Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-24

that fearful velocity the thing was beyond
a tigers agility Yet if something could
not be done, and done quickly, felt it
would be better to breathe prayer and let
the agony end.
Small things are momentous In decisive
moments, and sometimes weakness Is sal
walton. AS the quivering grasp relaxed
gradually sank lower and lower, till half
my length trailed on the ground.
Two or three more little slips and my en-
emies could work their will. The darkness
and dizziness of death were already upon
me when my knee struck some protuber
ance so that with the mighty speed !
bounded like ball. 1t gave me my op-
portunity. Finding myself we'll in the air,
concentrated all my strength, drawing
fiercely with the left hand. The lax mus
cles turned to steel In the moment of gu
preme need. rose on that terrific pull.
Then quicker than thought the girth was
let go and the right hand shot across the
saddle. The hooked fingers caught some
thing, and the next moment, wriggling and
nearly blind from excitement and exhaus-
ton, lay half across the horses back.
Then, with such an effort as a man makes
for his life, wriggled farther up, and be-
fore knew it was in the saddle and reach
ing for the rein. AS got it a yell of rage
went up close behind, and another spear,
less true in aim than the first, whizzed past
and buried itself In the sand.
For the next five minutes / flew in in
slant expectation Of death. Crouching
with the long spurs deep in my horses sides,
and my heart afraid to beat, pelted on. 1t
was bound for bound of pursued and pur-
suers, a race as of hounds painting at the
heels Of stag that just managed to keep
tongues length in front. But woe betide
10 in n or mis- fok of
Had anything gone wrong with me, had
my girth broken or my horse stumbled or
slipped or slackened pace for so much as
the tenth part of a second, my blood had
been poured out on the desert.
Whittier l was going, or whether there
were many or few about, l could not tell.
| saw nothing but a jumbled, feverish
vision of the low craned head of the horse,
a flying name and pair of reaching fore
feet that never seemed to touch the ground,
but in my ears was a noise that told me
death was riding hard at my back.
The spume fakes flew up from my horses
mouth, wetting my face, and l could feel
the increasing heave of his TANKS. Now and
then, too, had a glimpse of red eye and
nostril like "a pit full of blood" 1t was
sheer cruelty to goad him on. But what
were considerations of cruelty to one with
three fiends stretching within three yards
for his life? | was cruel as cruel could be,
plying the long sharp spurs as fast and as
hard as heel could drive them, in spite OF
the groanings and shakings of my victim.
So great was the strain of terror that it
may we'll be imagined no fresh alarm could
affect me. Yet when vicious cry went
up, as it appeared, at my very ear, betoken-
ing as fancied the triumph of the Bedou-
ms, shut my eyes with creeping, shud-
dering horror that made me give little
scream. I rode in darkness for what seemed
an endless time, momentarily expecting
the thrust of cold steel in the small of the
back. AS it did not come I ventured to open
my eyes, but nothing could have induced
me to look behind.
1t was now high noon and the sun an in
candescent globe overhead. There may
have been clouds in the SKY, but assuredly
there was neither shadow nor breath of
moving air on the earth. l stewed in my
soaked clothes as if dissolving over a slow
fire and gasped and wheezed like an asth
matte shut up in an oven, for the CULVER
ing, simmering heat not only broiled the
body, but was as a singing acid in the eyes
and nostrls and as burning fumes in the
lungs.
All at once there came sharp puff of
wind, not sweet and refreshing, but charged
dreamed of. Looking upward saw a great
glare in the sky, as it were the reflection Of
some vast conflagration, and even as
looked the glare swiftly deepened, till it
appeared the heavens themselves were on
fire. Then the fiery redness was suddenly
overcast, and a dull, coppery hue took its
place, this yielding in turn. and very quick
ly, to deep purple, and that again to an
ominous black. All the while the wind
came in spurts of even greater force and
longer duration. | was wondering what
all this might mean, when there burst upon
my ear a great, prolonged roar, as of a
mighty flood dashed to fury, and turning to
the right hand quarter l saw a portentous
black cloud rushing toward me with In
conceivable velocity. The look showed me,
too that was riding alone The Bedouins
had abandoned the chase and were now
tearing off in another direction altogether.
had not taken in the situation when
was enveloped in darkness and gasping as
if bottle of volatile salts had been pressed
to my nose. AT the same time the wind
nearly tore me from my seat, and though
could see nothing felt that my horse had
turned tail to the blast and was drifting
like a ship in gale or cattle in a driving
highland snowstorm. | Rugged his neck,
and my mantle flew over my head. Well
for me it did, for this was the dreaded
simeon before which all Arabia falls down
and covers it's face as close as cloth will
roll. l lay unable to breathe and in ex-
quiste torture, my horse scuddling before
the tempest. He stumbled often and
would have lain down but that | kept the
spurs to him. Had he had his will, in less
than half Il minute we should both have
been buried beneath wreath of sand to
lie there until the winds came again to un
earth our bleaching skeletons.
The storm passed on like solid wall,
and as if by magic the atmosphere cleared,
though could still see the black line of
the whirlwind far ahead. l looked eagerly
about for company, but found myself com
pletely alone. No Bedouins In pursuit, no
Bedouins in sight, nor indeed any living
thing The simeon had given me my life |
but it left me desolate.
Dismounting and looping the bride over |
my arm, | walked little bit, shaking |
loads of sand from the folds of my dress. |
My right leg, however, was SO sore and |
stiff that | was soon compelled to sit down, |
though it was long time before had any |
heart for surgery When at length got |
sufficient command of my nerves to ex- |
anime the wound, found myself with an |
ugly cash in the right thigh, from the |
depths of which blood still oozed. The |
,lotted outer edges were fast hardening |
md stiffening so that the pain grew cruelty |
intense.
Perhaps it was because attention was |
directed to my hurt that it became all at |
once so sensitive, but the smallest move
nent now caused a pang that cut the |
breath like a stab. Besides, l was in
raging fever of thirst. A water skin dam
gled from my saddle bow, and / reached for
t in hope of relief. 1t was already crack
ng and shriveling in the furnacelike heat,
put there was a chance that some of the
precious contents might still remain. Now |
hat the idea of it came to me my whole
being called out vehemently for a mouth
Jul of water as the sole hope of life. Moth
ng else could save me.
Eagerly pushing the denied sides of the
skin apart, looked in. The dazzled eyes
saw only vacant blackness. Merciful |
heaven, it could not be that the skin was
md