Marble Hill press., 1920-07-22

The AFFAIR of the present morning
REQUIRED 60 mind-the monEoul In biz
enchanted garden. Despite seeming
leisure events In the palace went too
swiftly for q final valuation. Con was
puzzled 20 md that the more closely
he tried 90 recall the garden. the NJ.
pcarancc Of the fat lord. the slnging
bird. the dancer. and the magician. the
less he knew about them. Had the
lugglcr poured his wine into tho fourth
dimension; or was the watcher merely
transported by brcath ~ the drug :
Lexington went now 60 the outer cur
ncrs Of his prison. enduring the hostile
eyes 81 double guari. 10 look for the
Nlne-coyered bower of royal entertain.
mcnt. hut could scc nothing of Il. lie
must have turned into n courtyard Of
the palace Itself. Onc grim assurance
clung to him-ths sinister fragranc,
~ korcsh
Through mid,afternoon. as often ~
his active mind abandoned some new
and equally futile plan of escape. his
thought clrcled around 10 Helen. lie
recllned under the green silken awning
and repeated her name. lie was awak.
cned to the center of his being. and
was scarcriy aware that every nov
plan for escape included two others
besides himself. and one princrss.
Mentally she remained with HMM
the throne room. her glance toward
the prisoner she had spared. her bore
dom with the proceedings. her heaufi.
nh feet. q Western woman as he must
have guessed had II not been for the
had seen. more closely. 10 he hut the
cunning work ~ her maid. servants: IN
her own apartment. surrounded by
things American. the trnnsformntion
that was not complete because of her
Chinese training. personal qualities
that tnntallyci him. the first words
that had thrilled him 50 unaccountnhly
and the last bringing a clutch of ter
ror: the clear young beauty OF her
face. her llps. the soft brown ~ her
hair the curve ~ girlish shoulders.
the grave pleasure at meeting tina;
sirunrer. her father. aud the unemo-
tiOnai view she held NJ her own future
n queen Of this fantastic state These
frHgmeniary thoughts possessed lev.
ingion. brought him life n II had
never come before. hurt him srvarrly.
co that he sighed and tossed about on
the green cushions
Then he remembered once again that
they would not permit him 20 live
This fact had totally new aspect
and the novelty of n now brought him
70 his feet His gray slave started up I
in surprise. and the pair ~ blr-swor,i.
cd soldiers made themselves feli ~
The stair-hehd For the first time in
his career Con rehelled agninst death. |
II seemed no longer a part ~ the
game Instant or slow. death did not |
interest him now II was stupid rule |
of the play. lie wanted nightly 20 |
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 10 tell |
her, so much he longcd 20 ask aiso
an additional urgency for n talk with |
her father
Late IN the afternoon he rctrcated |
TO his inner chamber. hot and impa.
tient. In the smaller Of two rooms. !
which were barely furnished. the walls |
Il creamy white, he flung himself upon
the soft couch. but Its touch was odd. |
ly unpleasant. like caress from the |
wrong person. He arose In disgust. |
and stared at the brass lamp with It's |
fragrant green oil. The gray hoy 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 swnying overhead From time |
tn 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 n better white sire
In the history Of Thu Kuan.
No one came. The sun laid golden |
path across the rug of the outer room
Levingtons repeated requests, invita-
tons and demands for Chez Ming re-
suited in nothing The day seemed
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 me Kurdish wom-
an" said March. with a tinge of dis
gust
"What Is our mover" asked Lev
ington, as they unwound his costume,
and the masseur appeared at his side.
IT can't bear It." said March.
We've got to find a way. Have Won