Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-02
XIV.
The Great Solitude.

A brown wilderness of sand. trackless
as the ocean and without a landmark to
guide the traveller! Overhead a sky burn
ing blue, as monotonous as the sand be-
meath! And in this wilderness a single
speck moving slowly eastward!
Three days previously Sir Richard
Gaunt had left the little settlement and
had set forth on his journey into the
desert. He had left unobserved, like a
thief In the night. At first he had thought
of departing openly. but he saw that this
would be attended with insuperable diff
culties. The camel was as essential TO
him as train to a traveller in ENGLAND.
Hamil would. of course. refuse to sell the
animal, SO he took it without the formal
ity OF striking a bargain, and left behind
all his worldly wealth in payment. This
consisted Of his gold watch and a little
store of pearls. which represented his
share of the profits in the fishing bust
ness.
He had taken with him food for fifteen
days and water which would last him a
week with care. He had gathered an
idea of the route from a conversation
with the leader Of the caravan. 1t lay
for five hundred miles due east and then
ran northwards. He had no compass
with him. but the man who had explained
the route knew nothing of the compass,
and had expressed his directions in man
ner that the simplest could understand
The sun and the stars were the only
guides in that wilderness.
The first oasis lay nearly hundred
miles to the east Of the coast line, but
a foys hot iryo,
desolate ocean of sand appeared at in
tervals of about eighty miles. Sir Rich
ard Gaunt had taken down minute direc-
tons as to the position of sun and stars.
and anything that could be reckoned as
landmark. and he had not the slightest
doubt about being able to trace out his
entire journey across the desert. He
might even fall in with another caravan
on the great trail which ran from the
north to the south like high road.
On the evening of the fifth day he
sighted a black speck against the sky
line. many miles to the south and, alter
ing his course, found that he had reached
the first oasis.
He stayed a week in this place and
then set out for the next oasis He found
it with less difficulty than he had antici-
pated and he only remained there two
days. The solitude of the desert was be-
ginning to prey upon his nerves. He was
now anxious to move on as quickly as
route. where he could hope occasionally
to hear the sound of human voice and
see his fellow men.
Never before had he realized the mean
ing Of complete solitude. The little set
Element by the sea had come as near to
isolation as he thought possible. The
continual company of the same few peo-
pie day after day was loneliness after the
life of a great city. and even after the
life at Gaunt Royal. where at any rate,
hn wa q. in TO nf ho
world. But this surpassed anything that
he had ever imagined. He had read of
men who had been cast on desert islands,
of men who had suffered lifelong imprison-
even spiders in their cells. But up to
now he had never been able 10 grasp the
reality of their feelings.
At last however, he knew what it was
to be alone. completely and absolutely
alone. save for the stumbling beast which
his only hope of ever meeting
his fellow men.
The long. waving stretches of dun sand,
the blue arch of the sky. seemed to form
a prison as secure and certain as the
walls of fortress He was able to move
about. 1t was true. but he only fancied
himself as prisoner on an endless chain.
He could move in any direction and for
any distance. but he could not escape.
Ten. twenty. thirty, fifty. a hundred
still the same boundary of desert and still
the same unchanging roof Of sky.
He made friend Of the camel aid used
to talk to it hour after hour. as though
it could understand and answer him.
Under similar circumstances dog would
have been a real companion. But camel
is ,singularly unresponsive animal, and
although Gaunt fancied 1t was a SYM
pathetic friend. he could not f1atter him
self that 1t understood much of what he
said to it. He had read, however, of all
that a spider meant to a man who was
serving a long term Of imprisonment, and
q camel was, at any rate, more soci-