Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-07-19
A Drop of Water.

The foremost Of the Arabs stumbled
and pitched heavily forward upon the
sand.
His companion, who had been follow
ing closely in his footsteps, stopped.
hesitated, looked abstractedly across the
fat expanse of desert and then began
feverishly to unfasten the leather water
bottle from the girdle of the PROSTATE
man.
He held it up, shook it slightly and
listened. There was not a sound. eau
tiously he tipped the bottle more and
more, until it was completely inverted,
but not drop of the precious liquid
greeted his red, restless eyes.
He put his hand to his breast and
drew forth similar bottle from the
folds of his long flowing robe. Yesl
Thanks be to Allah there were still a
few swallows left, and a rasping laugh
came from his blistered throat as he
shook the bottle and listened to the life
giving gurgle within.
Then he raised it to his lips. An in
slant later and it was snatched violent
/ ly from his hands, several drops of its
precious contents splashing out upon
the thirsty sand, where it was immedi-
| ately swallowed up.
| With a cry more nearly like that of a
despairing animal than human sound
he sprang upon his companion, bearing
him heavily backward to the ground.
and in the shock of the fall the bottle
slipped from the others hand and rolled
some distance away, where it lay wav-
ering and distorted by the intense heat.
Both saw what had happened and.
| filled simultaneously with nameless
dread that it might be lost to both of
them, lay still for brief second and
watched it,
Then the struggle began again. Over
and over the brown figures rolled, the
hot sand burning like fire wherever it
came into contact with the naked skin
and their breath coming in quick gasps
from between the cracked and swollen
lips
| The intense physical strain was plain
ly telling upon their strength, and seem
ingly urged by common impulse they
paused moment. each retaining his
hold upon the others body. The wind
shifted the finely powdered sand and
drove it persistently into eyes and open
mouths. The heat became uncomfortable.
Better to die fighting than to be slowly
roasted to death by the blistering sun,
and that with water almost within their
reach.
Again in the blind fury of their strug-
giles the distance was slowly widening
between them and the half emptied bot
tie, so that when. in another minute or
SO, they paused again, it lay several
yards away and was already beginning
to parch and crack in the frightful heat
that poured down spon it. A harsh,
rafting sound broke the fascinating
stiffness.
The legs of one Of the Arabs jerked
convulsively once or twice, the muscles
of his neck twitched slightly, and slow
ly rolling over upon his back he shud-
dered and lay STILL The other man
struggled painfully to his knees. He
looked wonderingly at the dead form
beside him for an instant and then
burst into hoarse peal of laughter that
Jared appallingly upon the solitude of
the place and hushed him instantly.
In the mad terror of delirium that
had now settled down upon him he be-
gan slowly fighting his way across the
waste of sand that separated him from
water and few more hours of life. It
was last supreme effort to shake off
the already Tightening grasp upon his
throat. His eyes were red and blood
shot, and from between the tightly
drawn lips his dust laden tongue lolled
horribly.
Once he looked back, but what he
saw there only urged him to fercer eff
fort, and with almost superhuman en-
durance he dragged himself inch by
inch on toward the goal. A few seconds,
that seemed an eternity to him, and tho
fearful struggle was at an end. In
frenzy of delight he seized and raised
the bottle to his lips, only to fling it
away again with bitter curse, for even
in that short time the fierce heat had
done it work, and through the half
opened seams, drop by drop, the water
had leaked out and vanished deep into
the hot sands.
The grasp on his throat frightened, he
tried to cry out, but his swollen tongue
seemed to be choking him, and no sound
came from between his lips. The deliri-
um gained Roadway fast, and he began
to dig furiously in the loose sand where
the bottle had lain, as if he would fol-
low and overtake the priceless fluid be-
fore it was lost to him forever. Grad
ually the flesh was worn away from the
finger tips, leaving the bone exposed.
but he seemed to take no notice, and
only dug the more desperately, on and
on, until at last the overtaxed brain
gave way, and. like mortally wound
ed squirrel, he collapsed suddenly and
pitched Imply forward upon the sand.
A puff of hot, suffocating air blew
some sand over him. More sand sifted
into his nostrils and trickled down his
blackened throat. A beautifully notified
lizard paused an instant, eyed distrust-
fully the strange object in its path, and
then darted swiftly away, scattering
the sand at every step. And over all,
vast presence from the world beyond,