The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-04-01


is it possible / can have been asleep
for 10 hours? 1t is nov 2 o'clock!
And R~ayburn, what on earth has han
pened to him." he calculated, loo
ing round in a confused way.
Presently the bewilderment passed,
and he began to understand his posi-
ton more clearly.
He was alone in the bush, having
slept for 10 hours. Rayburn had ut
terly disappeared. He had never come
back, that was quite evident. If he
had done SO he would have awakened
Cleland. What was Cleland to make
out from this?
1t was some time before he came to
the conclusion that he had been DELHI
erately deceived by Rayburn, n led
into this unhappy position for pur-
poses Of Rayburn's own. Cleland was
not a superstitious man, and he was
too honest and upright himself to
think evil of others: but he could ar
rive at no other conclusion.
What had caused him to sleep so
s%oundly? He remembered his sudden
d~rowsiness-a very unusual condition
with him. Was it possible the cigar
given him by Rayburn had anything
TO do with that?
He remembered now he had noticed
a somewhat peculiar flavor. not unlike
that known to the hashish eater,
about it. He had thought nothing of
it at the time. but now the remem-
brance confirmed his worst suspicious.
For some purpose Of his own Ray
burn had deliberately led him into
the jungle, drugged him, and then left
him there, to whatever fate might
overtake him.
But what could his purpose have
been?
Suddenly 1t flashed upon Cleland
that the camp had expected in all
probability 1t would be called Upon to
march forward to Hudi to-day. If
that were the case, the brigade would
have left at break Of dawn-at least
eight hours before this!
Would they have noticed his alb
sence? 1t was highly improbable.
Paul Cleland was a brave man, and
as ready to face a days hard march
or a sharp brush with the enemy as
any old and seasoned soldier; but at
the prospect of a solitary march over
that desolate and painless desert, in
utter ignorance Of the direction taken
by the army, his heart sank. What if
he should take the wrong direction.
and get further and further into the
unknown depths of that vast sandy
desert-"a dry and thirsty land where
no man is'-and wander there ann
lessly, fruitlessly, endlessly, until
thirst and starvation did their work,
and he dropped on the torrid sand,
never more to rise from it, only to
leave his bones bleaching there, where
never a human eye should see or pity?
Cleland reused himself from these
thoughts with a %shudder. His first
effort must be to get out of the jungle;
his second, to find the camp.
"If they're really gone" he thought
to himself, time enough then to in
dulge in these CHASTITY a~nticipations.
md even it they are-why, l must
make a bold effort to make up with
them"
Getting out of the jungle was easier
said than done. Rayburn had made
that as difficult as possible by turning
and twisting several times instead OF
taking a straight path. But it was
accomplished at last, and Cleland
found himself in the open once more.
He knew in which direction the camp
lay. ard a quarter of an hour took him
down to the deserted village.
Alas. his worst fears were realized.
Not a tent, not a nan remained! Like
the Arabs themselves, the whole bri-
gade had, in the early dawn, silently
folded their tents and as silently
passed away like dreams of the night
Cleland stood still for a moment, a
sense of sickening disappointment
coming over him. To find oneself ut
terly alone in that vast, unknown des-
ert, with no human companion, nc
chart to guide the way, nothing to eat
or drink, no hope Of ever again seeing
a human face, save through ones own
uqaided efforts, is enough to appall
the stoutest heart.
But Paul Cleland had the obstinate
and determined nature of his country
people. Nothing but death itself
would ever make him give in when
once he made up his mind to a thing,
He paused a few minutes to take
his bearings. He had a little pocket
compass with him, and by that alone
he could hope to guide himself. Once
he decided which direction to take he
marched forward without hesitation.
Walking in the desert. Is slow work.
BY 6 o'clock Cleland calculated that
he had walked 10 miles: but he was
no nearer the moving brigade for any
thing he could make out.
At shutdown a sandstone arose. Gle
land had been in one before, but this
seemed to be the most terrible expe-
rience he had yet been through. The
sand blew in his face, and soon formed
q hard crust over it, which cracked
painfully with every muscular motion;
his eyes were bloodshot. and he could
hardly see; his throat felt as II II
were filled with gravel. He was ChOk-