The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-05-10

at first she had lost her sight She
closed her eyes purposey, opening
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-
frmed.
She lay still and silent, fighting against her
self, slowly working up courage even she re-
constructed events preceding her Weakening to
find 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
it, she gathered every faculty, mental and ply
steal, and scrambled to her feet. Above her,
she lifted her eyes, she made out 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 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 escape from
a similar fate warming her through and through.
= Mastering the innate repulson 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 a tree, roots
stout they bore her weight. For 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 a 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
breathed, loathsome, fetid, horrible. Like some
giant monster it seemed to spread it's myriad
tentacles in every direction, barring egress, fast
ening 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 dwaring weaker ones who, instead of sue
cumbng, twined but the closer to the conquerer
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 predcament. Chattering monkeys and bril-
lantly plumaged birds with horrid, squeaking
voices made mock of her, scampering about aloft,
always out of possible danger from this
strange being beneath them, yet never ceasing to
mock and jeer.
But no odds how bleak the prospect how for
horn the hope, one always feels courage renewed
when one has just glimpsed greater danger
and averted 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 was Hugo Loubeque
and with Hugo Loubeque were the papers she
had fought hard to recover. She laughed
aloud, her voice trilling note foreign to this
black abode that even 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 a 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,
plucking 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 trumpet
up message from his neighbor. But she did not
wish safety. She wanted the papers and civiliza-
ton. y Before her thread of trail debouched
dst must lead somewhere, but Hugo Loubeque