Produced by sp1nd, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) THE LANCE OF KANANA A STORY OF ARABIA BY HARRY W. FRENCH ("ABD EL ARDAVAN") _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GARRETT_ BOSTON LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. COPYRIGHT, 1892, BY D. LOTHROP COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. THE LANCE OF KANANA Norwood Press BERWICK & SMITH CO. Norwood, Mass. U. S. A. Encircled by the fiery, trackless sand, A fainting Arab halted at a well Held in the hollow of the desert's hand. Empty! Hope vanished, and he gasped and fell. At night the West Wind wafted o'er the land The welcome dew, a promise to foretell: Hers this result, for which she bade him stand. [Illustration: "OH, KANANA! OH, KANANA!" CRIED THE OLD MAN, ANGRILY.] CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. THE COWARD OF THE BENI SADS 11 II. THE OLD SHEIK'S PROMISE 20 III. AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT HOR 27 IV. THE PROMISE 38 V. LED BY A WHITE CAMEL 52 VI. KANANA AND THE CALIPH 61 VII. A PRIZE WORTH WINNING 74 VIII. TO SEEK THE BENI SADS 86 IX. FOR ALLAH AND ARABIA 100 X. KANANA'S THIRD MISSION 115 XI. THE SACRED GIRDLE 125 XII. KANANA'S MESSENGERS 135 XIII. THE LANCE OF KANANA 147 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. "Oh, Kanana! Oh, Kanana!" cried the old man, angrily (Page 21) _Frontispiece_ Kanana stood upon the very edge of the white porch 42 "Dost thou believe Kanana spoke in fear?" 68 The silent figure demanded and received respect 94 Kneeling, he received the blessing 134 "I gave it to him," said Kahled, solemnly 164 THE LANCE OF KANANA I THE COWARD OF THE BENI SADS Kanana was an Arab--a Bedouin boy of many years ago, born upon the desert, of the seed of Ishmael, of the tribe of Beni Sad. It seems well-nigh impossible that the Bedouin boy could have lived who was not accustomed to the use of the sword and lance, long before he reached the dignity of manhood. The peculiar thing about Kanana was that he never held a lance in his hand but once; yet many a celebrated sheik and powerful chieftain of his day lies dead, buried, and forgotten long ago, while the name of Kanana is still a magic battle-cry among the sons of Ishmael, and his lance is one of the most precious relics of Arabia. The old mothers and the white-haired veterans love to tell the story of the lance of Kanana; their black eyes flash like coals of fire when they say of it that it rescued Arabia.