Evening star., 1923-04-26

~ at his pipe, not daring to
l. look at Jil-Bett.
You might do worse, my
girl" he continued. .Ben-Ali has ac-
cumulated a goodly sum OF money.
He told me that himself, declaring
II you would mary him you should
gratined. That is something which
must be considered"
There was no answer from the girl,
though he felt she was gazing at
him keenly.
He oven promised, IL you desired
it, he would quit Arabia and take
you. and me. back to dear old Eng
land, whore you were born; or, II
you would not be satisfied with that.
We could all 60 to America a land
l have always longed TO see."
No word fell from Jil-Bett's lips:
her silence was ominous.
Great wealth and husband who
would adore you must not be turned
down because of girls whim. es-
pecially when she does not realize
the great advantages of such a union.
Come, be sensible. my child, and tell
me that you will not oppose this, my
dearest WISH
At length she spoke: You would
sacrifice me and all my hope of an
after-life OF happiness at the behest
OF creature-I do not call him q
man-whom 1 despise with all the
intensity Of my being"
aversion" declared the old man, de-
termined to beat down her every
argument. He could not help but
recall the lines:
"A creature Of such horrid mein
To be hated, needs but to be seen;
But, seen too oft. familiar with its face,
Is first endured then ptied. then en-
He was too crafty to utter them
He had begun by detesting Ben-An,
but as time rolled on and the Arab
was much in his company this feling
underwent a subtle change, until at
last tho Arabs will became his law.
At that time no thought of his
beautiful Jil-Bett occurred to him
he had not had the slightest inti-
nation that she was the magnet that
drew him to the Bannock home.
1t had been almost as much of a
shock to him as 1t was to the girl
when he asked permission of her
grandfather to WOO and win her for
his bride. He knew Jil-Bett had
conceived hearty dislike toward the
Arab, and that even though he did
give hfs consent it would be quite
another matter to gain Jil-Bett'a
He had endeavored to gain the CO.
operation Of Mrs. Nudge to do her
best to influence Jil-Bett to obey his
wishes.
Mrs. Nudge declined most emphat-
ically.
For my part, I would quite as
soon see poor Jil-Bett dead as mar
ried to the worst serpent, in human
form. that terrorizes the young girls
~
your Granddaughter, with possession
of her. Daniel Bannock, and when
that happened he would not be long
in finding the ways and means of
ridding himself of her.
You know as we'll as ! do the
almost unmentionable acts that have
been laid at that Arabs door. A
maiden he casts his eyes upon
sure to disappear. never to be seen
or heard Of again. No. Daniel Ban
have with Jil-Bett not to marry Ben
ALI"
He knew she had been as good as
her word.
He thought Of this as the girl
slowly advanced. standing motionless
before him It was the dead calm
One or the other Of them must con-
quer then and there. Which would
1t be. Jii-Bett or himsslf7
Only that morning tho Arab had
said: II have wasted too much time
on tho whim Of q foolish maid. The
ceremony must not be delayed; am
soon to go away on important busi-
ness; might be detained weeks. I
cannot take Jil-Bett along with me
on this dangerous business-you
know what takes me away-but 1t is
my desire to leave her behind me,
bound to me, my WIFE"
Daniel Bannock had not dared say
him nay. or utter one word Of pro-
test. although he remembered his
vow whom she was placed a babe in
his trembling arms:
"As / deal by Jil-Bett, 30 may the
Lord deal with mel"
Jil.Bett's face whitened; her large.
dark eyes dilated; she turned a
steady gaze upon him. There was q
look on her face that he had never
seen there before. Her bosom
hesvsd convulsiveiy; her lips
for several moments. then her anger
broke forth In scathing words:
"If you were but yourself, grand
father, you would never consent to
such a sacrifice of your own flesh
end blood. 1t Is the horrible dope
the Arab is keeping you stupefed
with that is binding you to reason
and my prayers
The old man shook his cane at her
fury within her, she went on with
increasing anger:
"But l shall stop it. He shall give
you no more dope; will appeal to
the highest authorities Against you
and him. I will stop It, though 1t
cost the h :. AFss Dsssse sos nas secses
aesn.,.u1 eA.annnnoux1 ~