The Washington times., 1922-07-04
lana had ridden wit, Gas.
ton. and burried o"rr htr

ton, and burried o"rr hrr
~ solitary dinner. anl Since
then she had been waiting for
the Sheik to come hack. In whut
mood would he come? Since
Raours announcement of hiS de-
parture he had been moro thun
usually taciturn apd reserved.
The book she held. slipped at length
on to the floor. and she let It lie
unheeded. The usual stiffness OF
the desert seemed tonight unusual.
iy stiu-sinister sven-and :he ii.
lence was so intense that the sud.
den squeaI Of a stallion a little
distance away made her start with
madly racing heart. Earlier In
the evening a tom.tom had been
going persistently in the mems
lines. and later a native pipe had
shrilled thinly in rnonotonous
cadence; but she had grown ac.
customed to these sounds; they
were OF nightly occurrence and
they soothed rather than irrIra.ei
her. and when they stopped the
quiet had become intensified to
such a degree that she would have
welcomed any sound Tonight
her nerves were on edge. She was
restless and excited, and her
thoughts were chaos.
She was alone again at his
mercy. What would his attitude
be. Her hands clenched on her
knees. At times she lay almost
without breathing, straining to
hear the faintest sound that would
mean his return, and then again
lest she should hear what she liz.
tened for. She longed. for him pas.
sionately. and at the same time
she was afraid He had changed
so much that there were moments
when she had the curious feeling
that II was stranger who was
coming back to her. and she both
dreaded his coming and yearnsd
for II with a singular combina ton
Of emotions. She looked round
the room where she had at once
suffered so much and been so
happy with troubled eyes. She
had never been nervous before, but
tonight her imagination ran riot.
There was electricity in the air
which acted on her overstrung
nerves. The little shaded lamp
threw circle OF light round the
bed. but .sft the rest Of the room
dim, and the dusky corners seem
ed full OF odd new shadows that
came and went illusively. Hang
ings and objects that were com.
monty familiar to her took on
fantastic shapes that she watched
nervously. till at last she brushed
her hand across her eyes with a
Taught /of angry impatience. Was
the love that had changed her so
completely also making her
coward? Had even her common.
sense been lost in the one great
emotion that held her? She under.
stood perfectly the change that
had taken place in her. She had
never had any illusions about her.
self, and had never attempted to
ka 1A.,
naughty pride that had character.
lied her. She thought Of 1t curl.
ously. her mind going hack over
the last months that had changed
her whole life. The last mad freak
for which she had paid so dearly
had been the outcome Of an arro-
CANT determination to have her
own way in the face OF TALL protests
and advice. And with greater
arrogance and determination
stronger than her own Ahmed Ben
Hassan had tanned her as he
tanned the magnificent horses that
he rode. He had been brutal and
merciless using no half measures,
forcing her to obedience by sheer
strength of will and compell-
ing a complete submission. She
thought Of how she had feared
and hated him with passionate
intensity. until the hatred had
been swamped by love as pas.
sionate and as intense. She did
not know why she loved him.
she had never been able to
analyze the passion that held ner
so strongly. but she knew deep
down in her heart that II went
now far past his mere physical
beauty and superb animal .
strength. She loved him blindly
with a love that had killed her
pride and brought her to. his feet
humbly obedient. All the love
that had lain dormant in her
heart for years was given to him. e.
Body and soul she belonged to
him. And the change within ner
was patent in her face. the
naughty expression in her eyes
had turned to a tender wistful-