Part 20 (1/2)

”Are you going alone, or do you wish me to awaken someone to accompany you?” he asked, and his tone denoted not the least surprise that Mohammed Beyd had suddenly discovered such reo alone,” replied Werper, and he passed on and out through the narrow opening in the boma, by which the sentry stood

Athe boles of the trees with his burden, and when safely hidden froirl to her feet, with a low, ”sh-sh,” when she would have spoken

Then he led her a little farther into the forest, halted beneath a large tree with spreading branches, buckled a cartridge belt and revolver about her waist, and assisted her to clamber into the lower branches

”Tomorrow,” he whispered, ”as soon as I can elude them, I will return for you Be brave, Lady Greystoke-we may yet escape”

”Thank you,” she replied in a low tone ”You have been very kind, and very brave”

Werper did not reply, and the darkness of the night hid the scarlet flush of shame which swept upward across his face Quickly he turned and made his way back to camp The sentry, from his post, saw him enter his own tent; but he did not see him crawl under the canvas at the rear and sneak cautiously to the tent which the prisoner had occupied, where now lay the dead body of Mohae of the rear wall, Werper crept within and approached the corpse Without an instant's hesitation he seized the dead wrists and dragged the body upon its back to the point where he had just entered On hands and knees he backed out as he had coian crept to the side of the tent and surveyed as

Returning to the body, he lifted it to his shoulder, and risking all on a quick sally, ran swiftly across the narrow opening which separated the prisoner's tent from that of the dead man Behind the silken wall he halted and lowered his burden to the ground, and there he re

Satisfied, at last, that no one had seen him, he stooped and raised the botto that had been Mohas of the dead raider he drew the corpse, then he fumbled about in the darkness until he had found Mohammed Beyd's revolver With the weapon in his hand he returned to the side of the dead ht hand with the weapon beneath the rugs, piled a number of thicknesses of the closely woven fabric over and about the revolver with his left hand Then he pulled the trigger, and at the sahed

The muffled report could not have been heard above the sound of his cough by one directly outside the tent Werper was satisfied A grim ss and placed it carefully in the right hand of the dead rip and the index finger inside the trigger guard

A s, and then he left as he had entered, fastening down the rear wall of the tent as it had been before he had raised it

Going to the tent of the prisoner he reht have coone beneath the rear wall Then he returned to his own tent, entered, fastened down the canvas, and crawled into his blankets

The followinghe akened by the excited voice of Moha to him at the entrance of his tent

”Quick! Quick!” cried the black in a frightened tone ”Come! Mohammed Beyd is dead in his tent-dead by his own hand”

Werper sat up quickly in his blankets at the first alarm, a startled expression upon his countenance; but at the last words of the black a sigh of relief escaped his lips and a slight smile replaced the tense lines upon his face

”I co on his boots, rose and went out of his tent

Excited Arabs and blacks were running from all parts of the camp toward the silken tent of Mohammed Beyd, and when Werper entered he found a number of the raiders crowded about the corpse, now cold and stiff

Shouldering his way aian halted beside the dead body of the raider He looked down in silence for a moment upon the still face, then he wheeled upon the Arabs

”Who has done this thing?” he cried His tone was both”Who has murdered Mohammed Beyd?”

A sudden chorus of voices arose in tumultuous protest

”Mohammed Beyd was not murdered,” they cried ”He died by his own hand This, and Allah, are our witnesses,” and they pointed to a revolver in the dead man's hand

For a time Werper pretended to be skeptical; but at last permitted himself to be convinced that Mohammed Beyd had indeed killed himself in remorse for the death of the white woman he had, all unknown to his followers, loved so devotedly