Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/24

 CHAPTER II

THE HEIRS OF PHOENICIA

S the first pale, gray outriders of the dawn began to charge and scatter the black forces of night, we came upon some feluccas, which in the distance appeared like large birds, rising for flight but with only one wing, the other being maimed and motionless. It was nearly eight o'clock, and after the struggle I had had to obtain a cup of coffee and a microscopic breakfast, which was quite inadequate for me under the bracing influence of the sea, that I saw from a distance the golden shore of Africa, bathed in the rays of the morning sun. The cliffs, the mountain-range raising itself farther away, the white buildings and the fortress wall were all flooded with the same rosy, molten hue, making a beautiful canvas with a background of pale, blue sky.

"Melilla," volunteered my officer acquaintance of yestereven.

As we approached the entrance to the harbor, I made out with ever-increasing distinctness dull noises and rumblings. Taking my powerful field-glasses, I began to examine the city and the shore of this new continent. Soon the reason for the noise became apparent in the work which the Spaniards were doing to enlarge and improve this harbor which is so important for both their commerce and their navy. They were building a new