Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-07-03

&w& HE shock that had been felt 80
" plainly in the valley had been
"a much more severe in the
mountains to the south. In
one place an overhanging cliff had split
and fallen away fron the face OF the
mountain. tumbling with mighty roar
into the valley below.
As IL hurtled down the mountain side
the moonlight. shining upon the fresh
scar that it had left behind it upon the
hills face. revealed the mouth Of
Cloomy cave. from which there TIM
bled the inert ngure OF an animal
which rolled down the steep decliv1ty
In the wake of the mass Of rock that
had preceded IL, the tearing away of
which had opened up the cavern In
which It had lain
For a hundred feet perhaps the body
rolled, coming 10 a stop upon a broad
ledge. For some time 1t lay perfectly
mottonlegs, but at last a feeble move
ment OF the limbs Wac disce-nible
Then for another long period It was
quiet
Minutes dragged into hours, and stu
the lonely thing lay upon the lonely
mountain side, while upon the plain be-
low it hungry lions moaned and roared,
and ali the teeming life Of the savage
wtlds took up their search for food
their sleeping and their love making
where they had dropped them in the
fright Of the earthquake.
At last the stars paled, and the east
ern horizon giowed TO new day, and
then the thing upon the ledge sat up
1t was a man Sill partly dazed,
he drew his hand across his eyes and
looked about him In bewiiderment;
then, staggering a little. he rose TO his
feet. and as he came erect, the new
sun shining on his bronzed limbs and
his shock of black hair. roughly crop
ped between sharpened stones. his
youth and beauty became startlSngly
apparent.
He looked about him upon the
ground, and not finding that which ne
sought. turned his eyes upward toward
the mountain until they fell upon the
cave mouth be had just quilted so pre-
cipitately. Quickly he clambered back
to the cavern. his stone Ratchet and
knife beating agaist his bare hips as
he climbed
For a moment he was lost to view
within the cave. but presently he
emerged. in one hand 4 stone tipped
spear. which seemed recently TO have
been broken and roughly spliced with
raw tendons. and in the other the sew
cred head Of an enormous beast, which
more nearly resembled the royal tiger
of Asia than 1t did any other beast
though that resemblance was little
closer than is the resemblance Of the
royal Bengal to a house kitten
The young man was M. the son
of NJ.
For a hundred thousand years he
had lain Theoretically sealed in bis
rocky tomb. as toads remain in sus-
pended animation for similar periods
of time The earthquake had unseal-
ed his sepulcher, and the rough tumble
down the mountain side had induced
respiration.
His heart had responded 10 the
pumping Of his lungs, and stimuli
taneousfy the other organs Of his body
had resumed their various functions.
AS he stood upon the threshold Of
the cave of 90. the man hunter. the
look Of bewilderment grew upon his
features as his eyes roved over the
panorama Of the unfamiliar world
which lag spread below him. There
was scarce an object to remind him
of the world that had been but a brief
instant before, for NJ could not know
that ages had rolled by since he took
hasty refuge in the lair OF the great
beast he had slain.
He thought that he might be dream
ing. and so he rubbed his eyes and
looked again; but still he saw the I'M
familiar trees and bushes about him
and, farther down IN the valley, the
odd appearing vegetation Of the jungle.
M could not fathom the mystery of it
Slowly he stepped from the cave and
began the descent toward the valley,
for he was very thirsty and very hun
CRY. Below him he saw animals graz
ing upon the broad plain, but even at
that distance he realized that they were
such as no mortal eye had ever before
rested upon.
War4Iy he advanced, every sense
alert against whatever new form of
danger might Turk in this strange new
world Had he had any conception Of