Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-01-25
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Presently George became aware Of
a singular fact that he could see out
Of one eye better than the other and
that the semi-useless orb shot out lit
tie stars with every beat of his heart.
One of his ears, too, began to throb
and burn He felt of it. 1t was less
like an ear than mushroom. 1t had
been rafting good mix-up. anyhow;
and he accepted the knowledge rather
proudly that the George Percival AL
English-Bar sprucely and had made
his exit in a kind of negligible attire,
had left behind one character and
brought away another. Never again
was he going to be afraid Of anything;
never again was he going to be shy;
the tame tiger. as it We're, had had his
first taste of blood. 81.
Dawn. dawn; il only the horizon
would brighten up a little so that he
could get his bearings. BY now they
We're at least fifteen or twenty miles
from Cairo; but in what direction?
Hour after hour went by; over this
huge grey roll of sand, down into that
c'lp-like valley: soundless save when
the camels protested or his stirrup
clinked against a buckle: all with the
somber aspect of a scene from Dante
Several black spots, moving in circles
far above. once attracted George; and
he knew. them to be kites, which will
follow a. caravan into the desert even
as a gull will follow ship out to sea-
Later, a torpid Indifference took pos
session of him, and the sense Of pain
grew less under the encrOachlng
numbness. '9
And when at last the splendor of the
dawn upon the desert flashed like
sword-blade along the sky in the east,
grew and Widened, George compre-
hended one thing clearly, that they
were in the Arabian desert, out of the
main travelled paths, in the middle of
nowhere.
His sense of beauty did not respond
to the marvel of the transformation
The dark grey of the sand-hills that
became violet at their bases, to fade
away upward into little pinnacles Of
shimmering gold: the drab, formless,
scattered boulders now assuming clear
cut shapes. transfused with ruby and
sapphire glowing; the sun itself that
presently lifted it's rosal warming cir
Gle above the stepping-off place
George saw but noted not. The physi-
cal picture was overshadowed by the
one he drew in his mind; the good
ship Ludwig, boring her way out into
the sea. .,,e ~. r..
The sun was free from the deserts
rim when the leading camel was
halted. A confusion ensued; the camels
following stupidity into one another,
in kind of panic Out of the silence
came babble of voices, granting.
a clatter of pack-baskets and saddle
bags. George. as his camel kneeled.
slid off involuntarily and tumbled
against small hillock, and lay there,
without any distinct sense of what
was going on round him. The sand,
fine and mutable, formed a couch
comfortingly under his aching body;
and he fell asleep, exhausted. Al
ready the impalpable dust, which had
risen and followed the caravan all
through the night, had powdered his
clothes, and his face was stained and
streaked. His head lay in the sand.
his soft Fedora crushed under his
shoulders. What with the bruises
visible, the rents in his coat, the open
shirt, soied, crumpled, collarless. he
invited pity; only none came from the
busy Arabs AS he slept frown gather
ed upon his face and remained there.
When he came back from his troub-
led dreams. a bowl of rice, thinned by
hot water, was given him. He cleaned
the bowl, not because he was hungry,
but because he knew that somewhere
along this journey he would need
strength: and the recurring fury
against his 'duress caused him to fling
the empty bowl at the head of the
camel-boy who had brought it. The
boy ducked laughing. George lay
down again. Let them cut his throat
of they wanted to: it was all the same
to him. Again he. slept, and when he
was roughly and forcibly awakened, he
sat up with a snarl and looked about
His head was clear now. and he be-
gan to take notes. He counted ten,
eleven, twelve camels; caravan in
truth, prepared for long and con.
tinuous journey. There were three
pack.camels, laden with wood, tents,
and such cooking utensils as the fru-
gal Arab had need of. Certainly Ma
homed was rich man, whether he
owned the camels or hired them for
the occasion Upon one of the beasts
they were putting up mammal, a
canopy used to protect women from the
sun while riding. One Arab. taller
more robust than the others. moved
hit1ler and thither authoritatively.
Wound about his torboosh or fez was
a bright green cufia, sfgnifying that
the wearer had made the pilgrimage
to Holy Mecca. This individual George
assumed to be Mahomed himself. And
he recognized him as the beggar over
whom he had stumbled two nights
gone. Pity he hadn't known. and
pitched him into the Nile when he had
had the chance. y
Mahomed completed his directions,
and walked leisurely toward George,
but his attention was not directed to-
ward him. A short distance away, at
Georges left, was, man, stretched
out is II in slumber. Over his inert
figure Mahomed watched. He drew
space has been given to deaths by sui
a;lo ~ o,oh Joofh.