The Washington times., 1922-06-08
THE SH[EIK
This Years Most Thrill-
ing Serial Con-
= tiraued


TO her, whlnnying softly and look.
ing at her with large expressive
eyes. II haven't anything 20 give
you. poor old boy" she said &c.
gretf1lly, kissing his muzzle and
then pushing him away from her
She looked up again into the sky.
a dark spsck sailed overhead. the
slow heavy flight OF a vulture.
In a few hours he might be pick
ing her bones! Merciful heavens.
Why did such thoughts come in:o
her head? Had she nothing left
OF the courage that had once been
second nature? II she let ner
nerves get the upper hand she
might as well make no further
effort, but lie down and die at
once. With shaking fingers she
took another cigarette; smoking
would soothe her. Yet she heSi-
tated before she lit II; there were
only a few left and her need
might still be greater. But with
a reckless laugh she snapped IT,
thin case to. and carefully scraped
the evil.smelling sulphur ma n
torn from a flat wood strip. She
settled herself comfortably again
fun length, All around her were
the innumera BILE tiny noises Of the
desert, the hum OF countless in
sect life, the rustling OF the sand
and the occasional dry crackle Of
the camel thorns made by the
slipping of a twig or the displPc.
ing OF a branch. sou unds that
would have been incomprehensioie
some weeks before. For a few
minutes a sand spider attracted
her attention and she watched mis-
hurried painstaking operations
with wondering interest. Grad
ually a drowsy feeling stole over
her and she realized suddenly tnat
the Air was impregnated with the
scent Of the tobacco that WAS
always associated with the Sheik.
It was one Of his cigarettes that
she was smoking. She had always
been powerfully affected by ,hc
influence Of smell. which induced
recollection with her TO an eX-
traordinary degree, and now tl,c
uncommon penetrating odor of
the Arabs cigarettes brought
back all that she had been ,"y.
ing TO put out OF her mind. With
a groan she nung II away and
buried her face in her arms. TIE
past rose up, and rushed, uncon.
trolled, through her brain. Incl.
dents crowded into her recollec.
tion, memories OF headlong gal.
lops across the desert, riding be-
side the man who. while she ha I'd
him, comp elled her admiration.
memories of him schooling the
horses that he loved, sitting them
like centaur, memories OF him
amongst his men, memories m)ie
intimately connected with herself.
Of his varying moods. his swift
changes from savage cruelty -
amazing gentleness. from brutal
intolerance to sudden CO nsidefl.
ton. There had even been times
when he had interested her despite
herself and she had forgotten
the relationship in which they
stood toward each other in
listening to his deep slow
voice. till a word or gesture
brought back the fact viv;diy.
Memories OF moments when she
had struggled against his caresses.
and he had Knocked her helpless.
ness with his great strength.
when she had lain in his arms
painting and exhausted, cold with
fear and shrinking from his fierce
kisses She had feared him as
she had never believed Il pos
sible 10 fear His face rose be-
fore her clearly with all the ex.
pressions she had learned 20
know and dread. She tried to ban.
ish II. striving with all her might
to put him from her mind. twist
ing this way and that, writhing
on the soft sand as she strug-
gled with the obsession that held
her. She saw him all the time
plainly, as though he were there
before her Would he pursue her
always. phantom.like? Would the
recollection Of the handsome
brown face haunt her for ever
with its fierce eyes and cruel
mouth? She buried her head
deeper In her arms. but the Wis
ion persisted until with a scream
she started up with heaving chest
and wild eyes. standing rigid,
staring towards the south with a
desperate fixedness that made her
! eyeballs ache. The sense of his
presence had been terribly real.
She dropped on TO the ground