The Sentinel=record., 1914-09-06
Copyright, 1914, by Louis Joseph vance


ways convenient to his hand He
came abruptly and at headlong pace
within sight of the caves of a cliff
and precisely then the hillside seemed
to slip from under him.
His heels flourished in the mir, his
back thurnped a bed of pebbles thinly
overgrown with moss. The stones
gave. the moss-skin broke, he began to
slide-grasped at random a youngish
cedar which stayed him imperceptibly.
coming away with all its puny roots
caught at another. no more substan-
tial-and amid a shower of loose stone
shot out over the edge and down a
drop Of more than thirty feet.
He was instantaneously aware Of
the sun, n molten ball wheeling mao
~ In the cup Of the turquoise sky.
Then dark waters closed over him
lie came up struggling and gasping,
and struck out for something dark
| chat rode the waters near at hand
something vaguely resembling a
canoe.
! But his strength was largely spent,
his breath had been driven out of him
| by the force of the fall, and he had
| swallowed much water-while the field
of his consciousness was stricken with
! confusion.
| Within stroke of an outstretched
paddle. he flung up a hand and went
down again.
Instantly one occupant of the
canoe, young and very beautiful wo-
man in mans hunting clothes, spoke
sharp word of command and, as
her guide steadied the vessel with his
paddle, rose in her place so surely
that she scarcely disturbed the nice
balance of the little craft. and curved
J her 1.-THE body over the bow, head
foremost into the pool.
MIR. Law had, In point of fact, en-
! dured more than he knew; more than
even weathered woodsman could
| have borne without suffering. Forty
eight hours OF such heavy woods
walking as he had put in to escape
| tho forest fire, would have served to
| PROSTATE almost any man; add to this
| ignoring a dozen other mental, nery-
| Gus and physical strains) merely the
| fact that he had been half-drowned.
He experienced little fever, little
| delirium, then blank slumbers of ex-
haustion.
He awoke in dark of night, wholly
unaware that thirty-siX hours had
passed since his fall This last. how
ever, and events that had gone before,
he recalled with tolerable clearness-
allowing for the sluggishness of a
drowsy mind. Other memories, more
vague, of gentle ministering hands, OF
face by turns an angels, a flowers,
a tiends, and a dear womans, trou-
bled him even less materially. He
was already sane enough TO allow he
had probably been a bit out Of his |
head, and since it seemed he had been |
saved and cared for, he found no rea- !
son to quarrel with present crcum |
stances.
Still, he would have been grateful |
for some explanation of certain phe-
nomeua which still haunted him-such |
a vague but importunate sense of a
womans presence in that darkened |
room-things manifestly absurd i
With some difficulty, from dry
throat, he spoke, or rather whis-
pered: Water"
IN response he heard someone move |
over creaking floor. A sulphur
match sputtered UNANIMOUSLY. A can
die caught fire, silhouetsng Illusion, |
Of course!- the figure of a woman in
hunting shirt and skirt Water /
splashed noisily Alan became aware |
of someone who stood at his side, one
hand offering Z glass to his lips, the |
other gently raising his head that he |
might drink with ease
Draining the glass, he breathed his |
thanks and sank back, retaining his |
grasp on the wrist of that unreal |
hand 1t suffered him without re-
sistance. The hallucination even |
went so far as to say. in womans |
soft accents:
You are better, Alan?"
He sighed incredulously. "Rose!"
The voice responded "Yes!" Then |
the perfume of roses grew still more |
strong, seeming to fan his cheek like |
d woman's warm breath. And a mir |
acle came TO pass; for Mr., Law, who !
realized poignantly that all this was
sheer. downright nonsense. distinct |
ly felt lips like velvet caress his fore
head
He closed his eyes, frightened his
grasp on that hand Of phantasy, and
muttered rather inarticulately.
The voice asked. What is 1t,
dear?"
He responded: "Delirium
But / like it Let me ravel"
Then again he slept
CHAPTER vi.