---

---

---

---

THE DESERT HEALER

CHAPTER I

The slanting rays of the afternoon sun, unusuallypowerful for the time of year, lay warmly on the southernslopes of a tiny spur of the Little Atlas Mountains,glowing redly on the patches of bare earth and nakedrock cropping out between the scrubby undergrowth thatstraggled sparsely up the hill-side, and flickering throughthe leaves of a clump of olive trees huddled at its basewhere three horses stood tethered, lazily switching at thetroublesome flies with their long tails and shifting theirfeet uneasily from time to time.

Ten miles away to the westward lay Blidah, Europeanisedand noisy, but here was the deep stillness andsolitude—though not the arid desolation—of the opendesert. The silence was broken only by the monotonouscooing of pigeons and the low murmur of voices.

At a little distance from the picketed horses, out inthe full sunshine, a man lay on his back on the softground apparently asleep, his hands clasped under hishead, his face almost hidden by a sun helmet beneaththe brim of which protruded grotesquely a disreputableage-black pipe which even in sleep his teeth held firmly.There were amongst William Chalmers’ patients and intimateacquaintances those who affirmed positively thatthat foul old meerschaum—treasured relic of his hospitaldays—ranked second in his affections only to theadored wife who was sitting now near his recumbentfigure. Alert and youthful looking in spite of her greyhairs, she lounged comfortably against a sun warmedrock talking animatedly yet softly to the third memberof the party, a well set up man of soldierly appearancewho sprawled full length at her feet. There was a certaindefinite resemblance between the two, a similarity ofspeech and gesture, that proclaimed a near relationship.

Mrs. Chalmers broke off in the middle of a sentenceto flap her gauntlet gloves at a swarm of persistent flies.“All the same, I think it’s perfectly disgraceful that youare still a bachelor, Micky,” she said, with emphaticcousinly candour, resuming an argument which had ragedfor the last half hour. Major Meredith grinned withperfect good humour.

“Haven’t time for matrimony,” he answered lazily,“too busy watching our wily brothers over the Border.And besides,” with a provocative sidelong glance, “marriageis a lottery. We can’t all expect to have Bill’s luck.”

Mrs. Chalmers wrinkled her nose at him disgustedly.“That’s a cl

BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!

Sitemize Üyelik ÜCRETSİZDİR!