The aegis & intelligencer., 1897-01-22

"Wai5 minute, Miss Heath, and
| II take you over, too, called back
| the young man as he deposited his
! burden uLrut1led on the bank.
1t ism necessary, Mr.. Howe" she
responded; ana even as he approached d
! she flung herself into the arm; of the
! iie boutInau who stood silently wait
ing her pleasure The Oriental re-
| cr.yed his ialr charge with more than
! customary reverence. She, at least,
y not mad, - lie thought, rs tie placed
| iier teAderIy Oh the beach. She is
/ il her own country a great lady, wise
ana good. bur The others are has
! hash n
y throD@ OF donkey boys with their
! beasts were awaiting US, and a long
! c inter through the broad fields OF
| clover ard gram eEsued. l noticed
| that Young Howe drew away from
! Miss termog. and urged his animal to
the side of Miss Heath, who was well
! 10 the front riding ut il pretty sharp
| gait.
WHY not try another little race -
| | heard him suggest. Its smooth
here and | see you've got d rather
strong mount. Mine isn't quite so
| good, but I'll chance it. You know |
| won the last.
They We're now close together, and l
| could distinguish no more. There
was no race, however, and presently |
| observed that the Young fellow drop
| ped back, looking rather crestfallen
and devoted himself TO Miss Eermor
with renewed assiduity.
vt last we reached the tawny cliffs
that girdle the Thebau valley like the
wall of great ampbitheater, and
struggled up the precipItuus path
! that leads to the tOmbs that honey
comb its front. Long we wandered
candle in hand, through the dark,
painted labyTiuths where Egypt's an
cient mOEarchs thought To await the
final resurrection. They are waiting
now, uncovered faces, shrunken ana
blacKeEed almost out of human sem
blance, in glass cases in the Gizeh
museum-a grotesque spectacle for
the motley throng Of tourists FROM
| every cline that is forever filing
| through its corridors. y most humil:-
ating outcome, truly . but it does not
concern us here.
"Ouah - gruuted Mahmud, the
| dragman, as we passed the entrance
of tomb constructed with rubbish,
and turned 20 peer iuto its depths.
| Nobody per:ait there. Tab an
snakes -cober-tulteIniye
| / drew tack with stated curiosity.
! Howe kicked q loose stone with ner-
voU, petulance. Miss Heath paled Il
! little.
"Why, there may be snakes in the
tombs where we have been prowling,
! cried Miss EerInor with IL dramatic
! shudder.
"Oh, no, said Mahmud reassuring
| ty. No snakes where we go. Eel
iahin keep watch"
Nevertheless, the unexpected often
| happens.
We soon reached tomb unusually
clean ana open, but almost denuded
! OF little interest in itself. 1t was, how
! ever, Il convenient place to spread a
! lunch, and we made use Of it for that
| purpose. Cloths We're laid down, we
seated ourselves upon the ground il a
| more or less broken circle, and were
| enjoying Il very satisfactory collation..
/ Young Howe, as i CHANGED. had plaC-
! ed himself III the inner side, SO that
! his back was toward the passage lead
| ing in to the darker reces&eS, and the
Two ladies WHO seemed TO divide his
! heart were ems cOHced near him.
! s;uGlcriy one Of the native atten-
dauts lcaued back with a cry and a
! cr;t.n oi fii.in@ dishes. Tab All .' he
| shouted. "tuau a.:,hsr -
We sprauc to oar feet. Aud there
/ indeed. 50 near TO Howe hat he might
/ have touched it with his hand, rose
| tile head Di huge cobra, its hideous
! crest ,!I!t,,ed witu rage, its tongue vi
/ hra;!t
Fer one puising Instant the young
| man seemed para! !yZed-aEd aniusLant
wasted Within striking distance OF Az
angry cULra may c1sU the whole re
! naming span OF life.
| Yet. urIef as was that Instant, it was
| long enough for Il universal outcry;
! long enough for the black eyed iitrt to
I fall in a dead faiul-nO thedtr:cals
| this time, and it was long enough Ior
| something else.
Quick as was the stroke of the veno-
nous reptile, il was met by a quicker
! srroke-from a white jeweled hand
| that flashed across the dalE back
ground with Il gleam OF gold, yet dealt
| a blow so sharp and tierc. that the
monster fell with broken Vertebrae,
| writhiug and lashiHG On the cavern
floor, and then she Of the flashing
ewes and sunlit hair also sank uncon-
| scious There is Il marked difference,
| however, between the woman who
| taints before and the woman who
| laints afrerward.
| Clearly the Young American thought
so. lie gathered tie lovely, lifeless
| form in bis arms and walled aloud.
lie seemed 10 have made discovery,
| somewhat late.
Meanwhile the snake had received
| its final quietus, and Mahmud was
| L. nd
turned toward US.
! Il think lady not much hurt" he
said.
Tame cober. Get away from some
rifa'l. Snake, charmer always pull out
teeth. No poison.
And so indeed it was. Happy, |
! think | never was so happy in my life
rs when | saw that beautiful girl open
| her eyes. And when she looked up
into the eyes of Young Howe, and felt
the hot drops that still gushed from
| them falling upon her face | don't
think she cared much whether she
! lived or died; she was perfectly salts
| fed.
No Arab was priviledged to carry
Miss Heath across the shadows on our
return. Just how Miss Fermor got
across 1 didn't observe.
That evening the Frantas yeh was
carried through with great eclat on
the steamer. The deck was canopied
and brilliantly Illuminated. The
ghawazi, the best of their kind full
| costumed tor European eyes went
through their difficult avoiutions with
surprising skill. The jugglers per
formed apparent miracles There
were two OF those present, however,
who didn't seem to give them much
attention.
The Christmas tree also was a grand
success, though it was neither fir nor
spruce, and | doubt whether Il tree of
the same variety was ever used for
such a purpose before. The gifts were
mostly provided by the steamboat
comp&nv-bcXes of bOuDonS, and Vari-
Gus little trinkets distributed by lot
but there were a few that were per-
sonal The greater number of these
seemed To 20 10 Miss Heath, and |
noticed that a. new ring, with opal,
adorned Elr hand.
-Flieua-"Ho Your dog looks com
uleraly worn out: has ne been Oh Il
hunting expedition !" Host-"Oh, no;
he followed my wife on a Christmas
shopping tour to-day. He is young
dog, auG cannot st-7ld more than forty
or fifty miles q q y.
Somebody says, better be lamp
in the hD, 81 thaH a star il the sky"
"WrN. pa rather be y star in the
s. Y; servan girls can't fill them when
they're lighted.