The Washington times., 1922-05-30


A thin thread Of smoke driftsd
toward her. az II the hand hold
ing tho cigarette had moved in her
direction in one Of the gestures
that she had noticed outside, but
there was no answer. His silence
tnfuriatsd her and she grow ut
terly reckless.
De you think that you can
kssp mo hers. you fooIr That I
can vanish into the desert and no
notice BE- taken Of my disappear
Anos--tnat NO inquiries will b
nnAde7~
Thsrs wm b NJ tnautrtss,' he
: answered catniyI
She ground Shs heea Of her boot
tnts tho soft carpet. There VIII
be inQufriss.~ she choksd furious
~. Z am not suoh q nonsntity
that nothing WIN bs done when I
am missed The English authors-
ties win make the French govern
xnens find out who 10 responsible,
and yoa WIN hsvs % pay Dor what
soa hs~s dpnA"
He lsushsd-ths iftsls amused
tangh that sent the same ooid feel
. ing Of dread through her that she
had fsit the day bsfor~.
Tho Fronoh government has
no tu1sdiction ovsr me. am nc&
subject to It. an an indspsn-
dent chief, my own master. I
recognise no government My
trkbe obcy me and only mo-
Her shaking Fingers found ne
handkerchief for which thay were
CROPPING. and she wiped Tho unofs-
ture that had gathered On IA
palms Of her handa
WHEN am missea-s shs
began. desperately. trying 20 fesp
. bold frout, bot her Assurance
ssas leaving hss.
~rou wtli not b sdsse6 for 90
h Spns thAs It yin - too lats." he
D bSsvtssd dxffy.
sfeotstss whas asAsyea-nsanr'
! ehs G.spsd.
Your own Slans vfn stop any
possibility of anqatry for sorns
ttms u cnnsr Hs paused. and
bshfnd hes. Diana beard him
stYiks ancShsr match. The banal
tfttis fposdsnt nearly snapped her
nerves Shat were stretched to
brealtnepofnt- she put her hands
30 heY bad 20 try and stop us
throbotns IN hsr temples.
You engaged . caravan In
charge OF MustsfA ALL he went
ON evenly. TO travel IN the Desert
for . month. You set out from
Bihkr.. but your intention wns at
the end Of ths time to travel
northward % oran and there
dismiss ne caravan From
there you wore to cross to
MarssfIles. then to Cherbourx.
whsro you would embark for Amer.
lea to follow ycur brother, who has
already startsd-r
She listened breatffessfy With
an ever-increasing fear growing in
her syes, The slow. casual voice
detailing her itinerary with the
quiet certainty Of perfect knowt-
sdss fl3ed hsr with . terror that
made bss want to scream She
swayed . lftf1e as she stood. her
eyes nxed on the endless strip Of
desert and gold-necked sky visible
through the opening of the tent,
but she saw nothing OF the undu-
latins sand. nor the red glory Of
ehe setting sun
How do 7ou know-an-thfsr~
she whispered with dry lips that
trenbled-
ct wished % know It was1ufts
simple" Tho answer wss given
carelessfy. and again the thin
thread OF smoke drifted across hsr
face-
Her anger famed up again. ''Is
n money that you want7 Arc you
holding me for ransom7" But her
scornful voics faltered and died
away on the last word, and IL did
not need his silence to convince
her that It was no question OF ran
som. She had only spoken to try
and stifls the inner conviction that
grew dsspite her efforts to crush
It. Her hands were locked to-
gether tightly, her eyes still star
ing out unseeins at tho wonderful
sunset. She felt dszed. hopeless.
like fugitive who has turned into
q ouI-de-sao, hemmed IN on every
side; there seemed no way out, no
loophols Of escape. She wrung her
hands convulsivsly and q great
shudder shook her. Then in her
despair q faint ray Of hope came.
"Mustafa Ali, or one of the cara
van men may have given the alarm
in Gisisra-if you have not-mur-
dered them ALL" she whispered,
jeriily.