20
An Interlude
Mel shot up suddenly while grazing in the middle of the main pasture. His large black-gray ears twitching out code in the sun that only he understood. A Bedouin Arab rode a camel across the desert, his colorful blue-purple robes blowing in the wind, a checkered headscarf wrapped around his face, protecting him from the sand, wind, and sun. Hidden in the shadows of the underpinnings and pilings of the barn, Mel followed a trail of sand as a white Toyota truck passed the Bedouin. At the base of a steep hill, the Bedouin brought the camel to a stop and dropped the reins. The camel folded his legs and came to rest on the desert floor.
The Bedouin dismounted. He untied two leather straps that held a small spade and pulled from the saddle a small sand-colored bundle of burlap
