The Kendrick gazette., 1919-10-03
CHAPTER XV-Continued.

But he was not yet dead. Again he
aimed and fred, the bullet splintering
the gunwale of the canoe close by
Baynes' face. Baynes fired again as
his canoe drifted further downstream,
and Aalbihn answered from the shore,
where he lay in pool of his own
blood.
And thus, doggedly, the two wounded
men continued to carry on their weird
duel until the winding African river
had carried the Hon. Morrison Baynes
out Of sight around wooded point.
leriem had traversed half the
length Of the village street when
score Of white-robed negroes and half
castles leaped out upon her from the
dark interiors of the surrounding huts.
She tried to flee, but heavy hands
seized her, and when she turned at last
to plead with them her eyes fell upon
the face Of tall, grim old man glaring
down upon her from the folds of his
burnoose.
At sight Of him she staggered back
in shocked and terrified surprise. 1t
was the sheikl
The sheik and his party had been
marching southwark along the river
when one Of them, dropping out of
line to fetch water, had seen Meriem
making for the village. The fellow had
called the sheik's 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.
And when at last the woman had
walked into the trap he had set for
her and he had recognized her as the
same little girl he had brutalized and
maltreated years before his gratifica-
ton had been huge. Now he lost no
time in establishing the old relations
of father and daughter that had ex-
listed between them in the past.
A two days march brought them at
last to the familiar scenes of her
childhood and the first face upon
which she set her eyes as she was
driven through the gates into the
strong stockade was that of the tooth
less, hideous Nahum, her one time
nurse. 1t was as though all the years
that had intervened were but dream.
Had 1t not been for her clothing and
the fact that she had grown in stature
she might well have believed 1t so.
For a time the inhabitants of the
sheik's village who had not been upon
the march with him amused them.
selves by inspecting the strangely clad
white girl whom some Of them had
known as little child.
Among the Arabs who had come In
her absence was tall young fellow
Of twenty, handsome, sinister look
ing youth, who stared at her in open
admiration until the sheik came ant
ordered him away, and Abdul Kamal
went, scowling.
At last, their curiosity satisfied, Me
riem was left alone. AS of old, she
was permitted the freedom of the vii
lage, for the stockade was high ant
strong and the only gates were wei
guarded by day and night. But, as o1
old, she cared not for the companion
ship Of the cruel Arabs and the de
graded blacks who formed the follow
ing of the sheik, and so, as had beer
her want in the sad days Of her child
hood, she skunk down to an unfreQuent
ed corner of the inclosure where sh'
had often played at housekeeping witt
her beloved Geeka.
Meriem pressed her hand above he
heart and stified a sigh, and as she di'
SO she felt the hard outlines of tn
photographs she had hidden there a
she skunk from Malbihn's tent. Nov
she drew it forth and commenced t
re-examine it more carefully than sh
had had time to do before.
AS she sat gazing at the picture sh
suddenly became aware that she wa
not alone that some one was standin
close behind her. some one who ha
approached her noiselessly. Guiltil
she thrust the picture back into he
waist. A hand fell upon her shoulde
She was sure that it was the shell
and she awaited in dumb terror til
blow that she knew would immediate
ly follow.
No blow came, and she looked VI
ward over her shoulder-into the eye
Of Abdul Kamak, the young Arab.
II saw" he said, "the picture tht
you have just hidden. 1t is you whe
you were child, very young chill
May l see it again?"
Meriem drew away from him.
81 will give it back" he said.
have heard of you, and know th'
you have no love for the sheik, vol
father. Neither have I. I will n
betray you. Let me see the picture
She drew the photograph from l
hiding place and handed 1t to him.
He turned the picture over, and
his eyes fell upon the old newspap
cutting they went wide. He cou
read French-with difficulty, it is tru
but he could read 1t. He had been
Paris. He had spent six months the
ION exhibition with troop of his dc
lert fellows.
Slowly, laboriously, he read the "
lowed cutting. His eyes were no Ion