a quick step sounded on the Elephant's back and Penelope
swung past him out to the edge of the crater that formed the Elephant's
east side. She stood there, her gray suit fluttering in the night wind,
looking far and wide as if the view were new to her. Then she sat down
on the ground, clasped her arms across her knees and bowed her head upon
them. There was so much despair in the gesture that Jim could not bear
the sight of it.

CHAPTER XIV

THE ELEPHANT'S BACK

"All living things have a universal hunger--to live again.
The hunger for descendants is the same hunger."

MUSINGS OF THE ELEPHANT.

"Penelope!" Jim called softly.

Pen raised her head as if she were dreaming.

"Pen!" repeated Jim, rising and walking slowly toward her. "Don't sit so
near the edge."

"You can see the eagle's nest from here," said Pen, pointing down the
crater wall. "What brought you up here, Still?"

"The Elephant is an old friend of mine, particularly when I'm broken up
as I am tonight," replied Jim, taking Pen's hand and leading her back to
his own place which was sheltered from the wind. "What brought you here?
And how about Sara?"

"Sara took some morphine tonight. He will be motionless until morning.
Ever since the new moon came, I've been promising myself a trip up
here."

"So Sara adds dope to his other accomplishments!" commented Jim.

"He suffers so from insomnia, I don't blame him," answered Pen. "He has
pain practically all of the time. I think he gradually grows worse.
Poor Sara! He said tonight he hated the sight of even a dog that can use
its own legs. Don't be too hard on him, Jim."

"I can't help being hard on him when I see how he treats you, the cad!"
said Jim.

"He can't hurt me," said Pen. "I'm too sorry for him. Though I'll admit
that I never knew what it was to lose control of my temper until after I
was married. Still, where will they bury Iron Skull?"

"We have a little graveyard high on the mesa-top, yonder. He had not a
relative in the world. He was of good old New England stock. He was
trying to tell me something about his feeling for the Dam because of
that when he was killed."

Jim was speaking a little brokenly and Pen laid her hand on his arm.

"The big dangers on the dam, we try to guard against. We can't even
foresee a thing like Iron Skull's sacrifice. But I know he would have
liked to have gone giving his life for someone he lov