The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-10-05

cord. Forward flew Anerley towards
the creature's neck, then violently back.
wards, clawing madly at anything
which might save him, and then with a
jerk, which nearly snapped his loins,
lie was thrown forward again. But the
camel was on his legs now, and the
young pressman was safely seated upon
one of the flyers of the desert. 1t was
rs gentle as il was swift, and il stood os-
cillating it's long neck and gazing round
with it's large brown eyes, whilst Amer
ley coiled his legs round the peg and
grasped the curved camel-stick which
Abbas had handed up to him. There
were two bride cords, one from the nos
tril and one from the neck, but he re-
membered that Scott had said that it
was the servants and not the house
bell, which had to be pulled, so he kept
his grasp upon the lower. Then he
touched the long, vibrating neck with
lis stick, and In an instant Abbas' fare
wells seemed to come from far be-
hind him, and the black rocks and yell
low sand were dancing past on either
eide.
1t was his first experience of n trot-
ting camel, and at first the motion, al.
though irregular and abrupt, was not
unpleasant. Having no stirrup or fixed
point of any kind he could not rise to 1t,
but he grpped as tightly as he could
with his knee, and he tried TO sway
backwards and forwards as he had seen
the Arabs do. 1t was large, very
H..
conscious that he was bouncing about
on it with as little power of adhesion
as a billiard ball upon n tea tray. lie
gripped the two sides with his hands to
hold himself steady. The creature had
got into its long, swinging, stealthy
trot, its sponge-likc feet making no
sound upon the hard sand. Anerlcy
leaned back with his two hands grip
ping hard behind him, and he whooped
the creature ON.
The sun had already sunk behind the
line OF black volcanic peaks, which look
like huge slag-heads at the mouth of
mine. The western sky had taken that
lovely light-green and pale-pink tint
which makes evening beautiful upon
the Nile. and the old brown river Itself,
swirling down amongst the black rocks.
caught some simmer of the colors
above. The glare, the heat and the
piping of the insects had nll ceased
together. In spite of his aching head
Anerley could have cried out for pure
physical JOY as the swift creature be-
meath him flew along with him through
that cool invigorating air, with the
virile north wind soothing his pring.
ling face.
He had looked at his watch, ano now
no made a swift calculation of times
and distances. II was past six when he
had left the camp. Over broken ground
it was impossible that he could hope TO
do more than seven miles an hour-less
on bad parts, more on the smooth. His
recollection OF the track was that there
were few smooth md many bad. He
would be lucky then II he reached
Sarras anywhere from twelve TO one.
Then the messages took q good two
hours to go through, for they had to be
transcribed Mt Cairo. At the best he
could only hope TO have told his story
in Fleet street at two or three In the
morning. 1t was possible that he might
enormously against him. About three
the morning edition would be made up,
and his chance gone forever. The Que
thing clear was that only the first man
at the wires would have any chance at
oil, and Anerley meant TO be first il
hard riding could do il. So he tapped
away at the birdlike neck, and the
creatures long, loose limbs went faster
and faster at every tap. Where the
rocky spurs ran down to the river,
horses would have 10 go round, while
camels might get across, SO that Amer
ley felt that he was always gaining
upon his companions.
But there was price TO be paid for
the feeling. He had heard of men who
had burst when on camel journeys, and
he knew that the Arabs swathe their
bodies tightly in broad cloth bandnges
when they prepare for long march.
1t had seemed unnecessary and ridcu-
ious when he first began to speed over
the level track, but now, when he got
on the rocky paths. he understood what
IL meant. Never for an instant was he
ct the same angle. backwards, for
wards he swung, with n tingling jar at
the end of each sway, until he ached
from his neck TO his knee. 1t caught
him across the shoulders. IL caught him
down the sspine, IL grippcd him over
the loins, IL marked the lower line of his
ribs with one heavy dull throb. lie
clutched here and there with his hand
10 try and ease the strain upon his
muscles. lie drew up his knees, altered
his scat and set his teeth with a grim
determination 70 go through with II
should IL kill him. His head was split
ting. his fayed face smarting and every
joint in his body aching rs il IL were
disiocated. But he forgot oil that
when, with the rising OF the moon. he
heard the clirklng OF horses hoofs
down upon the track bv the river ard
knew that. unseen by them, he had al.
ready got well abreast Of his compan-