.
oh" whispered the viscCunt, "he
is quite close! Don't you see
him? There through
the trees in that thicket!
If he roars again, will fire.
And the roaring began again, loud
er than before. And the viscount
fired, but l do not think that he hit
! the lion; only, he smashed mirror,
as | perceived the next morning, at
/ daybreak We must have covered a
/ good distance during the night, for
we suddenly found ourselves on the
! edge of the desert, an immense desert
/ of SAND, stones and rocks. It was
/ really not worth while leaving the
/ forest TO come upon the desert. Tired
! out, l flung myself down beside tho
} viscount, for l had had enough OF
( looking for springs which 1 could mo-
/ find.
was quite surprised-and I said sc
/ to the visCount-that We had encOun
tered no other dangerous animals
/ during the night. Usually, after the
| lion came the leopard and sometimes
\ the buzz of the tsetse fly. These were
! easily obtained effects; and | eX
planned to NJ. de Chagny that EriE
initiated the roar OF a lion on a long
| tsbour or timbrel, with an ASS skin
at one end. Over this skin he tied &
string of catgut, which was fastened
at the middle to another similar
string passing through the whole
length of the tabour. Erik had only
to rub this string with glove
smeared with resin and according tC
the manner in which he rubbed it, be
initiated to perfection the voice o.
the lion or the leopard, or even the
buZZAg of the tsctse fly.
The idea that Erik was probably IL
the room be-ide US, working his trick
made me suddenly resolve TO entel
into a parley with him, for we mus
obviously give up all thought OF tax
ing him by surprise. And by thi:
time he must be quite aware who
were the occupants OF hts torture
chamber. l called him: Erik! Erik!
l shouted as loudly as could across
the desert, but there was no answer
to my voice. All around us lay the
silence and the bare immensely o
that stony desert. What was to be
come of US in the midst OF that awful
solitude?
We were beginning literally to di'
OF heat, hunger and thirst o
thirst especially. At last, l saw N
de Chagny raise himself on his elbow
and point to a spot on the horizon
He had discovered an oasis,
Yes, far in the distance was al
oasis an oasis with limpit
water, which reflected the iron trees