Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-05-09
CHAPTER XVu.

them abruptly, fighting for light. aghast with
the terror of being lost in this strange wild
country without power of sight. She dared not
reach out for fear of having her conjecture con-
irmed.
She lay still and silent, fighting against her
self, slowly working up courage even as she re-
constructed events preceding her Weakening to
lind herself in this predicament. Gradually it all
came back to her, the squeal of the horse as the
ground grew soft beneath his hoofs and, with his
rider, he plunged down into this black hole
Swiftly, with the recollection etching itself in
every detail upon her mind in one picture of
phosphorescent light, her hands sought her
bosom and with little groan of utter misery,
she gave way to uncomfortable sobs.
The reaction did her good. worked wonders
with her. In that spell of self pity, father, home.
sweetheart, everything forgotten before the
horror of her own predicament. Finished with
1t, she gathered every faculty. mental and phv-
sical, and scrambled to her feet. Above her as
she lifted her eyes, she made out a streak of
light, threaded between aisles of dense leafness--
the sun piercing home into the Jungle She
moved forward, her hands before her. CROPPING
Something soft and motionless and so still it
caused her to shudder met the toe of her boot
She drew back in swift alarm. knowing it to be
the body of the horse she had ridden, great
feeling of gratefulness at her own escape from
similar fate warming her through and through
Mastering the innate repulsion within her
she stepped upon the corpse, her hands reaching
up and finding the smooth edge of the hole that
had been dug across the roadway to entrap her
Her fingers found the roots of tree, roots so
stout they bore her weight. For a moment she
waited. gathering her failing strength for the
supreme effort Then she sprang up gathering
her knees under her, relaxing slightly before put
ting forward every ounce of her strength and
drawing herself slowly, deadly slow, toward the
warm surface of the road.
For just moment she lay there half upon
the road her toes dangling over the pit feeling
the nothingness there. Then she scrambled to
safety, painting and dishevelled and looked about
her
About her, on every side. the Jungle
oreathed, loathsome, fetid, horrible Like some
giant monster it seemed to spread its myriad
tentacles in every direction, barring egress fast
en1ng upon the one who CHANGED to stray within
1t, sucking at ones very vitals. Riotous vegeta-
ton about, trees fighting their heads to the air
and dwarhng weaker ones who, instead of sue
cumbing, twined but the closer to the conouerer
and shot out creepers that fastened about the
trunks and, reaching the lower branches sent
down showers of vines that made passage i'm
penetrable. Wondrous colored orchids peered
with their wickedly malicious human faced petals
from out the branches of these trees shaking
their truncated bodies in diabolical glee at the
girls predicament. Chattering monkeys and bril-
hantly plumaged birds with horrid soueal<inp
voices made mock of her. scamperinp about aloft
always out of a possible danger zone from this
strange being beneath them, yet never ceasing to
mock and jeer.
Bit no odds how bleak the prospect how for
lorn the hope, one always feels courage renewed
when one has just glimpsed a greater danger
and a7erted it. Lucille had known within the
quarter hour the horror of blindness and her
heart leaped high with joy at being able to see
these things. In this same Jungle with her. in
quite as bad predicament Hugo Loubeque
and with Hugo Loubeque were the papers She
had fought so hard to recover. She laughed
aloud, her voice trilling note foreign to this
black abode that the animal life was sill
enced in amaze She had conquered the air. fire.
the wireless lightning, the waves, savages, the
jungle to take away these stolen documents
from man whose identity, at first. she had not
even known. And all these things had seemed to
kneel before her, intent upon doing her bidding
And should she fear now, should she hesitate for
one instant, should she doubt but that an out
ragged. Providence would continue to aid her in
this the greatest hour of need?
The thought braced her as would douse of
cold water. To right, to left, before her and be-
hind was naught but Jungle. Which way should
she turn to come across the international spy?
She felt the amulet about her neck with nervous
pucking fingers, as though seeking to read the
answer there. Safety lay behind, back along the
trail in the village Of the chief who had so
reluctantly permitted her to answer the trumped-
up message from his neighbor. But she did not
wish safety. She wanted the papers and civiliza-
tion. Before her thread of trail debouched
that must lead somewhere, but Hugo Loubeque