The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-08-04
A MYSTERY OF THE DESERT,

A MYSTERY Of THE DESERT.
During my sojourn in Egypt" said
Walton, removing his hookah from his
burnt black beard, II became interested
in the horse; and DESTROYS of possessing
an Arabian of high quality, sought guild
ance of our local consul as to the best
way of going about obtaining one. He
gave me letter to certain camel and
horse breeder of renown, located near
SANTANA, Bedouin sheik, Hassam Moak
bar by name. The sheik, he informed
me, had reason to feel under obligation
to him, which would insure me pleasant
reception. l took with me only Il small
escort-the consurs letter, in the Arabian
tongue. being sort OF passport and af
fording ME immunity from the toll gath
ering customary among the desert tribes.
Arriving at the encampment at twilight,
scene Of great beauty burst upon me.
The stars were beginning to blaze forth
with unusual size and brilhancy through
the wonderfully rare atmosphere
Threads of smoke rose perpendicularly
from fires which sparkled among the
U.s. lo" "1ue ttHtS, where prepara-
tons for the evening meal were going on.
Negro slaves were roasting coffee,
which gave forth Il perfume only 'Araby
the Blest' could yield Round about
parties OF Arabs We're exercising the
horses-Such creatures!-with names
flowing like the tresses of Princess Bad
roulbadour.
"Sheik Hassam, a man of noble ap-
pearance, met me, and after reading the
hn
of his countenance, and the supper being
now ready, babe me partake of the same
tray with himself. The meal consisted of
kids flesh roasted delicately with certain
condiments, Of the nature of eau de
cologne, and washed down with mares
milk. \ noble cup of coffee, however,
atoned for the singularity Of this repast,
and lighting cheroots of a strong, sweet
flavor, we strolled among the horses,
much Of whose beauty and fine points
were observable in the moonlight. for that
luminary had now risen above the hori-
Zon. For reasons of his own the sheik
certainly did his best to get me what
l wanted, and out of fifty, everyone OF
which seemed to possess some different
charm, l chose one, and regretted had
not chosen all the others. l was loath
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 rarer legends,
dusky happenings Of desert land, which
had come within his ken, and repealed to
few. l began to feel as if had chewed
the lotus buds, and did not care greatly
whether l returned to my native land or
not
"One evening that 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 toward a
dark ridge OF rocks which crested great
rise of sand on the horizon and shone
jagged against the rising moon.
THAT forbidding pile said Sheik
Hassam, with wave OF his long arm,
causing meteoric effect with the glow
ing end Of his cheroot, formed once the
center Of an oasis, discovered by myself
and tribe while seeking an unirequented
portion of the desert for the purpose of
establishing ourselves for the favorable
pursuit of our business.
This oasis seemed the portal of para
disc when, i'll the splendor of the noon
tide, we halted, after days of travel be-
meath copper sky, before it's waving
palms and luXuriant shade, among which
gurgled hidden springs of water, blessed
water, and the songs of birds echoed
among the TOlaSe.
800 Allah be praised! We shall prosper
here! y cried aloud, and babe them set
up the tents, which were not few, and dig
cistern, which was filled from the
springs amid the groves The heat di-
minished not. but rather intensified from
day to day, so that the outer springs be-
came 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 beat
ell paths, which struck us as being rather
singular, as we had seen no living thing
save birds Possibly, we argued, they
were made by the jackals which howleu
about in the daytime and went there for
water after dark, although OH one occa-
sion | 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 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
daily, and the sky assumed that reddish
tinge which BODIES no good to the dwellcr
III the desert. At rare intervals across
the yellow hillocks would come pirouet-
ting diabolical little spirals of sand,
moved by puffs of wind like breaths from
a furnace.
Ion 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 i'll 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 gesticulating. The
an instant, but there was mingled!
scream and roar, flash Of tawny TANKS,
ana Hamed, dragged down from behind.
disappeared into the wood.
The rit1emen who had been nearest
to him fell upon their faces, paralyzed
with some awful fear, and could not be in
duced to stir. What they had seen L knew
my pistol, l babe huge black, under
threat of instant death, follow with a
lance, and plunged into the tangled wood
at the spot where Hamed had disap-
peared. White fragments of cloth upon
the broken twigs, borne down by what
must have been creature of unusual
size and ponderous strength, guided us
forward: Painting with the heat, bruised
with falling, and now feeling giddy with
a strange odor which began to pervade
the air, we proceeded with the utmost
caution along path grown steep and
rocky.
The terrible odor had grown almost
sitting, and mingling with it came a
low, whining purr, apparently no great
now.
'Crouching behind a ragged mass of
rock which seemed to have been split by
the heat tthe black calling necessarily
upon Allah with chattering teeth, I
peered through the crevice into the space
beyond. Soul of Mohammed! What a
sight met my gaze!
SPRAYING upon it's belly at the en-
trance to cavern, the 1.-THE tail beating
the ground, was creature, the sight of
which caused my scimitar to fall from
INV neryeleSS praSn Ont nf n fnnvlol