Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-07-25

you sWebr hS i nave asked were no
better alone in the jungle with you than
blacks"
II swear" he replied solemnly, Sin
the names Of my God and my Kaiser
that no harm shall befali YOU at nv
hands, Lady Greystoke."
Very WELL" she said, 1--WE will make
this pact to assist eqch other to return
to civilization, but let It be understood
that there is and never can be any
semblance even of respect for you upon
my part. am drowning and you are
the straw. Carry that always In your.
mind, German"
II Obergatz had held any doubt as to
the sincerity of her word It would have
been wholly dissipated by the scath-
ing contempt of her tone. And so Ober-
gatz, without further parley, got pis-
tolls and an extra rifle for Jane, as we'll
as bandoleers of cartridges. In his
usual arrogant and disagreeable manner
he called his servants, telling them that
he and the white kali were going out
into the brush to hunt. The beaters
would go north as far as the little hill
and then circle back to the east and in
toward the village. The gun carriers
he directed to take the extra pieces and
precede himself and Jane slowly toward
the east, waiting for them at the ford
about half mile distant. The blacks
responded with greater alacrity than
usual and 1t was noticeable to both Jane
and Obergatz that they left the village
whispering and laughing.
The swine think II Is q great joke,''
growlcd Obergatz, that the afternoon
before die I go out and hunt meat for
them"
As soon rs the gun bearers disap-
peared in the jungle beyond the village
the two Europeans followed along the
same trail, nor was there any attempt
upon the part Of Obergatz's native SOL
diers or the warriors of the chief to
detain them, for they, too, doubtless,
were more than willing that the whites
should bring them in one more mess of
meat before they killed them.
A quarter of mile from the village,
Obergatz turned toward the south from
the trail that led to the ford and hur-
rylng onward the two put as great
the village before night fell. They knew
fl Gin the habits Of their erstwhile hosts
that there was little danger of pursuit
by night, since the villagers held Numa.
the lion, In too great respect to venture
needlessly beyond their stockade during
the hours that the king of beasts was
prone to choose for hunting.
And thus began seemingly endless
sequence of frightful days and horror
laden nights as the two fought their way
toward the south in the face of almost
inconceivable hardships, privations and
dangers. The east coast was nearer,
but Obergatz positively refused to
chance throwing himself into the hands
OF the British by returning to the terri
tory which they now controlled, insist
ing instead upon attempting to make
his way through an unknown wilderness
to South Africa, where, among the
Beers, he was convinced he would find
willing sympathizers who would find
some way to return him in safety to
Germany, and the woman was perforce
compelled to accompany him.
And so they had crossed the great
thorny, waterlesS steppe and come at
last to the edge of the morass before
Pal DON. They had reached this
point just before the rainy season when
the waters of the morass were at their
lowest cbb. At this time hard crust
is baked upon the dried surface of the
marsh and there is only the open water
ut the center to materially impede prog
ress. 1t is q condition that exists per-
haps not more than few weeks, or even
days at the termination Of long perioos
of drought, and so the two crossed the
otherwise almost impossible barrier
without realizing its latent terrors.
Even the open water in the center
chanced to be deserted at the time by
its frightful denizens which the drought
and the receding waters had driven
southwark toward the mouth of Pal-u
don's largest river, which carries the
waters out of the Valley Of Jad ben
Ohio.
Their wanderings carried them across
the mountains and into the Valley of
Jad ben Otho at the source Of one of
the larger streams which bears the
mountain waters down into the valley
to empty them into the main river just
below the Great Lake on whose north
ern shore lies A-lur.,
As they had come down out of the
mountains they had been surprised by a
party Of IIo-don hunters. Obergatz
had escaped while Jane had been taken
prisoner and brought to A-lur. She
had neither seen nor heard aught of
the German since that time and she
did not know whether he had perished
in this strange land, or succeeded in
successfully eluding its savage denizens
and making his way at last into South
Africa.
For her part, she had been incar-
cerated alternately in the palace and
the temple, as either Ko- tan or Lu don
succeeded in Wrestling her temporarily
from the other by various strokes OF
cunning and intrigue. And now ut last
she was in the power Of new captor,
one whom she knew from the gossip of
the temple and the palace to be cruel
and degraded. And she was in the
stern of the last canoe, and every
enemy back was toward her, while al
most at her feet Mo- -sar's loud snores
gave ample evidence of his unconscious
ness to his immediate surroundings.
The dark shore loomcd closer to the
south as Jane Clayton, Lady Grevstoke,
slid quietly over the stern Of the canoe
into the chill waters of the lake. She
rrarccly moved other than to keep her
nostrils above the surface while the canoe
was yet discernible in the last rays of
the declining moon. Then she struck
out toward the southern shore;
Alone, unarmed, all but naked, In a
country overrun by savage beasts and
hostile men, she yet felt for the first
time in many months sensation of
elation and relief. She was free What
IL the next moment brought death,
she knew again, at least brief instant
of absolute freedom. Her blood tingled
to the almost forgotten sensation, and
1t was with difficulty that she restrained
n glad. triumphant cry as she Clambered
from the quiet waters and stood upon
the silent beach.
Before her loomed a forest, darkly,