The Washington times., 1922-06-23

4 ~-<re~ M - o@hS$8 s~-S1
iy arpund the tent and without .
word hs vent through into ne
inner room. In : moment hs
came back. III /,
"whsrs IL Diane7''
saint Hubert got up. puzzled At
his tone. He looked At his watch.
..she went for ride this morn.
ing. Dieu! ] had mo idea II
was 90 late"
This mornings--and not back
ystf" repeated the sheik slowly.
"what time this morning."
About ten. I think" replied
saint Hubert uneasiiy. I'm not
sure. didn't look. There was
an accident. and she delayed to
watch me tie UP one Of eyour
foolish children. who had bean
playing with . worthless gun;
The sheik moved over to the
doorway. "shs had an escortr
he asked curtly. .s
~ Ahmsd Ben Hassan's facs
hardened and the heavy. scowl
contracted his black brows. Had
she all these weeks been tricl<ing
hin--feigning 4 content she, did
not feel. iullinE his suspiciops to
enable her TO seize another op-
portunity to attempt to set awayf
For q moment his face grew
dark. then he put the thought
, from him. He trusted her. Only
a week before she had given him
her word. and he knew she would
not lie to him. And, besides. the
thing was impossible. Castor
would never be caught napping
second time. and there were
also the six msn who formed
her guard. she would never be
able to escape the vssileuce Of
seven men. But II was the trust
he had In her that weighed most
with him. He had never trusted
q woman before, but this woman
had been different. The others
who had come and gone 20
lightly had not even left .
recollection behind them; they
had faded into one concrete cause
OF utter boredom. There had
never been any reason to trust
or mistrust them, or to care II
they came or went. Safety had
come With possession and with II
indifference. But the emotion
that this girls uncommon beauty
and slender boyishness had
aroused In him had not diminished
during the months she had been
living in his camp. Her vary
ing moods. her antasonism. her
fits Of furious rage. and. lastly.
her unexpected surrender. had
kept his interest alive. He had
grown aceustomed to her. He
had come TO looking forward
with . vague, indefinite pleasure.
on returning from his long ex-
petitions. to seeing the dainty
little figure curled up among the
cushions on the big Aivan. Her
presence seemed to psrvade the
atmosphere OF the whole tent,
changing It utterly. She had be-
come necessary to him a. he had
never believed It possible that .
woman could Be. And with the
change that she had made in his
camp there had come . change
in himself also. y ..
For. the first time . shadow
had risen between him and the
man whose friendship had meant
everything to him since. a. lad
Of fifteen. he had come under
the influence of the young French
man, who was three years his
senior. He realized that since
the night Of Raoui's' arrival he
had been secthing with insensats
. jealousiy. He had relied on the
, Western tendencies that prompted
him to carry, off the difficult
( situation. but his insrained
orientaiism had broken through
! the superficial veneer. He was
3 Jealous Of every word, every
look she gave Saint Hubert.
I Pride had prevented an open
rupture with the yicomte this
], morning, but he had ridden
away filled with q cold rage that
had augmented every hour
; and finally driven him back
earlier than he had intend.
I cd. riding with . reckless
ness that had been apparent even
10 his men. The sight Of Raoul
sitting alone absorbed in his work,
had in part aiiayed his suspicious.
and he had gone on into the other
room with q feeling Of new ex.
pectancy that had changed to a
sudden chill at its emptiness. The