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14 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey - Ingersoll Lockwood · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen, Bulgar and I turn our backs on the
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  Speaker 1: fair domain of Queen Cristallina, Nature's wonderful speaking tube. Cristallina's
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  Speaker 1: attempt to turn us back, How I kept Bulgar from yielding.
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  Speaker 1: Some incidents of our journey along the Marble Highway, and
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  Speaker 1: how we came to the glorious gateway of solid silver.
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  Speaker 1: Me the sorrowing Sebastian, loaded with as heavy a heart
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  Speaker 1: as ever in mortal of my size, had borne away
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  Speaker 1: with him. Did the wise Bulgar lead along the broad
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  Speaker 1: and silent highway, farther and yet farther from the city
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  Speaker 1: of the Micamenks, until at last the music of the
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  Speaker 1: fountains pattering in their crystal basins died away in the distance,
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  Speaker 1: and the darkness far behind me. I felt that my
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  Speaker 1: wise little brother was right, and so I followed on after,
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  Speaker 1: with not a sigh or a syllable to stay him.
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  Speaker 1: But he halted at last, And as I felt about me,
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  Speaker 1: I discovered that I was standing beside one of the
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  Speaker 1: richly carved seats that one so often and meets with
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  Speaker 1: along the Marble Highway. I was quite as foot weary
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  Speaker 1: as I was, heart heavy, and reaching out I touched
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  Speaker 1: the spring, which I knew would transform the seat into
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  Speaker 1: a bed, and clambering upon it with my wise bulgar
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  Speaker 1: nestled beside me, I soon fell into a deep and
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  Speaker 1: refreshing sleep. When I awoke, and, sitting up, looked back
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  Speaker 1: toward Queen Cristallina's capital, I could see the river of
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  Speaker 1: light pouring down its flood of white rays far away
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  Speaker 1: in the distance, But only a faint reflection came out
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  Speaker 1: to where we had passed the night. And then I
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  Speaker 1: knew that my faithful companion had led me to the
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  Speaker 1: very uttermost limits of the Micamenki domain before he had halted. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: sure enough, for as I raised my eyes, there, towering
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  Speaker 1: above the bed stood the slender crystal column which marked
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  Speaker 1: the end of goggle Land, and upon its face I
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  Speaker 1: read the extract from a royal decree forbidding a Mcamenky
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  Speaker 1: to overstep this limit under pain of incurring the Queen's
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  Speaker 1: most serious displeasure. Before army was darkness and uncertainty. Behind
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  Speaker 1: me lay the fair kingdom of the transparent folk. Yet
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  Speaker 1: in sight lighted up like a long line of happy
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  Speaker 1: homes in which the fires were blazing bright and warm
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  Speaker 1: on the hearthstones. Did I turn back? Did I hesitate? No?
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  Speaker 1: I could see a pair of speaking eyes fixed upon me,
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  Speaker 1: and I could hear a low whine of impatience, coaxing
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  Speaker 1: me along. Stooping down, I fastened a bit of silken
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  Speaker 1: cord taken from the bed to Bulger's collar and bade
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  Speaker 1: him lead the way. It was a long while before
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  Speaker 1: the light of Queen Cristallina's city faded away entirely, and
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  Speaker 1: even when it ceased to be of any service in
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  Speaker 1: making known to me the grandeur and beauty of the
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  Speaker 1: vast underground passage, I could still see it glitter like
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  Speaker 1: a silver star, away away behind me. But it disappeared
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  Speaker 1: at last, and then I felt that I had parted
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  Speaker 1: forever with the dear little princess with the speck in
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  Speaker 1: her heart. Bulger didn't seem to have the slightest difficulty
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  Speaker 1: in keeping in the center of the marble highway, and
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  Speaker 1: never allowed the leading string to slap up for a moment. However,
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  Speaker 1: it was by no means a tramp through utter darkness,
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  Speaker 1: for the lizards of which I have already spoken, aroused
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  Speaker 1: by the sound of my footfalls, snapped their tails and
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  Speaker 1: lighted up their tiny flashed torches in eager attempts to
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  Speaker 1: discover whence the noise proceeded, and what sort of a
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  Speaker 1: being it was that had invaded their silent domains. We
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  Speaker 1: had covered possibly two leagues when suddenly a low and
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  Speaker 1: mysterious voice, as soft and gentle as if it had
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  Speaker 1: dropped from the clear, starry heavens of my own beautiful world,
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  Speaker 1: reached my ear, Sebastion, Sebastian, it murmured. Before I could
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  Speaker 1: stop to think, I uttered a cry of wonder, and
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  Speaker 1: the noise of my voice seemed to awake ten thousand
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  Speaker 1: of the tiny living flashlights inhabiting the cracks and crevices
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  Speaker 1: of a vast arched corridor, flooding it for a moment
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  Speaker 1: or so with a soft and rosy at radiance. Sebastion
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  Speaker 1: Sebastion again murmured the mellow, an echo like voice coming
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  Speaker 1: from the very walls of rock beside me, hastily drawing
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  Speaker 1: near to the spot whence the words seemed to come.
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  Speaker 1: I laid my ear against the smooth face of the rock. Again,
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  Speaker 1: the same soft, sighing voice pronounced my name so clearly
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  Speaker 1: and so close beside me, that I reached out to
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  Speaker 1: grasp Crystalline's hand, for hers was the voice, the same
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  Speaker 1: low sweet voice that had told me of her sorrow
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  Speaker 1: in the spectral garden, but there was no one there.
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  Speaker 1: In reaching out, however, I had passed my left hand
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  Speaker 1: along the face of the wall, and it had marked
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  Speaker 1: the presence of a round, smooth opening in its rock face,
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  Speaker 1: and opening about the size of a rain water pipe
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  Speaker 1: in the upper world. Instantly it flashed upon my mind that,
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  Speaker 1: through some whim of nature, this opening extended for leagues
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  Speaker 1: back towards the city of the mcaminkeys, through the miles
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  Speaker 1: of solid rock, and opened in the very throne room
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  Speaker 1: of the Princess Cristallina. Yes, I was right, for after
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  Speaker 1: a moment or so again the same low sweet voice
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  Speaker 1: came through the speaking tube of Nati making and fell
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  Speaker 1: upon my ear. I waited until it had ceased, and
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  Speaker 1: setting my mouth in front of the opening, I murmured,
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  Speaker 1: in strong but gentle tones, farewell, dear Princess Cristelina. Bulgar
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  Speaker 1: and the little baron both bid thee a long farewell,
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  Speaker 1: and then, raising Bulgar in my arms, I bade him
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  Speaker 1: weep for his royal friend, whom he would never see again.
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  Speaker 1: He gave a long, low, piteous cry, half whine, half howl,
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  Speaker 1: and then I listened for Cristellina's voice. It was not
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  Speaker 1: long in coming. Farewell, dear Bulgar, Farewell, dear Sebastian. Cristallina
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  Speaker 1: will never forget you until her poor heart with the
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  Speaker 1: speck and it runs down, and the crystal throne knows
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  Speaker 1: her no more. Poor Bulgar, it now became my turn
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  Speaker 1: to tear him from this spot. For Cristelina's voice, sounding
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  Speaker 1: thus unexpectedly in his ears, had aroused all the deep
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  Speaker 1: affection which he had so ruthlessly smothered in order to
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  Speaker 1: bring his little master to his senses, and freed him
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  Speaker 1: from the charm of Cristellina's grace and beauty. But in vain,
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  Speaker 1: all my strength, all my entreaties, were powerless to move
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  Speaker 1: him from the place. Evidently Christellina had heard me pleading
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  Speaker 1: with Bulgar, and had imagined that I now would waver
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  Speaker 1: and stand irresolute heed dear Bulger's prayer, Oh beloved, she
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  Speaker 1: pleaded and turned back, turned back to thy disconsolate Cristellina,
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  Speaker 1: whom thou madest so happy for a brief moment turn back, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: turn back. Bulgar now began to whine and cry most piteously.
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  Speaker 1: I felt that something must be done at once, or
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  Speaker 1: the most direful consequences might ensue, that Bulgar, crazed by
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  Speaker 1: the sweet tones of Crystallina's voice, might break away from
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  Speaker 1: me and dart away in mad race, back to the
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  Speaker 1: city of the Micaminkey's, back to the fair young Queen
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  Speaker 1: of the crystal throne. It became necessary for me to
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  Speaker 1: resort to trick and artifice to save my dear little
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  Speaker 1: brother from his own loving heart, John Ryining his head
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  Speaker 1: up against my body and covering his eyes with my
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  Speaker 1: left arm, I quickly unloosened my neckerchief, and, thrusting it
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  Speaker 1: into this wonderful speaking tube, closed it effectively. And thus
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  Speaker 1: I saved my faithful Bulger from himself. Thus I closed
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  Speaker 1: his ears to the music of Crystallina's voice. But it
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  Speaker 1: was not until after a good hour's waiting, that he
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  Speaker 1: could bring himself to believe that his beloved friend would
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  Speaker 1: speak no more. After several hours more of journeying along
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  Speaker 1: the Marble highway, a speck of light caught my eye
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  Speaker 1: far on ahead, and I redoubled my pace to reach
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  Speaker 1: it quickly. I was soon rewarded for my trouble by
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  Speaker 1: injuring a wonderful chamber, circular in form with a domed roof.
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  Speaker 1: In the center of this fair temple of the underground
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  Speaker 1: world sprang a glorious fountain with a mighty rush of waters,
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  Speaker 1: which brought with them such a phosphorescence that this vast
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  Speaker 1: round chamber was lighted up with a pale yellow light,
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  Speaker 1: in which the countless crystals of the roof and side
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  Speaker 1: sparkled magnificently. Here we passed the night are what I
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  Speaker 1: called the night, refreshing ourselves with food which I had
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  Speaker 1: brought from the Kingdom of the Macamenkes, and drinking and
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  Speaker 1: bathing in the wonderful fountain, which leaped into the air
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  Speaker 1: with a rush and a whir, and filled it with
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  Speaker 1: a strange and fitful radiance. Upon awaking, both Bulgar and
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  Speaker 1: I felt greatly refreshed, both in body and mind, and
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  Speaker 1: we made haste to seek out the lofty portal opening
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  Speaker 1: upon the Marble Highway, and were soon trudging along it again.
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  Speaker 1: Hour after hour. We kept on our feet, for something
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  Speaker 1: told me that we could not be far away from
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  Speaker 1: the confines of some other domain of this world within
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  Speaker 1: a world. And this inward prompting of mine proved to
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  Speaker 1: be correct, for Bulgar suddenly gave a joyful bark and
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  Speaker 1: began to caper about as much as to say, O,
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  Speaker 1: little Master, if thou only hadst ma consent, thou wouldst
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  Speaker 1: know that wert own near to human habitations of some kind.
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  Speaker 1: Sure Enough, in a few moments, a faint light came
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  Speaker 1: creeping in beneath the mid archers of the broad corridor,
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  Speaker 1: and every incident gathered in strength, until now I could
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  Speaker 1: see clearly about me. And then all of a sudden
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  Speaker 1: I caught sight of the source of this shy and
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  Speaker 1: unsteady light. There in front of me towered two gigantic candelabra,
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  Speaker 1: carved and chased and polished silver, both crowned with a
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  Speaker 1: hundred lights, one on each side of the marble highway.
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  Speaker 1: Not the dull, soft flames of oil or wax, but
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  Speaker 1: the white tongues of fire produced by ignited gas escaping
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  Speaker 1: from the chemist's retort. It was marvelous, it was magnificent.
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  Speaker 1: And I stood looking up at these great clusters of
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  Speaker 1: tongues of flames, spell bound by the glorious illumination thus
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  Speaker 1: set in silent majesty at this gateway to some city
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  Speaker 1: of the underworld. Bulgar's warning growl brought me to myself,
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  Speaker 1: But I must end this chapter here, dear friends, and
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  Speaker 1: halt to collect my thoughts before I proceed to tell
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  Speaker 1: you what I saw after passing this glorious gateway illumined
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  Speaker 1: by these two gigantic candelabra of sullid silver. End of
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  Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen,