The Washington times., 1910-11-18

long. dusty line we Numbered At a
r. nd in the tortuous road I struck
acrOss open country by way OF a snort
cut toward the rear As 1 dashed past
an acacia thiCket noted HAM. attend
ed b. two OF ms suite, Canterlug toEaT q
me Coming forward from the rear ne
had evidently made use OF the same con
VeDlent short cut At sight Of me has
I face contracted before ne could slip over
{ Il his usual mask OF inpassivity- one
/ OF MS men looked inQuIrlngly at the
Sheik- Then ali three glanced toward
I the road. as though calculating the
/ chances Of observation from any OF the
passing tribe
Bringing my horse to a staandstiII. with
/ the aCacias still screening me from the
main body Of the troop, 1 awaited the
/ JTi0-s approach.
[ day, . my COusiul'' I called jeeringiy as
Z Hatlz drew near. ] saw that my ma
neUver puzzled him, and laughed at
( his perplexity.
You seek speech with me. 7 think.
Z and IN private I added. We'll, here
I / stand. unseen by my friends The
time seems ripe L regret that / could
not give you notice in time for You TO
/ prepare me Nile asp, a hidden assisSin,
/ or a fash Of poisoned wine But per-
hapSy since you lack your favOr1te
I weapons, you may deign to make use OF
your saber2''
/ The three u.en had scattered, in their
{ advance, as though TO asSail me from
/ various points Hafiz's sword was half
Waltz I shouted, whipping out my
I revolver This toy Of mine shoots
( six times without relOading- 1t is
not a clumsy tool. like the dintlOcks
you gentle murdererS carry II your
/ two jackals advance another step ]
( viii open fire. Then there viii be
three sCOundreIs slipping IN company
/ from the earth into the red depths,
4 \ GU two others halt where you are!
I Let the Sheik Hafiz advance alone,
/ and we viii try the temper OF our
swords without further"
o Jack Penn, who had been numbering
along on my trail, his bulky weight
pace than mine, now caught Up with
me and glanced in wonder at The hest-
tsnt men was haranguing.
Jack" / called IN English over my
& shoulder. slipping my pistol back into
my belt, keep those two fellows COW
cred while Hafiz and I fight
Then I rode forward curved sabeT IN
hand, to attack. Hafiz spoke no word
Like Cornered rat his eyes cleaned
and the Ions, cruel teeth sHcWed white
behind his back-drawn lips But he
showed no fear. there wat even saw
age joy in his face While he would
doubtless have preferred to siay me II
his own way, yet he none the less viii
Ing greeted this form Of settling the
matter
For months I had daily practiced
saber fencing. I had, moreover, beer
lucky enough 10 hold q place in the old
days on the bToadsword team in Har-
Yards fencing club.
Hence, the combat with so renowned
a swOrdsman as Hafiz Himself was no
one-Sided affair IF he was the quicker
I was the better athlete n reach we
were about equal
Our horses bounded under a simulta
HeOus squirting, and our blades met with
q clash The fight was on.
Fencing on horseback Is about as
easy as Waiting on the deck Of a roll
ing ship The excited, pIunging horses
require expert handling; and many a
good blow or parry IS turned to naught
BY the unforeseen rearing Of backing OF
ones mount Yet there IS a splendid ex-
hilaration about the sport. and for the
moment was almost happy-for the
nrst time in weeks Ny arch-foe was al
my swords point ] was primal man
once more. warning for my life.
Our desert-bTed chargers bit and
dashed out at each other as we. their
/ riders exchanged lightning thrust,
\ slash and parry
Even Hafiz took the aggressive, seek
Ing some weak spot in my guard Of
whirliug steel. And ever I sought To
slip past or beat down his blade. and