The Washington herald., 1920-01-28
YeHow Men Sleep
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING INSTALL
MENT-a
By Jeremy Lane.
Copyright. 1910. by the Century Co.

SYNOPSIS OF PREcEDING> INSTALL
MENTS
Con Lexington. at the age Of 9, nnds him
self an orphan In Dowsg giac. Mich, placed
By the city council In the care OF an
poet against the wishes Of her family. who
had disinherited her. His father. grived ty
| the death Of his wife upon Cons birth, is d
worio-"anderer with his son up to the time
Of the oider's' death. FASTENED by opiates.
Levington's destiny begins at q fate-laden
dinner years later. At this dinner he finds
Chez Ming, then a Chinese servant. whom
he cleverly overpowers and dispossesses Of q
tiny packet OF leather which he had worn
sbout his neck. Lexington Immediately re-
ports TO Andrew March and his father.
stephen March. who reveal to him that the
tiny packet bears 4 map to Q hidden empire.
They select him to take the packe and find
this mysterious desert land under sealed
orIcrs." He accepts.
Lexington Is told OF two unsuccessful quests
for the mysterious Cobb Empire BY Stephen
March and his son. Andrew. He IL deeply
impressed By the fact that the younger
March. on one Of these trips, when near his
goal, the strange riders" came, and sobbed
him Of his wife. Eithns, spd his baby girl.
He is repeatedly told that he only is bound
to risk the peril of the journey after he ha $
reached shan-sung and broken the seal Of
his secret ORDERS"
Chapter IIL-Contipued.
Tho beasts grew thin and dry.
The wind. a monster serpent of the
air. swept before them and over
them. reddened the cameIs' eyes and
darkened their milk. In Eithna's
cheeks the color deepened. and she
refused to turn back. Andrew lost
count Of the days. Two Of the pack
animals were killed for food and
drink. and a third went down for
the lack of the same. The baby girl
prospered. and Eithna whispered her
songs under the starlight of . gro
tesque world.
The riders came. From out the
west. a little to the north. they ap-
peared. a dozen or more-huge men
mounted on short-legged horses
shaggy and half wild. They were
silver-eyed Hamatic men. their
movements as incomprehensible as
their words. They circled about the
young father. and as they drew in
closer. he was ready to fire on them
and fight 1t out. But his legs De-
came suddenly weak, and the sky
reeled earthward-and when he
awakened it was deep night. The
desert was silent and horrible. His
body achcd. felt thick and clumsy
Then he found the tiny feathered
dart. still clinging to his shoulder
where they had blown it. the pois-
oned barb under the skin. Andrew
had been unconscious for hours
Eithna and the child were gone.
| Madly he kicked the camels and
raced. In the pale far light of the
heavens he thought he could follow
the tracks of the horses. He was
able to do SO without difficulty, but
found to his terror that each rider
had taken a different direction, ra-
dating out from the point of at
tack. He did not know which e
follow. He was alone. Sanity left
him. The camels whimpered and
started back the way they had
come.
Andrew reused from his deliriun
in the hut where his baby Heller
had been born, and the familiar
bearded female was watching him
Fever had held him in this hut fol
many days.
From caravansaries to the south
he gathered up camels and men and
horses and provisions and started
northward again in search of his
own. Most of the men refused to
; ride with him beyond the trees, into
! the forbidden land. Bright-eyed
alarm prevented. although a few
consented to accompany the white
man. Softly moaning wind covered
their tracks as they went They
moved in large irregular circles, al.
ways northward. searching. until
they deserted Andrew for a mad.
man. Stephen March came to find
his son. and ended these desperate
wanderings. He pfeced out the story
Andrew could not tell, and gently
guided him back to Peking.
A ransom was raised. grea,
enough to impoverish the house OF
March. Now, to carry the ransom
to the riders. came the British ex-
pedition. and its failure is still or
| the tongues of certain old timers
Out. of thirty stalwart, sweating
-helmeted men, four stagge red
/ back to Shan-sung, with a tale OF
skin wounds that brought bitter
death. and whole mirages of hell
Their mouthings were not taker
down officially. The stories were
tinctured with lunacy. so decided
the wise listeners at the legation
Eithna March was never found.
In eighteen years some of the bit.
terness had faded out of this fol
Andrew March. His ways were a.
recondite as those of his father. his
desires far-fiung in shadowy worlds
To him Eithna was lost. but not
forever. His sorrow was never q
blank. He realized how completely
an Easterner he was. how Oriental
in character. The blessing was thai
it gave him a Chinese patience.
About the time that Con Leving.
ton was finding the deep places oi
America, and dipping in rather
freely for young person. Andrew
March's attention had centered upor
Chez Ming. newly arrived in Dory
Street. This Chinese shared his bus.
mess with no man, Intentionally
March had been so light a shadow
upon him that the attack in the
Wedger house was a real surprise
Lexington had worked delicately
and March permitted himself tc
hope as he had not dared to hop,
for eighteen years. He had seen I
peculiar promise in the way Lev.
ington had made that stamped.
down the street in Cincinnati. Cor
was close to the elements, hac