Olympian Nights

helter a

ne picture never presented itself, I am convinced. I was chilled through, shivering in the dampness of the night, a steady stream of water pouring upon and drenching my clothing, void of property of an available nature, and lost in a strange land. To make matters worse, I was familiar only with classic Greek, which language is utterly unknown in those parts to-day, being spoken only by the professors of the American school at Athens and

neck their inevitable destination, I started in to explore as best I could in the uncanny light of the night for some more sheltered nook. Feeling, too, that, having robbed me, Hippopopolis would become an extremely unpleasant person to encounter in my unarmed and exhausted state, I made my way up the

polis and myself may lie as wide as the poles apart. If so be we do again tread t

discovered crack in the rocks above me, sent me travelling upon my way. Physical endurance has its limits, however, and at the end of a two hours' climb, wellnigh exhausted, I staggered into an opening between two walls of rock, and fell almost fainting to the ground.

It was of a particular sort, and I liked it whether I was thirsty or not. "If he'd only left me that, he might have had my le

per part of his body, and vice versa. It was moderately successful. If I could have wrung the water out of my clothes, it might have been wholly so. Still, matters began to look more c

of the cavern even to where I lay shivering. "I'm in for it

ways of bandits began

fty-three cents to the dollar. It never varies. What hope have I to escape unharmed from seventeen bandits, even though five of them are discontented-as is always the case in books-and are ready to betray their

me. My heart is a very sane sort of an organ. I gazed towards the light intently, expecting to see dark figures of murderous mould loom up before me,

is responsive, my family will be spared the necessity of receiving one of my ears by mail with a delicate request

tiates one ear from another is the angle at which it is set from the head. The angle, according to the most scientific students of the organ of hearing, is the basis of the estimate of the individual. Therefore, to convince the wealthy persons at home that large sums of money are expected of them to preserve the life of the father of the family, the truly expert bandit must send something besides the ear itself, which, when cut off, has no angle whatsoever. If I, who am no bandit, and who have not studied the art of the banditti, may make a suggest

siderable effort, I gathered myself together and resolved to investigate. I rose up, stood uncertainly on my feet, and was

was soon to find this out, turned a scornful and really majestic face upon me, as much as to say, "Who are you that should thus address a god?" The rushing thing wore a crown and flowing robes. Likewise it had a

o your story, but here is my card. I have no change about

nd was promptly lifted out of sight. All became dark again, and I was frankly puzzled. This was a situation beyond my ken. What it could mean I could not surmise, and in the hope of finding a clew to the mystery I groped about in the darkness for the card which the hurried individual had cast at me with his words of encouragement. Ultimately I found it, but was unable to decipher its inscription, if perchance it had one. Nevertheless, I managed to keep my

me, to seek out its source. I stood up and staggered towards it, and as I drew nearer observed that the illumination came from noth

about his shoulders was slung a strap which in turn held a leathern bag, which, to my eyes, sugges

id I, politely. "Wh

ly bobbish, pretty bobbish. In answer to your second question, I take

r boy?" I queried, w

resent positi

her do you ele

like most elevator boys. "But whom do you wish to see?" he demanded, trying

impulse of the moment I handed out the

me," said I, "but here is hi

ed at it, and his mann

he said. "I'll take you up rig

the lad turned a wheel which set

you, sir," said the boy. "I didn't r

m?" I d

the card I had given him, upon reading which I ascertained the n

rd was

ITER JO

t Ol

ee

said the elevator