Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1914-07-08

eddy, become conscious of dub pain
in the back Of my head, swallow a
dose Of quinine and lie down on the
carpet. Presently my teeth begin to
chatter. my limbs shake.
The dragoman watches my suffering
with sardonie Indifference. shall |
sit on tho Effendi's chest to keep him
warm?" he asks, with the air of a
benefactor.
But the ague goes as suddenly as 1t
came. and We climb into the saddle
and overlook the plain OF Antioch. Far
down below are the camel-hair tents
Of q few nomadic Arabs There. at
any rate. is shelter from the cutting
blast.
But the Arabs are not hospitable.
They haven't any beautiful mares for
whose sake they are prepared TO fling
back the strangers gold, What they
want is food. II we barter with them
they will give us sack of dried truf-
fles for shilling. Think OF I'll A
sack OF truflles for shilling.
The dragon nan. who is in league with
the muleteers and the captain Of the
escort. insidiously approaches. Eff
fendi. here are the trufTles. magnificent
trufiies. Hotchy Botchy (Hadji Basha,
the cook would like to make q stew
and put some In. He has plenty of
food from last night
Taken for Tax Collectors.
This means that the dragoman
wants 70 SIT inside an Arab tent and
smoke the narghileh of consolation
rather than push on What is day
or less. E,ffendi?" he asks insidiously.
When one comes to think OF It.
what lie d day more or less? Tomor-
row we shall find Aleppo in the same
place. II VIII not move away with the
passing hours. Very we'll Let there
be stew with truffles in It."
In a moment all is gaiety and ami
nation, The old Arab sheik looks at
us increduously. and explains through
his dragoman. that he has taken US
for tax collectors Hence his display
OF. abject poverty. win we come In
side?i 8siAlABk8 aH fAt
We go inside the long. wide. felt
tent, with its fire of dried cow dung
in the middle. BY this time we are
used to the acrid fumes and pay no
attention to them@ A hideously ugly
old Arab spreads carpets for us
by the center pole. Cushions are
brought TO support our elbows. In a
little While the stew with trufiles in
1t appears sgsse stssss.s,ns
Yesterday the stew was distinctly
ordinary. Nov there Is divine aroma
about 1t which Is waited insidiouslv up
our nostrils The midday halt gener-
ally continues for half an hour. When
we smell the stew we know that today
1t will last considerably longer.
II does Hotchy Botchy pours out
the stew in tin plates and produces
flaps of unleayened bread which the
Arabs twist up and eat as the meal
progresses. The remains OF the stew
are polished of by the escort and the
Arabs outside. 1t seems wrong to
waste truffies on them, but they do
not think so
But the climax OF the feast is when
Hotchy Botchy brings In big tin
cups OF coffee made with condensed
milk in the English way. He has first
roasted The berries, powdered them
In mortar. and the cups hold half a
pint each. Turkish coffee Is generally
a muddy mixture contained In an egg
cup. Hence the sheik dares not be-
lieve his eyes when he Is given half
a mint al once. but drinks a little and
fondly rubs his puckered stomach as
II goes dow. Before he has finished
the coffee he protests that shall
marry his eldest daughter and live in
he tent with him as long as the cof-
Zee lasts. When / mendaciously state
hat / have four wives in FRANCISCAN
ind q children he is grieved. but re-
spects me Intensely.
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