The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-10-01
PART 1.

below il the brown lie swirled swiftly
towards the Ambigole cataract, fittiug
a little frill of foam round each of the
powders which studded its surface.
Above, out of naked blue sky, the sun
was beohngdown upon the sand, and up
again from the sand under the brims of
the pith hats of the horsemen with the
scorching glare OF blast furnace. II
had risen SO high that the shadows OF
the horses were no larger than them
selves.
''Whewl" cried Mortimer, hopping
his forehead. you'd pay five shilling for
this at the hummums."
"Precisely," said Scott. "But you
are not asked TO ride twenty miles in a
Turkish bath with field-glass and
revolver, and water-bottle and whole
Christmas treeful of things dangling
from you. Tie dollhouse Mt Kew is eX-
cellent as conservatory, but not
adapted for exhibitions upon the hori-
zontal bar. / vote for camp in The
palm grove and halt until evening""
Mortimer rose on his stirrups and
looked hard TO the southwark. Every
where were The same black burned
rocks and deep orange sand. At one
spot only an intermittent line appeared
TO have been cut Though the rugged
spurs which ran down to the river. 1t
was the bed Of the old railway, long de-
stroyed by the Arabs, but now in proc
ess of reconstruction by the advancing
Egyptians. There was no other sign of
mans handiwork in all that desolate
scene.
ats palm trees or nothing" said
Scott.
'Well, suppose we must; and yet
grudge every hour until we reach the
force up. What would our editors say
If we were late for the action?"
''My dear chap, an old bird like you
doesn't need 10 be told that no sane
modern general would ever attack until
the press is up"
"You don't mean that?" said young
Anerlcy. II thought we were looked
upon as an unmitigated nuisance"
Newspaper correspondents and
travelling gentlemen, and all that tribe
OF useless droncs'-being an extract
from Lord Wolseley's Soldiers Pocket
f,oolS,'" cried Scott. "We know all
about that, Anerley"-and he winlsed
behind his blue spectncles. "If there
were going to be battle we should very
soon have an escort of cavalry to hurry
us up. I've been in IS, and never saw
one where they had not arranged for q
reporters table"
That's very well; but the enemy
may be less considerate," said Mortimer
They are not strong enough to force
a battle
~ skirmish, then?"
"Much more likely to be raid upon
the rear. In that case we are just
where we should be-"
$50 We are! What score over
Reuters man up with the advance!
Well, wen outspan and have our tiifln
under the palms"
There were three OF them. and they
stood for three great London dailles.
Reuter- was thirty miles ahead; two
eveningponniesu upon camels were twen-
~ miles behind. And among them they
pnhlic--the great silent millions and
millions who had paid for everything
and who waited patiently TO know the
result OF their outlay.
They were remarkable men, these
body-servants OF the press; two of them
already veterans in the camps, the other
setting out upon his first campaign, and
r..f a. g. 4. 4,
rades.
This first oae. who had just dIsmount-
ed from his bay polo-pony, was Morti-
nIer. of the Intelligence-tall,s straight
and hawk-foced, with kharki tunic and
riding breeches, drab putties, q scarlet
culnmerhund. and a skin tanned to the
red Of Scotch fir 10y sun and wind, and
notified by the mosquito and the sand
.i.y. The other--small. quick. mercuri-
oI. with bluc-black curling beard and
hair. a fly switch forever Ticking in
his left hand-was Scott. of the Courier,
who had come through more dangers
and brought off more brilliant scoops
than any man in the profession, save
the eminent Chandler. nov no longer
L. condition 10 take the field. They
were u singular contrast, Mortimer and
Scott. and il was in their differences
that the secret OF their close friend
ship lay. Each dovetailed into the
other. The strength of each was in
the Others weakness. Together they
formed perfect unit. Mortimer was
Saxon-.slow, conscientious and dclib-
crate; Scott was Celtic quick. happy
ro-lucly and brilliant. Mortimer was
the more solid. Scott the more attrac
tive. Mortimer was the deeper thinker.
Scott the brighter tnlker. by curl
ous coincidence, though each had seen
much Of warfare. thcir campalgns had
never coincided, together they GOV.
cred all recent military history. Scott
had done S5cvna. the Shipla. the Zulus.
T-ypr. Suakim; Mortimer had seen the
1loer wsr. the Chil'an. the Bulgaria and
Scrvian, the Gordon relief. the Indian
frontier, brazilian rebellion and NADIA
rascar. This intimate personal knowl-
cf-re cavo Il fecultqr favor "a their fa1le