The Washington times., 1922-05-25

been. She had seen plenty Of cara.
vans arriving and departing from
Biskra. but, though she had seen
small parties OF tribesmen con-
stantly in the vicinity of tho town,
she had never seen SO large q body
OF mounted men before, nor had
she seen them as they were here.
one with the wild picturesqueness
OF their surroundings. 1t was i'm
possible to count how many there
were, for they were riding in close
formation, the wind filling their
great white cloaks. making each
man look gigantic. Diana's inter
est famed up excitedly. 1t was
like passing another ship upon q
hitherto empty sea They seemed
to add a desired touch to the grim
loneliness Of tho scene that had be-
gun to be a little aweinspiring
Perhaps she was hungry, perhaps
she was tired, or perhaps she was
only annoyed by the bad arrange
ments OF her guide, but before the
advent Of ths mounted Arabs Di-
ana had been conscious of a feeling
OF oppression, as II the silent desc.
lation Of the desert was weighing
heavily upon her. but the body Of
swiftly moving men and horses had
changed the aspect utterly. An at
mosphere Of life and purpose
seemed to have taken the place Of
the quiet stagnation that had been
before their coming.
The distance between the two
parties decreased rapidly. Diana,
intent on the quickly advancing
horsemen, spurred ahead of her
guide with sparkling eyes. They
were near enough to sec that the
horses were beautiful creatures and
that each man rode magnificentIy.
They were armed too. their rifles
being held in front Of them, not
slung on their backs as she had
seen in Biskra- They passed quite
close to her, only q few yards
AWAY solid square, the orderly
ranks suggesting training and dis
cipline that she had not looked for.
Not q head turned in her direction
as they went by and the pace was
not slackened. Fretted by the
proximity Of tho galloping horses.
her own horse reared impatientIy,
but Diana pulled him in, turning
in her saddle to watch the Arabs
pass, her breath coming quick with
excitement.
What are they?" she called out
to Mustafa Ali, who had dropped
some way behind her. But he, too.
was looking back at the horse.
men, and did not seem to hear
her question. Her escort had
Jagged still further behind her
guide and were some distance
away. Diana watched the rapid
ly moving. compact square eager.
ly with appreciatory eyes-it was
a beautiful sight. Then she gave
a little gasp. The galloping horses
had drawn level with the last
stragglers Of her own party, and
just beyond they stopped sud
denly. Diana would not have be-
heved 1t possible that they could
have stopped so suddenly and in
such close formation while travel
ling at such a pace. Tho tre-
mendous strain on tho brides
flung the horses far back on their
launches. But there was no time
to dwell on the wonderful horse
manship or training of the men.
Events moved too rapidly. The
solid square split up and length
ened out into a long Limo Of two
men riding abreast. Wheeling
behind the last OF Mustafa's men
they came back even faster than
they had passed. and circled
widely round Diana and her
attendants. Bewildered by this
manoeuvre she watched them
with a puzzled frown. striving to
soothe her horse. who was nearly
frantic with excitement. Twice
they salloped round her little
band, their long cloaks flutterinR.
their rifles tossing in their hands.
Diana was growing impatient. II
was very fine to watch. but
time and the light were both
going. She would have been glad
IL the demonstration had occurred
earlier in the day. when there
would have been moro time to
enjoy II. She turned again to
Mustafa All to suggest that they
had better try to move on, but he
had gone further from her, back
toward his own. She wrsstled
with her nervous mount, trying
to turn him to join her guide,
when a sudden burst Of rife
shots made her start and her
horse bound violently. Then she
laughed. That would be the end