Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-07-24

AS THE DAHABEAHSwEPT BY THE1
Italians at Adowa, and, further, that
this defeat of the Europeans in Abys-
sinia meant fresh onslaught OF the
Arabs on the Egyptian outposts, and
that Kitchener and Koroslso should be
Immediately informed Of 1t. The tele-
graph lines were down, and Mehemet
Bey thought hard and long as he gazed
at the slip Of paper in his hand. Versed
in all the intricacies of Soudanese poll
tics, he well understood the significance
Of the news. The Arab was at his last
ditch, the power Of the khalifa was
trembling in the balance; and he knew
better, probably, than Lord Cromer,
that the soudan would be set af1ame.
The governor stroked his beard and
thought. The refs las the ship captains
Of the Nile are called) are all affected
by the mahdist fapaticis1n. He couldn't
trust them. He looked at his two sons,
who were lazily playing dominoes in
the shadow of palm tree. He knew, as
does every oriental, the bitter jealousy
that always exists between brothers
whose mothers have intrigued for years
for the advancement Of their own Off
spring. This jealousy was intensified
by the fact that uassan's ambitious
Coptic mother had persuaded her lord
and master to send her only son to far
off America to learn a wisdom even
more wonderful than that Of her fore
fathers, the Coptics, the direct descend
ants Of the ancient Egyptians. Heart
lily, therefore, the half brother hated
the English-speaking and American col
lege-bred boy.
Come here" said the old man. "I
want a message sent to Korosko. One
OF you must take it. Who will go? 1t
means honor and advancement to me If
delivered at once. 1t means honor to
him who delivers It,"
II will CO." answered the lad whose
mother was the scoff of her fathers
harem, an eager look on his dusky face.
i will CO." answered the Yale man; "f
have my launch"
II have my dahabeah," cried his
brother, "the swiftest on the river"
"But the wind may fall" said the
governor. He thought for moment.
You may go, and the race is to the
swiftest, as the English say"
He clapped his hands. A Coptic SER
want appeared. A few words were rap
idly dictated. a slip of paper was handed
each of his sons, and with characteristic
oriental phlegm he simply said: go"
and he turned to his hookah.
Far away to the south, the English
officers of the Egyptian army little
thought, as they slipped their coffee,
that the greatest battle of this quarter
OF the century had been fought beyond
the Abyssinian hills, and that the heart
Of the Soudan was in q ferment At
AoroslSo, the terminus Of the great des-
ertroute, Kitchener, the Sirdar-thati is,
the commander-in-chief-and his etaff
never dreamt that the fanatical der
wishes, intoxicated with the news of
European defeat, were then pushing
forward towards Egypt''s borders.
1t was the second night out from AS
slut. The north wind had proved faith
full to Mehemet, and the lateen sails of
his dahabeah had bellied to the warm
wet northern wind from the Mediter-
ranean, and his heart was glad within
him. He was miles ahead of his Ameri-
can brother, as he contemptuously
called Hassan. But even the north wind
Of the Nile is treacherous. 1t soughed,
sighed, blew a few f1tful gusts, and soon
there was not a breath to culver the