Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-05
CHATTER XIII-lConiinnedD

CHAPTER XIII-(Continued)
EAGERLY he scanned the horizon, only
T. Just visible In the starshine Warmly
| the rushing night wind famed his check
the roar Of the motor and propellcrH. pull
satirg nightly. made music TO MS ears,
| For il sang, Home again: Beatrice ana
| love once more -
Many long hours had passed since. his
| fuel tanks repenshcd from the apparatus
| for distiling the crude naphtha, which he
had installed during his first stay In the
| Abyss, he had risen "A second time into that
heavy. humid, purple -vapored air.
! with him he now bore Bremlu, the
| strong and Zangamon, most expert OF all
| the fishermen. Slung In the baggage crate
| aft lay a large seine, certain supplies OF
| fish weed and eggs and--from time to time
| noisily squawking-some half-doZcn of the
| strange sea birds, in a metal basket,
The pioneers had insisted on taking these
! impediments with them to bridge the gap
| of changed conditions, precaution stern
| had recognized as cmnently sensible.
| cad :" thought he as the Pau!laC Hwcpt
| its long, fat-arched trajectory through the
| night under any circumstances THIS must
| be n terrific wrench for them, TAX about
! nerve. If they haven't got IT, who has'
| This trip Of these subterranean barbarians.
| thus flung suddenly into mdair. out into
| world of which they know absolutely moth
| ing, must be exactly what n journey to
| Mars would mean to me. More, far more,
| to their simple minds, | wonder myself at
| their courage in taking such tremendous
| step"
| And in his heart n new and keener ad-
! mration for the basic stamina of the
| Merucaans took root.
| They'll do" he murmured. as he scan
| ned his lighted chart once more and cast
up reckonings from the dials of his deli
| cately adjusted instruments.
| Half an hour more of rapid flight and
he deemed New Hope River could not now
be far.
NO use to try to hear it, though, with
| this racket of the propellers in my ears"
| thought he THE searchght might pos
sibly pick up a CLEAN of water, II we fly
over it, But even that's a small index to
! go bv This signal fire must be my only
! real gude--and where is it now, that fire.
A vague uneasiness began to oppress
| him The fire, he reCkoned, should have
| shown ere now in the far distance With
out IT, how find his. way? And what or
| Beatrice.
! His uneasy reflections were suddenly in
| terrupted by word from Zangamon, at
his right.
30 Kromno, master, see?"
What is It, now"
"A fire. very distant MASTER"
! "where?" queried Stern eagerly his
! heart leaping with joy. II see no fire
|
fogs now far surpass mine even as mine
| will yours when the time Of light shall
| come Where is the fire, Zangamon?'
The fisher pointed, a dim huge figure in
| the star-lit gloom.
There master on thy left hand thus"
Stern shifted his course to southwest by
west and for some minutes held II true,
so that the needle hardly trembled on the
compass dial
Then all at once he, too, saw the welcome
signal, tinest pin-prick of light far on
the edge of the world. no different from the
siXth-magnitude stars that hung just above
il on the horizon. save for its redness.
gush of gratitude and love welled in
the fountains of his heart,
Home !" he whispered "Home-for
where you are that's home to me! oh,
Beatrice, I'm coming-coming home to
you"
Slowly at first. then with greater and
ever greater swiftness, the signal star
crept nearer and now even the flames were
visible, and now behind them he caught dim
sight Of the rock wall.
on and on, a very vuture of the upper
air planed the Pauillac, Stern shouted with
all his strength. The girl might possibly
hear him and might come out OF their cave.
SIZE might even signal-and the nearness
of her presence mounted upon him like a
| beady wine.
He swung the searchlight on the canyon
as they swept above II. He flung the pencil
| OF radiance In a wide sweep up the cliff and
down along tho terrace.
II gave no sight, no sign of Beatrice.
| sleeping. of course" he reflected.
And now Hope River past and the canyon
swallowed by the dense forest, he flung his
| light once more ahead. With II he felt out
| the rocky barrens for a landing place.
Not more than twenty minutes later. fol-
lowed by Bremilu and Zangamon. Stern
was Smaking way through the thick-laced
wood and jungle.
| Awed, terrified by their first sight OF
trees and by the upper world which to them
was naught but marvel and danger, the two
| Merucaans followed close behind their
guide. Even so would you or cling to the
u Marian who should land us on that ruddy
planet and pilot us through some huge in
choate and grotesque growth OF things TO
us perfectly unimaglnable.
| "Oh, master, we shall see the patriarch
soon?" asked Bremilu. In a strange voice
voice to him astonishingly loud In the
clear air OF night upon the surface OF the
world. soon shall we speak with him
| and"
"Hark, what's thatG" interrupted stern,
pausinE. the while he gripped his pistol
lighter. n
From afar though in which direction he
could not say, vague. duh roar made It,
self heard through the forest
Sonorous, vibrant menacing II echoed
and died and then again, as once before,
! Stern heard that strange, hollow booming,
as OF some mighty drum struck BY muf1ied
x crys was that I orxi n distant ana
= fsiat3 peasiory ~ ~ n nIghtHlr4'