The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-06

! sHppers embroidered with seed pearls
/ and a jnkra, one of those little two
stringed guitars fashioned from tortoise
| shell, both Of which objects betrayed the
| presence of a woman.
When we had passed through half a
dozen similar chambers in the solid rock
the old man, croaking as he went, stop
ped suddenly at the further end of the
last and most gorgeous of all his sub
terranean domain, and with grim ex-
preston on his evil face, said:
"And this is the dreaded gate of the
Kingdom of Darkness, whence none re-
turn"
started, and drew back. Throughout
the desert there has been for all time a
legend that somewhere there exists the
entrance to the dreaded Kingdom of Haw-
iyat, where Eblis reigneth
He opened wide the small door, but
there was only a darkness impenetra BILE,
and an odor of damp earth. Holding his
torch aloft he crossed the threshold and
bade me peer in. Then 1 distinguished a
few spans from where he stood a yawn-
ing noisOme chasm, opening to the very
bowels of the earth.
"Hearkenv he cried in his squeaking
uncanny voice, at the same time return
ing into the room and snatching up from
one of the coffee stools a large metal
dish, which an instant later he hurled
into the dark. abyss.
1 listened 10 ascertain its depth. but
no sound came back. ] shuddered, for l
knew Il was unfathomable.
AS he faced me in closing the door I
detected In his keen eyes a strange exult-
ant look, and was seized by sudden de-
sire to ascend once again to the light
of day. True, l could have crushed the
life out Of him as easily as l could crush
viper beneath my heel, while in my sash
was still my keen jambiyah, that curved
knife which score of times had tasted
the life-blood of mine enemies. Yet he
mad not harmed me, and to Kill one S
host Is forbidden by our Koran. There
fore. ] stayed my hand.
AS we retraced our steps he poured upon
me nauseating aduation, declaring me to
be the most valiant freebooter in the
great desert, and using the most extrava-
CANT smile Of which the Arab tongue is
capable, a fact which, i'm itself. filed me
with increased suspicion. Suddenly. as
We reached the chamber where flowed the
cooling spring, the truth became instantly
pam. AS he opened the door two officers
OF the French, in linen garments and
white helmets, who had been apparently
lying in wait, bounced upon me, uttering
loud cries of triumph
The old whlte-beared recluse-may Allah
burn his vitals with the fire unquenchable
mad betrayed me. He had held me. and
sent word TO the Infidels to come and
capture their prize
But In an Instant l. upon whose head a
price was set, drew my blade and defend
ed myself, slashng vigorously right and
left, succeeding at last in escaping down
the dark winding passage we had Just
traNersed Forward, / dashed throu Oh
room after room. upsetting some of the
tables In my mad rush, for behind me
were the white-faced officers with drawn
SWORDS; determined TO take me alive or
q
were, and in that instant believed myself
lost. Yet determined to sell my life dear
~, 1t flashed across my mind that rather
tnan suffer the ignomity of being taken In
chains to Aleiers, the infidel city. and
there tried by the tribunal, as others had
been, ! would cast myself to the fathom-
less pit.
l sprang towards the small door, but t
hrst could not open it, In a few seconds
the crafty Batouba, with the two French
men, had gained the spot but 1 had al
ready gained the door and thrown it open.
Then, Just as they put out their hands
to seize me | swung aside. lifted my
knife, and struck my evil-faced betrayer
full TO the heart
With piercing shrek, he fell forward
over the threshold, and his lifeless body
rolled down into the awful chasm. while
al the same instant l gave bound, and
with cry of defiance, leaped headlong
down into the darkness after him.
l felt myself rushing through air the
wind whistling in my ears as deep down I
went like a stone into the impenetra Bile
gloom. Each second seemed an hour. UNI
til of a sudden a blow on the back knocked
me insensible, and 1 found myself an in
slant later wallowing in a bed of thick
soft dust. At that moment ii occurred to
me that because of this carpet of the dust
of ages deadened the sound of all things
if1f - hA .ha ~ x-.Ys
Grally arisen that it was unfathomable. l
rose, but sank again to the knees in the
dry soft dust which, stirred by my fan.
now half-choked me. Far above looking
distant like star / saw the light of a
torch. My infidel pursuers were peering
into the fearsome place in chagrin that /
had evaded them. The air, however was
hot and foul, and I knew that to save my
life l must be moving, Therefore, with
both hands o6tstretched l CROPPED about.
amazed to discover the great extent of
this natural cleft in the earth formed I'M
doubleday by some earthquake in remote
age.
Once ! stumbled, and bending. felt al
my feet the st'll warm body of my betrav-
er-may Ebl!s rehd him. l drew nv lam
biyah from Ills breast and replaced il in
its sheath. Then, tearing from his body
the silken gauze which formed the girdle.
L fashioned from il a torch, ignitiner il
after some difficulty with my Steel. Around
me was only an appalling darkness. and
feared to test the extent of the place
by shouting, lest my pursuers above
should hear. So forward ! toiled in a
straight line, fiounderng at every step in
the dust until the cleft narrowed and be-
came tunnel-like. with a hard floor.
stopped to feel and was astouuded to dis
cover that the rock had apparently been
worn smooth and hollow either by a wa
ter course, now dry, or by the tramp of
many ieet.
Besides, the air had become distinctly
frosher, and this fact renewed courage
within me. AT first l felt myself doomed
to die Ike fox in trap but hope was
re-awakened within me, and there might
after al, / thought, be some outlet,
OF a sudden. however. my eyes were
startled at beholding a colossal female fig
ure seated on a kind of stool, with feat
ures so hideous and repulsive that drew
back with an Involuntary cry. 1t was a
score times as high as myself, and as /
held my torch above my head to examine
it, saw Il was Of some white semi-trans-
parent stone the like of which had never
before Witnessed The rOhpe yara colora,a