The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-10-21

besides himself, and one a 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-
ful feet, 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 own apartment, surrounded by
things American the transformation
that was not complete because of her
Chinese training, personal qualities
that tantaIized him. the first words
that had thrilled him so unaccountably
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 at meeting that
| stranger, her father, and the unemo-
tionaI view she held of her own future
as queen of this fantastic state. These
fragmentary thoughts possessed Lev
ington, brought him life as it had
never come before hurt him savagely,
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 it now brought him
to his feet. His gray slave started up
! in surprise. and the pair of big-swOrd-
ed soldiers made themselves felt at
/ 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 it 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 talk with
I 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
| Il creamy white, he flung himself upon
I the soft couch, but its touch was odd
| ~ unpleasant, like a caress from the
wrong person. He arose in disgust,
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 diSan. Slow
/ " he pulled the cord that set the long
curtains swaying overhead. From time
to time he sprinlzled water upon these
curtains. then resumed the tanning.
But physical comfort only heightened
Cons umeasiness. 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 Tau Kuan.
No one came The sun laid 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 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 darling about his face.
''They brought me a Kurdish wom-
an" said March, with a tfnge of dis
gust.
"What is our move?" asked Lev
ingtOn,, as they unwOund his costume,
and the masseur appeared at his side
ct can't bear It," said March.
We've got to find way. Have you
figured out anything?'
81 haven't forgotten that we are at
least five weeks journey from any
where, and every hour of those weeks
an imposSibility to u.s."
The irony hurt the younger man,
who saw that his friend was broken.
The odds dismayed March. His be
loved was dead. His quest had ended
in this weird defeat. ''And 1t is too
late to stop their marriage" he con-
Guided. His despair was very hard
for Con.
The baths were accomplished with
out another opportunity for words,
and Con was taken under guard 10 his
two rooms and the roof He had seen
no more of the palace than before
| the same dim scented corridors, the
spray OF three fountains, the broad
shadow crescents that its roofs cast
down upon the houses clustered under
the eastern wall. He could not guess
how many human beings were con-
tanned here. He saw nothing of the
stunted and crooked men of the mines,
for they did not dwell within the city.
The sOldiery was in evidence, mostly
upon steeds that were more sturdy
than symmetrical. On the return
across the palace lawn Con had noted
small party of women. closely yelled,
moving toward the fountains. Their
robes were of figured stuffs, the ends
of their head-veils drifting white. Two
cOffee-cOlored giants had walked be-
hind them.
Food was served as before. Attend
ance was servile and silent The din
ner was worth eating, for 1T included
roast lamb. salad of small orange
ycOlored leaves, spicy and each as
round as a penny, and vegetables
which were In flavor Ike potato
crossed with celery. The wine was an