Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1913-11-14
She erept toward

down with a moan. She erept toward
him again.
j 4 cannot!" she said slowly. 1--WE
must die here"
"But together!" whispered Paul.
There was exultation in his voice.
Suppose we shout in unison" he con-
tinued.
i Their voices hardly made them
selves audible across the wilderness
of sand.
i Tell me you love mel" Paul whis-
pered eagerly, and heard the whisper.
ed answer. And there is-there is
he asked again.
She shook her head family and fell
forward beside his grave. Paul closed
his eyes. He had no further wish to
live. He swooned into what he thought
was eternity.
1t was long afterward that he fam
cied he heard the whirring of great
wings above him. The sound passed
through his mind like the shadowy
fancy of dream. He hardly felt the
sand shoveled away or the hands that
hoisted him from the pit. 1t was the
taste of brandy in his throat and the
long succeeding draught of cooling
water, infinitely grateful; above all it
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 adven.
ture. For this was Captain Won Holz-
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 Paurs face
| steadfastly; he knew him, too.
Il am glad that we have met again.
he said. 1T is far cry from the COM
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, as you will
learn on the occasion of our next
meeting" He bent his head forward
and continued in a low voice, filled
with intense earnestness:
"Relinquish your hopeless quest,
Monsieur You see how fate has
worked against you. Here l cannot
meet you in honorable combat, and the
| the chance task of rescuing you from
a living death which was laid upon me
you owe me no gratitude. That is
merely part of humanitv's code. But,
Monsieur, let me warn you, urge you
to go 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 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 a card and
scrubbed a'few words on it.
This will aid you to reach safety"
he said, handing it to him. you will
find the headquarters of the italian
forces a 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 seashore
and put aboard any steamship you
wish. I have given you my warning
as to your best destination. Fare
WE'LL"
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 so
miraculously given back to him. But
as the captain sprang in Paul under
stood and, with a cry of dismay, he
chung to the steel uprights. The cap
| tain touched the lever which con-
trolled the mechanism and the ma
chine began to move. 1t skinned the
desert sand, Paul still clinging fast
in fury of delirious anger 1t drag
ged him, flung him aside, rose slowly,
like a great bird, ana winged its pas
sage through the air. Paul stood still,
gazing at it until it was only speck
in the distance
Then, his head bowed with anguish,
he stumbled slowly over the desert
sands in the direction of the italian
quarters. He had found his love only
to lose her again. And even now he
did not know her name.
| But he knew. that she loved him. And
he vowed that he would follow her
and win her yet, though seven gates,
each guarded by an angel with fiery
sword, as in the Arab legend, divided