The Washington times., 1915-05-23


ment alone. watching the alabaster
skies. AWAY eastward, the faint curve
Of the blood-red sun seemed to be rising
out of the l!mitless sea of sand. The
light around him was pearly, almost
opalescent, fading eastward into pink.
The shadows had passed away. Though
the sands were still hot beneath his feet.
the silent air was deliciousv cool. He
turned lazily around. meaning to sum-
mon the Arab who had volunteered
had been In the act Of stretching-fell
to his sides. He stared at the spot
where the canals had been tethered, in
oredulously. There were no camels.
q soul nor an object In sight except the
stark body of Hassan, which they had
dragged half out of sight behind slight
knoll. High up in the sky above wer.
two little black specks, wheeling lower
and lower. Quest shivered as he sud
denly realized that for the first time in
his life he was looking upon tnA winged
ghouls Of the desert. Lower and lower
they came. He turned away with
The professor was still sleeping when
Quest re-entered the tent He woke him
UP and beckoned him to come outside.
Dear me!' the former exclaimed,
genially, as he adjusted his glasses, Il
am not sure that my toilet-however.
tho young ladies. imagine, are not yet
astir. You did well to call me, Quest.
This ts the rose dawn of Egypt. I have
watched it from solitudes such as you
have never dreamed OF. After all, we are
here scarcely past the outskirts of
civilization"
You'll find we are far enough"
you make of this. professor?"
He pointed to the little sandy knoll
with Its sparse covering of gress, de-
serted-with scarcely sign, even that
1t had been the resting place of the lit
tie caravan. The professor gave vent
to a little exclamation.
"Our guides" he demanded. And the
camels. What has become of them?'
II woke you up to ask you that Ques-
tion," uest replied. but guess it's pretty
obvious. We might have saved the
said" SAID " NA'' i'' 'A''N' ''''' ~
The professor hurried off toward the
spot where the enCampment had been
made. Suddenly he stood still and
pointed with his finger. In the clearer,
almost crystalline light of the coming
day, they saw the track Of the Camcls
in one long, unbroken line stretching
away northUardS.
mo river near, where they could have
gone to water the camels. or anything
of that sort, I suppose" Quest asked.
- The professor smiled.
Nothing nearer than a little stream
You may have heard of in the days
when you studied geography" he OBJ
served, derisively-,"the Nile l never
liked the look of those fellows. Quest
They sat and talked and crooned to-
gether after Hassan's death. I felt that
they were up to some mischief"
He glanced around little helplessli
Quest took a cigar from his case and
ITO think that an old campaigncr like
am, the professor continued, in a
a position like this There have heen
times when for weeks together | have
slept literally with my finger upon the
trigger of my rife, when I have laid
warning traps in c ase the natives tried
to desert in the night. l have seen
had our pack ponies hobbled. ! have
learned the secret of no end of devices.
And here, with shfty lot of Arabs
picked up in the slums of Port Said, ana
Hassan, the dra CONAN, dying in that
mysterious fashion. ! permit myself to
lie down and 60 to sleep! l do not
even secure my rife! Quest, I shall
never forgive myself"
mo good Worrying" Quest sighed
The question is how best to get out Of
the mess. What's the next move, any
way?"
The professor glanced toward the sun
and tocs small compass from his
pocket. Hc pointed across the desert
That's exactly olIr route" he said
but reckon we st'll must be two days
from the Mongars. and how we are GO
Ing to get there ourselves, much more
get the women there, WITHOUT camclS,
don't know. There are no wells. and
don't believe those fellows have left Us
a single tin OF water"
ANY chance of falling in with a cara
van?" Quest inquired.
Not one in hundred" the professor
replied, glomiiy. IF We We're only this
short distance out Of Port Said, and on
one of the recognized trade routes, we
should probably meet half a doz-n be-
fore midday, Here W" ar" simply in
the wids. The way We are going leads
to nowhere and hGishes in an uttorly
uninhat table jungle.
Thin. we'd better turn round and try
and biso"t one OF the trade routas?'
Quest suc yested.
The pro nssor shook his head.
I'VE ST. Nd never know when we'd
struck it. There ar" no milestones or
telegraph ircs. We shall have to put
as brave fac" on it as possible and
push on"
Laura put her head out Of the tent
In which the two women had slept.
SAY, where's breahrast?" she OK
claimed. II can't smell the coffee"
They turned and approached he 81
lently. The two girls. fully dressed
came out of the tent Is they ap-
Young ladies'" the professor an
nounced. Il regret to say That a mis-
fortune has he(allen us. a misfortune
which we shall be able. without a
doubt, to surmount. hut which will
mean 2 day of hardship ami much in
convenience"
"Where are the camels?" Lenora ask
ed breathlessly.
Gone Quest replied
"And the Arabs"
Gone with them-we are left high
and dry" Quest explained. Those
fellows are as suPerstitiOus as they
can be. and Hassan's death has given
them the scares. They have gone back
to Port Said"
And what is worse the professor
added, with groan, they have taken
with them all our stores, our rifles
and our water
How far are We from the Mongar
camp" Lenora asked.
"A bout a days tramp Quest re.
piled, quickly. I'VE may reach there
by nightfall."
Then let's start walking at once
before it gets any hotter" Lenora
suggested.
Quest patted her on the back. They
made close search Of the tents. but
found that the Arabs had taken everS'
thing in the way of food and drink