Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-27

K RBY awoke at grayest daylight Through
force Of habit he woke at this hour, in spite
of the voorhees, day, which he knew confronted
him. 1t was his custom to get up and take his
bath in the rain cistern at this time, and to
finish dressing just as the men piled out for
the mornings work.
Yet now the first sounds that Smote his ears
as he opened his eyes were the rhythmic creak
of the mine windlass and the equally rhythmic,
If less tuneful, chant of the men who were
working 1t:
Allah sa-edd!-Ne-bi sa-eed! Ohe! Sa-eedl
Sa-eed! Sa-eed!"
In the distance, dying away, he heard the
plodding hoofs of string of pack mules From
the direction of the mine came the hoodlum
racket which betokens in Syria, the efforts Of a
of honest laborers to perform their
daily tasks in an effcient and orderly way.
Kirby, in sleep amaze, looked at his watch in
the dim dawn light. He saw 1t was still full
half hour before the men were due to begin
work. And by the sounds he judged that the
days labor was evidently well under way. Yes.
and today there was to have been no work done!
Kirby jumped out of bed and strobe dazedly
to his tent door. At the mine below him his
fellaheen were as busy as so many dirty and
gaudy bees. Even the lordly lazy Turkish SOL
diers were lending hand at windlass and crane
Over the nick of the pass, leading toward Jeru-
salem, the last animal Of a mule train was van
departing shipment of ore to the opening in the
pass was trotting back toward camp.
At sight of Kirby in the tent door the little
superintendent veered from his course toward
the mine and increased his pace to a run as he
bore down upon the American. Najibs swart
face was aglow But his eyes were those of
man who has neglected to sleep. His cheeks
still bore 1ecks of the dust he had thrown on
his head when Kirby had explained the wreck
of his scheme and of his future. There. in all
likelihood, the dust smears would remain until
the next rain should wash them off, But, be-
yond these tokens of recent mental strife,
Najib's viSage shone like a full moon that Is
streaked by dun dust clouds.
Furthermore howadji!" me hailed his chief
as soon as he was within earshot, "the shipment
for Alexandria is on its wayward-over than an
hour earlier than it was due to bestart itself.
And those poor hell-Selected fellaheen are be-
tong themselfs grand. Have done well, oh
howadji?"
"Najib" stammered Kirby, still dazed.
"And here is that most sweet book of great
worthiness and wit which borrowed me Of you
in the night, howadji," pursued Najib, taking
from the soiled folds of his abieh a large volume,
bound in stout leather, after the manner of re-
ligious or scientific books of half-century ago.
On the brown back scratched gold lettering
proclaimed the gruesome title:
Martyrs of Ancient and Modern Error"
Well did Kirby know the tome. Hundreds Of
times, as child, had he sat on the stone floor
of his fathers cell-like mission study at Nablous
and had pored in shuddering fascination over its
highly colored illustrations The book was a
compilation-chiefy in the form of multichrome
pictures with accompanying borders of teXt-of
all the grisly scenes of martyrdom which the
publishers had been able to scrape together from
such classics as "Fox's Book of Martyrs and the
like. Twice this past year he had surprised
Najib scanning the gruesome pages in frank de-
light.
IT betook the book to their campfire, howadji,
and smote upon my breast and bewept me
and walled aloud and would not make COM
fcrt Till at last they all awaken and they
came out of their huts and they reviled me for
disturbing them as they slept themSelfs so hap
PLY. Then spake much to them And all the
time I feared with my eyes and moaned
aloudly"
But" put in Kirby II don't see what
this"
In presently you shall, howadji. Yesterday
I begot your goat. Today I shall make you to
frisk with peacefulness of heart Those fella-
heen cannot read. They are not of an educa-
ton, as am. And they know my wiSeness in
reading. For over than trillion times have
told them. And they believe. Just as men OF
an education believe the printed word, knowing
full it could not be printed If 1t not Allahs
own truth. Well these folk believe picture, if
it be in book. So I showed them pictures.
And read the law which was beneath the pic
lures They heard me read. And they saw the
pictures with their own eyesight. So what could
they do but believe? And they did. Behold,
howadji!"
OPENING the volume with respectful care,
Najib thumbed the yellowing pages. Pres
emily he paused at a picture which represented
in glaring detail stricken battlefield strewr
diving 0ripntaIc nj viz