The Dark Star
Robert W. Chambers
Produced by Roger Frank and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
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
