The Hayti herald. (Hayti, Mo.) 1908-1922, 1920-08-12

little ugly men, whose twisted spines
bobbed in light that was sickish and
cold. The crowd seemed to grow as
the hours passed, as If the innermost
crevices Of earth were giving up their
human ants. More hoelike weapons
were brought, to add to the rusty
knives. There were tubes for blow
ing darts, containing now a long &C
cumulation of the dust of peace. In
fact, the present generation could not
recall day of revolt in their subter-
ranean history. The Arabian sailor
rushed about all this night like one
possessed his old hopes ignited.
Primitive military system prevailed.
The horde was grouped into units. |
There were lieutenants. The white |
men when wakened would rank as
colonels. with no less q person than
the Arab as their generaissimo.
The miners seemed lost in dull
glow Of excitement. Within their lives
| nothing had occurred to interrupt the
| next days labor. The selling of their
| four brothers had not seemed unusual,
but the effect promised an infinity Of
uC" IuihS. lhSlS was nv IiodSht Va
sleep. The old humers of an uprising
seemed at last about to be fulfilled.
The hour was near, their lot cast.
Every tortured heart was eased some
what of its burden of hate in the pros
pect of action. They had never before
attempted to express their loathlng OF
the city, Of their masters.
They had been born to pain, toll, ST.
lence. Home, shop, and grave were
one to them. There were no families.
From some warriors house in the city,
each man-child returned to the pits
crippled forever, its spine an arch of
horror. There was seldom any way of
identifying the broken creature of ten
or twelve. All thought of parentage
was lost. When, by chance, kinship
was re-established, such meeting was
but q renewal of bitterness.
And always In the city cellars the
precious store of roots grew and grew.
On the far edges of the state the
essence Of there roots was bartered
or exchanged for silver. Always the
yellow bowl in the apartment Of the
future queen was kept filled with
dream potency. The state religion
was perpetuated in the lower room,
which was so situated as to be symbolic
of Its connection with the source Of
| all dreams, the mines themselves.
Thus Chez Ming wrought upon the
whole world the substance Of his medi-
tations-the vizir, whose thin eyelids
had never been touched and soothed
and damned by one taint Of koresh.
His web was spreading beyond the
sea. He chose the blood of princes
and OF queens, to blend at his leisure,
in his own Interpretation of right. The
old monzoul had become no more than
a warm silken bag of clay under the
skinny hands of his viZir. Chez Ming
, was ready to rule the planet entire.
, Now in the caverns the miners were
? eating, wherever they stood, sticks
fiicking in and out of brown jars, the
women Sinking about in mortal fear
IT was long after midnight. March
dropped down beside Lexington.
y "Surprising the riders do not come
, "They1l wait for daylight. They
have the four. They feel sure Of u.s.
+ The two friends sat little way of
from the swarm, and looked idly int
n the gas-fire. Con grew drowsy will
o the warmth in his face. After while
+ he said. "The green hair of -"
+ "You mean the gasT
"Ycs, the way it comes up and floats
h like something drowned in air. That
). the flowing green hair-rather flendish
n / can't say what | mean."
s "If the fire happened to go out" salt
u March, tive should all go out with 1t.
l. "From what depth do you suppose
comes"
d March looked quickly at his comrade
d and smiled. "You are sleepy"
l. "Yes. I'll take a nap here. But d
Is you think the gas has anything to d
e with the crusted seeds they dig out o
the pits hereT'
n 'T don't know. Nor can tell 20
how the koresh seeds, millions of then
g. ever got down so deep in the earth, t
If begin with. The Arab says that ther
are shafts as deep as wells, and fror
these chasms the worker with tore
se brings up seeds that must have lai
In the clay ever since the planet cor
le densed and cooled; and the same seed
I'd will sprout in a months time whe
Of planted on the surface and watered
w Something left over, preserved
I'd from the days of the giants and tn
We mastodons," said Con.
81 thought you were going to ga
r. seeds from ---"
:" slow do they extract the oil an
the incenseT
'"The oil is simply pressed out of ii
Dr. full-grown root, and the incense Is ths
ur oil vaporized,"
SIT got me-" said Lexington.
sand there is poison they NAL
ir- from the seed itself; but that Is deaf
no dreams with It," added March.
tn A curious kind Of notorlety came
Lexington while he dozed and reste
The story of his battle with the Nubia