The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1920-06-10

iSu w llC NIuDl ueScTl. |
The affair of the present morning
REQUIRED to mind-the monZOul in his |
enchanted garden. Despite seeming
leisure, events in the palace went too
swiftly for a final valuation. Con was
puzzled to find that the more closely
he tried to recall the garden. the APP
pearance of the fat lord. the singing
bird. the dancer. and the magician. the
less he knew about them. Had the
juggler poured his wine into the fourth
dimension, or was the watcher merely |
transported by a breath of the drug?
Lexington went now to the outer cor
ners of his prison, enduring the hostile
eyes of II double guard. to look for the
v~ine-cOvered bower of royal entertain |
ment, but could see nothing Of it. He
must have turned into a courtyard of
the PALACE itself. One grim assurance
chung to him-the sinister fragrance
of kOreSh.
Through mid-afternoOn, as often as
his active mind abandoned some new
and equally futile plan, of escape. his
thought circled around to Helen. He
reclined under the green silken awning
and repeated her name. He was awak-
ened to the center of his being, and
was scarcely aware that every new
plan for escape included two others
besides himself. and one Il princess.
Mentally she remained with HMM
the throne room, her glance toward
the prisoner she had spared, her bore
dom with the proceedings. her beauti-
full feet. a Western wOman as he must
have guessed had it not been for the
slight tilt of her brOws and this he
had seen, more closely. to be but the
cunning work Of her maid-servants; in
her w apartment. surrounded by
things American, the transformation
that was nOt complete because Of her
Chinese training, personal qualities
that tantaliZed him, the first words
that had thrilled him so u~naccOuntably
and the last bringing a clutch of ter
ror; the clear young beauty Of her
face. her lips. the soft brown of her
hair. the curve of girlish shoulders.
the grave pleasure ut meeting that
stranger, her father. and the unemo-
tiOnal view she held of her own future
as queen Of this fantastic state. These
fragmentnry thoughts possessed Lev
ingtOn, brought him life as 1t had
never come before. hurt him savagelv.
so that he sighed and tossed about on
the green cushions.
Then he remembered once again that
they would not permit him to live.
This fact had a totally new aspect,
and the novelty of 1t now brought him
to his feet. His gray slave started UP
in surprise, and the pair of big-sword-
ed soldiers made themselves felt Mt
the stair-head. For the first time In
his career Con rebelled against death.
1t seemed no longer a part of the
game. Instant or slow, death did not
interest him now; 1t was a stupid rule
of the play. He wanted nightly to
live. There was something both sweet
and very bitter in dwelling in the same
desert city with Helen March. There
were so many things he had to tell
her, so much he longed to ask; also
an additional urgency for a talk with
her father.
Late in the afternoon, he retreated
to his inner chamber, hot and impa-
tient. In the smaller of two rooms.
which were barely furnished, the walls
a creamy white, he flung himself upon
the soft couch, but its touch was odd
ly unpleasant, like a carcss from the
-,.o,. -oveo~ In orNcn In dic~,,ck
and stared at the brass lamp with its
fragrant green oil. The gray boy also
had come in out Of the sun. and was
now a-squint beside the divan. Slow
ly he pulled the cord that set the long
curtains swaying overhead. From time
to time he sprinkled water upon these
curtains, then resumed the tanning.
But physical comfort only heightened
Cons uneasiness. He felt the power
of the fact that they were bestowing
these elaborate attentions upon him
only to make him a better white sire
In the history Of Tat Kuan.
No one came. The sur laid a golden
path across the rug Of the outer room.
Levington's repeated requests, invita-
lions and demands for Chez Ming re-
suited in nothing. The day seemed
interminable.
AT the hour of sunset his two war
riors appeared at the door, with two
others. They were always the same
sort of tall. muscular riders, and
seemed to represent a certain blend of
large-boned races, especially designed
for war. They led Con to the baths.
and March was already there. prone
upon the mat. suffering the barber.
The. familiar key-shaped blade was
| poised and darting about his face.
"They brought mi a Kurdish wom-
an" said March, with a tinge of dis
! gust.
"What is II mOve?" asked Lev
| ington, as they unwOund his costume.
and the masseur appeared at his side.
81 can't bear it." said March.
"We've got to find a way. Have you
figured out anything?"
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