Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1913-11-28

down with . moan. She orept toward
him again.
Il cannotl" shs said slowly. We
must die here"
But tosetherl" whispered Paul.
There was exultation In his voice.
Suppose We shout In unison" he con-
tinued.
Their voices hardly made them
selves audible across the wilderness
Of sand.
Tell me you love met" Paul whis.
pered eagerly, and heard the whisper.
ed answer And there is-the1o 10
none who has the right to claim yuu?"
he asked again.
Is She shook her head family and fell
forward beside his grave. Paul closed
his eyes. He had no further wish to
Hive. He swooned into what he thought
was eternity.
It was long afterward that he fan.
cied he heard the whirring Of great
wings above him. The sound passed
through his mind like the shadowy
fancy Of q dream. He hardly felt the
sand shoveled away or the hands that
hoisted him froD the pit. It was the
taste Of brandy in his throat and the
long succeeding draught Of cooling
water. infinitely grateful; above all 1t
was the agony Of the returning circu-
lation In his limbs that brought him
back to consciousness.
When he opened his eyes he found
himself lying In the shadow Of great.
aeroplane. At his side stood an officer
wearing the uniform Of the Italian:
aeronautical corps. Within the ma
chine, strapped carefully to the up
rights, her face pale as death, her
eyes closed, was the unknown lady.
But when Paul stared. not yet quite
sure Of his surroundings, into the
face Of the man who had rescued him,
he was, more amazed than at anything;
that had occurred during his advenr
ture. For this was Captain Won Hols'
rath, whom he had met In antagonism
on the Long Island shore that day
when he had his first meeting with
Mademoiselle.
The captain gazed into Paul's face
steadfastly; he knew him, too.
Tam glad that we have met again"
he said. 1T is a far cry from the CON-
mand Of an Austrian battleship to that.
of an aeroplane scout-in the Italian
army. you think. Nevertheless. many
things are possible which might SEEM
impossible to you now, az you Will
learn on the occasion Of our next
meeting" He bent his head forward
and continued in. q low voice, filed
with intense earnestness:
"Relinquish, your hopeless quest.
Monsieur. You see how fate has
worked against you. Here cannot
meet you In honorable combat, and the
the chance task Of rescuing you from,
Z, living death which was laid upon me.
you owe me no gratitude. That Is
merely part Of humanity's code. But.
Monsieur, let me warn you. urge you
to 60 back to America. You do not.
understand the strength Of the forces;
with which you have to contend. or
the impossibility Of your aspirations.
Paul staggered TO, his feet and: held!
out his hand. The captain grasped.
IT.:
II shall never go back until l have.
succeeded" he said. ''But We will; at
least play our parts honorably, and
God grant that we meet in. honorable.
encounter at no far. distant date"
The captain smiled, and nodded his
head briskly. He pulled = card. case
from his pocket, extracted q card! and
.scribbled q few words on it.
"This will aid you to reach safety
he said, handing it to him. "You WIZ
find the headquarters Of the Italian
forces mile beyond the limit OF the
oasis. You will make your way TO, the
tent Of General Rinaldes, who will
haye you conducted to the seash0re'
and put aboard any steamship you
wish. I have given you my warning
az to your best destination. Fare
WELT"
He clasped Paul's hand again and
stepped into the aeroplane. Until that
moment Paul had not realized that he
was to be parted once more from the
mysterious woman who had been 60
miraculously given back to him But
as the captain sprapg IN Paul under
stood and, with cry Of dismaF, no
chung to the steel uprights. The cap
tain touched the lever which con-
trolied the mechanism and tho ma
china began to move. Il skinned the
dasar& sand Paul skiif clinRins fast