Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-25

| the SOuUus linen a 1duu0cuo DSBdn 70
flicker about the outer edges of the dense
masses, and presently there was borne to
my ears the long roll of in :ipient thunder
| A few minutes later big drops of rain be-
! gan to patter on the sand, sending up vol
umes of dusty steam.
/ got to my feet with joy unspeakable.
Praise be to heaven, my cry for help had
been heard and answered. / was saved,
saved from the vultures and the heaping
sands. Man Is an Insignificant atom In the
scale Of the universe, yet easily believes
himself the object of a special providence.
| Here were the streams Of water In the deS-
ert sent for me and for me alone. wept
| with awe and gratitude.
| The rain came thicker and faster, first q
shower and then a dslugs. The sun was
eclipsed, and the dome overhead seemed to
| be cracking and rsnding as at the blast of
the last trump. And indeed to me it was
| little less than a resurrection. Here was
water, and water was life. The thunder
roared ever nearer and louder till worlds of
wrecked matter seemed to be crashing over
my head. My ears were stunned by the
exploding bolts, aud on my face felt the
hot smack of the forked lightning that
made the wilderness as q sea of fire But
through it all the benefcent rain came
Town in sheets, drenchinR ME not merely
| to the skin but to the very marrow. With
upturned face and open mouth slaked my
baking throat, and as l drank, with ten
times the greediness of the fevered drunk
ard, could see my horse with his nozzle
turned to the pouring skies, as if he, too,
were having a saving draft.
Far into the night the storm doomed and
poured. While it lasted l lay stretched
full length on the soaking sands, slowly
| turning over and over so that the blessed
! food might enter at every pore. 1t was
| impossible to have too much of that heav-
ems gift, and would not miss drop of it.
Nor, while reveling in the shower bath, did
l forget to fill my water skin againstfuture
needs.
Now and again had glimpses of crouch
ing forms, with eyes that matched the
lightning, ready to pounce upon me. but
somehow they never came to the spring.
In the air, too, were wheeling things that
would swoop down and then dart off with
cry of disappointment at finding the
expected corpse living man.
In the early morning the storm died
away, and the stars came out in a crystal
line, dewy azure that WAS as the cool blue
bosom of a summer lake. Not daring to
sleep, 1 lay and looked up at them, meditat-
ing at the marvels they must have seen in
the course of the countless ages. But
though my thoughts were serious enough
(and with good reason) they had not the
gloom of the night before.
had leisure to ponder many things be-
sides the stars-such Us the strange fate
that had led me hither, the perils and hard
ships that were past, those that might still
De to come, the'fate Of my late companions
and my own present condition. But as you
may imagine the subject that was upper
most in my mind was the miraculous meet
L T
WINGED that the man on the black horse
was none other than he.
What in the name of all the wonders had
brought him to this strange quarter of the
globe. and how came he to be fighting for
Yumen Yusel? These were questions l
could not answer; perhaps l did not try
very hard to answer them, for | was oc-
cupied with the cardinal fact that beyond
all doubt Donald was in Arabia, that had
seen him face to face, had even spoken to
him and got hurried glance in reply. But
for the sudden mishaps of war | would
have declared myself to him, and he would
have become my friend and protector. In
the most unexpected way my mission came
near a happy accomplishment, yet, exas
perating to think, had failed rs utterly
if we had been as wide apart as the poles
The total failure on the verge of so dram,
attic a success was another cruel stroke of
that malicious fortune that pIk'ued me so
relentlessly. But with a srarkof the fire
that had thought dead told myself that
would not be conquered.
Donald Gordon was in Arabia, and
would find him-nay, more, would carry
him triumphantly back to Scotland and
his friends, AS this bold, high project
stirred me had vision of two sun en-
Drowned men in strange, outlandish garb
arriving in the cleaning at The Films, and
of Isabel, after n moments mistrust, rush
ing to greet and embrace them. The delec
table imagination inspired me with such
heart and energy that must have expand
ed inches on the strength of it.
The morning broke sweetly over the
waste with a rosy flush, and a sapphire ra-
dance, and balm that was as a precious
cordial TO mind and body. The sand spar