The Dark Star Read online

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  THE DARK STAR

  "My darling Rue--my little Rue Carew----"]

  THE DARK STAR

  By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS

  Author of "The Girl Philippa," "Who Goes There,""The Hidden Children," Etc.

  WITH FRONTISPIECE

  By W. D. STEVENS

  A. L. BURT COMPANY

  Publishers--New York

  Published by Arrangement with D. Appleton & Company

  Copyright, 1917, by

  ROBERT W. CHAMBERS

  Copyright, 1916, 1917, by the International Magazine Company

  Printed in the United States of America

  TO MY FRIENDEDGAR SISSON

  Dans c'metier-la, faut rien chercher a comprendre. RENE BENJAMIN

  ALAK'S SONG

  Where are you going, Naia? Through the still noon-- Where are you going?

  To hear the thunder of the sea And the wind blowing!-- To find a stormy moon to comfort me Across the dune!

  ----

  Why are you weeping, Naia? Through the still noon-- Why are you weeping?

  Because I found no wind, no sea, No white surf leaping, Nor any flying moon to comfort me Upon the dune.

  ----

  What did you see there, Naia? In the still noon-- What did you see there?

  Only the parched world drowsed in drought, And a fat bee, there, Prying and probing at a poppy's mouth That drooped a-swoon.

  ----

  What did you hear there, Naia? In the still noon-- What did you hear there?

  Only a kestrel's lonely cry From the wood near there-- A rustle in the wheat as I passed by-- A cricket's rune.

  ----

  Who led you homeward, Naia? Through the still noon-- Who led you homeward?

  My soul within me sought the sea, Leading me foam-ward: But the lost moon's ghost returned with me Through the high noon.

  ----

  Where is your soul then, Naia? Lost at high noon-- Where is your soul then?

  It wanders East--or West--I think-- Or near the Pole, then-- Or died--perhaps there on the dune's dry brink Seeking the moon.

  THE DARK STAR

  "The dying star grew dark; the last light faded from it; went out.Prince Erlik laughed.

  "And suddenly the old order of things began to pass away moreswiftly.

  "Between earth and outer space--between Creator and created, confusingand confounding their identities,--a rushing darkness grew--thehurrying wrack of immemorial storms heralding whirlwinds through whichTruth alone survives.

  "Awaiting the inevitable reestablishment of such temporary conventionsas render the incident of human existence possible, the brooding Demonwhich men call Truth stares steadily at Tengri under the high starswhich are passing too, and which at last shall pass away and leave theDemon watching all alone amid the ruins of eternity."

  The Prophet of the Kiot Bordjiguen

  CONTENTS

  Preface. Children of the Star

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I. The Wonder-Box 1

  II. Brookhollow 18

  III. In Embryo 30

  IV. The Trodden Way 38

  V. Ex Machina 47

  VI. The End of Solitude 60

  VII. Obsession 71

  VIII. A Change Impends 80

  IX. Nonresistance 88

  X. Driving Head-on 102

  XI. The Breakers 112

  XII. A Life Line 122

  XIII. Letters from a Little Girl 137

  XIV. A Journey Begins 157

  XV. The Locked House 162

  XVI. Scheherazade 180

  XVII. A White Skirt 193

  XVIII. By Radio 202

  XIX. The Captain of the Volhynia 216

  XX. The Drop of Irish 223

  XXI. Method and Foresight 239

  XXII. Two Thirteen 246

  XXIII. On His Way 253

  XXIV. The Road to Paris 261

  XXV. Cup and Lip 280

  XXVI. Rue Soleil d'Or 290

  XXVII. From Four to Five 305

  XXVIII. Together 312

  XXIX. En Famille 325

  XXX. Jardin Russe 337

  XXXI. The Cafe des Bulgars 347

  XXXII. The Cercle Extranationale 358

  XXXIII. A Rat Hunt 377

  XXXIV. Sunrise 395

  XXXV. The First Day 410

  THE DARK STAR