Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-05-08

MMH solid mass of mighty pyramid that
lowered over usi The heaviness of her
swoon had smoothed away all the false
ness of her face, and naught was left
but the stamp divine Of woman's richest
loneliness, softened by shadows of the night
and dlgnif1ed by the cast of deathlike sleep.
/ gazed upon her and all my heart went out
to her; it seemed that I did but love her
more because of the depth of the treasons
wherein had sunk to reach her, and be-
cause of the terrors we had outfaced TO-
gether. Weary and spent with fears and
the pangs of guilt, my heart sought hers
for rest, Tor now she alone was left to me.
She had sworn to wed me1also, and with
the treasure we had won we would make
Egypt strong and free her from her foes,
and all should yet be well All! could I
have seen the picture that was to be, how,
and in what place and circumstances, once
again this very woman's head should be
laid upon my knee, pale with that cast of
death! All! could have seen!
chafed her hand between my hands. I
bent me and kissed her on the lips, and she
woke. She woke with a little sob of fear
q SILVER ran down her delicate limbs; and
with wide eyes she stared upon my face.
ssAh, 1t IS thoui" she said. 81 mind me-
thou hast saved me from that horror
haunted placei" And she threw her arms
about my neck and drew me to her and
hlSSCu uC. SOutO, lONCf ohO ooius 1Cu 10
be going! I am sore athirst, and-ah!
so very weary! The gems, too, they chafe
my breastl Never was wealth so hardly
won! Come, let US be going from the
shadow of this ghOsuly spot! See the faint
lights gIancing from the wing of Dawn!
How beautiful they are, and how sweet to
behold. Never, in those Halls of Eternal
Night, did / think to look upon the blush of
dawn again! All! / can see the face of
that dead slave yet. with the Horror hang
ing to his beardless chin! Bethink theel-
there he'll sit forever-there-with the
horror! Come; where may we find water?
would give an emerald for a cup Of water!"
Sat the canal at the borders Of the titled
land below the temple of Horemku-it is
close at hand,'' answered. ''If any see
US, we will say that we are pilgrims who
have lost our way at night among the
tombs. Vail thyself closely, therefore,
Cleopatra; and beware lest thou dost show
aught of those gems about thee"
So she vailed herself, and lifted her on
to the ass which was tethered close at hand.
We walked slowly through the sand till we
came to the place where the symbol of the
God Horemku, fashioned as q mighty sphinx
(whom the Greeks call Harmachis), and
crowned with the royal crown of Egypt,
looks out in majesty across the land, his
eyes ever fixed upon the East. Even as we
walked the first arrow of the rising sun
quivercd through the gray air, striking
upon Horemku's lips of holy calm. Then the
light gathered and grew upon the cleaning
sides of twenty pyramids, and, like u prom
Use of Life to Death, rested on the portals of
ten Thousand tombs. Then from his horizon
bed Royal Ra rose up in Oomp, and it was
day.
And passing the temple of granite and of
alabaster that was built before the days of
Chufu, to the glory of the majesty CT Hor-
emku, we descended the slope and came to
the water of the canal. There we drank
and sweeter was that draught of muddy
water than all the choicest wine of Alex
andria. Also we washed the mummy dust
and Crime from our hands and brows and
made US clean. And as she bathed her
neck, STOPPING over the water, one of the
great emeralds slipped from Cleopatra's
breast and fell into the water, and 1t was
but by chance that at length found it in
the mire. Then, once more, l lifted Cleo
patra on to the beasv, and slowly, for was
very weary, we marched back to the banks
of Sihor. where our craft was. Aud having
at length come thither, seeing no one save
some few peasants going out to labor on the
lands, / turned the ass loose in that same
field where we had found him, and we
boarded the craft while the crew were yet
sleeping. Then, waking them, we babe
them make all sail, saying that we had left
the eunuch to sojourn awhile behind US, as
In truth we had. So we sailed, and the
gems, with such of the ornaments of gold
as we could bring hither, we hid away.
Four days and more we spent in coming
to Alexandria, for the wind was for the
most part against Us; and they were happy
daysi At first, indeed. Cleopatra was
somewhat silent and heavy 1t heart. foE