The Washington times., 1912-04-08
CHAPTER vi.
-Troye.

Il
For all their memories of this
height were associated with smooth
sliding elevators that had whisked them
up as though the tremendous had been
the merest trife.
This night, however, what with the
broken stairs, the debris -cumbered hall
ways, the lurking darkness which the
torch could hardly hold back from
swallowing them, they came to a clear
understanding of the problem.
Every few minutes the flame burned
cohol holding the bottle high above the
flame to avoid explosion.
Long before they compassed the dis
tance to the ground floor the girl Jagged
with WEAKNESS and shrank with name
less fears.
Each black doorway that yawned
along their path seemed ominous with
memories of life that had perished
there, OF death that now reigned all
supreme. -.
Each corner, every niche and crevice,
breathed out the spirit of the past and
of the mystic tragedy which in SO brief
lips of her child"
And Stern, though he said little save
TO guide Beatrice and warn her of un-
usual difficulties, felt the somber magic
or the place. No poet, he; only a man
of hard and practical details.
Yet he realized that, were he lowered
with the faculty, here lay matter for an
Epic OF Death such as no Homer ever
penned.
Now and then. along the corridors and
down the stairways. they CHANGED on
curious little piles of dust scattered at
random In fantastic shapes.
These for a few minutes puzzled
stern, TIL. STOPPING, he stirred one with
his hand. Something he saw there
made him start back with a stified ex-
Clanation.
..1o,, rWhat ats is it7" cried the girl startled
But he, realizing the nature of his dis
covery-for he had seen human in
cisor tooth, gold-filled, there in the odd
little heap-straightened up quickly and
assumed a smile
Its nothing. nothing at ALL" he an
swered Come. We haven't got any
time to waste. If we're going to pro-
vide ourselves with even a few neces-
We've got to be at work.
And onward, downward, even farther
and farther, he led her through the
dark dark m maze 1s Of ruin, which did not even
Like disheveled wraiths they passed,
soundelssly. through eerie labyrinths
and ways which might have served as
less to man so utterly drear7 they
stretched out in their ghostly desolation
AT length. after an eternal time of
WEAKNESS ana lapor, they managed to
make their way down into the ruins
of the famous and once beautiful ar
cade which had formerly run from
Madison avenue to the square
on, now horrible!' gasped Beatrice.
shrinking, as they clambered down the
stairs and emerged into this scene of
chaos, darkness death.
Where once the arcade had stretched
and splendor, like an epitome of civil
1zation all gathered in that CONSTRUCTED
space, the little light disclosed stark
horror.
Feeble as a '-the-wisp in that
enshrouding dark. the torch now show
ed only hints of things-here a fallen
pillar, there a shattered mass of wreck
age where huge section of the ceiling
had fallen, yonder a gaping aperture
left by the disintegration of wall.
Through all this rubbish and confus-
lon: over and through a score of the
little dustpiles which Stern had so care
fully avoided explaining to Beatrice,
they climbed and waded, and with in
finite pains slowly advanced.
What we need is more light ex-
claimed the engineer, presently. We've
got to have a bonfire here"
And before long he had collected a
considerable pile of wood, ripped from
doorways and window castings of the
arcade. This he set fire to, in the mid
Soon dull, wavering glow began to
paint itself upon the walls, and to fling
the comrades shadows huge and weird,
IN dancing mockery across the desola-
tion
Strangely enough, many of the large
Plate. glass windows lining, the arcade
he uncanny reflections OF the fire as
ire man and woman slowly made way
down the passage,
See" exclaimed Stern, pointing See
nH these ruined shoos? Probably al
most everything is worthless. But there
snust be some things left that we can
use
'See the postoffce. down there on
money; gold, and silver. in all these
safes here and all over the city-in the
banks and vaults, Millions! Billions!
conceivable! Yet now a good water srin-
ly, some bread. meat. coffee, salt and
so on. a couple of beds. a gun or two
%sIeh Snf some Them Ordinary al9 tools would out
"ciothes. ' too" aS' the girl suggested.
"Ilsin cotton, cloth is worth $1,000 900
an a,,,%bt ,mSh now" onsuor0a Co., ,
about him. with wonder. "And I offer
bushel Of diamonds for a razor and n
pair of scissors" Grimlv he smiled as
ne Rut s.ross6 SSe! nus tbis bfinOymG1s Gn Al beard
plenty Of time to look around and dis
cnss things in the morning. Just nov
we've, got definite errand. Let's get
Thus began their search for I few
prime necessities of life, there I'm thai
charnel-house of civilization by the dIIIl
reflections of the freight and the paIlid
torch glow.
Though they forced their way into
ten or twelve of the arcade shops, they
found no clothing, no blankets or fabric
OF any kind that would serve to cover
them or to sleep upon. Everything al
all in the nature of cloth had either
sunk back into moldering annihilation
or had at best grown far too fragile Ia
be of the slightest service.
They found. however, a furrier's shop
and this they entered eagerly.
From rusted metal hooks a few
: warped fragments of skins stiIl hung
moth-eaten, rlddled with holes, ready Ia
crumble at the merest touch
's9heres nothing IN any Of these IA
help u.s." Judged Stern. But maybe we
might find something else In here"
Carefully they searched the Uttered
place, all dust and horrible disarray
which made sad mockery Of the gold.
leaf sign still visible on the window;
Adele. Importer, All the Latest Nov
elites"
on the floor stern discovered three
more of those little dust-middens which
meant human bodies. Piuful remna nts
Of an extinct race OF unknown people IN
the long ago. What had he now I'm corr,
mon with them? The remains did not
even inspire repusnance IN him.