initial commit of ebook 23418HEADmain

12 files changed, 5664 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/23418-0.txt b/23418-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6067554
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1027 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Desert Air
+       1905
+
+Author: Robert Hichens
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2007 [EBook #23418]
+Last Updated: December 17, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+DESERT AIR
+
+By Robert Hichens
+
+Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
+
+Copyright, 1905
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+On an evening of last summer I was dining in London at the Carlton with
+two men. One of them was an excellent type of young England, strong,
+healthy, athletic, and straightforward. The other was a clever London
+doctor who was building up a great practice in the West End. At dessert
+the conversation turned upon a then recent tragedy in which a great
+reputation had gone down, and young England spoke rather contemptuously
+of the victim, with the superior surprise human beings generally express
+about the sin which does not happen to be theirs.
+
+“I can’t understand it!” was his conclusion. “It’s beyond me.”
+
+“Climate,” said the doctor quietly.
+
+“What?”
+
+“Climate. Air.”
+
+Young England looked inexpressively astonished.
+
+“But hang it all!” he exclaimed, “you don’t mean to say change of air
+means change of nature?”
+
+“Not to everyone. Not to you, perhaps. Have you travelled much?”
+
+“Well, I’ve been to Paris for the Grand Prix, and to Monte----”
+
+“For the gambling. That’s hardly travelling. Now, I’ve studied this
+subject a little, quietly in Harley Street. I’m no traveller myself,
+but I have dozens of patients who are. And I’m convinced that the modern
+facilities for travel, besides giving an infinity of pleasure, bring
+about innumerable tragedies.”
+
+He turned to me.
+
+“You go abroad a great deal. What do you say?”
+
+“That you’re perfectly right. And I’m prepared to affirm that, in
+highly-strung, imaginative, or over-worked people change of climate does
+sometimes actually cause, or seem to cause, change of nature.”
+
+Young England, who was by no means highly-strung or imaginative, looked
+politely dubious, but the doctor was evidently pleased.
+
+“An ally!” he cried.
+
+He glanced at me for an instant, then added:
+
+“You’ve got a case that proves it, at any rate to you, in your mind.”
+
+“Quite true.”
+
+“Can you give it us?”
+
+“Jove! let’s have it!” exclaimed young England.
+
+“Certainly, if you like,” I said. “I don’t know whether you ever heard
+of the Marnier affair?”
+
+Young England shook his head, but the doctor replied at once.
+
+“Three years ago, wasn’t it?”
+
+“Four.”
+
+“And it happened in some remote place in the Sahara Desert?”
+
+“In Beni-Kouidar. I was with Henry Marnier in Beni-Kouidar at the time.”
+
+“Go ahead!” said young England more eagerly.
+
+“Poor Marnier was not an old friend of mine, but an acquaintance whom I
+had met casually at Beni-Mora, which is known as a health resort.”
+
+“I send patients there sometimes,” said the doctor.
+
+“The railway stops at Beni-Mora. To reach Beni-Kouidar one must go on
+horse or camel back over between three and four hundred kilometres of
+desert, sleeping on the way at Travellers’ Houses--Bordjs as they are
+called there. Beni-Kouidar lies in the midst of immeasurable sands,
+and the air that blows through its palm gardens, and round its mosque
+towers, and down its alleys under the arcades, is startling: dry as the
+finest champagne, almost fiercely pure and fresh, exhilarating--well,
+too exhilarating for certain people.”
+
+The doctor nodded.
+
+“Champagne goes very quickly to some heads,” he interjected.
+
+“Beni-Kouidar has nothing to say to modern civilisation. It is a wild
+and turbulent city, divided into quarters--the Arab quarter, the Jews’
+quarter, the freed negroes’ quarter, and so on--and furthermore, is
+infested at certain seasons by the Sahara nomads, who camp in filthy
+tents on the huge sand dunes round about, and sell rugs, burnouses, and
+Touareg work to the inhabitants, buying in return the dates for which
+the palms of Beni-Kouidar are celebrated.
+
+“I wanted to see a real Sahara city to which the Cook’s tourist had not
+as yet penetrated, and I resolved to ride there from Beni-Mora. When
+Henry Marnier heard of it he asked if he might accompany me.
+
+“Marnier was a young man who had recently left Oxford, and who had come
+out to Beni-Mora only a week before to see his mother, who was
+going through the sulphur cure. He was what is generally called a
+‘serious-minded young man’; intellectual, inclined to grave reading and
+high thinking, totally devoid of frivolity, a little cold in manner and
+temperament, one would have sworn; in fact, a type of a very well-known
+kind of Oxford undergraduate, the kind that takes a good tutorship for a
+year or so after leaving the University, and then becomes a schoolmaster
+or a clergyman. Marnier, by the way, intended to take orders.
+
+“Now, this sort of young man is not precisely my sort, and especially
+not my sort in the Sahara Desert. But I did not want to be rude to
+Marnier, who was friendly and agreeable, and obviously anxious to
+increase his already considerable store of knowledge. So I put my
+inclinations in my pocket, and, with inward reluctance, I agreed.
+
+“We set off with Safti, my faithful one-eyed Arab guide, and after three
+long days of riding and talking--as I had feared--Maeterlink and
+Tolstoy, Henley and Verlaine (this last being utterly condemned by
+Marnier as a man of weak character and degraded life) we saw the towers
+of Beni-Kouidar aspiring above the shifting sands, the tufted summits of
+the thousands of palm-trees, and heard the dull beating of drums and the
+cries of people borne to us over the spaces of which silence is the
+steady guardian.
+
+“We were all pretty tired, but Marnier was, especially done up. He had
+recently been working very hard for the ‘first’ with which he had left
+Oxford, and was not in good condition. We were, therefore, glad enough
+when we rode through the wide street thronged with natives, turned the
+corner into the great camel market, and finally dismounted before
+the door of the one inn, the ‘Rendezvous des Amis,’ a mean, dusty,
+one-storey building, on whose dirty white wall was a crude painting of a
+preposterous harridan in a purple empire gown, pouring wine for a Zouave
+who was evidently afflicted with elephantiasis. Yet, tired as I was,
+I stepped out into the camel market for a moment before going into the
+house, emptied my lungs, and slowly filled them.
+
+“‘What air!’ I said to Marnier, who had followed me.
+
+“‘It is extraordinary,’ he answered in his rather dry tenor voice.
+‘I should say like the best champagne, if I did not happen to be a
+teetotaller.’
+
+“(The market, I must explain, was not at that moment in active
+operation.)
+
+“After a _bain de siege_--we both longed for total immersion--and some
+weak tea, in which I mingled a spoonful of rum, we felt better, but
+we reposed till dinner, and once again Marnier, in his habitually
+restrained and critical manner, discussed contemporary literature, and
+what Plato and Aristotle, judging by; their writings, would have been
+likely to think of it. And once again I felt as if I were in the ‘High’
+at Oxford, and was almost inclined to wish that Marnier was the rowdy
+type of undergrad, who ducks people in water troughs and makes bonfires
+in quads.”
+
+“H’m!” said the doctor gravely. “Better, perhaps, if he had been.”
+
+“Much better,” I answered. “At seven o’clock we ate a rather tough
+dinner in the small, bare _salle-à-manger_, on the red brick floor of
+which sand grains were lying. Our only companion was a bearded priest in
+a dirty soutane, the aumônier of Beni-Kouidar, who sat at a little table
+apart, and greeted our entrance with a polite bow, but did not then
+speak to us.
+
+“When the meal was ended, however, he joined us as we stood at the inn
+door looking out into the night. A moon was rising above the palms, and
+gilding the cupolas of the Bureau Arabe on the far side of the Market
+Square. A distant noise of tomtoms and African pipes was audible.
+And all down the hill to our left--for the land rose to where the inn
+stood--fires gleamed, and we could see half-naked figures passing and
+repassing them, and others squatting beside, looking like monks in their
+hooped burnouses.
+
+“‘You are going out, messieurs?’ said the aumônier politely.
+
+“I looked at Marnier.
+
+“‘You’re too done up, I expect?’ I said to him.
+
+“His face was pale, and he certainly had the demeanour of a tired man.
+
+“‘No,’ he answered. ‘I should like to stroll in this wonderful air.’
+
+“I turned to the priest.
+
+“‘Yes, monsieur,’ I said.
+
+“‘I come here to take my meals, but I live at the edge of the town.
+Perhaps you will permit me to accompany you for a little way.’
+
+“‘We shall be delighted, and we know nothing of Beni-Kouidar.’
+
+“As we stepped out into the market Marnier paused to light his pipe. But
+suddenly he threw away the match he had struck.
+
+“‘No, it’s a sin to smoke in this air,’ he said.
+
+“And he drew a deep breath, looking at the round moon.
+
+“The priest smiled.
+
+“‘I have lived here for four years,’ he said, ‘and cannot resist my
+cigar. But you are right. The air of Beni-Kouidar is extraordinary. When
+first I came here it used to mount to my head like wine.’
+
+“‘Bad for you, Marnier!’ I said, laughing.
+
+“Then I added, to the aumônier:
+
+“‘My friend never drinks wine, and so ought to be peculiarly susceptible
+to such an influence.’”
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+“Opposite to the aumonier’s dwelling was the great dancing-house of the
+town, and when we had bade him good-night, and turned to go back to the
+inn, I rather tentatively suggested to Marnier that, perhaps, it would
+be interesting to look in there for a moment.
+
+“‘All right,’ he responded, with his most donnish manner. ‘But I expect
+it will be rather an unwashed crowd.’
+
+“A quantity of native soldiers--the sort that used to be called
+Turcos--were gathered round the door. We pushed our way through them,
+and entered. The café was large, with big white pillars and a double row
+of divans in the middle, and divans rising in tiers all round. On the
+left was a large doorway, in which gorgeously-dressed painted women,
+with gold crowns on their heads, were standing, smoking cigarettes,
+and laughing with the Arabs; and at the end farthest from the street
+entrance was a raised platform, on which sat three musicians--a
+wild-looking demon of a man blowing into an instrument with an immense
+funnel, and two men beating tomtoms. The noise they made was terrific.
+The piper wore a voluminous burnouse, and as the dancers came in in
+pairs from the big doorway, which led into the court where they all live
+together, each in her separate little room with her own front door, they
+threw their door keys into the hood that was attached to it. As soon as
+they had finished dancing they went to the hood, and rummaged violently
+for them again. And all the time the piper blew frantically into his
+instrument, and rocked himself about like a man in a convulsion.
+
+“We sat on one of the raised divans, with coffee before us on a
+wooden stool, and Marnier observed it all with a slightly supercilious
+coldness. The women, who were dressed in different shades of red, and
+were the most amazing trollops I ever set eyes on, came and went in
+pairs, fluttered their painted fingers, twittered like startled birds,
+jumped and twirled, wriggled and revolved, and inclined their greasy
+foreheads to the impenetrable spectators, who stuck silver coins on
+to the perspiring flesh. And Marnier sat and gazed at them with the
+aloofness of one who watches the creatures in puddle water through a
+microscope. I could scarcely help laughing at him, but I wished him
+away. For to me there was excitement, there was even a sort of ecstasy,
+in the utter barbarity of this spectacle, in the moving scarlet figures
+with their golden crowns and tufts of ostrich plumes, in the serried
+masses of turbaned and hooded spectators, in the rocking forms of the
+musicians, in the strident and ceaseless uproar that they made.
+
+“And through the doorway where the Tur-cos--I like the old name--crowded
+I saw the sand filtering in from the desert, and against the black
+leaves of a solitary palm-tree, with leaves like giant Fatma hands, I
+saw the silver disc of the moon.
+
+“‘I vote we go,’ said Marnier’s light tenor voice in my ear. ‘The
+atmosphere’s awful in here.’ “‘Very well,’ I said.
+
+“I got up; but just then a girl, dressed in midnight purple embroidered
+with silver, came in from the doorway, and began to dance alone. She was
+very young--fourteen, I found out afterwards--and, in contrast to the
+other women, extremely beautiful. There were grace, seduction, mystery,
+and coquetry in her face and in all her movements. Her long black eyes
+held fire and dreams. Her fluttering hands seemed beckoning us to the
+realms of the thousand and one nights. I stood where I had got up, and
+watched her.
+
+“‘I say, aren’t we going?’ said Marnier’s voice in my ear.
+
+“I cursed the day when I had agreed to take him with me, leaped down
+to the earth, and struggled towards the door. As we neared it the girl
+sidled down the room till she was exactly in front of Marnier. Then
+she danced before him, smiling with her immense eyes, which she fixed
+steadily upon him, and bending forward her pretty head, covered with a
+cloth of silver handkerchief.
+
+“‘Give her something,’ I said to him, laughing, as he stared back at her
+grimly.
+
+“He thrust his hand into his pocket, found a franc, stuck it awkwardly
+against her oval forehead, and followed me out.
+
+“When we were in the sandy street he walked a few steps in silence, then
+stood still, and, to my surprise, stared back at the dancing-house. Then
+he put his hand to his head.
+
+“‘Is the air having its alcoholic effect?’ I asked in joke.
+
+“As I spoke a handsome Arab, splendidly dressed in a pale blue robe,
+red gaiters and boots, and a turban of fine muslin, spangled with gold,
+passed us slowly, going towards the dancing-house. He cast a glance full
+of suspicion and malice at Marnier.
+
+“‘What’s up with that fellow?’ I said, startled.
+
+“The Arab went on, and at that moment the faithful Safti joined us. He
+never left me long out of his sight in these outlandish places.
+
+“‘That is the Batouch Sidi, the brother of the Caïd of Beni-Kouidar,’ he
+said. ‘Algia, the dancer to whom Monsieur Henri has just given money,
+is his _chère amie_. But as the government has just made him a sheik, he
+dares not have her in his house for fear of the scandal. So he has put
+her with the dancers. That is why she dances, to deceive everyone, not
+to make money. She is not as the other dancers. But everyone knows, for
+Batouch is mad with jealousy. He cannot bear that Algia should dance
+before strangers, but what can he do? A sheik must not have a scandal in
+his dwelling.’
+
+“We walked on slowly. When we got to the door of the ‘Rendezvous des
+Amis’ Marnier stood still again, and looked down the deserted, moonlit
+camel market.
+
+“‘I never knew air like this,’ he said in a low voice.
+
+“And once more he expelled the air from his lungs, and drew in a long,
+slow breath, as a man does when he has finished his dumbbell exercise in
+the morning.
+
+“‘Don’t drink too much of it,’ I said. ‘Remember what the aumônier told
+us!’
+
+“Marnier looked at me. I thought there was something apprehensive in his
+eyes. But he said nothing, and we turned in.
+
+“The next day I rode out with Safti into the desert to visit a sacred
+personage of great note in the Sahara, Sidi El Ahmed Ben Daoud
+Abderahmann. To my relief Marnier declined to come. He said he was
+tired, and would stroll about the city. When we got back at sundown the
+innkeeper handed me a note. I opened it, and found it was from the
+aumônier, saying that he would be greatly obliged if I would call and
+see him on my return, as he had various little curiosities which he
+would be glad to show me. Marnier was not in the inn, and, as I had
+nothing particular to do, I walked at once to the aumonier’s house. As I
+have said, it was the last in the town. The dancing-house was on the
+opposite side of the way; but the aumonier’s dwelling jutted out a
+little farther into the desert, and looked full on a deep depression of
+soft sand bounded by a big dune, which loomed up like a couchant beast
+in the fading yellow light.
+
+“The aumônier met me at his door, and escorted me into a pleasant room,
+where his collection of Arab weapons, coins, and old vases, cups, and
+various utensils, dug up, he told me, at Tlemcen, was arranged. But to
+my surprise he scarcely took time to show it to me before he said:
+
+“‘Though a stranger, may I venture to speak rather intimately to you,
+monsieur?’
+
+“‘Certainly,’ I replied, in some astonishment.
+
+“‘Your friend is young.’
+
+“‘Marnier?’
+
+“‘Is that his name? Well, I would not leave him to stroll about too much
+alone, if I were you.’
+
+“‘Why, monsieur?’
+
+“‘He is likely to get into trouble. The people here are a wild and
+violent race. He would do well to bear in mind the saying of a traveller
+who knew the desert men better than most people:
+
+“If you want to be friendly with them, and safe among them, give
+cigarettes to the men, and leave the women alone.
+
+“‘I see a good deal, monsieur, owing to the situation of my little
+house.’
+
+“I looked at him in silence. Then I said:
+
+“‘What have you seen?’
+
+“He led me to the door, and pointed towards the great dune beyond the
+dancing-house.
+
+“I saw your friend this afternoon talking there with one whom it is
+especially unsafe to be seen with in Beni-Koujtlar.’
+
+“‘With whom?’
+
+“‘A dancer called Àlgia.’
+
+“‘Talking, monsieur! Marnier knows no Arabic.’
+
+“The aumônier pursed his lips in his black beard.
+
+“‘The conversation appeared to be carried on by signs,’ he responded.
+‘That did not make it less but more dangerous.’
+
+“I’m afraid I was rude, and whistled softly.
+
+“‘Monsieur l’Aumônier,’ I said, ‘you must forgive me, but this air is
+certainly the very devil.’
+
+“He smiled, not without irony.
+
+“‘I became aware of that myself, monsieur, when first I came to live in
+Beni-Kouidar. But I am a priest, and--well, monsieur, I was given the
+strength to say: “Get thee behind me, Satan.”’
+
+“A softer look came into his sunburnt, wrinkled face.
+
+“‘Better take your friend away as soon as possible,’ he added, ‘or there
+will be trouble.’”
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+“That night I found myself confronted by a Marnier whom I had never seen
+before. The desert wine had gone to the lad’s brain. That was certain.
+No intonations of the Oxford don lurked in the voice. No reminiscences
+of the Oxford ‘High’ clung about the manner. A man sober and the same
+man drunk are scarcely more different than the Marnier who had ridden
+with me up the sandy street of Beni-Kouidar the previous day and the
+man who sat opposite to me at dinner in the ‘Rendezvous des Amis’ that
+night. I knew in a moment that the aumônier was right, and that I must
+get the lad away at once from the intoxicant which nature poured out
+over this far-away city. His eyes were shining feverishly, and when I
+mentioned Mr. Ruskin in a casual way he looked unutterably bored.
+
+“‘Ruskin and all those fellows seem awfully slow and out of place here,’
+he exclaimed. ‘One doesn’t want to bother about them in the Sahara.’
+
+“I changed the subject.
+
+“‘There doesn’t seem very much to see here,’ I said carelessly. ‘We
+might get away the day after to-morrow, don’t you think?’
+
+“He drew his brows down.
+
+“‘The horses won’t be sufficiently rested,’ he said curtly.
+
+“‘Oh yes; I fancy they will.’
+
+“‘Well, I don’t fancy I shall. The long ride took it out of me.’
+
+“‘Turn in to-night, then, directly after dinner.’
+
+“He looked at me with sharp suspicion. I met his gaze blandly.
+
+“‘I mean to,’ he said after a short pause.
+
+“I knew he was telling me a lie, but I only said: ‘That’s right!’ and
+resolved to keep an eye on him.
+
+“Directly dinner was over he sprang up from the table.
+
+“‘Good-night,’ he said.
+
+“And before I could reply he was out of the _salle-à-manger_, and I
+heard him tramp along the brick floor of the passage, go into his room,
+and bang the door.
+
+“The aumônier was getting up from his little table, and shaking the
+crumbs from his soutane.
+
+“‘You are quite right, monsieur,’ I said to him. ‘I must get my friend
+away.’
+
+“‘I shall be sorry to lose you,’ replied the good priest. ‘But--desert
+air, desert air!’
+
+“He shook his head, half wistfully, half laughingly, bowed, put on his
+broad-brimmed black hat, and went out.
+
+“After a moment I followed him. I stood in the doorway of the inn, and
+lit a cigar. I knew Marnier was not going to bed, and meant to catch him
+when he came out, and join him. In common politeness he could scarcely
+refuse my company, since he had asked me as a favour to let him come
+with me to Beni-Kouidar. I waited, watching the moon rise, till my cigar
+was smoked out. Then I lit another. Still he did not come. I heard the
+distant throb of tomtoms beyond the Bureau Arabe in the quarter of the
+freed negroes. They were having a fantasia. I began to think that I must
+have been mistaken, and that Marnier had really turned in. So much the
+better. The ash dropped from the stump of my second cigar, and the
+deserted camel market was flooded with silver from the moon-rays. I knew
+there was only one door to the inn. Slowly I lit a third cigar.
+
+“A large cloud went over the face of the moon. A gust of wind struck my
+face. Suddenly the night had changed. The moon looked forth again, and
+was again obscured. A second gust struck me like a blow, and my face
+was stung by a multitude of sand grains. I heard steps behind me in the
+brick passage, turned swiftly, and saw the landlord.
+
+“‘I must shut the door, m’sieu,’ he said. ‘There’s a bad sandstorm
+coming up.’
+
+“As he spoke the wind roared, and over the camel market a thick fog
+seemed to fall abruptly. It was a sheet of sand from the surrounding
+dunes. I threw away my cigar, stepped into the passage, and the landlord
+banged the door, and drove home the heavy bolts.
+
+“Then I went to Marnier’s room, and knocked. I felt sure, but I thought
+I would make sure before going to my room.
+
+“No answer.
+
+“I knocked again loudly.
+
+“Again no answer.
+
+“Then I turned the handle, and entered.
+
+“The room was empty. I glanced round quickly. The small window was open.
+All the windows of the inn were barred, but, as I learned later, a bar
+in Marnier’s had been broken, and was not yet replaced when we arrived
+at Beni-Kouidar. In consequence of this it was possible to squeeze
+through into the arcade outside. This was what Marnier had done.
+My precise, gentlemanly, reserved, and methodical acquaintance had
+deliberately given me the slip by sneaking out of a window like a
+schoolboy, and creeping round the edge of the inn to the _fosse_ that
+lay in the shadow of the sand dimes. As I realised this I realised his
+danger.
+
+“I ran to my room, fetched my revolver, slipped it into my pocket, and
+hurried to the front door. The landlord heard me trying to undo the
+bolts, and came out protesting.
+
+“‘M’sieu cannot go out into the storm.’
+
+“‘I must.’
+
+“‘But m’sieu does not know what Beni-Kouidar is like when the sand
+is blown on the wind. It is _enfer_. Besides, it is not safe. In the
+darkness m’sieu may receive a _mauvais coup_.’
+
+“‘Make haste, please, and open the door. I am going to fetch my friend.’
+
+“He pulled the bolts, grumbling and swearing, and I went out into
+_enfer_. For he was right. A sandstorm at night in Beni-Kouidar is hell.
+
+“Luckily, Safti joined me mysteriously from the deuce knows where, and
+we staggered to the dancing-house somehow, and struggled in, blinded,
+our faces scored, our clothes heavy with sand, our pockets, our very
+boots, weighed down with it.
+
+“The tomtoms were roaring, the pipe was yelling, blown by the frantic
+demon with his hood full of latch keys, the impassible, bearded faces
+were watching the painted women who, in their red garments and their
+golden crowns, promenaded down the earthen floor, between the divans,
+fluttering their dyed fingers, smiling grotesquely like idols, bending
+forward their greasy foreheads to receive the tribute of their admirers.
+
+“I ran my eyes swiftly over the mob. Marnier was not in it. I pushed my
+way towards the doorway on the left which gave on to the court of the
+dancers.
+
+“Safti caught hold of my arm.
+
+“‘It is not safe to go in there on such a night, Sidi. There are no
+lamps. It is black as a tomb. And no one can tell who may be there.
+Nomads, perhaps, men of evil from the south. Many murders have been done
+in the court on black nights, and no one can say who has done them. For
+all the time men go in and out to the rooms of the dancers.’
+
+“‘Nevertheless, Safti, I must----’
+
+“I stopped speaking, for at this moment Batouch, the brother of the Caïd
+of Beni-Kouidar, came slowly in through the doorway from the blackness
+of the sand-swept court. There was a strange smile on his handsome face,
+and he was caressing his black beard gently with one delicate hand. He
+saw me, smiled more till I caught the gleam of his white teeth, passed
+on into the dancing-house, sat down on a divan, and called for coffee.
+I could not take my eyes from him. Every movement he made fascinated me.
+He drew from his pale blue robe a silver box, opened it, lifted out a
+pinch of tobacco, and began carefully to roll a cigarette. And all the
+time he smiled.
+
+“A glacial cold crept over my body. As he lit his cigarette I caught
+hold of Safti, and hurried through the doorway into the blackness of the
+whirling sand.”
+
+*****
+
+Here I stopped.
+
+“Well?” said young England. “Well?”
+
+The doctor did not speak.
+
+“Well,” I answered. “Algia danced that night. While she was dancing
+we found a dead body in the court. It was Marnier’s. A knife had been
+thrust into him from behind!”
+
+“Ah!” said the doctor.
+
+“But--” exclaimed young England, “it was that fellow? It was Batouch?”
+
+I shrugged my shoulders.
+
+“Nobody ever found out who did it.”
+
+“Well, but of course----”
+
+He checked himself, and an expression of admiration dawned slowly over
+his healthy, handsome face.
+
+“I say,” he said, “to be able to roll a cigarette directly afterwards!
+What infernal cheek!”
+
+“Desert air!” I replied. “My dear chap--desert air!”
+
+The doctor nodded.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23418-0.txt or 23418-o.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/4/1/23418/
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
+Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation”
+ or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project
+Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+“Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+“Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
+of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’ WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm’s
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
+
+The Foundation’s principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation’s web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/23418-0.zip b/23418-0.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc99f7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418-0.zip
diff --git a/23418-8.txt b/23418-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f6a7198
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1026 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Desert Air
+       1905
+
+Author: Robert Hichens
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2007 [EBook #23418]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+DESERT AIR
+
+By Robert Hichens
+
+Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
+
+Copyright, 1905
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+On an evening of last summer I was dining in London at the Carlton with
+two men. One of them was an excellent type of young England, strong,
+healthy, athletic, and straightforward. The other was a clever London
+doctor who was building up a great practice in the West End. At dessert
+the conversation turned upon a then recent tragedy in which a great
+reputation had gone down, and young England spoke rather contemptuously
+of the victim, with the superior surprise human beings generally express
+about the sin which does not happen to be theirs.
+
+"I can't understand it!" was his conclusion. "It's beyond me."
+
+"Climate," said the doctor quietly.
+
+"What?"
+
+"Climate. Air."
+
+Young England looked inexpressively astonished.
+
+"But hang it all!" he exclaimed, "you don't mean to say change of air
+means change of nature?"
+
+"Not to everyone. Not to you, perhaps. Have you travelled much?"
+
+"Well, I've been to Paris for the Grand Prix, and to Monte----"
+
+"For the gambling. That's hardly travelling. Now, I've studied this
+subject a little, quietly in Harley Street. I'm no traveller myself,
+but I have dozens of patients who are. And I'm convinced that the modern
+facilities for travel, besides giving an infinity of pleasure, bring
+about innumerable tragedies."
+
+He turned to me.
+
+"You go abroad a great deal. What do you say?"
+
+"That you're perfectly right. And I'm prepared to affirm that, in
+highly-strung, imaginative, or over-worked people change of climate does
+sometimes actually cause, or seem to cause, change of nature."
+
+Young England, who was by no means highly-strung or imaginative, looked
+politely dubious, but the doctor was evidently pleased.
+
+"An ally!" he cried.
+
+He glanced at me for an instant, then added:
+
+"You've got a case that proves it, at any rate to you, in your mind."
+
+"Quite true."
+
+"Can you give it us?"
+
+"Jove! let's have it!" exclaimed young England.
+
+"Certainly, if you like," I said. "I don't know whether you ever heard
+of the Marnier affair?"
+
+Young England shook his head, but the doctor replied at once.
+
+"Three years ago, wasn't it?"
+
+"Four."
+
+"And it happened in some remote place in the Sahara Desert?"
+
+"In Beni-Kouidar. I was with Henry Marnier in Beni-Kouidar at the time."
+
+"Go ahead!" said young England more eagerly.
+
+"Poor Marnier was not an old friend of mine, but an acquaintance whom I
+had met casually at Beni-Mora, which is known as a health resort."
+
+"I send patients there sometimes," said the doctor.
+
+"The railway stops at Beni-Mora. To reach Beni-Kouidar one must go on
+horse or camel back over between three and four hundred kilometres of
+desert, sleeping on the way at Travellers' Houses--Bordjs as they are
+called there. Beni-Kouidar lies in the midst of immeasurable sands,
+and the air that blows through its palm gardens, and round its mosque
+towers, and down its alleys under the arcades, is startling: dry as the
+finest champagne, almost fiercely pure and fresh, exhilarating--well,
+too exhilarating for certain people."
+
+The doctor nodded.
+
+"Champagne goes very quickly to some heads," he interjected.
+
+"Beni-Kouidar has nothing to say to modern civilisation. It is a wild
+and turbulent city, divided into quarters--the Arab quarter, the Jews'
+quarter, the freed negroes' quarter, and so on--and furthermore, is
+infested at certain seasons by the Sahara nomads, who camp in filthy
+tents on the huge sand dunes round about, and sell rugs, burnouses, and
+Touareg work to the inhabitants, buying in return the dates for which
+the palms of Beni-Kouidar are celebrated.
+
+"I wanted to see a real Sahara city to which the Cook's tourist had not
+as yet penetrated, and I resolved to ride there from Beni-Mora. When
+Henry Marnier heard of it he asked if he might accompany me.
+
+"Marnier was a young man who had recently left Oxford, and who had come
+out to Beni-Mora only a week before to see his mother, who was
+going through the sulphur cure. He was what is generally called a
+'serious-minded young man'; intellectual, inclined to grave reading and
+high thinking, totally devoid of frivolity, a little cold in manner and
+temperament, one would have sworn; in fact, a type of a very well-known
+kind of Oxford undergraduate, the kind that takes a good tutorship for a
+year or so after leaving the University, and then becomes a schoolmaster
+or a clergyman. Marnier, by the way, intended to take orders.
+
+"Now, this sort of young man is not precisely my sort, and especially
+not my sort in the Sahara Desert. But I did not want to be rude to
+Marnier, who was friendly and agreeable, and obviously anxious to
+increase his already considerable store of knowledge. So I put my
+inclinations in my pocket, and, with inward reluctance, I agreed.
+
+"We set off with Safti, my faithful one-eyed Arab guide, and after three
+long days of riding and talking--as I had feared--Maeterlink and
+Tolstoy, Henley and Verlaine (this last being utterly condemned by
+Marnier as a man of weak character and degraded life) we saw the towers
+of Beni-Kouidar aspiring above the shifting sands, the tufted summits of
+the thousands of palm-trees, and heard the dull beating of drums and the
+cries of people borne to us over the spaces of which silence is the
+steady guardian.
+
+"We were all pretty tired, but Marnier was, especially done up. He had
+recently been working very hard for the 'first' with which he had left
+Oxford, and was not in good condition. We were, therefore, glad enough
+when we rode through the wide street thronged with natives, turned the
+corner into the great camel market, and finally dismounted before
+the door of the one inn, the 'Rendezvous des Amis,' a mean, dusty,
+one-storey building, on whose dirty white wall was a crude painting of a
+preposterous harridan in a purple empire gown, pouring wine for a Zouave
+who was evidently afflicted with elephantiasis. Yet, tired as I was,
+I stepped out into the camel market for a moment before going into the
+house, emptied my lungs, and slowly filled them.
+
+"'What air!' I said to Marnier, who had followed me.
+
+"'It is extraordinary,' he answered in his rather dry tenor voice.
+'I should say like the best champagne, if I did not happen to be a
+teetotaller.'
+
+"(The market, I must explain, was not at that moment in active
+operation.)
+
+"After a _bain de siege_--we both longed for total immersion--and some
+weak tea, in which I mingled a spoonful of rum, we felt better, but
+we reposed till dinner, and once again Marnier, in his habitually
+restrained and critical manner, discussed contemporary literature, and
+what Plato and Aristotle, judging by; their writings, would have been
+likely to think of it. And once again I felt as if I were in the 'High'
+at Oxford, and was almost inclined to wish that Marnier was the rowdy
+type of undergrad, who ducks people in water troughs and makes bonfires
+in quads."
+
+"H'm!" said the doctor gravely. "Better, perhaps, if he had been."
+
+"Much better," I answered. "At seven o'clock we ate a rather tough
+dinner in the small, bare _salle-�-manger_, on the red brick floor of
+which sand grains were lying. Our only companion was a bearded priest in
+a dirty soutane, the aum�nier of Beni-Kouidar, who sat at a little table
+apart, and greeted our entrance with a polite bow, but did not then
+speak to us.
+
+"When the meal was ended, however, he joined us as we stood at the inn
+door looking out into the night. A moon was rising above the palms, and
+gilding the cupolas of the Bureau Arabe on the far side of the Market
+Square. A distant noise of tomtoms and African pipes was audible.
+And all down the hill to our left--for the land rose to where the inn
+stood--fires gleamed, and we could see half-naked figures passing and
+repassing them, and others squatting beside, looking like monks in their
+hooped burnouses.
+
+"'You are going out, messieurs?' said the aum�nier politely.
+
+"I looked at Marnier.
+
+"'You're too done up, I expect?' I said to him.
+
+"His face was pale, and he certainly had the demeanour of a tired man.
+
+"'No,' he answered. 'I should like to stroll in this wonderful air.'
+
+"I turned to the priest.
+
+"'Yes, monsieur,' I said.
+
+"'I come here to take my meals, but I live at the edge of the town.
+Perhaps you will permit me to accompany you for a little way.'
+
+"'We shall be delighted, and we know nothing of Beni-Kouidar.'
+
+"As we stepped out into the market Marnier paused to light his pipe. But
+suddenly he threw away the match he had struck.
+
+"'No, it's a sin to smoke in this air,' he said.
+
+"And he drew a deep breath, looking at the round moon.
+
+"The priest smiled.
+
+"'I have lived here for four years,' he said, 'and cannot resist my
+cigar. But you are right. The air of Beni-Kouidar is extraordinary. When
+first I came here it used to mount to my head like wine.'
+
+"'Bad for you, Marnier!' I said, laughing.
+
+"Then I added, to the aum�nier:
+
+"'My friend never drinks wine, and so ought to be peculiarly susceptible
+to such an influence.'"
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+"Opposite to the aumonier's dwelling was the great dancing-house of the
+town, and when we had bade him good-night, and turned to go back to the
+inn, I rather tentatively suggested to Marnier that, perhaps, it would
+be interesting to look in there for a moment.
+
+"'All right,' he responded, with his most donnish manner. 'But I expect
+it will be rather an unwashed crowd.'
+
+"A quantity of native soldiers--the sort that used to be called
+Turcos--were gathered round the door. We pushed our way through them,
+and entered. The caf� was large, with big white pillars and a double row
+of divans in the middle, and divans rising in tiers all round. On the
+left was a large doorway, in which gorgeously-dressed painted women,
+with gold crowns on their heads, were standing, smoking cigarettes,
+and laughing with the Arabs; and at the end farthest from the street
+entrance was a raised platform, on which sat three musicians--a
+wild-looking demon of a man blowing into an instrument with an immense
+funnel, and two men beating tomtoms. The noise they made was terrific.
+The piper wore a voluminous burnouse, and as the dancers came in in
+pairs from the big doorway, which led into the court where they all live
+together, each in her separate little room with her own front door, they
+threw their door keys into the hood that was attached to it. As soon as
+they had finished dancing they went to the hood, and rummaged violently
+for them again. And all the time the piper blew frantically into his
+instrument, and rocked himself about like a man in a convulsion.
+
+"We sat on one of the raised divans, with coffee before us on a
+wooden stool, and Marnier observed it all with a slightly supercilious
+coldness. The women, who were dressed in different shades of red, and
+were the most amazing trollops I ever set eyes on, came and went in
+pairs, fluttered their painted fingers, twittered like startled birds,
+jumped and twirled, wriggled and revolved, and inclined their greasy
+foreheads to the impenetrable spectators, who stuck silver coins on
+to the perspiring flesh. And Marnier sat and gazed at them with the
+aloofness of one who watches the creatures in puddle water through a
+microscope. I could scarcely help laughing at him, but I wished him
+away. For to me there was excitement, there was even a sort of ecstasy,
+in the utter barbarity of this spectacle, in the moving scarlet figures
+with their golden crowns and tufts of ostrich plumes, in the serried
+masses of turbaned and hooded spectators, in the rocking forms of the
+musicians, in the strident and ceaseless uproar that they made.
+
+"And through the doorway where the Tur-cos--I like the old name--crowded
+I saw the sand filtering in from the desert, and against the black
+leaves of a solitary palm-tree, with leaves like giant Fatma hands, I
+saw the silver disc of the moon.
+
+"'I vote we go,' said Marnier's light tenor voice in my ear. 'The
+atmosphere's awful in here.' "'Very well,' I said.
+
+"I got up; but just then a girl, dressed in midnight purple embroidered
+with silver, came in from the doorway, and began to dance alone. She was
+very young--fourteen, I found out afterwards--and, in contrast to the
+other women, extremely beautiful. There were grace, seduction, mystery,
+and coquetry in her face and in all her movements. Her long black eyes
+held fire and dreams. Her fluttering hands seemed beckoning us to the
+realms of the thousand and one nights. I stood where I had got up, and
+watched her.
+
+"'I say, aren't we going?' said Marnier's voice in my ear.
+
+"I cursed the day when I had agreed to take him with me, leaped down
+to the earth, and struggled towards the door. As we neared it the girl
+sidled down the room till she was exactly in front of Marnier. Then
+she danced before him, smiling with her immense eyes, which she fixed
+steadily upon him, and bending forward her pretty head, covered with a
+cloth of silver handkerchief.
+
+"'Give her something,' I said to him, laughing, as he stared back at her
+grimly.
+
+"He thrust his hand into his pocket, found a franc, stuck it awkwardly
+against her oval forehead, and followed me out.
+
+"When we were in the sandy street he walked a few steps in silence, then
+stood still, and, to my surprise, stared back at the dancing-house. Then
+he put his hand to his head.
+
+"'Is the air having its alcoholic effect?' I asked in joke.
+
+"As I spoke a handsome Arab, splendidly dressed in a pale blue robe,
+red gaiters and boots, and a turban of fine muslin, spangled with gold,
+passed us slowly, going towards the dancing-house. He cast a glance full
+of suspicion and malice at Marnier.
+
+"'What's up with that fellow?' I said, startled.
+
+"The Arab went on, and at that moment the faithful Safti joined us. He
+never left me long out of his sight in these outlandish places.
+
+"'That is the Batouch Sidi, the brother of the Ca�d of Beni-Kouidar,' he
+said. 'Algia, the dancer to whom Monsieur Henri has just given money,
+is his _ch�re amie_. But as the government has just made him a sheik, he
+dares not have her in his house for fear of the scandal. So he has put
+her with the dancers. That is why she dances, to deceive everyone, not
+to make money. She is not as the other dancers. But everyone knows, for
+Batouch is mad with jealousy. He cannot bear that Algia should dance
+before strangers, but what can he do? A sheik must not have a scandal in
+his dwelling.'
+
+"We walked on slowly. When we got to the door of the 'Rendezvous des
+Amis' Marnier stood still again, and looked down the deserted, moonlit
+camel market.
+
+"'I never knew air like this,' he said in a low voice.
+
+"And once more he expelled the air from his lungs, and drew in a long,
+slow breath, as a man does when he has finished his dumbbell exercise in
+the morning.
+
+"'Don't drink too much of it,' I said. 'Remember what the aum�nier told
+us!'
+
+"Marnier looked at me. I thought there was something apprehensive in his
+eyes. But he said nothing, and we turned in.
+
+"The next day I rode out with Safti into the desert to visit a sacred
+personage of great note in the Sahara, Sidi El Ahmed Ben Daoud
+Abderahmann. To my relief Marnier declined to come. He said he was
+tired, and would stroll about the city. When we got back at sundown the
+innkeeper handed me a note. I opened it, and found it was from the
+aum�nier, saying that he would be greatly obliged if I would call and
+see him on my return, as he had various little curiosities which he
+would be glad to show me. Marnier was not in the inn, and, as I had
+nothing particular to do, I walked at once to the aumonier's house. As I
+have said, it was the last in the town. The dancing-house was on the
+opposite side of the way; but the aumonier's dwelling jutted out a
+little farther into the desert, and looked full on a deep depression of
+soft sand bounded by a big dune, which loomed up like a couchant beast
+in the fading yellow light.
+
+"The aum�nier met me at his door, and escorted me into a pleasant room,
+where his collection of Arab weapons, coins, and old vases, cups, and
+various utensils, dug up, he told me, at Tlemcen, was arranged. But to
+my surprise he scarcely took time to show it to me before he said:
+
+"'Though a stranger, may I venture to speak rather intimately to you,
+monsieur?'
+
+"'Certainly,' I replied, in some astonishment.
+
+"'Your friend is young.'
+
+"'Marnier?'
+
+"'Is that his name? Well, I would not leave him to stroll about too much
+alone, if I were you.'
+
+"'Why, monsieur?'
+
+"'He is likely to get into trouble. The people here are a wild and
+violent race. He would do well to bear in mind the saying of a traveller
+who knew the desert men better than most people:
+
+"If you want to be friendly with them, and safe among them, give
+cigarettes to the men, and leave the women alone.
+
+"'I see a good deal, monsieur, owing to the situation of my little
+house.'
+
+"I looked at him in silence. Then I said:
+
+"'What have you seen?'
+
+"He led me to the door, and pointed towards the great dune beyond the
+dancing-house.
+
+"I saw your friend this afternoon talking there with one whom it is
+especially unsafe to be seen with in Beni-Koujtlar.'
+
+"'With whom?'
+
+"'A dancer called �lgia.'
+
+"'Talking, monsieur! Marnier knows no Arabic.'
+
+"The aum�nier pursed his lips in his black beard.
+
+"'The conversation appeared to be carried on by signs,' he responded.
+'That did not make it less but more dangerous.'
+
+"I'm afraid I was rude, and whistled softly.
+
+"'Monsieur l'Aum�nier,' I said, 'you must forgive me, but this air is
+certainly the very devil.'
+
+"He smiled, not without irony.
+
+"'I became aware of that myself, monsieur, when first I came to live in
+Beni-Kouidar. But I am a priest, and--well, monsieur, I was given the
+strength to say: "Get thee behind me, Satan."'
+
+"A softer look came into his sunburnt, wrinkled face.
+
+"'Better take your friend away as soon as possible,' he added, 'or there
+will be trouble.'"
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+"That night I found myself confronted by a Marnier whom I had never seen
+before. The desert wine had gone to the lad's brain. That was certain.
+No intonations of the Oxford don lurked in the voice. No reminiscences
+of the Oxford 'High' clung about the manner. A man sober and the same
+man drunk are scarcely more different than the Marnier who had ridden
+with me up the sandy street of Beni-Kouidar the previous day and the
+man who sat opposite to me at dinner in the 'Rendezvous des Amis' that
+night. I knew in a moment that the aum�nier was right, and that I must
+get the lad away at once from the intoxicant which nature poured out
+over this far-away city. His eyes were shining feverishly, and when I
+mentioned Mr. Ruskin in a casual way he looked unutterably bored.
+
+"'Ruskin and all those fellows seem awfully slow and out of place here,'
+he exclaimed. 'One doesn't want to bother about them in the Sahara.'
+
+"I changed the subject.
+
+"'There doesn't seem very much to see here,' I said carelessly. 'We
+might get away the day after to-morrow, don't you think?'
+
+"He drew his brows down.
+
+"'The horses won't be sufficiently rested,' he said curtly.
+
+"'Oh yes; I fancy they will.'
+
+"'Well, I don't fancy I shall. The long ride took it out of me.'
+
+"'Turn in to-night, then, directly after dinner.'
+
+"He looked at me with sharp suspicion. I met his gaze blandly.
+
+"'I mean to,' he said after a short pause.
+
+"I knew he was telling me a lie, but I only said: 'That's right!' and
+resolved to keep an eye on him.
+
+"Directly dinner was over he sprang up from the table.
+
+"'Good-night,' he said.
+
+"And before I could reply he was out of the _salle-�-manger_, and I
+heard him tramp along the brick floor of the passage, go into his room,
+and bang the door.
+
+"The aum�nier was getting up from his little table, and shaking the
+crumbs from his soutane.
+
+"'You are quite right, monsieur,' I said to him. 'I must get my friend
+away.'
+
+"'I shall be sorry to lose you,' replied the good priest. 'But--desert
+air, desert air!'
+
+"He shook his head, half wistfully, half laughingly, bowed, put on his
+broad-brimmed black hat, and went out.
+
+"After a moment I followed him. I stood in the doorway of the inn, and
+lit a cigar. I knew Marnier was not going to bed, and meant to catch him
+when he came out, and join him. In common politeness he could scarcely
+refuse my company, since he had asked me as a favour to let him come
+with me to Beni-Kouidar. I waited, watching the moon rise, till my cigar
+was smoked out. Then I lit another. Still he did not come. I heard the
+distant throb of tomtoms beyond the Bureau Arabe in the quarter of the
+freed negroes. They were having a fantasia. I began to think that I must
+have been mistaken, and that Marnier had really turned in. So much the
+better. The ash dropped from the stump of my second cigar, and the
+deserted camel market was flooded with silver from the moon-rays. I knew
+there was only one door to the inn. Slowly I lit a third cigar.
+
+"A large cloud went over the face of the moon. A gust of wind struck my
+face. Suddenly the night had changed. The moon looked forth again, and
+was again obscured. A second gust struck me like a blow, and my face
+was stung by a multitude of sand grains. I heard steps behind me in the
+brick passage, turned swiftly, and saw the landlord.
+
+"'I must shut the door, m'sieu,' he said. 'There's a bad sandstorm
+coming up.'
+
+"As he spoke the wind roared, and over the camel market a thick fog
+seemed to fall abruptly. It was a sheet of sand from the surrounding
+dunes. I threw away my cigar, stepped into the passage, and the landlord
+banged the door, and drove home the heavy bolts.
+
+"Then I went to Marnier's room, and knocked. I felt sure, but I thought
+I would make sure before going to my room.
+
+"No answer.
+
+"I knocked again loudly.
+
+"Again no answer.
+
+"Then I turned the handle, and entered.
+
+"The room was empty. I glanced round quickly. The small window was open.
+All the windows of the inn were barred, but, as I learned later, a bar
+in Marnier's had been broken, and was not yet replaced when we arrived
+at Beni-Kouidar. In consequence of this it was possible to squeeze
+through into the arcade outside. This was what Marnier had done.
+My precise, gentlemanly, reserved, and methodical acquaintance had
+deliberately given me the slip by sneaking out of a window like a
+schoolboy, and creeping round the edge of the inn to the _fosse_ that
+lay in the shadow of the sand dimes. As I realised this I realised his
+danger.
+
+"I ran to my room, fetched my revolver, slipped it into my pocket, and
+hurried to the front door. The landlord heard me trying to undo the
+bolts, and came out protesting.
+
+"'M'sieu cannot go out into the storm.'
+
+"'I must.'
+
+"'But m'sieu does not know what Beni-Kouidar is like when the sand
+is blown on the wind. It is _enfer_. Besides, it is not safe. In the
+darkness m'sieu may receive a _mauvais coup_.'
+
+"'Make haste, please, and open the door. I am going to fetch my friend.'
+
+"He pulled the bolts, grumbling and swearing, and I went out into
+_enfer_. For he was right. A sandstorm at night in Beni-Kouidar is hell.
+
+"Luckily, Safti joined me mysteriously from the deuce knows where, and
+we staggered to the dancing-house somehow, and struggled in, blinded,
+our faces scored, our clothes heavy with sand, our pockets, our very
+boots, weighed down with it.
+
+"The tomtoms were roaring, the pipe was yelling, blown by the frantic
+demon with his hood full of latch keys, the impassible, bearded faces
+were watching the painted women who, in their red garments and their
+golden crowns, promenaded down the earthen floor, between the divans,
+fluttering their dyed fingers, smiling grotesquely like idols, bending
+forward their greasy foreheads to receive the tribute of their admirers.
+
+"I ran my eyes swiftly over the mob. Marnier was not in it. I pushed my
+way towards the doorway on the left which gave on to the court of the
+dancers.
+
+"Safti caught hold of my arm.
+
+"'It is not safe to go in there on such a night, Sidi. There are no
+lamps. It is black as a tomb. And no one can tell who may be there.
+Nomads, perhaps, men of evil from the south. Many murders have been done
+in the court on black nights, and no one can say who has done them. For
+all the time men go in and out to the rooms of the dancers.'
+
+"'Nevertheless, Safti, I must----'
+
+"I stopped speaking, for at this moment Batouch, the brother of the Ca�d
+of Beni-Kouidar, came slowly in through the doorway from the blackness
+of the sand-swept court. There was a strange smile on his handsome face,
+and he was caressing his black beard gently with one delicate hand. He
+saw me, smiled more till I caught the gleam of his white teeth, passed
+on into the dancing-house, sat down on a divan, and called for coffee.
+I could not take my eyes from him. Every movement he made fascinated me.
+He drew from his pale blue robe a silver box, opened it, lifted out a
+pinch of tobacco, and began carefully to roll a cigarette. And all the
+time he smiled.
+
+"A glacial cold crept over my body. As he lit his cigarette I caught
+hold of Safti, and hurried through the doorway into the blackness of the
+whirling sand."
+
+*****
+
+Here I stopped.
+
+"Well?" said young England. "Well?"
+
+The doctor did not speak.
+
+"Well," I answered. "Algia danced that night. While she was dancing
+we found a dead body in the court. It was Marnier's. A knife had been
+thrust into him from behind!"
+
+"Ah!" said the doctor.
+
+"But--" exclaimed young England, "it was that fellow? It was Batouch?"
+
+I shrugged my shoulders.
+
+"Nobody ever found out who did it."
+
+"Well, but of course----"
+
+He checked himself, and an expression of admiration dawned slowly over
+his healthy, handsome face.
+
+"I say," he said, "to be able to roll a cigarette directly afterwards!
+What infernal cheek!"
+
+"Desert air!" I replied. "My dear chap--desert air!"
+
+The doctor nodded.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23418-8.txt or 23418-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/4/1/23418/
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/23418-8.zip b/23418-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aaa059f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418-8.zip
diff --git a/23418-h.zip b/23418-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38cf8a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418-h.zip
diff --git a/23418-h/23418-h.htm b/23418-h/23418-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d2a522
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418-h/23418-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,1285 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+
+<!DOCTYPE html
+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <title>
+      Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Desert Air
+       1905
+
+Author: Robert Hichens
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2007 [EBook #23418]
+Last Updated: December 17, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      DESERT AIR
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      By Robert Hichens
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
+    </h3>
+    <h4>
+      Copyright, 1905
+    </h4>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      Contents
+    </h2>
+    <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III </a>
+          </p>
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      I
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      On an evening of last summer I was dining in London at the Carlton with
+      two men. One of them was an excellent type of young England, strong,
+      healthy, athletic, and straightforward. The other was a clever London
+      doctor who was building up a great practice in the West End. At dessert
+      the conversation turned upon a then recent tragedy in which a great
+      reputation had gone down, and young England spoke rather contemptuously of
+      the victim, with the superior surprise human beings generally express
+      about the sin which does not happen to be theirs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand it!&rdquo; was his conclusion. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s beyond me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Climate,&rdquo; said the doctor quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Climate. Air.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Young England looked inexpressively astonished.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But hang it all!&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;you don&rsquo;t mean to say change of air
+      means change of nature?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not to everyone. Not to you, perhaps. Have you travelled much?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;ve been to Paris for the Grand Prix, and to Monte&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For the gambling. That&rsquo;s hardly travelling. Now, I&rsquo;ve studied this
+      subject a little, quietly in Harley Street. I&rsquo;m no traveller myself, but I
+      have dozens of patients who are. And I&rsquo;m convinced that the modern
+      facilities for travel, besides giving an infinity of pleasure, bring about
+      innumerable tragedies.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He turned to me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You go abroad a great deal. What do you say?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That you&rsquo;re perfectly right. And I&rsquo;m prepared to affirm that, in
+      highly-strung, imaginative, or over-worked people change of climate does
+      sometimes actually cause, or seem to cause, change of nature.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Young England, who was by no means highly-strung or imaginative, looked
+      politely dubious, but the doctor was evidently pleased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An ally!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He glanced at me for an instant, then added:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a case that proves it, at any rate to you, in your mind.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can you give it us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jove! let&rsquo;s have it!&rdquo; exclaimed young England.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly, if you like,&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know whether you ever heard of
+      the Marnier affair?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Young England shook his head, but the doctor replied at once.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three years ago, wasn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Four.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And it happened in some remote place in the Sahara Desert?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In Beni-Kouidar. I was with Henry Marnier in Beni-Kouidar at the time.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go ahead!&rdquo; said young England more eagerly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Poor Marnier was not an old friend of mine, but an acquaintance whom I
+      had met casually at Beni-Mora, which is known as a health resort.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I send patients there sometimes,&rdquo; said the doctor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The railway stops at Beni-Mora. To reach Beni-Kouidar one must go on
+      horse or camel back over between three and four hundred kilometres of
+      desert, sleeping on the way at Travellers&rsquo; Houses&mdash;Bordjs as they are
+      called there. Beni-Kouidar lies in the midst of immeasurable sands, and
+      the air that blows through its palm gardens, and round its mosque towers,
+      and down its alleys under the arcades, is startling: dry as the finest
+      champagne, almost fiercely pure and fresh, exhilarating&mdash;well, too
+      exhilarating for certain people.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The doctor nodded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Champagne goes very quickly to some heads,&rdquo; he interjected.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Beni-Kouidar has nothing to say to modern civilisation. It is a wild and
+      turbulent city, divided into quarters&mdash;the Arab quarter, the Jews&rsquo; 
+      quarter, the freed negroes&rsquo; quarter, and so on&mdash;and furthermore, is
+      infested at certain seasons by the Sahara nomads, who camp in filthy tents
+      on the huge sand dunes round about, and sell rugs, burnouses, and Touareg
+      work to the inhabitants, buying in return the dates for which the palms of
+      Beni-Kouidar are celebrated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wanted to see a real Sahara city to which the Cook&rsquo;s tourist had not as
+      yet penetrated, and I resolved to ride there from Beni-Mora. When Henry
+      Marnier heard of it he asked if he might accompany me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marnier was a young man who had recently left Oxford, and who had come
+      out to Beni-Mora only a week before to see his mother, who was going
+      through the sulphur cure. He was what is generally called a
+      &lsquo;serious-minded young man&rsquo;; intellectual, inclined to grave reading and
+      high thinking, totally devoid of frivolity, a little cold in manner and
+      temperament, one would have sworn; in fact, a type of a very well-known
+      kind of Oxford undergraduate, the kind that takes a good tutorship for a
+      year or so after leaving the University, and then becomes a schoolmaster
+      or a clergyman. Marnier, by the way, intended to take orders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, this sort of young man is not precisely my sort, and especially not
+      my sort in the Sahara Desert. But I did not want to be rude to Marnier,
+      who was friendly and agreeable, and obviously anxious to increase his
+      already considerable store of knowledge. So I put my inclinations in my
+      pocket, and, with inward reluctance, I agreed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We set off with Safti, my faithful one-eyed Arab guide, and after three
+      long days of riding and talking&mdash;as I had feared&mdash;Maeterlink and
+      Tolstoy, Henley and Verlaine (this last being utterly condemned by Marnier
+      as a man of weak character and degraded life) we saw the towers of
+      Beni-Kouidar aspiring above the shifting sands, the tufted summits of the
+      thousands of palm-trees, and heard the dull beating of drums and the cries
+      of people borne to us over the spaces of which silence is the steady
+      guardian.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We were all pretty tired, but Marnier was, especially done up. He had
+      recently been working very hard for the &lsquo;first&rsquo; with which he had left
+      Oxford, and was not in good condition. We were, therefore, glad enough
+      when we rode through the wide street thronged with natives, turned the
+      corner into the great camel market, and finally dismounted before the door
+      of the one inn, the &lsquo;Rendezvous des Amis,&rsquo; a mean, dusty, one-storey
+      building, on whose dirty white wall was a crude painting of a preposterous
+      harridan in a purple empire gown, pouring wine for a Zouave who was
+      evidently afflicted with elephantiasis. Yet, tired as I was, I stepped out
+      into the camel market for a moment before going into the house, emptied my
+      lungs, and slowly filled them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What air!&rsquo; I said to Marnier, who had followed me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;It is extraordinary,&rsquo; he answered in his rather dry tenor voice. &lsquo;I
+      should say like the best champagne, if I did not happen to be a
+      teetotaller.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;(The market, I must explain, was not at that moment in active operation.)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After a <i>bain de siege</i>&mdash;we both longed for total immersion&mdash;and
+      some weak tea, in which I mingled a spoonful of rum, we felt better, but
+      we reposed till dinner, and once again Marnier, in his habitually
+      restrained and critical manner, discussed contemporary literature, and
+      what Plato and Aristotle, judging by; their writings, would have been
+      likely to think of it. And once again I felt as if I were in the &lsquo;High&rsquo; at
+      Oxford, and was almost inclined to wish that Marnier was the rowdy type of
+      undergrad, who ducks people in water troughs and makes bonfires in quads.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;H&rsquo;m!&rdquo; said the doctor gravely. &ldquo;Better, perhaps, if he had been.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Much better,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;At seven o&rsquo;clock we ate a rather tough dinner
+      in the small, bare <i>salle-à-manger</i>, on the red brick floor of which
+      sand grains were lying. Our only companion was a bearded priest in a dirty
+      soutane, the aumônier of Beni-Kouidar, who sat at a little table apart,
+      and greeted our entrance with a polite bow, but did not then speak to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When the meal was ended, however, he joined us as we stood at the inn
+      door looking out into the night. A moon was rising above the palms, and
+      gilding the cupolas of the Bureau Arabe on the far side of the Market
+      Square. A distant noise of tomtoms and African pipes was audible. And all
+      down the hill to our left&mdash;for the land rose to where the inn stood&mdash;fires
+      gleamed, and we could see half-naked figures passing and repassing them,
+      and others squatting beside, looking like monks in their hooped burnouses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You are going out, messieurs?&rsquo; said the aumônier politely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I looked at Marnier.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You&rsquo;re too done up, I expect?&rsquo; I said to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His face was pale, and he certainly had the demeanour of a tired man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No,&rsquo; he answered. &lsquo;I should like to stroll in this wonderful air.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I turned to the priest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Yes, monsieur,&rsquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I come here to take my meals, but I live at the edge of the town.
+      Perhaps you will permit me to accompany you for a little way.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;We shall be delighted, and we know nothing of Beni-Kouidar.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As we stepped out into the market Marnier paused to light his pipe. But
+      suddenly he threw away the match he had struck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No, it&rsquo;s a sin to smoke in this air,&rsquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And he drew a deep breath, looking at the round moon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The priest smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I have lived here for four years,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;and cannot resist my cigar.
+      But you are right. The air of Beni-Kouidar is extraordinary. When first I
+      came here it used to mount to my head like wine.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Bad for you, Marnier!&rsquo; I said, laughing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I added, to the aumônier:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;My friend never drinks wine, and so ought to be peculiarly susceptible
+      to such an influence.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      II
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Opposite to the aumonier&rsquo;s dwelling was the great dancing-house of the
+      town, and when we had bade him good-night, and turned to go back to the
+      inn, I rather tentatively suggested to Marnier that, perhaps, it would be
+      interesting to look in there for a moment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;All right,&rsquo; he responded, with his most donnish manner. &lsquo;But I expect it
+      will be rather an unwashed crowd.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A quantity of native soldiers&mdash;the sort that used to be called
+      Turcos&mdash;were gathered round the door. We pushed our way through them,
+      and entered. The café was large, with big white pillars and a double row
+      of divans in the middle, and divans rising in tiers all round. On the left
+      was a large doorway, in which gorgeously-dressed painted women, with gold
+      crowns on their heads, were standing, smoking cigarettes, and laughing
+      with the Arabs; and at the end farthest from the street entrance was a
+      raised platform, on which sat three musicians&mdash;a wild-looking demon
+      of a man blowing into an instrument with an immense funnel, and two men
+      beating tomtoms. The noise they made was terrific. The piper wore a
+      voluminous burnouse, and as the dancers came in in pairs from the big
+      doorway, which led into the court where they all live together, each in
+      her separate little room with her own front door, they threw their door
+      keys into the hood that was attached to it. As soon as they had finished
+      dancing they went to the hood, and rummaged violently for them again. And
+      all the time the piper blew frantically into his instrument, and rocked
+      himself about like a man in a convulsion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We sat on one of the raised divans, with coffee before us on a wooden
+      stool, and Marnier observed it all with a slightly supercilious coldness.
+      The women, who were dressed in different shades of red, and were the most
+      amazing trollops I ever set eyes on, came and went in pairs, fluttered
+      their painted fingers, twittered like startled birds, jumped and twirled,
+      wriggled and revolved, and inclined their greasy foreheads to the
+      impenetrable spectators, who stuck silver coins on to the perspiring
+      flesh. And Marnier sat and gazed at them with the aloofness of one who
+      watches the creatures in puddle water through a microscope. I could
+      scarcely help laughing at him, but I wished him away. For to me there was
+      excitement, there was even a sort of ecstasy, in the utter barbarity of
+      this spectacle, in the moving scarlet figures with their golden crowns and
+      tufts of ostrich plumes, in the serried masses of turbaned and hooded
+      spectators, in the rocking forms of the musicians, in the strident and
+      ceaseless uproar that they made.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And through the doorway where the Tur-cos&mdash;I like the old name&mdash;crowded
+      I saw the sand filtering in from the desert, and against the black leaves
+      of a solitary palm-tree, with leaves like giant Fatma hands, I saw the
+      silver disc of the moon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I vote we go,&rsquo; said Marnier&rsquo;s light tenor voice in my ear. &lsquo;The
+      atmosphere&rsquo;s awful in here.&rsquo; &ldquo;&lsquo;Very well,&rsquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I got up; but just then a girl, dressed in midnight purple embroidered
+      with silver, came in from the doorway, and began to dance alone. She was
+      very young&mdash;fourteen, I found out afterwards&mdash;and, in contrast
+      to the other women, extremely beautiful. There were grace, seduction,
+      mystery, and coquetry in her face and in all her movements. Her long black
+      eyes held fire and dreams. Her fluttering hands seemed beckoning us to the
+      realms of the thousand and one nights. I stood where I had got up, and
+      watched her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I say, aren&rsquo;t we going?&rsquo; said Marnier&rsquo;s voice in my ear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cursed the day when I had agreed to take him with me, leaped down to
+      the earth, and struggled towards the door. As we neared it the girl sidled
+      down the room till she was exactly in front of Marnier. Then she danced
+      before him, smiling with her immense eyes, which she fixed steadily upon
+      him, and bending forward her pretty head, covered with a cloth of silver
+      handkerchief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Give her something,&rsquo; I said to him, laughing, as he stared back at her
+      grimly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He thrust his hand into his pocket, found a franc, stuck it awkwardly
+      against her oval forehead, and followed me out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When we were in the sandy street he walked a few steps in silence, then
+      stood still, and, to my surprise, stared back at the dancing-house. Then
+      he put his hand to his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Is the air having its alcoholic effect?&rsquo; I asked in joke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I spoke a handsome Arab, splendidly dressed in a pale blue robe, red
+      gaiters and boots, and a turban of fine muslin, spangled with gold, passed
+      us slowly, going towards the dancing-house. He cast a glance full of
+      suspicion and malice at Marnier.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What&rsquo;s up with that fellow?&rsquo; I said, startled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Arab went on, and at that moment the faithful Safti joined us. He
+      never left me long out of his sight in these outlandish places.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That is the Batouch Sidi, the brother of the Caïd of Beni-Kouidar,&rsquo; he
+      said. &lsquo;Algia, the dancer to whom Monsieur Henri has just given money, is
+      his <i>chère amie</i>. But as the government has just made him a sheik, he
+      dares not have her in his house for fear of the scandal. So he has put her
+      with the dancers. That is why she dances, to deceive everyone, not to make
+      money. She is not as the other dancers. But everyone knows, for Batouch is
+      mad with jealousy. He cannot bear that Algia should dance before
+      strangers, but what can he do? A sheik must not have a scandal in his
+      dwelling.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We walked on slowly. When we got to the door of the &lsquo;Rendezvous des Amis&rsquo; 
+      Marnier stood still again, and looked down the deserted, moonlit camel
+      market.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I never knew air like this,&rsquo; he said in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And once more he expelled the air from his lungs, and drew in a long,
+      slow breath, as a man does when he has finished his dumbbell exercise in
+      the morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Don&rsquo;t drink too much of it,&rsquo; I said. &lsquo;Remember what the aumônier told
+      us!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marnier looked at me. I thought there was something apprehensive in his
+      eyes. But he said nothing, and we turned in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The next day I rode out with Safti into the desert to visit a sacred
+      personage of great note in the Sahara, Sidi El Ahmed Ben Daoud
+      Abderahmann. To my relief Marnier declined to come. He said he was tired,
+      and would stroll about the city. When we got back at sundown the innkeeper
+      handed me a note. I opened it, and found it was from the aumônier, saying
+      that he would be greatly obliged if I would call and see him on my return,
+      as he had various little curiosities which he would be glad to show me.
+      Marnier was not in the inn, and, as I had nothing particular to do, I
+      walked at once to the aumonier&rsquo;s house. As I have said, it was the last in
+      the town. The dancing-house was on the opposite side of the way; but the
+      aumonier&rsquo;s dwelling jutted out a little farther into the desert, and
+      looked full on a deep depression of soft sand bounded by a big dune, which
+      loomed up like a couchant beast in the fading yellow light.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The aumônier met me at his door, and escorted me into a pleasant room,
+      where his collection of Arab weapons, coins, and old vases, cups, and
+      various utensils, dug up, he told me, at Tlemcen, was arranged. But to my
+      surprise he scarcely took time to show it to me before he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Though a stranger, may I venture to speak rather intimately to you,
+      monsieur?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Certainly,&rsquo; I replied, in some astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Your friend is young.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Marnier?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Is that his name? Well, I would not leave him to stroll about too much
+      alone, if I were you.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Why, monsieur?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;He is likely to get into trouble. The people here are a wild and violent
+      race. He would do well to bear in mind the saying of a traveller who knew
+      the desert men better than most people:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you want to be friendly with them, and safe among them, give
+      cigarettes to the men, and leave the women alone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I see a good deal, monsieur, owing to the situation of my little house.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I looked at him in silence. Then I said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What have you seen?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He led me to the door, and pointed towards the great dune beyond the
+      dancing-house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw your friend this afternoon talking there with one whom it is
+      especially unsafe to be seen with in Beni-Koujtlar.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;With whom?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;A dancer called Àlgia.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Talking, monsieur! Marnier knows no Arabic.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The aumônier pursed his lips in his black beard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The conversation appeared to be carried on by signs,&rsquo; he responded.
+      &lsquo;That did not make it less but more dangerous.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid I was rude, and whistled softly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Monsieur l&rsquo;Aumônier,&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;you must forgive me, but this air is
+      certainly the very devil.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He smiled, not without irony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I became aware of that myself, monsieur, when first I came to live in
+      Beni-Kouidar. But I am a priest, and&mdash;well, monsieur, I was given the
+      strength to say: &ldquo;Get thee behind me, Satan.&rdquo;&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A softer look came into his sunburnt, wrinkled face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Better take your friend away as soon as possible,&rsquo; he added, &lsquo;or there
+      will be trouble.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      III
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That night I found myself confronted by a Marnier whom I had never seen
+      before. The desert wine had gone to the lad&rsquo;s brain. That was certain. No
+      intonations of the Oxford don lurked in the voice. No reminiscences of the
+      Oxford &lsquo;High&rsquo; clung about the manner. A man sober and the same man drunk
+      are scarcely more different than the Marnier who had ridden with me up the
+      sandy street of Beni-Kouidar the previous day and the man who sat opposite
+      to me at dinner in the &lsquo;Rendezvous des Amis&rsquo; that night. I knew in a
+      moment that the aumônier was right, and that I must get the lad away at
+      once from the intoxicant which nature poured out over this far-away city.
+      His eyes were shining feverishly, and when I mentioned Mr. Ruskin in a
+      casual way he looked unutterably bored.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Ruskin and all those fellows seem awfully slow and out of place here,&rsquo; 
+      he exclaimed. &lsquo;One doesn&rsquo;t want to bother about them in the Sahara.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I changed the subject.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;There doesn&rsquo;t seem very much to see here,&rsquo; I said carelessly. &lsquo;We might
+      get away the day after to-morrow, don&rsquo;t you think?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He drew his brows down.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The horses won&rsquo;t be sufficiently rested,&rsquo; he said curtly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Oh yes; I fancy they will.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t fancy I shall. The long ride took it out of me.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Turn in to-night, then, directly after dinner.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He looked at me with sharp suspicion. I met his gaze blandly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I mean to,&rsquo; he said after a short pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I knew he was telling me a lie, but I only said: &lsquo;That&rsquo;s right!&rsquo; and
+      resolved to keep an eye on him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Directly dinner was over he sprang up from the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Good-night,&rsquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And before I could reply he was out of the <i>salle-à-manger</i>, and I
+      heard him tramp along the brick floor of the passage, go into his room,
+      and bang the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The aumônier was getting up from his little table, and shaking the crumbs
+      from his soutane.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You are quite right, monsieur,&rsquo; I said to him. &lsquo;I must get my friend
+      away.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I shall be sorry to lose you,&rsquo; replied the good priest. &lsquo;But&mdash;desert
+      air, desert air!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He shook his head, half wistfully, half laughingly, bowed, put on his
+      broad-brimmed black hat, and went out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After a moment I followed him. I stood in the doorway of the inn, and lit
+      a cigar. I knew Marnier was not going to bed, and meant to catch him when
+      he came out, and join him. In common politeness he could scarcely refuse
+      my company, since he had asked me as a favour to let him come with me to
+      Beni-Kouidar. I waited, watching the moon rise, till my cigar was smoked
+      out. Then I lit another. Still he did not come. I heard the distant throb
+      of tomtoms beyond the Bureau Arabe in the quarter of the freed negroes.
+      They were having a fantasia. I began to think that I must have been
+      mistaken, and that Marnier had really turned in. So much the better. The
+      ash dropped from the stump of my second cigar, and the deserted camel
+      market was flooded with silver from the moon-rays. I knew there was only
+      one door to the inn. Slowly I lit a third cigar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A large cloud went over the face of the moon. A gust of wind struck my
+      face. Suddenly the night had changed. The moon looked forth again, and was
+      again obscured. A second gust struck me like a blow, and my face was stung
+      by a multitude of sand grains. I heard steps behind me in the brick
+      passage, turned swiftly, and saw the landlord.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I must shut the door, m&rsquo;sieu,&rsquo; he said. &lsquo;There&rsquo;s a bad sandstorm coming
+      up.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As he spoke the wind roared, and over the camel market a thick fog seemed
+      to fall abruptly. It was a sheet of sand from the surrounding dunes. I
+      threw away my cigar, stepped into the passage, and the landlord banged the
+      door, and drove home the heavy bolts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I went to Marnier&rsquo;s room, and knocked. I felt sure, but I thought I
+      would make sure before going to my room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I knocked again loudly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again no answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I turned the handle, and entered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The room was empty. I glanced round quickly. The small window was open.
+      All the windows of the inn were barred, but, as I learned later, a bar in
+      Marnier&rsquo;s had been broken, and was not yet replaced when we arrived at
+      Beni-Kouidar. In consequence of this it was possible to squeeze through
+      into the arcade outside. This was what Marnier had done. My precise,
+      gentlemanly, reserved, and methodical acquaintance had deliberately given
+      me the slip by sneaking out of a window like a schoolboy, and creeping
+      round the edge of the inn to the <i>fosse</i> that lay in the shadow of
+      the sand dimes. As I realised this I realised his danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ran to my room, fetched my revolver, slipped it into my pocket, and
+      hurried to the front door. The landlord heard me trying to undo the bolts,
+      and came out protesting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;M&rsquo;sieu cannot go out into the storm.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I must.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;But m&rsquo;sieu does not know what Beni-Kouidar is like when the sand is
+      blown on the wind. It is <i>enfer</i>. Besides, it is not safe. In the
+      darkness m&rsquo;sieu may receive a <i>mauvais coup</i>.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Make haste, please, and open the door. I am going to fetch my friend.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He pulled the bolts, grumbling and swearing, and I went out into <i>enfer</i>.
+      For he was right. A sandstorm at night in Beni-Kouidar is hell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Luckily, Safti joined me mysteriously from the deuce knows where, and we
+      staggered to the dancing-house somehow, and struggled in, blinded, our
+      faces scored, our clothes heavy with sand, our pockets, our very boots,
+      weighed down with it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The tomtoms were roaring, the pipe was yelling, blown by the frantic
+      demon with his hood full of latch keys, the impassible, bearded faces were
+      watching the painted women who, in their red garments and their golden
+      crowns, promenaded down the earthen floor, between the divans, fluttering
+      their dyed fingers, smiling grotesquely like idols, bending forward their
+      greasy foreheads to receive the tribute of their admirers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ran my eyes swiftly over the mob. Marnier was not in it. I pushed my
+      way towards the doorway on the left which gave on to the court of the
+      dancers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Safti caught hold of my arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;It is not safe to go in there on such a night, Sidi. There are no lamps.
+      It is black as a tomb. And no one can tell who may be there. Nomads,
+      perhaps, men of evil from the south. Many murders have been done in the
+      court on black nights, and no one can say who has done them. For all the
+      time men go in and out to the rooms of the dancers.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Nevertheless, Safti, I must&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I stopped speaking, for at this moment Batouch, the brother of the Caïd
+      of Beni-Kouidar, came slowly in through the doorway from the blackness of
+      the sand-swept court. There was a strange smile on his handsome face, and
+      he was caressing his black beard gently with one delicate hand. He saw me,
+      smiled more till I caught the gleam of his white teeth, passed on into the
+      dancing-house, sat down on a divan, and called for coffee. I could not
+      take my eyes from him. Every movement he made fascinated me. He drew from
+      his pale blue robe a silver box, opened it, lifted out a pinch of tobacco,
+      and began carefully to roll a cigarette. And all the time he smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A glacial cold crept over my body. As he lit his cigarette I caught hold
+      of Safti, and hurried through the doorway into the blackness of the
+      whirling sand.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      Here I stopped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said young England. &ldquo;Well?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The doctor did not speak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;Algia danced that night. While she was dancing we
+      found a dead body in the court. It was Marnier&rsquo;s. A knife had been thrust
+      into him from behind!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said the doctor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But&mdash;&rdquo; exclaimed young England, &ldquo;it was that fellow? It was
+      Batouch?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I shrugged my shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody ever found out who did it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, but of course&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He checked himself, and an expression of admiration dawned slowly over his
+      healthy, handsome face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I say,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;to be able to roll a cigarette directly afterwards!
+      What infernal cheek!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Desert air!&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;My dear chap&mdash;desert air!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The doctor nodded.
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23418-h.htm or 23418-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/4/1/23418/
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &ldquo;Project
+Gutenberg&rdquo;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  &ldquo;Project Gutenberg&rdquo; is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&ldquo;the Foundation&rdquo;
+ or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase &ldquo;Project Gutenberg&rdquo; appears, or with which the phrase &ldquo;Project
+Gutenberg&rdquo; is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase &ldquo;Project Gutenberg&rdquo; associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+&ldquo;Plain Vanilla ASCII&rdquo; or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original &ldquo;Plain Vanilla ASCII&rdquo; or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, &ldquo;Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.&rdquo;
+ 
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+&ldquo;Defects,&rdquo; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &ldquo;Right
+of Replacement or Refund&rdquo; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &lsquo;AS-IS&rsquo; WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm&rsquo;s
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation&rsquo;s EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state&rsquo;s laws.
+
+The Foundation&rsquo;s principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation&rsquo;s web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/23418.txt b/23418.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bae6af7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1026 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Desert Air
+       1905
+
+Author: Robert Hichens
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2007 [EBook #23418]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+DESERT AIR
+
+By Robert Hichens
+
+Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
+
+Copyright, 1905
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+On an evening of last summer I was dining in London at the Carlton with
+two men. One of them was an excellent type of young England, strong,
+healthy, athletic, and straightforward. The other was a clever London
+doctor who was building up a great practice in the West End. At dessert
+the conversation turned upon a then recent tragedy in which a great
+reputation had gone down, and young England spoke rather contemptuously
+of the victim, with the superior surprise human beings generally express
+about the sin which does not happen to be theirs.
+
+"I can't understand it!" was his conclusion. "It's beyond me."
+
+"Climate," said the doctor quietly.
+
+"What?"
+
+"Climate. Air."
+
+Young England looked inexpressively astonished.
+
+"But hang it all!" he exclaimed, "you don't mean to say change of air
+means change of nature?"
+
+"Not to everyone. Not to you, perhaps. Have you travelled much?"
+
+"Well, I've been to Paris for the Grand Prix, and to Monte----"
+
+"For the gambling. That's hardly travelling. Now, I've studied this
+subject a little, quietly in Harley Street. I'm no traveller myself,
+but I have dozens of patients who are. And I'm convinced that the modern
+facilities for travel, besides giving an infinity of pleasure, bring
+about innumerable tragedies."
+
+He turned to me.
+
+"You go abroad a great deal. What do you say?"
+
+"That you're perfectly right. And I'm prepared to affirm that, in
+highly-strung, imaginative, or over-worked people change of climate does
+sometimes actually cause, or seem to cause, change of nature."
+
+Young England, who was by no means highly-strung or imaginative, looked
+politely dubious, but the doctor was evidently pleased.
+
+"An ally!" he cried.
+
+He glanced at me for an instant, then added:
+
+"You've got a case that proves it, at any rate to you, in your mind."
+
+"Quite true."
+
+"Can you give it us?"
+
+"Jove! let's have it!" exclaimed young England.
+
+"Certainly, if you like," I said. "I don't know whether you ever heard
+of the Marnier affair?"
+
+Young England shook his head, but the doctor replied at once.
+
+"Three years ago, wasn't it?"
+
+"Four."
+
+"And it happened in some remote place in the Sahara Desert?"
+
+"In Beni-Kouidar. I was with Henry Marnier in Beni-Kouidar at the time."
+
+"Go ahead!" said young England more eagerly.
+
+"Poor Marnier was not an old friend of mine, but an acquaintance whom I
+had met casually at Beni-Mora, which is known as a health resort."
+
+"I send patients there sometimes," said the doctor.
+
+"The railway stops at Beni-Mora. To reach Beni-Kouidar one must go on
+horse or camel back over between three and four hundred kilometres of
+desert, sleeping on the way at Travellers' Houses--Bordjs as they are
+called there. Beni-Kouidar lies in the midst of immeasurable sands,
+and the air that blows through its palm gardens, and round its mosque
+towers, and down its alleys under the arcades, is startling: dry as the
+finest champagne, almost fiercely pure and fresh, exhilarating--well,
+too exhilarating for certain people."
+
+The doctor nodded.
+
+"Champagne goes very quickly to some heads," he interjected.
+
+"Beni-Kouidar has nothing to say to modern civilisation. It is a wild
+and turbulent city, divided into quarters--the Arab quarter, the Jews'
+quarter, the freed negroes' quarter, and so on--and furthermore, is
+infested at certain seasons by the Sahara nomads, who camp in filthy
+tents on the huge sand dunes round about, and sell rugs, burnouses, and
+Touareg work to the inhabitants, buying in return the dates for which
+the palms of Beni-Kouidar are celebrated.
+
+"I wanted to see a real Sahara city to which the Cook's tourist had not
+as yet penetrated, and I resolved to ride there from Beni-Mora. When
+Henry Marnier heard of it he asked if he might accompany me.
+
+"Marnier was a young man who had recently left Oxford, and who had come
+out to Beni-Mora only a week before to see his mother, who was
+going through the sulphur cure. He was what is generally called a
+'serious-minded young man'; intellectual, inclined to grave reading and
+high thinking, totally devoid of frivolity, a little cold in manner and
+temperament, one would have sworn; in fact, a type of a very well-known
+kind of Oxford undergraduate, the kind that takes a good tutorship for a
+year or so after leaving the University, and then becomes a schoolmaster
+or a clergyman. Marnier, by the way, intended to take orders.
+
+"Now, this sort of young man is not precisely my sort, and especially
+not my sort in the Sahara Desert. But I did not want to be rude to
+Marnier, who was friendly and agreeable, and obviously anxious to
+increase his already considerable store of knowledge. So I put my
+inclinations in my pocket, and, with inward reluctance, I agreed.
+
+"We set off with Safti, my faithful one-eyed Arab guide, and after three
+long days of riding and talking--as I had feared--Maeterlink and
+Tolstoy, Henley and Verlaine (this last being utterly condemned by
+Marnier as a man of weak character and degraded life) we saw the towers
+of Beni-Kouidar aspiring above the shifting sands, the tufted summits of
+the thousands of palm-trees, and heard the dull beating of drums and the
+cries of people borne to us over the spaces of which silence is the
+steady guardian.
+
+"We were all pretty tired, but Marnier was, especially done up. He had
+recently been working very hard for the 'first' with which he had left
+Oxford, and was not in good condition. We were, therefore, glad enough
+when we rode through the wide street thronged with natives, turned the
+corner into the great camel market, and finally dismounted before
+the door of the one inn, the 'Rendezvous des Amis,' a mean, dusty,
+one-storey building, on whose dirty white wall was a crude painting of a
+preposterous harridan in a purple empire gown, pouring wine for a Zouave
+who was evidently afflicted with elephantiasis. Yet, tired as I was,
+I stepped out into the camel market for a moment before going into the
+house, emptied my lungs, and slowly filled them.
+
+"'What air!' I said to Marnier, who had followed me.
+
+"'It is extraordinary,' he answered in his rather dry tenor voice.
+'I should say like the best champagne, if I did not happen to be a
+teetotaller.'
+
+"(The market, I must explain, was not at that moment in active
+operation.)
+
+"After a _bain de siege_--we both longed for total immersion--and some
+weak tea, in which I mingled a spoonful of rum, we felt better, but
+we reposed till dinner, and once again Marnier, in his habitually
+restrained and critical manner, discussed contemporary literature, and
+what Plato and Aristotle, judging by; their writings, would have been
+likely to think of it. And once again I felt as if I were in the 'High'
+at Oxford, and was almost inclined to wish that Marnier was the rowdy
+type of undergrad, who ducks people in water troughs and makes bonfires
+in quads."
+
+"H'm!" said the doctor gravely. "Better, perhaps, if he had been."
+
+"Much better," I answered. "At seven o'clock we ate a rather tough
+dinner in the small, bare _salle-a-manger_, on the red brick floor of
+which sand grains were lying. Our only companion was a bearded priest in
+a dirty soutane, the aumonier of Beni-Kouidar, who sat at a little table
+apart, and greeted our entrance with a polite bow, but did not then
+speak to us.
+
+"When the meal was ended, however, he joined us as we stood at the inn
+door looking out into the night. A moon was rising above the palms, and
+gilding the cupolas of the Bureau Arabe on the far side of the Market
+Square. A distant noise of tomtoms and African pipes was audible.
+And all down the hill to our left--for the land rose to where the inn
+stood--fires gleamed, and we could see half-naked figures passing and
+repassing them, and others squatting beside, looking like monks in their
+hooped burnouses.
+
+"'You are going out, messieurs?' said the aumonier politely.
+
+"I looked at Marnier.
+
+"'You're too done up, I expect?' I said to him.
+
+"His face was pale, and he certainly had the demeanour of a tired man.
+
+"'No,' he answered. 'I should like to stroll in this wonderful air.'
+
+"I turned to the priest.
+
+"'Yes, monsieur,' I said.
+
+"'I come here to take my meals, but I live at the edge of the town.
+Perhaps you will permit me to accompany you for a little way.'
+
+"'We shall be delighted, and we know nothing of Beni-Kouidar.'
+
+"As we stepped out into the market Marnier paused to light his pipe. But
+suddenly he threw away the match he had struck.
+
+"'No, it's a sin to smoke in this air,' he said.
+
+"And he drew a deep breath, looking at the round moon.
+
+"The priest smiled.
+
+"'I have lived here for four years,' he said, 'and cannot resist my
+cigar. But you are right. The air of Beni-Kouidar is extraordinary. When
+first I came here it used to mount to my head like wine.'
+
+"'Bad for you, Marnier!' I said, laughing.
+
+"Then I added, to the aumonier:
+
+"'My friend never drinks wine, and so ought to be peculiarly susceptible
+to such an influence.'"
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+"Opposite to the aumonier's dwelling was the great dancing-house of the
+town, and when we had bade him good-night, and turned to go back to the
+inn, I rather tentatively suggested to Marnier that, perhaps, it would
+be interesting to look in there for a moment.
+
+"'All right,' he responded, with his most donnish manner. 'But I expect
+it will be rather an unwashed crowd.'
+
+"A quantity of native soldiers--the sort that used to be called
+Turcos--were gathered round the door. We pushed our way through them,
+and entered. The cafe was large, with big white pillars and a double row
+of divans in the middle, and divans rising in tiers all round. On the
+left was a large doorway, in which gorgeously-dressed painted women,
+with gold crowns on their heads, were standing, smoking cigarettes,
+and laughing with the Arabs; and at the end farthest from the street
+entrance was a raised platform, on which sat three musicians--a
+wild-looking demon of a man blowing into an instrument with an immense
+funnel, and two men beating tomtoms. The noise they made was terrific.
+The piper wore a voluminous burnouse, and as the dancers came in in
+pairs from the big doorway, which led into the court where they all live
+together, each in her separate little room with her own front door, they
+threw their door keys into the hood that was attached to it. As soon as
+they had finished dancing they went to the hood, and rummaged violently
+for them again. And all the time the piper blew frantically into his
+instrument, and rocked himself about like a man in a convulsion.
+
+"We sat on one of the raised divans, with coffee before us on a
+wooden stool, and Marnier observed it all with a slightly supercilious
+coldness. The women, who were dressed in different shades of red, and
+were the most amazing trollops I ever set eyes on, came and went in
+pairs, fluttered their painted fingers, twittered like startled birds,
+jumped and twirled, wriggled and revolved, and inclined their greasy
+foreheads to the impenetrable spectators, who stuck silver coins on
+to the perspiring flesh. And Marnier sat and gazed at them with the
+aloofness of one who watches the creatures in puddle water through a
+microscope. I could scarcely help laughing at him, but I wished him
+away. For to me there was excitement, there was even a sort of ecstasy,
+in the utter barbarity of this spectacle, in the moving scarlet figures
+with their golden crowns and tufts of ostrich plumes, in the serried
+masses of turbaned and hooded spectators, in the rocking forms of the
+musicians, in the strident and ceaseless uproar that they made.
+
+"And through the doorway where the Tur-cos--I like the old name--crowded
+I saw the sand filtering in from the desert, and against the black
+leaves of a solitary palm-tree, with leaves like giant Fatma hands, I
+saw the silver disc of the moon.
+
+"'I vote we go,' said Marnier's light tenor voice in my ear. 'The
+atmosphere's awful in here.' "'Very well,' I said.
+
+"I got up; but just then a girl, dressed in midnight purple embroidered
+with silver, came in from the doorway, and began to dance alone. She was
+very young--fourteen, I found out afterwards--and, in contrast to the
+other women, extremely beautiful. There were grace, seduction, mystery,
+and coquetry in her face and in all her movements. Her long black eyes
+held fire and dreams. Her fluttering hands seemed beckoning us to the
+realms of the thousand and one nights. I stood where I had got up, and
+watched her.
+
+"'I say, aren't we going?' said Marnier's voice in my ear.
+
+"I cursed the day when I had agreed to take him with me, leaped down
+to the earth, and struggled towards the door. As we neared it the girl
+sidled down the room till she was exactly in front of Marnier. Then
+she danced before him, smiling with her immense eyes, which she fixed
+steadily upon him, and bending forward her pretty head, covered with a
+cloth of silver handkerchief.
+
+"'Give her something,' I said to him, laughing, as he stared back at her
+grimly.
+
+"He thrust his hand into his pocket, found a franc, stuck it awkwardly
+against her oval forehead, and followed me out.
+
+"When we were in the sandy street he walked a few steps in silence, then
+stood still, and, to my surprise, stared back at the dancing-house. Then
+he put his hand to his head.
+
+"'Is the air having its alcoholic effect?' I asked in joke.
+
+"As I spoke a handsome Arab, splendidly dressed in a pale blue robe,
+red gaiters and boots, and a turban of fine muslin, spangled with gold,
+passed us slowly, going towards the dancing-house. He cast a glance full
+of suspicion and malice at Marnier.
+
+"'What's up with that fellow?' I said, startled.
+
+"The Arab went on, and at that moment the faithful Safti joined us. He
+never left me long out of his sight in these outlandish places.
+
+"'That is the Batouch Sidi, the brother of the Caid of Beni-Kouidar,' he
+said. 'Algia, the dancer to whom Monsieur Henri has just given money,
+is his _chere amie_. But as the government has just made him a sheik, he
+dares not have her in his house for fear of the scandal. So he has put
+her with the dancers. That is why she dances, to deceive everyone, not
+to make money. She is not as the other dancers. But everyone knows, for
+Batouch is mad with jealousy. He cannot bear that Algia should dance
+before strangers, but what can he do? A sheik must not have a scandal in
+his dwelling.'
+
+"We walked on slowly. When we got to the door of the 'Rendezvous des
+Amis' Marnier stood still again, and looked down the deserted, moonlit
+camel market.
+
+"'I never knew air like this,' he said in a low voice.
+
+"And once more he expelled the air from his lungs, and drew in a long,
+slow breath, as a man does when he has finished his dumbbell exercise in
+the morning.
+
+"'Don't drink too much of it,' I said. 'Remember what the aumonier told
+us!'
+
+"Marnier looked at me. I thought there was something apprehensive in his
+eyes. But he said nothing, and we turned in.
+
+"The next day I rode out with Safti into the desert to visit a sacred
+personage of great note in the Sahara, Sidi El Ahmed Ben Daoud
+Abderahmann. To my relief Marnier declined to come. He said he was
+tired, and would stroll about the city. When we got back at sundown the
+innkeeper handed me a note. I opened it, and found it was from the
+aumonier, saying that he would be greatly obliged if I would call and
+see him on my return, as he had various little curiosities which he
+would be glad to show me. Marnier was not in the inn, and, as I had
+nothing particular to do, I walked at once to the aumonier's house. As I
+have said, it was the last in the town. The dancing-house was on the
+opposite side of the way; but the aumonier's dwelling jutted out a
+little farther into the desert, and looked full on a deep depression of
+soft sand bounded by a big dune, which loomed up like a couchant beast
+in the fading yellow light.
+
+"The aumonier met me at his door, and escorted me into a pleasant room,
+where his collection of Arab weapons, coins, and old vases, cups, and
+various utensils, dug up, he told me, at Tlemcen, was arranged. But to
+my surprise he scarcely took time to show it to me before he said:
+
+"'Though a stranger, may I venture to speak rather intimately to you,
+monsieur?'
+
+"'Certainly,' I replied, in some astonishment.
+
+"'Your friend is young.'
+
+"'Marnier?'
+
+"'Is that his name? Well, I would not leave him to stroll about too much
+alone, if I were you.'
+
+"'Why, monsieur?'
+
+"'He is likely to get into trouble. The people here are a wild and
+violent race. He would do well to bear in mind the saying of a traveller
+who knew the desert men better than most people:
+
+"If you want to be friendly with them, and safe among them, give
+cigarettes to the men, and leave the women alone.
+
+"'I see a good deal, monsieur, owing to the situation of my little
+house.'
+
+"I looked at him in silence. Then I said:
+
+"'What have you seen?'
+
+"He led me to the door, and pointed towards the great dune beyond the
+dancing-house.
+
+"I saw your friend this afternoon talking there with one whom it is
+especially unsafe to be seen with in Beni-Koujtlar.'
+
+"'With whom?'
+
+"'A dancer called Algia.'
+
+"'Talking, monsieur! Marnier knows no Arabic.'
+
+"The aumonier pursed his lips in his black beard.
+
+"'The conversation appeared to be carried on by signs,' he responded.
+'That did not make it less but more dangerous.'
+
+"I'm afraid I was rude, and whistled softly.
+
+"'Monsieur l'Aumonier,' I said, 'you must forgive me, but this air is
+certainly the very devil.'
+
+"He smiled, not without irony.
+
+"'I became aware of that myself, monsieur, when first I came to live in
+Beni-Kouidar. But I am a priest, and--well, monsieur, I was given the
+strength to say: "Get thee behind me, Satan."'
+
+"A softer look came into his sunburnt, wrinkled face.
+
+"'Better take your friend away as soon as possible,' he added, 'or there
+will be trouble.'"
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+"That night I found myself confronted by a Marnier whom I had never seen
+before. The desert wine had gone to the lad's brain. That was certain.
+No intonations of the Oxford don lurked in the voice. No reminiscences
+of the Oxford 'High' clung about the manner. A man sober and the same
+man drunk are scarcely more different than the Marnier who had ridden
+with me up the sandy street of Beni-Kouidar the previous day and the
+man who sat opposite to me at dinner in the 'Rendezvous des Amis' that
+night. I knew in a moment that the aumonier was right, and that I must
+get the lad away at once from the intoxicant which nature poured out
+over this far-away city. His eyes were shining feverishly, and when I
+mentioned Mr. Ruskin in a casual way he looked unutterably bored.
+
+"'Ruskin and all those fellows seem awfully slow and out of place here,'
+he exclaimed. 'One doesn't want to bother about them in the Sahara.'
+
+"I changed the subject.
+
+"'There doesn't seem very much to see here,' I said carelessly. 'We
+might get away the day after to-morrow, don't you think?'
+
+"He drew his brows down.
+
+"'The horses won't be sufficiently rested,' he said curtly.
+
+"'Oh yes; I fancy they will.'
+
+"'Well, I don't fancy I shall. The long ride took it out of me.'
+
+"'Turn in to-night, then, directly after dinner.'
+
+"He looked at me with sharp suspicion. I met his gaze blandly.
+
+"'I mean to,' he said after a short pause.
+
+"I knew he was telling me a lie, but I only said: 'That's right!' and
+resolved to keep an eye on him.
+
+"Directly dinner was over he sprang up from the table.
+
+"'Good-night,' he said.
+
+"And before I could reply he was out of the _salle-a-manger_, and I
+heard him tramp along the brick floor of the passage, go into his room,
+and bang the door.
+
+"The aumonier was getting up from his little table, and shaking the
+crumbs from his soutane.
+
+"'You are quite right, monsieur,' I said to him. 'I must get my friend
+away.'
+
+"'I shall be sorry to lose you,' replied the good priest. 'But--desert
+air, desert air!'
+
+"He shook his head, half wistfully, half laughingly, bowed, put on his
+broad-brimmed black hat, and went out.
+
+"After a moment I followed him. I stood in the doorway of the inn, and
+lit a cigar. I knew Marnier was not going to bed, and meant to catch him
+when he came out, and join him. In common politeness he could scarcely
+refuse my company, since he had asked me as a favour to let him come
+with me to Beni-Kouidar. I waited, watching the moon rise, till my cigar
+was smoked out. Then I lit another. Still he did not come. I heard the
+distant throb of tomtoms beyond the Bureau Arabe in the quarter of the
+freed negroes. They were having a fantasia. I began to think that I must
+have been mistaken, and that Marnier had really turned in. So much the
+better. The ash dropped from the stump of my second cigar, and the
+deserted camel market was flooded with silver from the moon-rays. I knew
+there was only one door to the inn. Slowly I lit a third cigar.
+
+"A large cloud went over the face of the moon. A gust of wind struck my
+face. Suddenly the night had changed. The moon looked forth again, and
+was again obscured. A second gust struck me like a blow, and my face
+was stung by a multitude of sand grains. I heard steps behind me in the
+brick passage, turned swiftly, and saw the landlord.
+
+"'I must shut the door, m'sieu,' he said. 'There's a bad sandstorm
+coming up.'
+
+"As he spoke the wind roared, and over the camel market a thick fog
+seemed to fall abruptly. It was a sheet of sand from the surrounding
+dunes. I threw away my cigar, stepped into the passage, and the landlord
+banged the door, and drove home the heavy bolts.
+
+"Then I went to Marnier's room, and knocked. I felt sure, but I thought
+I would make sure before going to my room.
+
+"No answer.
+
+"I knocked again loudly.
+
+"Again no answer.
+
+"Then I turned the handle, and entered.
+
+"The room was empty. I glanced round quickly. The small window was open.
+All the windows of the inn were barred, but, as I learned later, a bar
+in Marnier's had been broken, and was not yet replaced when we arrived
+at Beni-Kouidar. In consequence of this it was possible to squeeze
+through into the arcade outside. This was what Marnier had done.
+My precise, gentlemanly, reserved, and methodical acquaintance had
+deliberately given me the slip by sneaking out of a window like a
+schoolboy, and creeping round the edge of the inn to the _fosse_ that
+lay in the shadow of the sand dimes. As I realised this I realised his
+danger.
+
+"I ran to my room, fetched my revolver, slipped it into my pocket, and
+hurried to the front door. The landlord heard me trying to undo the
+bolts, and came out protesting.
+
+"'M'sieu cannot go out into the storm.'
+
+"'I must.'
+
+"'But m'sieu does not know what Beni-Kouidar is like when the sand
+is blown on the wind. It is _enfer_. Besides, it is not safe. In the
+darkness m'sieu may receive a _mauvais coup_.'
+
+"'Make haste, please, and open the door. I am going to fetch my friend.'
+
+"He pulled the bolts, grumbling and swearing, and I went out into
+_enfer_. For he was right. A sandstorm at night in Beni-Kouidar is hell.
+
+"Luckily, Safti joined me mysteriously from the deuce knows where, and
+we staggered to the dancing-house somehow, and struggled in, blinded,
+our faces scored, our clothes heavy with sand, our pockets, our very
+boots, weighed down with it.
+
+"The tomtoms were roaring, the pipe was yelling, blown by the frantic
+demon with his hood full of latch keys, the impassible, bearded faces
+were watching the painted women who, in their red garments and their
+golden crowns, promenaded down the earthen floor, between the divans,
+fluttering their dyed fingers, smiling grotesquely like idols, bending
+forward their greasy foreheads to receive the tribute of their admirers.
+
+"I ran my eyes swiftly over the mob. Marnier was not in it. I pushed my
+way towards the doorway on the left which gave on to the court of the
+dancers.
+
+"Safti caught hold of my arm.
+
+"'It is not safe to go in there on such a night, Sidi. There are no
+lamps. It is black as a tomb. And no one can tell who may be there.
+Nomads, perhaps, men of evil from the south. Many murders have been done
+in the court on black nights, and no one can say who has done them. For
+all the time men go in and out to the rooms of the dancers.'
+
+"'Nevertheless, Safti, I must----'
+
+"I stopped speaking, for at this moment Batouch, the brother of the Caid
+of Beni-Kouidar, came slowly in through the doorway from the blackness
+of the sand-swept court. There was a strange smile on his handsome face,
+and he was caressing his black beard gently with one delicate hand. He
+saw me, smiled more till I caught the gleam of his white teeth, passed
+on into the dancing-house, sat down on a divan, and called for coffee.
+I could not take my eyes from him. Every movement he made fascinated me.
+He drew from his pale blue robe a silver box, opened it, lifted out a
+pinch of tobacco, and began carefully to roll a cigarette. And all the
+time he smiled.
+
+"A glacial cold crept over my body. As he lit his cigarette I caught
+hold of Safti, and hurried through the doorway into the blackness of the
+whirling sand."
+
+*****
+
+Here I stopped.
+
+"Well?" said young England. "Well?"
+
+The doctor did not speak.
+
+"Well," I answered. "Algia danced that night. While she was dancing
+we found a dead body in the court. It was Marnier's. A knife had been
+thrust into him from behind!"
+
+"Ah!" said the doctor.
+
+"But--" exclaimed young England, "it was that fellow? It was Batouch?"
+
+I shrugged my shoulders.
+
+"Nobody ever found out who did it."
+
+"Well, but of course----"
+
+He checked himself, and an expression of admiration dawned slowly over
+his healthy, handsome face.
+
+"I say," he said, "to be able to roll a cigarette directly afterwards!
+What infernal cheek!"
+
+"Desert air!" I replied. "My dear chap--desert air!"
+
+The doctor nodded.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23418.txt or 23418.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/4/1/23418/
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/23418.zip b/23418.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1625223
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23418.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb3eb6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #23418 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23418)
diff --git a/old/23418-h.htm.2021-01-25 b/old/23418-h.htm.2021-01-25
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dcac180
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/23418-h.htm.2021-01-25
@@ -0,0 +1,1284 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+
+<!DOCTYPE html
+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Desert Air
+       1905
+
+Author: Robert Hichens
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2007 [EBook #23418]
+Last Updated: December 17, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      DESERT AIR
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      By Robert Hichens
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
+    </h3>
+    <h4>
+      Copyright, 1905
+    </h4>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      Contents
+    </h2>
+    <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III </a>
+          </p>
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      I
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      On an evening of last summer I was dining in London at the Carlton with
+      two men. One of them was an excellent type of young England, strong,
+      healthy, athletic, and straightforward. The other was a clever London
+      doctor who was building up a great practice in the West End. At dessert
+      the conversation turned upon a then recent tragedy in which a great
+      reputation had gone down, and young England spoke rather contemptuously of
+      the victim, with the superior surprise human beings generally express
+      about the sin which does not happen to be theirs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand it!&rdquo; was his conclusion. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s beyond me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Climate,&rdquo; said the doctor quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Climate. Air.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Young England looked inexpressively astonished.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But hang it all!&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;you don&rsquo;t mean to say change of air
+      means change of nature?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not to everyone. Not to you, perhaps. Have you travelled much?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;ve been to Paris for the Grand Prix, and to Monte&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For the gambling. That&rsquo;s hardly travelling. Now, I&rsquo;ve studied this
+      subject a little, quietly in Harley Street. I&rsquo;m no traveller myself, but I
+      have dozens of patients who are. And I&rsquo;m convinced that the modern
+      facilities for travel, besides giving an infinity of pleasure, bring about
+      innumerable tragedies.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He turned to me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You go abroad a great deal. What do you say?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That you&rsquo;re perfectly right. And I&rsquo;m prepared to affirm that, in
+      highly-strung, imaginative, or over-worked people change of climate does
+      sometimes actually cause, or seem to cause, change of nature.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Young England, who was by no means highly-strung or imaginative, looked
+      politely dubious, but the doctor was evidently pleased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An ally!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He glanced at me for an instant, then added:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a case that proves it, at any rate to you, in your mind.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can you give it us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jove! let&rsquo;s have it!&rdquo; exclaimed young England.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly, if you like,&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know whether you ever heard of
+      the Marnier affair?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Young England shook his head, but the doctor replied at once.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three years ago, wasn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Four.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And it happened in some remote place in the Sahara Desert?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In Beni-Kouidar. I was with Henry Marnier in Beni-Kouidar at the time.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go ahead!&rdquo; said young England more eagerly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Poor Marnier was not an old friend of mine, but an acquaintance whom I
+      had met casually at Beni-Mora, which is known as a health resort.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I send patients there sometimes,&rdquo; said the doctor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The railway stops at Beni-Mora. To reach Beni-Kouidar one must go on
+      horse or camel back over between three and four hundred kilometres of
+      desert, sleeping on the way at Travellers&rsquo; Houses&mdash;Bordjs as they are
+      called there. Beni-Kouidar lies in the midst of immeasurable sands, and
+      the air that blows through its palm gardens, and round its mosque towers,
+      and down its alleys under the arcades, is startling: dry as the finest
+      champagne, almost fiercely pure and fresh, exhilarating&mdash;well, too
+      exhilarating for certain people.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The doctor nodded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Champagne goes very quickly to some heads,&rdquo; he interjected.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Beni-Kouidar has nothing to say to modern civilisation. It is a wild and
+      turbulent city, divided into quarters&mdash;the Arab quarter, the Jews&rsquo; 
+      quarter, the freed negroes&rsquo; quarter, and so on&mdash;and furthermore, is
+      infested at certain seasons by the Sahara nomads, who camp in filthy tents
+      on the huge sand dunes round about, and sell rugs, burnouses, and Touareg
+      work to the inhabitants, buying in return the dates for which the palms of
+      Beni-Kouidar are celebrated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wanted to see a real Sahara city to which the Cook&rsquo;s tourist had not as
+      yet penetrated, and I resolved to ride there from Beni-Mora. When Henry
+      Marnier heard of it he asked if he might accompany me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marnier was a young man who had recently left Oxford, and who had come
+      out to Beni-Mora only a week before to see his mother, who was going
+      through the sulphur cure. He was what is generally called a
+      &lsquo;serious-minded young man&rsquo;; intellectual, inclined to grave reading and
+      high thinking, totally devoid of frivolity, a little cold in manner and
+      temperament, one would have sworn; in fact, a type of a very well-known
+      kind of Oxford undergraduate, the kind that takes a good tutorship for a
+      year or so after leaving the University, and then becomes a schoolmaster
+      or a clergyman. Marnier, by the way, intended to take orders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, this sort of young man is not precisely my sort, and especially not
+      my sort in the Sahara Desert. But I did not want to be rude to Marnier,
+      who was friendly and agreeable, and obviously anxious to increase his
+      already considerable store of knowledge. So I put my inclinations in my
+      pocket, and, with inward reluctance, I agreed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We set off with Safti, my faithful one-eyed Arab guide, and after three
+      long days of riding and talking&mdash;as I had feared&mdash;Maeterlink and
+      Tolstoy, Henley and Verlaine (this last being utterly condemned by Marnier
+      as a man of weak character and degraded life) we saw the towers of
+      Beni-Kouidar aspiring above the shifting sands, the tufted summits of the
+      thousands of palm-trees, and heard the dull beating of drums and the cries
+      of people borne to us over the spaces of which silence is the steady
+      guardian.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We were all pretty tired, but Marnier was, especially done up. He had
+      recently been working very hard for the &lsquo;first&rsquo; with which he had left
+      Oxford, and was not in good condition. We were, therefore, glad enough
+      when we rode through the wide street thronged with natives, turned the
+      corner into the great camel market, and finally dismounted before the door
+      of the one inn, the &lsquo;Rendezvous des Amis,&rsquo; a mean, dusty, one-storey
+      building, on whose dirty white wall was a crude painting of a preposterous
+      harridan in a purple empire gown, pouring wine for a Zouave who was
+      evidently afflicted with elephantiasis. Yet, tired as I was, I stepped out
+      into the camel market for a moment before going into the house, emptied my
+      lungs, and slowly filled them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What air!&rsquo; I said to Marnier, who had followed me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;It is extraordinary,&rsquo; he answered in his rather dry tenor voice. &lsquo;I
+      should say like the best champagne, if I did not happen to be a
+      teetotaller.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;(The market, I must explain, was not at that moment in active operation.)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After a <i>bain de siege</i>&mdash;we both longed for total immersion&mdash;and
+      some weak tea, in which I mingled a spoonful of rum, we felt better, but
+      we reposed till dinner, and once again Marnier, in his habitually
+      restrained and critical manner, discussed contemporary literature, and
+      what Plato and Aristotle, judging by; their writings, would have been
+      likely to think of it. And once again I felt as if I were in the &lsquo;High&rsquo; at
+      Oxford, and was almost inclined to wish that Marnier was the rowdy type of
+      undergrad, who ducks people in water troughs and makes bonfires in quads.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;H&rsquo;m!&rdquo; said the doctor gravely. &ldquo;Better, perhaps, if he had been.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Much better,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;At seven o&rsquo;clock we ate a rather tough dinner
+      in the small, bare <i>salle-à-manger</i>, on the red brick floor of which
+      sand grains were lying. Our only companion was a bearded priest in a dirty
+      soutane, the aumônier of Beni-Kouidar, who sat at a little table apart,
+      and greeted our entrance with a polite bow, but did not then speak to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When the meal was ended, however, he joined us as we stood at the inn
+      door looking out into the night. A moon was rising above the palms, and
+      gilding the cupolas of the Bureau Arabe on the far side of the Market
+      Square. A distant noise of tomtoms and African pipes was audible. And all
+      down the hill to our left&mdash;for the land rose to where the inn stood&mdash;fires
+      gleamed, and we could see half-naked figures passing and repassing them,
+      and others squatting beside, looking like monks in their hooped burnouses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You are going out, messieurs?&rsquo; said the aumônier politely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I looked at Marnier.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You&rsquo;re too done up, I expect?&rsquo; I said to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His face was pale, and he certainly had the demeanour of a tired man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No,&rsquo; he answered. &lsquo;I should like to stroll in this wonderful air.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I turned to the priest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Yes, monsieur,&rsquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I come here to take my meals, but I live at the edge of the town.
+      Perhaps you will permit me to accompany you for a little way.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;We shall be delighted, and we know nothing of Beni-Kouidar.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As we stepped out into the market Marnier paused to light his pipe. But
+      suddenly he threw away the match he had struck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No, it&rsquo;s a sin to smoke in this air,&rsquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And he drew a deep breath, looking at the round moon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The priest smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I have lived here for four years,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;and cannot resist my cigar.
+      But you are right. The air of Beni-Kouidar is extraordinary. When first I
+      came here it used to mount to my head like wine.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Bad for you, Marnier!&rsquo; I said, laughing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I added, to the aumônier:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;My friend never drinks wine, and so ought to be peculiarly susceptible
+      to such an influence.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      II
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Opposite to the aumonier&rsquo;s dwelling was the great dancing-house of the
+      town, and when we had bade him good-night, and turned to go back to the
+      inn, I rather tentatively suggested to Marnier that, perhaps, it would be
+      interesting to look in there for a moment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;All right,&rsquo; he responded, with his most donnish manner. &lsquo;But I expect it
+      will be rather an unwashed crowd.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A quantity of native soldiers&mdash;the sort that used to be called
+      Turcos&mdash;were gathered round the door. We pushed our way through them,
+      and entered. The café was large, with big white pillars and a double row
+      of divans in the middle, and divans rising in tiers all round. On the left
+      was a large doorway, in which gorgeously-dressed painted women, with gold
+      crowns on their heads, were standing, smoking cigarettes, and laughing
+      with the Arabs; and at the end farthest from the street entrance was a
+      raised platform, on which sat three musicians&mdash;a wild-looking demon
+      of a man blowing into an instrument with an immense funnel, and two men
+      beating tomtoms. The noise they made was terrific. The piper wore a
+      voluminous burnouse, and as the dancers came in in pairs from the big
+      doorway, which led into the court where they all live together, each in
+      her separate little room with her own front door, they threw their door
+      keys into the hood that was attached to it. As soon as they had finished
+      dancing they went to the hood, and rummaged violently for them again. And
+      all the time the piper blew frantically into his instrument, and rocked
+      himself about like a man in a convulsion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We sat on one of the raised divans, with coffee before us on a wooden
+      stool, and Marnier observed it all with a slightly supercilious coldness.
+      The women, who were dressed in different shades of red, and were the most
+      amazing trollops I ever set eyes on, came and went in pairs, fluttered
+      their painted fingers, twittered like startled birds, jumped and twirled,
+      wriggled and revolved, and inclined their greasy foreheads to the
+      impenetrable spectators, who stuck silver coins on to the perspiring
+      flesh. And Marnier sat and gazed at them with the aloofness of one who
+      watches the creatures in puddle water through a microscope. I could
+      scarcely help laughing at him, but I wished him away. For to me there was
+      excitement, there was even a sort of ecstasy, in the utter barbarity of
+      this spectacle, in the moving scarlet figures with their golden crowns and
+      tufts of ostrich plumes, in the serried masses of turbaned and hooded
+      spectators, in the rocking forms of the musicians, in the strident and
+      ceaseless uproar that they made.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And through the doorway where the Tur-cos&mdash;I like the old name&mdash;crowded
+      I saw the sand filtering in from the desert, and against the black leaves
+      of a solitary palm-tree, with leaves like giant Fatma hands, I saw the
+      silver disc of the moon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I vote we go,&rsquo; said Marnier&rsquo;s light tenor voice in my ear. &lsquo;The
+      atmosphere&rsquo;s awful in here.&rsquo; &ldquo;&lsquo;Very well,&rsquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I got up; but just then a girl, dressed in midnight purple embroidered
+      with silver, came in from the doorway, and began to dance alone. She was
+      very young&mdash;fourteen, I found out afterwards&mdash;and, in contrast
+      to the other women, extremely beautiful. There were grace, seduction,
+      mystery, and coquetry in her face and in all her movements. Her long black
+      eyes held fire and dreams. Her fluttering hands seemed beckoning us to the
+      realms of the thousand and one nights. I stood where I had got up, and
+      watched her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I say, aren&rsquo;t we going?&rsquo; said Marnier&rsquo;s voice in my ear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cursed the day when I had agreed to take him with me, leaped down to
+      the earth, and struggled towards the door. As we neared it the girl sidled
+      down the room till she was exactly in front of Marnier. Then she danced
+      before him, smiling with her immense eyes, which she fixed steadily upon
+      him, and bending forward her pretty head, covered with a cloth of silver
+      handkerchief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Give her something,&rsquo; I said to him, laughing, as he stared back at her
+      grimly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He thrust his hand into his pocket, found a franc, stuck it awkwardly
+      against her oval forehead, and followed me out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When we were in the sandy street he walked a few steps in silence, then
+      stood still, and, to my surprise, stared back at the dancing-house. Then
+      he put his hand to his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Is the air having its alcoholic effect?&rsquo; I asked in joke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I spoke a handsome Arab, splendidly dressed in a pale blue robe, red
+      gaiters and boots, and a turban of fine muslin, spangled with gold, passed
+      us slowly, going towards the dancing-house. He cast a glance full of
+      suspicion and malice at Marnier.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What&rsquo;s up with that fellow?&rsquo; I said, startled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Arab went on, and at that moment the faithful Safti joined us. He
+      never left me long out of his sight in these outlandish places.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That is the Batouch Sidi, the brother of the Caïd of Beni-Kouidar,&rsquo; he
+      said. &lsquo;Algia, the dancer to whom Monsieur Henri has just given money, is
+      his <i>chère amie</i>. But as the government has just made him a sheik, he
+      dares not have her in his house for fear of the scandal. So he has put her
+      with the dancers. That is why she dances, to deceive everyone, not to make
+      money. She is not as the other dancers. But everyone knows, for Batouch is
+      mad with jealousy. He cannot bear that Algia should dance before
+      strangers, but what can he do? A sheik must not have a scandal in his
+      dwelling.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We walked on slowly. When we got to the door of the &lsquo;Rendezvous des Amis&rsquo; 
+      Marnier stood still again, and looked down the deserted, moonlit camel
+      market.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I never knew air like this,&rsquo; he said in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And once more he expelled the air from his lungs, and drew in a long,
+      slow breath, as a man does when he has finished his dumbbell exercise in
+      the morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Don&rsquo;t drink too much of it,&rsquo; I said. &lsquo;Remember what the aumônier told
+      us!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Marnier looked at me. I thought there was something apprehensive in his
+      eyes. But he said nothing, and we turned in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The next day I rode out with Safti into the desert to visit a sacred
+      personage of great note in the Sahara, Sidi El Ahmed Ben Daoud
+      Abderahmann. To my relief Marnier declined to come. He said he was tired,
+      and would stroll about the city. When we got back at sundown the innkeeper
+      handed me a note. I opened it, and found it was from the aumônier, saying
+      that he would be greatly obliged if I would call and see him on my return,
+      as he had various little curiosities which he would be glad to show me.
+      Marnier was not in the inn, and, as I had nothing particular to do, I
+      walked at once to the aumonier&rsquo;s house. As I have said, it was the last in
+      the town. The dancing-house was on the opposite side of the way; but the
+      aumonier&rsquo;s dwelling jutted out a little farther into the desert, and
+      looked full on a deep depression of soft sand bounded by a big dune, which
+      loomed up like a couchant beast in the fading yellow light.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The aumônier met me at his door, and escorted me into a pleasant room,
+      where his collection of Arab weapons, coins, and old vases, cups, and
+      various utensils, dug up, he told me, at Tlemcen, was arranged. But to my
+      surprise he scarcely took time to show it to me before he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Though a stranger, may I venture to speak rather intimately to you,
+      monsieur?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Certainly,&rsquo; I replied, in some astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Your friend is young.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Marnier?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Is that his name? Well, I would not leave him to stroll about too much
+      alone, if I were you.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Why, monsieur?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;He is likely to get into trouble. The people here are a wild and violent
+      race. He would do well to bear in mind the saying of a traveller who knew
+      the desert men better than most people:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you want to be friendly with them, and safe among them, give
+      cigarettes to the men, and leave the women alone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I see a good deal, monsieur, owing to the situation of my little house.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I looked at him in silence. Then I said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What have you seen?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He led me to the door, and pointed towards the great dune beyond the
+      dancing-house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw your friend this afternoon talking there with one whom it is
+      especially unsafe to be seen with in Beni-Koujtlar.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;With whom?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;A dancer called Àlgia.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Talking, monsieur! Marnier knows no Arabic.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The aumônier pursed his lips in his black beard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The conversation appeared to be carried on by signs,&rsquo; he responded.
+      &lsquo;That did not make it less but more dangerous.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid I was rude, and whistled softly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Monsieur l&rsquo;Aumônier,&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;you must forgive me, but this air is
+      certainly the very devil.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He smiled, not without irony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I became aware of that myself, monsieur, when first I came to live in
+      Beni-Kouidar. But I am a priest, and&mdash;well, monsieur, I was given the
+      strength to say: &ldquo;Get thee behind me, Satan.&rdquo;&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A softer look came into his sunburnt, wrinkled face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Better take your friend away as soon as possible,&rsquo; he added, &lsquo;or there
+      will be trouble.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      III
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That night I found myself confronted by a Marnier whom I had never seen
+      before. The desert wine had gone to the lad&rsquo;s brain. That was certain. No
+      intonations of the Oxford don lurked in the voice. No reminiscences of the
+      Oxford &lsquo;High&rsquo; clung about the manner. A man sober and the same man drunk
+      are scarcely more different than the Marnier who had ridden with me up the
+      sandy street of Beni-Kouidar the previous day and the man who sat opposite
+      to me at dinner in the &lsquo;Rendezvous des Amis&rsquo; that night. I knew in a
+      moment that the aumônier was right, and that I must get the lad away at
+      once from the intoxicant which nature poured out over this far-away city.
+      His eyes were shining feverishly, and when I mentioned Mr. Ruskin in a
+      casual way he looked unutterably bored.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Ruskin and all those fellows seem awfully slow and out of place here,&rsquo; 
+      he exclaimed. &lsquo;One doesn&rsquo;t want to bother about them in the Sahara.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I changed the subject.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;There doesn&rsquo;t seem very much to see here,&rsquo; I said carelessly. &lsquo;We might
+      get away the day after to-morrow, don&rsquo;t you think?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He drew his brows down.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The horses won&rsquo;t be sufficiently rested,&rsquo; he said curtly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Oh yes; I fancy they will.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t fancy I shall. The long ride took it out of me.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Turn in to-night, then, directly after dinner.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He looked at me with sharp suspicion. I met his gaze blandly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I mean to,&rsquo; he said after a short pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I knew he was telling me a lie, but I only said: &lsquo;That&rsquo;s right!&rsquo; and
+      resolved to keep an eye on him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Directly dinner was over he sprang up from the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Good-night,&rsquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And before I could reply he was out of the <i>salle-à-manger</i>, and I
+      heard him tramp along the brick floor of the passage, go into his room,
+      and bang the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The aumônier was getting up from his little table, and shaking the crumbs
+      from his soutane.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You are quite right, monsieur,&rsquo; I said to him. &lsquo;I must get my friend
+      away.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I shall be sorry to lose you,&rsquo; replied the good priest. &lsquo;But&mdash;desert
+      air, desert air!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He shook his head, half wistfully, half laughingly, bowed, put on his
+      broad-brimmed black hat, and went out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After a moment I followed him. I stood in the doorway of the inn, and lit
+      a cigar. I knew Marnier was not going to bed, and meant to catch him when
+      he came out, and join him. In common politeness he could scarcely refuse
+      my company, since he had asked me as a favour to let him come with me to
+      Beni-Kouidar. I waited, watching the moon rise, till my cigar was smoked
+      out. Then I lit another. Still he did not come. I heard the distant throb
+      of tomtoms beyond the Bureau Arabe in the quarter of the freed negroes.
+      They were having a fantasia. I began to think that I must have been
+      mistaken, and that Marnier had really turned in. So much the better. The
+      ash dropped from the stump of my second cigar, and the deserted camel
+      market was flooded with silver from the moon-rays. I knew there was only
+      one door to the inn. Slowly I lit a third cigar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A large cloud went over the face of the moon. A gust of wind struck my
+      face. Suddenly the night had changed. The moon looked forth again, and was
+      again obscured. A second gust struck me like a blow, and my face was stung
+      by a multitude of sand grains. I heard steps behind me in the brick
+      passage, turned swiftly, and saw the landlord.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I must shut the door, m&rsquo;sieu,&rsquo; he said. &lsquo;There&rsquo;s a bad sandstorm coming
+      up.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As he spoke the wind roared, and over the camel market a thick fog seemed
+      to fall abruptly. It was a sheet of sand from the surrounding dunes. I
+      threw away my cigar, stepped into the passage, and the landlord banged the
+      door, and drove home the heavy bolts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I went to Marnier&rsquo;s room, and knocked. I felt sure, but I thought I
+      would make sure before going to my room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I knocked again loudly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again no answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I turned the handle, and entered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The room was empty. I glanced round quickly. The small window was open.
+      All the windows of the inn were barred, but, as I learned later, a bar in
+      Marnier&rsquo;s had been broken, and was not yet replaced when we arrived at
+      Beni-Kouidar. In consequence of this it was possible to squeeze through
+      into the arcade outside. This was what Marnier had done. My precise,
+      gentlemanly, reserved, and methodical acquaintance had deliberately given
+      me the slip by sneaking out of a window like a schoolboy, and creeping
+      round the edge of the inn to the <i>fosse</i> that lay in the shadow of
+      the sand dimes. As I realised this I realised his danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ran to my room, fetched my revolver, slipped it into my pocket, and
+      hurried to the front door. The landlord heard me trying to undo the bolts,
+      and came out protesting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;M&rsquo;sieu cannot go out into the storm.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I must.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;But m&rsquo;sieu does not know what Beni-Kouidar is like when the sand is
+      blown on the wind. It is <i>enfer</i>. Besides, it is not safe. In the
+      darkness m&rsquo;sieu may receive a <i>mauvais coup</i>.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Make haste, please, and open the door. I am going to fetch my friend.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He pulled the bolts, grumbling and swearing, and I went out into <i>enfer</i>.
+      For he was right. A sandstorm at night in Beni-Kouidar is hell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Luckily, Safti joined me mysteriously from the deuce knows where, and we
+      staggered to the dancing-house somehow, and struggled in, blinded, our
+      faces scored, our clothes heavy with sand, our pockets, our very boots,
+      weighed down with it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The tomtoms were roaring, the pipe was yelling, blown by the frantic
+      demon with his hood full of latch keys, the impassible, bearded faces were
+      watching the painted women who, in their red garments and their golden
+      crowns, promenaded down the earthen floor, between the divans, fluttering
+      their dyed fingers, smiling grotesquely like idols, bending forward their
+      greasy foreheads to receive the tribute of their admirers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ran my eyes swiftly over the mob. Marnier was not in it. I pushed my
+      way towards the doorway on the left which gave on to the court of the
+      dancers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Safti caught hold of my arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;It is not safe to go in there on such a night, Sidi. There are no lamps.
+      It is black as a tomb. And no one can tell who may be there. Nomads,
+      perhaps, men of evil from the south. Many murders have been done in the
+      court on black nights, and no one can say who has done them. For all the
+      time men go in and out to the rooms of the dancers.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Nevertheless, Safti, I must&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I stopped speaking, for at this moment Batouch, the brother of the Caïd
+      of Beni-Kouidar, came slowly in through the doorway from the blackness of
+      the sand-swept court. There was a strange smile on his handsome face, and
+      he was caressing his black beard gently with one delicate hand. He saw me,
+      smiled more till I caught the gleam of his white teeth, passed on into the
+      dancing-house, sat down on a divan, and called for coffee. I could not
+      take my eyes from him. Every movement he made fascinated me. He drew from
+      his pale blue robe a silver box, opened it, lifted out a pinch of tobacco,
+      and began carefully to roll a cigarette. And all the time he smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A glacial cold crept over my body. As he lit his cigarette I caught hold
+      of Safti, and hurried through the doorway into the blackness of the
+      whirling sand.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      Here I stopped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said young England. &ldquo;Well?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The doctor did not speak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;Algia danced that night. While she was dancing we
+      found a dead body in the court. It was Marnier&rsquo;s. A knife had been thrust
+      into him from behind!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said the doctor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But&mdash;&rdquo; exclaimed young England, &ldquo;it was that fellow? It was
+      Batouch?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I shrugged my shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody ever found out who did it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, but of course&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He checked himself, and an expression of admiration dawned slowly over his
+      healthy, handsome face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I say,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;to be able to roll a cigarette directly afterwards!
+      What infernal cheek!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Desert air!&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;My dear chap&mdash;desert air!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The doctor nodded.
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Desert Air, by Robert Hichens
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESERT AIR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23418-h.htm or 23418-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/4/1/23418/
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &ldquo;Project
+Gutenberg&rdquo;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  &ldquo;Project Gutenberg&rdquo; is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&ldquo;the Foundation&rdquo;
+ or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase &ldquo;Project Gutenberg&rdquo; appears, or with which the phrase &ldquo;Project
+Gutenberg&rdquo; is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase &ldquo;Project Gutenberg&rdquo; associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+&ldquo;Plain Vanilla ASCII&rdquo; or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original &ldquo;Plain Vanilla ASCII&rdquo; or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, &ldquo;Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.&rdquo;
+ 
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+&ldquo;Defects,&rdquo; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &ldquo;Right
+of Replacement or Refund&rdquo; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &lsquo;AS-IS&rsquo; WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm&rsquo;s
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation&rsquo;s EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state&rsquo;s laws.
+
+The Foundation&rsquo;s principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation&rsquo;s web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>