The Washington times., 1912-04-05

fogs, sign OF consciousness be-
gan to dawn in the face of the
tranced girl.
Once more the breath OF life began
TO stir in that full bosom, to which
again vital warmth had on this day
of days crept slowly back.
And as she lay there, prone upon the
dusty floor, her beautiful face buried
and shielded in the hollow OF her arIr,
a sigh welled from her lips.
Life-life was flowing back again!
The miracle OF miracles was growing
10 reality.
Family now she breathed: vaguely ner
heart began to throb once more. She
stirred. She moaned, still Cor the mo-
ment powerless TO cast off wholly the
enshrouding incubus Of that tremendous
dreamless sleep.
Then her hands closed. The finely
tapered fingers tangled themselves in
the masses of thick, luxuriant hair
which lay outspread all over and about
her. The eyelids trembled.
And, moment later, Beatrice <er-
drick was sitting up. dazed and utterly
uncomprehending, peering about her a.
the strangest vision which since the
world began has ever been the lot of
any human creature TO behold-the vi
sion of a place transformed beyond all
power of the intellect to understand
For OF the room which she remen-
bered, which had been her last sight
when ESQ long, so very long, ago) her
eyes had closed with that sudden and
unconquerable drowsiness, OF that room,
I say, remained only walls, ceiling, floor
Of rust-red steel, and crumbling cement.
Quite gone was all the plaster. as by
magic. Here or there heap OF whitish
dust betrayed where some of it's detrI-
tus still lay.
Gone was every, picture, chart. and
map which-put an hour since, il
seemed to her-had decked this office ot
Allan Stern, consulting engineer; this
aerie UP in the forty-eighth story of the
Metropolitan Tower.
Furniture there now was none. Owe:
the still intact glass OF the windows
cohwebs were draped so thickly as al
most to exclude the light Of day-a
strange, hy-infested curtain where once
neat green snade-rollers had hung.
Even as the bewldered girl sat there
lips parted. eyes wide with amaze. 8
spider seized his buzzing prey and scam.
pered back into hole in the wall.
side down in the far corner, cheeped
With dry, crepitant sounds of irritation
Beatrice rubbed her eyes.
WHAT" she said, quite slowIy
Dreaming? How singular! OIL,
wish ! could remember this when walk
up. or all the dreams I eve: Lad, :.lis
ones certainly the strangest. So real
SO vivid. Why. | could swear l wa
awake-and yet
All at once a sudden DOUBT tashec
into hor mind. An uneasy expression
Hawned across her face. der eyes grew
wild with T. great fear. the fear OF W.
ter and absolute incomprehcnsion.
Something about this room, tii5 wc;rt
awakening, bore in upon he" conscious
uess the dread tldings this was not {
dream!
Something drove home 10 her the fec
that it was real, objective. positive
And with a gasp OF fright she struS
Gled up amid the litter ana the rubbish
OF that uncannY room.
on" she cried in terror. d a huge
scorpion, ma!evUlent, and with its tai
raised to strike, sCuttiad away and van
ished though u gaping ;Oiq where one,
Tho corridor door had swung. "Oh. oh
Where am /? What-What has-hap
pened"'
Horrlhed beyond all Tl2Gs, pale anC
staring, both hands clutChed to hel
breast, whereon her very clothing nov
had torn and crumbled, she faced about
10 her II seemed as though some mon
suous, evil thing was lurking in tn,
dim corner at her back. She tried t
scream, but no sound. save a Choke(
gasp, issued from her lips.
Then she started toward the doorway
Even she took the first few steps hel
gown-a mere tattered mockery OF raj
ment-fell away from her.
And, confounded by new problem
she stopped short. About her she peereC
in vain for something to protect he
disarTay. There was nothing!
"Why-where s-wherc's my chair
My desk?' she exclaimed thickly. start
ing toward the place by the windov
where they should have been, and wer
not. Her shapely feet !c!l soundlessl,
in that strange and impslpabia DIS
which thickly coated every thing.
My typewriter? Is-can that be 10
typewriter? Great hevens! What's tn
matter here, with everything? Am
mad?"
There before her lay a somewha
larger pile of dust mixed with soft an
punky splinters of rotten wood. Ami
all this decay she saw some bits O
rust, a corroded type-bar or two. eve
a few rubber key-caps, still recogniz
able, though with the letters quite oh
liberated.
All about her, yelling her completed
in a mantle OF wOndrous gloss an
beauty, her lustrous hair fell, as sh
stopped to see this strange. incompre
hensible phenomenon. She tried to pic
up one OF the rubber caps. At he
merest touch it crumbled to an i'm
palpable white powder.
Back, with a shuddering cry, the gil
Eprang. terrified.
''MerCiful Heavens she supplicatet
"WhRt-what does all this meau?"
For a moment she stood there. h(
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