Gunnison news-champion., 1917-06-22


Sad hushed In the audience and every
one was absorbed in the spectacle be-
fore them. Professor Challenger drew
Oh the top Of the case. which formed .
sliding lid Peering down into the
box, he snapped his fingers several
times and was heard from the press
seat to say, Come, then. pretty, preffyr
in a coaxing voice. An instant later.
with scratching. rattling sound. q
most horrible and loathsome creature
appeared from below and perched H.
self upon the side of the case.
"Even the unexpected fall Of tho
Duke Of Durham into the orches-
ira. which occurred at this moment.
could not distract the petrified atten-
ton OF the vast audience. The fnce
OF the creature was like the widest
gargoyle that the Imagination of q
mad medieval builder could have con-
ceived. 1t was malicious. horrible.
with two small red eyes as bright a.
points OF burning coal. Its long, saw
age mouth, which was held half open.
was full Of n double row Of sharklike
teeth. Its shoulders were bumped,
and round them was draped what ap-
penred to be faded gray shawl II
was the devil Of our childhood In per-
son. There was n turmoil in the audi
ence-some one screamed. two ladies'
In the front row fell senseless from
their chairs. and there was a general
movement upon the platform to follow
their chairman into the orchestra. For
a moment there was danger OF gen
eral panic Professor Challenger threw
up his hands to still the commOIion.
but the movement alarmed the crea-
ture beside him. Its strange shawl
suddenly unfurled. spread and Gutter-
ed as pair OF leathery wings. It's
owner grabbed at its legs. but too late
to hold It. 1t had sprung from the
perch and was circling slowly round
the Queens hall with dry leathery
Tapping OF Its ten foot wings. while a
putrid and insidlous odor pervaded the
room. The cries of the people In the
galleries. who were alarmed at the
near approach OF those glowing eyes
and thnt .murerous beak. excited the
creature to n frenzy. Faster and fast
er 1t flew, beating against walls and
chandeliers In blind frenzy of alarm.
The window! For heavens sake shut
that wlndowr roared the professor
from the platform. dancing and wiring
ing his hands In an agony Of appre-
hension. Alas. his warning was too
late! In a moment the creature. beat
Ing and humping along the wall like
huge moth within gas shade, came
I'm. ft,
bulk through 1t and was gone. Pro
fessOr Challenger fell back into his
chair with his face buried I'm bis
hands while the audience gave one
long. deep sigh OF relief as they real
lied that the incident was over.
''Then-oh. how shall one describe
what took place then-when the full
exuberance Of the majority and the
full reaction Of the minority united to
make one great wave of enthusiasm
which rolled from the back of the hall,
gathering volume as it came. swept
over the orchestra. submerged the
platform and carried the four heroes
away upon its crest?" Good for you,
Mach III the audience had done less
than Justice surely 1t made ample
amends. Every one was on his feet
Every one was moving. shouting, ges-
ticulating. A dense crowd Of cheering
men were around the four travellers
up with them! Up with themr cried
= hunised voices. In moment four
figures shot up above the crowd. In
vain they strove to break loose They
were held In their lofty places Of hon
or. 1t wonld have been hard to let
them down II 1t had been wished. SO
dense was the crowd. Out in the
street the scene was extraordinary. An
assemblage Of not less than 100000
people was waiting. The close packed
throng extended from the other side Of
the Langham hotel to Oxford circus
A roar Of acclamation greeted the four
adventures as they appeared. high
above the heads Of the people, under
the vivid electric lamps outside the
ball. "A procession! A procession
was the cry. In dense phalanx.
blocking the streets from side to side.
the crowd set forth. taking the route
of Regent street. Pail Mall. St James
street and Piccadilly. The whole cen
tral traffic Of London was held up. and
many collisions were reported between
the demonstrators upon the one side
and the police and taxi cabmen upon
the other. Finally 1t was not until
after midnight that the four travellers
were released at the entrance to Lord
John Roxton's chambers In the Al
banv and that the exuberant crowd.
sung They Are Jolly Good Eel
chorus. concluded their pro.
God Save the King"