Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-04-11
ON THE ROAD TO MEccAH.
The Tale That the Hail Al Sheriff
Told.


Told.
This is the tale that Al Sheriff told
as we sat under the tamarind tree In
the garden of Josef Wali-el-Din, the
dealer in girls at Shiraz:
IL was after the fast of Ramazan,
that makes all men weak and thin,
and the suns heat at midsummer
was like fire to waste the substance
of a mans body. That is why the
sand of the desert was red as blood
to my eyes and my head swayed from
side to side as l rode.
dared not say to any one That the
fever was upon me, for one does not
pray to have his body Amounted and
to be left on the sand for the jackals
to finish when the caravan has gone
by.
Sheyck Sulyman, my neighbor'
prated night and day of Utajba rob
bers-a plague to him-and | knew
that he feared for the safety of the
pearls that were hidden in the folds
of his turban; yes, | knew that his
daughter had been the price of them :
vet he broke off his lamentations to
recite the prayers when we halted.
When bowed | could not remember a
prayer. and the sound of the people
and the beasts was afar off. Also,
when the rest had completed their
prayers, forgot to raise my head
from my mat.
AT last some one took me by the
shoulder, shaking me till | awoke.
7 heard a woman's voice in salutation
mailman" tried to answer: "As
salem alaykum," but my tongue was
too thick for speech, and my will
was weak.
Then an arm as strong and gentle
as my mothers lifted me. Slowly
opened my eyes, though at first l
distinguished nothing but the motion
of all about me. but at last | under
stood that the host was astlr ana
passing by.
My mare stood near. and the woman
helped me to mount, but, as | turned
to bless her. l saw that she was a
daughter of the Wahhabis, whom my
soul loathes so my heart was hard
ened against her.
Fleet as an antelope, she ran toward
the company of her own people, and
lost sight of her; nevertheless, l
could not forget, my heart being sore
because | had been helped by one
of that tribe.
The night was not dark. This
Syrian moon is a softer daylight, and
| saw that | was among a party OF
Alexandrian pilgrims, hail. and der
wishes from the Upper Nile. But the
fever had hold of me again, and the
things that moved around me faded
| rode like a drunken man, with my
hands buried in the shaggy hair OF
nv horse. for the hot wind on my
cheek was famed by the wing OF
Azrael the Angel of Death.
| lay upon my good mares neck
now dreaming thirstily of the Wady
Laymum-the valley of lime trees
where the water falls with tinkling
sound between the stones and the
bittern dips his wing into the pools
now burning with shame that woman
of the Wahhabis had helped me
Then | forgot my hate, and heard
only the tinkling that sometimes
knew to be the bell of my neighbor's
camel. but more often | thought il
was the stream of the Wady. They
were lifting me from my mare. Who
| knew nothing at all, cared for moth
ing except that they had destroyed
my rest in the valley of lines. anc
that the spreading wings of Azrae
darkened the sky where the dawr
should have been.
Then the stupor floated away fol
a little while, as a mist is blown, go
ing and returning, drifting, always
drifting.
1t seemed that there were two o.
me, one that looked down upon the
other and pitied, l saw how they
poured on the wasted body of tina
other the drops of precious oil ant
wrapped it in the shroud that |, like
all pilgrims to Meccah, had provided
before setting out. 1t had been sprin
killed. with holy water from the Pro
phet's we'll of Zemzem, against tina
day.
They laid me in the sand, GOVERN!
my limbs with the shroud and recitins
a prayer from the Koran. Then
was left alone with Azrael for tn,
caravan never waits.
How glorious it was as it passe,
away across the desert! The horse
and dromedaries with trappings o
crimson and mountings of brass tina
flung back the sunlight; the ploddin
camels, burdened with merchandise
the white burnouses of some prince
retinue, starred with points of glitter
ing steel, dashing among the pres
of filters and vans, of mules an
asses, and the struggling horde O
vendors and mendicants. There wa
the train from Bulak and the compan
from Cairo; there rode the dervishe