Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1912-11-01
Between
Friends
A Tale Of the . .$s-'
Desert
BY CLARIssA .MACKIH


the intense heat. The sun shone bra
zenly down from a merciless blue sky
Shifting winds had riffled the sands
into wavelets. with here and there d
mountainous billow.
Winding in and out among the bill
lows were shallow indentations-came
tracks In the sand.
Ford Cameron turned to his compan
lon.
How long, Abdl"
The Arab leaned from his horse un
I'll his face almost touched the sand
With a single movement Of his 1.-THE
body he sat upright again. "Ten min
utes, salre," he said, with a shrug OF
the shoulder
Cameron frowned.
1.-THE last caravan we ran into tried
to rob us Of what the others hadn't
stolen" he muttered
"Thls Is the same one, effendi," re-
marked Abdi.
How do you know that% Cam.
eron's tone was sharp.
Again the Arab shrugged. II known
LET us go another way, them" sug-
gested the American impatiently. my
Journey to the ancient ruins Of Glib,
where am TO Join the archaeological
expedition, has already been inter
rupted five times by encounters with
bandits and holdups by both italian
and Turkish scouting parties. Is there
no other route we may take--one that
is less frequented"
Adds fierce glance seemed to over
leap the beloved desert and became
concentrated on the far horizon, where
something gllttered for an instant and
then vanished.
'There is n different route that may
prove to DO safer" he said at last.
LEAD the way, them" ordered Cam
eron lmpatiently.
Obedlently the Arab wheeled his
horse to the left, away from the route
which they had chosen and which was
the same taken by the thleving cara.
van whose camel tracks had mOmen-
tarily halted their journey.
As Cameron followed his guide he
occasionally threw glance over to
the right, where one might reasonably
expect TO glimpse some trace OF the
caravan which had passed only ten
minutes before. He was hoping that
they would elude the thievlng Arabs
who had plundered their provisions and
tried to steal their horses. A quick
haftln with automatic N
repeating rife had put the Arabs to
flight. But they lowered near. One
days uninterrupted Journey would
bring him TO the expedition camp
the site Of ancient Glib. Urgent bus
ness had prevented his Joining the par.
ty at the appointed place; consequent
ly he had TO make this lonely trip
across northern Tripoli with the un.
certain loyalty Of an Arab dragoman
as his sole dependence,
Cameron decided to be on the look.
out for trenchery from his dragoman
"What Is thatT' he asked suddenly.
Abdi inclined his ear respectfully. A
faint yapping sound broke the stiffness
"Jackals." declared Abdl. Struggling
his shoulders
Cameron knew that the Arab He'd
and felt that his suspicious were con
frmed Therefore he said nothing.
He drank some strong coffee OF his
own preparation and ato few timed
biscuits from his own saddlebngs. lie
decided not TO sleep that night In an
unguarded moment Abdi might muir.
der him with a shot from the silver
mounted rifle he carried slung over
his burn0ose.
Cameron propped his saddle against
a sand hill0ck and, sitting down, lean.
ed his head against the leather bags
His cartridge belt was buckled outside
his cont and in either hand he held an
automatic revolver
The three horses, Adds, his own
and the pack horse, which carried his
luggage, were grouped near at hand
Once again there came tho distant
cry-of the jackals7 Cameron believed
otherwise. AbdI turned his head away
and listened
ut Is signal cry" thought Cam
eron. who knew something Of the wire
less teIegraphy Of the desert tribes
II wonder If It relates to my affairs
or are they on the trail Of Italian
scontsf Very likely they are on the
scent Of other game-somethIng big
ger than | can offer with my meager
equipment and silver witch"
After awhile he arose and stretched
himself, offering a splendid target for
Adds rifle. but the tall Arab did not
even turn his head. He was staring
out into the fathomless gloom Of the
desert as II his falcon eyes would
pierce its mysteries.
Cameron remained standing. He
felt vague uneasiness creeping over
him. He thought he heard footsteps
padding TO and fro in the soft sand
among the hiIlocks. There seemed TO
be burden OF whispering in the still
air, but whenever no grew rigid and
tense with listening there was moth.
ing save the murmuring breeze trou.
bling the grains OF sand.
The horses stirred restlessly and one
Of them whinnied. Cameron caught
the beginning OF an answering whlnny
1T was never ended. Something
stiAed II into silence.