Crittenden record-press., 1917-11-08

pace yet faster, aud they became the
last two OF procession Of turbaned
men, who tranlped along winding
tunnel Into great mountains womb.
The sound of slippers clicking and
rutchlng on the rock floor swelled and
died and swelled again as the tunnel
led from cavern into cavern.
, In one great cave they came to
every man beat out his torch and
tossed II on heap. After that there
was n ledge above the height Of a
mans head on either side uf the tun.
mel. and along the ledge little oil-burn.
Ing lamps were spaced nj measured
Intervals. A quarter Of q mile farther
along there were two sharp turns In
he tunnel, and then AT last sea OF
Use and veritable blaze OF light.
Part Of the noise made King feel
h0meslck, for out Of the mountains
very womb brayed muslc-boX such
as the old-time carousals made use Of
before the days OF electricity and
steam. II was being worked by mex.
pert hands, for the time was some
thing jerky; but II was robbed of Its
tinny mcanness and even lent majesty
by the hugeness Of n cnvern's roof, as
well as by the crashing. swinging music
itplayed-wih-wonderful--lnvented It
for lnwless hours and kingless peo-
pie.
"Marchons s!-Citoyens ="
The procession began TO tramp IN
time to II, and the rock shook. They
deployed 10 left and right into a space
80 vast that the eye nt first refused to
try 10 measure II. II was the hollow
core Of n mountain. fned by the sea.
sound Of human crowd and hung with
huge stalaciites that danced and shift.
cd snd flung back n thousand colors NJ
the flIckcring Hight below. Across the
cavern's farther end for space Of two
hundred yards the great river rushed.
plunglng out OF n great fanged gap and
hurrying out Of view down another one.
licking smooth banks on its way with
u hungry sucking sound.
There were little lamps everywhere.
pcrched on lodges amid the stalncti.es,
and they suffused the whole cavern In
golden glow. In the midst Of the cav.
crn great arena had been left bnre,
and thousands NJ turbaned men squat.
ted round II In rings. At the end
where the river formed a tangent to
them the rings were nattcned, and ut
that point they were cut into by the
ramp of a bridge. and by lane left
to connect the bridge with the arena.
The bridge end formed nearly square
platform, about fourteen feet above the
floor, and the broad track thence to
the arena, AS well rs all the arenas
boundary. had been marked of by
great carthenware lamps. whose greasy
smoke streaked up aud was lost by the
wind among the st0lactltcs.
Greek lamps, every one of 'eml"
King whispered To himself, but he
wasted no time Just then on tryin; to
explain how Greek lamps had ever got
there. There was too much else to
watch and wonder at.
M steps led down from the bridge
end To the floor toward the arena II
wnS blind. But from the bridges far.
ther end across the hurrylng water
stairs Ind been hewn out Of the rock
wall md led up to n hole OF twice
mans height. more than fifty feet
above water level.
On either side Of the bridge end a
passage had been left clear TO the
river edge, and nobody seemed to care
to invade II, slthough II was not
marked on In any wny. Euch passage
was about fifty feet wide and quite
straight But the space between the
bridge end and the arena, and the
arena Itself, had to be kept free from
trcspassers by fifty staggering ruff
funs, armed to the teeth.
Every man Of the thousands there
hnd a knife In evidence. but the arena
guards had magazine rifles as well as
Khyhcr tu'wnrs. Nobody else wore
firearms opcn'- Some Of the 6fena
guards bp', h"rc round shields Of pre-
historic pattern oI o. I've and sort he
had never seen w. ~ .s ru
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