Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1918-05-02

i Within q minute there were hum
bred men busy sweeping up the splin-
ters. 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.
Comet" urged Ismail, and led the
way.
Kings last Impression was OF earth's
womb on fire and Of hellions brewing
wrath. The stalactites and the hurry
ing river multiplied the dancing lights
into million, and the great roof
hurled the din down again to make
confusion with the new din coming up.
Ismail went like rat down run
and 1t became so dark that King had
to follow by ear. He imagined they
were running back toward the ledge
under the waterfall; yet, when Ismail
called halt at last, painting. CROPPED
behind great rock for lamp and lit
the wick with common safety match,
they were In a cave he had never seen
before.
"Where are wet" King asked.
"Where none dare seek US. Art
thou afraidr asked Isrnail, holding
the lamp to Kings face.
"Kuch dar nahin hal 7" he answered.
'@There IL no such thing as fear! !"
Suddenly the Afridi blew the lamp
out. and then the darkness became
solid. Thought itself left of less than
yard away.
"Ismaill" he whispered. But Ismail
did not answer him.
He faced about, leaning against the
rock, with the fiat of both hands
pressed tight against It for the sake
Of Its company; and almost at once he
saw little bright red light glowing
In the distance. It might have been
below him; It was perfectly impossible
to Judge. for the darkness was not
measurable.
SHOWERS turn to the light" droned
| Isnail's voice above sententiously, and
turning, he thought he could see red
| eyes peering over the rock. He Jumped,
and made grab for the flowing beard
that surely must be below them, but
he missed.
little fish swim to the light I"
droned Ismail. "Moths fly to the
light Who Is man that he should
know less than theyT'
He turned again and stared at the
tight. Dimly, very vaguely he could
make out that causeway led down.
ward from almost where he stood. He
was convinced that should he try too
climb back Ismail would merely reach
| out a hand and shove him down again,
and there was no sense in being put
to that indlgnity. He decided to go
forward for there was even less sense
In standing still. So he stopped to
feel the floor with his hand before
deciding to go forward. There was
no mistaking the finish given by the
trend Of countless feet. He was on a
highway. and there nre not often pit
falls where 50 many feet have been.
For all that he went forward as a
certain Agag once did, and 1t was
many minutes before he could see a
certain glowing blood-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 In places;
all the pattern, supposing It ever had
any. was worn or faded away. Carpet
and steps ylowed red too. His own
face, and the hands he held In front
of him were red-hot-poker color. Yet
outside the little ellipse Of light the
darkness looked like a thing to lean
against. and the silence was SO intense
that he could hear the arteries sing.
Ing by his ears.
He saw the curtains move slightly,
apparently In little pun OF wind that
made the lamps waver. Then he walked
up the steps and Mt the top he stopped
to examine the lamps.
They were bronze, cast, polished and
graved. All round the circumference
Of each bowl were figures In half.
relief, representing woman dancing.
She was the woman Of the knife-hilt,
and Of the lamps in the arenal But no
two figures Of the dance were alike
It was the same woman dancing. but
the artist had chosen twenty differ.
ent poses with which to immortalixe
his skin. and hers. Both lamps burned
sweet oil with wick. and each had
chimney Of horn. not at all unlike
modern lamp chimney. The horn
was stained red.
A he set the second lamp down he
became aware OF a subtle. interesting
smell. and memory took him back at
once to Yasmini's room In the Chandni
Chowk In Delhi where he had smelled
1t first. 1t was the peculiar scent he
had been told was Yasmini's OWN
blend Of scents, like a chord Of music
In which musk did not predominant.
He took three strides and touched
the curtains. discovering now for the
first time that there were two Of them
divided down the middle. They were
Of leather, and though they looked old
as the "Hills' themselves, the leather