The Washington times., 1922-06-10
Installment XXI.
BY K. M. HULL.
Copyright. 1891. BY Small. Maynard
n CO InA

long and the minute seemed
~ lifetime. Then before
even she head the report he
bounded in the air and fell with
a crash. Diana was. flung far for
ward and landed on some soft sand.
For a moment she was stunned by
the fall. then she staggered dizzily
to her feet and stumbled back
to the PROSTATE horse. He was
lashing out wildly with his heels,
making desperate efforts to rise.
And as she reached him the black
horse dashed up alongside. stop
ping suddenly, and rearing straight
up. The Sheik leaped to the
ground and ran toward her. He
caught her wrist and flung her out
OF his way. and she lay where she
had fallen. every nerve in her body
quivering. She was beaten and
with the extinguishing Of her last
hope all her courage failed her. She
gave way to sheer, overwhelming
terror, utterly cowed. Every fac.
ulty was suspended. swallowed up
in the one dominating force, the
dread Of his voice and the dread
OF the touch OF his hands. She
heard a second report and knew
that he had put Silver Star out of
his misery, and then. in a few sec.
onds. his voice beside her. She
got up unsteadily. shrinking from
him.
why are you here. and where
Is Gaston?"
In a stifled voice she told him
everything. What did II matter?
II she tried to be silent he would
force her to speak.
He made no comment. and bring.
ing The Hawk nearer tossed her
up roughly into the saddle and
swung up behind her. the black
breaking at once into the usual
headlong gallop. She made no kind
Va iNoAstoiNC1 No"ptctC opothy
seemed to have come over her. She
did not look at the body OF Silver
Star. she looked at nothing, cling.
ing to the front of the saddle. and
staring ahead OF her unseeingly.
She had dropped her helmet when
she fell and she had left II. thank
N,,l AA - ~
on her aching head. Her mental
collapse had affected her physically
and II needed a real effort OF will.
power to enable her to sit up right.
Very soon they would join the
horsemen, who were waiting for
them. and for her pride's sake she
must concentrate all her energy to
avaid betraying her weakness.
Ahmed Ben Hassan did not go
back through the defile, he turned
into a little path that Diana had
overlooked and which skirted the
hills. In about half -an-hour the
troop met them. riding slowly from
the opposite direction. She did
not raiS her eyes as they ap-
preached. but she heard Yusef's
clear tenor voice calling out to the
Sheik. who answered shortly as
the men fell in behind him. Back
over the ground that she had
traversed so differently. She knew
that II had been madness from the
first. She should have known that
II could never succeed. that she
could never reach civilization
alone. She had been a fool
ever to ina gine that she could win
through. The chance that had
thrown her again into the Sheik's
power might just as easily have
thrown her into the hands of any
other Arab. Luck had helped
Ahmed Ben Hassan even as she
herself had unknowingly played
into his hands when he had cap
tured her first. Fate was with
him. 1t was useless to try and
struggle against him any more
Her brain was a confused medley
Of thoughts that she was too tired
to unravel, strange, conflicting
ideas chasing wildly through her
mind. She did not understand
them, she did not try. The ef-
fort Of thinking made her head
ache agonizingly. She was con-
scious Of a great unrest, a dull ach.
ing in her heart and a terrible de-
preston that was altogether apart
from the fear she felt Of the Sheik
She gave up trying to think; she
was concerned only with trying to
keep her balance.
She lifted her head for the first
time and looked at the magnificent
sky. The sun had almost set, 60
Ing down In a ball Of molten fire,
and the heavens on either side were
riot Of gold and crimson and
pslest green. shading off into vivid
blue that grew blacker and blacker
as the glory Of the sunset died
away. The scattered palm trees
and the far-off hills stood out In