Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-09

One of the bullets from Melbihn's force
mad struck black standing In the village
street. where he had teen left with another
to guard Meriem, and his companions mad
left him where he had fallen, after ap-
propriating his apparel and belongings. HIS
was the body that Baynes discovered when
he had entered the village.
The sheilt and his party had been march
ing southwark along the river when one
of them dropping out of line to fetch water
had seen Meriem padding desperately from
the opposite shore The fellow had called
the sbeiks attention to the strange sight
a white woman alone in Central AFRICA
and the old Arab had hidden his men In
the deserted village to capture her when
she landed for thoughts of ransom were
always in his mind
More than once before had glitterlng gold
filtered through his fingers from similar
source. II was easy money and the sheK
had had none too much easy money since
the Big Bwana had so circumscrioed the
limits OF his ancient domain that he dared
not even steal ivory from natives Wlthln
200 miles of the Big Bwana's douar.
And when at last the woman had walked
into the trap he had set for her. and he
had recognized her as the came little glrl
he had brutalized and maltreateu years
before his qualification had been huge,
Now he lost no time In estaousnlns ne .ne
old relations of father and daughter that
had existed between them in the past
At the first opportunity he struck her
| heavy blow across the face. He torced
| her TO walk when he might have dismounte9
| one of his men instead, or had her carried
| on horses rump.
He seemed to revel in the discovery OF
| new methods of torturing or Illuminating hel,
| and among all his followers she iouhu no
single one to offer her sympathy OF Who
dared defend her even had he the desire
| to do so.
A two days march brought them at last
| to the familiar scenes OF her chliunoou,
| and the first face upon which sne sel
her ewes as she was driven through the
gates into the strong stoc<ade was that
| of the toothless. hideous Mabunu' her one
| time nurse II was as though all the years
| that had interviewed were but dream liau
| It not been for her clothing and the TACT
| that she had grown in stature she n''sh'
we'll have believed 1t so.
| All was there as she had left t-the
| new faces which suppanted some OF the
| old were of the same bestial' degraaeu
| type There were n few young Arabs VINO
| had Joined the sheik since she had been
| away. otherwise all was the same-all
| but one Gceia was not there, and she
found herself missing Geeka as though the
| ivory headed one had been flesh-and-bioou
intimate friend. She missed her ragged
| little confidante into whose deaf car she
| had been wont to pour her many miseres
| and her occasional joys - Gecka or the
| spintered limbs and the ratsktn torso
| Geeka the disreputable-Geeka the beloved
For a time the inhabitants of the sheiks
| village who had not been upon the march
with him amused themselves by inspecting
| the strangely clad white girl, whom some
| OF them had known as a little child Ma
bunu pretended great JOY at her return,
barring her toothless gums in hideous
| grimace that Intended to be indicative
| OF rejoicing. But Meriem could but shudder
| ne oh raraIlad hp prbpltips of this terrible
old hag in the years gone by.
Among the Arabs who had come in her
absence was a tall young fellow of 20-a
handsome, sinister-looking youth, who
stared at her in open admiration until the
| sheI came and ordered him away, and
Abdul Kamak went, scowling.
At last, their curiosity satisfied, Meriem
| was left alone. AS of old, she was per-
mitted the freedom of the village for the
stockade was high and strong, and the only
| gates were well guarded by day and night
but, as of old. she cared not for the COM
panonship of the cruel Arabs and the de-
graded blacks who formed the following
| of the sheik, and so, as had been her wont
in the sad days of her childhood, she skunk
down to an unfrequented corner of the in
closure where she had often played at
housekeeping with her beloved Geeka be-
meath the spreading branches of the great
tree that had overhung the palisade.
But now the tree gone, and Meriem
| guessed the reason. 1t was from this tree
that Korak had descended and struck down
the sheik the day that he had rescued her
from the life of misery and torture that
| had been her lot for long that she could
| remember no other.
There were low bushes growing within
| the stockade, however, and in the shade of
these Meriem sat down to think. A little
| glow of happiness warmed her heart as
she recalled her first meeting with Korak,
and then the long years that he had cared
| for and protected her with the solctude and
purity of an elder brother.
For months Korak had not so occupied
her thoughts as he did today He seemed
closer and dearer than ever he had
before. and she wondered that her heart
had drifted so far from loyalty to his
memory.
And then came the image of the Hon.
Morrison, the exquisite. and Merlem was
troubled, Did she really love the flawless
young Englishman?
She thought of the glories of London of
which he had told her in such glowing
| language. She tried to picture herself ad-
mred and honored in the midst of the
gayest society of the great capital The
pictures she drew were the pictures. that
the Hon Morrison had drawn for her They
were allurng. but through them all the
brawny. half-naked figure of the giant
| Adonis of the jungle persisted in obtruding
itself.
Merlem pressed her hand above her heart
and stihed sigh, and she did so she
felt the hard outlines OF the photograph
she had hidden there as she skunk from
| Malbihn's tent. Now she drew ii forth and
| commenced to re-eXamine II more carefully
than she had time to do before
She was sure that the baby face was
hers. She studied every detail of the pic
ture. Half hidden In the lace of the dainty
dress rested a chain and locket.
Meriem puckered her brows What tan
talizing half-memores It awakened. Could
this flower of evident civilization be the
little Arab Meriem. daughter of the sheik ?
II was impossble-and yet, that locket I!
Meriem knew ii. She could not refute the
conviction Of her memory, She had seen
that locket before, and II had been hers
What strange mystery lay buried in her
past?
As she sat gazing at the picture she
suddenly became aware that she was not
alone-that some one was standing close
behind her-some one who had approached
her noiselessly. Guiltily she thrust the
picture back into her waist A hand fell
upon her shoulder She was sure that 1t
was the shelk. and she awaited in dumb
terror the blow that she knew would i'm
mediately follow.