Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-14
The Argus Daily Story
The Rose Scorf-By Clarissa MaclSie.
Copyrighted. 1911. by Associated Literary Bureau.

against the low stone table.
~ am very sorry murmured Are
you quite sure your daughter has not
chosen wisely? Does she love?
AYE. she loves the wrong man. even
as did the Princess Anem, who was
never a greater coquette than my saucy
Leila. Leila believes she is in love
with Fedar. the water carrier. when
my neighbor here, Hashour, the silk
merchant, is impatiently waiting to
carry her off as his BRIDE
II peeped into the next bazaar and
was rewarded with glimpse of the
desirable Hashour. an enormously fat
man as old as Leila's father and very
ugly of feature. He was asleep and
snoring audibly.
"'You want her TO marry thatT l al
most shrieked at him, and as spoke
| was conscious that the white shadow
had returned to the shop. 1t paused
behind the seller of scarfs as if waiting
for his answer.
The old man nodded. He is rich.'
he said briefly she could have had
the scarf of the Princess Anem for a
gift IL she had been obedient. But she
is saucy and will not wait upon her
stepmother as she should, and. worst
of all, she swears she will marry the
water carrier or disgrace me by re-
manning single l am afflicted indeed
but madame has not chosen to buy the
rose scarf? It is the choicest of my
stock His voice changed magically
to a bargaining whine.
"'You cannot want to sell It You
better forgive your daughter, let her
marry Fedar and wear the rose scarf,
i Numbered.
HE dashed the scarf impatiently
down. 'Neveri If madame does not
buy it will sell 1t to the next conner,
and will soon have a customer for
it he ended craftily, and lifted my
head and looked behind me to see a
group of American women coming
post haste toward the bazaar.
THAT was enough for me. I paid
an absurd price for the scarf. James,
you shall never know. AS 1 tucked It
away with the other purchases l had
made 1 heard long drawn sigh from
the white shadow as 1t vanished.
at was in the next street that a
girl came flying up to me and lightly
touched my arm. A pair of dark
flashing eyes shone above the gauze
that yelled her face, and-well. any
| girl with a pair Of eyes like those
must have been exquisitely beautiful.
| knew at once that 1t was the en-
! bodiment of the shadow that had
lurked behind the seller of scarfs, and
! l guessed that 1t was his daughter
| Leila, she who loved Fedar the water
carrier.
"She addressed me In a low. mu-
steal voice. mixture of broken
! French and fluent Arabic. She thank
ed me for the words / had spoken to
her father concerning her marriage.
She glggled with delight over my hor-
ror at the fairness of Hashour, the silk
merchant and her despised sutton.
Then she made an appeal. She want
ed to come with me as my maid and
travelling companion, only as far as
Alexandria. where her water carrier
had gone to work on the new wharfs
as sort of foreman"
Mrs. Hanford stopped abruptly. The
great vessel was drawing near to the
Egyptian city, lying like a jeweled
necklace along the blue Mediterranean.
In the roadstead the great anchors
ratified down into the moonlit water,
myriads of little boats surrounded the
ocean liner. and a steam tug hustled
from the shore. All was confusion
below on the Neptune
'Well?" inquired Mr.. Hanford, break
ing the silence that had fallen upon the
group.
Let us see If all is WELL murmured
his wife, and so the seven. half under
standing the real romance they had
been listening to, followed her to the
ships rail.
As they leaned over. watching a small
boat whose single oarsman was espe-
cially insistent in getting close to the
Neptune's landing stairs. Mrs. Hanford
uttered an exclamation of delight. and
they all turned to see such vision OF
beauty as is seldom vouchsafed to
western eyes.
IL was Leila. daughter of the seller
of scarfs. Her exquisite face was I'M
yelled and shone a vision of rose and
ivory and melting onyx eyes from the
background of q long hooded black
cIOdh. hduame. II - IaTeWell: she
half wept holding out little white
hands TO Mrs. Hanford.
Mrs. Hanford tossed the rose scarf
over the lovely head and then impul-
sively kissed the lips of Leila. Go to
thy Fedar, Leila. aud be happy forever
after" she whispered. and. with JOY
Gus laugh, the girl went Later they
saw her enter the boat with the single
oarsman. and the two disappeared
down silvery track of water
Yours is the only story that has had
real ending" murmured Madeline
Trayle as they went back to their
chairs
"All stories have real ending II one
only waits long enough. laughed Mrs
HaDford.
i wonder-I wonder what was In
that scarf" unused Arthur Clayton
aloud
The spirit OF the east" returned
Professor Trayle promptly. and nobody
contradicted him.