The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-12
!, rcopyright. 1897. by J. L. Heaton.l
PART l.

Copyright. 1887. by J. L. Heaton.l
PART /.
Because of my fourteen years IN
Egypt, i wasted no breath In swearing
viciously at the flies as brushed them
from my face; nor did / look with such
horror as l would once have felt, but
perhaps with a little envy. at native
boy of five or six, lying perfectly naked
in the sun and making no movement of
discomfort as the swarming pests
buz1ed about his bare skin or even
dragged their dampened feet over his
staring eyeballs. But for my more
sensitive nerves, was as happy as he,
for the imnndation was over for the
year, there had been no breaks or bung-
ling in my district upon the canals of
His Highness the Khedive, any report
was ready to file with the chief engi-
neerAand I was thinking of a Christmas
at home, the first in four years, not as
one thinks in Europe. the blood cours-
ing quicker atIfancy's call, but idly and
,dreamily.
A queer bit spf stone with heathen
carvings traced mpon it I held in my
hand. as l sat in the shade OF my tent
flap. had led my idle thoughts across
all those miles of.sea. and land to green
England.
"Iwonder if Artlnirwill care for this
scarab" was thinking; 'he must be
as big as am by this time. Four years
ago he was nightly interested in all
that could tell him of ancient Egypt.
And tbatwas little enough, poor fellowl
How disgnsted he was when confessed
that, after ten years in Egypt and many
months in Cairo, had never gone a
mile out of my way to'see the Pyra-
mids!"
J For my concern. has always been with
the land of to-day and not ofyesterday.
OF Arabic L know enough to direct my
men and even to write toleInble let
ter. But of the tombs and temples
and the strange characters chiseled on
them to record the lying boasts of
crowned slave-drivers of the past
knew and yet know nothing.
!. Still, even my eyes were shrewd
enough to see that it was no ordinary
pebble my denkey's hoof had unearthed
from a claybanlS that morning. 1t was
an oval bit of black Tanis granite,
rounded to an exquisite smoothness. 1t
was, as nearly as / can remember,
about two inches in length, an inch and
thickness. Across each of the fat
tened sides were drawn lines, and be-
tween the lines were cut rows Of hero
elyphic characters. Their meaning I
could not guess, but saw that there
were represented dog. or some other
beast, a natal mirror, such as my men
<ften dug up in the ruins of great cit
les now clothed with wheat stalks; a
bit of board with seven pegs in it, an
eve with It's eyeball rudely traced, and
other designs less suggestive of any
forms I'm nature.
1t was while sat examining the
stone which purposed adding to the
little store of such tribes had saved
for my son. that saw Ali, son of Hasan,
my dragoman, eying me with a
strange gaze i had never seen in his
eyes before, and which made me un-
easy In way that could not quite ex-
PLAIN. Twelve years Ali Hasan had
been with me, and that he loved me
Ike q brother knew then as well as
j know now. For it issa strange thing,
this life in the east, where men live side
by side for years and never speak of
that which both know. would have
trusted Ali Hasan with my life-had
done so, indeed, many time. / would
have trusted him with the little money
was saving year by year that might
one day live again in the old home.
would have trusted him with my
SON
And yet my trust was TO be sorely
tried, for even as noted that look in
Ais eyes, / saw him spring sud-
denly toward me and poise huge
ebony club above my head, saw it de-,
scending swiftly, yet seemingly an eter-
nifty of time in it's fall; and then / saw