The Washington herald., 1920-02-25
YeHow Men Sleep
By JEREMY LANE,
tcopyrisht. isio, b ne Century oo.'

By JEREMY LANE,
Copyright lsio. b. ne Century Ca,
CHAPTER 1s-continued.
{ And always IN the city cellars the
precious store of roots grew and
grew. On the far edges Of the state
the essence Of these roots was BAR
tered or exchanged for silver. Az
ways the yellow bowl IN the apart
mont Of the future queen was kept
nlied with dream potency. The
state religion was perpetuated In
the lower room. which was %
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 medita-
tions-the vizier. whose thin eyelids
had never been touched and soothed
and damned by one taint OF koresn.
His web was spreading beyond
the seas. He chose the blood OF
princes and of queens, to blend at
his leisure, in his own interpreta-
tioh of right. The old monzoul had
become no more than a warm silken
bag of clay under the skinny hands
OF his vizier. Chez 6ring was ready
to rule the planet entire.
Now In the caverns the miners
were eating. wherever they stood.
sticks ficking In and out of brown
IN q
mortal fear. 1t was long after mid
night. March dropped down beside
Lexington.
surprising the riders do not
They'll wait for daylight They
have the four. They feel sure Of
us"
The two friends sat little way
of from the swarm, and looked idly
into the gas fire. Con grew drowsy
with the warmth in his face. After
a while he said. The green hair OF
hell" Z
You mean the gasT"
'Yes, the way IL comes up and
floats. like something drowned in
air. That's the flowing green hair
rather fiendish. I can't say what
i mean"
.If the FIRE happened to go out"
said March, I'VE should all go \out
with it."
From what depth do you sup
pose 1t comes?'
March looked quickly at his COM
rade. and smiled. You are sleepy
Yes. III 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?'
n don't know. Nor can j, 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 lain in the
clay ever since the planet condensed
and cooled; and the same seeds will
sprout in months time when
planted on the surface and water
ed"
Something left over. preserved.
frcm the days of the giants and
the mastodons," said Con.
ct thought you were going to say
seeds from hell"
How do they extract the OIL and
the incense?.:
The oil is simply pressed out Of
the fullgrown root, and the incense
is that oil vaporized."
'It 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
- a. AANk III =.
the Nubian was spread about the
caverns, and many were the glances
cast upon him. not so unfriendly.
The monkeys choice in that strug-
gle was taken here as a good omen;
it strengthened these peoples faith
in the white man.
Later March said. out of his SOM
ber thinking: II cannot believe that
my Eithna is gone"
Lexington could make no reply.
1t seemed that March remembered
his bride as she was eighteen years
ago. Time had not. until now,
touched that sacred portion of his
life.
And they have taken my little
child, touched her eyes with the
drug, until she is no longer mine
but theirs. She refuses to go to
America, my own daughter. She has
been made to forget her mother"
1--WE will take her away from
them." said Con. but his hopeful
words had a hollow accent in the
huge cavern.
Yes" rejoined the elder man. 1--WE
shall be leading these poor fellows
to their death, and that is worth
while. But do you forget? A city
full of swordsmen. all mounted
giants. 1t is folly to think of It;
to attempt it, am an old man.
The spirit of quest has broken me,
because I had not the courage to
remain true. I haveiost the bravery
of youth. 1 have been living in
yours, Con. Always 1 dreamed of
Eithna. fought and fought against
the destiny that held us apart, but
1 had no choice. You cannot guess
how beautiful she was Yes, our
child is beautiful, but different;
they have bottled out her soul
Helen has no heart. They have
grayed her eyelids with that es-
sence of the devil. She has not
long to live. No. will not delude
myself concerning her, as I have
always done with her mother.
1T has taken me a score Of years
to find my way into this enchanted
country. At last, having arrived, I
have been forced to face myself. /
have been a fool. There are demons
in me that you have never seen.
You are clean at heart. and I am
selfish. I used you, and you were
willing. The only pure thing in
me, Con, was my love for Eithna.
All the while I searched for tile key
to the Cobb, I held her in my heart.
not daring to realize that age would