Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-12-30
III
The Palace
of Darkened
Windows

You were told there was q quar-
antine, weren't your" Billy supplied
as she hesitated.
Her astonishment found quick
speech. Why. how did you know
that?"
THE Baroff told me--that Wen
nese girl who came into your room"
why, you know everything. How
did your
"Oh, carried her over wall.
thinking 1t WAS YOU"
But how could you think it was
]? And what were you doing ut the
wall? l don't see how
"Oh. one of the palace maids gave
me a message in Arabic and
thought 1t was from you. You see.
Suspected had seen you drive of
In that MOTOR.
But how could the maid bring you
message? Where were YOU? Where
did she see your"
Il was painting out in front of the
palace" Billy sounded more and
more casual.
You said you were an engineer"
said Arlee. His heart jumped. At
least she had remembered that,
$50 l am-the painting was inst a
joke"
And YOU happened there she be-
gan. wondering, and after he had
opened his mouth to correct her. he
closed it silently again. Gratitude
was an unwieldy bond. He did not
want to burden her with obligation
And he suspected. with ranking
| sort OF pang. that he was not the
| rescuer she had expected. So he
made as light as possible of his en-.
trance into the affair. telling hei
nothing at all of his first uneasiness
and his interview with the one -eyed
man which had confirmed his sus-
acter, and the masquerade he had
adopted so he could hang about the
palace. Instead he let her think him
there by chance; he ascribed the de-
livery OF F'ritzfs message to sheer
miracle, and his presence under the
walls that night to wanton adven-
ture, with only half thought that
she was involved
Stoutly he dwelt upon Fnlconer's
part in the attack the next night, and
upon the entire reasonableness Of his
abandonment OF the trail He put
1t down to his own mulishness that
he had hung on and had learned thru
the little boy of her removal from the
palace.
He interrupted himself then with
questions, and she told him Of her
strange trip down the Nile in the
dahabiyeh, under guard OF the old
woman and the Nubian. But how
did you Gomez" she demanded.
well, just swung on to the same
train he was in." said Billy. "AAd
got out at. Assiout because he'd
bought a ticket there, but. I couldn't
see a thing of him In the darkness
and confusion of the station. and
had horrid feeling that he'd gone
somewhere else, the Lord knew
where, to you. But the Imp-that's
the little Arab boy who adopted me
and my cause-went racing up and
down, and he got a glimpse OF the
captain tearing of on a horse and
behind him a man looping along with
a bundle on donkey. and the Imp
raced behind him and yelled he'd
dropped something. The man went
back to look. and the Imp ran along
side him, asking him for work as a
donkey boy. The fellow shook him
on, but that had delayed him. and
tho we lost the horseman we kept
the donkey man in sight and fol-
lowed him on to the village T re-
connoitered while the Imp stole these
two camels-jolly good ones they are
and willie 1 was trying to make out
where you were. for there were lights
in several windows, suddenly heard
your voice and then I saw g. glare of
fire. Well, my revolver was pass
port. Now, how about that
fire? What started it?"
II did: he--he was trying to make
love to me-" she answered breath
lessly, "and Just got to the
candles"
Are you burned at ALI Truthfully
nOw7 never stopped to ask"
IT I am, don't know It," she
laughed tremulously. Then, 'Isn,t
this crazy!" she burst forth with.
"It's-its on the beaten II track"
Billy B. Fiji admitted. IT'S Jump
back into the Middle Ages" His note
of laughter Joined hers as they sat
staring owlfshly at each other thru
the dark of the 1after-storm
A little longer they talked, their
questions and answers fitted back
and forth over those six strange
days; then, as the excitement waned.
Billy heard a sleepy little sigh and
saw small hand covering a yawn.
The girls slender shoulders were
whiting with incalculable fatigue,
Instantly he commanded sleep, and
obediently she curled down into the
little nest he prepared, pillowing her
head upon his coat, and almost in
stantly he heard her rs rhythmic
breathing, slow and unhurried as a
little child. His heart swelled with
feeling for which he had no name.
as ne sat there, his back against a
camel, staring out into the night, an
unknown feeling In which Joy, was
very deep and triumph was merged
into holy thankfulness.
-. CHAPTER XVIII.
He had meant but forty winks,
but 1t had been dark when, his eyes
closed and he opened them to the UNI
real half-lights Of early dawn. The
sky was pearl; the sands were fawn-
colored; the crest of low hill to the
east shone as II It were living gold,
and the next instant It seemed as If
q fire were kindled upon It, It was
the sun surging up into the heavens,
and great waves of color, like q sea
Of flame, mounted higher and higher