Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-15

He pointed the gun at her and spoke.
Where IS the mani.
He is dead" Baraka answered without
hesitation.
Dead A1ready''
Il killed him in his Sleep" she said. and
dragged his body into the cave, for fear OF the
vulture, and buried it in the sand. Be not
angry, Saad, though he was my fathers guest.
Come down hither and l will tell all. Then
you shall shoot me or take me home to be
your wife, as you will, for am quite innocent
She meant to entice him within range of
the stranger weapon.
There is no foothold whereby to get
lower" he answered: but he rested the stock
of his gun on the narrow ledge which rose
behind him. Drag out the mans body,
that l may see it y
Il tell you l buried it l killed him the
night before last; | cannot dig him up now.
why did you run to the mouth OF the
cave when you me, if the man is dead?"
Because at first | afraid you would
shoot me from above; therefore took shelter.
why did you come out again. If you were
in fear?''
After had run in was ashamed for l
hearing the truth. So | came out to speak
with YOU. Get down, and will show you the
mans grave"
Have l wings? cannot come down, it
is impossible"
RARAkA felt puff OF hot air pass her Just
- above her right ankle, and at the same in
slant heard sharp report. not very loud, and
more like the swapping OF strong but very
dry stick than the explosion of firearm. She
instinctively sprang to the left, keeping her
eyes on Saad.
For a moment he did not move. But he
was already dead. as he slowly leaned forward
from the rock, making deep obelsance with
both arms hanging down before him, SO that
his body shot down perpendicularly to the
sand. where it struck head first, rolled over,
and lay motionless in heap. The travellers
was a Mauser pistol, which would have killed
as surely at five hundred yards as fifty; and
the bullet had gone through the Arabs brain.
Baraka sprang up the sandy slope and ran
along the narrow beach to the body In an
instant she had detached the large brown
water gourd from the thong by which it had
hung over Saad's shoulder and she felt that
it was full. Without a thought for herself,
she fastened back to the mouth of the cave
where the traveller now standing. His
face was dripping with perspiratlon, which ran
down into his matted golden beard his eyes
were wild, his hands were bleeding.
Drink cried Baraka joyfully, and gave
him the gourd.
He gripped it as a greedy dog snaps at
bit of meat, and pulling out the wooden plug
set the gourd to his lips, with an expression
of beatitude. But he was an old traveller and
drank only little, knowing that his life might
depend on making the small supply last
gourd of water was worth more than many
rubies just then.
Are you very thirsty YETI" he asked in a
harsh voice.
No." answered Baraka bravely. Keep
it for yourself"
His hand closed round the neck of the
gourd, and he looked up toward the rocks
above. The vulture had come back and was
circling slowly down.
You had better bury the body, while l
go on working" said the traveller, turning
back into the cave, and taking the gourd with
him
Baraka had marked the place where he had
tried to dig for water and had almost diSap-
peared in the quicksand She took from the
body the wallet in which were dates and some
half-dry bread, and then dragged and pushed
and rolled the dead from the place
where he had fallen The vulture sat on the
lowest ledge where its claws could find hold,
and though it watched her with horrible red
eyes while she robbed it of its prey, it did not
dare 60 nearer
The body sank into the moving sand. and
Baraka had to roll herself back to frmer
ground in haste to escape being swallowed up
with the dead man. The last she saw of him
was one brown foot sticking up. 1t sank
slowly out of sight, and then she went to the
hollow where the ruby mine was and took up
piece of the broken crust. full of precious
stones, and threw it at the vulture as hard as
she could 1t did not hit it; but it at once
tumbed off the ledge into the air, opened its
queer bedraggled wings, and struck upward;