Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-11-30

through the mouth Of the same tun-
mel they had entered by. roar went
IN behind them Ike the birth of earth
Quakes. Looking hack over his shout
der, King saw Yasmini come back into
the holes mouth. to stand framed in II
and bow acknowledgement. For the
space of five minutes she stood III the
great hole smiling and watching the
crowd below. Then she went, and the
guards began to loose random vOlleys
mt the roof and brought down hun.
dretweights of splintered Stalactlte.
Within minute there We're Il hun.
dred men busy sweeping up The splin-
tiers. In another minute twenty Zakka
Khels had begun a sword dance. yell
ing like demons. A hundred Joined
them. In three minutes more the
whole arena was DINING whirlpool,
and the rivers voice was drowned In
shouting and the stamping of naked
feet on stone.
Gomez urged Ismnil, and led the
way.
Kings last impression was of earths
womb on fire and of hellions brewing
wrath. The stalactites and the hurry
ing river multiplied the dancing lights
into Il million, and the great roof
hurled the din down again to make
confusion with the new din coming up
Ismall went like rat down a run
and it became so dark that King had
to follow by ear. He imagined they
were running back toward the ledge
under the waterfall; yet, when lsmail
called halt at last, painting, CROPPED
behind great rock for a lamp and lit
the wick with common safety match,
they We're in cave he had never seen
before.
"Where are WEI" King asked.
"Whcre none dare seek us. Art
thou afraid" asked Ismail, holding
the lamp to Kings face.
''Kuch dar nahin hai - he answered.
There is no such thing AS fear!"
Suddenly the Afridi blew the lamp
/ out. and then the darkness became
solid. Thought itself left of less than
a yard away.
''lsmail y he whispered. But Ismai
did not answer him.
| He faced about. leaning against the
" Il Ia Ant ~ hot u
pressed tight against it for the sake
of its company; and almost at once he
saw little bright red light glowing
in the distance. 1t might have been
below him; 1t was perfectly impossible
to Judge. for the darkness was not
measurable.
Flowers turn to the light" droned
kmails voice above sententiously, and
turning, he thought he could see red
eyes peerng over the rock. He jumped
and made n grab for the flowing beard
that surely must be below them, but
he missed.
Little fish swim to the light p
droned lsmail "Moths fly to the
Hight! Who IS II man that he should
know less than theyT
He turned again and stared at the
light. Dimly, very vaguely he could
make out that Il causeway led down
ward from almost where ne stood. He
was convinced that should he try tO0
climb back lsmail would merely reach
out II hand and shove him down again
and there was no sense in being put
to that indgnlty He decided to 20
forward, for there was even less sense
In standing still. SO he stopped to
feel the floor with his hand before
deciding to 20 forward. There was
no mistaking the finish given by the
tread of countless feet He was on Il
highway and there are not often pit
falls where so many feet have been.
For all that he went forward MS II
certain Agag once did, and 1t was
many minutes before he could see n
4 certain glowing hlood.red in the light
behind two lamps, at the top Of flight
Of ten stone steps. When he went
quite close he saw carpet down the
= middle of the steps. SO ancient that
the stone showed through i'm places
all the pattern. supposing ii ever had
any, was worn or faded away. Carpet
: and steps glowed red too. His own
| face. and the hands he held ia front
Of him were red-hot-poker color. Yet
outside the little ellipse of light the
darkness looked like thing TO lean
against. and HE silence was SO intense
that he could hear the arteries sing
ing by his ears.
He saw the curtains move slightly
apparently in little PUT Of wind tina,
made the lamps waver. Then he walked
up tho steps and ut The top he stopped
to examine the lamps.
They were bro NE, east, polished anC
gravcd. All round the circumference,
Of each bowl were figures in half
relief, representing n woman dancing
She was the woman of the knifc-hilt
snd Of the lamps In the arena But NJ
two figures of the dance were alike
II was the same woman dancing. hui
the artist had chosen twenty differ
pnt poses with which TO imlnortaliz,
his SKILL and hers. Both lamps burned
sweet oil with Il wick, and each la,
chimney Of horn, not ut all unlik,
modern lamp chimney. The horn
was stained red.
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