Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1913-02-19

without thought OF reward, unselfish-
1y, with great and tender pity, for I'M
| consciously he saw that she, like he,
was all alone, not only here in the
desert, but along the highways where
men set up their dwellings,.
, Mahomed, having an eye upon all
things, though apparently seeing only
that which was under his immediate
concern, saw the young mans inten-
ton, and more, read the secret in his
face. He was infinitely amused.
! There were two Of them, so it seemed.
| Quietly he slipped in between George
and the girl, and his movement freed
| Georges mind of it's bewilderment.
Unhesitatingly, he flung himself upon
the Arab, striving to reach the lean,
brown throat. Mahomed, strong and
| unwearied, having no hand in the &C
tual warfare, thrust George back so
vigorously that che 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
ity, when a hand caught at his bur-
mouse. He paused and looked down.
1t was the girl.
Don't! A brave man would not do
that"
Mahomed, moved by some feeling
that eluded immediate analysis,
turned about. 1t was time to be off,
| if he wished to reach Serapeum the
following night. Pursuit he knew to
be out of the question, since who
was there to know that there was any
thing to pursue? But many miles in
tervened between here and his desti-
nation. He dared not enter Serapeum
in the daytime. Lying upon the canal
bank as it did, the possibility of en-
cOunterinig a stray white man con-
fronted him. Every camel-way fire.
quented 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
i for months, and he knew Asia-Minor
as well as the lines upon his palms.
There were sand-storms, too; but
against these blighting visitations he
would match his vigilant eye and the
instinct of the camels. The one way
! in which these peculiar storms might
distress him lay in the total oblitera-
ton of the way-signs, certain rocks,
certain hills, without the guidance Of
which, like a good ship bereft of it's
compass, he might fall away from his
course, notwithstanding that he would
always travel toward the sun.
And there was also the vital ques-
ton of water; he must measure the
time between each we'll, each oasis.
So, then, aside from these dangers
with which he felt able to cope, there
was one unforeseen: the chance meet
ing with a wandering caravan headed
by white men in search Of rugs and
carpets. These fools were etelnally
hunting about the wastes Of the
world; they were never satisfied un-
less they were prowling into countries
where they had no business to be, were
always breaking the laws Of the ca,
1pnS ana the Koran.
The girl was beautiful in her palA
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 sultan's ransom
in the markets. But the accursed
Feringhi were everywhere, and these
| CT ho
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 Ryanne. 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.
He would have to make the best of
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 kisweh, the kisweh, always the
Holy Yhiordes; that he must have,
even If he had to forego the pleasure
of breaking Ryanne. He was too old
to start life anew; at least. too old
TO stir ambition. He had welded au-
thority too many years to surrender it
lightly; he had known too long his
golden-faked 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 far 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
| fh.0 xryI1o =,