The Tupelo journal., 1910-07-01

breathing the sweet air OF the desert.
Apparently the tribesmen noted
nothing amiss In our appearance.
though we presented extra dusty and
dirty looks after our explorations.
What's the first mover" Queried
Wayne. :
Watch me-" counseled Cortice.
Reckoning the leader Of the guard-a
gigantic half negro, half Arabic de-
posted in the fellows palm n OF the
scarabs, saying:
GIVE that to your master. Tell him
to come here at once. Col"
The fellow gazed amazedly at the
scarab, then at Cortice, then salaamed
and departed on a dog-trot for the
oasis, all green and cleaning in the
morning sun. AS we watched we dis
tinctly saw the messenger arrive and
| disappear in the sheik's tent. In less
than five minutes the w~hite-robed
sheik himself appeared and strobe
over the desert in our direction.
Thought that would do the busi.
ness" commented Cortice. you see,
though these Arabs know very little
of the ancient Egyptian religion or its
rites, they are aware that such a valu-
able scarab could only come from a
royal tomb, and they have pillaged SO
many that they know there are always
valuables to be looked for, to say moth
ing of the mummy itself"
where got o this?" the sheik
exclaimed i~mperiously when within
speaking distance, holding up the
scarab.
Where we can get plenty more"
answered Cortice, with much greater
riches. See this, and this!"
The Arabs eyes flashed greedily,
and gathering up his flowing robes he
crawled into the entrance to the pyra-
mid. We grinned at each other in
unholy glee. Even if he found the
secret entrance to the sarcophagus
chamber, he would find only a ri1ed
mummy.
In a few minutes out he crawled.
and instantly began to talk business
as well as his limited vocabulary
would allow.
what price," he asked.
you put us all on board boat then
we TELL" returned Cortice, rafting a
few more scarabs nonehalantly in his
pocket.
Now, l haven't the least doubt that,
if the old robber had dreamed That the
best part of the loot was at that mo-
ment in Wayne's pocket, u lives and
those of Lady Blanche and Retta Cor
tice would not nave been worth a snap
of the finger. But he didn't or couldn't
suspect that much. Nor did it take
him long to decide, but he was as
cunning as the old serpent himself.
"All right" he a%ssented, showing his
teeth, you go; reach boat; tell where.
But white women stay here see you
tell truth" /.
The old rascal's meaning was obyi.
ous: He would send us under escort
back to the Nile; there we would d.
vulge the secret of the pyramid. Mean.
while he would hold the girls as host.
ages to see that we played fair! OF
course that didn't suit our book at all.
mo you don't!" Wayne and Cor
llCC cACldtluSu III uLiSOat Oil 81 Va OIL
stay! See!" And they turned their
backs on the sheik.
Whether he would have given in, or
whether he would have tried to extort
the secret from us by force, there =
no telling, for at that instant a surpris-
ing diversion occurred.
From the direction of the oasis there
r ---ez-I IT. 80 nL~;o1yz
shouts, and gunshots, and we could
see the tribesmen running wildly
about, brandishing their long guns or
untethering their horses. Our sheik
gave one look, uttered a muttered
curse in his black beard. and with the
eight or ten fellows who had been our
jailers set off on a wild race for the
Arab camp.
The cause of the disturbance now
appeared on our left. With the ris-
ing sun at their backs there came rid
ing at a smart gallop over the desert
a troop of khaki-clad Tommies with
an officer at their head, flanked by q
trumpeter and a color-bearer; their
drawn sabers flashed in their right
hands, while the clank Of scabbard and
chain was the sweetest music | had
ever heard. They were almost on top
of the oasis when we first spied them,
and even as we gazed they rode right
over and through the camp, sabering
the fleeing Arabs right and left. Only
a few tribesmen escaped, and it gives
me pleasure to record that the head
fuzzy-wuzzy. of them all went down
with a neatly cloven pate at the hands
of Capt. Barclay, who was in com'
mand.
The fracas was all over when we
four arrived breathless on the scene,
and were received with open arms by
the ladies-at least, two of US were.
Lady Blanche almost falling into the
arms of Barton Cortice, while Retta
seemed to need supporting by Lord
Westbury Wayne.
Well, the story of our rescue was
very simple, after all. Our passage
upstream and our failure to return
had been noted, as Forbes had fore
seen. But, better than all, the cap
tain of u d~ahabeeyah had escaped
and made his way on foot to Korosko,
whence a message vas forwarded to
Assouan that the tribesmen were
"out." Lastly, the sheik's messengers
with our letters were captured, our
plight and place of detention thus be-
coming definitely known. But ours was
a narrow escape, Capt. Barclay as
sured lis.