The Washington herald., 1920-02-06
Yellow Men Sleep
By Jeremy Lane.
Copyright. 1919. by the Century Co.

his body did not wear down any
further but went into q state re-
sembling that Of the prairie woff.
who goes on and on without change.
The stlver-haired friend some
times hummed to himself. ending
living ethers Of twilight until his
eyes would glow like sunset fre.
1T seems TO me-" said Con, .that
we are always near someone, some
other traveller. not Chez Ming. I
trave1ers-other kinds of travellers"
where are they goingT" asked
March.
Are you laughing at me?"
Judge for yourself" replied the
elder man. and his manner convey
ed no pleasantly.
We'll. what do you hear, when
the wind goes past!" pursued Lew
ington.
'oh. the dust, suppose. grating"
DO you ever hear the rumble of
wbeels?'
I'm not saying"
| Their path touched another,
smaller ruin, more deeply sunken.
One OF the great blocks of stone re-
mained on top, unbroken. This an
I
river. for the course Of II was still
outlined between erosions. A gray
skull, retaining all its teeth, was
perched upon a point of rock, and
the dusty sockets stared forever
eastward. Andrew March regarded
II thoughtfully.
This Mongol was a good boy.
but he's a modern compared to the
rest OF this"
Il said we weren't always alone"
Only a few stones were here in
view, and a river-bed long dry; vet
Con peered about uncertainty. Old
violence lurked in the sunshine.
The sand was changing in tint a,
they rode westward, and to the
north. showing patches OF rust
color Small cliffs raised above the
shadows, their strata bronze and a
daky blue.
Through long days they traced
out the route indicated upon the
map. The moon diminished and
darkened again, and still they were
able to cross of the angles of the,
parchment only bit at a time.
On certain evenings the northern
horizon seemed to shift and crawl.
Far-fying shapes peopled the hills
ON the worlds rim. Smaller pres
|
watch-fire, like shadowy butterflies.
Con never quite saw these things.
They always moved just out of
: range OF vision, and he could never
turn sharply enough. They were
like the nimble hands OF old Chi
nese Bill.
why are you staring at me?
he asked of March.
What do you seer countered the
other.
Nothing" said Con.
That's what I thought laughed
March.
But his laughter was empty, ana
It seemed oddly to be caught UP by
the breathing of the camels and
then tossed overhead.
Il suppose that rushing cloud
on there Is the dust" said Leving-
ton after a while.
No doubt" replied March. but 1
don't see it."
In the fifth week they found
water. little greasy marsh. Thus
far there had not been one glimpse
of Chez Ming, and there were no
signs here.
Eight more days westward. some
times to the north. and they reach
ed spring of clear water. The
beasts cried and sucked and trem-
bled. Other camels had been here
before them, recently: their marks
were in the mud. II the map had
been gagged properly, Con perceived
that they were nearing the end.
4 starving wolf sidIed in toward
| the water-hole. He had never
learned fear. He stalked the led
+, camels and lazily found his posi-
tion to leap, when they shot him.
The camels were in a frenzy.
Beyond. there were no more ruins
above the surface. The sky belong
ed to another world. These plains
and ridges OF red sand were the
husks of the planet. Levington's
eyes ached with the distances in the
| glare of day sun. Two of the cam
els were killed. TO provide susie
nance for the others. and the two
men shared with the beasts.
Now the high winds came IN a
bruising torrent. as II the elements
had turned enemy, and this was
their threat The beasts gave up,
and were driven into a roaring
gully where the blast was broken
somewhat. 1t whined and rushed
overhead. and began to bury them
with sand.
In this choking confusion the
capture came auickly-a brief af-
fair in which the white men were
too late with their guns. Riders
were down upon them, an avalanche
of ferocity. The storm had obscur-
ed their coming. On horses de-
moniac and primal they had sped
down through the sandstorm as IL
il were an April rain. Their boards q