Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-13
T H E A FT E r GLOW
4 o tc Great
BY GEORGE ALLAN ENGLAND

has been given you--our law" she cried
loudly in the Merucaan tongue
No answer
She snatched out a pistol. and with the
butt loudly smote the planks of palm wood
within, the echoes rumbled DULY, but no
human voice replied
Traitors Cowards !" she defed tho op-
posing power. "I woman, your mistress,
am come to save you and you bar me out !!
Woe on you Woe !"
Waiting not, but now with greater haste.
| she ran down along the pathway toward the
next door
That too was sealed And the next. and
the fourth, and all, every one, both on the
| upper and the lower terrace, all---all were
| oarrlcaded, even to the great gap made by
the landslide
From within no sound no reply. no slight
| est sign that any heard or noticed her
Dumb, mute, passive, invincible rebellion!
In vain she called, commanded pleaded
explained entreated. No answer Tho white
barbarians, all banded against her now
mad smut themselves up with their wounded
and their dying to wait their destiny alone
How many were already dead? How
many might vet be saved who would die
| without her help? She could not tell The
uncertainty maddened her
lf they den up, that way" she said
'pestilence may break out among them and
al may die And then what? If I'm left
| the boy-what them"
The thought was too horrible for con-
temptation. SO many blows had crashed
home to her soul the last week-even the
last few hours-that the girl felt numbed
and dazed as IN a nightmare.
IL was. ii must be, all some frightful UNI
| reality-Allans absence, the avalanche
| Hyemba's attack and this widespread. silent
deiinance of her power.
Only a few days before Allau had been
| there with her-strong, vigorou=. confident
Authority had been supra-re labor
| content prosperity had rcEua' H-al7h
and life and vlgor had been .sa-rrh5re.
On the horizon OF existence no cloud none
over the sun of progress.
And now, suddeny-anr .3t'0n!
With groan that was H 7"h her face
drawn and pale, eyes fixed and unseeing
| Beatrice turned back up the Iar-ar' path
back up the steep, toward the -u.y door
still at her communications Villa.
Back toward the only one OF these strange
Folk still loyal back toward her child.
Her head felt strangely giddy The
depths at her left hand, below the parapet
of stone seemed to be call--calling in
sistently Before her sight something like a
veil was drawn and yet 1t was not n veil
but peculiar haze. now and then inter-
shot with sparliles of pale light.
Through her mind filtered for the first
time something like an adequate realization
of her vast, ably ysmal gulf in culture status
still yawnng between these barbarians and
Allan and herself.
civilization" she stammered In an odd
voice "why that means-generationsu !"
sAll at once she wondered IL she were
going TO faint. A sudden pain had stabbed
her temples humming had attacked her
ears.
She put out her hand against the rock
wall of the cliff at the right TO steady her
self Her mouth felt hot and very dry.
II must get back home" she said
| weakly. I'm not at all well--this morn
ing Overexertion---"
Painfully she began 10 climb the stepped
nath toward the upper level and Cliff Villa
Art again IL seemed TO her the depths were
calling but now she felt positive she heard
a yoice-a voice she knew but could not
exactly place--a hail very far away vet
near-all very strange, unreal and terrify-
ing
"Oh--am going TO be ill?' she painted
mo. no | mustn't For the boys sake,
| mustn't | can't"
with a tremendous effort, now crawling
rather than walking-for her knees were as
water-the girl dragged herself up tho path
almost to her doorway
Again she heard the call, this time no
halucnation, but reality,
Beatrice Beatrice !' the voice was
shouting "O-he! Beatrice !"
His hall Allans
Her heart stopped a long minute and
then leaping with joy, a'very anguish Of