Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1897-10-04

Hamish, do you know me? I am the kol
Ira, the black death, and / have come to
carry away half of Alden. 1 shall be here
for month and day, and you I shall
carry away last of all.
'Then the caravan moved toward the
market place, and l saw it no more. When
day broke, these ears heard the 'Ahi, ahil
of the hired mourners as they carried out
the first of the dead. And am to be the
last.
1.-The presence is going away2 Let him
look to the steps of his feet, lest he STUN
BILE into the we'll in the courtyard"
"Who told you that story, Jenkinsp'
asked young Stover, who had come out
from England two weeks before to fight
the plague. "It must be that old BOBBY,
Ibn Hamish. Who Is he anyway"
"a harmless sort of idiot, who passes
for wise man among bis people, replied
subaltern who was balancing himself on
camp stool and vainly trying to interest
himself in back number of the London
Times.
Thereupon Stover launched out upon a
lecture on superstition. The young sur
geon was fresh out of civilization and did
not have so much as an inkling Of the
backward and sidewise workings Of the
oriental mind. His eloquenoe was cut
short by the appearance of my Arab serv
ant, who salaamed profoundly before me.
MAY the presence be not moved to an
ger, but there is messenger at the door
who Graves that he may be permitted to
see the light Of your eyes,"
"a messenger And what does he want
of me?"
"May I be forgiven if speak, but the
dead dog will not tell me what he wants.
He comes from Abu Ibn Hamish, may it
please the Ingeleez bey."
The abu had been taken with the plague,
said the messenger, and would I be so gra-
cious and merciful as to go and see him?
threw my fatigue coat over my arm, in
anticipation of a return during the cold of
the night, and followed the messenger.
found the abu where had last seen
him, sitting on the veranda of the kahyene
which had been his dwelling place appar-
entity for years. He was staring soberly at
the smoke that ourled up from the hookah.
"The presence is here? May your serv
ant be forgiven, but wish to tell you a
word and you shall see before tomorrows s
sun that have spoken truth. Ishallah,
you shall see."
"What can do for you, abu? The mes
senger told me that you were stricken with
the plague and came to you at once. Do
stricken men smoke the hookah and make
bad jestsP''
1.-THE presence Is smiling the smile of
the unbeliever, but let him be not moved
to anger. My time is coming even now.
The Ingeleez hey sees the sun? 1t is now
the height Of man away from the top of
the mosque. In two hours it will sink
into the desert and the soul of Abu Ibn
Hamish will go out with it,"
The abu smoothed his beard and stared
into the curling smoke of the hookah with
the stare of conviction. Above the kahvene
a flock of crows flew noisily by with a
slow, heavy flight as if the birds were
gorged with feast of the desert. They were
coming from the south wall of the city,
where the corpses were being buried under
three feet Of earth, in spite Of all that we
could do to prevent it.
"How do I know it?' mused the abu.
"The presence has not asked the question,
but know that 1t is between his teeth.
have not turned liar in the last day of my
life, and the Ingeleez bey will believe the
true word which will speak into his ear.
A cup of coffee? The presence is gracious
beyond the power OF words to tell, and it
shall be remembered to him when he is
crossing over the deep place Of Gehenna
on the sharp of the sword of Mohammed
"My eyes have seen the old hanum who
rode into Alden on the back Of the camel
that has holes where its eyes should be-
My eyes saw her before the breaking of the
morning and my ears heard the words
that came from her purple lips: Abu Ibn
Hamish, do you know mep am the kol-
ira, the black death, and shall pass on
to Mecca after the sun sinks into the desert
this night And you shall be the last to
die in Alden, because you have lived many
days and your hands are clean with the
doing Of many good deeds.
"The presence does not believe mep The
sun Is going down even now, and you
shall see that have spoken true word
aye, as true as the word Of the prophet.
I do not remember distinctly all that
happened after that. 1t all came with
such grewsome suddenness. The sun had
hardly gone down when the abu laid aside
the mouthpiece of the hookah and COM
planned of feeling cold.
The kol-1ra Is passing away into the
desert. The presence will see 1t no more
in Aden."
Even while he was saying these words
he grew purple about the lips, and present.
ly he bent over with sharp, asthmatio
cough, as If something had kicked him in
the stomach, and before morning heard
the "Ahi, ahi" of the hired mourners as
they hurried the corpse Of Abu Ibn Ham
ish out of the city gate. He was the last
victim Of the plague in Alden. Golfers 8
Weekly.