Tombstone epitaph. (Tombstone, Ariz.) 1887-current, 1915-12-12

hiSiOoCOPe away anu ltlt tHe fDOm
/ Fehmet took my place at the table and
went to work again.
| walked into my room and sat be
/ fore the window. II was one of those
cool evenings that occur in SOcOtra
| toward the end OF January The pic
/ ture before me was superb. the tall
I palm trees. with their graceful frOnds.
/ dropping beside the rivulet that ran
/ before the door The huts of the
| Arabs stood thiCkly clustered against
the base of the hill. Our cottage was
on plateau. above which rose the
scOrched peak of FL Mussuk. ] heard
! the natives chanting in their village.
and suddenly thought of Mohammed.
! He had not been 10 the cottage that
day. On the last occasion Of his ap-
pearance Fehmet had struck him for
some delinquency. lie had surmised
that Mohammed was plotting mis-
chief, and gleefully announced his in
tention OF carrying out the threat he
had mada to kill him.
went to bed and for a long time
heard Fehmet pacing up and down in
| .
was his habit when he was excited
Presently he went into his room and
paced there. At last heard the spring
of his bed creak as he laid his heavy
body upon it. And | slept
| was awakened by a fearful pan
demOnium. heard shouts and curses,
and, over all, the voice of the Egyp-
tian, bowling like a demon. | sprang
out OF bed, thrust on my slippers,
and ran to the door. | saw Fehmet
struggling in the midst of 4 group Of
dusky figures. Hc knocked them down
like tenpins, turned. and bOlted for
the laboratory. He rushed back, car.
rying something in either hand. He
flung them to the ground, there came
the sound If splintering glass, and a
little cloud OF dust arose. Next in
stant he fell beneath the impact of 4
blew upon the back of his head, and
at the same moment was seized and
overpowercd
The Arabs fastened ropes about our
bodies and dragged US up to the top
of Fl Nussuk. Bruised and bleeding.
they flung us upon the barren summit
and tied US back TO back. Then the
elder of the village addressed Us.
We were to be left there. without
water. until W. died of thirst. We
were to freeze by night and burn by
day. The Feringhee would know
enough then to leave their women
alone. They would not kill Us. be.
cause it was against the law of Eng
land, but they were not compelled to
bring US water
The Arabs gathered about US. taunt'
ing and butfeting us. Why they in.
cluded me in the sentence | could no:
understand, unless their fanaticism
famed out against me as representa-.
tive Of the detested foreign rule. Dur
ing the ensuing hour they inflicted on
US every aboEination OF insult
Fehmet. when he had realized that
il was useless to struggle, gave them
back taunt for taunt. He was brave
Il admit that. He told them that
they would all be dead men before he
died Had they seen the bottles ht
broke? II each OF them was a mil
lion gods of pcstilcace. who would
carry death through S0Cotra.
They went away at last and Feb
met and / lay side 10y side. There
was 10 possibility Of freeing our
selves. and there was nothing to dC
but wait in the faint hope that the
"Nymph" would appear, learn OF oul
| prediCaEent, and rescue US. The
thought OF death was repugnant
enough to me, old man though l am
but death ycked to Fehmet was re
pulsive. | shrark away from him
and / think he understood my feel
ing. for presently he spoke to me.
1T is hard for you, Herr Won Els
5 mer," he said, with 4 sneer, but, afte1
all. if you had not been placed her,
!, with me should have killed you TO
e uorTow. You fool OF an Euglishman
] did you suppose that You could de
e ceiye me with your letters from Bsr
e lin? Why, / put my scheme before
: Herr Won Jagow, and he told the at
, tendant to put me out Of his Office,
/. If / kept you alive and amused my
e self with you, it was merely because
it gratitied me to do so.
- IN three days more the yacht tha
e brought me here will return to carr!
s me away" he said. Il can live three
b days without water, and by the enI
2 OF that time the SOcotrese will all b.
: dead. You, too, will be dead. of til,
pneumonia plague which is at this me
e ment fastening itself upon you"
q And you?" questioned.
/ He roared his gorilla below. 90
t vaccinated myself this afternoon" h
answ red. The plague cannot tOucl
s me, as 1t will you, for I have thou
g sand million plague bacilli in my body
e which are neutralized by the viru
e which ! inhaled from the broken test
tubes. But you, poor wretch Of ;
b spy"
/, The night wore on, and Fehme
l. taunted me at intervals. But I care;
l. nothing for his words, nor yet for tn
frost which gradually gave way, a
:, the sun arose, to suffocating heat
r, realized that the deadly plague hai
me in its power, and it was not
e pleasant death to die.
q Toward noon the Arabs visited u
& and stood around US. By this tim