The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-05-21
E~~.~~ The~~ ~:
: Flying
~~>~Man ~~~~~:
z By
Z Harry Irving Greene
B AuKkor Of
2 "'The Lash of Circumstance"

AuEhor Of
"ThG Lash Of Circumstance"
Barbara of the Snowso


blankly, then filled with wild light.
He struggled painfully to his feet,
gazed about, saw the crouching form
ahead and shambled onward without
speaking, March close at his heels.
For a short distance they proceeded
with no indication upon the part of
the roosting creature ahead to evil
dence that he either saw or heard
them, and a wild beast glare came in
to Clay's eyes as he drew his pistol.
Then as an awkward foot sent stone
rolling the Flying Man glanced quick
ly around, saw his peril and with one
sweep of his arm swung the girl be-
tween himself and those who were
closing in on him. Doris had evident
ly seen them as we'll, for she raised
her head for an instant, almost imme-
diately letting it fall as she became
limp again; while her captor launch
ing himself from the point where he
had rested bodily into space flew
heavily along the mountain side. That
he was nearly as distressed as them
selves March felt convinced. Perhaps
he had flown far that day before pick
ing her up, perhaps her weight was
too great for him to bear by the hour,
perhaps he had been wounded by the
men of the flying machines and was
gradually losing his strength-the pos
sibility of one or more of his conjec-
lures being correct stimulated Alan
like a glass Of strong wine, and his
| legs becoming more timber again with
use he pressed forward nearly as rap
idly as he had upon the beginning of
the pursuit. Tolliver, also greatly re-
freshed by his short slumber and
working the stiffness from his muscles
| with every step also again ran al
most lightly. Close upon each others
heels they raced over the uneven
rocks.
They passed across a treacherous
slide of shale rock where a misstep
would have brought half a mountain
side down upon them in roaring ava
lanche, then entered upon a narrow
passage where upon one side the
mountain rose sheer to the swimming
sky, while upon the other it dropped
into a sickening abyss. This scant
way they traversed with the reckless
ness of mountain sheep, and soon leav-
| Ing 1t behind found themselves upon a
broader way. Before them sank a
gorge, slant and deep, a good mile
wide: beyond it arose the towering
| heights of the table mountain towards
which they had been stumbling since
| the beginning Of the pursuit. Acresa
| the gorge the flying thing was already
| beating his way, and with but an In
| stant's pause in order to pick out their
| path the pursuers went scrambling
| down. Dislodged rocks flew from be-
meath their feet and with leaps of
| ever increasing length clattered to
| the bottom far below where they land
| ed with echoing roars. In their slides
their clothing was ripped to pietur-
esque rags and their bodies raked and
skinned pitiably. They reached the
bottom. scrambled across and faint
| and dizzy once more began the steep
ascent. Climbing, dragging themselves
| from rock TO rock, often upon their
hands and knees, blinded by sweat,
! gasDing, they slowly mounted until a
steep field of jumbled masses split
| from the peaks by the erosion and
lightnings Of untold ages lay before
/ them, and over this CHASTITY field of
unutterable desolation and brooding
| silence they went in a last heart
breaking scramble until they reached
the base of the fiDal cliffs that arose
as sheer as a wall for hundreds of
feet to the broad, fiat surface of the
q In q or r6ATsIY7
to the face of the cliff pointed despair
ingly upward. His face was that of
an old man, furrowed and drawn,
| CHASTITY pale, his mouth open, his eyes
wild and rolling. Alan's glance fol-
lowed the raised finger. Two hundred
| feet above them and struggling des-
| perateiy, sometimes striking the cliff
| with his pinions, sometimes falling
| back few feet, but always recovering
himself and mounting higher, the one
whom they had chased throughout
| that awful day was bearing his prey
yard by yard to the height above.
Then with a last desperate effort he
reached the summit, lowered a second
| at its edge and then disappeared, a
| smothered cry Of triumph falling like
knell upon the ears of those who
gasped below Horror-stricken and
utterly spent both of the pursuers
sank upon the stones with the soul
sickness of despair upon them
| March staring with sunken eyes
across the broad gulch which they had
| last slid into and with infinite toll
| worked their way out of, could from
| the height at which he sat see miles
| OF the toTtuous course along which
| they had dashed themselves by pure
strength of will. Yonder was the
mountain side with its DEVILS trap of
| inclined shaie across which they had
| crept as one might creep the steep
| side Of roof, hitching themselves
| along with the slow painfulness of
wounded men upon a battlefield There.
/ also, was the narrow trail along the
| ledge Of oyerhanging rock where a
stumble would have landed them in
! shapeless masses hundreds of feet be-
| low. Back OF that, dim in the dis
| lance, was the huge boulder by the
side of which he had fought his bitter
battle against the stupor of exhaustion
| as he painted himself back to life while
ToIliver had slept, back of that again
and Unfortunately away the ragged
crest over which they had staggered
as they arose from the other gorge
with its chaotic bottom Of fallen rock
masses What a distance they had
come-what incredible efforts they
had put forth with all the world swing