Chapter I: Front Matter

THE DARK STAR

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 FRIEND EDGAR SISSON

Dans c'métier-là, faut
rien chercher à comprendre.
RENÉ BENJAMIN

ALAK'S SONG

Where are you going, Naïa? 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, Naïa? 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, Naïa? 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, Naïa? 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, Naïa? 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, Naïa? 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 more swiftly.

"Between earth and outer space--between Creator and created, confusing and confounding their identities,--a rushing darkness grew--the hurrying wrack of immemorial storms heralding whirlwinds through which Truth alone survives.

"Awaiting the inevitable reëstablishment of such temporary conventions as render the incident of human existence possible, the brooding Demon which men call Truth stares steadily at Tengri under the high stars which are passing too, and which at last shall pass away and leave the Demon 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 Café des Bulgars 347

XXXII. The Cercle Extranationale 358

XXXIII. A Rat Hunt 377

XXXIV. Sunrise 395

XXXV. The First Day 410

THE DARK STAR

THE DARK STAR