The Washington times., 1910-11-05

and tanned as dark You look less ike
the spruce Hugh SJandish / knew at
Cambridge than like a Bedouin rigged
up In American clothes"
had scant appetite for the rather
toothsome meal our hosts sent out to
us. Broiled goats flesh. lentli stew,
curds, honey, and unleavened bread
were it's chief componeTts. and they
were daintily prepared. But eating was
an eject. The dregs Of the fever were
still upon me, rendering me cross, list
less. and very weary. 1 knew / was
liable TO have a restless. dream-ridden
night in consequence Of all this.
Nor was / mistaken l fell into a
troubled sleep as soon as 1 stretched
myself out In my tent Presently
awoks and tossed TO and fro in a vain,
sick effort TO recall the slUmber that
eluded me tried all the old eX-
pedients-counted up to 500, repeated
nursery rhymes and enumerated a flock
OF imaginary sheep. jumping a visionary
wall But all to no purpose. I felt a
morbid wish that the imaginary jump
Ing sheep might fall and break their
equally unreal necks. Ny head ached
and .elt light The atmosphere OF the
tent stifed me.
MOsina- softly. to avoid waking Jack.
I crept out into the open. The low moon
shed a ghostly, deceptive light over the
rocky plain The BedOuin tents lay
black and still. A stray scavenger dog
bayed IN the farther streets OF the en-
DIntALs Nils DCy Gnu CH-tlt
the sharp yelp Of jackals, the occasional
ho- I OF a wolf or the hystericaI laugh
Of hyena-
moved across the narrow open space
dividing our tents from those Of our
hosts. Finding a soft strip OF sand I
threw myself down In the moonlight
and tried to sleep. This true was more
successful. l had fallen iL to a doze, and
the usual fever shapes OF my dreams
began TO move before me One by one
H. III
came a sense Of great peace. Dimly. l
felt that some one was bending above
me- I opened my eyes IN drowsy con-
tCnt and looked upward
Leaning over me was a woman, clad
IN clinging, dark robe. A mantilla OF
hood framed her head. In her hair
RloWed fragrant acacia flower. Her
face was dark, soft of contour, large,
and lustrous OF eye The mother face
had so often seen IN my slunbers!
Never before had II seemed to me so
vivid, so utterly real and near as now.
The illusion. hitherto. had faded when
] opened my eyes. Now Il did not IN
my dreamy happiness 1 wondered at this
and deemed myself still asleep. Yet, to-
Eight. In the mOOnshfne. she seemed Hv-
Ing, breathing, young, intensely mortal
Still the face Of my childhood dreams
but unaccountably human. This vision
whole life.
those fathomless dark eyes. How long
the spell lasted I cannot know. But AZ
last sometlng stirred In the shadows
beyond. The face moved-not to van
ish as OF old. but to draw back ui4h !.
title start as Of fright
At the motion the acacia flower
whose actual fra GRANGE was part OF the
marvel, slipped from the dusky coils az
her hair and fell athwarr my face At
the same moment I felt her breath
warm on my brow.
The charm Of stiffness was shattered
With longing past all conrroI'I spranr
up throwing out my arms TO her and
madiy crying:
Mother
She glided from my embrace like q
cloUd-shape and was gonel
l stood alone, dazed, trembling. be-
wiidered-
1t was a dream like the restl" 7
muttered at last 10 myself, Choking
back a sob born Of my weakened nerves.
"A dream-but--"
/ paused There. on the ground At
my feet. its fragrance still poignantly
sweet, lay crushed acacia flower.