SIROCCO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13496, 24 May 1907, Page 3

SIROCCO.

BY KENNETH BROWN.

[ALL RIGHTS; RESERVED.]

[COPYRIGHT.]

CHAPTER XIII.

RUMINATIONS AND BORROWINGS. Very gradually and mistily Duncan came; to himself, in the dim light of early morn-; ing. His ear ached from his stone pillow, \ and he slipped his head down on his arm.! His body felt cramped from long staying! in one position. He turned over stiffly and' came against the cold sand, unwarmed from his body. He shivered and tried to J wriggle back. into his night's nest for a prolongation of his sleep. But each mo-; tion, each act of volition waked him a little more, drove. further from him the com- i fort of unconsciousness. Finally he sat up,; blinking, and clasped his hands around his j knees, huddled into a ball, from the animal| instinct to . present as little surface as pos- j sible for radiating away the small store of j heat within him. The sun sent its cold beams levelly across the desert, awakening j to discomfort, not to warmth, f Only in civilised lands have men taught the sun to get up hours before .they do, like a welltrained servant, arid warm the atmosphere for them while they still snooze in their shaded beds. In the wilderness the sun routs out the sleepers ruthlessly, and bids them bestir themselves along with him. j Sore in every muscle, Duncan sat huddled a long time on the banks of the Sehgiz, pondering over the : adventure into which! he had so precipitately fallen. The rosy schemes ■ that 'had gone to sleep with him were dissipated with , his slumbers. The girl in the Sultan's harem was as far away; from him, as difficult of rescue as if she were in Mars. The morning, which sometimes brings renewed hope and encouragement, at other times lets the garish light of common- j sense , in' upon our ; dainty rose-coloured dreams,: and destroys them utterly. What was Dalmera Grnlmnie to him? ; Why should he be expected to risk his life in an attempt so preposterous that; r there was not the faintest chance of success? | "-What in thunder can I do, anyway?" he asked himself gloomily. " Why doesn't she | drop one of her blooming notes to someone i else?- I don't suppose she can, .though, now," he answered himself. But he had done all, that he could. ;He had risked his | life and lost his camels for her, "and was] now sitting forlorn and chilled in a miserable oasis, with the desert, on three sides! of him, and a bloodthirsty Sultan on the! fourth. " It's,none of my. funeral, anyway, 'j he argued, and smiled at the aptness of the figure. , . - The animal instinct of hunger roused Duncan at length from his inertia of fatigue and discouragement. He got upon his feet, cautiously, as one who does not know what unsuspected movement may give twinge of muscle or crick of joint. Picking his way around tne upper end of the Sehgiz, he sought food from the saddle-bags of his camel. He ate; the sun's rays became warmer; and under the • influence of the two stimulants, a sense of satisfaction grew within him. . Ho felt thirsty .after liis weal, and, without thinking, appro-ached the Sehgiz'to quench his thirst. At the bank he drew .back, remembering. - "I'm glad you're dead, all right; but you •' aren't exactly - dessert," he said. On Techryk's camel he found a leather waterbottle, more appetising, if less cool than, the Sehgiz. ■ , v-'fv-.,, i A full man, the American rested in;the: shade that had begun, to.be grateful, and the blood of the adventurer that he was again flowed through his veins; and again the Sultan of Sirocco, with his armies 'and his high-walled palaces, .did:. not- seemi. so impossible .to him. '" Rescue;-' herhe shouted, half-rising as if resenting the suspicion of " a slur. "Well, -T guess! Sam Duncan, you're in : the ' rescuing business. Poor little girl, without another soul in the world to: do anything for her! And you've _torn' up her -let|efet|ieionly bit>of evidence. - TVs up to you'.'ftoSget her out;. .He .took up the taskjimentally, with'the liglit-heartcdness of a boy going bird's nesting. - The specific things he . was to do to effect her release were not yet plain to him. That he should find' a way, he did not doubt, but none came .to him in all. his hard thinking that morning. . _ ._ ~, , Finally he rose to Ilia feet thinking that whatever his future plans might be, the one to follow at once was to get out of the Sultan's kingdom. . The sense of past dangers, eluded, gave way to the : sense of future dangers, which might even; now be upon ' him. 1 He walked to the top of the cleft - and looked about on all sides. The desert held no approaching soldiers or travellers, and Duncan came down the rigEag path again, his agility and ' bodily energy returning with every moment. ;He examined Techryk's camel to see—so far as his ignorance would /let himin what condition she. was. The possession of. this beast was a. tremendous gain 'to the American, and she seemed none the worse for her hard ride of the previous day. He. found her saddle-bags abundantly stocked with food and money, added, to Techryk's store what he had left of his own, looked well to. the fastenings of the holsters, with their priceless contents, and mounted. A new-born impatience urged him to go now before the heat had "begun to wane, lest others might follow where Techryk had come. ; i Grunting and reluctantly the Bisharin climbed the side of the cleft in the midday heat. From the top Duncan looked back at the Sehgiz River, hiding the body of Teehryk with its shining reflection. "Wish they'd take that for me, when they find it,"' Duncan said. ; The' wish was father to a thought ' that stayed him. He turned the camel, and again descended into the cleft, dismounting on the, edge of the stream. : The American was not a squeamish man, yet his stomach revolted at the task he was proposing for himself. He stripped off his clothing, and with a grimace of repugnance peered down ! into the water to see where the Siroccan lay. . When he found him he stood up, took a long breath,'and dived for the body. For a few seconds lie floundered beneath the water, and then found himself, with his eyes tightly closed, kicking and splashing at the surface, near the opposite bank. He climbed out ; with an acknowledged feeling of relief that he had not succeeded j in reaching Techryk. It is human nature to be pleased at the evil hour put a little further off by fate. In a. minute he tried again, with a firm determination to go down this time, and not up; but again the splashing of his feet on the surface, while yet his head' was resolutely held down, told him that he had made another fiasco .of his attempt. " See here, this will never do," Duncan exclaimed sheepishly. " I must go down, arid I must open my eyes under water." Men can learn, slowly, when there is time for . learning, or .very . quickly, when the devil or some equally potent force drives.. Duncan seined his stone pillow, which once lie had poised , aloft for the cracking of Techryk's skull, and' jumped into the water with it. This time the buoyancy of his deep-breathed body .was' overcome, ' and; he sank to the bottom. Resolutely lie opened his eyes, and found himself at arm's length from* the. Siroccan. Teehryk was half raised on one elbow as if he had started up to gree.t.-Duncan. The unpleasant fancy flashed through the, American's ; mind as he grabbed Techryk's 'coat-collar and sprang for the surface of the water, already: suffocating for -lack of air . . ' The impulse of his jump from the bottom carried him to the surface, Techryk dragging behind, , and a few strokes brought him to the . shore. v He clambered up the bank, the corpse falling against his bare legs .in a horrid embrace. His fingers were clumsy through nervousness as he unbuttoned the Siroccan's coat, and .tugged at the big boots, which had rendered him one great" service, and he hoped , were now to render him another. . V'.

The coat , came off easily, and Duncan soused it well in the stream, no more to clean it from the dust of the sandstorm than, to wash from it the touch _ of the dead man. The Siroccan gave up his boots less willingly, and Duncan had to plant a foot on the squashy stomach of the dead man while he pulled and hauled at the water-soaked leather. It, was a . gruesome job, and when finally Techrvk lay stripped upon, the sand, Duncan in the hot sunshine

was dripping with cold sweat. It was! hardly more pleasant getting himself into the clammy wet clothes he had despoiled Teehryk of. He had intended putting his! clothes on the corpse, but he found j this "too much, and he left them lying on th?: bank, when he pushed Techryk back i into' the Sehgiz, hoping that whoever' found them would take it for granted that they , belonged to. the, man. in the ' stream j. without too close scrutiny. . Duncan drew the wet sleeve of his coat ! across his wet forehead, with a. shudder of i disgust and relief. " You owe me somej thing for that job, young lady," he said, as he turned back to his camel, browsing; ! •jslowly about the oasis, oblivious of masters, dead or alive. He picked up Techryk's ] turban—his one dry stitch of clothing, : | from where it had fallen on the ground, at the end of their flight before the storm, 1 and put it on, to complete his costume. ;It{ was now nearer the'usual hour for setting} out on a journey, and his Bisharin started off again with more alacrity than she had shown | earlier in the day, and soon the Sehgiz Cleft; land all that it contained was lost to the? | American's sight in the vast, rolling desert. 1 | "Well, I got out of that better than I' «had any right to expect," Duncan murmur-j ed to himself, adjusting his turban un-s jhandily as it toppled over his nose. Stead-; lily he rede towards, the east, revolving hist further plans in his head. delay which Techryk had caused him had made it imj possible for him to outstrip the soldiers of the Sultan, and dash through to the coast [through an unwarned country. •On the other hand, the uniform of the "Sultan's ; bodyguard, known and dreaded by all' Si' rocco, would lend itself powerfully' to his j [escape, if the identity of the wearer were : not suspected. " j .[ Before the sun began to turn red upon the horizon Duncan had decided on'his plan • of action. He would take immediately the 1 ' risks, that he must take ; and he turned his camel's nose to, the north, a direction the! Bisharin showed her approval of by her! ' quickening pace. : - ; . - J Duncan had black, hair and a 'dark complexion, and much travel beneath the blazing ym had further, bronzed his skin: - yet ' he * mid never- imagined that; he could be mistaken for a Siroccan..' In the" night that ' was , now approaching. however,--he was to! learn"- hotf" greatly ""the" clothos'TnaEe" man, in Sirocco r.o less than elsewhere. Urging his Bisharin, ever faster and faster, as darkness came to aid him, he entered upon the inhabited country and made his way along roads hard-beaten by many feet. I His-camel responded to every urging, and i .the American's wonder and admiration for the light-limbed' Bisharin's speed and endurance grew with the miles they covered. IHe himself, in spite of the excitement that upheld him, became tired, and sat like a sack of meal on the camel's back yet, in j spite of the handicap of a tired rider,' the Bisharin kept on with unflagging spirit. j Duncan passed through several villages, 1 and met a few persons; but the sight of the [uniform that Duncan wore, its striking cut [plainly discernible in the bright starlight, was enough to stop any desire to molest him that might have been felt. Others of the Sultan's Guard had ridden by recently in marvellous haste, and more than ordinarily oblivious of the right's of common, folk, and this later One -showed symptoms of as great impatience. Towards morning Duncan perceived that even the wonderful endurance of his mount! was beginning to fail from the racing speed : he had maintained.- Duncan had no means of knowing how near he was to the coast. Yet whatever the distance, he felt that he could not afford to stop to rest, and must ill some way obtain a fresh mount. At the next village he came to, he halted . before the largest house, a domicile of some pre- . tensions, and pounded loudly-on the door. The curs of the village were not long in responding, and they were soon followed by the owner of the house, who cautiously opened a barred window of inquiry. Dunjean came within the circle of light from the householder's lamp in. order, that the full . -moral , effect of his uniform might -be felt, 'and pointed to his drooping camel. "Tired out!" he grunted, gruffly laconic, the' better - to' hide his American tongue. "* Give me your best— the Sultan's ser-. vice." ■-• ■ ' • ' .' He produced several of Techryk's gold pieces'from his pocket and held them out. "Thesend my camel for a fresh camel— or Kofstjj?; -v." The®/! Saltan's soldiers were not renowned for tlicir nffaiiility, and Duncan's gruff manners passed .as natural, though the munificence of j his offer might -well have, aroused the villager's suspicion, had he not been blinded by it. The Sultan's soldiers often took but seldom paid; and the villager, in stumbling haste, lest the soldier should repent him of his offer, hurried into, the yard behind his house, and presently brought forth a, horse, saddled, .whose, long neck arid fine head proved his-possession of a goodly .share of; Swift Arab blood. • _ Duncan was overjoyed to get again upon a horse. He abandoned the carbine with which Teehryk had once shot his knife from his hand, on account of its weight, tucked the pistol, however, into his belt, inside his tunic, and handed.the promised gold to the villager, whose hungry eye had never left the" hand that contained it, although the camel alone was well worth the horse. Hardly more than a dozen halfdressed natives had come cautiously upon the scene'.before Duncan was on the horse and galloping away. V . . The morning, with delicate pinks and yellows', broke all too soon. Duncan. buttoned his coat close up to his neck, and pulled his turban down over his -eyes. He felt his face very white and foreign in his unaccustomed uniform; yet now boldness was his.. only course, and he rode straight onward, trying to avoid no one. Interested (glances followed him. Those of the 1 same ; uniform who had passed a day or two before were known to be seeking someone whom the Sultan: greatly wished to i capture. Did this, belated soldier, perchance, bear news of the : capture? Yet none of the curious ones ventured to delay his fierce ride with questioning. At ; one. of the small villages Duncan stopped 'and ordered food for himself and his, horse. His own store he had left in the saddle-bags of the camel. He asked how far it was to. tlie coast, and with joy learned that, he was only a few hours' travel from it. r : Paying his reckoning with a li; berality intended to allay any suspicions that * iiis whiter skin might arouse, vhe mounted his horse and took up his journey with a speed that lie now dared use because 1 he knew that his horse's strength need only last a few hours '/longer.'^ (To be continued daily.) ; V"' *.' »' r '- ( " —■ ." r '-V* t ' S-.'.'.- •* *