Marble Hill press., 1920-07-29
CHAPTER T.



each s!ds O. the traa. In. mlnes uer-
l--rtaps a ,ali~ % less 10 eastward /.
nni h~yoBd hat ridge al .nGnlty q
slifinx drJ nsgEht he stars ~~at
I.ziiof that uas dlnu~-i 10 tAs FOG
| ffuin ths d.'eh~s A. EiEhi these iow-
lands about The city v~s~ cooL The
h,ars saEgs bill that Was The PALACE
1as r~c~llax in'o the gloon a. the
tSEo hagsnsi "a. The ns, q dlsfant
cF.~s wEs spr~sdlEg
10 yuu snpposN." suggested lev.
lAEf0l. -tist ws can keep under cover.
aGg perhaps manage 20 get . beast q
sufEs kind, ard thea xprn, for the ga.
Ter hoisY~
ca FrallEsl very weil ,hs; the near.
- Sstsf hole wAs q matter u days.
sf4c- they lsfi the rone q fertility.
fos-i wEs y~t 20 he considered. and =
city wAs rising 70 seek them cot End
pgAish. Bat be fslt the need - cheer
ing his frisad.
We can get Into tie vtneyard.- he
csnunued uith enthuslasm ~ did DOT
feel. -snd the fruit vii serve for "a.
ter. too--sSd laJ sor q eam~l-and you
still have the guidst,ook OF your foot" /"
AnfreW MArrh laughed nissrzbiy.
lie saw what kls friend was trylng 70
do.
why bot knox at the gates. Sald
March. and demand water and provi-
sions for our rrfurn tripf-
Well. ue blundered out here said
I.syingioa. and Ealf the planet vas
bueklng us-stones for rain. and spin
niug dust instead of breeze. with a
f@w robber giant on the side--so may.
be we can break away for home
Hgalu
Il don't mean 10 be sarcastic said
March very humbly. Il understand
you. You are trying to make me feel
happier But | do not dodge the re-
sponsibflIty. I was grossly selfish. My
work, and all my hopes. led the bere.
And I wanted 4 partner. TO face the
Gobi. sotne oue strong and young who
didn't take himself seriously. some one
with the ability 10 lose decently. II
had to be sH artist You we're the one
! found. But did not vant Il to mean
sacrifice. I made myself believe we
should not actually lose held GER
tain dreams They aerc beautiful.
they balted you, s. they baited ne
long ago, and always. hut am done
with dreaming. Tau Khan is death TO
all dreams except that yellow fantasy.
Itself. II Is 10 cOld--do you know what I
mehnf The hand that guides II In the
archetype Of infexIble purpose The
empire Is not contained within the
walls. II spreads beyond the Gobl. In
to Dory street; yes. and further. a
web of horror. II does not spring
from life. The only human being with
In those walls has been slowly and
fully poisoned. She can never know
life. You have seen that"
March paused. and Lexington shiv-
cred. They peered into the darkness
ahead. One direction seemed as un-
profitable as another. Far TO the rear
the base Of the palace showed red In
torch reflection. and the brazen gong
ceased Its pulse Of alarm. March
asked
'Wll you try To forgive meT
Con spoke quietly. "You are forget
ting something You are the differ
ence between the past and future 10 |
me. Suppose | had found my man
he tphf Eag E.. n
should have far thicker walls bother |
ing me tonight, and all the rest of my |
nights. Why do you forget that you
are the man who got me out of all |
thatf You were a federal officer, and |
ought TO have jailed me. Instead. I |
owe every minute Of my freedom to
you. don't know now why wanted |
to shoot him up, l can't recall his name |
or his face, but / was out TO get him.
and would have finished strong, only |
you came In front of me, and--why. I
never began to live until after you
took me home that night
II used to stand on Rush street |
bridge in Chicago and. IL | was far
enough gone, could think was look
Ing at the Thames and the lights Of the
British shipping. or I'd think gas an
Arabian cafiph, nosing about my own
city at night. Only II needed a big
thirst to shift the globe around that
way and make Greek waiter look
like the king Of Ashamede In disguise.
I'VE looked over toward Brooklyn and
told myself ! was on the Bund at
Shanghai. But II couldn't be done that
way. r was close to the rocks. You
seemed to know what / wanted. You
opened the world. DO yon think /
would back up, even II / c0uld7 You
lid not bait me. Il was understood
hat I should probably die along the
way. in the Cobb. It's been . grand
,assage."
''Thankss boy returned the elder
nan. And In the twilight their hands
net and gripped an instant. /,
Whatever turmoil was imaginable
vithin the city. the Americans we're