Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-08-14
CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XII.
Tho Caravan In the Desert.
Yes. George vanished from the
haunts Of men az completely as II the
Great Roc had dropped him into the
Valley Of Diamonds and left him
there: and - nobody knows just
where the Valley Of Diamonds IL,
George was very well lost. Still. there
was. at the end Of most unique ex.
perienoe. . recompense far beyond its
value. But, Of course, George, being
without tho gift of clairvoyance. saw
nothing save the immediate and irnmi.
nent circumstances: q door that
banged behind him, portentously: =
sack. a cloak. a burnouse, or whatever
It was. flung about his head. and
smelling evilly.
George hit out valiantly. and q mer>
ry scufne ensued. The room was
small; at least. George thought It was.
for in the space Of one minute he
thumped against the four sides Of It.
He could see nothing and he couldn't
breathe very we'll; but In spite OF
these Inconvenience he put up three
rounds that would have made some
stir among the middleweights. In the
phraseology Of the fancy, he had q
good punch. All the disappointments
Of the day seemed to become 30 many
pounds Of steam In his shoulder; and
he was aware Of q kind Of barbaric
Joy whenever he hit some one. All
the circumspection Of years, all OF
the gentle blood Of his peaceful for.
bears, gave way to the strain which
still turks in the blood Of civilized hui.
manity. even in the veins Of poets and
parsons. He fought with all the tao
tics OF sailor in barroom. not over
nicely.
A table toppled over with = smash
Ing noise. George and his assailants
fell in a heap beside it. Thwack!
Bang! George struggled to his feet
and tugged at the sitting envelope
Some one jumped upon his back. Old
Man Of the Sea style. A savage elbow
jab disposed of this incubus. And
then tho racket began all over again
George never paused mentally to won
der what all this rumpus was about;
time enough to make inquiries after
the scrimmage. Intrepid1y, as Here
ward the Wake, as Busy daembois.
as Porthos In the cave Of Loch-Maria,
George fought. He wasn't trained
athlete; he hadn't any science: he
was simply ordinarily tough and &C.
tive and clean-lived; and the injustice
Of an unprovoked assault added to
physical prowess full measure Of
nervous energy. It was Quasi-Homer'
&c: Q modern young gentleman in eve.
ming dress holding OF for several min.
utes I'VE sleek, sinewy, unhampered
Arabs. But the days Of the gods were
no more; and no quick.witted goddess
cast veil across the eyes Of the
Arabs. No; George had to shift for
himself. Suddenly there came q gen.
eral rush from the center Of the room
into one Of the Rectangular corners.
The subsequent snarl Of legs and
arms was not unlike that seen upon
the football deld. George was the
man with the ball. And then to
George came morcirdl darkness. The
conjunction, az in astronomy. Of two
planets In the same degree Of the 20
diac-meaning Georges head and the
the Arabs complete
mastery Of the field Of battle.
From tho opposite side Of the room
came the voice Of the referee:
Curses Of Allah upon these white
dogs! How they hght!" And Ma.
homed peered down into tho corner.
One by one the Arabs got up. each
examining his honorable wounds.
George alone remained unmoved. quiet
and disinterested. under the folds of
the tattered burnouse.
''Is he dead?" demanded Mahomed.
EMO, my father. His head hit the
wall"
"Hasten, then. Bind his feet and
hands and cover his eyes and mouth.
We have but little time"
There was q long way to go, and
Mahomed was too wise and cautious
to congratulate himself ut this carly
stage. George was thereupon trussed
up like q Christmas fowl ready for
the oven. They wrapped him up In
the burnouse and carried him out to
the closed carriage in waiting. No
one in tho street seemed curious. No
one In the Enslish-Bar deemed It nee.
sssary to be. Whatever happened IN
this resort had long been written in
the book OK fate. Had . white man
approached to inquire what was going
on. Nahomed would have gravely
whispered that it was case Of
plague they were hurrying away to
prevent interference By the English
authastues.
Once GeorDo was snug inside the
carriage. IL was driven OF at run
toward the tombs Of the caliphs. AZ
the roads were not tho levelest, the
vehicle went most OF the way upon
two wheels. Mahomsd sat beside his
victim. watchful and attentive. JIis
intention was to take him no far
Their than the outskirts OF the city,
force him to aend back 10 the botel
q duly credited messenger Tor ne
rug. after which be would turn GeorSs
adrift, with the rsasonable assurance
that the young man would nnd some
one to Guide him back to tho hotel.
After while hs observed that George
had recovered and was grimly lighting
thu innrinoninN eoun~ 31t4 ~