Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-16
THE AFTERGLOW
Sequel o "Beyond the Great obiipio,r'
By GEORGE ALLAN ENGLAND
CHAPTER xxvu-(continued)

With n heart-racklng burst OF energy he
sprang to the defense. and as he ran he
drew his huntlng-knife.
Keeling with exhaustion, spent, wlnded,
yet still in desperation struggling onward,
he won the top of the cliff, swung to the
left along the path that led TO the bridge,
and-more dead than alive-rushed onward
In last. supreme effort.
Already he saw the Anthropods were
within hundred feet OF the abutment He
could plainly see their squat, hldeous bodies.
their hairy and pendant arms, and the
ugly shuttle Of their preposterous legs. as
at their best speed they made for the clin,
Three or four poisoned darts fell click
Ing on the stones about him, Howls and
yells of rage burst from the file of beast
men.
One OF the horrible creatures evcn--wlth
apelike agilty-spranG up into the guy
ropes Of the bridge. clung there. and dis
charged an arrow from its bamboo blow
gun. chattcring with rage.
Stern. running but the faster plugged
him with a forty-four, The Anthropod
still clingng. yowled hdeously, then all at
once dropped off and vanished in the
depths.
Full drive. Allan hurled himself toward
the entrance of the bridge. II seemed 10
him the beasts were almost on him now
Plainly he could hear the slaverins click
Of their tushes and see tho red blcared
winking of their deep-set eyes
Now he was at the rope-anchoraEe. where
the cables were lashcd TO two stout palms
He empted his automatic point-bank
into the pack,
Pausing not TO note effects, he slashed
furiously at the left-hand rope.
One strand gave. IL sprang apart and
began untwistinE. Again he hcwed with
mad rage,
Crack :"
The cable parted with report like a
to1 t,c hrid a Nyi li1pD1lg
tumult of yells and shricks arose. The
whole fabric, now unsupported on one side.
dropped away. Covered from end TO end
with Anthropods, 1t swayed heavily
Had men been on Il, all must have been
flung into the rapids by the shock But
these beast-thngs used to aboreal work
| TO scaling cliffs, TO every kind of dangerous
adventuring nearly all succeeded in cling
| ing
Only three or four were shaken or, TO
catapult over and over down into the foam
| ing lash of the river
| And still. now creeping with hdeous
| agility along the racked and swinging
bridge that hung by but a single rope. they
| continued to make way, bowling and
| screaming like damned souls.
| one gained the shore! At Allan II
bounded crouching. ferocious. deadly. He
| saw the tiny, venomous lance raised for the
| throw
| "Flick, :"
| He felt a twitch on his arm. Was he
| wounded? lie knew not. Only he knew
that with blind rage he had flung himself
| on the second rope and Nnow with demon
| rage was hacking at it desperately
The swapping whrl of the cable as II
| parted flung him backward
| He had instant's vision Of the whole
| bridge-structure crumpling Then it van
ished From the depths rose the most
awful scream. quickly smothered, that he
| had ever heard.
| And as the bestial bodies went tumblng
rolling, fighting. down the rapids, he sud
denly beheld the bridge footway hanging
| linn and swaying against the further cliff
THANK God: In time. in time he
painted, staggering like n drunken man.
| But all at once he beheld two of the
Horde still there In front of him-the one
that had flung the dart and another. They
| were advancing at lope.
| Allan turned and fled.
| His ammunition was all spent, he knew
that to face them was madness
"I must load up again" thought he. Then
| I'll make short work Of them :"
| Fortunately he could far outstrip them
| In flight That and that alone had al
ready saved him in the last week of hor-
| rible pursuit through the forests to north
| ward And quickly now he ran down the
terrace again-down to the caves below
| AS he ran he shouted in Merucaan:
|
| hattie out TO war;
Half way down to Cliff Villa he met Fru-
| muos toiling upward. Him he greeted and
| quickly informed of the situation.
THE bridge is down." he painted 81 cut
It! The further shore is swarming with
| enemies Two have reached this side :"
| what is this o Kromno?" asked the
| man anxiously, pointing at Allan's shoulder
| "Haye they wounded you?"
| Allan looked and saw n poisoned dart
| hanging loosely in his left sleeve. As he
moved he could feel the point rubbing
against his naked skin.
| "Merclful heaven!' he exclaimed. Has
| IL scratched me?"
with infinite precautions hS loosened and
| threw off his outer garment. lie flung It,
with the dart still adhering, down over the
cliff.
Look, Frumups!" he commanded
| "Search carefully and see II there be any
| scratch on the skin"
The man obcyed making minute inspec-
tion through his mica eye-shlelds. Then he
| shook his head
| "No, Kromno," he answered II see
nothing. But the arrow came near, near :"
Stern, tremendously relieved. gcstured to-
| ward the caves
| Go swiftly" he commanded. Bring up
every man who still can fight. All must
have full burdens of cartridges, Even
though the bridge be down, the enemy will
| still attack"
But how, since the great river lies be-
| tween?"
"They can climb down those cliffs and
swim the river and scramble up this side
as easily as we can walk on level ground,
| Go swiftly There Is no time to lose 20
| 81 go. .naster. But tell me, the two who
have already reached this side-shall we
not first say them?'
Allan thought. For the first time he now
| realized clearly the terrible peril that lay
in these two Anthropoids already inside the
| limits of the colony.
| He peered up the pathway. No sign of
| them above. Their animal cunning had
warned them not to descend to certain
death.
Now Allan knew they were at liberty in
side the palisades, waiting, watching. con-
| stituting' a deadly menace at every turn.
| In any one of thousand places they
could lie ambushed. behind trees or bushes,
or in the limbs aloft. and thence, unseen,
| they could discharge an indefinite number
| of darts.
1t was now perilous in the extreme even
to venture back to the palisade, Any mo-