The record-union., 1899-08-16
A MYSTERY OF THE DESERT

best way of going about obtaining one.
He gave me letter to certain camel
and horse breeder of renOWn, located
near Samana, a Bedouin sheik, Hassam
Moakbar by name. The she1k, he IN
formed me, had reason to feel under
obligation to him. which would insure
me a pleasant reception. l took with
me only a small escort-the ConsuPS
letter, in the Arabian tongue, being
sort of passport, and affording me in
munity from the toll gathering GUS
tomary among the desert tribes. Ar
irving at the encampment at twilight,
scene of great beauty burst upon me.
The stars were beginning to blaze forth
with unusual size and brilliancy
through the wonderfully rare atmos
phere. Threads of smoke rose perpen-
dicularly from fires which sparkled
among the long, low, wide tents, where
preparations for the evening meal
were going on.
Negro slaves were roasting coffee.
which gave forth a perfume only
Araby the Blest' could yield. Round
about parties of Arabs were exercising
the horses-such creatures-with names
flowing like the tresses of Princess
Badroulbadour.
"Sheik Hassam, man of noble ap-
pearance, met me, and after reading
the letter, at once relaxed the stern
dignity of his countenance, and the
supper being now ready bade me par
take of the same tray with himself.
The meal consisted of kids flesh roast
ed delicately with certain condiments,
of the nature of eau de cologne and
q &c
cup of coffee, however. atoned for the
singularity Of this repast, and light
ing cheroots of strong, sweet flavor,
we strolled among the horses, much
of whose beauty and fine points were
observable in the moonlight, for that
lumniary had now risen above the
horizon. For reasons of his own the
sheik certainly did his best to get me
what 1 wanted, and out of fifty, every
one of which seemed to possess some
different char1n, 1 chose one, and re-
gretted I had not chosen all the others
1 was loath to leave SO romantic spot,
and, though duty called, fingered some
days the guest of the sheik, who
seemed equally unwilling to have me
go. and piled me with rare tobacco and
still rarar legends, dusky happenings
of desert land, which had come within
his ken, and revealed to few. I be-
gan to feel as if 1 had chewed the
lotus buds, and did not care greatly
whether I returned to my native land
or not.
"One evening Chat before the day set
for my departure) while strolling and
smoking as usual. in the moonlight, at
some distance from the encampment,
our footsteps, whether by accident or
the sheik's design. were directed to-
ward a dark ridge of rocks which
crested great rise of sand on the
horizon and shone jagged against the
rising moon.
" That forbiding pile said Sheik
Hassam, with a wave of his long arm,
causing a meteoric effect with the
glowing end of his cheroot, formed
once the center of an oasis, discovered
by mymself and tribe while seeking an
unfrequented portion Of the desert for
the purpose of establishing ourselves
for the favorable pursuit of our busi-
ness.
" This oasis seemed the portal of
Paradise when, in the splendor of the
.noontlde, we halted. after days of
travel beneath a copper sky, beneath
It's waving palms and luxuriant shade.
among which gurgled hidden springs of
water, blessed water, and the SONGS
OF birds echoed among the foliage.
Allah be praised We shall pros
per herer [ cried aloud. and bade
them set up the tents. which were not
few, and dig a. cistern. which was filled
from the springs amid the groves. The
heat diminished not, but rather inten-
slfled from day to day, so that the outer
springs became dry, and we had to
force our way inward (for the oasis
was wide and of densest growth) to
obtain supplies of water
Here and there we encountered
beaten paths. which struck us as being
rather singular. as we had seen no Iiy-
ing thing save birds Possibly. we
argued, they were made By the jack
ais, which hOwled about in the DAYTIME
and went there for water after dark
although on one OCCASION 1 could have
sworn that a vague imprint in the
sandy pathway was that of a beast
of prey.
kept a sharp lookout and sentinels
ever on watch about the horses camels
and goats tethered a short distance
from the camp beneath leafy sheds.
Nothing of note transpired for some
days, except slight additional proofs
from time to time that some living
creature inhabited the place. The heat
seemed to increase daily, and the sky
assumed that reddish tinge which
bodies no good to the dwellers in the
desert. AT rare intervals across the
yellow hilloeks would come pirouting
diabolical little spirals of sand. moved
by puffs of wind like breaths from a
| furnace.
On the morning of the fifth day
Hamed, my Circassian slave man of
rare courage and singular personal
beauty, disappeared into the depths of
the oasis in quest of fresh water that
in the cistern being used for the beasts
only, and, from the length of time
elapsing. must have penetrated further
than usual. Suddenly we perceived him
at the edge of the Jungle wildly gestic-
ulating. The Arabs rifles were at their
shoulders in an instant but there was
mingled scream and roar, a flash Of
tawny fianks, and Hamed dragged
down from behind, disappeared in the
| wood
The riaemen who had been nearest
/ to him fell upon their faces, paralyzed
with some awful fear, and could not be
induced to stir What they had seen L
knew not. Drawing my scmitar and
grasping my pistol, I bade huge
black, under threat of instant death,
follow with a lance, and plunged into
the tangled wood at the spot where