Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1913-05-17

| tuaI warfare. thrust George back so
vigorously that the young man lost
! his balance and fell prone upon the
! sand He was so weak that the fall
! stunned him. Mahomed stepped for
ward. doubtless with the generous i'm
/ pulse TO prove that IN the matter of
/ kicks he desired to show no partial
/ !ty. when a hand caught at his bur
mouse. lie paused and looked down.
Il was the girl
"Dc1'! a brave man would not do
that"
Nahomcd. moved by some feeling
that eluded Immediate analysis.
turned about II was time 10 be of
! If he wished 70 reach Serapeum the
! following night. Pursuit he knew to
7 he ont Of the question, since who
was there to know that there was any
thing to pursue? But many miles in
/ tcrvened between here and his desti.
! nation. He dared not enter Serapeum
in the daytime Lying upon the canal
bank rs !. did, the possibility of en-
/ couniering a stray white man CON
/
| duented by Europeans must of ne
| cessity be avoided. every town Of any
| size skirted and all the while he must
| keep parallel with known paths or be
| come lost himself Not to become
! lost himself. that was his real con
! Germ. The caravan was provisioned
! for months. and he knew Asia-Minor
| u.on l.
! There were sand-st0rms, too: but
! against these blighting visitations he
would match his vigiiant eve and the
| instinct of the cameis. The one way
| I'm which these peculiar storms might
| distress him lay in the total obltera-
tion OF the way-signs. certain rocks.
J certain hills. without the guidance Of
which. like n good ship bereft Of It's
compass. be might fall away from his
course. Notwithstanding that he would
always travel toward the sun
And there was also the vital 1ues-
| ton of water; ne must measure the
| time between each well, each oasis.
So. then. aside from these dangers
with which he felt able to cope. there
! was one unforeseen: the chance meet
ing with wandering caravan headed
by white men in search of rugs and
| carpets. These fools were eternaiIy
hunting about the wastes of the
world; they were never satisfied IN
less they were prowIing into countries
where they had no business to be. were
always breaking the laws OF the ca
lphs and the Koran.
The girl was beautiful in her pale,
foreiGn way; beautiful as the star OF
the morning. as the first rose of the
| Persian spring; and he sighed for
the old days that were no more. She
would have brought a sultans ransom
in the markets. hut the accursed
Feringhi were everywhere, and these
sickly IL handsome white women were
more to them than their hearts blood :
why. he had never ceased to wonder.
But upon this knowledge he had
mapped out his plan of torture in re-
gard to RyanHe. The idea of selling
| Fortune had dimly formed in his
mind. while his blood had burned in
| anger; but tOday's soberness showed
him the futility of such a procedure
lie would have to make the best OF n
! foolish move: for the girl would
eventually prove an encumbrance. At
any rate. he would wiring one white
mans heart till it beat dry In his
breast. That her health might be ru-
ined, that she might sicken and die.
in no manner aroused his pity. This
attribute was destined never to be
awakened in Mahomed's heart
The hsweh, the kisweh, always the
Holy Yhiordes; that he must have.
even If he had to forego the pleasure
of breaking Ryanne. He was 100 old
to start life anew; at least, too old
to stir ambition. He had welded au-
thority too many years to surrender 1t
lightly; Ire had known too long his
golden-ffaked tobacco. his sherbet.
his syrupy coffee. the pleasant loaf
ing in the bazaars with his merchant
friends. To return to the palace. TO
confess to the Pasha that his careless
ness had lost him the rug, would re-
suit either in death or Punishment;
and so fer as he was concerned he
had no choice. the one was as bad as
the other. So. If the young fool Who
had bought the rug of Ryanne told
tie truth when he declared thar II
had been stolen again. then Ryanne
knew where 1t was; and he could be
made to tell: he, Mahomed. would at