Pittston Gazette

              Rtttablifthwl 1MSO. t VOL. XVII, No. 39. y Oldest Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTQN, LUZERNE COUNTY, PA., FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 1897. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. *4*1.00 iwpp Ye»r I in Advance. "WHITE MARIE" __ _ ■'1 "ALMOST PtRSUAPCP ' ' -' COPYRIGHT. 1897. BY TMf MERRIAM COMMI with rosy, shimmering light. " We can see nothing ol Alpha rroni here," remarked Johnston disappointedly. " We etui see iiothiiig beyond our circle of light." j tftey could see fitful lights flushing up here and there and going out again. And then they heard faint sounds of crashing masonry and the condensed roar of human voices, which seemed to oome from abovo rather than from below. The Alphian turned. "I cannot stand the cold," he said. Johnston followed him. The rapid motion of the swinging sphere made him dizzy, and he cauuht Branasko's arm to keep from falling. tion of the palace is too strongly built for them to injure it." Then she turned to Thorndyke: "We must hasten on and find our way down. It would never 3o for us to be seen here." Then she turned to the kneeling woman and said gently: "I you will say nothing to the king of this. We lost our way in trying to get down from the roof." joyiui voices was neara. iue promised day had come. theu to strike the rooks of the pit's mouth, to shoot tip maidenly, or to sink dangerously down toward the fire. "He is losing control of it," whispered Branasko. "He dot's not know what to do. See; he is trying to lighten the load by kicking out the body." That was true, and as the machine made a sudden plunge toward the cliff a few yards to the left of the refugees the dead body, which the driver had managed to move to the door with his feet, fell out and lodged upon the edge of the cliff, instead of falling into the fiery depths. The machine bounded up a few yards tuid paused, now apparently under the control of its driver. The man looked down hesitatingly at the corpse for a moment and then lowered the machine to the sloping rock near where the body lay. He alighted and cautiously crept down the steep incline to the body. He ruised it in his arms and was about to cast it from him when his foot slipped, and with a cry of horror be fell with his burden over the cliff's edge into the red abyss. Johnston uttered an exclamation of horror, but Branasko was unmoved. After a moment he rose and, carefully scanning the space overhead, he crawled on hands and knees toward the machine. Johnston heard him chuckling to himself and uttering spasmodic laughs, and he watched him closely as he reached the machine. For several minutes he seemed to be inspecting it critically, both inside and out; then he stood away from it, a bold, black silhouette on a background of flame, and motioned the American to come to him. Johnston promptly but not without many misgivings obeyed his signal. "What are you up to?" asked he as the Alphian assisted him to rise from his hands and knees. Branasko touched the machine and smiled. His face was shining with enthusiasm."The question of our returning to Alpha is settled," he said sententiously. "How?" "My father calls this the'Ideal Dawn of Day,' " whispered Bernardino. ''See the faint golden hulo near the horizon. I hat is where the sun ia supposed to he." great alarm. " J1 tins is salt Water, we are lost. All Alpha will come to an end." CHAPTER XV "1 should like to look down from this height at night," said the Alpbian. "It would be a great view." The sun was, indeed, slowing up. The two men peered out at tho door. "What doyou mean?" And Johnston wondered if Branasko's trials and struggles could have turned his brain. rv. How is it done?" asked the £nglish- "What is this?" Johnston went to one side of the platform and laid bis baud on the spokes of a polished metal wheel shaped like the pilot wheel of a steamboat. Branaako hastened to him. "It would be unlucky tor us if it should not come so near to the earth as it did on the other side," whispered Branasko. uinn "If it be salt water, theu it has broken in from the ocean above Alpha," he explained. "The king has often said that not a drop of the ocean has ever entered the great cavern." "Few of our people know. It is a secret held only by the king aud half a dozitu scientists. The whole thing, bow- I ever, is operated by two men in a room in I be dome of the palace. The musician is a young (Jernian who was bei coming the wonder of the musical world when father induced him to come to us. 1 have, met him. He tays be bus been thoroughly happy here. He lives on music. He showed me the instrument he used to play, a little thing he citlhd a violin, aud its tones could not reach beyond the limits of a small room. He laughs at it now and says the instrument that father gave him to play on has strings drawn from the center of the earth to the stars of heaven." "I will not," gladly promised the woman, and seeing that Bernardino knew not which way to turn she guided them to a door opening into a dimly lighted corridor. "It will take you out to the balconies and down to the audience chamber," she said. "I can hardly feel any motion to the thing at all," replied tho American. "Look! For some reason it is not, so dark below. I can see the rocks. .Surely wo have already passed over the wall." "Don't touch it," he warned. "It looks as if it were to turn the electrio connection off and on. If the sun should go out, the consequences would be awful. The people of Alpha would go mad with fear." "How can we tell when wo go over the wall?" he asked auxiously. Branasko stooped and wet his band in a little jool at his feet. "I am almost afraid to taste it," said be, holding his hand near his mouth. "It would settle all our fates." He waited a moment and then touched his fingers to his tongue. "We shall have to guess at it," was the answer. "At any rate, we must be near the lower door so as to get out quickly if it is necessary to do so to escape detection." Etc. The princess thanked her, and she and the Englishman descended several flights of stairs. Beaching one of the balconies, they met the denser darkness of the outside and the deafening clang and clamor of the multitude. There was no light of any kind, and Thorndyke and his charge had to press close against the balustrade of the balcony to keep from being crushed by the mad torrent of humanity. "That's so," returned the Alphian. "Come; we must be quick and watch our opportunity to land. I can't imagine where the light comes from unless it be from the people waiting for the arrival of the sun." CHAPTER XII. The sunlight whs fading into gray when the print-ess tamed to leave Thorudyke. Night was drawing near. "Have thry aligned you a chamber yet?" she paused to ask. "No." "Then they have overlooked it. I shall remind the king." Her beautiful, lithe form was clearly outlined against the red glow of thf niawsive swinging lamp as she movetl gracefully away, and Thorndyke'H heart bounded with admiration and htfi*J at be thought of ber growing regard foi him. He resumed his seat among thC flowers, listening, as if in a delightfu difeam, to the seductive music fron bonds in different parts of the palaix and the never ceasing sound in the aii whieh seemed to him to be the concen trated echo of all the sounds in tbC strange country rebounding from thi ▼aHt cavern roof. It grew darker. The gray outside ha« changed to purple. In t%» palace the brilliant electric lights In prismatii globes refused to allow the day to die He was thinking of returning to thi tbroncrooin when a page in silken at tire approached from the direction o the king's quarters. "To your chambers, master." he an hand. "You are right. I beg your pardon," he said humbly. "I shall meet you promptly. Of course I want to save poor Johnston, but the delight of being with you again, even for a moment, so intoxicates me that I forget even my duty to him." After she left him he wandered out In the streets, along the busy thoroughfares and into the beautiful parks, the flowers and foliage changing color as each new hour dawned. The frugrauce of the .flowers delighted iiis sense of smell, and the luscious fruits hung from vine and tree in great abundance. He was impatient for the time to arrive at which he was to meet the princess. After awhile he noticed the people closing the shops and booths and in holiday dress going to the parks and public squares. He hastened to the palace. The great rotunda and the throneroom were energetically astir. Everybody wore rich apparel and was talking of the coming fete. The king was on his throne, surrounded by his men of science. In a cluster of ladies in court dress tho Englishman recognized Bernardino. Catching hia eye, she looked startled for an instant, and then, with a furtive glance at the king, she swept her eyes back to Thorndyke and raised The American withdrew his hand, and he and firanasko walked back to the center of the platform. Johnston uttered an exclamation of surprise. "The light is changing!" In the darkness they slowly made their way down the stairs to the great room. "bait!" That was all'lie said for several moments. He folded his arms and looked mutely toward the boiling lake. Presently he raised his eyes to the great hole in the roof and groaned: "There ought to be some way of making a light," said the Alphian, and bis voice sounded loud and hollow in the empty chamber. After several failures to find the stairs they descended to the door they had entered. Branasko opened it a little, and a breeze came in. They sat down on the stone, and after awhile in sheer fatigue they fell asleep. Hours passed. Branasko rose with a start and shook Johnston. Every instant the speed was lessening. Overhead the cables were begin ning to creak and groan, and now and then the great globe swung perilously near some tall, stony peak or passed under a mighty stalactite, Slower and slower it got till, when within a few feet of the ground, it stopped its onward motion and only swung back and forth like a pendulum. And it was, for it was gradually fading into a purple that was delightfully soothing to the eye after the painful brightness of a moment before. "The break is gradually widening. These stones are freshly broken, and the great bowl is filling." The rose light had spread over the horizon and climbed almost to the zei nitli, and with the dying booming and gentle clangor it began to fade till all was dark again. "I understand," said the Alphian. "We are running very slowly and are only now nbout to approach the great wall, for purple is the color of the first morning hour." Now and then a strident voice would rise above the din: "Down with the palace! Death to the king!" "It will fill all Alpha with water and drown every soul in it," added the terrified American. "That, however, is not the most immediate danger, "said Branasko wisely. "They would first suffocate, and later their bodies would be swallowed up in the stomach of the earth." "Captain Tradmos ought to be here now," continued the princess, glancing | uneasily toward the stairway. "We may not have so good an opportunity as | this." I Ten minutes went by. "But bow is the light changed?" asked Johnston curiously. The trumpet in the tower sounded again and again. "Quick!" whispered Branasko. "We must get down while it is swinging; no time to lose—not an instant." And as the sun moved backward, with bis hand on the doorsill, he leaped to the earth. Johnston followed him. They were not a moment too 6oon, for about 50 yards away they saw a body of 60 or 70 men with lights in their hands hastening toward them. "Our speed is lessening!" be exclaimed. "We must be going down. Be ready to jump out tbe instant we stop. There! Let me open the door wider." "It is my father trying to attract their attention," explained tbe princess. "Something very serious has happened for once. In speaking of tbe time the sun went out before, be told me that he had made an invention which in such a crisis would instantly restore confidence to the people. I cannot understand why he does not use it. Oh, I am afraid they will kill him!" "By some shifting of glasses through which the rays shine, I piesume," returned the Alphian, "but the mechanism seems to be concealed in the walls of the globe." "W7hat do you mean?" Branasko shrugged bis shoulders. "As soon as this bowl is filled with water, which would not take many hours, it would run over into the lake of fire and produce an explosion that would rend Alpha from end to end." "Surely something has gone wrong," whispered Bernardino. "I have never seen the darkness last so long as this. Besides, can't you bear the muttering of the people?" CHAPTER XIV Not a word was spoken for an hour. They had lain down on the platform near the iron, railing which encompassed it, and Branasko was dozing intermittently. Again tbe light began to change gradually. This time it was gray. Johnston put out bis hand to touch Branasko, but tbe Alphian was awake. He sat up and nodded, smiling. "Wait till the next hour," he said. "It will be rose color. That is the most beautiful." When Tradmos spoke tbe words of warning, Thorndyke put his arm round the princess and drew her after Tradmos, who was hastening away in the gloom. "Just in time," exulted Branasko, and he quickly drew Johnston into a little cave in tbe face of a cliff. Crouching behind a great rock, they saw and heard the men as they approached. Thorndyke acknowledged that he did. He was about to add something else, but was prevented by a loud blast from the trumpet in the tower. "Who knows but it might torn the whole Atlantic into the center of the earth and destroy the eutire earth." "Wait," sbo said, drawing back. "Let uh not get excited. We are reaJly as safe here of, there, for in their madness they will kill one another and trample them underfoot," She led him to a parapet overlooking the great court below. "Hear them," she paid in pity. "Listen to their blows and cries. That was a woman's voice, and some man must have struck her.'' Thorndyke tried to console ber, for he saw that she was weeping, but just then there was a strange lull in tbe general tumult. What could have happened?But Branasko was unable to grasp the full magnitude of the remark, for to him the world was simply a vast cavern lighted by human ingenuity. He fastened a narrow splinter of stone upright in the shallow water at his feet, and, lying down on his stomach, with his eyes close to it, he studied it for several minutes. When be got up, a desperate gleam was in bis dark eyes. Bernardino shrank from him and fell to trembling. Some of them walked around the sun, and two, evidently in authority, entered the door. The others were placing ladders against the side of the sphere, when suddenly there was a loud clattering in the interior, a whirling of wheels under the platform above, and the surface of the sun burst into light. "What is the matter?" be asked. "The trumpet!" she gasped, thiug awful ban happened." "The dawn—the ideal dawn I" cried Bernardino, pointing to the eastern sky. Thorndyke looked in wonder. A purple light bad spread along the horizon, and as it gradually softened into gray and slowly turned to pink the noise of the populace died down. No sound could now be beard save the low groans of wounded men and women. What a sight met the view as the rose light shimmered over the city! The dead and dying lay under the feet of the crowd. Almost every creature bore some mark of violence. Eyes were bloodshot, clothing torn, limbs were bleeding, and mingled fury and sudden hope struggled in each ashen face. The young trees and shrubbery had been trampled underfoot, and walls, arcades and triumphal arches had been thrown down. The fragments of statues lay here and there, and the bodies of human beings filled the htminu of broken fountains. "Some- . / - _ "» nounced, bowing respectfully* Tborndyke arose and followed him to an elevator ucsr by. They ascended to the highest balcony of the great rotunda. Here they alighted aud turned to the right, the page leading the way, a key in bin baud. Presently tbo page stopped at adoofand uu locked it and preceded the Englishman into the room. As they entered an electric light in a chandelier flashed up automatically. It was a sumptuous apartment, and adjoining it were several connecting rooms all elegantly famished. The page crooned the room and opened a door to a little stairway. "It leads to the roof," bo said. "The princess told me to call your attention to it, that yon might go out and view the starlight." When the page had retired, Thorndyke, feeling lonely, ascended the stairs to the roof. It was perfectly flat, save for the great dome which stood in tbo center and the numerous pinnacles and cupola* ou every hand, and was very spacious. The Englishman's loneliness increased, for no matter in what direction he looked there was not a living soul in sight Far in front of him be saw a stone parapet. He went to this and looked down on the city. The electric lights were varicolored and arranged so that when seen from a distance or from a great height they assumed artistic designs that were beautiful to behold. The regular streets and rows of baild- them significantly toward bis chambers. He understood, and bis quick movement was his reply. He turned immediately to an elevator that was going up and entered it. Again be was alone on the palace roof. The color of tbe sunlight looked bo natural that be studied it closely to see if be could not detect something artificial in its appearance, but in vain. He found that it did not pain bis eyes to look at the sun steadily. He took from his pocket a small sunglass and focused the rays on his band, but the heat was not intensified sufficiently to burn him- Just tben be beard a loud blast of a trumpet in a tall tower to tbe left of the palace. It seemed a momentous signal. Tbe jostling crowds in the streets below suddenly stood motionless. Every eye was raised to tbe sky. Not a sound broke tbe stillness. Following the glances of tbe crowd, a few minutes later, Thorudyke noticed a dark cloud rising in the west and spreading along tbe horizon. A feeling of awe came over bim as it gradually increased in volume, and in vast black billows began to roll up toward tbe sun. Suddenly out of tbe stillness came a faraway rumble like a fusillade of cannon, now dying down low, again reaching such a height that it pained tbe ears. Belated flying machines darted across tbe sky here and tbere, like storm frightened birds, but they soon settled, to earili. Every eye was on the cloud? A moment of profound silence. Then the murmuring* of the crowd rose sullenly like the moaning of a rifling storm. A searchlight flushed up in the gloom and swept its uncertain stream from ; point to point, but it died out. Another and another shone for an instant in different parts of the city, but they ail failed. Slowly the hours dragged by till the yellow light showed that it was the sixth hour. Branasko had been exploring the vast interior below and came back to Johnston, who was asleep on the floor of the platform. "We can go in this." "Can you manage it?" "Easily. That fellow must have been drunk. The machine is in good order, I think." "When do you propose to start?" And the American eyed the funeral car dubioutly. "The night is before us. We could not get a better time." As he spoke, he entered the car and laid his hand on the wheel. Johnston, obeying his nod, followed, shuddering as he remarked the traces of blood on the floor. "All right." Branasko turned the wheel slowly, and the wings outside be-6an to flap, and the car mounted into the air like a startled bird and flew out quickly over the pit. Branasko bit his lip, and Johnston 1 beard him stifle an exclamation of impatience. As for the American, he was i at once thrilled and fascinated by the i awful sight below. He could now see i beneath the overhanging mouth of the pit and look far down into a boundless lake of molten matter that seemed as j restless as an ocean in a storm. Then the air became so hot he could hardly breathe. He looked at the j Alphian in alarm. The latter was whirling the wheel first one way and then another, with a startled look of fear in his eyes, and then Johnston noticed ■ that the walls of the pit were rising about them ;;.;d the black canopy overhead rapidly receding. They were sinking down into the fire. Almost wild with terror, the Ameri ican sprang toward the wheel, but Bramisko pushed him away roughly. "Stand back!" he ordered gruffly. "It is the heat. Let me alone." The American sank into his seat The jjeat became more and more intense, j Both men were purple in the face, and the perspiration was rolling from their bodies in streams. Down sank the machine."Tell me what is best to do," said the Englishman. "I want to protect yon, but 1 am helpless. I don't know which way to turn." The two refugees were momentarily blinded. Brauasko had the presence of mind to quickly draw his companion down close to the earth behind the rock. "They could see us in the light, "he whispered. "It is rising fast," be said. "We must attempt to get to the capitol and warn the king. It is possible that he may be able to stop the opening. The only thing left to us is to try onr machine again." "I have just thought of something," said Branasko. "This is the day appointed by the king to entertain hia subjects with a grand display of the elements. " "Wait," she said simply, and the Englishman thought she drew closer to him, as if touched by his words. "Something awful has happened," repeated Bernardino as if to herself. "The lights will not burn." "Had we not better go down?" asked Thorndyke anxiously, excited by her unusual perturbation. There was a crash of timbers—a massive door had fallen—a scrambling of feet on the stone pavement, and they could see the dark human mass surging into the court through the corridors leading from the streets. There was a joyous clamoring of voices among the men, and they withdrew several yards to look at the sun. This drew them nearer the hiding place of the two refugees. "I do not understand, "said Johnston. Johnston found it hard to keep pace with him as he bounded ont of the mist and on toward the faint glow ahead. Reaching the flying machine, Branasko entered it and turned on a small electric light. "The king," explained the Alphian, "darkens the sun with clouds so that all Alpha is blacker than night, and then he produces great storms in the sky and lightning and musical thunder. We may, perhaps, bear the music, but we cannot witness the storm and electric display on account of the light about us. It usually begins at this hour, so be silent and listen." "Only an accident," said a voice. "It won't happen again." For answer she mutely drew him to the eastern parapet. Far away in the east there still lingered * faint hint of pink, but all over the whole landscape darkness rested. "Heel" she exclaimed, pointing upward. "The clouds are thinning over the sun, and yet there is no light! What can be the matter?" At that juncture they heard soft steps on the roof and a voice calling: "What are they doing?" asked Thorndyke.Then one of them went into the sun, and the lights died out. In a moment the sun began to move. Slowly and majestically it swept over the rocky earth, followed by the crowd, till ic reached a great hole and sank into it. "Ah!" he grunted with satisfaction. "I have found a light, I can now see what is the matter with it." She shrank from the parapet as if she had been struck. Johnston stood outside and beard him hammering on the metal parts in the 3ar and became so absorbed in thinking of the peril of their position that he was startled when Branasko cried ont to him: "All right. I think we «"i make it da A pin has lost ont, but perhaps I can bold the piece in place with my foot If only we can stand the beat of the pit long enough to rise above it, we may escape." "Tearing the pillars down, "she replied, aghast. "This part of the palace will fall. Oh, what can be done?" "It is not the sun," explained Bernardino, "but the invention my father spoke of. He is doing it to calm them." After a few minutes there was a rumble from below like the roar of a volcano and an answering echo from the black dome overhead. This died away and was succeeded by a crash of musical thunder that thrilled Johnston's being to its very core. Branaako's face was aglow with enthusiasm. There was a grinding of stone upon stone, a mad yell from a hundred throats, the crash of glass, and, with a thunderous sound, a colossal pillar fell to the earth. The roof beneath the feet of the princess and Thorndyke trembled and sagged, and the tiling split and showered about them. Thorndyke made no answer. He stood as if transfixed, gazing at the horizon. The rose light had spread over a third of the sky when gradually there appeared in its center a bright circle of yellow light. The yellow light faded, leaving a perfect picture of the throne of the king, and as the now silent masses looked at the picture a curtain behind the throne parted, and the king himself appeared. He advanced and sat on the throne and turned a calm face toward his subjects. "Gone into the tunnel," said the Alphian as the crowd disappeared behind the cliff. "What are we to do now?" asked Johnston. "Wo certainly can't go through with the suu." "Bernardino! Princess Bernardino!" "It is Tradmos!" she ejaculated gladly. Then she called out softly: "Tradmos! Tradmos!" "Wait till the next trip," grimly replied Brauasko. "Here!" the voice said, and a figure ; loomed up before them. Tt was the cap! tain. He was panting violently, as if he had been running. "Grand, glorious!" be ejaculated. "But if only you could see the lightning and the dawn in the east you would remember it all your life. The sunlight is cut off from Alpha by the clouds, and there is no light except the wonderful effects in the sky." The rumbling noise from the big hole gradually died away, and the two men left their hiding place. Johnston followed him into the car. Branasko seated himself firmly and gave the wheel a little turn. Slowly the machine rose. "See!" cried Branasko. "It is under control! We must not be too hasty. Now for the pit!" Raising Bernardino in his arms as if she were an infant, Thorndyke sprang toward the stairway leading to his chambers, but the roof had sunken till it was steep and slippery. One instant he was toppling over tmckward; the next, by a mighty effort, he had recovered his equilibrium and finally managed to reach a safer place. As he hurried on another pillar weut down. The roof sagged lower, and an avalanche of mortar and tiling slid into the court below. Yells, groans and cries of fury rent the air. "What is it?'* she asked, clasping bis ann. - "What is that?" asked Johnston. He pointed to the west, where a red light shone against the towering cliffs. "The sun has gone out," be an: nounced. " Wonderful 1" ejaculated Bernardino, and her face was full of hope. "See what he will do!" "It must be the internal fires," answered Branasko, with a noticeable shudder. ' 'Let's go nearer. I have heard that there is a point near here where one can look down into the Lake of Flame." The heart of tb" Americ** was in his mouth as the long idack wings waved up and down and the airship, like some live thizfg, shuddered and swept gracefully out of the mouth of the cave into the glare and heat of the pit ings stretched away till tbo light in the which was now gashed with dazzling, farthest distance seemed an ocean of vivid, electric flashes. Thorndyke lookblending colors. Overhead the vault- ed over the vast roof. He was alone. He was black, and only here and there walked to the western parapet to get a ■bone a star, but as be looked upward broader view. they began to flash into being, and so r The clouds had increased till almost rapidly that the sky seemed a vast bat- a third of the heavens was obscured by tie field of electricity. the madly whirling blackness. Tbere "Wonderful! Wonderful J" beejacu- was a rumble in the cloud, or beyond lated enthusiastically when tbe black ; it, like thunder, and yet it was r.ot, uudonie was filled with twinkling stars, less thunder can be attuned, for tbe He leaned for a long time against the sound was like the music of a great orparapet, listening to tbe music from tbe cbestra magnified a thousandfold. The streets below and watching tbe flying Sraud harmony died down. There was machines with their varicolored lights a blinding flash of electricity in the rise from the little parks at the intersec- clouds, and the Englishman involuntion of the streets and dart away over i t:|rily covered bis eyes with hiB hands, tbe reofs like big fin-flies. Then be be- When he looked again, the blackness gan to feel sl4*epy, and, going back to was covering tbe sun. For a moment bis chambers, he retired. its disk showed blood red through the When he awoke tbe next morning, fringe of the cloud and then disappeartbe rosy glow of the sun was shining in ** Total darkness fell on everything, at his windows. On rising he was sur-' I The silence was profound. The very - prised to tind a delectable breakfast air «eenied stagnant. ■pread on a table iu his sitting room. Then the wind overhead by some un"Treating me like a lord anyway," *en force was lashed into fury, and all said dryly. "1 can't say I dislike the' (he fky was filled with whirlpools of thiug as a whole." When be had satis-1 deeper blackness. Suddenly there was a his sharp hnnger, he went out into lash of soft golden light. This was fol■ corridor, and, seeing an elevator, be lowed by streams of pink, of blue and entered it and went down to the throne- purple till the whole heavens were room. The king was just leaving bis hung with banners, flags and rainbowH throne; but, seeing Thomdyke. he flame. Again darkness fell, and it turned to bim with a smile. I «eemed all the deeper after the gorgeous "How did you sleep?" he asked. W®* which bad preceded it. Thorndyke "Well, indeed," replied Thorndyke, drained his sight to detect something %ith a low bow. moving below, but nothing conld be "I cannot talk to you now. I intend- **"n« and no sound came up from tbe ed to, but I have promised my people a Motionless crowds. •war of the elements' today and am Behind him he heard a soft footstep busy. You will enjoy it, I trust." 3,1 the stone tiling. It drew nearer. A "I ant sure of it, your majesty." hand was being carefully slid along the "Well, be about tbe palace, for it is parapet. The hand reached him and a good point from which to view the touched his arm. display." It was tbe princess. "Ah, I have at With these words he turned away, last found you!" she whispered. "I saw and the Englishman, as if tbere P00 '•J tbe lightning, but lost you by tbe memory of bis last conversation | l*u'n With Bernardino, sought the retreat Put his arm round her and drew where he had bidden her good night, her into his embrace. He tried to speak, He sat down an tbe seat they had occu- j bnt uttered only an inarticulate sound, pied and gave himself over to delight- 'I could not possibly come earlier," ful reveries about her beauty and love- apologized, nestliug against him liness of nature. Looking up suddenly, "o closely that he could feel the quick be saw a pair of white hands part the and excited beating of her heart. "My palm leaves in front of him, and tbe (father kept me with him till only a mo•ubject of his thoughts emerged into uent ago. Captain Tradmos will be view. herejoon." Johnston had gone back to the wheel and was examining it curiously. A groan escaped her lips, and she swayed iuto Thorn dyke's arms. "I have a miud to tnni off the current for a moment anyway," be said doggedly. "If tbe sun is hidden, they would not discover it." Branaako came to him, a weird look of interest in hia eyea. "Where is the picture?" asked Thorndyke. "Can it be seen by all of—of the people?" "Tbe clouds are thinning over the Run, yet there is no light. The king is excited. He fears a panic." "Has Buch a thing never happened?" asked Thonidyke. "Yes, by all Alpha, for it is on the "The Lake of Flame!" echoed the American. "What is that?" "Hold your breath!" yelled Branasko, a Lid he bent lower into the oar to escape the shower of hot ashes that was falling about them. Far out over the lake in a straight line they glided, and there came to a sudden halt Johnston's eyes were glued on his companion's face. Branasko sat doubled up, every muscle drawn, his eyes bulging from their sockets. Would be be strong enough? To Johnston everything seemed in a whirl. The walls of the pit were rising around them. sky." Thorudyke said nothing further, for the king had stood up, and with hands outstretched was bowing. Above the circle of light, as if cut out of the solid blackness, in flaming letters stood the word: "It is where all of the dead of Alpha are cast by the black 'vultures of death.'" "A hundred yearn ago. Then thousands lost their lives. As soon as tbe people suspect the cause of the delay they will go mad with fear." "That is true," be aaid. "Besides, what matters it? We may not live to see another day." Bernardino had fainted. Thorndyko tried to restore her to consciousness, but dared not put her front him for an instant. On be ran anil presently reached a flight of stairs which he thought led to bis chamliers. He descended theni and was liasteuiug along u narrow cot- Johnston acted on a sudden impulse. He intended only to frighten Branaako by moving the wheel slightly, and he had turned it barely an eighth of an inch, when, aa if controlled by some powerful spring, it whirled round at a great rate, making a loud, rattling noiae. To their dismay, the light went out. Johnston said nothing, for it was difficult to keep up with the Alphian, who was bounding over rocks and dangerous fissures toward the red glow in the distance."What can wo do?" asked the princess, recovering ber self possession. "I can't manage it," said Branasko hoarsely. "We'd as well give up." Just then Johnston noticed the mouth of a cave behind Branasko. "Look," ho cried; "can't we get in- "Nothing. Wait," replied Tradmoa. "This is as safe a place as yon could find. Perhaps the trouble may be averted. Look!" RILBNCEI And there was silence. Even the lips of the wounded men closed as the king began to speak. The sound of bis voice seemed as far away as the stars and to permeate all space: At every step the atmosphere got warmer, and they detected a slight gaseous odor in the air. Finally, after an arduous tramp of an hour, they climbed op a steep hill and looked sharply down into a vast bubbling hike of molten matter more than 1,000 yards below. Branasko noticed a stone weighing several tons evenly balanced on the verge of the great gulf and pushed it with both bis bands. It rocked, broke loose from its slender hold on the cliff and bounded out into the red space. Down it went, lessening as it sank till it became a mere black speck and then disappeared.The disk of the veiled sun was aplow with a faintly trembling light, but it "My God, what have I done?" gasped the American in alarm. Branasko looked over his shoulder, and as he saw the cave he uttered a glad cry. He quickly turned the wheel and drew out a lever at bis right. The machine obeyed instantly. It swerved round suddenly and dived into the cave. The cool air soon revived them, and Branasko bad little trouble in bringing the car to a resting place on the rocky floor of the cave. Before them hung impenetrable darkness, behind a curtain of red light. "We are in a pre'ty pickle now," said Johnston despondently as they alighted from the car. to it?" CHAPTEB XVL "Settled our fate, I have no doubt," muttered tbe Alphian from the darkness.Thorndyke went down into his chambers to make his toilet and was ready to leave when there was a soft rap ou his dcor. He opened it, and to his surprise saw Bernardino modestly draw herself -back into the shadow of the hall. "All danger is over. Tidings from the west state that the sun is setting. No harm has come to it. It will rise In the morning, and the moon and stars will be out in a few hours. Let the dead be removed, the wounded cared for and everything bo repaired. This is my Johnston had recoiled from the whirling wheel and now cautiously groped back to it and attempted to turn it It would not move. " It baa caught some way," he groaned under his breath. will." "Pardon me, but I must speak to you," she stairmered in confusion. That was all. The king bowed sedately uud retired from the tbroue, and the circle and pink glow faded from the black sky. The stillness was unbroken for a moment; then glad murmurings wer» heard in all directions " What is it?" he asked, going out to "And we have no light to find the cause of the trouble," added the Alphian, who had knelt down and was feeling about tbe wheel. Presently he rose. her. "That's where the dead go," said Branasko gloomily. "I want to advise you to avoid my father today. He is greatly disappointed with the accident of yesterday, and he is never courteous to strangers when he is displeased. He was particularly anxious to have you entertained by the fete." "I give it up," be sighed. "I cannot understand it. Tbe machinery is somewhere inside." Just then the American, happening to glance up, saw something like a huge blackbird with outspread wings circling about in the red lig4* over the pit. saw it, too, and his face paled, and a tremolo was in his voice when he spoke. Thomdyke sjrruny toward the stairway. ridor on the floor beneath when Bernardino opened her eyes, fcjJbe asked to be released from his arms. He put her down, but supported ber along the corridor."They are lighting the palace!" cried the princess. "Seel Down there is the arcade leading to the rotunda." "Nothing to do but to make the best of it," sighed Branasko. "Perhaps this cave may h ad out into some place of safety." "it bus grown colder," shuddered Johnston. " What is the matterf" he asked. "We were wanned by the light, of course," remarked Branaako, "and now we feel tbe dumpnesa more. We are going at a frightful speed." "Iam glad it is over," said Thorndyke.Johnston'si yes had become somewhat accustomed to the gloom, and he began to peer into the darkness. "Thank you. I shall keep out of his way," promised the Englishman. "Where had I better stay—here in my rooms?" went out. The silence was profound. The populace seemed unable to grasp the situation, but when tbe lijjbt bad flickered over the black face of tbe sun once more and again expired a sullen murmur rose and grew as it passed from lip to lip. "We have lost our way," he said as he discovered that the corridor, instead of leading to his chambers, turued off obliquely in another direction. She grasped his arm and impulsively looked into his face. "It is one of the vultures of death. Don't stir. We won't be scon if we remain where we are." The strange ma- "But your friend—we have forgotten him and done nothing to save him, and now it is too late." "1 see a light," he exclaimed. "It cannot be a reflection from the fire in the pit, for it is whiter." "No; he might send for you. If you would care to see Winter park, I can go with you as your guide." "I should be delighted. Nothing could please me mora " Just then there was a jar, and tbe sun swuug so violently from side to side that the two meu were prostrated on the floor. The speed seemed to slacken. "I wonder if we are going to stop," groaned the American, and he sat up aud held to Branasko. "Perhaps they wiil draw us back to rectify the mistake, aud then"— "Let's go on anyway, "she suggested. "It may lead us out. I have never been here before. I"r— A great crash drowned her words. The floor quivered and swayed, hot it did not fall. On they ran though the darkness till Thorudyke felt a heavy curtain before him. He paused abruptly, not knowing what to da Bernardino felt of its texture, perplexed for an instant. The Alphian gazed at it steadily for a moment; then he said decidedly, *'We must go and see what it is." Without another word be started toward the white, starlike spot, sliding his hand over the rocky wall and springing over a fissure in the floor. "We could not help it. We had to think of our own safety." It became a threatening roar, broken by an occasional cry of pain and a dismal groan of terror. There was a crash as if a mountain had been burst by explosives."I shall send for Captain Tradmos and try to devise some other plan," she said as they descended the stairs. "But" (as a servant passed in the room with a tray) "that is your breakfast Meet me at the fountain at the north entrance of the palace in half an hour." And, drawing her veil over her face, she vanished iu the darkness of the corridor. i ■p "Wo should not be seen together," she added as they approached the throneroom. "Besides, you ought to go to your chambers. No one is allowed to be out when the dead are being re moved." "The swinging bridge baa been thrown down," said Tradmos. "it cannot be done," interrupted the Alphiau. "The machinery runs only one way. We shall simply have to finish our journey in darkness." Gradually the light grew brighter I till, as they suddenly rounded a cliff, a grand sight burst upon their view. They found themselves in a vast dome shaped cavern, thousands of yards in diameter and height, and almost in the center of the floor from a red and purple mound of cooling lava leaped a white stream .of molten matter from the floor to the ! dome, and in the black dome, where | the lava turnej to molten spray, hung j countless stalactites of every color known to the artistic eye, and from the i foot of the fountain ran a tortuous rivulet that lighted the walls and roof of a I narrow chamber that extended for miles ! down toward the bowels of the earth. Light after light flashed up in different parts of tbo city, but they were so small and so far apart that they seemed to add to the darkness rather than to lesst-u it After ho had breakfasted and sent the man uway he hastened below to the place designated by the princess. She was waiting for him under the palm trees and was so disguised that he would not have known her but for ber low, amused laugh as ho was about to pass her. "Draw it aside. It seems to hang across the corridor," she said. "Thty may catch us on the other ride before the rail h tarts back through the tuunel," Huggeated the Americau. He obeyed her, und only a few yards farther on they huw another curtain, with bars of light above anil below it. They drew this aside and found themselves on the threshold of a must beautiful apartment. "Where are the dead taken?" "Over the wall, to be burned in the internal tires," she concluded as she was leaving him. She wore a regal gown and a beautiful j '' When do we start?'' he asked. silken headdress set with flue gems and ! "That is thw trouble," abe replied, gave hint a warm glauce of friendly "We bad eounted on getting away in greeting. th*' darkness before the display of ligbt"I half hoped to find you here," she "inKD but there is more danger now. If said, blushing modestly under his ar- "ur niachine were noticed, tho dent gaze. "That is, I knew you wonld searchlights won Id be turned on us, aud not know where to go"— She paused, wt' would be discovered at once." her face suffused with blushes. "liat "ve" get safely away in "I did not hope to find you here," be the darkness when ctiuld we return?" •aid, ooming to her aid gallantly, "but "Oh, that would be easy!" she re- I it was a delight to sit here where I last plied- "As soon as the fete is over cornsaw you. " merce will be resumed, and the air will She blushed even deeper, and a pleased Ailed with airships that have been look flashed into her eyes. delayed in their regular business, and "It w;is important that I should see *n the disguises which I have for us yon this morning," she continued, with w*' could come back without rnusa womanly desire to disguise her own suspicion. We could alight in Winr feeling. "I wanted to tell yon where to t,('r Park apd return home later." Meet mo whi n tin- storm begins." "What is Winter park?" "Where?" he asked. "You have not seen it? You must do "On the roof of the palace, near the It j8 one of the wonders of Alpha. •tairH leading down to your chambers. js * vaHt Ptn"k inclosed with high At first it will »ks very dark, and it is wa,ls and «0*«ed with a roof of glass, then that we must get out 4f sight of Inside the snow falls, aiul we have the palace. No other flying machines "leighing and coasting and lakes of ice Will be in the air, and Captain Trai- ,or skating. It was an invention of the MB thinks, if we are very careful, we king. The snowstorms there are beautiui get away safely before tne display '°1" jfintDing." Thorndyke's reply was drowned in a "If we find my friend, what can we harmonious explosion like that of tuned with him?" cannon. This was followed by the he hesitated a moment, a look of , chimes of great bells which seemed to lerity on her face; then she said: j swing back and forth miles overhead. 7e can bring him back and keep "Listen!" whispered Bernardino, 'idden in your chambers till some j "Father calls it 'musical thunder,' and arrangement can be made. We he declares that it is produced in no think of some expedient before Other country than this." •tat present he must be saved "It is not. He is right." And the " heart of the Englishman was stirred by "The moon—it will rise I" cried the priu fen. "Mot unlikely," returned Branasko. ' 'There; we are going ahead again. One thing in our favor in that we can more easily escape capture in darkneaa than if the sun were shining." He found everything in order in his rooms, and bo lay down and tried to sleep, but he was too much excited over the happenings of the day. Hours must have passed when bis attention was drawn to a bright light shining on the wall of his room. He went to a window and looked out on the court The light came from the rising moon. "It cannot," said Tradmos in his beard, "at least not for several hours." "They will kill my father," she said despondently. "They always hold him responsible for any accident." In the mosaic floor were pictures cut in coir red stones, and the ceiling was a silken canopy as filmy and as delicately blue as the sky on a summer's night. Th«j floor was strewn with richly embroidered pillows, couches, rugs and ottomans, and here and there were palm trees and beds of flowers and grottoes. A solitary light, representing the moon, showed through the silken canopy, iu whose folds little lights sparkled like faroff stars. "It would not do for any one to suspect me," she explained. "My father would never forgive ine for doing this." She pointed to u Hying machine near by. "We must take the air. I have made all the arrangements. Winter park is beyond the limits of the city." "Does the sun stop before entering the tunnel?" "They cannot reach him," consoled Tradmos. " He is safe for the present at least" "I do not know," replied Branasko. "Perhaps somebody will be there to see what is wrong with the light. We must have our wits about us when we land." "Is it possible to make the repairs j needed?" Branaeko was delighted. Johnston was looking over the edge of the platform. "If the king's display is taking place down there, 1 can see no sign of it." Below lay the ruins of fallen columns, capitals, cornices and statues. Figures in black cloaks and cowls were removing the dead from the debris. With a fluttering sound something swooped down past his window to the ground. It looked like a great bird, carrying the car of a flying macliiue. Thomdyke watched its circular descent to the earth and shuddered with horror as the black "The king does not know of this," he i declared, "else he would make it acj oessible to his per,pie and c all it one of the wonders of Alpha. By accidentally sinking into ihe pit we have discovered ! it; but," he concluded, "wo must at ! once try to find some way out other | than that by which we came." tie followed her across the grass to the machine and into the car. They could see the driver behind the glass of the narrow compartment in which he Hiit, and when he turned the polished "I don't know. When the accident happened long ago, the sun was just ris- ing." "How stupid of us!" ejaculated Branasko. "Of course clouds sufficiently dense to bide the sun from Alpha would also prevent us from seeing the display below. I ought to"— The bodies of a woman and child. chine sank lower over the fake* of fire till, as if buoyed upon the hot air, with faintly quivering wings, it paused. A man opened a door of the black car and carelessly threw out tho bodies of a woman and a child. "I think not It has simply gone out. The electric connection lias in some way been cut off. " "Has it stopped?" Tborndyke looked at the princess inquiringly. She was bewildered. (COMTnO'ED om PAOB FOUR.) "1 have no idea where we are," sho murmured. "I am sure I have never They turned from the tieautiful fountain, and, holding to each other's Hands and aided by the light behind them, they stumbled laboriously through the ; semidarkness. Branasko's ears were i very acute, tie paused to listen. The tumult seemed to have extended Wf of the Globe for f rheumatism! 1 NEUEALQIA and similar Complaints, J anil prepared under the stringent MEDICULAWS.^ prescribed by eminent physioius^dRH ioj OR. RICHTER'S JEl ANCHOR fPAIN EXPELLERl ■ World renowned! Remarkably snrcemfnl! H ■Only p-nnlne with Trade Mark " Anchor, "■ ■k. Ad. Kichter ACo., ilolVarlSU, New York. ■ | 3i HIGHEST AWARDS. ■ 13 Branch Honses. Own Glassworks. ■ 35CSt 50i- Endorsed & reC-C unmended b\ ritrrer Xr Peck. 30 Luzerne Avenue. A. U C. rtlick. «i N.rtb Main St . H Hotiek. J North Main St Pitttstou, Pa. RICHTCB'S I "ANCHOR" STOMACHAL beat fori to the very limits of the city and was constantly increasing. The smashing of timber and the falling of heavy stones were heard near by. He was interrupted by a grand outburst of harmony. The whole earth seemed to vibrate with sublime melody. "Our blunder haB not been discovered yet," finished Branasko after a pause, "else the fete down below would have been over. I am cold. Bhall we go inside?"been here before, but there is another apartment beyond. Listen! 1 hear criea." figures filled the car with bodies, and the grew some machine spread its wings ;»ud rose slowly till it was clear of the domes and pinnacles of the palace and then flew away westward. Other machines came and one after another received their ghastly burdens ami departed. In a short time all the dead were removed, and hundreds of workmeu came from the palace and began repairing the fallen masoury. 4 Tborndyke went back to his couch and tried to sleep, but in vain. Slowly the hours of night passed, and as tin ' purple of dawn rose in the east he j dressed himself and went up on the roof. The moon had gone down and thC stars were fading from the sky. Tbi dark earth below showed no signs of life, but as the purple light softened into gray be saw that the streets of the i city were filled with silent, expectant people, all watching the eastern sky, and as the gray light flushed into rose, and the rose began to scintillate with gold, tbey began to stir, and a bum of •tail* lesuji At first it' tfaen tbat \ tiie palace, will be iu moH thinks, can aw' of lightnini "If we ti -—-do with hi) She be* perplexity "We - The bodies whirled over and over and disappeared in the pit, and the mau closed tho door. The niachino then rose and gracefully winged its flight to the east. In a moment others came with their grim burdens and still others till the mouth of tho pit was dark with them. "Someone in distress," he answered, and he drew her across tho room and through a door into another room more beautiful than the one they hud just left. Here, huddled together at, a window overlooking the court, were six or eight beautiful young women. They were staring out into tho darkness and moaning aud muttering low cries of despair.Trndnww leaned far over the parapet. "Tin y are coming toward uh, " he said. "They intend to destroy the palace. We must try to get dimu, but we shall meet danger even there." "Hark ye!" he cautioned, The combined roar of the pit and the i fountain of lava had sunk to a low murmur, bat ahead of them they now heard a rushing sound like a distant tornado. Johnston's answer was taken out of his mouth by a loud rattling beneath the floor, near the wheel he had just turned. The sun shook spasmodically for an instant, and its entire surface was faintly illuminated, but the light failed signally. CHAPTER XIII "Something has happened," whispered Branasko, "somo great calamity, for surely so many people do not die in Alpha in a single day." "Clonic on," said the Alphian, and he drew his companion after him with an eagerness the American was slow to understand. The light in the cavern gradually grew brighter. By a circuitous ! route they were again approaching the ! pit of lire, though it was still hidden | from sight. Johnston and Branasko looked down at the great ball of light below them in silent wonder. Johnston was the first to speak. He pointed to the four massive cables which supported the sun at each corner of the platform and extended upward till they were euveloped in the darkness. "It is my father's ladies," ejaculated the princess, aghast. "He would be angry if he knew wo had come here. No one but himself enters these apart- For an hour they watched the coming and going of tho vultures, till finally tho last one hovered over the lake of fire. Suddenly the machine swerved so near to Branasko and Johnston that they shrank close to the earth to keep from being seen. Something was evidently wrong with the machine, for there was a wild look of desperation on the driver's face as ho tugged excitedly at tbe pilot wheel. But all his efforts only caused the airship to dart irregularly from side to aide, and now and "It must have been an extra current of electricity sent to relight the lamps," remarked Johnston, and as he concluded the sun trembled again and another flash and failure occurred. "Look," cried the American; "the clouds are thinning. See the lights below. They have discovered the accident." ments." Finally they reached a point where the wind %\ as ing stiflly, and farther j on a volume of cold spray suddenly dashed upon tin m and wet them to the iskin, and when their eyes had become ! accustomed to the rolling inist they saw a great lake, and pouring into it from high above was a mighty waterfall. Just then one of tbo women turned a lovely and despairing face toward them and came forward and knelt ut the feet of Bernardino. •ke attempted to draw her to deep emotion. He bad never dreamed lide him, but she held back, that anything could so completely chain i said resolntely, "it would his fancy and elevate his imagination ar uk to be seen together. If as what he heard. The musical clangor should suspect anything now, died down. The strange harmony grew oold be lost" more entrancing as it softened. Then iko reluctantly released hex the whole eastern skv began to flush "They hold us up," he said. "Where do they go to?" ' 'To the big trucks which run on the tracks near the roof of the cavern. The end 1 ww cables are up there, too, but we cannot see them with this glare about us." "Oh, save us, princess!" sho cried They both leaned over the railing and looked below. Aa far as the ooald reach, within the aro of their vision, "Be calm," said the princess, touching tbe white brow of the woman. "Tbe danger may soon pass. This yor- "Mercy!" ejaculated the Alphiau in