The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-11-18

or twelve. All thought of parentage
was lost. When, by chance. kinship
was re-established. such meeting was
but a 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
on exchanged for silver. Always the
yellow bowl in the apartment of the
future queen was kept filed 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 faint 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 siiken bag Of clay under the
skinny hands Of his vizir. Chez Ming
was ready to rule the planet entire.
Now in the caYerns, the miners were
eating, wherever they stood. sticks
f1icking In and out of brown jars, the
women Sinking about in mortal fear.
It was long after midnight March
dropped down beside Lexington.
Surprising the riders do not come"
They'll wait for daylight. They
have the four. They fee, sure of US"
The two friends sat little way of
from the swarm, and looked idly into
the gas-fre. Con grew drowsy with
the warmth in his face. After a while
he said. 1.-THE green hair OF -"
''You mean the gas?"
Eyes, the way 1t comes up and floats.
like something drowned in air. That's
the flowing green hair-rather fiendish.
I can't say what I mean
eff the fire happened to go out" said
March, "'we should all go out with It."
From what depth do you suppose it
comes?''
March looked quickly at his comrade.
and smiled. you are sleepy"
FYes. I'll take a nap here. But do
you think the gas has anything to do
with the crusted seeds they dig out OF
the pits here?'
81 don't know. Nor can I tell you
how the koreSh seeds, millions of them,
ever got down so deep in the earth, to
begin with. The Arab says that there
are shafts as deep as wells, and from
these chasms the worker with a torch
brings up seeds that must have laid
I'm the clay ever since the planet con-
densed and cooled; and the same seeds
will sprout in a months time when
planted on the surface and watered."
Something left over, preserved,
from the days of the giants and the
mastodons," said Con.
ST thought you were going to say
seeds from -"
"How do they extract the oil and
the incense?"
'sThe oil is simply pressed out Of the
fuIl-grown root, and the incense Is that
oil vaporized."
cit got me-" said Lexington.
'And there is a poison they make
from the seed itself; but that is death,
no dreams with it, added March.
A curious kind of notoriety came to
Lexington while he dozed and rested.
The story of his battle with the Nubian
was spread about the caverns, and
many were the chances cast upon him.
not so unfriendIy. The monkeys
choice in that struggle was taken here
as a good omen it strengthened these
peoples faith in the white man.
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