Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-01-17

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his face was stained and streaked.
His head lay in the sand. his soft Fee
dora crushed under his shoulders.
What with the bruises visible, the
rents in his coat, the open Shirt
soiled, crumpled, collarless. he In
vited pity; only none came from the
busy Arabs. AS he slept. a frown
gathered upon his face and remained
there.
When he came back from his
troubled dreams, q bowl or rlce'
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 ne
would need strength; and the recur-
ring 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, laugh
ing. George lay down again. Let
them cut his throat If they wanted to;
it was all the same to him. Again he
slept, and when he was roughly ana
forcibly awakened, he sat up with a
snarl and looked about.
His head was clear now, and he
began to take notes. He counted
ten, eleven, twelve camels, a car
van in truth, prepared for a long and
continuous 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 a rich man, whether he
owned the camels or hired them for
the occasion. Upon n Of the beasts
they were putting up a MAMMAL, a can
opy used to protect women from the
| sun while riding. One Arab, taller,
more robust than the others, moved
hither and thither authoritatively.
Wound about his tarboosh or fez was
a bright green cufa, signifying that
the wearer had made the pilgrimage
to Holy Mecca. This individual
George assumed to be Mahomed him
self. 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 the chance.
Mahomed completed his directions
and walked leisurely toward George,
but his attention raj not directed
toward him. A short distance away,
at Georges left, was a man, stretched
out as If in slumber. Over his inert
figure Mahomed watched. He drew
back his foot and kicked the sleeping
man soundly, smiling amiably the
while; a kick which, had Mohamed's
foot been cased in western leather
must have stove in the sleeper's ribs
Strange, the victim did not stir. Ma
homed shrugged, and returned to the
business of breaking camp.
George was keenly interested II
this man who could accept such g
kick apparently without feeling or re
sentiment. He stood up for a better
>iew. One glance was sufficient. i
was Ryanne, the erstwhile affabl'
Ryanne of the reversible cuffs: his
feet and hands still in bondage, hi'
clothes torn, his face battered ant
bruised like a sailors Of a Sunday
morning on ~shore-leave. The sight O
Ryanne frightened him considerably
Although he was %singularly free from
the spirit of malevolence, he was, nev
ertheless, human enough to subscribe
to that unwritten and much denied
creed that the misery Of one man rec
onciles another to his. And here wa
company such as misery loved; her
was a man worse of than himself
whose prospects were a thousand
times blacker. Poor devil! And her
he was, captive Of the men he hal
wronged and beaten and robbed. A
seen through Georges eyes, Ryanne'
outlook was not a pleasant thing t
contemplate. But oh! the fight thi
one must have been! II it had take
five natives to overcome him, no,
many had 1t taken to beat Ryann
into such a shocking condition? H
was genuinely sorry for Ryanne, bu
in his soul he "a glad to see hin
One white man could accomplis
nothing in the face of these odds; blu
, two white men, that was a differen
, matter. Ryanne, once he got his legl
? strong, courageous, resourceful, R.
anne would get them both out Of
|, somehow. . And II Ryann
, hadn't the rug, who the dickens had
= The tumble of questions that ros
in his mind, seeking nswer to tn
} riddle OF Yhiordes rug, subsidized eve
as they rose. The bundle to the ia
side of Ryanne stirred. He had, in b
: general survey Of the scene, barrel
8 set a glance upon it, believing 1t I
be a conglomeration of saddle-bas
e (made Of wool and cotton and blal
kets. 1t stirred again. George stu,
led 1t with a peculiar sense of detac.
ment. A woman; a woman in VIII;
had but recently been a smart Pari
ian tAilor-made street-dress. tt
t woman, rubbing her eyes. bore he
self up painfully to a sitting postur
She was white. All the blows of Il
d night past were as nothing In col
parison with this invisible one viii,