Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-09-20

mis- cieverness. Where is the kis
lweh?"
"The kisweh?"
"The Holy Yhiordes. Where is it?'
THAT l refuse to tell you. YouI
word Of honor first, to bind the bar
gain"
Ryanne laughed. 1t acted upon Ma.
homed like a goad. He raised the
whip, and had Ryanne's gaze swerved
the part of an inch, the blow would
have fallen.
you laugh?" snarled Mahomed.
why yes. A bargain with youi
honor makes me laugh"
'"And your honor?" returned Ma.
Ihomed fiercely. He wondered why he
held his hand. IT have matched trick.
cry against trickery. Ny honor has
mot been called. I fed you, gave
you drink; in return you lied to me,
dishonored me in the eyes of my
friends, and one Of them you killed"
1T was my life or his" exclaimed
iRyanne, not relishing the recital Of
this phase. 1T was my life or his;
and he was upon my back"
Fortune shuddsred. Presently she
laid her hand upon Mahomed's arm.
Would you take my word of honor?"
Mahomed sought her eyes. yes
I read truth in your eyes. Bring me
the rug, and my word Of h'-or to you,
you shall go free"
:. But my friends"
Zone of them" Mahomed laughed
unpleasantly. 1t was an excellent idea.
Zone Of them shall go free with you.
It VIII be for you to choose which.
Now, you dog, laugh, laugh" and the
tongue Of the kurbash bit the dust
within an inch Of Ryanne's feet.
What shall / do?" asked Fortune
lmiserably. '~~
Accept" urged Ryanne. IF you
are afraid to choose one or the other
OF US, Jones and I will spin CON-"
Il agree" said George, very unhap.
lDy.
Have you any paper, Jones%
George searched. He found the
dance-card to the ball at the hotel. In
another pocket ha discovered the little
pencil that went with It.
! You write" said Mahomed to For.
tune.
81 intend to-" Fortune took the card
and pencil and wrote as follows:
Mother: Horace, Mr.. Jones and | are
prisoners Of the man who owned the
rug which you viii find in the large
steamer-roll. Give It to the courier
who brings this card. And under no
circumstances set spies upon his
track" In French she added: 1--WE
are bound for Bagdad. In case Mo.
hamed receives the rug and We are
not liberated, wire the embassy at
Constantinople and the consulate at
Bagdad. FORTUNE"
She gave it to Mahomed.
Read it out loud" he commanded.
While he spoke English fluently, he
could neither read nor write it in any
serviceable degree. The note he had
given to Fortune had been written by |
a friend of his in the bazaars who had |
upon a time lived in New York. For
tune read slowly, slightly flushing as |
she evaded the French script.
THAT will do" Mahomed agreed.
He, shouted for one Of the boys, |
0ade him saddle the hagin or racing
camel, which Of all those twelve, alone |
was his, and be off to Cairo. The boy |
dipped his bowl into the kettle, ate
greedily, saddled the camel, and five
minutes later was speeding back
toward Cairo at a gait that would |
bring him there late that night.
Fortune and George and Ryanne
watched him till he disappeared below
a dip and was gone from view. In
the minds of the three watchers the
same question rose: would he be too
late? George was cheerful enough
thereafter, but his cheerfulness was
not of the infectious kind.
At noon. the caravan was once more
upon its way. Ryanne was able to
hide. The fumes Of whatever drug
had been administered to him had
finally evaporated, and he felt only
bruised, old, disheartened. An evil
day for him when he had set forth
for Bagdad in quest of the rug. He
was confident that there would be no
rug awaiting the courier, and what
would be Mahomed's procedure when
the boy returned empty-handed was
not difficult to imagine. Mahomed
was right; so far honor had not en-
tered into the contest. According to
his lights, the Arab was only paying
coin for coin. But for the girl, Ry.
anne would have accepted the situa-
ton with a shrug, to await that mo-
ment when Mahomed, eased by the
sense of security, would naturally re-
lax vigilance. The presence of For
tune changed the whole face of the
affair. Mahomed could have his eyes
and heart If he would but spare her.
He must be patient; he must accept
insults, even physical violence, but
some day he and Mahomed would play
the final round.
His past, his foolish, futile past: all
the follies, all the petty crimes, all
the low designations in which he had
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