Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-04-04

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They dragged across the third range,
but the instructive fiutter of hope in
their hearts died quickly, when they
| saw that had miscalculated. Across a
deeper valley was another monster
bank of dust, another range.
Abruptly Con stopped and pointed
down the slope. Directly below them
something was moving.
Stones were rolling down the hill.
| 1t was not clear from what point they
started. Perhaps a dragon had bur-
rowed into the hill and was kicking
out the earth from his nest. Clods
of red clay went flying down, below
the two watchers. Lexington peered,
forgetting the awful sun. 1t was like
recovery from blindness, to find some
thing in motion in the dead world.
AT length, from a hole in the hillside,
q Ii ing creature appeared, resembling
somewhat man.
Now others of the sahte species
emerged and stood on sandy ledge,
halfway down the slope. They SEEM
ed like fat, misshapen children, thin
| legged, hunched of shoulder, with
| heads set close. Their caps were coils
of their own hair. The arms of all
were dwarfish. They had come out to
take the air after their labors within
the hill. The falling clay had stopped.
More and yet more of these demt-
humans came out into the sunlight,
until the slope was darkly patched
with their leathern bodies.
March shook his head. Lexington
noted the first sign Of fear in the elder
/ man, who remained silent.
From that distance they determined
! that the creatures were naked above
the waist, but that they wore short,
dark skirts liz those pictured upon
the ancient walls of Assyria. Their
! canes or slaves proved to be imple-
ments resembling garden hoes. The
faint sound of their conversation drift
ed up to the Americans. But this was
drowned in the slow thunder of Cons
temples.
"Cave men?" muttered Lexington.
"Witches' children"
"Aren't they solid? Have my eyes
gone out?"
| March did not hear, for he simply
whispered to himself, 'What a world !"
A dromedary was coming across
from the further hills. Leisurely it
followed a slanting way up to the
cluster of creatures around the pit.
On the beast were strapped four
baskets. Now many hands set about
filling these with pebbles, or so 1t ap-
peared. The camel-driver was another
of the crooked dwarfs. When the
baskets were full, he led the animal
down by the same path, starting across
the valley toward the opposite barrier
of sand.
The little men who had come out OF
the hill began to disappear. Their
bare bodies were like rough nuggets of
copper. Levington's eyes twitched, and
he brushed a hand across his face.
He wanted to laugh and fling himself
down hill. He would ask them for
water. For an instant he hated An
drew March for being afraid, and an
instant later realized this feeling was
merely his own deep-stirring fear. He
swallowed thickly. A tear stood in
one eye, making humorous the pain in
his heart.
"Didn't know I had it in me-" he
said, grinning.
March did not see the tear. He had
grown pale beneath the CRIME.
"Oh, God!'' he mumbled, "this isn't
what we came for!'
Suppose we'd better not ask them
for drink" said Con. "We'll go on
and hunt for it, because it must grow
natural somewhere around here. Shall
we follow the dromedary?"
The little men had gone in. Dust
rose like smoke from the open shaft.
The laden beast was etching his way
across the valley. March had reused
from his apathy. He looked at Con,
who asked:
"Can you make it-down hill?"
"Boy," said March steadily, you've
got a tungsten nervous system"
Commanding their scant energies,
the white men made a final play for
life, and walked along the crest of the
ridge, to keep the animal in view With
out exposing themselves. The after
noon was waning. The wind slacken-
ed. The valley beneath them was
painted with soft purple shadow. The
hunched little humans and the drome-
Diary turned into a cleft in the great
bank, and disappeared.
"There must be something to drink
where he is going" said Con.
eyes, because the dromedary is
natural, at least"
"You might wait here" continued
Lexington, land I'll run on to make
sure'
"We'll go together" said March.
They descended to the valley, and
crossing, entered the ravine. Con
was light-headed now. He had no
further thought of avoiding discovery,
by no matter what enemy. Instinct
began and ended in thirst, and even
the idea of death meant a possible
drink. This pervasive dryness was a
nuoction of tha Sou1 q thirst far deeper