Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-02
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to be their national game. and also bowls.
Both of these games were easily Piayeo
with white and black stones. But the
men were unwilling Pupils ;ba ana e. H,a
the exercise of skill and intellect.
And so the young man spent much OF
his spare time in thought. and he slowly
acquired the calm gravity OF the oriental
in this respect. He would SIT on tne edge
of the desert motionless. and with his
eyes fixed on the endless pillows OF vel
low sand. Or else he would sit on the
rocks by the sea- and gaze out across tne
waters. And hour after hour ne would
breathe in the silence OF great spaces xsst
and the clearness of sky and sea. and his
mind grew in harmony with these things
And, facing sea or desertrhs sometimes
thought of the past. and the iron entered
into his soul But more often he thought
Of the future and of how man might
make the best use Of his Ire.
For eleven months Sir Richard Gaunt
lived this existence with the simple chill
dren of the desert, and he grew into q
quiet. strong-limbed, thoughtful man. And
then the time came near for the arrival
Of the caravan from the northwest.
Once a year a small group OF traders
visited the little settlement by the sea.
They purchased the pearls which the men
had collected from the oyster beds. ana
left in exchange clothes. food. nets. nsn
hooks and whatever had been ordered at
the last visit. The appearance Of these
people rarely caused much excitement,
though they formed the only link with
the world beyond. They came out OF the
desert mere black specks. crawling over
the dun sand; they stayed four days, and
then returned again and vanished into
the immensely whence they had appeared.
Such an occurrence would have caused
weeks of conversation and expectation
among a body Of Englishmen placed In
similar circumstances. But to these
phlegmatic easterns it was merely fixed
part Of the machinery OF nature, no more
to be looked forward to than the ADVENT
Of spring or winter.
This particular visit. however. was OF
more than usual interest, and formed the
subject of few quiet and reserved con-
lectures. For Ben Asan. the youngest
son Of the old patriarch. was golng to re-
turn to the camp after the absence OF Two
years. and he was returning with a new
wife, and it was reported that she was
of great beauty. She had cost him
twenty pearls Of the finest quality. ano
these had been RENTED at the last de-
parture Of the caravan.
1t was hardly to be expected that Sir
Richard Gaunt. in spite OF the change
gard the approach of the visitors with
the calmness of his comrades. Its ad-
vent was the first link in the chain which
reached to England. He could now re-
turn to his home, or. If he wished to stay
in the desert, he could send q letter
which would tell Lady Betty that he was
still alive.
Day after day, when his work was done.
he would go to the edge Of the desert and
watch the golden sand change to dull
brown plain, and see the shadows OF
night come tearing up from the east: AND
even after the whole scene had faded into
darkness, he would sit there alone ana
look I'D at the stars and listen for the
first sounds Of the caravan. Somewhere
out there in the vast dim spaces OF the
wilderness, it was creeping toward the
little settlement and bringing with II
voice from the great world beyond.