The Washington herald., 1920-02-07

bodies, and the slashed clothing
gave scant protection. Already. In
Imagination. Con was in need of a
drink The thought of brandy was
a horror now. and the idea of clear,
cool water like a knife in the
throat. Andrew March sat down
and studied the bottom of his foot
How much do you think" Con
inquired. 'fn miles?"
"oh, not so very far. II We only
had one camel"
"Yes-one with milk in her."
Don't talk like thatr said the
elder man, sharply.
The subject of drinkables was
thus dismissed by the veteran, ana
Con bowed his head in acknowl-
edgment
Late in the day the sand-storm
passed, and the air cleared. They
went up along the vanes of sand.
fresh drifted. out of the gully to
gaze at large upon their world-a
prison as vast as the horizon circle.
The white race could wander in
here and get lost" said Andrew
March.
Lets not talk about getting lost,
either" said Lexington.
1t was the elder mans turn to
nod agreement.
The country was fantastic in
formation and color. reddish hills
running in rows ahead. like the
spine of q world monster showing
through. At intervals were cuts.
showing the deeper layers OF rocky
blue and blood-color. Not so much
as a dead twig anywhere, or a bird.
The skyline was notched with tilted
rocks. Lexington could not help
wondering how soon he would
wither and dry up. to bleach be-
side some colorful boulder.
Pain was gripping him. 1t was
neither grief nor illness. but the
current of life, deeper than many
are called to feel He met it si-
lently. with a fortitude that per-
haps his mother and father before
him helped to integrate. Death had
small part in his bitterness. 1t was
matter Of life.
Help me to keep sane" he said
to March.
That is mutual" said his friend.
But you are not in any danger. I
watched you a long while before
choosing you for this task. You are
not a materialist. and only mater
ialists go insane"
Yes. / suppose all the others are
born with a touch of some kind"
so I've heard" replied March.
They walked through the sand.
Sometimes their feet sank deep and
threw them backward, but perhaps
the next step would find smooth and
solid rock. Progress was a rack Of
physical strain. and pitifully slow.
The hills ahead, so hard to reach,
were on a diagonal across their
route. 1t startled Lexington to find
that this diagonal Strengthened out
every hundred PAGES. This was sim
ply the effect of the landscape upon
their eyes. The, hills were distinctly
misleading, having a tendency to
defect the course that should lie
at an angle over them. Without
strict \ attention to their own
shadows, the two pedestrians must
certainly have wandered of into
sandy oblivion. The perennial
hands of the ages had wrought cum
ningly to confuse.
Our path should lead across
those big Jumps to the southwest"
sold March.
They suffered the Illusion of
growing smaller. since there was
nothing anywhere to renew familiar
associations and comparisons.
Night drew down before they had
made any noticeable progress. They
rested upon the pink sands, and
Con had a pillow of proper shape.
restful to the eye in its imitation.
although it was solid rock. A dull
substitute for sleep claimed their
bodies. Levington's dreams were
wrecked by Huge tumbling noun
tains that proved at the striking
moment to besriders. desert robbars
with the fervor of a perverted re-
ligion in their ice-colored eyes. All
through this wretched slumber. the
white men ached and burned from
the lashing of the storm.-nerve-
torn by the thought of their cap
ture and plight. At daybreak the
wind began again.
Lets CO." said Con.
MY understandinE"-as March
studied his tattooed foot. he made
this pun-''dictates plainly a con-
tinuance of that direction"
Lexington followed him over the
unfriendly surfaces. An old wind,
half asleep. hissed against rocks,
and at moments burned their
ankles. BY the flying dust the sun
was diminished TO a far red-hot
griddle. Con could not look at his
friend for the hurt il gave him. He
knew that he must himself look as
badly. 1t was not vanity that made
him care, but a simple desire to re-
main human, and not become a
thing of rags and beard and thirst
Toiling up the unequal slopes. to
arrive at a new point of confusion,
they would note that their shadows
no longer fell true beside them. and
March would sit down and study
the map in its inconvenient loca-
tion: Then they would go on.
The crest of the first series OF
hills gave only a sharper a
broader vista of desolation. =
ington was desperately weary. Ais
step lurched sidewise. Lonely
thoughts passed through his mind.
like birds in a ruined hall His
eyes were puffed. There was Mem
phis, and that mystic high board
fence at the end of the blind alley.
There was Bill, the yellow cook,
twisting his hands together in such
quick, fascinating manner; or
laughing with a voice like the cry
of gulls; or. again. intoning won
der-tales in a language beyond
translation. A phantom Shasta
stood at moments on the edge OF
the world. Then the unclean wo-
man Of Dowagiac appeared, with
oily black hair struggling upon her
neck, her body bulging with neglect
and suddenly Lexington was
choking. March gave him a hand.
Control yourself" whispered the
elder man. TT can be done. Same