The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-03-11
Confined from Preceding Page)
CHAPTER w.
t{L "a H I. Halt your

Rs
The long, waverins
single file Of the caravan came to
. struggling stop. Camels whose
hides were rubbed bald in patches
crowded against each other. Their
yellowish eyes with dropping eye
lids had an insolent look. Their
bullying packs made their lean,
calloused legs appear more de-
crepit. "A number Of them bore
y peaked, tentlike erections of
striped stuff with tasselled fringes.
There were strings Of laden mules
and asses also, and men on foot
and on horseback.
The sky was rose and saffron,
and against it, upon the right, the
long line Of eastward hills were
violet. Upon the left q sea beach.
The rhythmic sound Of the sea was
very clear to hear and there
seemed ito be no other sound. The
sweet and raw sea smell mingled
with the od0r Of the camelS. The
world was still vague under the
dawn sky and the breaking tides
were mineral dark.
Not very far out and strained
evidently on sandbar was the
charred hulk Of q galley. As little
4 smoke rose from il.
Al dozen mem cameleers had
already left the caravan road,
hurrying down to the sea margin.
Henna-tipped fingers parted the
camels bore. Faces peeped out
delicately aquiline, olive-checked
eyed like the gazelles Of the desert.
& The sky frightened. Behind the
eastward hills there was q CULVER
of. coming radiance as though q
I goblet Of molten gold were about
to ovefhrilll
Some OF the cameleers were re-
turning, trudging heavily through
7 the sand. Two of them carried
something between them.
The rim of the rising sun lifted
above the hills binding, = seq
ment Of pure flame. Shafts Of red-
golden light smote every object
stock, stone or camel. Elongated,
straddIing,. shadows sprawled t0
westward. The foam OF the break
ing wave became rosy as the
hollow Of the ocean she'll Whera
foam-born Venus crouched.
Al group Of men surrounded the
spoil that had been borne up from
the sea. IT was the body Of girl.
She lay on her side, lax as fresh
corpse, with flexed wrists and
empty, half-open hands.
But Cassandra was alive, be-
cause when the horror Of drown
inc came upon her she had tainted
and 50 had ceased to struggle and
to swallow the strangling salt
water. Like any casual fiotsaml
the shoreward setting waves had
stranded her upon the fat wet
sand.
'sShe's young" said one, land ..
virgin, or I'm no judge
"She's thin, but not too thin
the kind that looks well stripped
II ssThat mole on her shoulder Is
one of the best marks a girl can
I have I've known the price Of q
woman doubled by 2 lucky sign
like that. /"
They were traders men of
business, expert in judging the
merit Of all merchandise the
quantity of d carpet or Of jewel,
the points Of q horse or Of .
woman.
The sun was clear Of the east
ward hills and rose and saffron
! faded. Upon the breaking tides
danced the diamondlike JOY Of the
morning.
"A knife ripped the half-drowned
girls garment from her. She was
wrapped in a cameps hair blanket.
Al camel knelt, groaning, and the
girl was placed within the tent it
carried. She crouched in a
doubled up position in kind of
cushioned pannier on one side of
the beasts hump. In a similar
pannier upon the other side
squatted corpulent woman with
heavily joined eyebrows and coarse
lips. She was the wife Of one of
the chiefs of the caravan. The
girls head slouched forward, her
wet hair yelling her face. She
had the appearance of creature
that has just been killed. The
woman leaned over her, moist
ened her lips with wine and chafed
her hands.
The girl moaned. She muttered
something. The woman thought
that it was word of no meaning,
but it was name-Evan.
Grooming, the burdened camel
rose. The peaked tent above the
panniers swayed. It's crowning
tuft of auburn-dyed ostrich feath-
ers trembled. Raucous cries
sounded all down the length Of
the caravan. 1t began to move.
The only spoil of any possible
value that the wreck had yielded
was huddled in the camel pannier
beneath the striped, ostrich-tufted
tent.