The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1913-05-29

reached the en0 OF the narrow shell
and there balanced precariously upor
six inches Of outcroppipg, cast hi.
glance cautiously upward and about
Several feet to the right was another
too,hold equally insecure. but leading
upward again, and with the care with
which one treads . taut wire he placed
bis foot upon II. found 4 shallow fin
ger hold in the cliff and raised himself
For fifty feet more he climbed a. a ny
scales a wall, periled his life upon the
two.inch support Of iutting point.
mounted again with the superhuman
cunning and strength Of the insane
and at the end Of a half hours well
nigh miraculous effoxt found for the
nrst time during the ascent shelf
large enough to rest upon. He was
half way up now. and with a hundred
and fifty feet Of beetling clin above
and as much empty space below he
,at down for moments heavy breath
ing.
Through his disordered mind there
ran riot a strange medley OF the real
and the unreal Well enough he knew
that he was scaling this height to
save the woman whom he loved, yet
he now conceived the Flying Man to
be of the supernatural. winged mon.
ster of the inaccessible cliffs. a dragon
81 the noisome caverns that lay be-
heath the gorges. and that he was the
knight chosen from all others because
Of his superior strength and valor to
60 forth and slay him at the portals of
his rock hound domain. Well, STAY
him he would beyond the shadow OF a
doubt, but already the sun was getting
low, the climb was still long and des-
perate and he must be on his way lest
night and certain death should over
take him fattened against the blank
wall of the dragons castle Once more
he cautiously arose to resume his eli.
forts.
He scanned the cliff. Just above
his head was another projection which
promised foothold could he but
reach it, and burying his fingers in a
crack and finding an inch wide cup
port for his foot he drew himself slow.
ly upward. The slightest slip of hand
Of foot meant instAnt death now, and
his fingers gripped the stone until
they grew white and bloodless from
the strain. Slowly he raised himself,
found another grip and another tiny
support and with m effort that sent
the blood surginE to his temples
brought himself gasping one notch
higher Her2 again the ascent GE.camc
1 trifie less precarious for a ways. and
another half.hour found him within a
few feet OF the summit. Here OF al!
places during the ascent he came the
nearest to plunging the whole distance
to the rocks below, but a last des.
perate struggle saved him and weak
and trembling from the supreme e..
fort he threw himself down safely
over the edge. For moment he rest
ed. then cautiously arose and looked
about.
Upon q far distant western peak the
sun was balanced like broad gold
coin poised delicately. Its horizontal
rays swept the plateau upon which he
stood, but OF the heat that had grid.
died him during that day of frenzied
pursuit scarce a vestige remained in
the thin air. oh, that awful pursuit!
His brain had seethed as a cauldron,
his body reeled like a drunken mans.
his numbed limbs responding to the
driving power Of his will az mechanic.
ally as the unfeeling pistons OF ma.
chine: the uncanny flying monster
bearing the woman of his heart ever
close before his glazed eyes, while
March, his accused rival, had ridden
upon his back and borne him down
like an old man Of the sea- At times
1t had seemed ~ though he would 10
mad. March! Had he shot him? Yes,
1t dimly seemed to him that he had,
and had left him dead upon the rocks
below. What Of It! Had It not been
that he had been compelled to carry
him on his back al day be would have
reached this height IN hour before
perhaps would have reached It in I'D.
vance Of the hying one and been pre-
pared to meet him - he aliShted!
What msttereA 4 dead man or two In
case like this when dragon was to
be slain and . princsss-his princess,
to be rescued! He laughed quickly,
sharply, ; sisgls yegplpsiye sound more
Nike the bark Of - bsast. than the
sound Of human voice. He turned
and faced the plateau.
Desolation. It stretched away In .
broad sweep on either hand, chaotic.
volcanic. numbered with the left over
debris Of mountain making-a junk
shop Of the unussable fragments Of
creation. Boulders little az pebbles,
huge az houses were strewn on every
side, scattered broadcast, grouped in
piles, heaped in monuments. Barren
spaces lay between them. No living
thing invested the solitude save him.
self and those to find whom he had 50
desperately risked his life in the
ascent. To his disordered mind 1t
seemed battlefield well planned for
the combat to come, for around these
1umbled masses he could creep like .
panther until he could ind the dragon.
and having found him
Silence. 1t invested all, throbbing..
plllsating, ringing In his ears like tho