Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-01
BY EuZABETH MILLER J
CHAPTER xii
In tha Desert.

In tha lDesert.
In the early morning of the next day af-
..r the rout at Sencf's, Kenkenes wandered
restlessly about the inner court of his
fathers house He had slept but little the
preceding night, and now, dizzy and irrita-
BILE. the freshness of the morning did not
invigorate him and the haunting perplexi-
ties were with him still.
There was need of haste to the Ara
bian hills and yet he could not walt pa
tiently in Memphis for an appropriate hour
to visit Masaarah He paced hither and
thither, flung himself on the benches in the
shade. only to rise and resume his uneasy
walk. Anubis. the pet ape. was omnipres-
ent and particularly ungovernable If his
young master were in motion he vbrat ted
and oscillated like a shuttle. If Kenkenes
sat, he paced the tessellated pavement
SLOWLY and with a football lighter than a
pird's. The sculptor eyed him understand
lngiy. and finally arose
Come, AnHbis! Tit, tit, tit!" he called.
lacking toward the work room. Anubis
pounded after him. but as Kenkenes paused
Just over the threshold the ape also halted
his master retreated to the rear of the
room still calling, but to the ape there was
something nrnna,g portentousiy familiar in this
proceeding. 1t limited of Imprisonment
turning as though pursued, he disannea rad
up an acacia tree from which he could NOT
De dlslodged With a vexed excIamation
ihenkenes passed out of the court into the
che ri, .a .inins the swinging door so
s,narpiy that 1t sprang open again after
liIin; AS the old FORTRESS put back the ONT
el ooors leading into the street that bar
soung master might go forth a shadou,
old no rs enought slipped out after him. The
olu FORTRESS clapped her hands with a sbriI1
command, but the ape was gone.
~ ohce more In his work-day dress his wal
set OF tools and provisions across bic
the MI the young sculptor passed toward
ne Nne, moody and unhappy but datar
i At the riverside he hired tho 81
i low ga oarl that had given him faithful sar,-
Sanat i 50 long, and receiving the oars fro,,
At tba rue 10, ooatman, prepared to push away.
-. tntt moment. Anubis tremu1o,,S ~. ~
'IRPentant' bounded jns-beside him
~ Menkenes made a landing befnra tho s.
ready ~ roi there two-oared bari was al.
was u, Law WI up, and the tangle of herbaee
'1ae d safe hiding place for his Owe, h pase
ne looked toward the quarry and I hoii,. poa,
LOLA ' Iia no heart yet to face her. who had
cont;nHo ~ ueiesl sorrow On him. He would
.e.thnn, ms work on Athor until he had
face. i 'hat unIorbldd1ng
,tera5 l ~ Ut 1907 made no sounds. and he on
Leu ottea the niche silently. Kneeline ON The
face against inst t bs the base Of the statue. her
ing It's knees, was Rachel In one hand u,a :,
sm. eoIlar OF rings. She had not heard the
sculptors approach. m Inv
HaI an an instant his surprise transfxed him.
Leu she repented? A great wave of com
passion and tenderness swept over him and
W.: uie" iief race away between his paIms
s,,;ft a, q Terrified start the girl turned
S"Ii, sidnce upward When she Recognized
henkenes her fearful face colOred WHIT
f rier posture was such that she could NOT
rise and with infinite gentIeness he lifted
her to her feet NC ii'eu
What is 1t, Rachelp Art tbou :, .ro,
ble?" Art thou IN trou-
JOY and maidenly confusion took away
her voice - 'oN away
Alas" he went on sadly. "Am so
w 70
Thy confidenoe?" N
Nay. nay" she protested. think not So
hershiy OF me. l anal Came" she fall
Tered n ana paused" He. did not help or spare
ner. He had come to learn why she had
done this thing, why she Had said that. and
why she had repulsed him without expiana-
ton, when there was IntnistakabIe prefer
ence for him9iri her unstudied acts He held
his peace and waited for her to nroceed
Meanwhile Rachel suffered cruelty. She had
no thought in her mind concerning her con-
Duct toward him.. 1t, was the shameful
event of the morning. which must be told to
explain her presence before Athor that
made her cover her crimson face at last
kenkenes silenced the; protests of his gall
iantry. and drawing her hands away lifted
her face on the tips of his fingers and
waited
While they stood thus Deborah. exhaust
ed and praying, staggered into the in
closure.
"Rachelr' she painted. 1.-THE serving men
thou art pursued The fat courier,
purple of countenance and brea thing hard,
appeared in the opening. Rachel shrank
against kenkeneS and Deborah dropped on
her knees between the pair and the servi-
tor.
"Out of the way. hagr' the man puffed
LET me at yon slave. Out!' He struck
at Deborah with a short mace, but Ken
kenes caught his arm and thrust him
aside.
"Go. go back to the camp" he said to
the old woman mo harm shall befall
Poo 1n1 Pafc har hQ Y,IIf har ind
him. and advanced toward the courier.
Hast thou words with me?' he said
coolly. what wilt thou?'
1.-THE girl Give her up!''
"Nay, but thou art peremptory. What
wilt thou with her?'
For the harem of the Pharaoh's chief
adviser the man retorted.
The blood in Kenkenes veins seemed to
become molten; flashes of fierce light blind
ed him and his sinews hardened into iron.
He bounded forward and his fingers buried
themselves in soft and heated flesh.
The first glimmer of reason through his
murderous insanity was the consciousness
Of a rain of blows upon his head and shout
ders, and a blackening face settling back
to the earth before him.
He released his grip on the throat of
the strangling servitor- and flung of his
other assailants. For a moment, stunned
by the hard usage at the hands of the re-
about to succumb. The men pursued him
to finish their work, but as he eluded them.
it seemed that third persona woman all
In white with extended armS-came into
their view.
Kenkenes saw the foremost tall Nubian
in striped tunic, stop in his tracks, and
the second, smaller and lighter but Nu-
bian also. following Immediately behind,
bumped against his fellow.
Mouths agaDe, eyes staring, they stood
and marveled. The strange presence, they
discovered at once, was neither human
being nor an apparition. 1t was stone
q statue.
"Sacrileger' the first exploded. "A-a-
by Amen, it is the slave herself!
In the little pause, Kenkenes recovered
himself, but he knew that he gave Rachel
to her fate, IL the pair overeame him. He
caught her hand and. with the whispered
word. RUM fed with her toward the
front of the cliff facing the Nile. 1t was
desperate chance foe escape, but he seized
It. tsf rf,rteI
Immediately they were pursued and at
the brink of the hill aovertaken. The stake
was too large for the young artist to risk
Its loss by adhering ito the unwritten rules
of combat He released bRachel, whirled
about, and as the foremost descended on
him. ducked seized the main about the mid
die and pitched hlmwheadsfirst down into
the valley. The second, slfthe tall Nuban
that wore the striped tunic, halted dis
mayed. and Kenkenss.i catching RachePS
hand. prepared to descend But she checked
him with a cry. "Lookr'tv
His eyes followed her outstretched arm.
At reQuiar intervals n lone tho Mile the dis