All-Story Weekly, March 1, 1919 — page 112: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

5 = 454 ~ he 7 ge, pam - 3 . 7 __-youths, mothers with their babes, gnomed _ oldsters—on they poured, silent for the most part and sullen—a sullenness that held acid bitterness even as their subtle, half-sinister, half-gay malice seemed tem- pered into little keen-edged flames, oddly, menacingly defiant. There were many of the green-clad sol- diers along the way, and the garrison of the only bridge span I could see had cer- tainly been doubled. --—s Wondering still, I turned from my point -___ of observation and made my way back to our pavilion, hoping that Larry, who had x been with Yolara for the past two hours, had returned. Hardly had I reached it before Rador came hurrying up,: in his manner a curious exultance, mingled with what in any one else I would have called a decided nervousness. “Come!” he commanded before I could speak. ‘“ The council has made decision— and Larree is awaiting you.” ~~. + What has been decided?” I panted as we sped along the mosaicked path that led to the house of Yolara. “And why is Larry awaiting me?” == -And at his answer I felt my fear pause - in its beat and through me race a wave of mingled panic and eagerness; panic born __ of the memory of that which I had seen in the cabin of the Southern Queen, and eager- ness that what I had set forth to seek I was at last to find. = “The Shining One dances!” had an- Se swered the green dwarf. ‘ And you are to -_-worship! = ““Lugur was against it,’ he whispered as we went swiftly on. “ The Shining One’s Voice said ‘No,’ but the Shining One’s priestess said ‘Yes’; and the council thought at last, and as usual, as she did. + What the Shining One may think, friend 5 Goodwin, I do not know ”—he shot a mock- ing glance at me—“ but Yolara with you, there is no fear that you will join the dance,” he added hastily, and obviously with reassuring intention. What was this dancing of the Shining One, of which so often he had spoken? And in it, what was there for us of the deadly, inexplicable danger that had blasted _. Throckmartin and his and destroyed the a -ALL-STORY WEEKLY. wife and child of Olaf? Would we meet at this ceremony, whatever it was, those I had come here to find? Whatever my forebodings, Larry evident- ly had none. ‘Great stuff!” he cried, when we had met in the great antechamber, now empty of the dwarfs. ‘“ We’re invited te the show —reserved seats and all the rest of it. Hope | it will be worth seeing—have to be some- thing damned good, though, to catch me, after what I’ve seen of shows at the front,” he added. . And remembering, with a little shock of apprehension, that he had no knowledge of the Dweller.beyond my poor description of it—for there are no words actually to de- scribe what that miracle of. interwoven glory and horror was—I wondered what Larry O’Keefe would say and do when he did behold it! Rador began to show impatience. “Come!” he urged. ‘ There is much to be done—and the time grows short!”’ He led us to a tiny fountain room, in whose miniature pool the white waters were concentrated, pearl-like and opalescent in their circling rim. “ Bathe!” he commanded; and set the example by stripping himself and plunging within. We followed. I experienced the peculiar stimulation that these waters al- ways gave. They seemed to sparkle through every nerve and muscle. Only a minute or two did the green dwarf allow us, amd he checked us as we were about to don our clothing—and let me note that we had long been provided with all neces- sary garments to replace our own. And I would, indeed, gladly have donned the outer costume of the place, save that Larry had clung to his uniform; and so I kept also to my knickerbockers, my stockings, and my canvas shoes, compromising, how- ever, with a Murian tunic above them in the place of my American shirt. Then, to my intense embarrassment, without warning, two of the black-haired girls entered, bearing rabes of a peculiar dull-blue hue. At our manifest discomfort Rador’s bellow of laughter roared out. He took the garments from the pair, motioned them to leave us, and, still laughing, threw (ECO) A MLE —— ae. - — : a —_— ——_ ~~ ~~ ot of =< —.. eee fe a “= JOOKS