| Show 1 I It Ii t A rF r s 7 f i t r rt t r iTI 1 1 1 r V fROM BEDOUINS BY A COWBOY OY it I Ii r rE E Story of o an Adventure in r the Ned eded e Desert Deser t o j Which Begins In rn Treachery and Ends r in n the Dis Discovery j i covery cover of o Treasure MONG MONO the adventurers who roam tho the I m A earth rth sword rifle or prospectors tors tor ham bam hammer mer in hand Alan do Markham t Is known dt one onti of tho Ulo men of or widest experience ence He wl born in Day Bay New Newfoundland and educated in Dublin leaving collego college to Join Sir Evelyn Woods expedition ca edition against the thc Zulus Zulu ts and receiving among other wounds a n stab from an In which peeled the tile flesh from his forehead leaving n a peculiar white line lino all aU the way across just nl above ovo his eyebrows that caused him to be nicknamed among his fellow adventurers Horizontal t Markham Ho was the military officer of the recently wrecked in Alaska under the thc name of the ilie Princess Princes May Ma when she set out from Amoy with n a crew of Oriental adventurers enlisted to fight tho pirates of tho South China Sen Sea SenHo SenHo Ho was tho leader lender of the expedition to rescue Ian Inu when that gentleman was vas hold h hold ld captive by but tho the Spanish authorities would not permit the ho bold band to take ship from Barcelona and before the matter was ad nd the captive was freed He chanced to bo be in n at nt the time timo of the tho earthquake at nt Messina and gathering a n chosen few on board a n fishing boat he put into both R and Messina and did valiant work among tho toppling buildings rescuing tho un fortunate victims BY ALAN DE GRACIO MARKI MARKHAM iAM 1010 by hr the tho ew W York Co All 11 nE In the Southwest of the United S States Slates there Is a cowboy by the tho name narue of oC J Taylor laylor Tolliver r whom T I would woul like Ilko to rejoin lie llo 11 and amI I 1 faced death together night r and day ay for two weeks week In the heart of oC Arabia and but for Cor him I 1 would woul not bo 10 alive to tell this story stor Beyond the Ow fact that hunt he had hn emigrated from the mountains of Tennessee to Texas worked there as asa asa I a n cowboy and an enlisted enlist ell to go so to the Philippines in one olla of tho the volunteer infantry regiments raised by b the American government go In iii I know Imo very er lit link UP about him lie Ila had hn been een honorably discharged c when his regiment was mustered out and instead of go going o oIn Gig ing In home bonne as s most of or tho the volunteers did lid by h the mill mill transports to San Francisco he chose choso to come com around the th other way so that he might mJ ht say sa ho he had bad badeen been een around the world f I 1 met him in hi the smoking room of the r P t C 0 O steamship from Singapore anti Il wo we played curtIs curds to ter tog f g ther At Colombo there came on board an Armenian jow Jewel Jowel el merchant by the tho name mute of or lIe He hind had caught n cold in crossing crossin tho the Himalayas that lint hud had developed Into InLo consumption and he ho was IS trying to Lo net got home homo be bl before blore before fore he lied died The rho had hn been heen ore man hi In some of the tho corners cor COI corner ner ners of Asia where I 1 have hOo always longed to go but hut buthis his Ills days das of oC gem em gathering were vere over oer that was WIS plain Because we ve did l not slims shun him as most of the ho tourist tourists did he ho spent Silent every possible hour of the lie quiet trip with us and when we wo wore WOlO passing Island the day ny before befort we were to reach Aden A ell he told us a bit of or knowledge c which h he had hind been treasuring for years rears and II was now glad Ild to give he to us as ho he hoped we tv might moire male some sonic use of IL It t Back Bach of ou on the coast const of the tho he fled Red Sea Sen lies lei Mecca the Mecca of or tho the Great Greut Prophet and southeast of Mecca in ill the southern end of oC the part of or orthe the grout great Arabian desert is I n a hitter bitter lake called by a n 1 of or names nume but hut as 1 I found referred to among amon the Arabians as said sal he ho hind had been there thero and that the sands Bands were rich In turquoise matrices and amI In n free ree gold goJ but that he ho had always been too intensely engaged to return tet urn Furthermore his being an on Armenian would interfere very ery seriously with his JIs obtaining o any nn satisfactory proprietary rights To ro organize or nil an expedition on Oil short notice DoUce was no easy matter malter and an though h the tho British Resident advised us very ery strongly against going oln Into the Interior with without without i out DUt a n strong stron bodyguard both hoth Tolliver and myself were elo l of the opinion after looking over ocr the tho available body bedy f guard material that we wc would be better hetter off ou entirely alone That however WOK Impossible Wo We must have hae attendants and after aCter we left lell the const guides to take us over ocr the mountains so o we began by hiring n r I II I half Greek Creck half balf Egyptian dragoman named name Ben lien Ma la i l The Outfitting t Next we took look on n cook who was familiar with r the Mohammedan religious calendar and amI food pro prohibitions pros accordingly as ns well as ns how ho to present a white mans mess There were three former ormer Abyssinian A maul lUll Infantrymen In Aden d ll hinting having been brought there thore among the people saved sa e from front a sloop that foundered r In III the Straits of or Bub Bab El EI and something prompted me 1110 to take the three along I 1 was very verj glad Iu afterward Unit hut I did dIll didAs dIllAs didAs As for the transport men we wo thought It lt best Jest to proceed to Jl du and amI trust to hiding Oll lug something I very er excellent In their thuir line among the tile men Wien who did the work of or carrying Mohammedan pilgrims to Mecca Meceo On arrival at nt 1 we found nn nu abundance of Arabian camels and horsemen well mounted and aud fairly well armed I 1 had hind obtained twelve ton in Aden with abundant a un ammunition and to such of ot the lie Ara blaus as ns were armed with I gave sac Instead Tolliver and und 1 J had hu our own weapons and wo vve w used lined four of oC the twelve for Ben nail and nUll the three Abyssinians Al The second duy u beyond Mecca where we hurried through the usual throng of fanatical pilgrims glad to escape the knife of some gome one ono of them gone amuck I found that I r hind lind made mado a II slight mistake a iu lu picking my m men at nt I had ba taken them for or size appearance and equipment I had avoided nol l tho the wilder wll er ones one The Tho result was that t I hud had representatives of ot four different tribes that hated one another and also if IC they hud bud bu been wilder wll er it would have nc been better To 10 their original orl inal fiat wildness the tho th tamed oneR laud hold lut merely added II a a 1 little cunning and treachery tr The principal trouble trou le maker was leas a at rawboned square shouldered El EI man mau who rejoiced In a lI name that translated tod means Memory of the tho 1 I dubbed dub him Rosebud and lind permit me DIe to say nay he was wasa a rare flower Ills His body w was lean but powerful but buthis buthis his hili legs j from the knee down were thin OB IW laths shapely and an ilL his foot was WUI small This thing is often orton seen cn among people who live Iho in the saddle almost from childhood c The day of the tha first trouble we W had bad made mude a 0 dry halt batt shortly noon to prepare to make two rapid night marches to abundant n water which the tho guides said could be Le round found lu In gorged gorge of Lake Liiko Rosebud came camo swaggering by y and rudely Jostled ono one of ot the Ab almost knocking him bin himoff binoff off Of his feet The Thc Abyssinian lu D named Robert turned around to see Bee who bad done It Rosebud in his hilt hilti i m 7 r 0 C E i ar 7 r i 2 t face Robert was unarmed and had both boLh pistol and und short sword iu In his girdle lint hilt tho the tryman calling to mind his British boxing lessons let let drive with his right rl bt In a n swinging uppercut that lint laid Rosebud nO fairly across the tho neck of o a kneeling camel Tho Thu El BI Ilasa HIlS man ratan was not unconscious but ut for tor P r l few seconds be c was tans helpless very ery largely from Crom sue sur surprise prise perhaps Robert snatched the short sword and n 1 would have hac finished l him had not Tolliver run in and stopped the tho light fight All afternoon bad blood grew rew It lL was that ha L monition and a sleep Sleep one ono ata at a time lime after this so so 1 drawled d rn Tolliver f Without ut further ado allo we w stripped sl every overy man Jack of them at the llio muzzle did hl It IL half hall ir but Lilt quickly all save savo the th and packing each kind of ammunition separately we made special loads and moved on as 1 the tho sun went wen t down the b I In charge o of ot the tho animals carrying the tho cartridges es esIt It was a unique situation and aud au far from front a comfort comfortable able uble one but it was ws the only thing to do tin Shortly after midnight ht we were on the tho crest of oC a n ridge three throe or four hundred rd feet cat higher than the ho surrounding rough coun country country country try when lien Bon Ben en called my III attention to two lights oft off to le the northeast At first glance 1 I thought thou hr they were ware stars low down at nt the horizon but very C soon one of or them was blotted out for n a moment and find thin th lt shone again We Wa had company of or sonic some sort ort or other in lint Hint Inhospitable lo country countr i rf f P t 1 fL d v 5 i ti I PI r rr ry t r y I s i c i f I I c A AC I r i C Si 1 f F I 1 4 r s i l li 1 J i we were going to have trouble among our own men menThe menThe The rho men front from Oman and Ash Asir were few in number compared to 0 the and and nud though they were spoiling for Ot a tight light they remained passive pa he heIn In word and act only little things showing that they hoy t were wore allied with the not because they thoy liked the tho black men mon but because e they realized realize their drilled rille 1 efficiency Trouble Is Breeding Very ery plain indeed lu were the tho strained relations when tho caravan set sot out omit at moonrise The rhe fret free fe mingling of the men the tho tb rough good natured Jibes hind had given glen place pIneo to n a silent grouping of the parties according lur to ro their It even leven seemed that the camels cameN understood un that l tho the happy family faintly was such no more mori moriYe Wo Ye made good goo progress however and ami a n half hour after sunrise on the western side of a 1 pillar of rocks which rose like a n business block out of the tho sandy waste By B keeping close to it we wo should have hoe shade till noon and could coul then move to lo thu northern side sl e and au on around to the tho east the solo sole disadvantage being our necessity for Cor living on our shortened supply of or freighted water and of or being belli showered with sand saud every ever time the tho wind stirred It Il was tas lute laic In the tue afternoon and an 1 was sound asleep under my m Uy lly 11 when wll u I heard time the crack of a n rUle rifle mind and sprang to my 01 feet in time lime to seo see a u big un called Kouf staggering staS back back from Crom before Tolliver tearing leuring at nt his Cartridges ell dropped from him every cery step ho he took look lie Llo had been beell ammunition from three sleeping l Omans and Hull l an un Asir man had hn soon seen him bun and amid wakened who slopped to usk asit no nu questions but hut shot him in the nock neck I caught up my magazine and swept my 01 eye eyo over the tho other men Most lost of ot them were still asleep land and the tho sight of oC the two of ot us on ou the alert prevented any au demonstration Lion ion Kouf Koul was hard hurd hit but not mortally so and null striking a 1 horse horo came to a short stop und and seemed lo to recover his faculties Ilo Ho saw fill w rule ride in ha hand twenty yards away and an the tho expression of maddened deviltry that came on his face was WaR something well worth seeing Whirling to the other side of ot the tho horre ho bo began I calling hoarsely ly to his companions III U caught up a l and levelling I H It over the tho lie animals buck back was in tho the act of ot firing when throwing his rifle to shoulder once more sent a bullet through lJ Kouts head bead Tho Thu rh went wont Into tho the air The rho slug clattered among the rocks overhead and und Kouf Koue fell ull dead deu under un er tho hoofs of thu Ihu prancing mare Not another WIlD man in III n the tho now company COlli pan made marIn the slightest t hostile dens dem lion though tho ho faces of oC many were black with hatred anger finger and vengeance Markham I reckon TI kon wn wo bettor bottor round roun up tip Ihn flin Io nm am 1 a ai iy I ij t eo Now we began an the descent of a n long dry gorge where whore the entire caravan was vas strung strut out over oer at least leasta a tl quarter of a u mile and aud an the time s going l in n the darkness 5 Yak was very CI precarious Indeed In eed Just as ns daylight was break breaking breaking ing In I 1 hoard beard a n cry cr from Crom the thc head hen of or the cavalcade anti aud the camels began to lo act lct peculiarly When I came caUle up the men mca mind and animals who hind had preceded ct mo me were here grouped about a fine flue pool fifty feet In ht diameter In the I bed bd of or tile the gorge gore fed ld by br some spring under tinder un er the rocks A few fw minutes work with a pick served to lO o open up UI the tho hidden duet and aud wo we U had hind water In abundance n abundance un 1 dance as is cool mind and sweet as its any all Berkshire B spring curing Deserters Speed Away A wp When wo we had humid made etude chump camp and the sun was up Tolli Tolliver vor yer anti and I 1 were taking our first comfortable le smoke In lira days when one of the black men ruen came up saluted and amid un said Three boy throe three camel camol go sO way Wl It was waR the truth Three hind had deserted III in the tho darkness s nail and though h I questioned every ever one ulle of lIr their tribesmen and I J pondered the tho th mutter matter over OCI carefully we could come coup to no explanation tion of It If I f mil only been he en missing I would have hae thought that ho lie had lagged and gone over OCI a t cliff In lu the tho darkness but hut the tho number missing IIII mantle mado the disappearance purposeful and amid perhaps ominous Wo 0 were wore now within striking distance of our ob objective point amid nn for rOl that matter maller might bo he In hi rich ground oven oen thou then Satisfying ourselves that lint nil all wits was quiet and leaving the he Ab on guard we wo pro proceeded down the tho gorge Ol and Tolliver panned several high burs gold In ha every CI one but butt not in 10 the quantities we hind had anticipated There was no nl trace traen of turquoises and an the formation around u us wits was clr certainly thinly very ery different from that surrounding the tho Persian wells lIs according to the tho descriptions I had ha obtained of or theta them Resting for tor the be full t ut hour boars wu wo set out to follow rollow the lie gorge breaking camp with daylight n lIght the next day tin I learned litter later how fortunate wo wu worn WON to lo hove have thus this nOo Just ju t when w we did dad dl About A hout six miles further on ou we came callie to a lI that lint looked very er slightly water worn wom and nud Just be beyond JI yond yonel the gorge gorgo widened wl into tutu what might once have boon been b cn a II small lake On Oa tho thu southeastern side Ido of ot |
