The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-04-29

starch in me, for I'm so cheap this morning, you might buy me for ninepence."
 Here it is, then Officially announced that the Grand Duke and Duchess of Mar vilion visit Kilistria next month";
 It did not sound very earth-shaking news. Until this summer it had been as regular an annual occurrence as the harvest. Only the late wrang1e between the two old friends, Raoul of Marvilion and Boris of Kilistria, lent special significance to the announce ment-
 "What use now?" he muttered fractious- ly- And again, after some minutes silence -"What use?"
 It did not take Mistitch long to issue his orders, collect his material and choose out his small band of picked men to accompany him and Humphrey Varley upon the des- perate venture which they had decided to make. .<.
 It was certain as anything improved can be thai the Abbess-luckless nameL-had been carried into the open jaws of the loop hole It was alniost equally certain that she had been swept out of the other side, in which she was broken to pieces, and all her occupants drowned. Almost, but. not quite.
 Edor was an experienced sailor, and it was said that, within the ghastly amphi- theatre of jagged rocks, there were recesses into which a boat might be thrust, if its headlong course to destruction could be ar rested or diverted.
 If by skillful maneuvering this had been accomplished, there was thus a slender chance-one in a thousand-that there might be survivors
 In the exchange of few rapid sentences, Humphrey grasped that such at least was the headmans s opinion; and further. that t Mistitch could guarantee a landing, he could manage an ascent The cliffs were so jagged that there must be foothold of a kind
 In half an hour from the time that the Lotus reached the landing stage they were off again, and Humphrey devoured the breakfast which he badly needed, as they rushed northward over the rough water once more, steering for the fatsl spot
 No anchorage was practicable, but the men succeeded in securing the launch to the rock by means of ropes
 The small skiff which they had been tow ing was then brought alongside The head man and he transferred themselves into 1t, and were rowed by two of the men to a place where they had almost calm water, and were able to effect landing among the broken boulders-
 So far, so good The men raised a cheer when the two pioneers were seen to stand upon the rock itself, with no more chasms intervening; the Englishman sat himself to his task of scaling the wet cliff, with to- tally inexperienced climber as his sole com panior-
 Ii was fought bit of work, but he felt as if he could have climbed the steep ascent of heaven that morning. The chance-the miserable ~meager chance-that this grim dungeon wall might inclose a living captive, nerved his heart and made steel of his muscles- Mstitch was a first-rate comrade Though this was presumably his first ascent, he seemed oknow instinctiyely the way to use his strength, and he seized upon each hint given by the more experienced man in way to excite admiration.
 Another cheer from the boat heartened them when at last they stood upon the top; and then, with q wave of their hands, they turned and disappeared into the interior.
 Thus did Humphrey Varley look upon a sight which few mortal eyes have gazed upon; the inner secret of the beautiful treacherous, Karneru See.
 A wonderful green light, a roar of deep, continuous sound, and the rustic of innu- merable pinons, made up his first impress sion. The fresh water terms, whose nets were nlaced there i1ndiSturhed from genera.