Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1913-04-03
CHAPTER xxvilI.
A Final Problem,

A Final Problem.
Il 10 doubtful whether IN oil Egypt
there was ever such another period Of
Joyous thanksgiving - that which fol.
lowed the bringing Of Cameron to the
little hotel in Port Said. ! Am In
ciined to question. too. whether in The
space of a single waking day four per-
sons ever talked more. or with more
mutual interest, than did the four Of
us there gathered. The heat. the flies.
the poor food, and the miserable &C
comodations, generally. were not
merely gladly tolerated, but absolutely
disregarded. In the exuberance Of our
rejoicing, annoyances which had
loomed large on the preceding day
dwindled to the imperceivabls; aLG
from early morning until late night ex'
periences were exchanged. adventures
told and speculations indulged in.
Washed, scrubbed. shaved. shorn
and clad in raiment put at his disposal
by the indefatigable Hartley. Cameron
appeared wonderfully well-looking. In
deed was amazed by his appearance
and by his condition. I had feared to
find him q mental and physical ruin.
I had feared even for his life. And
he had come to us. II we might Judge
by outward seeming. stronger. more
robust, less nervously relaxed than
when he disappeared.
AT first" he told u. 40 We eat at
breakfast in little upper room OF the
hotel. Evelyn close on his right. DR..
Addison at his left. and I o. sits
him. 81 suppose did suffer. whe. sver
was conscious. which. fortunately, l
think. was comparatively seldom.
They dosed me almost continuously
with what believe to have been some
attribute Of opium. 20 that even IN my
waking moments was not wholly nor
NAL. In this way. Of course. ] lost al
count Of time. And 90. zoo. am un.
able to give events In sequence. Ny
first conscious moment after being on
the deck Of the Sibylla found me
strapped In a navtow berth ON q rapid.
but rather rough-riding craft Of appar-
emily much smaller dimension than
the yacht, and with q Chinese boy sit
ting beside me. You can fancy my
startled amazement at The sudden
transition. In vain I asked questions.
In vain ! struggled to rise. Then l
shouted. and the Chinese boy lighted
what appeared to be an ordinary Joss
stick on stand at the head Of my
berth. and withdrew from the tiny
cabin. Insensibility followed quickly.
After that ! have q vague. dreamy
recollection Of eating something with
Q strange. spicy flavor. which seemed
only to add TO my stupor. Once !
dreamed-at least think II must have
been q dream--that ! was In Q dark
boa, 30 eramped that my bones ached.
and that far away above me were 1T.
tie holes through which the light
came in luminous fan.like rays that
glowed against the black" =
I'm inclined to think II was no
dream" ! put In. recalling the news.
paper story had read in my brokers'
Office. In Wall street. THE probabili.
ties are that you were shipped In
that box from Fall River to New York,
and a certain influential Chipaman,
called Yup Sing. knew all about IT,"
IT'S quite possible" Cameron went
on. Il know that It was very difiicult
to distinguish. In those days, between
dreams and realities. Eventually, how.
ever. ! awoke to find myself on the
Glamorganshine. quartered with the
men In the forecastle. q beard well
grown and my clothes the coarsest
sort Of mariners outfit. For . while
was far too III for labor. The reac-
tion from the drugs which had been
caused me the keenest
suffering. But. gradually. l came
about. and was set to work with paint
pot and brush. The humanity shown
me at this time was surprising. I
couldn't comprehend It. But I realised
eventually that my strength was being
'ostered for future torment"