Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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v CHAPTER IX—Continued —IS— A few obeyed him. The rest could pot, he suddenly realized; and he had to leare them, dying. Jack Taylor was beside him, firing a rifle. They were fire altogether wpo were falling back, firing. Figures from the black leaped at ftem, and it was hand to hand. Ton'y fought with a bayonet, then -with a clubbed rifle, madly and wildly swing- ing. He was struck, and reeled. “Come on!** cried Jack Taylor’s ▼oice; and with Taylor he ran in the dark. They reached the buildings. Gunfire was flashing from the labora tories which otherwise were black. The dormitories sprang Into light; windows shone,, and spread illumina tion which showed that they were de serted and were being used now by the defenders- of- the camp to light the space already abandoned. The attackers could not shoot out hundreds of globes so simply as they bad smashed the searchlights. And they could not advance Into that illu minated area, under the machine guns and rifles of the laboratories. They bad first to take the deserted dormi tories and darken them. They were doing this; but It delayed them. It held them up a few minutes. Room by room, dormitory windows went black. The lights were not be ing turned out; they were being smashed and the window-panes were crashing. Yells celebrated the smash ing, and shots. .The yells ceased;'some sort of as sault was being reorganized. Tony moved in the dark. “Keep down—down—down—down,” he was crying. “Below the window-line. Down 1" For bullets from machine . funs, evidently aimed from the dormi tory windows, were striking In. Many did not obey him; be did not expect them to. Yells at the farther end of the main laboratory told that It was hand-to-hand there, In the dark. A charge—a rush ,had been pushed home. Tony found Taylor beside him; they bad stuck together in the dark; and a dozen others rose and ran with them into the melee. The best brains of the modern world, fighting hand to band with savages! Shoot and stab and club wildly, desperately, in the dark! More and more lay where they fell. Tony, stumbling and slipping on the stickily wet floor, realized that this rush was stopped. There was nobody left in the room tor fight—nobody but two or three distinguished^ as friends by the spots of the arm bands. “Jack?" gasped Tony; and Taylor’s voice answered him. They were stag gering and bleeding, both of them; but they had survived the fight together. Tony found the flashlight which, all through the fight, he had had in his pocket,, and he bent to the floor and held it close to the faces. He caught breath, bitterly. Bronson was there. Bronson, the discoverer of the two stranger planets whose pass ing had loosed this savagery; Dr. Sven Bronson, the first scientist of the southern hemisphere, lay there in bis blood, a bayonet through his throat! Beside him Dodson was dying, his right arm hacked almost off. A few of those less hurt were rising. “To the ship 1 Into the ship!” Tony cried to them. “Everybody into the •hip l” There was nv alternative. Creeping on hands and knees, from wounds or from caution, and drag ging the wounded with them, the men started the retreat to the Space Ship. Women were helping them. Yells and whisUes warned that another rush was gathering, and that this would be from all sides. Tony caught up in his arms % young man who was barely breathing. He bad a bullet through him; but he lived. Tony staggered with him into the great metal rocket. When he laid his burden down, Ransdell confronted him. From head to foot, the South African was dabbled and clotted with blood. HU was three-quarters naked; a bullet bad creased his forehead; a bayonet bad slashed his shoulder. The second rush was coming. No doubt of it, and it would be utterly overwhelming. There would be no survivors—but the women. None. For the horde would take no prisoners. Tpey were killing the wounded al ready—their own badly wounded and the camp’s^ wounded that they had captured. Eliot James,/ a bullet through his thigh, but sav dark, crawled in tlon. ived by the with this informa- Tony carried him into the ship. Thqfr were all in the ship—all the hurvitorg. The horde/did not suspect It Then they suddenly seemed to realise that the ship' was the last ref uge. They surrounded it, firing at it Their bullets glanced from Its metal By EDWIN BALMER ami'' - PHILIP WYLIE Own-lcfct br Kdwla Balmar A PhUlp WyUa WNU Sarvlca Somebody who had-grenades bombed it A frightful flame shattered them. Probably they imagined, at first that the grenade had exploded some sort of powder magazine within the huge metal tube. Few of those near to the ship, and outside it lived to see what was happening. The great metal rocket rose from the earth, the awful blast from its power tubes lifting:it The frightful beat seared and Incinerated, killing at its touch. A hundred of the horde/ , were dead before the ship was above the buildings. - , Hendron lifted it five hundred feet farther, and the blast spread in a fun nel below it A thousand died in that Instant Hendron / ceased to elevate the ship. Indeed, he lowered it a lit tle, and the power . of the atomic blast which was keeping two thousand tons of metal and of human flesh sus pended over the earth, played upon the ground—and upon the flesh on the no force ever released by man before. Half an hour later, Hendron brought the ship down. • • • • • • • A pale delicate light carried away the depthi of night. From the numb ness and exhaustion which had seized It the colony roused Itself. It gazed with empty eyes upon that which sur rounded it. The last battle of brains against brutality had been fought on the bosom of the earth. And the in telligence of man had conquered his primeval ruthlessness. But at what cost Around a table in the office of the laboratories a few men and women stared at each other; Hendron pale and shaken, Tony in shoes and trou sers, white bandages over his wounds; Eve staring from him to the short broad-shouldered, silent form of Rans dell, whose hands, blackened, ugly, hung limply at his sides, whose gorilla-like strength, seemed to have deserted him; the German actress, her dress disheveled, her hands covering her eyesSmith, the surgeon, stupefied In the face of this hopeless summons to his calling. At last Hendron sucked a breath into his lungs. “My friends, what must be done is obvious. We must first bury the dead. There are no survivors of the enemy. If others are gathering I believe we need fear no further at tack. Doctor Smith, you will kindly take charge of all hospital and med ical arrangements for our people. I will request that, those who are able to do so appear immediately on the airplane field. I shall dispatch the ma jority of them to your assistance, and with those who remain I shaH take such steps as are necessary. Let’s go." Only three hundred and eighty per sons were counted by Tony as they struggled shuddering to the landing field. Almost half of them were women, for the women, except in the case of individuals who joined the fighting voluntarily, had been secluded. As In the other emergency, Taylor was assigned to ' the kitchen. He walked to the kitchen with his men. Tony, with ten other men, a pitiful number tor the appalling task that confronted; them, went down to th field and began to gather up tn truck! the bodies there. Not far from the cantonment, on what had been a lum ber road, an enormous fissure yawned in the earth. All that day they tended their own wounded. Many of them perished. In those nightmare days no one spoke unless it was necessary. Life long friendships and strong new friendships had been obliterated. Loves that in two months had flow ered into vehement reality were ended. For two weeks abysmal sadness and funereal silence held them. Only the necessary ardors of their toll prevent ed many of them from going mad! But at the end of two weeks Tony, re turning from an errand to the fissure where the last bodies had been en tombed by a blast of dynamite, stood on the hill above the enckmpment and saw that o^ce again the grass grew green, once again the buildings were Clean and trim. While he stood there his attention was attracted by a strings sound—the sound of ah airplane motor, and the’ plane Itself became visible. It landed presently-on their field, and Tony was one of several men who approached it The cabin door opened and out stepped a man. There was something familiar about him to Tony, but he could not decide what it was. The man had a high, crackling voice. Hli hair was snow-white. His features were drawn. SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAPTERS David photographic ?artment. lisdell arrives' it New York from South Africa, with a case of plates for Dr. Cole Hendron. Tony Drake calls wt-the Hendrons’ tnsdeU arrives and Eve Hendron, with whom Tony is deeply in love, Introduces Tony to Ransdell Newspapers publish a statement by. Hen dron saying that ..Professor Bronson has discovered two planeta which have brought under the attraction of the earth’s,sun. The result of the ln- evitable collision must be the end of the world. The approaching bodies are referred to as Bronson Alpha and Bronson Beta. Bronson Beta will pass, but the^oiher will hit the earth and demolish it To devise means of transferrin* to Brohson Beta is occupying the minds of the members of the League of the Hendr<m P 1 * 11 * to bulld * "Space Ship,”; with the idea of land Inc ?? ^. r ?^ on He has not beep able to'flnd a metal which will withstand’ hfkt\end pressure of atomic energy which must W used in propelling the Space Ship. Earthquakes change the efttire surface of the earth, bringing death to hsH the *, orld ’» population. Bronson Alpha cbllides %lth the moon jmd wipes it out, Ransdell, with Peter Vanderbilt, prominent New Yorkefr selected by Hendron as a-member of the party on the Space Ship, and Eliot James fly to* <Je*z»tated country. They are attacked and wounded r *i'i rn *.?. d has found the metal Hendron needs for the Space •hip. The Ship will accommodate only 10* persona with the lower Jpecles of ■ llf * Hendron fb conveying to the New Earth, There are 1.00* picked men and women In Hendron e samp. Half of them die In an attack by a hunger-erased and his skin was yellow. His pilot remained at the controls of the plane, and the old man hobbled toward Tony, saying as he approached. “Please take me to Mr. Hendron.** Tony stepped forward.. “I’m Mr. Hendron’s assistant We doq’t allow visitors here. Perhaps you will tell me your errand.” *Tll see Hendron,” snapped the other. Tony realized that the man consti tuted no menace. •‘Perhaps,” be said coldly, “if- you will tell me your rea son for wanting to see Hendron, r can arrange for the interview.” The old man almost shrieked. 'Ton can arrange an Interview l I tell yon, young fellow, I said I would see Hen dron, and that’s all there is to It” He came abruptly closer, snatched Tony’s lapel, cocked bis head, and peered into hia face. Twain Drake, aren’t you, young Tony Drake?” Suddenly Tony recognized the man. He was staggered. Before him stood Nathaniel Borgan, fourth richest man in America, friend of all tycoons of the”” Sand, friend Indeed of Hendron himself. Tony bad last aeen Borgan In Hendron’a house in New York, when Borgan had been immaculate, power ful self-assured, and barely approach ing middle age. He now looked aenlle, degenerate'and slovenly. “Aren’t you Drake?” the crackling voice repeated. Tony nodded mechani cally. “Yea,” he said; “come with me.” Hendron did not recognize Borgan until Tony had pronounced hia name. Then upon his face there appeared briefly a look of consternation, and Borgan in hia shrill grating voice be gan to talk excitedly. “Of course I knew what yon were doing, Hendron, knew all about It. Meant to offer you you alone for wetikai* Again he hesi tated. - • “Year —- . ■ ■ ■. . - v “That fight you put up—” Ransdell took a huge pocket knife from hia flannel shirt and commenced to open and abut ita blade nervously. “That was a d—n’ fine piece of work, fel low.” - •>* “What was yoursr Tony replied, heartily. Ransdell held out his hand. They gripped, and In that grip the hands of leaser men would have been broken. From that time on those ri vals in love were as blood brothers. Another general meeting was held in the dining hall "Hendron again took charge. “Tha matter which I have to dis cuss with you,” he began, “la one which will come, 1 am sure, as a dis tinct surprise. It la the result of my earnest thought and of careful calcu lations. From the standpoint of real ism—and I have learned that all .of you are courageous enough to face truths—I am forced to add that my decision baa been made possible by the diminution of our numbers. -—“Ail of you know that I founded this village of ours for the purpose of transferring to the planet that will take tha place of the earth a company of about one hundred people, with the hope that they might perpetuate our doomed race. It seemed to me that a ship large enough to accommodate such a number might be fabricated-' end launched by the one thousand persona who were originally assembled here. It la obvious, of course, that tha more intelligent and healthy the units of humanity we are able to transfer to the planet, the better the chances for founding a new race will be.” -A He paused and hia eyes roved over the throng. Not a breath was drawn, and not a word was spoken. “My friends, wt art five hundred in number. There Is not one man or woman left among ua who bear* such disability as will prevent him from “You’ll Take Me With You VVhen You Go, of Course.” He Banged Hie Fist on tha Tabls in a Bizarre Burlesqije of Hia Former Gestures. financial assistance, but got ■ tangled up taking care of my affairs in the. last few weeks I. haven’t been able to come here before, for a variety of reasons But now I’m here. You’ll take me with you whenf'you go, of course.” He banged his fist on the table In a bizarre burlesque of his former ges tures “You’ll take me all right, all right, and I’ll tell you why you’ll take me—for my money. When all else fails, I’ll hava my money. I ask only that you apart my life, that you'll take me from this awful place, and In turn go out to my'plane, go out to the plane that la waiting there for you. Look in- aide.** Suddenly his voice sank to a whisper, and hia head was shot for ward. “It’a full of bills, full of bills, Hendron; hundred-dollar bills, thou- sand-hollar bills ten-thousand-dollar bills—stacked with them, bales of them, bundles of them—millions. Hen-' dron, millions! That's the price I’m offering you for my life.” Hendron and Tony looked at this man in whose hands the destiny of colossal American industries had once been so firmly held; and they knew that he was mad. They sent Borgan away with his pilot-and hia plane full of money; and the l^st word* of the financier were pronounced In a voice Intended to be threatening aa he leaned oat of the cabin door: 'Til get an Injunction against yon' 1 , from the President him self. I’ll have the Supreme court be hind me #ithln twenty-fonr hours.” . Nearly three weeks after the attack a census was retaken. There were two hundred and nine uninjured wom en, one hundred and elghty-two unin jured men. There w$re about eighty men and women who were expected wholly to recover. There were more than a hundred who would suffer some disability. Four hundred and ninety- three people had been killed of had died after the conflict Work ot course was redistributed. More than five months lay ahead of them. The Space Ship could be pom- ipleted, even with this reduced group, ”ln three weeks. ’ - ’ On one of the 'unseasonably warm afternoons in December Tony re ceived trhat he considered afterward the greatest compliment ever paid to him In hia life. He was .making one of his regular tours of the stockyards when Ransdell overtook hhn. tir all their recent encounters Ransdell had not spoken a hundred words to Tony; but now said, almost gruffly, “I’d like to apeak to you.” Tony tnfned and . smiled. ThcT South - African hesitated, and almost blushed. “I’m not talkative,” he said bluntly, “but I’ve been trying to find surviving. If any one may, tha trip through apace; there, la not one but who, If we -effect our landing upon Bronson Beta and find it habitable, will be fit to propagate there the hu man race. “On the night of the attack, we all of us—and some who Bines have died —crammed into the Space Ship. We all realize that no such crowding will be possible on the voyage through apace; we all realise that much car go, other than humanity, must be stowed on the ship If there is to be any point and purpose in our safe lauding upon another planet * One hundred persona remains my estimate of the probable crew and pasaenger list of tha ship which saved us all on that night. "But I have come to the, conclusion that by dint of tremendous effort and co-operation, and largely because of the success of the experiments which we have made with Ransdell’s metal, it will be possible within the remain ing months of time to construct a sec ond and larger vessel which will be capable of removing the entire'reald- ual personnel ot this camp.” v Hendron sat down. \No Cheer was .lifted. As If they had'’seen the Gor- Head, the audience was turned to atone. The sehtence imposed by the death lottery had been lifted. Every man and woman who sat there was free. Evsfery one of them had* a chance to live, to fight and to make 'a new career elsewhere in the star-, lit firmament They sat ailently, many with bowed heada as if they were engaged ia prayer. Then sound came: ' a man’s racking aob, tha low hysterical laugh ter of a woman; after that like tha rising of a great wind, the cheers. ••••••• Although in Eliot James’ diaries the days appeared to be crammed with events, to the .dwellers in Hendron’* colony the weeks passed in what seemed like a steady routine, and James had been so busy that he was unable to write voluminously: .“Dec. 4: Today what we call the keel of the second Space Ship was laid. .The first has been popularly named 'Noah’s Ark,’ and we have offered a prise of five thousand ^dol lars in absolutely worthless hawk notes for anybody who wlU contriva a name for the second:' — - TO BB CONTINUED. Ohio's State Flgg^ The Ohio state flag was designed by John Etaemann, an architect, for use on the Ohio building at the Pan-Amer lean exposition In Buffalo U 1901. ]| had no legal status then. NEW ASSORTMENT IN PERFORATED QUILT PATTERNS By GRANDMOTHER CLARK JT O’ -»JT' . wv. F ERP V SEED s Here are some more and different perforated patterns for quilting de signs. We have shown some of the ether patterns in these columns, but realizing how interested qulltersare In obtaining perforated patterns of a« many designs aa possible, know that these will be welcomed by them. The transfer of the design la ao easy, with stamping powder, that once nsad, you will want no other kind, inleaa we haven’t the design yon want. The above assortment consists of the following: B-14 Feather Border 6 inch, E-15 Tulip Border and Corner S inches, B-16 Border 1ft inches, E-17 TuBp Motif 8 inches, E-18 Border end Cor ner 2ft Inches, F-19 Scroll Corner 4% inches, F-20 Scroll Border 4ft Inches, F-21 Feather Border Motif 4 Inches. This package No. 33C contains the •bore eight patterns already per forated on bond paper and gobd for many stampings, also some blue stamping powder and instructions. If you want to do neater quilting, •and 16c for this package No. 33C to our Qnllt * department and receive this by mall postpaid. , ADDRESS—HOME CRAFT CO.-* DEPT. D—Nineteenth and Str Louis avenue, St Louis, Mo. Enclose a stamped addressed en velope for reply, when writing for any information. FOR LARGER BLOOMS AND STURDIER PLANTS You crh depend on Ferry's Purebred Flower Seeds. They are the off spring of generations of perfect plants and wQl reproduce, in your own garden, flowers of won derful size, color and form. Choose your fa vorite varieties today from the Ferry Seed Display Bos. Egyptian AdvascoaMst With the improvement of roads in the interior of Egypt the natives are using the bicycle in place of the faithful donkey, which long has been the only means of communication In that country. Week's Supply of Postum Free Read the offer made by the Postum Company in another part of this pa per. They will send a full week's sup ply of health giving Postum free to anyone who writes for it—Adv. - QaaRtles \ Don't value a man for the quality ho Is mads of but for the qualities he possesses. Tilt “liquid test” .. It ENDS bewtl worrits for many pooplo This is h\test that tdls you whether the systenl needs a cathartic If you havejeohstant sit or bilious atfa&ts, and laxal to make things worse, it would be wise to try this: s Stop all use of any laxative that does not encourage variation from a “fixed dose” (which may be entirely too large a dose for your tadhridud Four Virtues Industry, economy, honesty, tnfi kindness form s quartette of virtues that will never be Improved npon.— James Oliver. To keep clean and heel Pierce’s Pleasaut Pal liver, bowels and stomach.- thy tal . They r -—Adv. taka D*. regulate Spurs to Action * Emotions are far nearer to the springs of action than are thoughts. need). Use instead, a liquid laxative that you can measure and regulate as to dose. As necessary to take smaller doses, lest and lei until the bowels are moving any help at aU. - Doctors use liquid laxatives, sad a properly prepared liquid laxative, containing natural laxative •fsats like senna sad cascara is a joy sad s comfort; s real help ' yosr a is a joy sad in establishing doctor about say drug i SYRUP PEPSIN Scientists Find Fast Way to Relieve a Cold Ache and DUcontfort Ea»ed Almost Inttmtffy Now i. sfifft Tablets you a* far: m NOT! MBIRIBTIONB PICTVBSB** The simple method pictured lam Is the way many doctors now treat odds and tbs aches sad pains colds bring with them! - It Is recogntod as a safe, no* QUICK wry. For it will relieve aa ordinary com almost as fast as you caught it. Ask your doctor about this. Aad when you hoy, be sura that you gat tha real BAYER Aspirin Thbleta. They dissolve (disintegrate) ah—i: instantly. And thus work almost in- stantiy when you take them. And tor a gargle. 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