The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-09-05
AN EGYPTIAN INCIDENT.

PhCrson. We come hero every winter
sail up the same old river, look at the
same old pyramids-no modern addi'
tions or. inproYements--see the same
abominable old images that have worn
the same grotesque aspect for fifty cen
turies, aud broil on the same uncom'
Portable decks, and all because that boy
OF mine wants to become known as MI
Psychologist. To the deuce with bee.
lies and sacred cattle. I'm tired Of
it all.
Out of breath with tho exortion
necessary TO this long sentence, Col,
lavish Mcpherson leans back in his
comfortable armchair and closes his
eyes for nap. The cause Of his trouble
is not very apparent, sud rs he sits
there under the awning, with his hall
pay running on at the horse-guards,
with the rents Of his deer forests and
sheep farms in tho Highlands faithfully
collected md accounted for by the
factor, and with his membership fees
paid up TO date at the Carlton and
United Service clubs, one could ina
gine that even Egypt wonld appear
something other than house OF bond
age. The colonel's dahabeeh, with her
big three-cornered sail trimmed to the
breeze that rutties the waters OF the
Nile and bears her onward to Assouam
and the Great Cataract, is as quiet and
peaceful albeit picturesque nm object as
one would care to see, as on this DeCem-
Der evening OF 1870 she creeps up the
river, the lookout man on the bow
watching that the channel is followed,
and the sherman, impassive as mum
my, leaning upon the long handle OF
the tiller.
Forward on the deck, face down or
curled up in all sorts OF odd positions,
lie the crew, u molly collection OF
Arabs, Nubians and Osmanlins. There
is nothing stirring. The mark of the
desert is on all around. Even the sun,
now nearly on level with the NuoiQn
mountains away on the horizon, looks
tired and dusty. The intense quiet
bothcrs the colonel; so he yawns and
growls once more. He is a widower
with two children-the elder lad OF
eighteen, who has already made some.
thing OF reputation as student OF
Egyptian remains, having been enam-
ored Of the land since the evil day
when the colonel first proposed to win
ter on the Niles. The second is gem
tie lad OF ten years, well liked by every
body. He gives his vote for Egypt
every winter because Jack asks it as a
favor. They are ashore nowafter relics
and have promised to report when the
dahabeeb ties up for the night Mt AS
souam, before warpinGher way through
the cataract,
The colonel's eyes follow movement
in the tangled group OF figures on the
deck. Two men rise, shouting at each
other the while. The colonel and drago-
man, who has Just poked his head out
Of his room on the deck, look OH lazily.
Suddenly one OF the disputants makes a
rush at the other-the CLEAN Of steel is
seen, and the crew close round the
men. 4 quick stroke, shoHt, anger
changed to agony, and Nubian lies on
the deck with the dagger OF Aboo, q
powerful Arab, in his breast.
All this so quickly that the colonel is
still growing that there IS nothing stir
ring to be seen in Egypt, when he
reaches the group, and, STOPPING over
the wounded man, draws the dagger
out. 1t has left an ugly wound but not
dangerous, and as the wounded man is
taken in charge by his comrades the
colonel turns to dragoman for au expla-
nation.
With many profuse apologies the
dragoman tells how the two men were
sleeping side by side when the Nubian
advertently put his foot against the
Arabs face. That was all, and the
dragoman smiled and bowed.
The colonel, an old disciplinarian,
looked black as night, In effective
English he ordered the dragoman, after
he had discovered that the matter was
not reckoned important enough for
Egyptian law 10 recognize, to anchor
the dahabeeh and send boat ashore
with the culprit and his baggage. To
the dragoman's question as to how Aboo
was TO get back to Cairo, the colonel
Numbered that he might walk. The
dragoman bowed and smiled-it was a
habit he had learned from n French
friend in Cairo-and translated the
colonel's remarks to Aboo, adding to
them such little pleasantries as he
thought OF. He could walk. His shoes
this with smile and bow, directed
to Aboo's bare fees-his shoes might
wear out, but. So Aboo having OBJ
tuined his dagger and an old ring-his
only article OF bqggage-goes ashore
muttering revenge, which the dr1go-
man interprets to the colonel with 4
smile ind bow. The dahnbeeh glides
on and in an hour is moored at Assouam.
The wandering relic-hunters return and
all aboard retire, for is not the cataract
to be traversed at shutdown tomorrow?
Before sunrise Colonel MCPHERSON
was awakened by the shout OF the
young gentleman's body servant, who
cried excitedly: "Wake, master! We
can't find Master Bob. Here is bit OF
paper that lay on his bed"
While the colonel rubbed his eyes
and looked Mt the scrap Of Arabic the
man produced q commotion occurred
outside, and the dragoman rushed in
with Aboo's dagger in his hand. 1t had
been taken from tile breast OF the Nu-
bian stabbed to the heart during the
night. The boat that had been towed
astern OF the dahabeeh after Aboo's trip
ashore was gone. There was no doubt,
explained the dragoman with his custo-
mary smile, that the Arab had lain
ashore until lights went ont, swan
aboard, knitted his enemy, and left again
in the boat. AT this the colonel, still
holding tho paper in his hand, turns
pale md ttemblingly gives it to Jack,
who knows Arabic. Dragoman and
crew crowd around while he slowly
reads: "Aboo might have killed the
English dog tonight, but to steal the
i rArihn az his font ,rna 4 hnithn rnNnnnn W