Show yellow tw lyben an M by JEREMY LANE balme copyright by the century company THE DESERT GUARDS synopsis john levington a poet visionary and impractical and mary martin artin bl the daughter of rich and ana worldly parents hear the call ot of love and untie their lives they go e to a small email michigan city where john find ends work in a stove factory and on sundays writes verses the Mar martins tills try in vain to got get th the happy wife to leave her husband mary begins to breathe for two john loses his job lie he appeals to la vain to the martins mary goes goa to the hospital and never returns thus comes into the story cornelius levington the fattier father leaves tonn and the city farms out om the child after two years the lather father returns and takes lakes his hi little son with him on his world vande wanderings rings the father becomes the slave of a mysterious drug koresh with odors of wine and cinnamon and returns with little con to die on his cifes grave con Is again farmed outi out grows up tip in the underworld and la Is saved tor fr better belter things ly by andrew march so much by way of introduction to the hero of the strange adventures ot of yellow men sleep these thesa begin when con takes by force a small leather sack from chee ming the chinese cook of an acquaintance this s ack ek contains a chinese map of the goof desert which Is precious beyond price to andrew march eighteen years before armed mm men in the gobi had taken marahs wife and infant daughter from him now he sends con in search of them on the voyage con finds chee ming a fellow passenger chee ming drugs con and s teals steals his map but con presses on toward shan sung con Is shot by a poisoned dart and while he Is in the consequent stupor his map Is stolen on the river boat to peking kindbe tie again sees cheo chen ming and realizes they are seeking the same destination con keeps faith with andrew march and starts on his alson mah ion wP with a caravan after wits w its of difficult travel ha h r h the little settlement of in n 11 ind and reads instructions r m androli march to the effect amt tl i on in has been made a federal item gent to search out chee ming mine no nin in 0 nil na brought quantities of kor kon i 1 a deadly drug to san franc 0 at shan sung con is anex p t dy joined by march the two americans press forward into the du CIL at CHAPTER V continued 7 when the night was well advanced near eleven by a white mans reckoning thiv went into camp and the drivers were still sullen will they get used to it asked con march shook his head and at dawn before camp was broken roused himself from a light sleep to find the drivers la in secret activity it rather looked as it if they were trying to get away with the camels A gun cracked and march turned sharply to see con sitting up from his blanket his carbine smoking gm lie ile too had bad been watching the preparations ne ile had bad shot in the air but both the yellow men fell face downward upon the sand march marchment went to them at once paid them well in gold gave them two big draws at the water bags bag and started them off together eastward shan sung was within walking distance 1 I should have known better he said they did not see the old chinese nho aho would no doubt make a 0 wide de A gun cracked and march turned sharply to see con sitting up from his blanket Blank tt his gun smoking tour before touching the real trull trail the country allbough alt lough bough perfectly herft etly opria end and tries broes tri es was irregular from tho ii or of earth one could str sn nr teng lenjos jet in the four direr diree hons I 1 i n aliet mc vie tw v irp if bip IP I 1 siela es arnin li 11 apo u r a iong ion ulo ubi it iii i i in I 1 wi inn lie eveni tir at sun sim 6 p ind da ou on the wini rose witti its menacing rattle of sand but it died before dark at dawn they started again the lesert desert was less hilly billy but great rocks emerged from froin the sand and here were glittering lizards in the morning light still asleep the heavens were glassy A wind held from the northwest and the nostrils of 0 the beasts were stung to bleeding by the sand grit had sifted into cons Conse clothing lothing next to his skin and riding was a hardship dust grated in ills his teeth that night andrew march lit the watch fire and it was cons time for sleep their world was empty soundless infinite unknown march did not call levington at two in the lin as agreed but permitted his young friend to sleep until dawn none could have known the reveries of this unusual man in the midnight hours thoughts as remote as the stars stam and ft a hard to gage gag ge lie he had loved life and the sweets of it had bad been taken from him long ago it had been difficult for him to pass through peking city of his birth and earliest influence the quest that had drawn his father stephen as a boy across the american plains plain onward across the pacific and yet onward to china peking and the dread sha mo was wrought into the very texture of the he mind and soul of the son andrew the yearning of ills his mother was woven there also as she had hoped loved prayed resented and finally mourned for stephen until le ile returned late by two years this gobi desert mastered him the heart of china would not let him go ile he could not live down the terrors that peking had stamped upon him in infancy now lie looked long iong at con sleeping beside the fire relaxed graceful breathing steadily something boyish mid and pure about him andrew marahs eyes shut against su sudden d den tears lie ile arose silently and walked wa I 1 ked out away from the camels so far t that hat the fire was only a red spark to it him in the night spaces whispered in vague conspiracy at daybreak the whole world was without color only dead gray hills end gullies rocks and shadows and vacant air levington Levin glon wakened glanced up at andrew who was making the morning ten tea and it seemed as it if the air were powdered with the delicate rooty aroma that con associated with john levington and all manner of evil fate then he realized that the faint spice of itt it was clinging about march lie ile said nothing but it was a black moment for him they studied their map and held a field compass beside it their difficulty was wag to hold a direction by reason of the twisted formation of desert surfaces each crooked line of rise or dip misled the eye and the camels persisted in staying low preferring to pass around a hill rather than take the safe straight line across it march was watchful usually silent for their third camp they halted in a little valley wedge out of the gale all nl night bt the sand sifted in upon them like gray snow but this was preferable to facing the whip of it on the levels above the fourth day they saw a different formation of rock closer it showed to be the collapse of a city yet one in no wise related tn t the villa villages villager gei they had left behind for these buildings building had once been of solid gray rock strangely through a crack in tile the middle middie of a slab came the greenalsh yellow v line of 0 a flame it was gas from the depths of the world and it burned slowly waving like a transparent plume in the sheltered place of all that hat city of ions iong ago this eternal flame remained the walls had been shaken down with terrible age every block of stone was rounded smoothly by the blowing sand the original level of the city had been much below the present levington shivered lie ile felt around him the faded life of another time lingering human shadows tied to the stones march moved solemnly over the tumbled pile pausing before the languid green fire issuing from the rock in the emptiness overhead they saw a bird high up and black sailing steadily watching these two white intruders upon his bis dominion seeming to wait with perfect patience until they should perish and leave to him onre once more the crumbling forgotten empire now the black bag contained a saving grace the razor a holy instrument keen with decency con a i bit of fat over his jaws and scraped ith unction water was too precious to waste in lather the oil was tolerable and cleansing ills cheeks were tout taut the line of chin and jaw vividly market marked his thoughts seemed about to surprise the ending of the story that bill the cook hai had not dot finished that night in harbor sometimes lie he talked to march of the file mother lie had never known vearn mcarn ing came to the surface eagerness for far trails and nameless ests destination TA kastance Ulila stance was to him like the thought t f home to other men the horizon horl sion shrouded afar drew him on in tills this rhythm of desert travel hit hi notly did not wear doun tiny any furt livi hut but went into a state resembling thai 11 if tile the prairie wolf who goes or nii mi lin without hange the silver haired friend hummed to himself ending with a shudder or stared into the living ethers of twill twilight ht until ills his eyes would glow like sunset fire cre it seems rooms to me said con that we are always near some one some other traveler not chee sling ming I 1 dont know how to explain it other travelers other kinds hinds of travelers where are they going goiner asked march I 1 are you laughing at me judge for yourself replied the elder man and his manner conveyed no pleasantry well what do you hear bear when the wind goes past pursued levington oh the dust I 1 suppose grating did you ever hear the rumble nimble of wheels im not saying their path touched another smaller ruin more deeply sunken one of the great blocks of stone remained on top unbroken this ancient city had been bullied upon a river for the course of it was still outlined between erosions ero A gray skull retaining all its teeth was perched upon a point of rock and ayt 11 pr I 1 4 I 1 k 0 h riders were down upon them an avalanche of ferocity the dusty sockets stared forever eastward andrew march regarded it thoughtfully tills this mongol was a good boy bu but t lies a modern compared to the rest of this 1 I said we always alone only a few stones were liere here in view and a river bed long iong dry yet con peered about uncertainly old violence lurked in the sunshine the sand was changing in tint as they rode westward and to the north showing patches of rust color small adia 11 cliffs raised above the shallows their strata bronze and a flaky blue through long days tey tesy traced out the route indicated upon the map the moon diminished and darkened again and still they were able to cross off the angles ot of the parchment only EL a bit at a time on certain evenings the northern horizon seemed to shift and crawl far flying shapes peopled the hills on the worlds rim smaller presences too darted away from the watch fire like shadowy butterflies con never quite saw these things lings ti they always moved just out of range of vision and lie could never turn sharply enough they were like the nim nimble ble hands of old chinese Cli luese dill bill why are you staring at me he asked of march what aliat do you see seel countered the other oilier nothing said con what I 1 thought laughed march but his laughter was empty and it seemed oddly to be caught up by the breathing ot of the ibe camels and then tossed out overhead 1 I suppose that rushing cloud oft off there Is the dust said levington after a u while no doubt replied mareb march but I 1 dont see sec it in the fifth wee week they found water a little greasy marsh thus far there here had find not been one glimpse of clieo chee ming mine and there were no signs hero here right more days westward some times to the north and they reached roa cheil a spring of clear water the beasts cried and sucked and trembled other camels had been here before them recently their marks were in the mud if tin the map had been caged proper properly lv con perceived that they were nearing the end A starving wolf sidled in toward lie waterhole water hole lie ile had never learned ear lie he r stalked the led camels and found ills P position ution to leap when hey bev shot him the camels were in firu fi rev ru bedona there were no wore more raws aim above the surface the al s to another world these and ridges of red sand were abl husks of the planet Leving tons eyes ached with the distances in the glare ot of day sun two of the camels were killed to provide sustenance for the others and the two men shared with the beasts now the high winds came in a bruising torrent as if the elements had turned enemy and this was their threat the beasts gave up and wera driven into a roaring sully gully where the blast was broken somewhat it whined and rushed overhead and began to bury them with sand in tills this choking confusion the capture clime came quickly a brief affair in which the white men were too late with their guns riders were down upon them an avalanche of ferocity the storm had obscured their coming on horses demoniac and primal they had sped down through the sandstorm as if it were an april rain those these were monster men with silvery eyes their beards were hanging mats of sand their mouths caked with dust close fitting leather helmets enlarged their heads leather thongs whipped out and circled cons arms and lie he was helpless in a moment strong hands were undressing tho the white men the frightened camels were being driven driven away the strangers worked in a nervous heat chanting a song or prayer their voices mingling with the savage wind everything was taken from the prisoners and dagger points were sent ripping through their garments march was shouting pleading with rich offers but ut he received no reply only ills his ruined clothing W then the remainder of the party leaped abd spurred their halry hairy beasts up the slope the showering sand hid them again Leving tons face and shoulders were numb with the pelting of little stones it was all finished in a moment are you all right asked marsh yes they leave anything with extreme difficulty the two travelers stepped into and adjusted their rugs rags the map was gone along with guns gold camels provisions water and all sense of direction their eyes were red with rain pain the wind blustered in dry fury as it if the r riders 1 d e i might n i ga it materialize out of it a gorsd I 1 s second e e t time 1 m e they must have had us in fit view all day perhaps yesterday or they could not have found us in this weather said march hitching the remains of 0 his trousers to a bit of shirt those horses borses real said con and how bow did they get me all tied up with leather leat lier before I 1 could draw they spoke with levity that was not felt each hoping by his ca calmness linness to cheer the other the actual situation was too plain levington Leving fon added at least we seem to be in the right we can wait here until we get straight by the stars said march 1 I maintain that we did fairly well to have come this far before they found us yes march pretended not to notice the trembling of his volve both were busy with new ways of assembling tattered garments then con saw that his friend was smili smiling ngn eoy boy said we may not find much to cat or drink but we are not quite done for levington nodded without comprehending and his companion added we are not altogether lost how Is that for answer march balanced himself against cons shoulder and lifted up one foot as if to look at a bruise and dusted it carefully A duplicate of the map was clearly tattooed on the sole of ills his right foot the gray sentinel saves the lives of con and march tto TO BE CONTINUED |