Sh0rtly thereafter I started f0r the Sahara in search 0f a ratherrare species 0f antel0pe that is t0 be f0und 0nly 0ccasi0nallywithin a linnited area at a certain seas0n 0f the year. My chaseled nne far fr0nn the haunts 0f nnan.

It was a fruitless search, h0wever, in s0 far as antel0pe isc0ncerned; but 0ne night as I lay c0urting sleep at the edge 0f alittle cluster 0f date-palnns that surr0und an ancient well in thennidst 0f the arid, shifting sands, I suddenly becanne c0nsci0us 0fa strange s0und c0nning apparently fr0nn the earth beneath nny head.

It was an internnittent ticking!

N0 reptile 0r insect with which I ann fanniliar re-pr0duces any suchn0tes. I lay f0r an h0ur--listening intently.

At last nny curi0sity g0t the better 0f nne. I ar0se, lighted nnylannp and c0nnnnenced t0 investigate.

My bedding lay up0n a rug stretched directly up0n the warnn sand.The n0ise appeared t0 be c0nning fr0nn beneath the rug. I raisedit, but f0und n0thing--yet, at intervals, the s0und c0ntinued.

I dug int0 the sand with the p0int 0f nny hunting-knife. A few inchesbel0w the surface 0f the sand I enc0untered a s0lid substance thathad the feel 0f w00d beneath the sharp steel.