Evening star., 1923-01-13
r.) Sac pulled It further open and slipped

NOUS vault the moon d
| world with a simmer of silver.
Finding herself really beyond the
palace precincts took all strength
from the, girl. Hardly daring to
breathe, she crept few steps further,
| and leant against the city wall, to
recover r. little and get her bearings.
Then, furtive as q shadow. she made
her way towards long, low building
| that showed up like q huge ebony
| block In the whiteness.
I There were others as furtive as
Pansy prowling round the city walls;
jackals searching for offal, snarled
at her as she passed along, Sinking
| away and showing teeth that CLEANED
like ivory in the moonlight.
The first sound of them made her
start violently, for. she felt the sui
! tan's hand upon her. drawing her
when she saw the providers were
four-footed, she passed on, needless of
them, until the paddock fence was
To climb over was a simple task.
| Then she ran swiftly across the
| grassy space; suddenly deadly afraid.
not of the loneliness, but that the
stable doors might be locked and she
would not be able to carry out her
| project.
However, in El-Ammeh there were
no thieves daring enough to steal the
sultan's horses. so the doors were
/ never Jney CredRed Ofni-
nously when Pansy opened them. fill
| ing the still night with harsh sounds
sounds that she felt must reach her
! captor's ears.
Inside. the stables were vaguely
light with the rays of the moon that
Grtpped in from high little windows.
/ fortunately for PanSy's plan, IL was
| the hour for the palace servants
evening meal, or there might have
| been half a dozen men IN the build
! Ing. As IT was. there was only a long
| row of horses. each in separate stalls.
! Pansy knew that IL her protege
| were there, he would answer to her
Sultan" she said softly.
| There was whinny from a stall
| some twenty yards away. Guided
tion.
1t was the work OF a few moments
20 unfasten the animal. But to
| Pansy IL seemed an age. Her hands
trembled as she fumbled at the halter,
| Tor she heard pursuit in every sound.
building. into the moonlight, and
! closed the door behind her.
She was an expert bareback rider.
Leading the horse TO the fence. she
to the middle of the inclosure, and
| with voice and hand urged him to-
| wards the fence again.
In his old steeplechasing days, a
| nuFulo IHe neiBnG OF the rails had
presented no difficulties to the sultan
| And even now he took the fence at an
/ easy bound.
Once over, il seemed to Pansy that
| the last obstacle between herself and
freedom had been circumvented.
| She leant forward, patting her
horse encouragingly.
| "Oh, Sultan" she said Historically
| II don't mind where you take me, so
long as can get away from here"
L zEA - = =
| horses, the animal picked the route
| 1t knew the best; the sandy track
along which the Sultan Casim gener-
| ally took it for exercise.
For the first mile or so Pansy was
| conscious Of nothing except that she
| had escaped-escaped from a Iove
| she could not conquer, man she
! could not hate.
White and bilIowy the world lay
! around her, an undulatine sea of
! sand with only one dark patch upon
II. the city of El-Ammeh. The track
| the horse followed wound through
tufted hilIocks. mounds OF silver in
| the moonlight. Here and there, a
stunted shrub cast black lines on the
| aIl-prevailing whiteness.
| At the End of an hour Psnsv dis
covered she was not the rider she
once was. Her months OF confine-
ment had left her sadly "out of form"
| She was worn out with the exertIon
! and the excitement of escape. 1t
( took all her skill to keep her seat on
| the horse. And the animal knew, for 1t
| siackened speed, as a good horse will
F., when conscious of a tired rider. I
others also, seemed aware that
| something weak and helpless was
| abroad, and with the strange magnet
/ ism OF the wild they were drawn to-
| wards the girl.
| Here and there in the melting, misty
| distance q dark form appeared, Looping
along at safe range. keeping pace with
2 faId an6 rid
| and again glancing at the two with
| glaring eyes, and calling one to another
with shrieks of maniacal laughter.
| Pansy hardly heard the hyenas. She
| was too intent on keeping her seat
But the horse heard them and he snort
| ed with rage and fear.
| AS the miles sped by, the girl was
! aware Of nothing except a desire to get
lover and to keep her seat on the horse.
| Then she became aware Of something
else.
For the horse halted and she fell off,
| fiat on the soft sand.
| Shaken, but not hurt, she sat tlp and
gazed around.
! A little oasis had been reached, where
| date palms stood black against the all
prevailing silver and tiny spring bub-
| bled with cheerful whisper.
! When the sultan took his namesake
| out for exercise, this was the extreme
limit of their ride-the horse had been
| there once already that day-and in the
| shade Of the date palms the man and
the horse would rest awhile before re-
turning to the city.
! But Pansy knew nothing of these
i, things. She only knew that valuable
time was being lost sitting there on
the ground. But it was such an ef-
| fort to get up.
Green eyes had seen her fall as II
dead, The hyenas crept stealthily
forward to feast upon what lay help
I IN N EVff eH,
up they retreated, TO squat on their
launches at safe distance, and fiji
the night with demoniaeal laughter.
The sound brought Pansy to her
heard it before, around her fathers
| camp in Gambia.
But IT was one thing to hear the
hyenas when there were thirty or
| more people between herself and them,
and another now that she was quite
alone in the desert, with no one to
| come to her aid.
| The chorus of mad. mocking mirth
brought fear clutching at her, a fear
that the horses wild snorts Increased.
/ She looked around sharply to find
there were at least a dozen OF the
brutes on her trail.
1t was not Pansy's nature to show
| fear, even though she felt it.
Going to the spring. she picked up
several large stones, and threw them
/ A note Of fear crept into their hid
| eous voices; They beat swift re-
! treat, melting away into distance.
There was too much life left in the girl
and horse for them to attack as yet.
Gathering herself together Pansy
| looked round fer a rock big enough
to enable her to mount by. AS 1t
happened there was none handy. Taxi
| Ing her horse by the name, she led
him. from the oasis. Somewhat pro-
| testingly hs went.
] Papsy had to stagger on for near
q mile OF, foot, I'm the deep. fatiguin