The Forrest City times., 1899-08-11
l A Mystery of the Desert By Neville Cain
nD URING my sojourn in Egypt"
 said Walton, removing his hook


 came interested in the horse; and, de- sirous of possessing an Arabian of high quality, sought guidance of our local consul as to the best way of going about obtaining one. He gave me letter to A certain camel and horse breeder of renown, located near Samana, a Bed- ouin sheik, Hassam Moakbar by name. The sheik, he informed me, had reason to feel under obligations to him, which would insure me pleasant reception. took with me only a small escort-the consul's letter, in the Arabian tongue, being sort of passport and affording me immunity from the toll gathering customary among the desert tribes. Ar irving at the encampment at twilight, a scene of great beauty burst upon me. The stars were beginning to blaze forth with unusual size and brilhaney through the wonderfully rare atmos- phere. Threads of smoke rose perpen- dicularly from fires which sparlded among the long, low, wide tents, where preparations for the evening meal were going on.
 Negro slaves were roasting coffee, which gave forth 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, andjafter reading the letter, at once relaxed the stern dig nity of his countenance, and the supper being now ready, bads me partake of the same tray with himself. The meal consisted of kids flesh roasted deli cately with certain condiments, of the nature of eau de cologne, and washed down with mares milk. A noble cup of coffee, however, atoned for the singu- larity of this repast, and lighting cheroots of a strong, sweet flavor, we strolled among the horses, much of whose beauty and fine points were ob- servablc in the moonlight, for that lumi- nary had now risen above the horizon. For reasons of his own, the sheik cer- tainly did his best to get me what 1 wanted, and out of 50, every one of which seemed to possess some different charm, chose one, and regretted that had not chosen all the others. l 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 rarer legends, dusky happenings of desert land, which had come within his ken, and revealed to few. l began to feel as if had chewed the lotus buds, and did not care greatly whether re- turned to my native land or not.
 One evening (that before thr 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 dark ridge of rocks which crest ed great rise of sand on the horizon and shone jagged against the rising moon.
 That forbidding pile said Sheik Hassam, with a 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 un- irequented portion of the desert for the purpose of establishing ourselves for the favorable pursuit of our business.
 This oasis seemed the portal of paradise when, in the splendor of the noontide, we halted, after days of travel beneath copper sky, before its way ing palms and luxuriant shade, among which gurgled hidden springs of water, blessed water, and the songs of birds echoed among the foliage.
 Allah be praisedl We shall pros per here!" I cried aloud, and bade them set up the tents, which were not iew, and dig a cistern, which was filled rom the springs amid the groves. The neat diminished not, but rather inten- sihed from day to day, so that the outer springs became dry, and we had to force our way inward (for the oasis was wide ana Of densest growth to obtain sup plies of water.
 Here and there we encountered beaten paths, which struck us as being 'a,her singular, as we had seen no liv- "g thing save birds. Possibly, we ar sued, they were made by the jackals, winch howled about in the daytime and went there for water after dark, al- though on one occasion I could have sworn that vague imprint in the sandy pathway was that of beast of prey.
 kept a sharp lookout and sehunels ever on watch about the norses, camels and goats tethered snort distance from the camp beneath 'eaiy sheds. Nothing of note trans p.Ied for some days, except slight ad- ei'ional proofs from time to time that oone living creature inhabited the Pi"ee' The heat seemed to increase