The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-04-24

night, and leaves him with the break
ing Of Gay. He realized keenly the eX-
IRENE peril of his own position impris-
oned, and at the mercy of his enemy,
should his reachery be discovered
And now. as he leaned over the para
pet, in the breathless stiffness. his alert
ear missed an accustomed murmur of
the night Baalbek was lulled to sleep
by the ever-Dresent tinkle of running
water, the most delicious sound that
can soothe an eastern ear, accustomed
as il IS, to the echoless silence of the
arid, raiHiess desert.
The little river which entered BaaIbek
first flowed past the palace of the
prince, then to the homes of the no.
bles and the priests, meandering
| through every street and lane until it
came TO the baths left by the Romans,
from whence it flowed through the
poorer quarters, and at last disappear
ed under the outer wall. 1t might be
termed a liquid guide to Baalbek, for
the stranger leaving the palace and fol-
lowing its current, would be led past
every temple and residence in the city
1t was the limpid thread of life run
ming through the veins of the town.
and without it Baalbek could not have
existed As the ambassador leaned
over the parapet wondering whether it
was his imagination which made this
night seem more still than all that had
gone before since he came to the CITY
he suddenly became aware that what
he missed was tbs purling trickle of
the water. Peering over the wall of
his house; and he saw downward the
moonlit street, he saw no rejecting
glitter of the current, and realized with
leap Of the heart, that the stream had
run dry.
The ambassador was quick to under
stand the meaning of this sudden dry
ing of the stream. Notwithstanding his
vigilance the soldiers of Damascus had
stolen upon the city, unperceived by
him, and had already diverted the waite.
course. Instantly his thoughts turned
toward his own escape. In the morning
the fact OF the invasion would be re-
Vealed, and his life would lie at the
mercy of an eXasperated ruler. To flee
from Baalbek in the night he knew to
be no easy task, all the gates were
closed and not one of them would be
opened before daybreak, except through
the intervention of the prince himself.
To spring from even the lowest part of
the wall would mean instant death. In
this extremity the natural ingenuity
OF the man came to his rescue That
which gave him warning would also
provide an avenue of escape.
The stream, conveyed to the city by
lofty aqueduct, penetrated the thick
walls through a tunnel cut in the solid
stone, just large enough to receive its
volume. The tunnel being thus left dry
a man could crawl on his hands and
knees through it, and once outside walk
upright on the top of the viaduct.
along the empty bed of the river, until
he reached the spot where the water
had been diverted and there find his
comrades. Wasting not a thought
on the jeopardy in which he left his
own followers, thus helplessly impris-
oned in Baalbek. but bent only on his
own safety. he left his house silently
and hurriedly, deep in the shadow along
the obscure side of the street He knew
he must avoid the guards of the paI-
ace, and that done, his path to the in
vading army was clear But before he
reached the palace of the prince there
remained for him another stupefying
surprise.
Coming to broad thoroughfare
leading to the square in which stood
the temple of life, he was amazed to
see at his feet, flowing rapidly, the full
tide OF the stream shattering into
dancing discs of light the reflection
OF the full moon on its surface, gurg-
ling swiftly toward the square The
Fugitive stood motionless and panic
stricken at the margin of this trans
parent flood. He knew that his retreat
had been cut off. What had happened?
Perhaps the strong current had swept
away the impeachment placed against il
by the invaders, and thus had resumed
its course into the city. Perhaps-but
there was little use in surmising, and
the ambassador, recovering in q meas
ure his self-possession, resolved to see
whether or not it would lead him To
his own palace.
Crossing the wide thoroughfare into
the shadow beyond, he followed il to-
ward the square, keeping his eye on the
stream that flowed in the moonlight
The rivulct flowed directly across the