The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

search for Amra, the watchfulness of
the Turkish authorities was set at
naught by his Arab friends.
The Turks, suspecting the object of
the Austrians. warned them that they
would be arrested if they tried to leave
the place. But one night they evaded
the guards and made their way to a
rendezvous in the desert just outside
of Madaba.
Here Shiek HAZEL, the brother of the
Emir, and as noble-hearted as that
Emir himself, met them with seven
camels of the purest breed to be found
in Arabia. Armed Bedouins guarded
the outfit, while others crept into the
town and struggled out the travellers
effects.
Then the two Austrians were CARRIED
by the Arabs in the favorite disguise
of the men of the Arabian Nights
stories-that of physicians, Musil be-
ing named the physicians Musa and
Mielich, the physician Hanna.
Sheik HAZEL had spared no expense.
That involved no financial hardship
for him, however, for DR.. Musil says
that he is so rich that he cannot esti-
mate his own wealth.
Tens of thousands of tribesmen pay
him tribute and every caravan that
goes between Mecca and Muscat or
Mecca and Damascus, does the same.
The unhappy caravans call it rob-
berry. The Sheik and the Emir call it
tribute paid to them as Masters of the
Land.
Across Burning Sands.
For three days and nights the party
crossed fiery sands. Then they saw,
far on the horizon, a great building,
and the Arab warriors stopped and
prayed. The Sheik once more pressed
on the Austrians the danger into which
they were going. Finding them obdur-
ate, he and his men concealed their
own superstitious terrors and adj
vanced.
They found strange palace in
deed. For more than a thousand years
of loneliness the red sands of Arabia
had piled around it. For more than a
thousand years probably no human
| foot had entered it. Yet is looked out
over the illimitable deserts, not a ruin,
but a noble structure with all it's lines
intact.
There was only one door to the whole
building. Nothing could induce the
Arabs to enter, and the Austrians
| went in alone.
To their delight they found the great
wall paintings of which the legends
told. The colors were still we'll pre-
served and the pictures showed the life
| and history of centuries before Christ,
and of nation and kings whose
| name have been only legends for
twenty centuries.
The travellers had been in the castle
little more than an hour when shots
rang outside. Rushing forth, they
found a hot fight on between their es-
| cort and horde of desert robbers.
The Austrians unslung their rifles
and pitched in. But the party was
hopelessly outnumbered and within a
few minutes the robbers had cut out
the laden pack camels and drove them
off
For a time it seemed that all was
lost, for even the drinking water had
been taken. But the -Sheik, who had
recognized the raiders as belonging to
a southern tribe, declared that despite
their number he proposed to surprise
their camp in the night and win back
the spoils.
But this desperate expedient was
rendered unnecessary, for the Sheik
managed to get into communication
with thHrobbers and when they learn
ed who he was they brought back ev-
erything that they had taken, even to
the bits on the camels.
For sixteen days thereafter, the Aus
TRANS made measurements, sketches
and photographs. When they had
done all that they could, they returned
by new route, which enabled them to
visit many other historic places in the
deserts.
During the voyage they were at
tackled five times, but their Mannlicher
rifles helped them to keep the robbers
| at a safe distance and to beat them