The Key West citizen., 1940-11-09
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He took them to an eminence
from which they could view the
country in all directions. To the
west. across the hills. rose the be-
sieged Mohammedan fortress of
Kiah-yu, appearing as romantic
IN the distance as a feudal castle
on the Rhine.
Out across the plateau 10 the
east and south, they could see the
fires of smoldering villages and
bands of refugees on the trails.
Far to the south, dust rose as
it from the march of advancing
troops, but in the sky above there
was no sign of birdmen Winging
their way to the rescue of a pair
Of American. girls.
Though the sun shone brightly
the air was chill with a breeze
from the Pibetan highlands. At
intervals came the sound of ham,
merS ringing on iron in the black
smith shop within the walls where
ploWshares were being turned
into swords.
Lynn lay down on the short,
sweet grass while the other two
roamed about looking for spring
flowers. LarkS sang and SCARED
above; a herd of ponies thundered
across draw nearby. A pale,
golden fly alighted on the toe of
Lynn'S oxford and proceeded to
groom MS wings. She watched
him idly for a while and then
suddenly sat up.
She had heard a faint scream
suppressed as if by sudden vio-
lence. Peggy and the little Bud
dha were no longer in sight. Lynn
rose and called. There was no :e-
SpOnSe. She called once more and
this time received an answer.
A bullet tossed up the dust at
her feet.
Captured Again
a TALL. thin, red-bearded Chi
L nese rounded the hill. Lynn
ran. Instead of firing, he dashed
forward and intercepted her She
was helpless in his grasp. Tying a
dirty sash around her mouth. he
showed her ahead of him. They
rounded the far side of the hill
where three other men held Peg
gy and the little Tsong.
Lynn saw at a glance that these
men were different from the pure
Chinese. There was evidence of
Turkish blood in their thin faces,
aquiline noses. and the red-dyed
boards OF the two elder men. Evil
IDENTIFY, they were members of a
scouting party from the fort at
tempting to capture horses from
the herd she had seen running
past. And instead. they had cap
tured two American girls and a
plump, little. living Buddha."
The men debated for some time;
then they began asking questions
of the boy who answered readily.
Lynn presently discovered that
the leader could talk bit of
"pidgin" English. He admired
Peggy's red hair and. lifting a
dirty hand. gave it a tentative
stroke. She shrank away from the
touch, almost fainting.
Lynn attempted to comfort her
though she had no idea what
might be in store for them. This
was war, more grave even than
brigandage. They might be held
merely as hostages. They might be
run through and left where they
fell There was the possibility of
enSlavement. In this vast, Seething
cauldron that was inner Asia, two
American girls could disappear as
easily as two drops of champagne
IN the coarse sands of the Cobb.
The men hurried their prisoners
along the ridge, and one snatched
the red, silk cap from the boys
head and dropped back moment.
As they followed a winding path
through the hills, the men stopped
occasionally to fiji huge sacks
with grass pulled up by the roots.
Avoiding the soldiers picketing
the fort, they entered through an
obscure gate in the east wall Just
after dark.
The prisoners were taken to
the village magistrates, and fas-
tened to the wall on the street
side. Lynn quickly surmised this
to be the custom with local
prisoners before hey were freed,
punished or beheaded.
Well sit here in the dust and
lean against the wall and be as
comfortable and brave as we can
she said, suiting the action to the
words. She drew the little boy
down beside her and put a COM
forting arm around him.
I'm told that events in them
selves are neutral, and that our
reaction makes them either good
or bad" she went on. "If we can
be wise and calm enough this ex-
perience should not hurt US"
Peggy looked up and blanched
at the sight of a wooden cage in
which feStered a bandits head.
She began to weep. Il know we're
going to diel"
Hush" whispered Lynn. "Oh,
Peggy, please keep up your
chimp Curious. angry people had
begun to collect about them. Men,
women, and children, dull and an
guiShed of eye, incredibly wrin-
kled and emaciated from starva-
ton. stared. jabbered. and then
attempted to claw at the captives,
while their voices rose high and
Shrin and then sank low and men,
acing.
Lynn gathered that her captors
had gone out to steal horses to
feed their starving comrades and
that the disappointment was great