Evening star., 1923-04-28
BY LAURA JEAN LIBBEY

lirectly upon the blade of the dag
ger. which instantly pierced his heart.
In the fall he had dragged Jil-Bett
down to her knees beside him; then.
with a spasmodic twitching. his
fingers loosened their hold.
As she sprung to her feet she
realized what had happened; he was
beyond the power of harming her
now. \ shuddering cry of horror
broke from her lips which was an
swered by a derisive laugh just be-
Wheeling about. Jil-Bett found
herself face to face with Ben-Ali,
who stood. with folded arms. gaz-
ing at her intently and sneeringly.
You have taken the life of my
best follower" he said brusquely.
NO. no." screamed the girl in
terror. IF you were standing there
YOU must have seen that he fell
upon the blade. / did not do it,
curdling laugh. Your dress is in
shreds from struggle; your dagger.
which bears your name, Is driven
through his heart with such force
it broke off at the hilt. This will
people of his race will take dire
vengeance against you If ! tell them
what | beheld."
"Oh, save me. Ben-Ali." sobbed
Jil-Bett wildly. II am at your
Il will take plenty of time to think
il over" he answered. drawing the
dripping blade from the wound and.
with the hilt. pocketing it. Il am
leaving immediately; | came to meet
you to tell you this. | meant that
we should be wed. and. well. have
not time for even that now; but
it must take place at once upon my
return. At the slightest demur
upon u i%b your part you will face to
pointed To the PROSTATE form of the
Arab a low. continuous whistle
sounded from the water. In an in
stant Of time Ben-Ali had left her.
AS he wheeled about she heard him
mutter excitedly: Tracked down at
last"
In this. her hour of direst need OF
sympathy and advice. Jil-Bett dared
not go to her grandfather. throw
herself In his arms. and on his
what had happened.
Spent with wild grief and tears
she made her way to Mrs Mudge's
home. One look at the pantinE girl
with her disheveled hair. and her
dress hanging in shreds about her.
told her that something unusual had
happened to Jil-Bett. She caught her
hands and drew her down 20 a seat
beside her. stroking her hair and
tear-wet checks. patiently waiting
lpi nv liI 10 regain nbr cOfllDOSure
sufficiently to speak
Little by little. between gasps and
paroxysms of weeping Jil-Bett told
her the full story of the tragedy
Throwing herself on her knees. the
girl begged her not to believe her
guilty of the crime.
or this Mrs; Nudge quickly reas-
sured her IF an angel cried it out
trumpet-tongued from heaven.
would not believe. that you were re-
sponsible for the Arabs death
though it would have been justifiable
Under the circumstances. You know
Self defense is the first law of ma
ture.' The only part OF it that wor-
ries me is .le fact of Ben-Ali's pres
ence there and his accusation that
he saw you strike the fatal blow
together with the second fact-it was
your knife that did it.
No. No Don't say it." screamed
Jil-Bett. Il cannot bear it. l know
what you think-the proof is 50
strong against me that that i
arms. folding her close TO her
troubled heart
For the present she knew she must
try TO persuade the girl that Ben-Ali
bad as he was, would be obliged to
tell the truth: though, in her heart
she knew differently.
That reinsurance was like a
draught of strong wine 10 the girl: II
raised her from the slough OF abject
misery and despair to hope and con-
fidence
Yes. that must surely be the way
of it, she answered looking UP
through her tears into the kindly
face of the kindest and best friend
she had ever known.
Jill-Rett would not have been so
happy had she known the dire fear
that was in the good woman's heart
Poor child Let her be at peace
even happy, until the dread Arab re-
turns: that will be soon enough for
her to face whatever grief there lies
before her"
Jil-Bett left her entirely comforted
but Mrs. Nudge did not sleep a wink
the entire night through, and her
pillow was wet with tears.
What on earth ails you, woman"
grumbled her husband. If it's that
confounded tooth of yours again, why
don't you jerk it out and have done
with it,
Not even TO Nudge did his wife dare
disclose the cause of her sorrow. He
must not know. for sometimes in his
cups he was wont to babble about
matters that were best left undis-
closed.
To be continued tomorrow.