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Name: Class: Date:

Chapter 08: Arrays

True / False

1. You can declare an array variable by placing curly brackets after the array name.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 394

2. When an application contains an array and you want to use every element of the array in some task, it is common to
perform loops that vary the loop control variable from 0 to one less than the size of the array.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 402

3. When you want to determine whether a variable holds one of many valid values, one option is to use a do…while loop
to compare the variable to a series of valid values.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 414

4. When using parallel arrays, if one array has many possible matches, it is most efficient to place the less common items
first so that they are matched right away.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 417

5. Many programmers feel that breaking out of a for loop early disrupts the loop flow and makes the code harder to
understand.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 418

6. To initialize an array, you use an initialization list of values separated by commas and enclosed within curly braces.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
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Chapter 08: Arrays

POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

7. When you create an array variable, memory space is automatically reserved.

a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 395

8. When array elements are passed by value, a copy of the value is made and used within the receiving method.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 423-424

9. Since an array name is a reference, you are able to use the = operator for assigning and the == operator for
comparisons.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 424

10. When returning an array reference, square brackets are included with the return type in the method header.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 426

Multiple Choice

11. After you create an array variable, you still need to ____ memory space.
a. create b. organize
c. reserve d. dump
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 395

12. When you declare or access an array, you can use any expression to represent the size, as long as the expression is
_____.
a. a variable b. enclosed in brackets

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Chapter 08: Arrays

c. an integer d. a list
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 396

13. Languages such as Visual Basic, BASIC, and COBOL use ____ to refer to individual array elements.
a. ( ) b. [ ]
c. { } d. < >
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 395

14. A(n) ____ is an integer contained within square brackets that indicates one of an array’s variables.
a. postscript b. subscript
c. variable header d. indicator
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 395

15. When you declare an array name, no computer memory address is assigned to it. Instead, the array variable name has
the special value ____, or Unicode value ‘\u0000’.
a. empty b. null
c. false d. zero
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

16. In Java, boolean array elements automatically are assigned the value ____.
a. null b. ‘\u0000’
c. true d. false
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

17. When you create an array of objects, each reference is assigned the value ____.
a. null b. ‘\u0000’
c. true d. false
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

18. You use a ____ following the closing brace of an array initialization list.
a. . b. ;
c. : d. ,
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ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

19. Providing values for all the elements in an array is called ____ the array.
a. populating b. declaring
c. filling d. irrigating
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

20. When any ____ type (boolean, char, byte, short, int, long, float, or double) is passed to a method, the
value is passed.
a. array b. dummy
c. element d. primitive
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 424

21. The length ____ contains the number of elements in the array.
a. box b. field
c. area d. block
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 403

22. A(n) ____ loop allows you to cycle through an array without specifying the starting and ending points for the loop
control variable.
a. do…while b. inner
c. enhanced for d. enhanced while
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 403

23. If a class has only a default constructor, you must call the constructor using the keyword ____ for each declared array
element.
a. default b. new
c. first d. object
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 408

24. Comparing a variable to a list of values in an array is a process called ____ an array.
a. validating b. using
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c. checking d. searching
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 415

25. A ____ array is one with the same number of elements as another, and for which the values in corresponding elements
are related.
a. cloned b. parallel
c. property d. two-dimensional
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 415

26. When you initialize parallel arrays, it is convenient to use ____ so that the values that correspond to each other
visually align on the screen or printed page.
a. tabs b. indentation
c. spacing d. dashes
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 417

27. When you perform a ____, you compare a value to the endpoints of numerical ranges to find the category in which a
value belongs.
a. range match b. sort
c. reference d. search
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 419

28. It is a good programming practice to ensure that a subscript to an array does not fall below zero, causing a(n) ____.
a. array dump b. runtime error
c. conundrum d. compiling error
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 420

29. Individual array elements are ____ by value when a copy of the value is made and used within the receiving method.
a. sorted b. passed
c. received d. stored
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 423-426

30. When any primitive type variable is passed to a method, the _____ is passed.

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a. value b. reference
c. location d. memory
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 424

31. When a method returns an array reference, you include ____ with the return type in the method header.
a. { } b. ( )
c. < > d. [ ]
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 426

32. Which of the following println statements will display the last myScores element in an array of 10?
a. System.out.println(vals[0]); b. System.out.println(vals[1]);
c. System.out.println(vals[9]); d. System.out.println(vals[10]);
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 396-397

33. Which of the following statements correctly declares and creates an array to hold five double scores values?
a. integer[] scores = new double[5] b. double[] scores = new integer[5]
c. double[] = new scores[5] d. double[] scores = new double[5]
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 397

34. Which of the following statements correctly initializes an array with an initialization list?
a. int[] nums = {2, 4, 8}; b. int[] nums = (2, 4, 8);
c. int nums = [2, 4, 8]; d. int nums() = int{2, 4, 8}
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

35. In which of the following statements is the value of myVals null?

a. int myVals = "" b. int [] myVals;
c. myVals = int[null] d. int[null] = myVals
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

Completion

36. A(n) ____________________ is a named list of data items that all have the same type.
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Chapter 08: Arrays

ANSWER: array
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 394

37. When you declare or access an array, you can use any expression to represent the size, as long as the expression is a(n)
____________________.
ANSWER: integer
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 396

38. When you declare int[] someNums = new int[10];, each element of someNums has a value of
____________________ because someNums is an integer array.
ANSWER: 0
zero
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

39. An instance variable or object field is also called a(n) ____________________ of the object.
ANSWER: property
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 403

40. When any primitive type is passed to a method, the ____________________ is passed.
ANSWER: value
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 424

Matching

Match each term with the correct statement below.

a. array variable
b. reference type
c. elements
d. int
e. Java object names
f. length
g. foreach loop
h. reference types
i. return
REFERENCES: 394
424
395
399
399
403
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Chapter 08: Arrays

404
399
426

41. Numbered beginning with 0

ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

42. An array field

ANSWER: f
POINTS: 1

43. An enhanced for loop

ANSWER: g
POINTS: 1

44. Declared in the same way you declare any simple variable
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

45. A nonprimitive object

ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

46. A primitive type

ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

47. Represent computer memory addresses

ANSWER: e
POINTS: 1

48. A statement used to return an array from a method

ANSWER: i
POINTS: 1

49. Hold memory addresses where values are stored

ANSWER: h
POINTS: 1

Subjective Short Answer

50. Describe a situation in which storing just one value at a time in memory does not meet your needs.
ANSWER: At times you might encounter situations in which storing just one value at a time in memory does not
meet your needs. For example, a sales manager who supervises 20 employees might want to determine
whether each employee has produced sales above or below the average amount. When you enter the first
employee’s sales value into an application, you can’t determine whether it is above or below average
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because you don’t know the average until you have all 20 values. Unfortunately, if you attempt to assign
20 sales values to the same variable, when you assign the value for the second employee, it replaces the
value for the first employee.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 394

51. What is a subscript and how are the array’s elements numbered?
ANSWER: A subscript is an integer contained within square brackets that indicates one of an array’s variables, or
elements. In Java, any array’s elements are numbered beginning with 0, so you can legally use any
subscript from 0 to 19 when working with an array that has 20 elements.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 395

52. What does an array’s name represent and what value does it hold when declared?
ANSWER: Array names contain references, as do all Java object names. When you declare an array name using
only a data type, brackets, and a name, no memory address is assigned to it. Instead, the array variable
name has the special value null. When you declare int[] someNums;, the variable
name someNums has a value of null.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

53. When working with arrays, why is it beneficial to use a loop with a declared constant equal to the size of the array?
ANSWER: It is convenient to declare a named constant equal to the size of the array and use it as a limiting value in
every loop that processes the array. That way, if the array size changes in the future, you need to
modify only the value stored in the named, symbolic constant, and you do not need to search for
and modify the limiting value in every loop that processes the array.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 403

54. When using an array with all elements used, why would a programmer use a loop control variable from 0 to one less
than the size of the array? Give an example.
ANSWER: When an application contains an array and you want to use every element of the array in some task, it is
common to perform loops that vary the loop control variable from 0 to one less than the size of the array.
For example, if you get input values for the elements in the array, alter every value in the array, sum all
the values in the array, or display every element in the array, you need to perform a loop that executes
the same number of times as there are elements.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 402

55. How would you use a method that belongs to an object that is part of the array? Use an example and demonstrate with
Java code.
ANSWER: To use a method that belongs to an object that is part of an array, you insert the appropriate subscript
notation after the array name and before the dot that precedes the method name. For example, to display
data for seven Employees stored in the emps array, you can write the following:

for(int x = 0; x < emps.length; ++x)

System.out.println (emps[x].getEmpNum() + " "
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+ emps[x].getSalary());
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 408

56. Why would you use spacing when initializing parallel arrays?
ANSWER: When you initialize parallel arrays, it is convenient to use spacing so that the values that correspond to
each other visually align on the screen or printed page.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 417

57. How would a programmer perform a range match when writing an application that takes into consideration different
discount rates for customers? Give an example.
ANSWER: Create two corresponding arrays and perform a range match, in which you compare a value to the
endpoints of numerical ranges to find the category in which a value belongs. For example, one array can
hold the five discount rates, and the other array can hold five discount range limits. If you only use the
first figure in each range, you can create an array that holds five low limits:

int[] discountRangeLimit= {1, 13, 50, 100, 200};

A parallel array can hold the five discount rates:

double[] discountRate = {0, 0.10, 0.14, 0.18, 0.20};

Then, starting at the last discountRangeLimit array element, for any numOfItems greater than or
equal to discountRangeLimit[4], the appropriate discount is discount[4]. In other words, for
any numOrdered less than discountRangeLimit[4], you should decrement the subscript and
look in a lower range.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 419

58. What is different about passing an array to a method rather than passing a primitive type to a method?
ANSWER: Because an array name is a reference, you cannot assign another array to it using the = operator, nor can
you compare two arrays using the == operator. Additionally, when you pass an array (that is, pass its
name) to a method, the receiving method gets a copy of the array’s actual memory address. This means
that the receiving method has access to, and the ability to alter, the original values in the array elements
in the calling method.With a primitive, the method gets a copy of the variable's value, not the address of
the value, so the original value cannot be altered by the method.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 424

59. How can you use the enhanced for loop?

ANSWER: You can use the enhanced for loop to cycle through an array of objects. For example, to display data
for seven Employees stored in the emps array, you can write the following:
for(Employee worker : emps)
System.out.println(worker.getEmpNum() + " " + worker.getSalary();

In this loop, worker is a local variable that represents each element of emps in turn. Using the

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Chapter 08: Arrays

enhanced for loop eliminates the need to use a limiting value for the loop and eliminates the need for a
subscript following each element.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 408

60. When populating an array with an initialization list, you do not need to use the new keyword or provide an array size.
Explain why this is the case.
ANSWER: When you populate an array upon creation by providing an initialization list, you do not
give the array a size because the size is assigned based on the number of values you place in the
initializing list. Also, when you initialize an array, you do not need to use the keyword new. New
memory is assigned based on the length of the list of provided values.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

61. Why is the length field a good option when writing a loop that manipulates an array? What programming error is
common when attempting to use length as an array method?
ANSWER: The length field contains the number of elements in the array. If you modify the size of the array and
recompile the program, the value in the length field of the array changes appropriately. When you
work with array elements, it is always better to use a named constant or the length field when writing
a loop that manipulates an array.
A frequent programmer error is to attempt to use length as an array method, referring
to xxx.length(). However, length is not an array method; it is a field. An instance variable or
object field such as length is also called a property of the object.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 403

62. While you can provide any legal identifier you want for an array, conventional rules are typically followed. List and
describe the naming conventions for naming arrays.
ANSWER: Java programmers conventionally name arrays by following the same rules they use for variables:
Array names start with a lowercase letter.
Use uppercase letters to begin subsequent words.
Additionally, many programmers observe one of the following conventions to make it
more obvious that the name represents a group of items:
Arrays are often named using a plural noun such as salesFigures.
Arrays are often named by adding a final word that implies a group, such as salesList.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 394-395

63. int[] multsOfTen = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60};

The above code creates an array named multsOfTen. Describe how array sizes are determined when using an
initialization list and how memory is assigned.
ANSWER: When you populate an array upon creation by providing an initialization list, you do not give the array a
size—the size is assigned based on the number of values you place in the initializing list. For example,
the multsOfTen array just defined has a size of 6. Also, when you initialize an array, you do not need
to use the keyword new; instead, new memory is assigned based on the length of the list of provided
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values.
In Java, you cannot directly initialize part of an array. For example, you cannot create an array of 10
elements and initialize only five; you either must initialize every element or none of them.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

64. The following statement declares an array:

int[] scoreArray = {2, 14, 35, 67, 85};
final int INCREASE = 3;

Create a loop that will add INCREASE to every array element. Use the length field in the loop that will contain the
number of elements in the array.
ANSWER: for(sub = 0; sub < scoreArray.length; ++sub)
scoreArray[sub] += INCREASE;

POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 403

65. public class CostArray

{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
double[] costs = new double[3];
costs[0] = 5.00;
costs[1] = 7.00;
costs[2] = 9.00;
System.out.println(costs[3]);
}
}

Once the above code is compiled and executed, an error message is generated. Explain the error message that will result
and explain the reason for the error.
ANSWER: An out-of-bounds error is generated when the code is compiled and executed. The last executable line in
the code is an output statement that attempts to display a costs value using a subscript that is beyond
the range of the array: System.out.println(costs[3]). The program will run successfully
when the subscript used with the array is 0, 1, or 2. However, when the subscript reaches 3, the
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException error is generated. The message indicates that the subscript
is out of bounds and that the offending index is 3.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 399

66. String[] countyNames = {"Clark", "Delaware", "Madison"};

Using the above statement, what will be the value of countyNames[0], countyNames[1], and
countyNames[2]?
ANSWER: countyNames[0] will hold the value “Clark”
countyNames[1] will hold the value “Delaware”
countyNames[2] will hold the value “Madison”
POINTS: 1
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REFERENCES: 408-409

67. Write the statement to create an array named studentScores that will store five integer value student scores.
Initialize the array using an initialization list with the values 70, 85, 92, 67, and 76.
ANSWER: int[] studentScores = {70, 85, 92, 67, 76};
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 400

68. Using just one statement, declare and create an array that will reserve memory locations for 10 scores values that
are type double.
ANSWER: double[] scores = new double[10];
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 395

69. Write the statement to declare an array of integers that will hold studentScores.
ANSWER: int[] studentScores;
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 394

70. double[] studentScores;

double studentScores[];

Are both of the above statements valid for declaring an array variable? Why or why not?
ANSWER: You declare an array variable in the same way you declare any simple variable, but you insert a pair of
square brackets after the type. To declare an array of double values to hold studentScores, you can
write the following:
double[] studentScores;

In Java, you can also declare an array variable by placing the square brackets after the array name, as in
double studentScores[];. This format is familiar to C and C++ programmers, but the preferred
format among Java programmers is to place the brackets following the variable type and before the
variable name.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 394

71. String[] countyNames = {"Clark", "Delaware", "Madison"};

What will be the value of countyNames[0].length(), countyNames[1].length(), and

countyNames[2].length()?
ANSWER: countyNames[0].length() will have a value of 5
countyNames[1].length() will have a value of 8
countyNames[2].length() will have a value of 7
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 409

72. public static int[] sampleArray()

{
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Chapter 08: Arrays

int studentScores = {72, 91, 83};
____
}

Using the above code, write the statement that will return the array name.
ANSWER: return studentScores;
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 426

73. Write the statement to declare an array variable named studentScores with type double. Write a second
statement to create an array of 10 objects of type double.
ANSWER: double[] studentScores;
studentScores = new double [10];
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 395

74. double[] studentScores = new double[3];

studentScores[0] = 93;
studentScores[1] = 77;
studentScores[2] = 85;

Write a println statement to display the last element of the studentScores array.
ANSWER: System.out.println(studentScores[2]);
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: 396

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A white man would have blushed under the reproach in her look. Mahomed
smiled amiably, pleased over his cleverness. "Where is the kisweh?"
"The kisweh?"
"The Holy Yhiordes. Where is it?"
"That I refuse to tell you. Your word of honor first, to bind the bargain."
Ryanne laughed. It acted upon Mahomed like a goad. He raised the whip,
and had Ryanne's gaze swerved the part of an inch, the blow would have
fallen.
"You laugh?" snarled Mahomed.
"Why, yes. A bargain with your honor makes me laugh."
"And your honor?" returned Mahomed fiercely. He wondered why he held his
hand. "I have matched trickery against trickery. My honor has not been
called. I fed you, I gave you drink; in return you lied to me, dishonored me
in the eyes of my friends, and one of them you killed."
"It was my life or his," exclaimed Ryanne, not relishing the recital of this
phase. "It was my life or his; and he was upon my back."
Fortune shuddered. Presently she laid her hand upon Mahomed's arm.
"Would you take my word of honor?"
Mahomed sought her eyes. "Yes. I read truth in your eyes. Bring me the rug,
and my word of honor to you, you shall go free."
"But my friends?"
"One of them." Mahomed laughed unpleasantly. It was an excellent idea.
"One of them shall go free with you. It will be for you to choose which. Now,
you dog, laugh, laugh!" and the tongue of the kurbash bit the dust within an
inch of Ryanne's feet.
"What shall I do?" asked Fortune miserably.
"Accept," urged Ryanne. "If you are afraid to choose one or the other of us,
Jones and I will spin a coin."
"I agree," said George, very unhappy.
"Have you any paper, Jones?"
George searched. He found the dance-card to the ball at the hotel. In
another pocket he discovered the little pencil that went with it.
"You write," said Mahomed to Fortune.
"I intend to." Fortune took the card and pencil and wrote as follows:

"Mother:
"Horace, Mr. Jones and I are prisoners of the man who owned the rug,
which you will find in the large steamer-roll. Give it to the courier who
brings this card. And under no circumstances set spies upon his track."
In French she added: "We are bound for Bagdad. In case Mahomed
receives the rug and we are not liberated, wire the embassy at
Constantinople and the consulate at Bagdad.

"
Fortune."
She gave it to Mahomed.
"Read it out loud," he commanded. While he spoke English fluently, he could
neither read nor write it in any serviceable degree. The note he had given to
Fortune had been written by a friend of his in the bazaars who had upon a
time lived in New York. Fortune read slowly, slightly flushing as she evaded
the French script.
"That will do," Mahomed agreed.
He shouted for one of his boys, bade him saddle the hagin or racing-camel,
which of all those twelve, alone was his, and be off to Cairo. The boy dipped
his bowl into the kettle, ate greedily, saddled the camel, and five minutes
later was speeding back toward Cairo at a gait that would bring him there
late that night.
Fortune and George and Ryanne watched him till he disappeared below a dip
and was gone from view. In the minds of the three watchers the same
question rose: would he be too late? George was cheerful enough thereafter,
but his cheerfulness was not of the infectious kind.
At noon the caravan was once more upon its way. Ryanne was able to ride.
The fumes of whatever drug had been administered to him had finally
evaporated, and he felt only bruised, old, disheartened. An evil day for him
when he had set forth for Bagdad in quest of the rug. He was confident that
there would be no rug awaiting the courier, and what would be Mahomed's
procedure when the boy returned empty-handed was not difficult to imagine.
Mahomed was right; so far honor had not entered into the contest.
According to his lights, the Arab was only paying coin for coin. But for the
girl, Ryanne would have accepted the situation with a shrug, to await that
moment when Mahomed, eased by the sense of security, would naturally
relax vigilance. The presence of Fortune changed the whole face of the
affair. Mahomed could have his eyes and heart if he would but spare her. He
must be patient; he must accept insults, even physical violence, but some
day he and Mahomed would play the final round.
His past, his foolish, futile past: all the follies, all the petty crimes, all the low
dissipations in which he had indulged, seemed trooping about his camel,
mocking and gibbering at him. Why hadn't he lived clean like Jones there?
Why hadn't he fought temptation as he had fought men? Environment was
no excuse; bringing-up offered no palliation; he had gone wrong simply
because his inclinations had been wrong. On the other hand, no one had
ever tried to help him back to a decent living. His mother had died during his
childhood, and her influence had left no impression. His father had been a
money-maker, consumed by the pleasure of building up pyramids of gold. He
had never reasoned with his youngest-born; he had paid his bills without
protest or reproach; it was so much a month to be written down in the
expense account. And the first-born had been his natural enemy since the
days of the nursery. Still, he could not acquit himself; his own arraignment
was as keen as any judge could have made. Strong as he was physically,
brilliant as he was mentally, there was a mortal weakness in his blood; and
search as he might the history of his ancestors, their lives shed no light upon
his own.
In stating that his face had been granted that dubious honor and concern of
the perpetrators of the rogues' gallery, he had merely given rein to a seizure
of soul-bitterness. But there was truth enough in the statement that he had
been short in his accounts many thousands at his father's bank; gambling
debts; and in making no effort to replace the loss, he was soon found out by
his brother, who seemed only too glad to dishonor him. He was given his
choice: to sign over his million, due him a year later (for at this time the
father was dead), or go to prison. The scandal of the affair had no weight
with his brother; he wanted the younger out of the way. Like the hot-headed
fool he was, he had signed away his inheritance, taken a paltry thousand
and left America, facing imprisonment if he returned. That was the kind of a
brother he had. Once he had burned his bridges, there came to him a dozen
ways by which he could have extricated himself. But once a fool, always a
fool!
Disinherited, outcast, living by his wits, ingenious enough; the finer senses
callousing under the contact with his inferiors; a gambler, a hard drinker
periodically; all in all, a fine portrait for any gallery given over to rogues. And
he hadn't worried much over the moral problem confronting him, that the
way of the transgressor is hard. It was only when love rent the veil of his
fatuity that he saw himself as he really was.
Love! He gazed ahead at Fortune under the mahmal. That a guileless young
girl as she was should enchain him! That the sight of her should always send
a longing into his soul to go back and begin over! His jaws hardened. Why
not? Why not try to recover some of the crumbs of the fine things he had
thrown away? At least enough to permit him to go again among his fellows
without constantly looking behind to note if he were followed? By the Lord
Harry! once he was out of this web of his own weaving, he would live
straight; he swore that every dollar hereafter put in his pocket should be an
honest one. Fortune could never be his wife. He came to this fact without
any roundabout or devious byways. In the first place, he knew that he had
not touched her; she had only been friendly; and now even her friendship
hung by a thread. All right. The love he bore her was going to be his
salvation just the same; and at this moment he was deadly in earnest.
It was after nine when they were ferried across the two canals, the fresh-
water and the salt, several miles below Serapeum. The three weary captives
saw a great liner slip past slowly and majestically upon its way to the Far
East. She radiated with light and cheer and comfort; and all could hear
faintly the pulsations of her engines. So near and yet so far; a cup of water
to Tantalus! At midnight they made camp. There were no palms this time;
simply a well in the center of a jumble of huge boulders. The tents were
pitched to the southwest, for now the wind blew, biting from the land of
northern snows; and a fire was a welcome thing. This was Arabia; Africa had
been left behind. Here they awaited the return of the courier, who arrived
two days later, dead tired. The persons to whom the card had been sent had
sailed for Naples with the steamer Ludwig. Mahomed turned upon the three
miserables.
"I have you three, then; and by the beard of the Prophet, you shall pay, you
shall pay! You have robbed and beaten and dishonored me; and you shall
pay!"
"Am I guilty of any wrong toward you?" faltered the girl. Her mother had
gone. She had hoped against hope.
"No," cried Mahomed. He laughed. "You are free to return to Cairo ... alone!
Free to take your choice of these two men to accompany you. Free, free as
the air.... Well, why do you hesitate?"
 CHAPTER XV
FORTUNE'S RIDDLE SOLVED
Fortune, without deigning to reply, walked slowly and proudly to her tent,
and disappeared within. She looked neither at Ryanne nor at George. She
knew that George, his soul filled with that unlucky quixotic sense of chivalry
which had made him so easy a victim to her mother, would not accept his
liberty at the price of Ryanne's, Ryanne, to whom he owed nothing, not even
mercy. And if she had had to ask one of the two, George would have been
the natural selection, for she trusted him implicitly. Perhaps there still
lingered in her mind a recollection of how charmingly he had spoken of his
mother.
She could have set out for Cairo alone: even as she could have grown a pair
of wings and sailed through the air! The fate that walked behind her was
malevolent, cruel, unjust. She had wronged no one, in thought or deed. She
had put out her hand confidently to the world, to be laughed at, distrusted,
or ignored. Was it possible that a little more than a month ago she
wandered, if not happy, in the sense she desired, at least in a peaceful state
of mind, among her camelias and roses at Mentone? Her world had been, in
this short time, remolded, reconstructed; where once had bloomed a garden,
now yawned a chasm: and the psychological earthquake had left her dizzy.
That Mahomed, now wrought to a kind of Berserk rage, might begin
reprisals at once, did not alarm her; indeed, her feeling was rather of dull,
aching indifference. Nothing mattered now.
But Ryanne and George were keenly alive to the danger, and both agreed
that Fortune must go no farther.
Ryanne, under his bitter raillery and seeming scorn for sacred things,
possessed a latent magnanimity, and it now pushed up through the false
layers. "Jones, it's my funeral. Go tell her. You two can find the way back to
the canal, and once there you will have no trouble. Don't bother your head
about me."
"But what will you do?"
"Take my medicine," grimly.
"Ryanne, you are offering the cowardly part to me!"
"You fool, it's the girl. What do you and I care about the rest of it? You're as
brave as a lion. When you put up your fists the other night, you solved that
puzzle for yourself. For God's sake, do it while I have the courage to let you!
Don't you understand? I love that girl better than my heart's blood, and
Mahomed can have it drop by drop. Go and go quickly! He will give you food
and water."
"You go. She knows you better than me."
"But will she trust me as she will you? Percival, old top, Mahomed will never
let me go till he's taken his pound of flesh. Fortune!" Ryanne called.
"Fortune, we want you!"
She appeared at the flap of the tent.
"Jones here will go back with you. Go, both of you, before Mahomed
changes his mind."
"Miss Chedsoye, he is wrong. He's the one to go. He was hurt worse than I
was. Pride doesn't matter at a time like this. You two go," desperately.
Fortune shook her head. "All or none of us; all or none of us," she repeated.
And Mahomed, having witnessed and overheard the scene, laughed, a
laughter identical to that which had struck the barmaid's ears sinisterly. He
had not studied his white man without gathering some insight into his
character. Neither of these men was a poltroon. And when he had made the
offer, he knew that the conditions would erect a barrier over which none of
them would pass voluntarily. So much for pride as the Christian dogs knew
it. Pride is a fine buckler; none knew that better than Mahomed himself; but
a wise man does not wear it at all times.
"What is it to be?" he demanded of Fortune.
"What shall I say to him?"
"Whatever you will." Ryanne was tired. He saw that argument would be of
no use.
"All or none of us." And Fortune looked at Mahomed with all the pride of her
race. "It is not because you wish me to be free; it is because you wish to see
one of my companions made base in my eyes. I will not have it!"
"The will of Allah!" He could not repress the fire of admiration in his own
eyes as they took in her beauty, the erect, slender figure, the scorn upon her
face, and the fearlessness in her great, dark eyes. Such a woman might
have graced the palace of the Great Caliph. He had had in mind many little
cruelties to practice upon her, that he might see the men writhe, impotent
and helpless to aid her. But in this tense and dramatic scene, a sense of
shame took possession of him; his pagan heart softened; not from pity, but
from that respect which one brave person gives free-handed to another.
Mahomed was not a bad man, neither was he a cruel one. He had been
terribly wronged, and his eastern way had but one angle of vision: to avenge
himself, believing that revenge alone could soothe his outraged pride and
reëstablish his honor as he viewed it from within. Had the courier returned
with the Holy Yhiordes, it is not impossible that he would have liberated
them all. But now he dared not; he was not far enough away. To Bagdad,
then, and as swiftly as the exigencies of desert travel would permit. One
beacon of hope burned in his breast. The Pasha might be deposed, and in
that case he could immediately dispose of his own goods and chattels and
seek new pastures. It would come hard, doubly hard, since he never could
regain the position he was to lose.
Nine hundred pounds English, and a comfortable fraction over; the yellow-
haired dog would have nothing in the end for his pains. It would be what the
Feringhi called a good joke.
A week passed. Christmas. And not one of them recalled the day. Perhaps it
was because years had passed since that time when it meant anything to
them. The old year went out a-lagging; neither did they take note of this.
Having left behind civilization, customs and habits were forgotten.
Sometimes they rode all day and all night, sometimes but half a day, and
again, when the water was sweet, they rested the day and night. Never a
human being they saw, never a caravan met or crossed them. In this week,
the secret marvels of the desert became theirs. They saw it gleam and
waver and glitter under skies of brass, when the north wind let down and a
breeze came over from the Persian Gulf. They saw it covered with the most
amazing blues and greys and greens. They saw it under the rarest azure and
a stately fleet of billowy clouds; under the dawn, under the set of sun, under
the moon and the stars; and unfailingly the interminable reaches of sand
and rock and scrubby bush, chameleon-like, readjusted its countenance to
each change in the sky. George, who was a poet without the gift of
expression, never ceased to find new charms; and nothing pleased his fancy
more than to see the cloud-shadows scud away across the sands. Once,
toward the latter end of day, Fortune cried out and pointed. Far away, palely
yet distinctly, they saw an ocean liner. She stood out against the yellowing
sky as a magic-lantern picture stands out upon the screen, and faded
similarly. It was the one and only mirage they saw, or at least noticed.
Once another caravan, composed wholly of
Arabs, passed. What hope the prisoners had was
instantly snuffed out. Before the strangers came
within hailing, Mahomed hustled his captives into
his tent and swore he would kill either George or
Ryanne if they spoke. He forgot Fortune,
however. As the caravan was passing she
screamed. Instantly Mahomed clapped his hand
roughly over her mouth. The sheik of the
passing caravan looked keenly at the tent,
smiled grimly and passed on. What was it to him
that a white woman lay in yonder tent? His one
emotion was of envy. After this the prisoners
became apathetic.
Upon the seventh day, they witnessed the
desert's terrifying anger. The air that had been
cool, suddenly grew still and hot; the blue above
began to fade, to assume a dusty, copperish
color. The camels grew restless. Quickly there
rose out of the horizon saffron clouds, approaching with incredible swiftness.
Little whirlwinds of sand appeared here and there, rose and died as if for want of
air. Mahomed veered the caravan toward a kind of bluff composed of sand and
precipitous boulders. All the camels were made to kneel. The boys muffled up
their mouths and noses, and Mahomed gave instructions to his captives. Fortune
buried her head in her coat and nestled down beside her camel, while George
and Ryanne used their handkerchiefs. George left his camel and sought Fortune's
side, found her hand and held it tightly. He scarcely gave thought to what he did.
He vaguely meant to encourage her; and possibly he did.
The storm broke. The sun became obscured. Pebbles and splinters of rock sang
through the pall of whirling sand. A golden tone enveloped the little gathering.
Had there been no natural protection, they must have ridden on, blindly and
desperately, for to have remained still in the open would have been to await their
tombs. It spent its fury in half an hour; and the clearing air became cold again.
The caravan proceeded. The hair of every one was dimly yellow, their faces and
their garments.
When camp was made that night it found the captives untalkative. The girl and
the two men sat moodily about the fire. Fatigue had dulled their bodies and
hopelessness their minds. The men were ragged now, unkempt; a stubble of
beard covered their faces, gaunt yet burned. George had lost his remaining
pump, and as his stockings were now full of holes, he had, in the last flicker of
personal pride, wound about them some cast-off cloths he had found. There was
not enough water for ablutions; there was scarcely enough to assuage thirst.
By and by, Ryanne, without turning his head, spoke to George. "You say you
questioned the courier?"
"Yes."
"He says he showed the note to no one?"
"Yes."
"And so no one will try to find us?
"No."
Ryanne had asked these questions a dozen times and George had always given
the same answers.
Up and away at dawn, for they must reach the well that night. It was a terrible
day for them all. Even the beasts showed signs of distress. And the worst of it
was, Mahomed was not quite sure of his route. Fortunately, they found the well.
They drank like mad people.
Ryanne, who had discovered a pack of cards in his pocket, played patience upon
a spot smoothed level with his hand. He became absorbed in the game; and the
boys gathered round him curiously. Whenever he succeeded in turning out the
fifty-two cards, he would smile and rub his hands together. The boys at length
considered him unbalanced mentally, and in consequence looked upon him as a
near-holy man.
Between Fortune and George, conversation dwindled down to a query and an
answer.
"Can I do anything for you?"
"No, thanks; I am getting along nicely."
To-night she retired early, and George joined Ryanne's audience.
"It averages about nine cards to the play," he commented.
Ryanne turned over an ace. Ten or fifteen minutes went by. In the several
attempts he had failed to score the full complement.
George laughed.
"What's in your mind?" cried Ryanne peevishly. "If it's anything worth telling,
shoot it out, shoot it out!"
"I was thinking what I'd do to a club-steak just about now."
Ryanne stared beyond the fire. "A club-steak. Grilled mushrooms."
"Sauce Bordelaise. Artichokes."
"No. Asparagus, vinaigrette."
"What's the matter with endives?"
"That's so. Well, asparagus with butter-sauce."
"Grilled sweets, coffee, Benedictine, and cigars."
"And a magnum of '1900' to start off with!" Ryanne, with a sudden change of
mood, scooped up the cards and flung them at George's head. "Do you want us
both to become gibbering idiots?"
George ducked. He and the boys gathered in the fluttering paste-boards.
"You're right, Percival," Ryanne admitted humbly. "It will not hurt us to talk out
loud, and we are all brooding too much. I am crazy for the want of tobacco. I'd
trade the best dinner ever cooked for a decent cigar."
George put a hand reluctantly into his pocket. He brought forth, with extreme
gentleness, a cigar, the wrapper of which was broken in many places. "I've saved
this for days," he said. With his pen-knife he sawed it delicately into two equal
parts, and gave one to Ryanne.
"You're a good fellow, Jones, and I've turned you a shabby trick. I shan't forget
this bit of tobacco."
"It's the last we've got. The boys, you know, refuse a pull at the water-pipe;
defiles 'em, they say. Funny beggars! And if they gave us tobacco, we shouldn't
have paper or pipes."
"I always carry a pipe, but I lost it in the shuffle. I never looked upon smoking as
a bad habit. I suppose it's because I was never caught before without it. And it is
a bad habit, since it knocks up a chap this way for the lack of it. Where do you
get your club-steaks in old N. Y.?"
And for an hour or more they solemnly discussed the cooking here and there
upon the face of the globe.
By judicious inquiries, George ascertained that the trip to Bagdad, barring
accidents, would take fully thirty-five days. The daily journeys proceeded
uneventfully. Mahomed maintained a taciturn grimness. If he aimed at Ryanne at
all, it was in trifling annoyances, such as forgetting to give him his rations unless
he asked for them, or walking over the cards spread out upon the sand. Ryanne
carried himself very well. Had he been alone, he would have broken loose
against Mahomed; but he thought of the others, and restrained himself—some
consideration was due them.
But into the blood of the two men there crept a petty irritability. They answered
one another sharply, and often did not speak. Fortune alone seemed mild and
gentle. Mahomed, since that night she had braved him, let her go and come as
she pleased, nor once disturbed her. Had she shown weakness when most she
needed courage, Mahomed might not have altered his plans. Admiration of
courage is inherent in all peoples. So, without appreciating it, that moment had
been a precious one, saving them all much unpleasantness.
By the twentieth day, the caravan was far into the Arabian desert, and early in
the afternoon, they came upon a beautiful oasis, nestling like an emerald in a
plaque of gold. So many days had passed since the beloved green of growing
things had soothed their inflamed eyes, that the sight of this haven cheered
them all mightily. Once under the shade of the palms, the trio picked up heart.
Fortune sang a little, George told a funny story, and Ryanne wanted to know if
they wouldn't take a hand at euchre. Indeed, that oasis was the turning-point of
the crisis. Another week upon the dreary, profitless sands, and their spirits would
have gone under completely.
This oasis was close to the regular camel-way, there being a larger oasis some
twenty-odd miles to the north. But Mahomed felt safe at this distance, and
decided to freshen up the caravan by a two-days' rest.
George immediately began to show Fortune little attentions. He fixed her saddle-
bags, spread out her blanket, brought her some ripe dates of his own picking,
insisted upon going to the well and drawing the water she was to drink. And oh!
how sweet and cool that water was, after the gritty flat liquid they had been
drinking! Just before sundown, he and Fortune set out upon a voyage of
discovery; and Ryanne paused in his game of patience to watch them. There was
more self-abnegation than bitterness in his eyes. Why not? If Fortune returned to
her mother, sooner or later the thunderbolt would fall. Far better that she should
fall in love with Jones than to go back to the overhanging shadow. A smile lifted
the corners of his lips, a sad smile. Percival didn't look the part of a hero. His
coat was variously split under the arms and across the shoulders; his trousers
were ragged, and he walked in his cloth pads like a man who had gout in both
feet. A beard covered his face, and the bare spots were blistered and peeling.
But there was youth in Percival's eyes and youth in his heart, and surely the
youth in hers must some day respond. She would know this young man; she
would know that adversity could not crush him; that the promise of safety could
not make a coward of him; that he was loyal and brave and honest. She would
know in twenty days what it takes the average woman twenty years to learn, the
manner of man who professed to love her. Ryanne left the game unfinished,
stretched himself upon the ground with his face hidden in the crook of his arms.
Oh, the bitter cup, the bitter cup!
Round the fire that night, the camel-boys got out their tom-toms and reeds, and
the eerie music affected the white people hauntingly and mysteriously. For
thousands of years, the high and low notes of the drums (hollow earthen-jars or
large gourds covered with goat-skin at one end) and the thin, metallic wail of the
reeds had echoed across the deserts, unchanged. The boys swayed to and fro to
the rhythm, gradually working themselves into an ecstatic frenzy.
Fortune always remembered that night. Wrapped in her blanket, she had lain
down just outside the circle, and had fallen into a doze. When the music stopped
and the boys left the prisoners to themselves, George and Ryanne talked.
"I never forget faces," began George.
"No? That's a gift."
"And I have never forgotten yours. I was in doubt at first, but not now."
"I never met you till that night at the hotel."
"That's true. But you are Horace Wadsworth, all the same, the son of the
millionaire-banker, the man I used to admire in the field."
"You still think I'm that chap?"
"I am sure of it. The first morning you gave yourself away."
"What did I say?" anxiously.
"You mumbled foot-ball phrases."
"Ah!" Ryanne was vastly relieved. He seemed to be thinking.
"Do you persist in denying it?"
"I might deny it, but I shan't. I'm Horace Wadsworth, all right. Fortune knows
something about that chapter, but not all. Strikes you odd, eh?" continued
Ryanne, iron in his voice. "Every opportunity in the world; and yet, here I am.
How much do you know, I wonder?"
"You took some money from the bank, I think they said."
"Right-O! Wine, Percival; cards, wine and other things. Advice and warning went
into one ear and out of the other. Always so, eh? You have heard of my brother, I
dare say. Well, he wouldn't lend me two stamps were I to write for the
undertaker to come and collect my remains. Beautiful history! I've been doing
some tall thinking these lonely nights. Only the straight and narrow way pays. Be
good, even if you are lonesome. When I get back, if I ever do, it's a new leaf for
mine. Neither wine nor cards nor women."
Silence. The fire no longer blazed; it glowed.
"Who is Mrs. Chedsoye?" George finally began anew.
"First, how did you chance to make her acquaintance?"
"Some years ago, at Monte Carlo."
"And she borrowed a hundred and fifty pounds of you."
"Who told you that?" quickly.
"She did. She paid you back."
"Yes."
"And she hadn't intended to. You poor innocent!"
"Why do you call me that?"
"To lend money at Monte Carlo to a woman whose name you did not know at the
time! Green, green as a paddy field! I'll tell you who she is, because you're
bound to learn sooner or later. She is one of the most adroit smugglers of the
age; jewels and rare laces. And never once has the secret-service been able to
touch her. Her brother, the Major, assists her when he isn't fleecing tender lambs
at all known games of chance. He's a card-sharp, one of the best of them. He
tried to teach me, but I never could cheat a man at cards. Never makes any false
moves, but waits for the quarry to offer itself. That poor child has always been
wondering and wondering, but she never succeeded in finding out the truth.
Brother and sister have made a handsome living, and many a time I have helped
them out. There; you have me in the ring, too. But who cares? The father, so I
understand, married Fortune's mother for love; she married him for his money,
and he hadn't any. Drink and despair despatched him quickly enough. She is a
remarkable woman, and if she had a heart, she would be the greatest of them
all. She has as much heart as this beetle," as he filliped the green iridescent shell
into the fire. "But, after all, she's lucky. It's a bad thing to have a heart, Percival,
a bad thing. Some one is sure to come along and wring it, to jab it and stab it."
"The poor little girl!"
"Percival, I'm no fool. I've been watching you. Go in and win her; and God bless
you both. She's not for me, she's not for me!"
"But what place have I in all this?" evasively.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Why did Mrs. Chedsoye pay me back, when her original intention had been not
to pay me?"
"You'll find all that written in the book of fate, as Mahomed would say. More, I
can not tell you."
"Will not?"
"Well, that phrase expresses it."
They both heard the sound. Fortune, her face white and drawn, stood
immediately behind them.
 CHAPTER XVI
MAHOMED RIDES ALONE
It was as if the stillness of the desert itself had encompassed the two men. In
their ears the slither of the brittle palm-leaves against one another and the
crackle of the fire were no longer sounds. They stared at Fortune with that
speechless wonder of men who had come unexpectedly upon a wraith. What
with the faint glow of the fire upon one side of her and the pallor of moonshine
upon the other, she did indeed resemble man's conception of the spiritual.
Ryanne was first to pull himself together.
"Fortune, I am sorry; God knows I am. I'd have cut out my tongue rather than
have hurt you. I thought you were asleep in the tent."
"Is it true?"
"Yes." Ryanne looked away.
"I had not quite expected this: the daughter of a thief."
"Oh, come now; don't look at it that way. Smuggling is altogether a different
thing," protested Ryanne. (Women were uncertain; here she was, apparently the
least agitated of the three.) "Why, hundreds of men and women, who regularly
go to church, think nothing of beating Uncle Sam out of a few dollars. Here's
Jones, for instance; he would have tried to smuggle in that rug. Isn't that right,
Jones?"
"Of course!" cried George eagerly, though scarcely knowing what he said. "I'd
have done it."
"And you wouldn't call Percival a thief," with a forced laugh. "It's like this,
Fortune. Uncle Sam wants altogether too much rake-off. He doesn't give us a
square deal; and so we even up the matter by trying to beat him. Scruples? Rot!"
"It is stealing," with quiet conviction.
"It isn't, either. Listen to me. Suppose I purchase a pearl necklace in Rome, and
pay five-thousand for it. Uncle Sam will boost up the value more than one-half.
And what for? To protect infant industries? Bally rot! We don't make pearls in the
States; our oysters aren't educated up to it." His flippancy found no response in
her. "Well, suppose I get that necklace through the customs without paying the
duty. I make twenty-five hundred or so. And nobody is hurt. That's all your
mother does."
"It is stealing," she reiterated.
How wan she looked! thought George.
"How can you make that stealing?" Ryanne was provoked.
"The law puts a duty upon such things; if you do not pay it, you steal. Oh,
Horace, don't waste your time in specious arguments." She made a gesture,
weariness personified. "It is stealing; all the arguments in the world can not
change it into anything else. And how about my uncle who fleeces the lambs at
cards, and how about my mother who knows and permits it?"
Ryanne had no plausible argument to offer against these queries.
"Is not my uncle a thief, and is not my mother an abettor? I do not know of
anything so vile." Her figure grew less erect. To George's eyes, dimmed by the
reflecting misery in hers, she drooped, as a flower exposed to sudden cold. "I
think the thief in the night much honester than one who cheats at cards. A card-
sharp; did you not call it that? Don't lie, Horace; it will only make me sad."
"I shan't lie any more, Fortune. All that you believe is true; and I would to God
that it were otherwise. And I've been a partner in many of their exploits. But not
at cards, Fortune; not at cards. I'm not that kind of a cheat."
"Thank you. I should have known some time, and perhaps only half a truth. Now
I know all there is to know." She held her hands out before her and studied
them. "I shall never go back."
"Good Lord! Fortune, you must. You'd be as helpless as a babe. What could you
do without money and comfort?"
"I can become a clerk in a shop. It will be honest. Bread at Mentone would choke
me;" and she choked a little then as she spoke.
"My dear Fortune," said Ryanne, calling into life that persuasive sweetness which
upon occasions he could put into his tones, "have you ever thought how beautiful
you are? No, I don't believe you have. Some ancestor of your father's has been
reincarnated in you. You are without vanity and dishonesty; and I have found
that these usually go together. Well, at Mentone you had a little experience with
men. You were under protection then; protection it was of a sort. If you go out
into the world alone, there will be no protection; and you will find that men are
wolves generally, and that the sport of the chase is a woman. Must I make it
plainer?"
"I understand," her chin once more resolute. "I shall become a clerk in a shop.
Perhaps I can teach, or become a nurse. Whatever I do, I shall never go back to
Mentone. And all men are not bad. You're not all bad yourself, Horace; and so far
as I am concerned, I believe I might trust you anywhere."
"And God knows you could!" genuinely. "But I can't help you. If I had a sister or
a woman relative, I could send you to her. But I have no one but my brother, and
he's a worse scoundrel than I am. I at least work out in the open. He transacts
his villainies behind closed doors."
George listened, sitting as motionless as a Buddhist idol. Why couldn't he think of
something? Why couldn't he come to the aid of the woman he loved in this her
hour of trial? A fine lover, forsooth! To sit there like a yokel, stupidly! Could he
offer to lend her money? A thousand times, no! And he could not ask her to
marry him; it would not have been fair to either. She would have misunderstood;
she would have seen not love but pity, and refused him. Neither she nor Ryanne
suffered more in spirit than he did at that moment.
"Jones, for God's sake, wake up and suggest something! You know lots of decent
people. Can't you think of some one?"
But for this call George might have continued to grope in darkness. Instantly he
saw a way. He jumped to his feet and seized her by the hands, boyishly.
"Fortune, Ryanne is right. I've found a way. Mr. Mortimer, the president of my
firm, is an old man, kindly and lovable. He and his wife are childless. They'll take
you. Why, it's as easy as talking."
She leaned back against the drawing of his hands. She was afraid that in his
eagerness he was going to take her in his arms. She wondered why, of a sudden,
she had become so weak. Slowly she withdrew her hands from his.
"I'll cable the moment we reach port," he said, as if reaching port under the
existing conditions was a thing quite possible. "Will you go to them? Why, they
will give you every care in the world. And they will love you as ... as you ought to
be loved!"
Ryanne turned away his head.
Fortune was too deeply absorbed by her misery to note how near George had
come to committing himself. "Thank you, Mr. Jones; thank you. I am going to the
tent. I am tired. And I am not so brave as you think I am."
"But will you?"
"I shall tell you when we reach port." And with that she fled to the tent.
Ryanne folded his arms and stared at the sand. George sat down and aimlessly
hunted for the stub of the cigar he had dropped; a kind of reflex action.
The two men were all alone. The camel-boys were asleep. Mahomed had now
ceased to bother about a guard.
"I can't see where she gets this ridiculous sense of honesty," said Ryanne
gloomily.
George leaned over and laid his hand upon Ryanne's knee. "She gets it the same
way I do, Ryanne—from here," touching his heart; "and she is right."
"I believe I've missed everything worth while, Percival. Till I met you I always
had a sneaking idea that money made a man evil. The boot seems to be upon
the other foot."
"Ryanne, you spoke about becoming honest, once you get out of this. Did you
mean it?"
"I did, and still do."
"It may be that I can give you a lift. You worked in your father's bank. You know
something about figures. I own two large fruit-farms in California. What do you
say to a hundred and fifty a month to start with, and begin life over again?"
Ryanne got up and restlessly paced. Nonchalance had been beaten out of him;
the mercurial humor which had once been so pleasant to excite, which had once
given him foothold in such moments, was gone. He had only one feeling, a keen,
biting, bitter shame. At length he stopped in front of George, who smiled and
looked up expectantly.
"Jones, when you stick your finger into water and withdraw it, what happens?
Nothing. Well, the man who gives me a benefit is sticking his finger into water.
I'm just as unstable. How many promises have I made and broken! I mean,
promises to myself. I don't know. This moment I swear to be good, and along
comes a pack of cards or a bottle of wine, and back I slip. Would it be worth
while to trust a man so damned weak as that? Look at me. I am six-foot two,
normally a hundred and eighty pounds, no fat. I am as sound as a cocoanut.
There isn't a boxer in the States I'm afraid of. I can ride, shoot, fence, fight;
there isn't a game I can't take a creditable hand in. So much for that. There's the
other side. Morally, I'm putty. When it's soft you can mold it any which way;
when it's hard, it crumbles. Will you trust a man like that?"
"Yes. Out there you'll be away from temptation."
"Perhaps. Well, I accept. And if one day I'm missing, think kindly of the poor
devil of an outcast who wanted to be good and couldn't be. I'm fagged. I'm
going to turn in. Good night."
He picked up his blanket and saddle-bags and made his bed a dozen yards away.
George set his gaze at the fire, now falling in places and showing incandescent
holes. A month ago, in the rut of commonplace, moving round in the oiled
grooves of mediocrity. Bang! like a rocket. Why, never had those liars in the
smoke-rooms recounted anything half so wild and strange as this adventure.
Smugglers, card-sharps, an ancient rug, a caravan in the desert! He turned his
head and looked long and earnestly at the little tent. Love, too; love that had put
into his diffident heart the thrill and courage of a Bayard. Love! He saw her again
as she stepped down from the carriage; in the dining-room at his side, leaning
over the parapet; ineffably sweet, hauntingly sad. Would she accept the refuge
he had offered? He knew that old Mortimer would take her without question.
Would she accept the shelter of that kindly roof? She must! If she refused and
went her own way into the world, he would lose her for ever. She must accept!
He would plead with all the eloquence of his soul, for his own happiness, and
mayhap hers. He rose, faced the tent, and, with a gesture not unlike that of the
pagan in prayer, registered a vow that never should she want for protection,
never should she want for the comforts of life. How he was going to keep such a
vow was a question that did not enter his head. Somehow he was going to
accomplish the feat.
What mattered the ragged beard upon his face, the ragged clothes upon his
body, the tattered cloths upon his feet, the grotesque attitude and ensemble?
The Lord of Life saw into his heart and understood. And who might say with
what joy Pandora gazed upon this her work, knowing as she did what still
remained within her casket?
From these heights, good occasionally for any man's soul, George came down
abruptly and humanly to the prosaic question of where would he make his bed
that night? To lie down at the north side of the fire meant a chill in the morning;
the south side, the intermittent, acrid breath of the fire itself; so he threw down
his blanket and bags east of the fire, wrapped himself up, and sank into slumber,
light but dreamless.
What was that? He sat up, alert, straining his ears. How long had he been
asleep? An hour by his watch. What had awakened him? Not a sound anywhere,
yet something had startled him out of his sleep. He glanced over the camp. That
bundle was Ryanne. He waited. Not a movement there. No sign of life among the
camel-boys; and the flaps of the two tents were closed. Bah! Nerves, probably;
and he would have lain down again had his gaze not roved out toward the
desert. Something moved out there, upon the misty, moonlit space. He shaded
his eyes from the fire, now but a heap of glowing embers. He got up, and shiver
after shiver wrinkled his spine. Oh, no; it could not be a dream; he was awake. It
was a living thing, that long, bobbing camel-train, coming directly toward the
oasis, no doubt attracted by the firelight. Fascinated, incapable of movement, he
watched the approach. Three white dots; and these grew and grew and at length
became ... pith-helmets! Pith-helmets! Who but white men wore pith-helmets in
the desert? White men! The temporary paralysis left him. Crouching, he ran over
to Ryanne and shook him.
"What...."
But George smothered the question with his hand. "Hush! For God's sake, make
no noise! Get up and stand guard over Fortune's tent. There's a caravan outside,
and I'm going out to meet it. Ryanne, Ryanne, there's a white man out there!"
George ran as fast as he could toward the incoming caravan. He met it two or
three hundred yards away. The broken line of camels bobbed up and down oddly.
"Are you white men?" he called.
"Yes," said a deep, resonant voice. "And stop where you are; there's no hurry."
"Thank God!" cried George, at the verge of a breakdown.
"What the devil.... Flanagan, here's a white man in a dress-suit! God save us!"
The speaker laughed.
"Yes, a white man; and there's a white woman in the camp back there, a white
woman! Great God, don't you understand? A white woman!" George clutched the
man by the foot desperately. "A white woman!"
The man kicked George's hand away and slashed at his camel. "Flanagan, and
you, Williams, get your guns in shape. This doesn't look good to me, twenty
miles from the main gamelieh. I told you it was odd, that fire. Lively, now!"
George ran after them, staggering. Twice he fell headlong. But he laughed as he
got up; and it wasn't exactly human laughter, either. When he reached camp he
saw Mahomed and the three strangers, the latter with their rifles held
menacingly. Fortune stood before the flap of her tent, bewildered at the turn in
their affairs. Behind the leader of the new-comers was Ryanne, and he was
talking rapidly.
"Well," the leader demanded of Mahomed, "what have you to say for yourself?"
"Nothing!"
"Take care! It wouldn't come hard to put a bullet into your ugly hide. You can't
abduct white women these days, you beggar! Well, what have you to say?"
Mahomed folded his arms; his expression was calm and unafraid. But down in his
heart the fires of hell were raging. If only he had brought his rifle from the tent;
even a knife; and one mad moment if he died for it! And he had been gentle to
the girl; he had withheld the lash from the men; he had not put into action a
single plan arranged for their misery and humiliation! Truly his blood had turned
to water, and he was worthy of death. The white man, always and ever the white
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