The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-12-06
CAST OF CHARACTERS

MELlSS ALANE-heroLne, OAR
HONEY BEE GIRL-lndian;
member of Barry's party. ..,
HADES JONES-pioneer; mem
Der Barry's party. s,. ..
Yesterday; Lost in the under
ground cavern, Bob and Melissa
suffer of thirst and hunger. Then
they see a light. hear voice
echo. Are they losing their minds.
they wonder.
CHAPTER XVI
For all of mans genius, one
great mystery Of life has never
been even partly solved.
1t is the strange fusion of souls,
of spiritual entities in man and
woman, when consciousness of
love is declared, mutual and sim
ccre.
1t grows with q sudden ecstatic
surge, thence in gentle and
somehow staccato harmony, ever
increasing, never reaching an end
of its own accord. II is as old
as Adam, but each man must dis
cover it for himself. Robert Barry
discovered it there when death
was lowering, when he fully be-
licved that both he and Melissa
were losing their minds.
They had been lost in utter
darkness of many hours, perhaps
several days. They could not even
guess how long. They had slept
at times, fitfully. Embracing each
other now, in the most sacred of
moments. they remained silent
and very still. Seconds passed
Bob knew not how maryland
then suddenly Bob got a grip on
himself. He saw himself as a
whimpering baby afraid of the
dark. Anger replaced fear. Then
his trained mind took command.
"Why, I'm not hysterical" He
murmured it tohim self, even as
he held Mary Melissa there. On
the contrary, l feel remarkably
calm"
He shook his head, as if to clear
his eyes of the darkness. He look
ed behind him again, which would
be down.
LISA He almost shrieked
IL. ELISA"
He was tense with excitement
again. But he forced himself TO
be analytical, critical Of his own
reactions. No, this was not hys-
terra.
elisa, That is a light. Look
Hey! Hey. Help"
Thirst had muted his voice ter
ribly, but he made all the noise
he could. He threw rocks. LISA
yelled too, and between them
they made din of it.
Voices answered, from far be-
low. The two understood no
words, but they We're suffused
with happiness. Salvation seemed
at hand. They were almost hys-
terical with anticipation now. .
"It's Hades Jones! It's Jones!
And hoffman,! They, must have
found an outlet hole below some
where. They're coming! Oh. Lis
sa, they've found us! They"
She too was talking, jabbering.
They called and hallowcd, and
Rugged each other as the lights
grew stronger, Help was APP
preaching. They dared not move
much, lest they fall over the
ledge, but they squirmed in
righteous glee. .
The rescue party was slow in
approaching. 1t had been far be-
low, and the lights disappeared
frequently as the men moved
around rock formations. They
flickered, too, Bob saw. He be-
gan to wonder. Why in the name
of goodness hadn't Hades used
one of the lanterns, instead of
torches.
Hello, Hades? Hoffman,"
Bob yelled, when he knew they
were within 80 yards or so.
The lights stopped instantly.
No answer came. Progress of the
rescuers seemed very strange,
then. Bob and LISA peered at
them intently.
"Hey, what's the matter? Can't
YOU see us?" Bob was impatient.
Other lights were ignited then,
and the group separated. Bob and
LISA couldn't distinguish the
approaching men clearly, but he
began to think he saw a half
dozen or more forms. Moreover,
there was u new and absolutely
strange murmum of voices.
Bob whispered LISA. "Are
you-all right?" Do you see what
| do? | mean, are we out Of our
minds? Is this another nightmare
after all?"
"No. No, Pm sure! But don't
know what. It's not our party,
that's certain. Stand still, and
watch: Hello there! Who is it?
We need help!' e $780,. 49,,
Somebody answered Immediate
ly, but-in a strange tongue!
/ Bob was utterly amazed. He
was a linguist. He spoke Spanish,
the Mexican dialects Of it, not to
mention the ordinary Indian Ian
guages of southwestern tribes.
But this garble was foreign to
slowly approaching. were foreign.
The whole thing was impossible.
II was scene from some weird,
/ imaginative fairy tale, a bit of
stage imagery, theatrical and I'M
pressivc and almost deyilish. Bob
was breathing hard, and he could