The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1917-12-14


slaves, a fierce band of cutthroats.
Remember them, Carl Jensen and
Sven Malbihn, yellow bearded Swedish
giants, for you shall meet them later.
In the heart of the jungle, hidden
away upon the banks of a small uneX-
plored tributary of a large river that
empties into the Atlantic not so far
from the equator, lay small heavily
palisaded village. Twenty palm
thatched beehive huts sheltered it's
black population, while half dozen
gOatskin tents in the center of the
clearing housed the score of Arabs
who found shelter here while by trad
ing and raiding they collected the car
goes which their ships of the desert
bore northward twice each year to the
market at Timbuktu.
Playing before one of the Arab tents
was little girl of ten, black haired,
black eyed little girl, who with her
nut brown skin and graceful carriage
looked every inch a daughter of the
desert. Her little fingers were busily
engaged in faShioning q skirt of grass
es for q much disheveled doll which a
kindly disposed slave had made for
her year or two before.
The head of the doll was rudely
Clipped from ivory, while the body
was rat skin stuffed with grass. The
arms and legs were bits of wood, per-
forated at one end and sewn to the
rat skin torso.
The doll was quite hideous and alto
gether disreputable and soiled, but
Meriem thought it the most beautiful
and adorable thing in the whole world,
which is not so strange in view of the
fact that it was the only object within
that world upon which she could be-
stow her condolences and her love.
Every one else with whom Meriem
came in contact was, almost without
exception, either Indifferent to her or
cruel. There was the old black hag
who looked after her, for example,
Nahum, toothless, filthy and i'll tenn
pered.
She lost no opportunity to cuff the
little girl or even inflict minor tortures
upon her. And there was the sheik,
her father. She feared him more than
she did Nahum. He often scolded her
for nothing, quite habitually terminal
ing his Trades by cruelty beating her
until her little body was black and
blue.
Little Meriem could scarce recall
any other existence than that of the
stern cruelty of the sheik and Nahum.
Dimly in the back of her childish
memory there lurked blurred recol-
lection of q gentle mother But Me
riem was not sure but that even this
was q dream picture induced by her
own desire for the caresses she never
received.
Suddenly there arose sounds of al
tercation beyond the village gates.
Meriem listened. With the curiosity of
childhood she would have liked to run
down there and learn what it was that
caused the men to talk so loudly. 9th
ers of the villagers were already troop
ing in the direction Of the noise.
But Meriem did not dare. The sheik
would be there, doubtless, and If he
saw her it would be but another op-
portunity to abuse her, so Meriem lay
still and listened.
Presently she heard the crowd NOV
ing up the street toward the sheik's
tent. Cautiously she stuck her head
around the edge Of the tent. She could
not resist the temptation. for the samel
ness of the village life was monotonous
and she craved diversion.
What she saw was two strangers
white men. They were alone, but as
they approached she learned from the
talk of the natives that surrounded
! them that they possessed a consider
able following that was camped out
side the village.
They we're coming to palaver with
the sheik.
The old Arab met them at the en-
trance to his tent. His eyes narrowed
wickedly when they had appraised the
newcomers. They stopped before him,
exchanging greetings. They had come
to trade for ivory, they said.
The sheik grunted. He had no ivory.
Meriem gasped. She knew that in q
almost to the roof. She poked her head
farther forward to get better view of
the strangers. How white their skins!
How yellow their great boards
Suddenly one II them turned his
eyes in her direction. She tried to
dodge back out of sight for she feared
all men, but he saw her. Meriem saw
the look of almost shocked surprise
that crossed his face. The sheik saw
it too and guessed the cause of it.
Il have no ivory he repeated. Il
do not wish to trade. Go away. Go
n0w!'
lie stepped from his tent and almost
pushed the strangers about in the
direction of the gates. They demurred
and then the sheik threatened. 1t
would have been suicide TO hars ,3s-