White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1930-06-27
CHAPTER XII

Paul knew tie must keep moving, or
rouse ('arla from her sleep. The
naketlneSs and desulatiOn of alOneneSs
were turning him into a coward. Not
a coward who was afraid of death,
but one who felt increasing horror in
passively waiting for 1t. He went to
the debris of rock again. He had no
reason for this, no thought, except
: that II offered him the one chance to
do something physical besides fumbing
his way over unstable and shifty sand.
The desire for work to do was an
ache in his body as well as his brain.
and he began to climb the broken
mass. as he had done once before.
He mad gone about thirty or forty
feet above the floor of their dungeon
then, but this time he found footholds
which carried him little farther.
until, from the point he reached, he
could look over the bulge in the rock
which had previously concealed their
fire. and could clearly see Carla In
the glow of it.
He had the desire to call to her, to
feel her glorious life part OF their
existence again. Sleeping, size seemed
gone from him. He swung his torch,
making writing of fire in the black.
ness, and his lips almost cried her
name. Then he recognized the veal.
ness of his act and began to pull him.
self little more up the broken wall.
If Cara had awakened and turned
nd chn n 10.
seen a strange and weird thing. The
burning piece of Fleetwood was a
spout of yellow flame. illumining at
times the ghostly figure that bore 1t.
and then floating alone in limbo of
midnight emptiness as if borne by
shades that in color and spirit were
part OF the gloom. She might have
Thought. rousing herself from slumber.
that hands which were no longer
Paul's were bearing It toward the roof
of their world. Steadily up into this
pit of Acheron IT went, and there II
disappeared. as if smitten by mighty
breath, that extinguished IT in sec.
ond. For time utter darkness lay
where the light had been. Then the
torch reappeared as suddenly as sable
wings had engulfed 1t. and in another
moment 1t was plunging down through
space. In a few minutes Paul came
where IT had fallen 81 uttering in the
sand. and picked 1t up again. More
than ever his face was like that of q
ghost. His cheek was marked by
bleeding wound Ellis shirt was In
shreds on his breast. His eyes blazed
in way that would have startled
Cara.
He went to the edge of the water
and t'athed his face and hands. Then
he returned TO the fire and knelt be
side Carla. He raised her head gently
in his arms, and she did not awaken
He held it against his breast and
kissed her nair
"t'arla!" he whispered
Her lips moved, her lashes trembled
and opened slowly to unvei her eyes
"You have slept long time," he
said. "At east-if seemed long-and
| took torch and climbed the pile of
rocks again. went higher than be-
fore-so high that came 70 ledge.
and followed it-and then came to
great crack in the wall, and there, al
the end of til saw-light."
"Light J" she breathed.
"Yes, light. From the sun have
found way oul."
There was silence then. Almost
without effort, it seemed to Paul
Carla crept out of his arms He knew
that something was going with her
forever. Her face was whittier than
his own. What he had dreaded to see
lay In her eyes-a thing fighting back
and crushing the glory which had
lived in them for little while. The
understanding of what his discovery
meant came quickly to her and he
saw q fabric Of assembled dreams go
ing to pieces. like une of the odd
/ tumble pictures ON screen. When
it's hundred disintegrated parts came
together again, they formed tluire's
face. waiting for him at the end of
the trail of light sent 10 guide them
back to an ;.arthl! destiny still nnfnl
filed. and which. fni time. had
passed centurist away from them.
(To RE CoNTTNUED)