The herald., 1898-05-08

time, Grant, Doctor Garard, Hasan
and Hafiz all taking some share Of the
rest of the baggage. Most Of the tools
were buried. as they were unable to
carry them; and Hasan said that the
fellahin would be sure to take the next
party of explorers to the tomb. and
that 1t was useless to attempt to bind
them over to secrecy.
Their progress was of necessity very
slow, and when they got out Of the lit
tie valley in which they were sheltered
from the direct rays of the sun, they
met the full afternoon glare.
"Whew! What a furnace!" exclaimed
Grant, stopping a moment to wipe his
streaming face. 1--WE shan't reach the
camp tonight, shall we?" he asked, Of
Hasan.
mo, gentlemen, mol" replied the
dragoman, I'VE go in the cool Of the
evening to a point where Hafiz says
he can get down into the valley. Not
the hillside we came up, that's far too
steep, and there we sleep the night. and
get down early in the morning before
the sun is UP. And If Allah wills, we
rest ON the Abdul Aziz' at night"
"a very good thing!" exclaimed the
doctor, who was terribly tagged. Il
think we had better call a halt. I'm
done up."
When they had rested half an hour.
they continued their journey through
the miniature valleys lying between
the peaks of the hills, which rose on
either sides in steep piles of calcined
rock, worn, split, and crumbling be-
meath the action Of the burning sun.
There was not a single particle of veg
60 10 he nf
and sand; on the little plains or plat
eaux between the hills not blade Of
grass, not a bramble. not even a
creeper. piece Of moss or Of lichen
was to be found. And not a sound Of
life broke the stiffness. The sand in
most places was composed Of shining
and diamond-like particles, which cor
uscated in the rays of the sun with a
white light Of binding brilliancy.
The peaks, now and again breaking
into view between the gaps in the sur
rounding slopes, were rotten and Jag
ged, as though some convulsion of ma
ture had twisted and displaced them In
it's final throes.
The heat was intense, Of shade there
was none, save that afforded by some
stray boulder or the occasional shadow
Of a peak interposed between the sun
and the valley-a sharply defined dense
blot upon the heated surface of the
sand; and the fella.hin long before the
steep slope was reached, from the top
of which the main valley Of the Kings
could be seen, were stumbling with
fatigue, whilst Grant and the doctor
were footsore and tired out. They
were, however, very anxious to reach
the heights above the valley by night,
so that in the morning a fair start
might be made for the dahabeah.
And at length the top was reached,
just as the last Of the sunlight was
dying off the higher peaks, which a
few moments before had been colored
a deep crimson hue, leaving them a
faint rose-pink that speedily faded;
and then, as the shadows fell, the hills
changed to a deep blue-purple, well
defined against the pallor of the even
ing sky.
Below, about mile to the left. down
In the valley now hid with such dense
shadows that it looked like dark in
digo river, cleaned the watch fire of
the camp like the red eye Of some beast
of prey.
The night air was getting chilly, so
the fellahin were set to work to put the
round, with some bread, meat and
dates, the whole party turned in for the
night, the coffin and it's bier being
placed in the tent, where Grant and the
doctor slept.
Next morning, in the cool, keen air,
the party made rapid progress down the
hillside into the valley; the way being
by a series of gradients which were far
less steep than those by which they
had assembled two days previously.
The bearers, of course, had to use great
caution, for even the rough path or
track which they struck into quite by
accident about half way down, was ex-
ceeedingly loose and rotten at the
edges, and careful as they were, the
fellahin made several slips and false
steps which for the moment leopard
lied their burden, and sent a thrill of
apprehension and alarm through both
Grant and the doctor.
By seven o'clock they had reached
the bottom at spot about a mile and
q half further away from the Theban
end than their camp. After a short
rest they resumed their journey, Hafiz
hurrying on ahead to prepare sub
stantial breakfast, so that no unneces-
sary delay should occur in getting on
board the dahabeah.
In less than half an hour the daha-
beah was reached, and the coffin, bag
gage and tools got safely on board.
Ben Ezra seemed very glad to see them
and evidently took some small share
of their success to himself.
By the time the fellahin had been
handsomely paid and discharged and
Grant and the doctor had enjoyed a
plunge in the Nile and afterward a
change of clothes, it was getting quite
dusk. Consequently, though both Of
them were burning to examine their
find, it was decided to defer the inspec-
ton of the coffin and its contents till
daylight. So it was covered, as 1t lay
on one of the divans in the cabin, with
a Moorish shawl taken off one of the
divans, and left in peace.
For an hour or SO the two men sat
on deck listening to the shore noises;
the whirr Of the passing waterfowl,
the lip-lap Of the current as 1t washed
against the side of the dahabeah and
then ran away beneath the stern, and
the low singing of the crew who were
gathered together, a dark patch up in
the bows.
Neither Grant nor the doctor had
spoken for some time. They seemed
soothed by the stiffness and the rest,
after three days Of heat and dust; both |
lay back in their deck chairs watching
the wreaths of smoke pass from their |
lips into the circle of faint light which |
the glowing ends Of their |
cigars before they disappeared into !