The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-02-12
His first act, therefore, upon finding


h His first act, therefore, upon fndin,
himself alone in his room, is to draw
q chair near the window, throw him
self into it, produce a igar. strike
match and start the engine.
AS with all old smokers this pro
duces q train Of reflection. He goes
back to the moment when he opened
his eyes on board the dahabeah and
met his friends, Sandy and Mr.. Grimes
Then it is easy to follow the track OF
events down to the present. and there
are several places where Joe fingers
tcndcrly.
What n strange series of adventures
he looks back upon.
"And the end Is not yet he mutters
rs he contemplates the past through
the halo OF the blue smoke that cir
cles around him, 'for. unless Sm
deucedly mistaken, there's going to be
a continuation Of this warfare. 1t
may extend even to India's coral
strand, if this little beast Of a baron
makes up his mind that he's bound to
possess Molly. Right now and here
make a VOW that such thing shall
never be. Molly belongs to him
The deuce! I'll see him hanged first.
And yet 1 don't underrate the fellow.
He's dangerous as dynamite bomb.
and must be handled with extreme
care"
This is Joe's way to a. dot. He is
known as n brave, but careful man,
one not called Hotspur in any sense
of the word, and yet ready to lead 4
forlorn hope or attempt a most peril
Gus mission. In battle his strong right
arm has been worth half dozen ordi-
nary men, ard those under whom he
fought have been accustomed to de.
pend on him when difficulties arose.
He smokes and ponders.
Somehow the business makes him a
trif1e drowsy. and he thinks he might
as we'll lie down for spell. 1t will be
several hours before day comes. and
there can be no telling what may oc-
cur to exhaust him ere another .ppor-
tunity occurs to get any sleep.
Rising, he tosses the butt Of his CT.
gar out Of the window. At the same
time he stands there and glances
around.
The poor apology. for an Egyptian
moon has reached a respectable point
up in the heavens. and as Joe looks
out he can see the grand plaza before
him. Beyond are white-walled houses,
the cleaning domes Of mosques and
needle-like minarets, from which per-
chance at sunrise the muezzin will De
calling all the faithful Mussulmans to
prayer.
Giving a yawn he looks down and
notes that the ground is not so far be-
low but what an agile man could
jump to it safely.
Then Mynheer Joe throws himself
upon the clean bed. 1t feels very COM
Portable, and he gives grunt of salts
faction. 1t is not very often man or
his calling finds chance to rest upon
such couch. More generally he lies
upon a bed of leaves or the hard side
of plank on board some exploring
boat. Certainly, Joe has been given
no cot Of roses while with Gordon III
Khartoom. This fact does not pre-
vent a traveller used to rouShing 1t
from enjoying a soft thing when
chance throws 1t in his way.
He finds his senses fading, and then
all becomes blank as sleep overpowers
him. The hour passes on. All is ST.
fence around the famous hostelry save
for the discordant barking Of NANCY
ours upon the streets-a sound every
sojourner in the land Of Egypt be-
comes accustomed to, as it is unmerci.
fully dinned into his ears in every city
6f size.
Mynheer Joe has moved restlesslT
several times. as though his dreams
take him back to the exciting scenes
at the beleaguered city Oh the Nile.
Suddenly his eyes fly open. Could
that be the effect Of vivid dream or
did he really, hear a sibilant whisper:
"Mynheer Joe, awake! Danger
Never in all his life has this man OF
iron nerve been more completely
aroused. He lies there rs still as a
rock, and yet with >hiS senses and
nerves on the Qui vive.
Ha, Is that sound that reaches
him from the direction of the window
Gently he raises his head to look.
What he sees in that ono glance is
quite enough to take away an ordl'
nary mans breath.
ITO be Continued