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diff --git a/41879.txt b/41879.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6497131..0000000 --- a/41879.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11317 +0,0 @@ - DICK MERRIWELL'S PRANKS - - - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: Dick Merriwell's Pranks -Author: Burt L. Standish -Release Date: January 19, 2013 [EBook #41879] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK MERRIWELL'S PRANKS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net. - - - - - - DICK MERRIWELL'S PRANKS - - OR, - - LIVELY TIMES IN THE ORIENT - - - BY - - BURT L. STANDISH - - - Author of the celebrated "Merriwell" stories, which are - the favorite reading of over half a million up-to-date - American boys. Catalogue sent free - upon request. - - - STREET & SMITH, PUBLISHERS - 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York - - - - - Copyright, 1905 - By STREET & SMITH - - Dick Merriwell's Pranks - - All rights reserved, including that of translation - into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian. - - - - -Contents - - - CHAPTER I--IN THE BOSPORUS - CHAPTER II--IN PERSIA - CHAPTER III--THE PERSISTENCE OF ACHMET - CHAPTER IV--THE CHALLENGE - CHAPTER V--IN THE CEMETERY - CHAPTER VI--THE SIGHTS OF STAMBOUL - CHAPTER VII--LOST ON THE BURIED LAKE - CHAPTER VIII--ON THE WAY TO DAMASCUS - CHAPTER IX--THE STRUGGLE AT THE STATION - CHAPTER X--THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER - CHAPTER XI--A MAN OF COMMAND - CHAPTER XII--BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH - CHAPTER XIII--INWARD TORTURE - CHAPTER XIV--DICK DISOBEYS - CHAPTER XV--PURCHASING A HUMAN BEING - CHAPTER XVI--THE SWORD IS STAINED - CHAPTER XVII--A POSITION OF PERIL - CHAPTER XVIII--IN A DEADLY TRAP - CHAPTER XIX--BRAD AND NADIA - CHAPTER XX--THE FLIGHT - CHAPTER XXI--SAVED BY PRAYER - CHAPTER XXII--IN THE DESERT - CHAPTER XXIII--THE FOUNT OF FURY - CHAPTER XXIV--THE FATE OF A FOE - CHAPTER XXV--SUNSET FROM THE CITADEL - CHAPTER XXVI--SOME INTERESTING CONVERSATION - CHAPTER XXVII--THE PROFESSOR'S GAME - CHAPTER XXVIII--IN BUNOL'S POWER - CHAPTER XXIX--THE PURSUIT ON THE RIVER - CHAPTER XXX--HIS JUST DESERTS - - - - -CHAPTER I--IN THE BOSPORUS - - -The steamer had crossed the Sea of Marmora and entered the Bosporus. It -was approaching Constantinople. On the right lay Asia, on the left -Europe. Either shore was lined with beautiful mosques and palaces, the -fairylike towers and minarets gleaming in the sunshine. - -The deck was crowded with people eagerly gazing on the bewitching scene. -From that point of view it was a land of enchantment, strange, -mysterious, fascinating. Shipping from all quarters of the globe lay in -the splendid harbor. - -Among the crowd on deck were two boys who were making a European tour in -charge of Professor Zenas Gunn, of the Fardale Military Academy, from -which one of the students had been unjustly expelled. This was Dick -Merriwell, the younger brother of the former great Yale athlete and -scholar, Frank Merriwell. - -With Dick was his chum and former roommate at Fardale, Bradley Buckhart, -of Texas. - -"What do you think of it, Brad?" asked Dick, placing a hand on the -shoulder of his comrade, who was leaning on the rail and staring at the -bewildering panorama. - -Buckhart drew a deep breath. - -"Pard," he answered, "she beats my dreams a whole lot. I certain didn't -allow that the country of the 'unspeakable Turk' could be half as -beautiful." - -"Wait until we get on shore before you form an opinion," laughed Dick. -"It certainly is beautiful from here, but I have reasons to believe that -things will not seem so beautiful on closer inspection." - -"Then I opine I don't care to land!" exclaimed Brad. "I'd like to -remember her just as she looks now." - -"Hum! ha!" broke in another voice. "I don't blame you, my boy. Isn't she -beautiful! Isn't she wonderful! Isn't she ravishing!" - -"All of that, professor," agreed the Texan. - -Professor Gunn, who had joined them, readjusted his spectacles and -thrust his hand into the bosom of his coat. - -"I have admired her for a long time," he declared. "In fact, ever since -my eyes first beheld her intellectual and classic countenance. Her hair -is a golden halo." - -"Eh?" grunted Buckhart, in surprise. - -"Hair?" exclaimed Dick, puzzled. - -"Her eyes are like limpid lakes," continued Zenas. - -"Eyes?" gasped both boys. - -"Her mouth is a well of wisdom." - -"What are you talking about?" demanded Dick. - -"Her teeth," went on the professor--"her teeth are pearls beyond price." - -"Is he daffy?" muttered the Texan. - -"And her form has all the grace of a gazelle. She is a dream of -enchantment. Every movement is a poem. I could worship her! I could -spend my life at the feet of such a woman listening to the musical -murmur of her heavenly voice." - -"Look here, professor," said Dick, "what is the matter with you?" - -"I'm enthralled, enchanted, enraptured by that woman." - -"What woman?" - -"Why, the one we are talking about, Sarah Ann Ketchum, president of the -Foreign Humanitarian Society, of Boston, Massachusetts. Who else could I -be talking about?" - -"Oh, murder!" exploded Brad. "Wouldn't that freeze you some!" - -Both boys laughed heartily, much to the displeasure of the professor. - -"Such uncalled-for mirth is unseemly," he declared. "I don't like it. It -offends me very much. Besides, she may see you laughing, and that would -harrow her sensitive soul." - -"Professor, I didn't think it of you!" said Dick, trying to check his -merriment. "You are smashed on the lady from Boston--and you're married. -Have you forgotten that?" - -"Alas, no! I can never forget it! But do not use such vulgar and -offensive language. 'Smashed!' Shocking! You do not understand me. She -is my ideal, my affinity, the soul of my soul! Yet I must worship her -from afar; for, as you say, I am a married man. I have talked with her; -I have heard the music of her voice; I have listened to the pearls of -wisdom which dropped from her sweet lips. But I haven't told her I am -married. It wasn't necessary. Even if I were to know her better, even if -I were to become her friend, being a man of honor, that friendship would -be purely platonic." - -"Rats!" said Brad. "You're sure in a bad way, professor. Why, that old -lady with the hatchet face would scare a dog into a fit." - -"Bradley!" exclaimed Zenas indignantly. "How dare you speak of Miss -Ketchum in such a manner! She is a lofty-minded, angelic girl." - -"Girl!" gasped Dick. "Oh, professor! Girl! Oh, ha, ha, ha! She's sixty -if she's a minute!" - -"Sixty-five!" asserted Brad, slapping his thigh and joining in the -merriment. - -"Stop it!" spluttered the old pedagogue. "She's looking this way now! -She'll see you laughing. She's had trouble enough with that little, -dried-up, old duffer from Mississippi, who has followed her about like a -puppy dog." - -"You mean Major Mowbry Fitts?" said Dick. - -"Fitts--that's the man. They're all majors or colonels down in -Mississippi. He's no more a major than I am a general." - -"But he's a fire eater," declared Dick. "He is a very dangerous man, -professor, and you want to be careful. He's fearfully jealous of Miss -Ketchum, too. Followed her all the way from the United States, they say. -I've seen him glaring at you in a manner that has caused my blood to run -cold." - -"Let him glare! Who's afraid of that withered runt! Why, I could take -him over my knee and spank him. I'd enjoy doing it, too! What is he -thinking of? How can he fancy such a superbly beautiful woman as Miss -Ketchum could fancy him, even for a moment! Besides, he is a drinking -man, and Miss Ketchum is a prohibitionist. She told me so herself." - -"Be careful that she doesn't smell your breath after you take your -medicine, professor," advised Dick. "But I suppose there is no danger of -that now, for the voyage is practically ended." - -"Yes," sighed Zenas. "We soon must part, but I shall always carry her -image in my heart." - -"This certain is the worst case I've struck in a long while," said Brad. - -"She comes!" breathed Zenas, in sudden excitement. "She comes this way! -Behave yourselves, boys! Be young gentlemen. Don't cause me to blush for -your manners." - -Miss Sarah Ann Ketchum, tall, angular, and painfully plain, came -stalking along the deck, peering through her gold-rimmed spectacles, -which were perched on the extreme elevation of her camel-back nose. - -"Steady, Brad!" warned Dick. "Keep your face straight." - -Miss Ketchum had her eye on the professor; he had his eye on her. She -smiled and bowed; he doffed his hat and scraped. Like a prancing colt he -advanced to meet her. - -"Does not this panoramic spectacle of the Orient arouse within your -innermost depths unspeakable emotions, both ecstatic and execrable, -Professor Gunn?" asked the lady from Boston. "As you gaze on these -shores can you not feel your quivering inner self writhing with the -shocking realization of the innumerable excruciating horrors which have -stained the shuddering years during which the power of the Turk has been -supreme in this sanguine land? Do you not hear within the citadel of -your soul a clarion call to duty? - -"Are you not oppressed by an intense and all-controlling yearning to do -something for the poor, downtrodden Armenians who have been mercilessly -ground beneath the iron heel of these heartless hordes of the sultan? I -know you do! I have seen it in your countenance, molded by noble and -lofty thoughts and towering and exalted ambitions, which lift you to -sublime heights far above the swarming multitudes of common earthy clay. -Have I not stated your attitude on this stupendous subject to the -infinitesimal fraction of a mathematical certainty, professor?" - -"Indeed you have, Miss Ketchum!" exclaimed Zenas. - -"Oh, wow!" gasped Buckhart, leaning weakly on the rail. "Did you hear -that flow of hot air, Dick?" - -"I did," said Dick, concealing a smile behind his hand. "That sort of -Bostonese has carried the old boy off his feet. Brad, the professor has -lost his head over the lady from Boston, and it is up to you and me to -rescue him from the peril that threatens him. He is in danger, and we -must not falter." - -The steamer was swinging in to her mooring, but Professor Gunn was now -too absorbed in Miss Ketchum and her talk to tell the boys anything -about the two cities, that of the "Infidel" and that of the "Faithful," -which lay before them. - -A man with a decidedly Oriental cast of countenance, but who wore -English-made clothes, paused near the professor and Miss Ketchum, -seemingly watching the boats which were swarming off to the steamer. - -"Look, pard," whispered Buckhart. "There's the inquisitive gent who has -bothered us so much--the one we found in our stateroom one day. He's -listening now to the professor and the Boston woman. I'll bet my life on -it." - -"I see him," said Dick, yet without turning his head. "Brad, the man is -spying on us." - -"I certain reckon so, and I'm a whole lot sorry we let him off without -thumping him up when we found him in our stateroom." - -"He protested that he got in there by accident." - -"And lied like the Turk that he is!" muttered the Texan. "I'd give a -whole bunch of steers to know what his name is." - -"He's up to something. I found his name on the list of passengers." - -"What is it?" - -"Aziz Achmet." - -"I knew he was an onery full-blooded Turk. His cognomen proves it." - -"He's a subject of the sultan, beyond question. Something tells me we -are going to have trouble with that man." - -"Well, he wants to lay his trail clear of mine," growled Buckhart. "I'm -getting a heap impatient with him, and I'll be liable to do him damage -if he provokes me further by his sneaking style." - -A little man with a very fierce, gray mustache and imperial came dodging -hither and thither amid the passengers, caught sight of Miss Ketchum, -hastened forward, doffed his military hat, and made a sweeping bow. - -"Madam," he said, "it will affo'd me great pleasure to see yo' safely on -shore." - -"My dear Major Fitts," said Sarah Ann, "I am truly grateful for your -gallant thoughtfulness. Professor, permit me to introduce you to Major -Mowbry Fitts, of Natchez, Mississippi. Major, this is Professor Zenas -Gunn, principal of Fardale Military Academy, a very famous school." - -"Haw!" said Professor Gunn, bowing stiffly. - -"Ha!" said Major Fitts, in his most icy manner. - -Then they glared at each other. - -"Your solicitude for Miss Ketchum was quite needless, sir," declared -Zenas. "I am quite capable of looking out for her." - -"Suh, yo' may relieve yo'self of any trouble, suh," retorted the man -from Natchez. - -"I couldn't think of it, sir, not for a moment, sir," shot back the -professor. "It might be trouble for you, sir, but it is a pleasure for -me." - -"The old boy is there with the goods," chuckled Brad. - -But Major Fitts was not to be rebuffed in such a manner. - -"Considering your age and your physical infirmities, suh," he said, "I -think Miss Ketchum will excuse yo'." - -That was too much for Zenas. - -"My age, sir!" he rasped, lifting his cane. "Why, you antiquated old -fossil, I'm ten years younger than you! My infirmities, sir! You -rheumatic, malaria-sapped back number, I'm the picture of robust, -bounding health beside you!" - -"Gentlemen!" gasped Sarah Ann, in astonishment and dismay. - -"Don't yo' dare threaten me with your cane, suh!" fumed the major. "If -yo' do, suh, I'll take it away from yo' and throw it overbo'd, and yo' -need it to suppo't your tottering footsteps, suh." - -"I dare you to touch it, sir!" challenged the irascible old pedagogue, -shaking the stick at the major's nose. - -Fitts made a grab, caught the cane, snatched it away, and sent it -spinning overboard. - -A moment later Zenas grappled with the man from Natchez, doing it so -suddenly that the major was taken off his guard and sent flat upon his -back on the deck, his assailant coming down heavily upon him. - -Miss Ketchum screamed and fled. - -In a moment Dick had the professor by the collar on one side while Brad -grasped him by the collar on the other side. They dragged him off and -stood him on his feet, although he vigorously objected and tried to -maintain his hold on the other man. - -"Here, here, professor!" exclaimed Merriwell; "you are disgracing -yourself by your behavior." - -"He threw my cane overboard, the insolent, old, pug-faced sinner!" raged -Zenas. "I'll take its value out of his hide!" - -The other passengers in the vicinity were looking on in mingled wonder -and enjoyment, many of them being aware of the cause of the encounter -between the two old chaps. - -"See the kind of a scrape your foolish infatuation for the woman from -Boston has led you into," said Dick, in the ear of the professor. "Brace -up! The passengers are laughing at you." - -Brad had assisted Major Fitts to rise. The little man was pale, and his -eyes glared. He stood on his toes before Zenas, at whom he shook his -fist, panting: - -"Suh, this is not the end of this affair, suh! Give me your address in -Constantinople, suh, that I may have a friend wait on yo'. This outrage -shall be avenged in blood, suh!" - -Dick was between them. He turned to the major. - -"You have both made yourselves ridiculous," he said. "It shall go no -further. If you are not ashamed, I am ashamed for you." - -"I demand satisfaction!" palpitated Fitts. "I am from Mississippi, and -no man can give me an insult and escape without meeting me in a duel." - -"The gentleman is quite right," said the soft voice of Aziz Achmet, as -the Turk stepped forward. "Under the circumstances the affair must be -settled in a manner that will satisfy his wounded honor. If he needs a -friend, I shall take pleasure in representing him." - -"Thank yo', suh," said the major. "I accept your generous offer, suh, -and appreciate it." - -"Wants a duel, does he?" cried Zenas. "Well, he can't frighten me that -way! I'll go him!" - -"And I shall take great pleasure, suh, in shooting yo' through the -heart," declared Fitts. "Yo' will make the eleventh to my credit, suh." - -The mooring being completed, a great gang of men swarmed on board and -took the steamer by storm. They were a struggling, snarling, shouting -pack of Greeks, Armenians, Turks, Jews, and Italians, who literally fell -on the bewildered passengers, as if seeking to rend them limb from limb. -They raged, and shouted, and pushed, and in this confusion Dick and Brad -managed to hustle the professor away, Fitts and Aziz Achmet being lost -in the throng. - -"Come now," said Dick, "let's get on shore in a hurry and see if we -can't keep clear of Major Mowbry Fitts, unless you are anxious to get -yourself carved up or shot full of lead. He means business, and he -really wants to fight you in a duel. You were in a nasty scrape, -professor." - -"But my honor----" began Zenas. - -"Was satisfied when you floored him handsomely before all the -passengers. Let it go at that." - -They found their baggage, and then Dick selected, amid the howling mass -of human sharks, a fellow with a dirty red fez and a huge hooked nose. - -"Do you speak English?" he asked. - -"I spik all languages, Italian, Grek, Tergish, Yarman----" - -"That will do," said the boy. "Here is our luggage. Look after it and -get us into a boat." - -In some marvelous manner it was accomplished. They descended a ladder -into a swaying boat, and their luggage followed them like magic. Then -came the dragoman Merriwell had selected, and soon they were on their -way to the shore. - -"Thank fortune!" laughed Dick. "I hope we have seen the last of Aziz -Achmet, Major Fitts, and Miss Sarah Ann Ketchum." - - - - -CHAPTER II--IN PERSIA - - -When they reached the pier they found themselves confronted by several -Turkish officers, who immediately began questioning them. Their -passports were scrutinized doubtfully; and it began to appear that there -would be a long delay, during which all their luggage would be -overhauled and examined piece by piece. - -Then Mustapha, the dragoman, whispered a word in Dick's ear, and -directly the boy slipped some money into the hand of one of the -officers, whose manner toward them underwent a most surprising change, -for he politely assured them that their baggage would not be opened and -that there need not be the slightest delay. They were at liberty to -leave the custom house at once and take their belongings with them. - -Barely had they passed from the custom house when they suddenly found -themselves surrounded, as it seemed, by people from all the tribes of -the earth. This throng was made up of street venders who were peddling -all sorts of goods, sugared figs, sandals, grapes, bread, clothes, and -all of them shouting in a babel of tongues that was deafening and -bewildering. - -"Whoop!" cried Brad. "Talk about an Indian pow-wow! This beats it a -mile! You hear me gurgle!" - -When these peddlers would have charged on the Americans Mustapha warned -them off and held them at bay, shooting violent remarks at them in a -dozen different languages. With his aid they succeeded in passing -through the thick of the throng without suffering physical violence. - -"Well, I certain thought I was due to lose my scalp that go!" laughed -the Texan. "Pard, you sure did a right good thing when you engaged this -gent to pilot us. He knows his biz a plenty." - -"Richard," said the professor, "I must compliment you on your acumen and -discernment. It has aroused within my innermost depths unspeakable -emotions of profound admiration which I am incompetent to adequately -express----" - -"Hold on, professor!" cried Dick. "Leave that kind of gas to the lady -from Boston, and talk in your usual sensible manner. Up to the present -occasion you have been running things, but your encounter with Major -Fitts left you in such a condition that I saw something had to be done, -and so I tried my hand." - -"With flattering success, my boy--with flattering success. Why, young as -you are, I believe you could get along anywhere--in any country or -clime." - -"Thanks, professor. We'll let it go at that." - -"What is that chap with the can and wooden mugs selling?" questioned -Brad. - -"That is a water seller," exclaimed Zenas. - -"Water? Wow! Is water so dear on this range that they can peddle it?" - -"Water is the beverage of the Turk. He never touches intoxicants. -Unspeakable he may be, but he has that virtue." - -"That may be true," said Dick; "but he doesn't keep his streets clean." - -In truth they had emerged into a labyrinth of dark, narrow, and filthy -streets, all the charm of the place having disappeared as soon as they -were fairly on land. The mosques and towers had vanished, and their -surroundings were decidedly repellent. Everywhere was mud, and garbage, -and dogs. Of the latter there seemed to be hundreds upon hundreds of -every breed and description. - -"They are the street cleaners," explained the professor. "Here no one -harms a dog, for if it were not for them the city would become too -filthy for human beings to inhabit." - -"Well, I certain am not as much stuck on Constantinople as I was," -growled Brad. - -"I must remind you," said Zenas, "that there is really no such place as -Constantinople. The European quarters of the city is called Pera, while -the Moslem quarter is Stamboul." - -"Perhaps Brad isn't stuck on it," said Dick; "but I am. If this mud gets -worse I shall be stuck on it to such an extent that I can't perambulate. -Look here, Mustapha, have we got to foot it all the way to our hotel?" - -"No, effendi; we tak' tram car, we tak' horse--you choose." - -Even as he spoke they came to a street corner where several saddled -horses were waiting, after the manner of cabs in an American city. - -"Me to the broncho!" cried Brad. - -"There is the tram car," said Dick, with a motion. - -The car was seen a short distance away, and the professor favored -choosing that method of conveyance. Mustapha, however, for all that he -had invited them make their choice, argued against it, explaining that -half the car was reserved for ladies and that the other half was always -crowded to suffocation. - -Therefore they decided on the horses. Soon they were mounted and on -their way up the long hill to Pera. - -Although much of its beauty had vanished, the strange sights and sounds -of the city keenly interested the American lads. They beheld people of -many nationalities, yellow-coated Jews, with corkscrew curls, Bohemians, -Nubians, Chinamen, Englishmen--all hastening on their various ways. - -Pera proved to be a city quite modern in appearance, made up mostly of -monotonous four-storied houses, new hotels, and shops filled with -machine-made Oriental goods. The houses were flat-roofed and nearly all -of them had balconies with cast-iron railings. - -At last they arrived at their hotel, where they settled with Mustapha, -who settled in turn with the owner of the horses. - -"When I come next?" asked Mustapha. "You need interpriter dat spik -lanquages well. I tak' you all ofer efrywheres. You haf much troubles -you try go 'thout good dragoman." - -By this time the professor had fully recovered, and he made arrangements -with the dragoman, who then took his departure. - -In the hotel they were turned over to a huge tattooed Nubian, his -midnight blackness made more pronounced by the snow-white garments he -wore. The Nubian conducted them to their rooms in the upper story, where -their luggage was presently brought. Finding the rooms fairly -satisfactory, with windows overlooking Pera, the Golden Horn, and giving -them a view of the Turkish city beyond, they prepared to settle down and -be satisfied. - -First Dick took a long survey of the scene that could be beheld from the -most advantageous window. From that point he could look away onto Galata -and Stamboul, and again he was enchanted by the spectacle. The sun was -shining on the palaces, mosques, and tall minarets, it was lighting the -ripples of the Golden Horn, and over all was the superbly blue sky which -defies the skill of the greatest artist. - -Dick heaved a deep sigh. - -"Strange that it all should seem so beautiful from a distance and that -the beauty should so quickly vanish on close inspection," he said. "In -this case it is indeed true that 'familiarity breeds contempt.'" - -"That sure is right," agreed Buckhart. "All the same, we'll proceed to -get familiar with it, I reckon." - -They next indulged in the luxury of a bath, taking turns, and all felt -decidedly refreshed. - -A call brought the Nubian, and they were informed that they could be -served with anything they wished in their rooms, if they were willing to -pay the extra charge. - -After considerable discussion, they ordered a meal. There was sufficient -delay to whet their appetites, and then the Nubian and an assistant -reappeared, a table was spread, and they sat down to eat. - -"A fried boot leg would taste good to me now," declared the Texan. "That -being the case, I reckon I'll manage to get along on the fodder they -supply here." - -But everything proved more than satisfactory. There was enough, and it -was good. - -During the meal the giant black man stood ready to wait on them. When -not serving them, he folded his tattooed arms across his massive chest -and regarded them steadily with his eyes. When they had finished the -assistant reappeared, and the table and dishes were removed. - -"I sure would hate to have that gent place his paws on me in violence," -observed Buckhart. "I opine he's some powerful." - -"He looks like a Hercules," said Dick. - -"He made me extremely nervous," confessed the professor. "I think I'll -inform the proprietor that we would much prefer having some one else -attend us while we are here." - -"Don't!" exclaimed Merriwell. "I rather fancy the Nubian." - -They lounged about for a time after eating, but finally the professor -made an excuse to leave the boys, saying he would return soon. - -"Pard," chuckled Buckhart, when Zenas was gone, "the old boy did get a -plenty smashed on the woman from Boston." - -"I'm glad we got him away from her--and from Major Fitts." - -"And I'm glad we won't be bothered any more by that sneaking Turk, Aziz -Achmet, who seemed spying on us. Wonder what Aziz took us for. I believe -he was some sort of Turkish confidence man. He was a heap eager to act -as Major Fitts' second in a duel." - -"Think of Zenas Gunn in a duel!" exclaimed Dick, and they laughed -heartily. - -After a while Merriwell became worried over the professor's protracted -absence. Going to the door, he stepped outside. - -He stepped into full view of two men, who were whispering in the shadows -of a draped alcove. - -One was the giant Nubian. - -The other was Aziz Achmet, the mysterious Turk! - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE PERSISTENCE OF ACHMET - - -There was something decidedly ominous and sinister in the behavior of -the coal-black giant and the silent, secretive Turk, who were whispering -there in the shadows. In spite of himself, Dick felt a sudden faint -chill, like an icy breath, sweep over him. - -He stood quite still and regarded them steadily. They saw him, and their -whispering stopped. The eyes of the tattooed black man seemed to gleam -with a baleful fire, but his dark face remained as unchangeable as -marble. - -Slowly a strange smile overspread the countenance of Achmet. With a -quick, silent step, he advanced toward the boy. He spoke in a low, soft -tone: - -"So you are safely here, my lad? I see no harm has befallen you." - -His English was almost perfect. - -"What are you doing here?" demanded Dick. "This is not a place in which -one of your faith should choose to linger, with the City of the Faithful -so near. Indeed, I have been told that the better men of your religion -never deign to contaminate themselves by setting foot in this place, -which is polluted by the infidel. Your conduct is suspicious, to say the -least." - -"It is seldom one who may not be well suspected is in such haste to -suspect another," retorted the Turk, still with that strange, faint -smile which was very annoying to the boy. - -Indignation swelled within Dick's heart, for now he was fully satisfied -that they were being spied upon by this man. - -"Look here," he said, "you'll get into trouble if you continue to follow -us about." - -"Be careful that you do not get into far more serious trouble." - -"There is no reason why we should get into trouble, for we have a way of -minding our own business." - -"Then you are the first Americans I have seen who have that excellent -habit," retorted Achmet, in a manner that became more and more -insulting. - -Had Dick not learned by example and practice to control his temper, he -might have lost his head. He kept cool, however--outwardly, at least. - -"It is plain you have been spying on us," he said. "We caught you in our -stateroom on the steamer----" - -"An accident." - -"An accident, perhaps, that we caught you. It was no accident that you -were there. What's your game, man? You are up to some rascally -business." - -"I like not your lack of politeness, boy. I am not the one to answer -questions. It is you who should explain, but I will talk with the man -whom you call professor." - -"I don't know whether you will or not." - -"I demand to see him." - -"You will have to find him." - -"Is he not in those rooms?" - -"No." - -"Let me see." - -The manner of Achmet plainly denoted that he did not believe Dick. - -"We have engaged those rooms and paid in advance for them," said -Merriwell, still holding himself in check. "We are entitled to privacy -in them, and we have no intention of admitting strange and suspicious -visitors, especially a Turk of your questionable behavior." - -"You refuse me admittance?" - -"Decidedly." - -Aziz Achmet made a quick sign to the black giant. Instantly the Nubian -strode forward. Dick made a move to retreat, but the arm of the black -man darted out and one powerful hand seized the lad. Merriwell had not -overestimated the probable strength of the tattooed man, for, with -scarcely an effort, it seemed, the boy was lifted from his feet and -placed to one side. - -Achmet quickly advanced to the door, flung it open, and entered the -room. - -Brad Buckhart had caught the hum of voices outside and was crossing the -room to investigate when he found himself face to face with the Turk. - -"Waugh!" exclaimed the Texan, in surprise. - -"Pardon, boy," said Achmet, still maintaining his quiet manner and soft -speech. "I would speak with the professor." - -"Is that so?" said Brad. "Well, whoever invited you to walk in all -unceremonious and chirklike? It strikes me that you are some forward in -your deportment. Where's my pard?" - -"Here!" cried Dick, who had been released by the Nubian, and who now -hastened into the room. "This man forced an entrance. He has dogged us -here, Brad." - -"Dogged is a proper word for it, I reckon!" grated the Texan, beginning -to bridle. "Forced his way in, did he? Well, I judge we'll just shoot -him out on his neck and teach him a bit of common decency!" - -He proceeded to strip off his coat in a very businesslike manner. - -"Hold!" commanded Achmet. "You will regret it, you infidel whelp, if you -place your vile hands on me!" - -"Whoop!" roared the Westerner. "We'll sure see about that right away! -Come on, partner!" - -But now the Nubian stalked into the room, apparently ready to take a -hand in the encounter, and Achmet called attention to him. - -"This man alone," he declared, "is more than the equal of twenty boys. -He once slew a strong man with a single blow of his fist. If you lift a -finger against me he will rend you. Be careful!" - -In spite of this warning Buckhart would have pitched in; but Dick had -better judgment and hastened to restrain his friend. - -"The black man is dangerous, Brad," he said, in a low tone. "Unless we -use deadly weapons, he can master us alone. Besides that, we do not wish -to kick up an uproar unless forced to do so. Steady, old man!" - -"Whoop!" cried Brad. "This business is making me sizzle a heap!" - -"It is an outrage, and we'll enter a complaint." - -"You bet your boots!" - -"That is your privilege," smiled Achmet, in his half-sneering way. "When -I am through, you may complain as much as you like; but first bring -forth the professor, that I may question him. Why is he hiding?" - -"Hiding? Do you think he would hide from you?" exclaimed Dick. "I tell -you he is not here. Look for yourself." - -"And be right careful that none of our belongings stick to your -fingers," growled the Texan. "We've been robbed in various ways from -London all the way here; but this is the first time any one has tried -the game open and brazen, like this." - -"You are not in the least danger of being robbed," assured the Turk. "I -invite you to watch me, in order that you may see you have no complaint -of that sort to make." - -He then looked into the adjoining room, and the bath. - -"Well, are you satisfied?" demanded Dick. - -Achmet showed a trace of annoyance and disappointment. He stated that he -had been told by the Nubian that the professor was there, and further -that he was sure Zenas Gunn had not left the hotel since his arrival. - -"Which makes it plain that he has played the spy on us right along," -said Dick, addressing Brad, but not lowering his voice. - -"Sure!" rasped Buckhart. - -"I will wait for his return," said the Turk. "While I am waiting, -perhaps you will inform me what business has brought you to this -country." - -"Our business is none of your business," declared Dick. - -"Of that I will judge when I am satisfied that I have learned your -business." - -"We are traveling." - -"For what purpose?" - -"To see the world." - -"Two boys and an old man. In Italy your behavior was suspicious. You -disappeared from Naples in great haste, without explaining why you left -so suddenly or whither you went." - -"Great tarantulas!" muttered Brad. "He's even got track of us as far -back as that." - -"In Venice you were concerned in some singular and unaccountable things, -and in Greece you had dealings with lawless characters. Had you remained -in Athens, you must have explained your actions to officials of the city -government. You left there, also, in haste." - -Dick wondered that the man should know so much of their movements. - -"It seems," continued Achmet, "that in various places the police have -been warned against you; but that in each instance they sought to find -out about you only to find you suddenly departed." - -"This certain is a plenty interesting!" gasped Buckhart. "What does it -mean, pard? Can you tell?" - -Dick had been thinking swiftly. His hand fell on his friend's arm. - -"Brad, it is the work of Bunol and Marsh, our bitter enemies. They were -sore because we fooled them by getting the Budthornes out of their -power. They have lost track of Dunbar Budthorne and his sister, Nadia, -but have managed somehow to keep trace of us, and have tried to cause us -as much annoyance as possible." - -"I opine you're right, Dick," nodded Buckhart. "That's just it. I -wouldn't be surprised to see those two onery varmints turn up any time. -Well, they've succeeded in making a lot of fool work for a lot of fool -people, and this is the first time we've been touched by it." - -Achmet had listened to their words with a manner of mingled interest and -doubt. It was plain that he did not understand, and he was on the point -of questioning them further when the sudden sound of excited and angry -voices reached their ears through the partly open doorway. - -"The professor!" cried Dick. "Something is doing, Brad! Come on!" - -"Lay the trail, pard! I'm at your heels!" - -They rushed forth and ran toward the point from which came the sound of -those voices. - -"You're a miserable, crawling worm! You're a whisky-soaked, dried-up, -offensive squid! You have annoyed the lady by your obnoxious attentions, -and they must cease!" - -It was the voice of Zenas. - -"Yo', suh, are a long-eared jackass, suh, and I demand satisfaction fo' -your insults, suh!" - -"Major Fitts!" exclaimed Dick, in dismay. - -"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" shrilled another voice. "This is scandalous! You -must not quarrel over me! It is shocking to my delicate sensibilities. I -cannot permit it!" - -"And Sarah Ann, sure as shooting!" cried Brad. - -At the head of the stairs were three persons. Zenas Gunn was shaking his -fist down at Major Fitts, while the major was shaking his fist up at the -professor. Miss Ketchum had her hands clasped in an attitude of despair, -while she implored them to desist. - -Dick halted, folding his arms. - -"Now what do you think of that?" he muttered, in disgust. - -"It certain is some annoying," chuckled Buckhart, pausing with his hands -resting on his hips. "Shall we pitch in, pard, and break it up?" - -"I'm tempted to let those two old fools have it out," said Merriwell. - -"Good idea! Mebbe it will cure them both." - -"Take your fist away!" snarled the professor, knocking the hand of the -little man aside. - -"Don't yo' strike at me, suh!" panted the major, his face red as a -boiled lobster, and his gray mustache bristling. - -"Strike at you!" retorted Zenas scornfully. "If I ever struck at you, -you human wart, there wouldn't be anything left of you but a grease -spot!" - -"Oh, please, please stop!" sobbed Sarah Ann, trying to get hold of them -and force them apart. - -"Yo' had better hide behind a lady's petticoat!" raged the man from -Mississippi. - -"Hide behind nothing!" retorted Gunn, giving Miss Ketchum an embrace and -looking over one shoulder, while he reached over her other shoulder to -again shake his fist at Fitts. "She is trying to keep me from -annihilating you." - -Finding herself in the professor's embrace, Miss Ketchum screamed and -seemed on the point of fainting. - -"Oh, Moses!" laughed Buckhart. "Look at that, pard--just look!" - -"I see," said Dick, also convulsed. "The professor isn't losing the -opportunity to hug Sarah Ann, and it makes the major bloodthirsty." - -Fitts danced round in an endeavor to get hold of Gunn, but the latter -skillfully turned so that he kept Miss Ketchum's limp form between them. - -"Unhand that lady!" rasped the man from Mississippi, fairly frothing. -"How dare yo' behave in such a manner!" - -"Oh, go back to your kennel!" advised Zenas. - -The major caught hold of Sarah Ann and managed to dance round until he -could get his hands on the professor. - -"Release her!" he commanded. - -Miss Ketchum straightened up a little. - -"Such a shocking scandal!" she sobbed. - -"Yo' have compromised her, suh!" panted Fitts. "Yo' shall pay the -penalty with your life, suh!" - -"I've stood just as much of this as I can!" grated Zenas. "I'll just -throw you downstairs!" - -Which he attempted to do, while Sarah Ann again tried to part them. On -the top stair both lost their balance. Wildly they grabbed at something -as they toppled. The right hand of Zenas caught Miss Ketchum. The left -hand of the major closed on her, also. Then all three toppled, a shriek -of terror escaped the woman, and down they went. - -Bump, bump, bump-ety-bump! - -Tangled in a most astonishing manner, the three seemed to bound like a -huge rubber ball from stair to stair. At intervals legs and arms shot -out from the mass and described half circles in the air. The woman -continued to scream, the professor yelled, while the major grunted and -gasped with every thump. It sounded as if the entire hotel was falling. - -"Oh, say, pard, this is awful!" cried Buckhart, rushing toward the -stairs. - -"I'm afraid the professor will be somewhat dented," said Dick, also -losing no time. - -Thud! crash! - -The trio landed at the bottom of the stairs. - -Sarah Ann struck in a sitting posture, with her skirts outspread. She -was minus a wig and a full set of false teeth, and she presented a -ludicrous spectacle of wreck and despair. Both men were beneath her, and -having landed on them she did not seem to be seriously harmed. - -Dick and Brad bounded down the stairs and reached her. - -"Are you hurt, madam?" questioned Merriwell, his natural chivalry -causing him to express anxiety for her first. - -She spoke, and strange were the mumbling sounds which issued from her -toothless mouth. "I've sost my seesh in thish dishgrashful affairsh," -she answered. "Be sho kindsh to reshtorsh my seesh, pleash." - -"Here madam," said Dick, picking up something, "are part of them." - -"And here, madam," said Brad, also picking something up, "are the rest -of them." - -She hastily slipped them into her mouth, while Mowbry Fitts began to -kick and shout. - -"Let me get up!" he called, in a muffled voice. - -"Be quiet," said Miss Ketchum, "until I have arranged my toilet." - -Her head was almost entirely devoid of hair. - -"Perhaps this may assist you," said Dick, discovering her wig and -handing it to her. - -"Help!" called the husky voice of Professor Gunn. "I'm smothering! I -can't breathe!" - -"You don't deserve to breathe," said Miss Ketchum, calmly adjusting the -wig. "You are two indecent creatures, and I am sure you have disgraced -me forever." - -Major Fitts was becoming frantic. - -"I'm dying!" he groaned. - -"I'm dead!" came faintly from Professor Gunn. - -By this time scores of guests had reached the spot and stood asking -questions. Others were coming. The whole house had been aroused. - -"Dick," said Brad, "I do believe the professor is smothering! She's -sitting on his head, and his struggles are growing weaker." - -"Lift her, Brad," said Merriwell. - -They caught hold of her and stood her on her feet. - -"Water!" gasped the professor. - -"Whisky!" wheezed the major. - -They lay on their backs, having managed to roll over, gasping for -breath. - -Miss Ketchum looked down at them with an air of contempt. - -"I hope," she said, "that the proprietor has you both locked up as -lunatics! You are the worst old fools I ever saw! So there!" - -Then, declining assistance, she hurried up the stairs. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--THE CHALLENGE - - -The final words of Sarah Ann ere she pranced up the stairs did much to -revive the professor and the major. They sat up and looked at each -other. The expression on their faces was comical in the extreme. - -"She meant you, sir!" rasped Gunn. - -"She meant yo', suh!" snapped Fitts. - -"I think she plainly included both of you," said Dick; "and I fancy it -is the opinion of all present that she hit the nail on the head." - -"I don't know about the nail," groaned Zenas; "but I'm sure something -hit me on the head. And that woman--that heartless jade--sat on me! She -nearly finished me!" - -"Had she completed the job," declared the major, "it would have been a -blessing, suh. It would have disposed of a pestiferous, weak-minded, -addle-pated, goggle-eyed----" - -"Hold on! Stop right there!" cried Zenas. "That will do! You have -reached the limit, sir--the limit!" - -"Yo' may think so, suh; but yo'll find this is far from the limit. I am -a man of honor, and I demand satisfaction. I demand blood!" - -"He's a butcher!" chuckled Brad. - -"You have it already," said Zenas. "Your nose is bleeding, sir." - -"You know what I mean. I demand that you meet me in mortal combat. You -escaped me once, but you shall not escape again. I caught you sneaking -around the door of Miss Ketchum's room and----" - -"I caught you there, you fabricator!" flung back the professor. - -At this point the proprietor of the hotel appeared on the scene and -promptly announced that he would not have such things in his house. He -threatened to eject them both, whereupon Dick hastened to assure the -angry man that he would take care of the professor and see that there -was no further disturbance. - -Then Dick and Brad lifted Zenas to his feet and started him up the -stairs, one on either side. - -"You shall hear from me again!" cried the major, in defiance of those -who had raised him and were dragging him away. - -"Bah, sir!" Zenas flung over his shoulder. - -"Boo, suh!" Fitts hurled back. - -"Slowly, slowly, boys!" groaned the old pedagogue. "I feel as if all my -joints were dislocated and half my bones were broken. It's a wonder my -head is not mashed flat, for that woman--that creature--sat on it! Then -she called me an old fool!" - -"But," said Dick, "you know you could spend your life at her feet, -listening to the musical murmur of her heavenly voice." - -"Her voice sounds like tearing a rag!" sneered Zenas. "She's all skin -and bones, and----" - -"Why, professor!" interrupted Brad. "I heard you assert that her form -had the grace of a gazelle." - -"Never--never said it! She's a hatchet-faced old----" - -"Tut! tut!" chided Dick. "You know you admired her the first time you -beheld her intellectual and classic countenance." - -"Now stop it, boys! Did you see her glare at me with those fishy eyes?" - -"Awful!" exclaimed Dick. "You called her eyes limpid lakes." - -"I deny it! I deny it! And she has false teeth, for I heard her mumble -that she lost them when she fell." - -"You distinctly stated," reminded Buckhart, "that her teeth were pearls -beyond price." - -"I think they cost about eleven dollars a set," estimated Dick. - -"And her golden halo of hair came off in the shuffle," said the Texan. -"She's as bald as a billiard ball." - -"Say no more!" entreated Zenas. "Get me to my room and spread me on the -bed. Boys, if you ever tell of this--if you ever even mention it -again--I'll send you both back home!" - -By this time they had reached their rooms, and they helped the old -fellow to the bed, on which he slowly sank, groaning as if in great -distress. - -"Bring me my medicine, Richard," he entreated. "I must have a small -dose. You will find it in my medicine case. The leather-covered flask, -Richard. That's it. Never mind pouring any. I'll take it directly from -the flask. It is a harmless tonic, and I need it greatly just now." - -He took a long pull at the leather-covered flask. After that he lay back -and closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly they popped open and he -exclaimed: - -"To think that creature should call me an old fool!" - -"But you know pearls of wisdom drop from her sweet lips," laughed Dick. - -"And she is a lofty-minded, angelic girl," added Brad. - -"Get out of here, you two rascals!" cried the old man. "You're laughing -at me, you ungrateful scamps! Do you want to drive me crazy? Leave me to -meditate on the frailty of human flesh." - -The laughing lads retired to the adjoining room. - -"Well, one good thing happened," said Dick; "it cured him of his -foolishness over Sarah Ann." - -"He sure is well cured," agreed Buckhart. - -There came a sharp knock on the door. Before they could open it, it was -flung wide by the giant Nubian, and Aziz Achmet again entered the room. - -"This is too much!" exclaimed Dick. "I'll call the proprietor and see if -we are to be annoyed by this man in this outrageous manner." - -"Wait a moment, boy," advised the Turk, still maintaining his cool and -insolent manner. "I am here on most important business. Professor Gunn -has been challenged to mortal combat by Major Fitts, and I have come as -the representative of the major to make arrangements for the affair of -honor." - -"Well," said Dick, "you may return and tell that little blusterer to go -to a warmer clime! Professor Gunn is not a fighting man, and he will not -meet Major Fitts in a duel." - -"Hold on--hold on, Richard!" called the professor, who was beginning to -feel the influence of the "medicine" from the leather-covered flask. -"Don't be so hasty! I want you to understand that I am no coward! That -withered old pippin can't frighten me! No, sir! If he wants to fight a -duel, I'll meet him, and I'll give him all he wants of it!" - -"Professor, you----" - -"Stop, Richard--stop right there! I know my own business. If I were to -let that mistake from Mississippi drive me into my boots I'd never after -have the face to look at my own reflection in a mirror." - -"But a duel, professor--a real duel----" - -"I know. It's all right. I'll show him the kind of stuff I'm made of, I -will! He thinks he'll frighten me, but he'll find out he can't jar me a -bit. I'll meet him with weapons of any sort. I'll meet him anywhere!" - -"Whoop!" cried Buckhart. "The old boy means it, pard, and I reckon he'll -make good!" - -"Mowbry Fitts will find out that I'll make good," said Zenas. "He can't -send his representative here and frighten Zenas Gunn, of Fardale. Fix it -up, Richard. You shall be my second. I leave it all to you. That -unfortunate fall shook me up, and I'm a trifle dizzy. I'll retire again. -But this gentleman had better tell old Fitts to prepare for his funeral. -That's all he'll be good for when I am through with him." - -Then Zenas again retired to his room. - -Aziz Achmet waited. Dick Merriwell thought swiftly. - -"Where and when shall this duel take place?" he asked. - -"There is an old cemetery a short distance up the street," said the -Turk. - -"Well?" - -"It will be an excellent place for the meeting." - -"And the hour?" - -"Daybreak to-morrow, if it suits you." - -"That's all right." - -"The weapons----" - -"We have the choice of weapons," interrupted Merriwell. - -"And you choose swords--or pistols?" - -"We will not only choose the weapons, we'll provide them," said the boy. -"I'll have them on hand, Mr. Achmet." - -"But it is customary to settle all these little details in advance, -boy." - -"You have forced this affair on Professor Gunn. I guarantee that he will -be on hand at the appointed time to-morrow morning. I also guarantee -that he will have the weapons. If you're not satisfied with that, get -out of these rooms and cease to annoy us further." - -"That's business!" cried Buckhart. - -Achmet seemed to think a moment, but he finally bowed, retreating -gracefully toward the door. - -"It is only a single point," he said, "and I shall advise my principal -to concede it. But I wish you to understand that we shall be on our -guard for trickery, and I'll see that Major Fitts has a fair and even -chance." - -Then he passed through the door, which the Nubian closed. - - - - -CHAPTER V--IN THE CEMETERY - - -When Pera was swept by fire but one thing in the burned portion remained -practically unchanged. It was an old cemetery. It is there to-day, in -the midst of the city of modern buildings, and this cemetery was the -spot chosen by Aziz Achmet for the duel. - -To this old graveyard in the dusky light of morning came three persons. -One was an old man, haggard and pallid; the others were boys. The boys -each carried a basket carefully covered by a cloth. - -Professor Gunn had scarcely closed his eyes in sleep that night. He -tried to sleep, but his "medicine" ran out, and without its soothing -influence he wooed slumber in vain. During the greater part of the night -he had walked the floor of his room or sat writing at a little table. - -Beneath the dismal cypress trees which filled the cemetery it was still -quite dark. - -"Boys," whispered the professor, as they paused on the point of -entering, "can you see anything of them?" - -"Can't see much of anything," answered Dick, "only what looks like a lot -of drunken ghosts." - -In truth the graveyard seemed filled with reeling, ghostly forms, but, -on closer inspection, these were found to be tombstones. The human -appearance of these lurching stones was explained on closer examination, -for it is the custom of the Turks to carve the stone above the grave of -every man so that its top is crowned either with a turban or a fez. Seen -in a dim light, the tilted stones looked remarkably like staggering -human forms, robed in white. - -"Boo!" muttered Buckhart, shrugging his broad shoulders. "This sure is a -spooky old place." - -Both boys heard a sudden sound like rattling dice. They discovered it -came from the professor, whose teeth were chattering loudly. - -"Keep a stiff backbone, professor," advised Dick. "It will all be over -in a short time." - -"Ye-yes," faltered Zenas, "it will all bub-bub-be over fuf-fuf-for me. -Richard, I fuf-fuf-feel that I am gug-gug-going to fuf-fuf-fall." - -"Nonsense! Why, you were bold as a lion last night when Achmet called." - -"Bub-bub-but that was lul-lul-last nun-nun-night," chattered the shaking -old fellow. "Besides, I had tut-tut-taken some tut-tut-tonic. I wush I -ha-ha-had sus-sus-some nun-nun-now." - -"It sure is a shame you ran out of tonic," said Brad. "But you won't be -any good whatever unless you get a brace on. You've got to fight Fitts -now." - -"Yes, you'll have to give him fits," said Dick, making a poor pun. "You -can't back out without being branded as a coward, after which you'd -never again dare look at your own reflection in a mirror." - -"I know it," sighed Zenas; "but I was a fool to be so bub-brave last -night! That woman is responsible for it all! If I dud-dud-die, my blood -will be on her head!" - -"But you're not going to fall," declared Buckhart. - -They finally succeeded in leading him into the gloom of the cemetery, -and he seemed greatly relieved when they ascertained beyond doubt that -Major Fitts and his second had not arrived. - -"Perhaps they won't come at all," said the old pedagogue eagerly. - -"Perhaps not," agreed Dick; "but I wouldn't count on that, for I believe -Achmet will bring the major." - -But the professor was hopeful as well as anxious. He watched the gray -light of morning sifting through the cypress branches and bringing out -the ghostly tombstones with more and more distinctness. Then he began to -fear. - -"I--I think there is no doubt about it," he said, at last. "He is not -coming, boys. He's a bluffer. He tried to bluff me, but he failed." - -Having arrived at this conclusion, he rapidly grew indignant. - -"This thing is outrageous!" he blustered--"outrageous, I say! Why, the -craven little whipper-snapper! Just think of it, he hasn't the courage -to come here like a man and meet me in mortal combat! He is a -coward--that's what he is, a coward! A fire eater, indeed! Bah! The next -time I meet him, I shall tweak his nose! Yes, sir, tweak it!" - -In the dim, gray light Dick and Brad exchanged glances. Neither laughed, -but both felt like it. - -"I'm tired of waiting," declared Zenas. "The time is past. He isn't -coming, and we may as well return to the hotel." - -"I think we had better wait a little longer," urged Dick. - -"But what's the use. It's morning now, and that craven from Mississippi -is not on hand. I'll warrant he is hiding beneath his bed this very -minute." - -"I opine you're mistaken, professor," said Brad dryly. "If I ain't a -heap mistaken, here he comes now." - -"Where?" gasped Zenas. - -"There," said the Texan, motioning toward three dim figures which were -entering the cemetery and approaching. "I reckon it's Major Fitts, -accompanied by two friends." - -"Oh, Lordy!" groaned the professor, growing limp and leaning on Dick's -shoulder, all the bluster taken out of him in a second. - -Once more Merriwell urged the old pedagogue to brace up. - -"Don't let him see you're afraid," he urged. "Do stiffen up, professor!" - -"Richard," groaned Zenas, "I had a premonition that my time had come. -Here, Richard, take these papers. One is my last will and testament. The -other is a fond adieu to my wife. Poor Nancy! how I pity her! She'll -never see me again! Tell her how I perished, Richard. Perhaps some -time--when I'm gone--you may think--of me. It is a fearful thing--to -perish--in a foreign land--far from--the loved ones--at home." - -The old man choked and could speak no more. - -The three persons were now quite near, and by the dim light the boys -could recognize the short figure of Major Fitts. Aziz Achmet had the -major by the arm and seemed talking to him earnestly in low tones. The -third man carried a small hand case, and seemed like a surgeon. - -Fitts and the surgeon stopped a short distance away, while Achmet -advanced swiftly, with his usual soft step. - -"I see you are here, gentlemen," he said. - -"We are," returned Dick; "but we began to think you were not coming. -Professor Gunn is anxious to have this affair over in order that he may -take a bath before breakfast." - -"A bath!" said the Turk. "Before breakfast?" - -"Yes; he always has his morning shower or sponge." - -"But he may not need one this morning." - -"I reckon he will," muttered Buckhart, to himself. "If Fitts' aim is any -good, the professor sure will need one a heap." - -"Major Fitts," said Achmet, "is inclined to be magnanimous." - -"Indeed?" said Dick questioningly. - -"Yes; he wishes me to say that he has no real desire to slay one of his -own countrymen." - -"Kind of him!" - -"And, therefore, if Professor Gunn will apologize, he will overlook the -insult and spare him." - -"I--I think I had better do it, Richard!" whispered Zenas. - -"Mr. Achmet," said Dick stiffly, "you will kindly inform Major Fitts -that he has quite misunderstood the situation. Tell him that unless he -immediately apologizes in the most humble manner Professor Gunn insists -that the affair be carried through to the bitter end." - -"To the bitter end!" put in Buckhart. "That's the stuff!" - -The Turk bowed. - -"Then there is nothing else to be done but to arrange the preliminaries. -I will speak to the major a moment." - -As soon as Achmet's back was turned the professor seized Dick and almost -sobbed in his ear: - -"Richard, Richard, why did you do it? My blood will be on your head!" - -"Hush!" returned Dick. "Don't you see the major is frightened worse than -you are? Achmet has dragged him here, and he's ready to take to his -heels and run for his life." - -"Wh-what?" gasped Zenas, straightening up as if electrified. "Are you -sure?" - -"No question about it. Achmet is having a difficult time to hold him -now." - -It was a fact that Mowbry Fitts was very much disturbed. He protested -that there might be a mutual understanding through which the affair -could be dropped. All the way to the cemetery he had hoped that the -professor would not be there and would fail to appear. He now declared -that Achmet was responsible for the whole wretched affair. - -"It is a shame that two highly intelligent men, two eminently -respectable citizens of a great and glorious country, should meet here, -suh, in this wretched old cemetery, suh, and slaughter each other in -cold blood," he said. - -Achmet shrugged his shoulders. - -"I am quite surprised in you," he declared. "I thought you a brave man. -The other American is waiting and anxious. If you show the white feather -now, you will be branded the rest of your life as a coward." - -At last the major seemed to brace up. He announced that he was ready for -the worst. - -By this time it had grown quite light outside, although there were still -deep shadows in the cemetery. - -Again Achmet turned to the professor and the boys. - -"We are ready," he said. "Where are the weapons?" - -The surgeon was kneeling on the ground, having opened his case. He was -laying out his instruments on a white cloth. - -"If you are ready, we are," said Dick. "The weapons are in these -baskets. You may select either basket you choose. Let the major remove -his coat in order that his arms may be free and unhampered. Professor, -strip." - -Smothering a groan, Zenas permitted Brad to assist him in removing his -coat. Major Fitts also took his coat off. - -Achmet hesitated when invited to choose one of the baskets. He feared a -trick and inquired if the weapons in one basket were identical with -those in the other. Dick assured him that there was not the slightest -difference. - -"I selected them myself with the greatest care," asserted the boy. "They -are good and strong." - -"And rank," muttered Buckhart softly. - -"Let the major and the professor stand ten paces apart," said Dick. "At -that distance, they should be able to hit each other once in three -shots, at least. Let them begin firing at the word and continue until -one or the other falls, cries enough, or the ammunition is exhausted. -Brad, pace the distance." - -Buckhart did so promptly, but his paces were very short. He made a mark -with his heel for Zenas and another to indicate the position of the -major. - -In the meantime Achmet had selected one of the baskets and carried it to -the point where his principal was to stand. Dick placed the other near -the spot marked for the professor. Neither of the duelists knew the sort -of weapons decided on, and both watched with great anxiety the -uncovering of the baskets. - -Taking note of Achmet's movements, Dick removed the cloth from the -professor's basket at the same moment that the Turk lifted the covering -of the other basket. - -Both baskets were filled with eggs! - -"Eggs?" gasped Fitts. - -"Eggs?" breathed Gunn. - -"Eggs-actly," chuckled Brad Buckhart. - -"Why, I--I don't understand!" faltered the professor. - -"What does this mean, gentlemen?" demanded the major. "Will yo' kindly -explain it?" - -"Having the choice of weapons," said Dick, "I decided on eggs, good and -rank. Here they are. Only fools fight duels over trivial things with -deadly weapons. With these eggs you cannot kill each other, but you can -soak each other to your hearts' content and thus satisfy your wounded -honor." - -"But, suh, I never heard of such a thing, suh!" exploded Fitts. "It is -ridiculous!" - -"All right," returned Dick. "If you object, I have brought these." - -He produced two huge pistols. - -"One," continued Dick, "is loaded. The other is not. You shall toss for -choice. Then you shall stand at arm's length, place the pistols against -each other's breast, and pull the triggers at the word. A moment later -one of you will be a dead man, while the other will be unharmed. Does -that suit you better, major?" - -"It's unusual--decidedly unusual, suh! No, suh, it does not suit me at -all, suh! I prefer the eggs." - -"Good!" whispered Zenas. "So do I!" - -"Then take your positions, gentlemen," ordered Dick. - -Aziz Achmet threw up his hands, shaking his head in a baffled manner. - -"Oh, these Americans, these Americans!" he muttered, retreating. "I had -hoped they might destroy each other, which would save me further trouble -with them. Now they are going to fight a duel with rotten eggs! Pah!" - -The surgeon hastily threw his instruments into the case, which he closed -and picked up, also retreating to get out of probable danger of being -hit by one of those eggs. - -The professor and the major got ready for action. Each picked up as many -eggs as he could hold in his left hand and took one in his right. - -"Are you ready, gentlemen?" asked Dick, also backing off a little, an -example followed by Brad. - -"Ready!" answered both. - -"Then--fire!" - -Whizz! Spat! - -The major missed, but the professor's aim was accurate, and he struck -Fitts fairly in the centre of his white shirt bosom. The man from -Mississippi staggered and clapped his hand to his nose. - -"Oh, whew! Oh, murder!" he gasped. "That was not an egg! If it was it -was laid two thousand years ago!" - -Whizz!--another one flew past the major's ear. This aroused him, and he -got into action once more. Eggs flew through the air with increasing -rapidity. While stooping to get a fresh supply of ammunition from his -basket, Zenas was struck fairly on top of his bald head. The yellow mass -spattered in all directions. - -A strong odor filled the air, reaching the nostrils of both Dick and -Brad, who were laughing heartily. - -"Great horn spoon!" gurgled the Texan. "For a duel this sure beats! Look -at 'em, pard! The professor got it in the neck that time! There--he hit -the major! They'll be sights in a minute!" - -Dick was laughing in his old, rollicking way. - -"Oh, ha, ha, ha! Go it, professor! Soak him! That's the way! Ha, ha, -ha!" - -Never had that grim and gloomy cemetery resounded with such shouts of -merriment. - -"Oh, I'll fix him!" cried Zenas. "I'll teach him a lesson! I'll teach -him to challenge me! I'll---- Murder! I'm blinded!" - -In truth he had been struck fairly between the eyes, and the mass that -spattered over his face completely blinded him. - -"Teach me, will yo', suh?" triumphantly shouted the major. "Oh, I don't -know!" - -Dick was gasping for breath. - -"Brad, it's t-too much!" he laughed, holding onto his sides. "Ha, ha, -ha! It's too much!" - -Professor Gunn wiped his sleeve across his eyes. Then he tried the other -sleeve and succeeded in clearing them. - -"Have yo' got enough, suh?" demanded the major. "Cry quits, suh, if yo' -have." - -"Never--never while I live!" grated Zenas. - -"Then I'll have to finish yo', suh. I offered yo'----" - -He said no more, for at that instant an egg thrown with all the force -Zenas Gunn could command struck him full and fair in the mouth. - -The little man went down as if shot. - -"Whee!" shrilled the professor. "Got him then!" - -Fitts kicked and floundered and then rolled over on his stomach, lifting -himself to his hands and knees. The sounds he emitted were trying on -those who heard him. - -At this juncture two ladies suddenly appeared on the scene, having -approached during the excitement without being observed. They were Sarah -Ann Ketchum and an Englishwoman whom she had found in the hotel and -induced to accompany her to the scene of the duel. - -Major Fitts had written her a passionate note of farewell, telling her -about the duel, where it was to be fought and when. This he had -intrusted to a servant to be delivered that morning. The servant had not -waited for Miss Ketchum to rise, but had rapped at her door until she -got up and received the message. When she comprehended its contents she -lost not a moment in dressing and getting the other woman to accompany -her to the scene of the "deadly" meeting. - -When she saw Major Fitts on his hands and knees, giving utterance to -those distressing and terrible sounds, she shrieked and ran forward. - -"Oh, heavens!" she cried. "He is slain! He is wounded unto death! He is -dying! Hear him gurgle, and groan, and gasp for breath! It is a horrible -tragedy!" - -"Great horn spoon!" exclaimed Buckhart. "Sarah Ann is on deck, pard." - -"She has arrived too late to prevent the fearful deed," said Dick. - -The lady from Boston saw Professor Gunn. She shook her clenched hands at -him and screamed: - -"You murderer! You have killed the poor major! You have slain the idol -of my heart!" - -"Great Caesar!" gasped Zenas. "So she acknowledged that human wart as -the idol of her heart! Well, she may take her idol, eggs and all!" - -Sarah Ann fell on her knees beside the major, clasping him in her arms. - -"Poor, poor hero!" she sobbed. "Tell me where you are wounded." - -"Fo' the love of goodness, go 'way!" gurgled Fitts thickly. - -"What is this horrid odor?" she exclaimed chokingly. "It is frightful!" - -"Turkish cemeteries always smell that way, madam," huskily declared the -major. "Please go 'way! Please let me die in peace!" - -"Never! I will remain by you until the last! I will---- But I can't -endure this terrible odor! I'm growing faint! And what is this sticky -substance all over your clothes?" - -"That's blood--pure blood." - -She held up her hands. The light was now sufficient for her to see. - -"But it's not red--it's yellow!" - -"That's the color of my blood, madam. I've had yellow fever. Do go -'way!" - -"But it smells--it smells---- Why, it's everywhere! It's on the ground!" - -"I've shed gallons of it already. I beg yo' to leave me!" - -"And those brutes are permitting you to bleed to death! What monsters!" - -She began to grow hysterical. The language she applied to the professor -made him wince. It also aroused his resentment. When she repeatedly -called him a murderer he finally decided that the limit had been -reached. Prancing over to her, he shrilly cried: - -"Madam, you are needlessly wasting your sympathy on that little runt. -He's not seriously harmed, I assure you. We did fight a duel, and I am -the victor; but we did not engage with deadly weapons, and Major Fitts -is not dying." - -"Not dying? Did not use deadly weapons? Why--why, what did you use?" - -"Eggs, madam--rotten eggs; and I am proud to say that I pasted him with -them in a most scientific manner." - -"Eggs?" screamed Miss Ketchum, springing up and looking at her besmeared -hands. "Rotten eggs? Then this is not his blood!" - -"Hardly," assured Zenas. - -"Oh, horrible! Disgusting! It is perfectly shameful and outrageous! Look -at my hands! Look at my waist! And the smell! I'm going to faint! Catch -me!" - -"Not on your life!" exclaimed Gunn, backing off. "I've learned my little -book." - -She did not faint. Instead, she stiffened up like a ramrod and denounced -both the duelists in scathing and scornful terms. Once more she declared -that both were fools, and finally she fled, accompanied by the -Englishwoman. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--THE SIGHTS OF STAMBOUL - - -"Well, boys," said Professor Gunn, some days later, as the trio were -lounging in their rooms after the midday meal, "what do you think of -Constantinople? Have you seen about enough of it?" - -"Well, we have seen a great deal," confessed Dick. "It is a fascinating -and bewildering place, with its narrow, dirty streets, its swarms of -people of many races, its veiled women, its dogs, its palaces and watch -towers--in short, its thousands of strange sights." - -"It is a whole lot queer," nodded Buckhart. "It gives me a right odd -feeling to stand beside a mosque and see a muezzin come out on the -balcony of a minaret and utter the call to prayer. The way he chants it -kind of stirs something inside of me: 'God is great; there is but one -God; Mohammed is the prophet of God; prayer is better than sleep; come -to prayer!' Oh, I've got her all down fine, and I'll never forget the -words nor how they sound." - -"I suppose there are lots of places we have not seen, together with -plenty of interesting things," said Dick. "The thing that I'll remember -longest is the dance of the howling dervishes." - -"You bet that was a corker!" exclaimed the Texan, sitting up. "I opine -I've got good nerves, but it certain came near driving me crazy to see -them, a full dozen, just whirling and whirling like tops." - -"Then when they began to chant and howl!" said Dick. "The way they -wailed, and groaned, and cried, 'Allah, hough! Allah, hough!' was enough -to disturb nerves of steel." - -"But the finish was the worst, when all the whirlers had their eyes set -and their lips covered with foam. No more howling-dervish shows for me!" - -"Nor me, pard!" - -"Well, when you youngsters get tired of Constantinople we'll move on," -said Zenas. - -"I sure would like to know whatever became of Major Fitts and Miss -Ketchum," said Brad. - -"Never mind them!" exclaimed the professor hastily. "It was a great -relief when they both took themselves out of this hotel after -that--after that encounter in the cemetery." - -"After your bloody duel, professor," laughed Dick. "That was a fearful -encounter, from which you came forth the victor." - -"But somewhat damaged myself," confessed Zenas. "Boys, you want to -remember what will happen to you if you ever relate that affair to any -one." - -Buckhart grinned. - -"Miss Ketchum was some excited when she arrived on the scene of action. -She thought the major was dying. I don't wonder, for the sounds he -emitted after being struck in the mouth by that egg sure sounded like he -was coughing up the ghost." - -"She certainly was disgusted when she found the major's yellow blood was -smashed rotten eggs," said Dick. - -"She had the stuff all over her hands after putting her arms about him. -Partner, that was a great racket!" - -"Hum! haw!" coughed the professor. "Of course, on the major's account I -was willing to carry out the programme and use eggs, but it was beneath -my dignity, and I should have preferred a regular duel with pistols or -swords." - -"Professor!" exclaimed Dick. "Why, you know you were somewhat timid over -the result before you learned what sort of weapons were to be used." - -"Because I did not wish to have human blood on my hands. It was entirely -for Major Fitts that I was worried." - -"I opine," said Brad, "that old Aziz Achmet was just about as disgusted -as any one. It is my judgment that the old pirate wanted to see the -professor and the major carve each other up, though just what his reason -for it was I can't say." - -"He disappeared at the same time when Sarah and the major vanished," -said Dick. "He was becoming a nuisance, and I thought we might have no -end of trouble with him while in this place. However, I fancy he found -out he was wasting his time spying on us. I'm still confident that Bunol -and Marsh caused us to be placed under surveillance by the Turkish -secret police." - -"The Turkish secret police?" exclaimed Zenas. "You don't mean to -say----" - -"There is such a body, and Aziz Achmet belonged to it. We were -suspicious characters, and he watched us. But I have an idea that he -finally decided that we were exactly what we represented ourselves to -be, ordinary travelers. Miss Ketchum, however, belongs to a society that -is seeking to investigate and correct the wrongs of the Armenians in -Turkey, and, therefore, Achmet transferred his attention wholly to her." - -"Good gracious!" spluttered the professor. "Although she turned out to -be a hatchet-faced old maid, I hope no harm has come to her in this -heathen land." - -"Don't you worry," laughed Dick. "Major Fitts will look out for her. All -I ask is that he keeps her away from us." - -"I don't think the major wants to see us again," chuckled Brad. "I'm -sure he wouldn't fancy having the story of that duel get back to -Natchez, Mississippi." - -"Well, boys, shall we spend the afternoon in talk, or shall we go out -and see something?" asked the professor. - -They quickly decided that they were ready to go out, and once more rose -the question of what they should see. - -"I have it!" cried the old pedagogue. - -"Name it," urged Dick. - -"The Underground Palace." - -"What's that?" - -"You haven't heard of it? Good! It's the very place for us to visit this -day. Wait; I'll send for Mustapha. Hope he's not engaged, for we must go -over into Stamboul, and I do not fancy visiting that place without a -good guide and interpreter." - -"I should say not!" exclaimed Dick. "If ever there was a place just made -to get lost in it's Stamboul, with its maze of narrow, crooked, unnamed -streets and unnumbered houses." - -"Correct, pard," agreed Brad. "I can get lost quicker and a heap sight -worse in Stamboul than on a trackless desert. We sure must take a -dragoman if we're going to amble over there." - -So the black Nubian, who seemed always waiting for a call, was summoned -and instructed to send out for the dragoman engaged by Dick on their -arrival, to pilot them from the steamer to their hotel. - -In less than thirty minutes Mustapha appeared, salaming in true Turkish -fashion, the tassel of his fez sweeping the floor. - -"I here, effendi," he said, addressing the professor. "What you haf of -me?" - -"We want to visit Stamboul." - -"I good dragoman. I guide you, effendi." - -"Our purpose is to see the great underground cistern sometimes called -the Underground Palace." - -"Effendi, go not! Keep from there!" Mustapha showed great concern. - -"Why should we not go there?" questioned the professor. "It is one of -the great sights." - -"You haf for your life some valuement?" - -"Certainly; but what can there be dangerous about a visit to the -Underground Palace?" - -"Maybe you haf not hear it, effendi?" - -"Have not heard what?" - -"One time some Engleeshman go there. They nefer come back." - -"What happened to them?" - -Mustapha made a gesture with his hands indicative of vanishing into the -air. - -"Who answer it the question?" he said. - -"Well, well!" muttered Zenas. "What do you think about this matter, -boys?" - -"My interest is aroused now," answered Dick. "I want to see this -mysterious place." - -"That's right, pard. I'm sure some wrought up to see it myself. Of -course we'll go." - -"Too young to haf wisdom," said Mustapha, with a gesture toward the -boys. - -"Come on, professor!" cried Dick. "If this dragoman will not act as -guide for us, we can easily secure another." - -Instantly Mustapha hastened to assure them that he would be only too -glad to act as their guide; but that they should pay him before visiting -the Underground Palace, as they might never return, in which case he -would lose his honestly earned due by neglecting to collect ahead. - -They agreed to pay him in advance, and soon they set out from the hotel -in Pera, eager to see the mysterious place that was said to hold so much -of mystery and danger. - -In the afternoon sunshine Stamboul was magnificent when seen from a -distance. But when they had crossed the Golden Horn and plunged into the -city all its impressiveness vanished. At intervals they came upon some -splendid mosques, but mosques were far more impressive when seen from -the proper distance. - -Mustapha knew his business, and he conducted them to the place where -they could descend and inspect the Underground Palace, but he declined -to enter with them. For that purpose he called another man, with -close-set, shifty eyes and a thin-lipped mouth. - -"This dragoman, Bayazid," he said. "He tak' you." - -"Is he trustworthy?" asked the professor, with a slight show of -nervousness. - -"You not find one more so, effendi." - -So Bayazid, or "Pigeon," as he was called in English, was engaged to -show them the Underground Palace. - -"I haf very good boat, effendi," he declared. - -"Whatever is that?" asked Buckhart. "Do we have to take a boat?" - -"You will see," answered Zenas. - -The entrance was somewhat like that of a sewer, but there were stone -steps leading down into the darkness of the place. The guide found and -lighted two torches, which it seemed were kept for the use of those who -wished to visit the Palace. - -"Say, this is some boogerish!" said Brad, as they found themselves in a -dark and damp cemented passage. - -"The old city was built above a huge system of cisterns," explained the -professor. "Their purpose was to guard against a famine of water in time -of war. Some of the old cisterns are dry now and are used by silk -spinners. We shall visit one that still contains water." - -"But I thought we were going to see a palace," said Dick, in -disappointment. - -"You shall see one--so called." - -The passage echoed to their tread, while their voices came back -hollowly, as if hidden imps were mocking them. - -But the boys were quite unprepared for the spectacle that suddenly met -their gaze. They came from the passage into a mighty vaulted chamber, -stretching away into an unknown distance and filled with a shadowy maze -of marble columns, row on row. The floor of this wonderful place was -smooth as a mirror and seemed black as ebony, save where the light of -the torches fell on it. There it glittered, and gleamed, and shimmered. - -Exclamations of astonishment and wonder broke from the lips of the two -lads. The professor grasped them, one with either hand, and stopped them -abruptly. - -"We can't go farther on foot," he said. - -"Eh? Why not?" asked the Texan, in surprise. "Look at that floor! -Wouldn't it be great to dance on! It's smooth as glass and----" - -"You would get your feet wet if you attempted to dance on that," -declared Zenas. - -"What? Why--why, it's water!" - -"Exactly." - -"But--but it looks black everywhere except where the light strikes -directly on it." - -"Because no other ray of light reaches this place." - -Dick stooped and dipped his hand in the water, which reached to their -very feet. - -"Well, this is worth seeing!" he declared. - -"This was constructed by Constantine more than fifteen hundred years -ago," explained the professor. "Think, boys, what you now behold is the -work of man, yet it remains practically the same as when constructed -fifteen centuries ago." - -"It looks like a partly submerged cathedral," murmured Dick. "One can -fancy all its worshipers and priests as drowned in that flood of black -water. In fancy I seem to see their restless spirits floating above the -surface of the lake, away, away yonder in the unknown distance. How -large is it, professor?" - -"There are three hundred and thirty-six of those marble columns, -arranged in twenty-eight rows. I fancy the real reason why Mustapha -refused to enter here is because of the many legends and tales told -concerning the place. It is said that these vaults often echo to hollow -laughter, and that the place is haunted by the ghosts of murdered -sultans of past ages, whose places were usurped by the very monsters who -intrigued to bring about the murders. Some claim that the spirits of the -beautiful women destroyed by jealous sultans are doomed to float forever -here above the surface of this buried lake, and that occasionally one of -them is seen by a visitor for a single fleeting instant, then goes -wailing and sobbing into the black distance." - -"Well, by the great horn spoon, I don't know that I blame Mustapha for -not coming here!" exclaimed Brad. "It's the most spooky old hole I ever -struck." - -At this juncture Bayazid inquired if they wished to take a boat and -venture out a short distance on the water. - -"Certainly," answered Dick, at once. "I think it will be a novel -experience, and I want to go. If Brad does not----" - -"Hold on, pard!" cried the Texan. "Wherever you go I go, you bet your -boots! Mebbe I don't like it a heap, but I'm with you." - -Bayazid left them and moved a short distance to the right. They watched -him and saw the light of his torch fall on a black boat that lay -motionless at the edge of the black lake. He stepped into the boat and -soon brought it to the shore at their feet. - -Dick and Brad followed the professor into the boat, which was large -enough to accommodate two more persons, if the party had included them. - -Bayazid had placed his torch in a socket that seemed arranged for it. He -suggested that the others should extinguish theirs, as too much light -close at hand would blind them, instead of making it possible for them -to see better. - -They accepted his suggestion, and slowly the boat slipped out upon the -bosom of the soundless lake. - -Suddenly there was a whirring rush through the air, and something -brushed past the head of the professor, who uttered a squawk of alarm, -struck out wildly with both hands and fell over backward off his seat to -flounder in the bottom of the boat. - -"Howling tornadoes!" gasped Buckhart. "Whatever was that?" - -"A bat, effendi," answered Bayazid. - -Dick laughed. - -"Goodness!" palpitated the professor, as he finally struggled up to his -seat. "I confess it did frighten me, boys. Made me think of those -restless ghosts which are said to wander forever above the bosom of this -lake. Hadn't we better go back?" - -"Which way shall we go?" asked Dick. - -They looked around. On every hand they saw nothing but marble pillars, -shadows, and grim darkness. - -"Waugh!" muttered the Texan. "I confess I couldn't follow the back -trail." - -"But Bayazid knows the way, don't you, Bayazid?" anxiously asked the -professor. - -"I know it, effendi," was the assurance. "Trust me." - -"I--I'm very glad you do!" breathed Zenas. "I think we will return at -once." - -But Dick urged that they should go on a little farther, as Bayazid was -thoroughly familiar with the place and there was no danger that they -would become lost. - -Brad always stuck by Dick, and the two overruled the old pedagogue. - -Therefore Bayazid paddled slowly on. Had they seen his face they might -have become suspicious and alarmed, but the shadows hid the crafty and -treacherous look his countenance wore. - -Finally they paused again, amid the labyrinth of pillars. Without the -guide, not one of them could have told which course to follow in order -to return to the point from which they started. - -Suddenly Bayazid uttered an exclamation and stood up in the boat, -staring into the darkness beyond his passengers. - -Involuntarily the trio turned their heads to look, wondering what it -could be that the guide saw. - -Barely were their heads turned in that manner when the treacherous guide -snatched the torch from its socket and plunged it into the water. There -was a hissing sound and instant darkness. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--LOST ON THE BURIED LAKE - - -Dick Merriwell had brought along a revolver. He drew it in a moment and -held it ready for use, expecting something to happen in the Stygian -darkness of that terrible place. - -Professor Gunn cried out to Bayazid, demanding to know the meaning of -his act. - -"Get hold of the onery varmint!" advised Buckhart. "Let me put my paws -on him!" - -The Texan floundered about, rocking the boat somewhat. - -"Be careful, Brad!" warned Dick. "You don't know what he will do! It may -be intended for a joke, just to frighten us, and it may be intended for -something else. I have a pistol. Keep away from him and let me do the -business." - -"Pup-pup-perhaps it's pup-pup-part of the regular pup-pup-programme," -chattered Professor Gunn. "Pup-pup-perhaps they always pup-pup-put out -the tut-tut-torch when they have pup-pup-passengers on this old -underground pup-pup-pond." - -"Be quiet," directed Dick. "Bayazid." - -He called to the guide, but there was no answer. - -"Bayazid!" - -Again he called. His voice echoed hollowly in the unseen arches above -their heads. - -"Why doesn't the blame fool answer?" growled Buckhart. - -"Strike a match, Brad," directed Dick. "I'm holding my revolver ready -for use, and I'll shoot, if necessary, the moment I can see what to -shoot at." - -The Texan lost little time in producing a match, but when he attempted -to strike it he failed, the brimstone breaking off. Three matches were -used before one burned. The light flared up, Buckhart holding it above -his head. Its glow fell on the old professor and the two boys, and -simultaneously they made an amazing discovery. - -They were alone in the boat! - -Bayazid, the guide, had disappeared! - -Dick had his revolver ready for action, and he was standing in a -half-crouching position, peering over the head of Buckhart at the place -in the boat lately occupied by the guide. - -"He's gug-gone!" gasped Zenas. - -Brad dropped the match, and again they were buried in darkness which -seemed to oppress them like an awful weight. - -"Great catamounts!" said a voice that sounded strange and husky, but -which Dick recognized as that of the Texan. "Where has he gone? What -does it mean, partner?" - -"It means that we are the victims of trickery of some sort," answered -Dick, speaking in a low tone. - -"It means that we are deserted to perish on the bosom of this awful -buried lake!" came from the professor, in something like a moan. "I am -to blame! I brought you here!" - -"But whatever could be the object?" questioned Brad, in a puzzled tone. -"If it's robbery----" - -"It's a plot--a plot, boys! We are objects of suspicion. That agent of -the secret police suspected us of something. In this awful city to be -suspected is to be doomed." - -"I can't realize it yet," muttered Dick. "How could the guide get out of -the boat?" - -"I'll strike another match, pard," said the Texan. "Keep your gun ready -for use." - -"There are other torches," reminded Dick. "We placed them in the bottom -of the boat. Find them, Brad, and light one." - -During the interval that followed the Texan was heard feeling about the -bottom of the boat. After a time he confessed: - -"I can't seem to get my paws on them. I'll have to use another match. -The light will show us where they are." - -Another match was lighted, but, though it was held and moved about to -illumine the bottom of the boat, not a torch was discovered. When they -realized that the extinguished torches were gone they sat up and looked -into one another's eyes by the last gleams of the exhausted match, which -Buckhart held until the blaze scorched his fingers. - -For some moments silence followed. - -Floating there on the motionless bosom of that black lake, no sound came -down to them from the great city overhead. The stillness was appalling, -yet all feared to speak, dreading the sound of their own voices. - -Finally Dick asked: - -"How many matches have you, Brad?" - -"Not over four or five more." - -"And I have none. How about you, professor--have you any?" - -"Not one," was the despairing answer. - -Suddenly Buckhart grated: - -"I'd like to get my paws on the treacherous dog who deserted us in this -fix! I'd certain fit him for a funeral! You hear me affirm!" - -"I'm still unable to account for his action," said Dick. "If his object -is robbery, surely he has taken a strange way to go about it." - -"Perhaps he's counting on frightening us good and plenty," observed -Brad. "Mebbe when he thinks we're so frightened that we'll be glad to -cough up liberal he will appear and offer to conduct us back to the -outer world." - -"Let's call to him," eagerly suggested the professor. Then he lifted his -voice and called loudly. - -When he had repeated the cry three times, they listened. - -"Didn't you hear a distant answer?" asked Dick. - -"I judge whatever we heard was an echo," said Brad. - -After a time they lifted their voices in a united shout, and then -listened to the mocking echoes which fled from pillar to pillar and died -in the unknown distance. - -"No use!" moaned Professor Gunn. "I am satisfied that we are doomed! -We'll never leave this place alive, and our fate will forever remain a -mystery!" - -"I'm sure that was no echo!" exclaimed Dick, as far away in the darkness -they seemed to hear an answer to their repeated shouts. "Be still and -let me shout." - -When he had lifted his strong, clear voice all hushed their breathing -and listened. - -There was a short interval, and then out of the black distance came a -faint, far-away answer. - -"Some one did shout, pard!" exclaimed the Texan. "It's a dead-sure -thing!" - -Excitedly they all joined in the hail that followed. The answer was more -distinct. - -Dick had found an oar, and he slowly propelled the boat in the direction -from which the answering cries seemed to come. Occasionally they bumped -against the marble pillars, but these collisions did no damage. - -Soon they could hear the answers to their cries and knew they were -drawing nearer to the unknown person or persons who were thus -responding. - -Suddenly a tiny gleam of light showed amid the pillars at some distance. - -"Looks like that's a match, pard," observed Buckhart. "I reckon I'll -strike one, too." - -He did so, but the other light disappeared even as he held his own above -his head. Apparently his match was seen, for the voice of a man reached -them, urging them to come in that direction. - -By answering call for call they continued to draw nearer to the -strangers, for they soon heard enough to satisfy them that at least two -persons besides themselves were afloat on the bosom of that buried lake. - -"One is a woman!" asserted Dick. - -Lifting his voice, he asked: - -"Who are you?" - -"We are Americans. Who are yo'?" - -"We are Americans, too." - -"What are yo' doing here?" - -"We are lost--deserted by our guide." - -"So are we. How many of yo' are there?" - -"Three. How many of you?" - -"Two; and somebody shall suffer fo' this outrage! Somebody shall pay the -penalty fo' it! I'll have satisfaction as sho' 's my name is----" - -"Major Mowbry Fitts, of Natchez, Mississippi," finished Dick. - -"That's my name, suh! But yo', suh--why, is it possible that yo' -are----" - -"Professor Zenas Gunn, accompanied by Dick Merriwell and Brad Buckhart. -Is Miss Ketchum, of Boston, with you?" - -"I am here," answered the well-known voice of Sarah Ann. "We have passed -through a most awful and excruciating experience, the faintest -remembrance of which will forever seem like a fearful nightmare. I am -glad you have found us, for now you can assist us in getting out of this -frightful place." - -"I am sure we would like to do so," said Dick; "but, unfortunately, like -yourselves, we do not know which way to turn. How did you get here?" - -The major explained as the two boats bumped together, and floated thus. -Like the professor and the boys, he and Miss Ketchum had visited the -lake in company with a guide, who had vanished in a mysterious and -unaccountable manner. They fancied they had been afloat for days on the -bosom of the lake, and they were in a pitiful condition of collapse and -fright, although the major had braced up wonderfully for a time. - -"This seems to be the usual manner of treating visitors," said Dick. - -"We've used our last match," said the major. "I lighted it a few minutes -ago. We had been saving it. I am afraid we will never be able to escape. -I have about given up hope." - -"It is the work of that terrible Turk who urged you into the duel with -Professor Gunn, major," said the woman from Boston. "He warned us to -leave Constantinople, but we refused to go, and he told us we would -disappear mysteriously." - -"Are you speaking of Aziz Achmet?" asked Dick. - -"That is what he calls himself." - -"Then you have seen him since the morning of the duel?" - -"Seen him!" indignantly exclaimed the major. "We have seen him -everywhere, suh. He has followed us and watched us wherever we went. We -couldn't make a move that he wouldn't turn up. Twice he told us that we -must leave the city and the country." - -"I wish now," confessed Miss Ketchum, "that we had obeyed him. Don't -you, major?" - -"Well," answered the little man, with a touch of reluctance in his -voice, "I must confess, madam, that I believe it would have been much -better fo' us if we had obeyed." - -Barely were these words spoken when, in the pall of darkness near by, a -voice demanded: - -"Are you ready to depart now? Will you depart at once? Do you, one and -all, swear by your God that you will lose no time about going?". - -Needless to say, the sound of that voice affected them all much like a -sudden clap of thunder on a clear and sunny day. The woman gave a little -scream, the major uttered a smothered oath, the professor gasped for -breath, while both Dick and Brad sat bolt upright, their nerves tense. - -"Answer at once!" commanded the unseen speaker. "It is your only hope of -escaping. Among the Armenians we have enough so-called missionaries, -and, therefore, the woman from Boston is not wanted. In the other boat -are the old man and the boys against whom the secret police have been -warned. It will be easy to cause all of you to vanish from the face of -the earth; yet if you pledge yourselves to leave Turkey, you shall be -spared." - -"I tell you one thing," spluttered Zenas Gunn eagerly, "I've seen all of -Turkey I care to see, and I'll give you my pledge to leave within -twenty-four hours, taking the boys with me." - -"I'll go--oh, I'll go!" promised Miss Ketchum. - -"And if she goes," said Major Fitts, "I shall accompany her." - -"Swear it!" - -The trio were willing enough to do so. - -A few moments later a light gleamed a short distance away, and then -three torches were lighted. Within twenty feet of them was another and -larger boat, containing four persons, three of whom were guides. The -fourth was Aziz Achmet. One of the guides was Bayazid, who grinned at -the professor and the boys, as if he thought the whole thing a fine -joke. Another was the guide who had accompanied the major and the woman -from Boston. - -Achmet did not touch an oar. He sat in dignified silence as his -companions slowly brought the boat close to the others. - -"Mr. Achmet," said Dick, "although we dislike to leave Constantinople -under compulsion, Professor Gunn has given his pledge, and we shall -stand by it. There is one thing, however, that we would like to have -explained. How did our guide disappear in such a mysterious manner?" - -Achmet shrugged his shoulders a bit. At first he seemed disinclined to -answer, but apparently he suddenly decided to do so. - -"It was very simple, boy," he said. "Your guide stepped from your boat -into this one, which he had seen floating in the shadow of a pillar. I -was in this boat, with these other guides, and I gave him a signal that -he understood. Immediately he extinguished the torch. That threw you -into confusion. This boat silently approached, and Bayazid stepped into -it. In the same manner Yapouly left the other boat." - -"Thank you," said Dick. "It was altogether too easy!" - -"A heap!" growled Buckhart. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--ON THE WAY TO DAMASCUS - - -They succeeded in securing passage on a steamer that left the port the -following day. Major Fitts and Miss Ketchum left by the same steamer. - -"I hope yo' will congratulate me, professor," said the major, as proud -as a peacock. "Miss Ketchum has consented to become Mrs. Fitts as soon -as we reach the United States. I'm sorry fo' yo', suh; but yo' never -really had a show, suh." - -"That's right, major," smiled Dick. "He didn't have a show, because he -is already----" - -"Don't you dare tell I'm married!" hissed Zenas, in the boy's ear. - -"He is all ready to carry out his plan to penetrate the wilds of Africa, -where it would be impossible for him to take a bride, and he could not -bear to be parted from one so young and charming as Miss Ketchum, were -he to have the good fortune to capture her." - -"Saved your life, you rascal!" whispered Zenas, and then hastened to bow -low to the coy and confused lady from Boston. - -At Beirut the party split up, the professor and the boys going to -Damascus, a distance of ninety-one miles, which was covered by an -excellent narrow-gauge railroad, built by Swiss engineers. - -"We're off, boys!" cheerfully exclaimed the professor, as the train -finally started. "We'll soon be in the oldest city in the world." - -"Do you mean Damascus, professor?" inquired Dick. - -"Of course I mean Damascus! We're not bound for any other place, are we? -Did you think I meant New York? Did you fancy I was speaking of Hoboken? -Hum! Haw!" - -"But there is no absolute proof that Damascus is the oldest city in the -world. There may be older cities in China or India." - -"There may be," admitted the old pedagogue; "but we do not know about -them. At least, Damascus is the oldest city we know anything about." - -"That is quite true. If you had said that----" - -"Now look here, Richard, you are inclined to be altogether too wise. You -keep yourself too well posted about the countries and places we visit, -and thus you deprive me of the privilege of imparting information to -you. It isn't right. You make me feel that I am not earning my stipend -as your guardian and tutor during this trip round the world. You place -me in an embarrassing position. I wish you would feign ignorance, if you -cannot do anything else." - -Dick laughed. - -"All right, professor; I'll try to reform. But it was your advice to us -that we should post ourselves in advance on each place we visited, and -I've been obeying instructions, that's all." - -"Haw! Hum! You're inclined to be too obedient--altogether too obedient. -Now here is Bradley--I haven't observed that he has wasted much time -reading up about different countries and cities." - -"Sure not," admitted the Texan. "It's a heap too much trouble, for I -know I'll hear about the places from you and Dick when we hit 'em. This -yere country sort of looks familiar." - -"It does," nodded Dick. "To me it looks like Southern Colorado or -Northern New Mexico. It's a land of irrigation. The mountains, the -plains, the foliage, the mud houses, everything but the people, remind -me of that portion of our own country." - -"Quite true," agreed Zenas Gunn; "although the fertile spots here have -all been taken up and cultivated. For instance, look there, boys--look -at that mountainside." - -Gazing from the window as the train sped along, they could see the side -of a mountain walled up in terraces like gigantic stairways, to prevent -the soil from being washed away by the rainfalls. These terraces were -planted with grapes, figs, olive and mulberry trees. On many of these -terraces laborers were at work propping up strange-looking trunks, which -were six or seven feet high. In places these trunks could be seen -reclining in rows on the ground, looking strangely like sleeping -soldiers. - -"Those are grapevines," exclaimed the professor. "In the fall they cut -them down to that height and lay them flat on the ground, as you see -them. They are now beginning to prop them up. They will be irrigated and -dressed, and then new branches will shoot out in all directions and -cover the soil and bear fruit." - -As the train wound in and out of the gorges, clinging to the -mountainsides, they beheld many strange and interesting things. Laborers -were setting out mulberry trees in long trenches. Other laborers were -digging the trenches, three men working a single shovel. One of the men -manipulated the shovel, holding the handle and driving it down into the -soil. Two others lifted it out with its load, doing so by pulling at -ropes attached to the shovel just above the blade. They all worked -together with astonishing ease and skill. Great hedges of cactus -stretched along the railroad in many places. They gazed with interest at -the old-fashioned irrigating canals. They beheld men plowing with the -same sort of crooked stick that was used for that purpose in Bible -times. But there were no farmhouses scattered over the country, for the -people still lived in villages, as they did in former days, when it was -necessary for neighbors to band together for protection. - -For a great portion of the way the railroad followed the old caravan -trail, and all along this trail were scattered trains of camels and -donkeys, loaded with all kinds of goods, such as silk, cotton, grain, -machinery, poplar trees, fuel, and other things. Petroleum, however, -seemed to form the greater portion of many a cargo. - -The sun shone from a cloudless sky. - -Brad Buckhart was strangely silent. He gazed out of the window in an -abstracted manner, paying very little attention to what the professor -and Dick were saying. - -Finally Dick began to joke him about his unusual manner. - -"Don't worry, Brad," he laughed. "We'll overtake her soon. We may find -her in Damascus." - -"Her?" grunted the Texan. - -"Yes." - -"Why, who----" - -"Nadia Budthorne, of course. Her last letter told you she would visit -Damascus and then proceed to Jerusalem, in company with her brother. You -can't fool me, old man. You have been counting on overtaking her -somewhere in the Holy Land. Don't deny it." - -"All right," said Buckhart, his face flushed, but his manner a bit -defiant; "I won't deny it, Mr. Smarty. You sure have hit it all right. -I----" - -At this moment the whistle of the locomotive shrieked a wild alarm and -the brakes were applied violently. Something was wrong. The train came -to a stop. - -And just outside the window of the compartment occupied by the old -professor and two boys a dead camel lay stretched on the ground, blood -flowing from several horrible wounds. The animal's pack was broken open -and the goods scattered in all directions. - -Not ten feet from the camel lay a gorgeously dressed, black-bearded -Arab, likewise apparently dead. - -"Whoop!" cried Buckhart. "There certain have been some doings here! I -opine the camel tried to butt the train off the track, somewhat to the -grief of Mr. Camel." - -Men now came running toward the spot, all greatly excited. They were -principally camel drivers and like men from a caravan. They gathered -about the prostrate Arab and made a great demonstration. Their gestures -toward the train were very threatening. - -One of the guards flung open the door of the compartment occupied by our -friends. - -"Is there a doctor here?" he asked anxiously. "A serious accident has -happened." - -In a moment Dick Merriwell sprang out, followed by Brad. They did not -wait to enter into conversation with the guard, but started toward the -dead camel and the motionless Arab. - -Others from the train were doing the same thing, and the boys learned -from fragments of conversation that the Arab had been struck by the -engine while endeavoring to drive from the track the camel that had -strayed onto the railroad and obstinately refused to budge. - -At that point the train came round a sharp curve, and the engineer was -unable to see either camel or man until right upon them. - -Later the boys learned that the camel was loaded with certain articles -of great importance, which had led the Arab to imperil his life in the -effort to drive the beast from the track. - -"He seems to be some sort of high mogul in his tribe," observed -Buckhart, as he and Dick paused and surveyed the injured man. - -"He is a sheik of great power and influence," explained a man standing -near. "That is why the railroad people are so concerned. If he were an -ordinary camel driver or donkey man, they wouldn't stop a minute to -bother over him." - -"I wonder if he is really dead?" muttered Dick, stepping forward. - -In a moment he was kneeling beside the unconscious man. Deftly he began -to make an examination, seeking for broken bones. - -A number of Arabs were about, their heads tied up and their feet and -legs bare, as is their custom in all sorts of weather. One of these -objected when Dick began the examination, but a husky fellow prevented -the chap from attacking the American boy. - -"I don't believe he is dead," declared Dick. "Doesn't seem to have any -broken bones. He's stunned--just has the breath knocked out of him. Give -me a hand, Brad; let's see if we can't revive him." - -The Texan responded promptly. - -"What do you want me to do, pard?" he inquired. - -"We'll try artificial respiration," said Merriwell. "You work his lungs -while I work his arms." - -What followed caused the wildest excitement among the watching Arabs, -for Buckhart knelt astride the body of the old sheik and began a regular -and steady pumplike movement on the lower part of his breast, while Dick -seized the man's arms, pulled them at full length above the Arab's head, -then bent them back suddenly and pressed them to his sides. The two boys -worked together in perfect unison. - -Some of the Arabs cried out that the infidels were defiling the dead. -Two or three of them drew weapons and would have rushed on the boys; but -the same husky fellow, who had checked them before now, produced a -pistol and averred that he would "blow daylight" through the whole of -them if they did not keep still. - -In this manner they were temporarily checked, and that brief check gave -Merriwell time enough to accomplish his purpose. - -A low moan and a convulsive gasp came from the lips of the man over -which the boys were working. Signs of returning consciousness were -pronounced. His breast heaved. The boys ceased their work. For he -breathed. - -An Englishman held out a flask of whisky. - -"Give him a swallow of this," he advised. - -Dick pushed it away. - -"Water," he called. "That will be better for him." - -"Allah! Allah!" cried the astounded Arabs. "The infidels are magicians! -They have restored the dead to life! Ras al Had lives again!" - -Some of them prostrated themselves in the dust. Others hastened to bring -water. - -Dick took a canteen and turned a little of the liquid between the lips -of the injured man. He swallowed it greedily, coughed a little, and then -lay gazing in a puzzled manner at the face of the American boy. - -Finally, in very good English, he asked what had happened. His voice was -weak and husky, yet his words were plain. - -"You were struck by the train," explained Merriwell. "Your camel was -killed, and you seemed to be dead; but I think you are all right now." - -"For which you may thank this boy and his friend here," said the husky -chap, who had protected the boys. "To all appearances, you were as dead -as old Mohammed; but they pumped the breath back into you in a hurry." - -Several of the Arabs now brought cushions, which were placed beneath the -head and shoulders of the sheik. One of them spoke to him hurriedly in a -low tone, and seemed telling him all about what had taken place. When -this man had finished speaking the sheik made a gesture with his hand -and bade him retire. - -He then called for Dick. - -"Be careful, Richard," cautioned Professor Gunn. "These men are -treacherous. There's no telling what he means to do." - -Dick laughed and stepped nearer to the sheik. - -"Boy," said the old Arab, "they tell me that I was dead, and by your -infidel magic you brought life back into my body." - -"You were unconscious, that was all. The shock had driven the breath -from your body, and we simply revived the action of your lungs." - -"Had you not done so----" - -"You sure would have croaked for fair," put in Buckhart. - -"What you ask of me, if it is in my power, I will give," declared the -sheik. "That is the word of Ras al Had, and, though no pledge to an -infidel is binding, may the wrath of Allah fall on me if I break this -one. Speak." - -"If you think I did it for pay of any sort, you are mistaken," said the -young American, with a touch of resentment. "You can't reward me for a -thing like that." - -"Then if ever you are in need or in danger, and I can be of service, the -sword and the life of Ras al Had shall be at your command. I swear this -by the beard of the Prophet!" - -"All aboard!" shouted a voice. "Train's going to start." - -There was a general rush for the cars. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--THE STRUGGLE AT THE STATION - - -"Well, that certain was an adventure, all right," laughed Brad, when -they were again seated in their compartment and the train was moving. - -"I don't know what I'll do with you boys!" exclaimed Professor Gunn, -with an air of exasperation. "You keep me on pins and needles all the -time. I surely thought those Arabs would slice you up when they saw you -go after the old sheik. They thought you were defiling the dead." - -"But the old boy was grateful when he learned that we had pumped the -breath back into him," said Dick. - -"He pretended to be," nodded the professor; "but that is no sign." - -"Why not?" - -"He's a Mohammedan, and they think it no harm to do anything to an -infidel. They may deceive him, lie to him, steal from him, even kill -him, without committing a sin. Richard, do not take any stock in the -words of that old rascal." - -"I don't have to," said young Merriwell; "for it is not likely I'll ever -see him again. All the same, I seemed to feel that he was sincere when -he expressed his gratitude." - -"It's evident he's a gent of some authority in his tribe," put in Brad. -"All the rest of his particular bunch seemed to stand in awe of him a -plenty." - -Their interest in the strange country, together with their recent -adventure, gave them food enough for conversation, and the journey was -not nearly as long as they had expected it would seem. - -At last, as the train approached Damascus, they found themselves in a -narrow valley that was almost a gorge. Through this valley a clear -stream rushed and roared over an exceedingly rocky bed. This stream -drove a number of mills, the entrances to which were always surrounded -by donkeys and camels, these animals having brought little loads of -grain to the mills to be ground. - -On the outskirts of the city they passed a group of Turkish villas, -which looked very picturesque and attractive. These, they were told, -were occupied by exiled officers of the Turkish government, who had -committed offenses of some sort or had excited the distrust of the -sultan. Instead of ordering them beheaded, their imperial master had -sent them to Damascus, where they could be closely guarded. - -Finally the train drew into the station at Damascus. - -"Say, just have a look!" cried Brad. "I opine the whole town has turned -out to meet us." - -There was a great crowd at the station--Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, -Turks, Jews, Greeks, Egyptians, and people from many desert tribes. They -were all in a great tumult and uproar. A fence prevented them from -crowding close to the track, but behind this fence they were packed -thick as sardines in a box, staring, talking, pushing, gesticulating, -and making a great hubbub. - -"I wonder if this is the usual thing," said Dick. "Perhaps some noted -person is on this train." - -"Not likely that has brought them here," declared the professor. "The -arrival of a train is an event, and probably all the idle men in town -rush to the station to see it come in." - -Their compartment door was flung open. - -With alacrity the two boys descended to the platform. - -"There they are!" cried a familiar voice that gave Buckhart a thrill. - -"Oh, Dick! Hey, Brad!" called another voice. - -Dick located the person who called to him. He grasped Buckhart's arm and -pointed. - -"There they are--Budthorne and his sister!" he exclaimed. - -In the midst of the crowd beyond the fence, being jostled about by the -swaying mob, were Dunbar Budthorne and Nadia, whom they had last seen in -Italy. - -Professor Gunn was calling to the boys. - -"Hold on, you kittenish young rascals!" he croaked. "Don't be in such a -hurry. Help look after this baggage." - -But the professor was forgotten in the excitement of what followed. Dick -saw the wild crowd separate Dunbar Budthorne and his sister. He saw the -two forced apart. Nadia was whirled aside. Then two men grasped her, one -placing a dusky hand over her mouth to prevent her from shouting, while -she was swept off her feet and literally borne away. - -Dick shouted to Brad. He made a rush for the fence. Up into the air he -sailed in a great leap that carried him over the obstruction and into -the midst of the crowd. - -The American boy seemed like an infuriated animal, for he hurled people -to the right and left like one possessing the strength of a giant. He -ripped a pathway through that crowd in a most amazing manner. - -Nadia Budthorne was struggling vainly with her captors, who were on the -point of lifting her into a carriage, when the American boy reached -them. - -Dick struck one man a blow that caused him to release the girl -instantly. - -But another swarthy fellow appeared and sought to seize the boy, while -still one held fast to the girl. - -Nadia, however, managed to get her mouth clear of the smothering hand -that had been pressed over it. - -She uttered a scream. - -That cry was answered by a roar in the voice of Brad Buckhart, who was -fighting his way through the crowd. - -As the second ruffian reached for him, Dick managed by an agile twist -and dodge to escape the fellow's hand. Then he tripped the man and went -at the one who was seeking to force Nadia into the carriage. - -"Drop her, you cur!" he palpitated. - -This fellow, who was the biggest one of the trio, flung the girl into -the arms of yet another, then whirled on Dick, whipping out a knife. - -The giant made a quick, forward, ripping stroke with the knife. - -Again Merriwell's quickness on his feet saved him, for he squirmed aside -so that the blade of the knife simply pierced the loose part of his coat -that swung from him when he made that rapid movement. - -The next instant Dick seized the dark man's hand with his left hand, -held it firm, struck sharply with the lower edge of his right hand, -which landed on the other's wrist. - -That man's wrist was broken as if it had been a pipestem, and the knife -fell to the ground. - -Dick had broken it by a trick, knowing just exactly how to accomplish -the feat. - -A howl rose from the wretch, but the boy gave him no further attention. - -He turned to look for Nadia. - -Fortunately Brad Buckhart had reached the girl and in an encounter of -this sort the Texan was second only to Dick Merriwell. In fact, Brad -fought with more slashing fury than did Dick, but not with the same -quick wit and instant decision on the right course to pursue. - -The Texan had proved assistance enough, however, for he had rescued -Nadia and knocked down the man who was seeking to force her into the -carriage. The latter fell under the feet of the horses. The animals -reared and trampled on him. He screamed, and the horses plunged away, -the black driver apparently letting them go, instead of seeking to stop -them. - -The moment the carriage was gone the men who had attacked Nadia seemed -to be swallowed by the crowd that surged round. The one with the broken -wrist vanished, and even the fellow who had been trampled by the horse -could not be found. It was easy for the other two to disappear in the -crowd, for any one of a hundred men there might have been taken for -either of them. - -Dunbar Budthorne, pale and shaking with excitement, finally reached his -sister, finding her clinging to Brad, who was supporting her with one -arm. - -Dick was on the other side of Nadia. - -"Sister!" exclaimed Dunbar huskily; "have those brutes----" - -"I'm all right, brother," she hastened to declare. "They did handle me -roughly, but----" - -"The brutes!" he grated. "Is there no protection for respectable -travelers in this wretched city? This is the third offense, and this was -more outrageous than the others. I couldn't do a thing. Before I -realized it the crowd had forced us apart." - -"It's fortunate Dick and Brad were able to reach me," she declared. "I -was helpless in the hands of those black ruffians. I believe they would -have forced me into that carriage and carried me off before all this -crowd only for the boys." - -Budthorne now shook hands with the boys, expressing his thanks and -gratitude. - -Buckhart was highly indignant over what had occurred, and he wanted to -know why Dunbar had not appealed to the authorities for protection. -Budthorne explained that he had appealed, but that foreigners were -liable to insult anywhere in Damascus, and that often they were roughly -treated. - -This was true. The Moslems of that city are proud, but illiterate. They -have come to know of the advancement of other peoples whom they regard -as inferior, and they resent it. For four thousand years Damascus -occupied an important position in the world, but now it is a place of -very little importance, much to the indignation of its citizens. - -But Budthorne knew the treatment accorded himself and his sister did not -arise wholly from the fact that they were foreigners. There was another -reason, which he explained later. - -Professor Gunn came fluttering through the crowd, in a great state of -agitation. - -"Bless my soul! bless my soul!" he stammered. "This is dreadful! Is this -thing going to continue wherever we go? If so, I'll just have to take -these boys back home. It's scandalous! My nerves are completely upset!" - -"Where is our baggage?" asked Dick. - -"I had to leave it." - -"Unguarded?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, we'll be lucky if we ever see it again. Brad, stay with Nadia and -Dunbar, while I go with the professor to look after that baggage." - -Fortunately not a piece of the baggage had been stolen. Dick was -clear-headed, and he soon learned what to do with it, although Zenas -rendered absolutely no assistance. There was a German hotel in the city, -and a representative of the house took charge of all the luggage after -it was pointed out, assuring them that it would be taken to the hotel -without delay. Another man escorted our friends through the crowd to a -carriage that ran to the hotel. - -Once in the carriage they breathed easier. Away they were whirled -through the narrow streets of the strange, old city, leaving the station -and the motley crowd behind. - -The houses of Damascus are mainly of sun-dried clay with flat roofs, -surrounded by low copings. This roof serves for many purposes. Often it -is used as a dining room, while during the hot summer months it serves -as a bedroom at night. On warm evenings people sit on the housetops to -enjoy the air. When the muezzin appears on the balcony of a minaret -hundreds upon hundreds of faithful Moslems mount to their housetops and -go through the gymnastic contortions of Mohammedan worship. - -But not all the buildings of Damascus are low and flat-roofed. There are -some towers, and temples, and minarets, besides a few modern buildings, -with roofs of bright corrugated iron, which glisten in the sunshine. - -Compared with most American cities, Damascus lacks trees and foliage. -Compared with the desert surrounding it, however, it is a perfect bower -of shade and rest. - -A look of disappointment crept over the face of Brad Buckhart as he -gazed around him on the way from the station to the hotel. - -"I opine this is the worst part of Damascus?" he observed. - -"On the contrary," said Dunbar Budthorne, "it is far from being the -worst part. This is quite respectable--almost swell, to use a vulgar -word." - -"Well, I certain am a plenty disappointed," muttered the Texan. "She -isn't just as I expected her to be." - -Dick questioned Dunbar about the annoyance to which he and Nadia had -been subjected since arriving in the city. - -"I may as well tell the cause of it," said Budthorne, although Nadia -showed confusion and shook her head warningly. "It's all right, sister. -You were not to blame." - -Brad wondered at her confusion and detected her in the act of casting a -glance of apprehension toward him. - -"On the steamer coming from Smyrna to Beirut," said Dunbar, "we chanced -to meet a very handsome and distinguished-appearing Turkish gentleman, -who was called Hafsa Pasha. Although scarcely more than thirty years of -age, he had traveled a great deal and had spent two years in the United -States. He was educated, cultured, refined in manner, and a splendid -traveling companion. Both Nadia and myself enjoyed his company very -much. He told us he was bound for Damascus on business that concerned -the Turkish government. He had been here before, and, therefore, he was -able to give us much information of value and save us many petty -annoyances. - -"I confess that we both became exceedingly interested in this man. He -was a scholar and could quote Shakespeare and Burns--even Longfellow! I -think he had read Byron, but he confessed a natural prejudice for the -great English poet who became the idol of Greece. - -"At first neither Nadia nor I saw anything offensive in his manners. -True, he was inclined to quote Burns to Nadia whenever he could find the -opportunity, but she thought nothing of that until he made love to her -pointblank." - -Buckhart gurgled a little deep down in his throat. - -"Then," continued Budthorne, "Nadia began to grow alarmed. She tried to -avoid him, but every way she turned he seemed to bob up before her. She -tried to keep him at a distance without offending him. Before we reached -Beirut he proposed outright." - -Again Buckhart gurgled. - -"He would not take no for an answer. In every way possible he sought to -induce her to consider his proposal. At last he seemed to lose control -of himself. In an hour we would be in Beirut. He found her alone on the -after deck. I came up just in time to see him catch her in his arms and -try to kiss her. We had an encounter, and I confess that he got rather -the best of it, although I hit him in the face. That blow seemed to -arouse a sleeping savage in him, for he cursed me and called me a dog of -an infidel, swearing he would make me weep drops of blood for that -insult. - -"Well, we hastened out of Beirut and away to Damascus; but the day after -we reached this city Hafsa Pasha appeared. His manner seemed again -altered, and he was very polite and humble. He entreated pardon and -begged to have an interview with Nadia. She declined to see him. Before -he left, he laughingly told me that she would have to see him before she -could get out of this city. - -"That was our first annoyance in Damascus. The following day we were -shopping in the bazaars when suddenly Hafsa Pasha and a number of men -surrounded us. I was jostled aside. Hafsa Pasha talked to Nadia like a -man deranged. He tried to plead with her, he offered her wealth and -position, and then he threatened. I don't know what might have happened, -but a party of English tourists came along and I appealed to them. There -came near being a free fight in that bazaar, but the Turk and his -followers finally retired and the Englishmen escorted us back to the -hotel. - -"Then came the letter that stated you would arrive in a day or two. We -have been watching the trains since then, and that is how we happened to -be at the station to-day. You know what happened. I am satisfied that -Hafsa Pasha was the instigator of this assault upon us. It seems now -that he actually contemplates carrying Nadia off by force. We must get -out of Damascus right away, or I fear he will find a way to accomplish -his evil purpose." - - - - -CHAPTER X--THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER - - -Brad Buckhart was striding savagely up and down the room, taken by -himself and Dick, at the hotel. There was a black look on his strong -face and his square jaw was set. - -"I suppose you'll have to walk it off old man," said Dick; "but it seems -to me you are permitting yourself to become altogether too wrought up." - -The Texan stopped, his feet wide apart and his hands on his hips. - -"I certain can't help being some wrought up, partner," he said. "I -reckon you would be in my place." - -"Without doubt. But we are here now, and we'll look after Nadia. Hafsa -Pasha's little scheme of abduction won't go." - -"Sure not; but it wasn't that I was thinking of." - -"It wasn't?" - -"No." - -"Well, then----" - -"Budthorne let the cat out of the bag." - -"I don't understand." - -"He didn't make a clean breast of it when he first told the story. I've -been talking with him since we arrived here at the hotel. I trapped him -by asking questions." - -"Why, what do you mean by saying you trapped him?" - -"Exactly that, pard. You know a funny thing has been running in my head -ever since I trapped him. It's a toast I heard once. This is it: - - "'Here is to the love that lies - In a woman's eyes. - Yes, it lies and lies, - And keeps on lying.'" - -Dick rose instantly and placed a hand on his chum's shoulder. - -"Why, Brad!" he exclaimed, "I never knew you to talk so queerly. What -did Budthorne tell you that set you into such a mood?" - -"You're my friend. I wouldn't talk of it to any one else. You know I was -smitten on Nadia Budthorne." - -"Well?" - -"Of course I was a chump to care for her." - -"Oh, I don't know." - -"Yes, I was. I'm a plain sort of chap, although I'm not half as wild and -woolly as I pretend to be." - -"You don't have to tell me that, old man. I've been able to see under -the surface all along. I think I understand you." - -"You do, Dick, and you're the only one. That's why I swear by you. -That's why I'm ready to back you up in anything you do. There is a bond -of sympathy between us." - -The Texan had dropped his swagger and his Western style of speech. For -the time being his mannerisms fell from him like a discarded garment. - -"Go ahead and tell me what it was that Budthorne said." - -"Why, he let it slip that both he and Nadia were greatly interested in -this fine Turkish gentleman and that he encouraged her interest in him. -In short, she carried on a mild flirtation with Hafsa Pasha, who rather -dazzled her. Of course, I have no claim on her, and I'm too young to -think of such a thing seriously. But she's seventeen, and lots of girls -get married at that age. In this country they marry at ten and eleven." - -"Great Scott! You don't fancy she actually seriously considered marrying -the Turk?" - -"Why, he's a very cultured gentleman. Budthorne said so. He is educated, -and he has traveled extensively. Besides that, he is in the very prime -of life. Such a man might dazzle the eyes of a young girl. There would -be something romantic in a flirtation with him. She would be likely to -dream of the splendor and power that would come to her as the wife of -such a man. Don't call me a fool, Dick! I know! I know!" - -"If you're not foolish, then you are crazy!" - -"Only jealous, Dick. I confess it--I'm jealous! Never felt this way -before. I have an awful feeling down here inside of me. I'd like to kill -somebody!" - -"But she threw Hafsa Pasha down, old man." - -"After Budthorne was told by the captain of the ship that Hafsa Pasha -had a harem in Damascus." - -Merriwell gave a great start. - -"Is that true?" he demanded. - -"Budthorne confessed it." - -"Budthorne's a fool!" - -"Oh, we both knew all the time that he was weak. I think he encouraged -Nadia in her flirtation with the Turk until he obtained that information -from the captain. Then he got his eyes open and forbade her to have -anything to do with the man." - -"Nadia is young, Brad. Her ideas are not formed yet. You mustn't be too -hard on her. Even if she did flirt with the Turk a little, perhaps she -was never serious." - -"Perhaps not, but still I can't help thinking she was. Of course you may -say she had a right to flirt mildly with the man. Perhaps she did. Still -I had exalted her in my own mind. I regarded her as staunch and true. I -thought her far superior to the foolish, frivolous modern girl. She knew -how much I thought of her, and she pretended to care for me. But, like -all of her sex, out of sight, out of mind. I was far away. Hafsa Pasha, -the handsome Turk, was near. He quoted poetry to her. She listened and -was enchanted. She forgot me. They all do. Dick, you're the only human -being I ever knew who was staunch as the rock-ribbed hills. You never -change, no matter what happens. All others are weak and vacillating. My -confidence in human nature is pretty well shattered." - -"Oh, rats!" cried Dick. "Don't get cynical, Brad! It doesn't become you -at all. You're naturally the most optimistical chap in the world." - -"What do you think I'm going to do?" harshly demanded the Texan. "Think -I can ever feel the same toward that girl? Not much! If she hadn't -learned that her old Turk was married, I'd be in the soup now. He's -married, and so I'm good enough for her until she finds some chap she -likes better. I tell you it's all off, Dick! I throw up the sponge! I -quit!" - -"I think this climate has got your liver out of condition," said -Merriwell. "What you need is a tonic. You'll feel differently about this -to-morrow." - -"Not to-morrow, nor the next day, nor ever!" declared Brad. "Miss -Budthorne will find that I'm no chump to play second fiddle. Don't you -dare laugh at me, Richard Merriwell! I'm in deadly earnest!" - -Dick did not laugh then, but he found an opportunity when Buckhart was -not present. - -However, Buckhart was far more serious than his comrade imagined. - -During the remainder of that day Brad wore a heavy grouch. He kept much -by himself and avoided Nadia, much to her perplexity. Finally her pride -was touched, and she made no further effort to speak with him or to see -him. - -Never had Dick seen his friend in such a mood. In vain he tried to jolly -the Texan and cheer him up. A profound cloud of gloom overhung the -sturdy chap from the Rio Pecos country. - -All were more or less weary, and so they willingly rested through the -day. - -When evening came Dunbar Budthorne proposed that they should attend the -one theatre of the city, which was located on the principal square, -within a short distance of the hotel. - -"What sort of a performance is given there?" questioned Dick. - -"Oh, vaudeville, tumbling, fencing, juggling, acrobatic stunts, and so -forth. It's rather dull as a performance, but it will serve to pass the -time away." - -"Is it a suitable place for your sister to visit?" - -"Well, I don't know about that. I hear the men smoke until you may cut -the atmosphere into chunks with a knife. The theatre is a rickety old -shanty, and none too clean. We might leave Nadia here in the hotel." - -"Don't do that!" she entreated. "Don't leave me alone in this city. I'm -afraid to be left alone, after what has happened." - -"Hum! ha!" coughed Professor Gunn. "I think we will omit the theatre. -Evidently it is a low resort. I decline to permit the boys to visit it." - -And, although they chaffed him about it, the old man was rigid in his -decision, which finally settled it, and they did not attend the theatre -in Damascus. - -The following morning, however, they prepared to start out to look the -city over. When they were ready to leave the hotel it was found that -Buckhart had vanished. - -On inquiry they learned that he had set out by himself, leaving word for -them not to bother about him. - -Nadia pouted and looked greatly disappointed. - -"What is the matter with him?" she asked. "I think he's just as mean as -can be! What makes him act so queer?" - -She pinned Dick down and put the question to him, not a little to his -dismay. He could not tell the truth, and he would not lie. - -"I'll have to let him explain his own actions," he said, seeking to find -a loophole of escape. - -"But you know why he is so peculiar--I know you do! You can't deny it!" - -"I won't try." - -"Then you must tell me. I insist on it." - -"Please don't, Nadia! It will be all right in time, but I prefer to let -him explain." - -After a while he induced her to drop the subject temporarily although he -knew she would return to it at the first opportunity and seek, with all -the intensity of her feminine curiosity, than which there is nothing -more acute and prying, to compel him to divulge the truth. - -Arouse the curiosity of a girl and she will strain every nerve to learn -a secret, even though she knows the knowledge will make her most -miserable. The only way to keep a secret from a girl is not to let her -suspect a secret exists. - -They left the hotel and proceeded to the public square, which is located -near the centre of the city. This square proved to be a large, open -place, where at that hour throngs of people of all nationalities and -colors were assembling. The square was a sort of public market. In the -centre was a fountain and monument. - -All around the sides of the square were the little booths and stands of -itinerant merchants, the most of them with their goods spread out on the -ground before them, and arranged in the most inviting manner their -ingenuity could devise. - -There were many professional letter writers, each one sitting at a desk -under awnings of canvas or straw. They did not sit on chairs, but flat -on the ground, with their legs crossed. They were supplied with wooden -or reed pens. Their ink they carried in inkhorns. - -Many of these letter writers were busy. Some were writing business -communications, some were drawing up contracts or making out legal -papers, while one, with a veiled woman sitting near him, was writing a -love letter, recording the words whispered to him by the lips hidden -behind the veil. - -Within the square were carts, camels, saddle horses, carriages, and -donkeys, all there to be hired. - -Men were wandering about, sometimes in pairs and holding hands. This, -Budthorne explained, was a common sight, it being an evidence of -affection that was thought quite natural in Damascus. - -Adjoining the square were several coffee shops, where Turkish men could -be seen sitting round, smoking hookahs, sipping coffee, and playing -checkers, chess, dominoes, and so forth. They wore long, calico gowns, -and their heads were swathed in turbans. - -"Look here," said Dick, motioning toward some passing camels. "See how -oddly their owners decorate the beasts. They have strings of blue beads -round their necks." - -"You'll see that everywhere, on camels, horses, and donkeys," declared -Budthorne. "Those strings of beads are charms to ward off the influence -of the evil eye." - -A strange sound smote their ears. It came from the open door of a little -shop, and it made them shiver, for it was a sort of doleful wail and -chant combined. - -"Some one must be dying in there!" exclaimed Dick. - -They looked in at the door. A young man was sitting cross-legged on the -floor, busy at some sort of work. - -He was singing! - -Despite the distressing sounds he was emitting, this young man was very -happy. - -He was singing a love song! - -The sound of clanging, clanking, and banging, as of many persons -pounding tin pans and washboilers, came to their ears. A few moments -later they found themselves at the beginning of the bazaars of the city. -The sounds they had heard came from the coppersmith's street, where -hundreds of skillful laborers were at work on brass, beating and molding -it in to all sorts of shapes. They were making bowls, trays, and dishes, -such as may be seen on sale in any genuine Oriental store. - -It was very interesting to watch these laborers, and their skill was -something to marvel at. - -They wandered on through bazaar after bazaar, their interest and -wonderment increasing. - -One bazaar was filled with pipes and smoking paraphernalia of every -description. There were pipes mounted with gold and silver, and some -were decorated with precious stones. - -Then came the leather shops, the cloth store, the curio shops, the place -of odd and ancient weapons, the goldsmith's bazaar, and, most -fascinating of all, the Street of the Greeks. In the latter place were -to be seen all sorts of Oriental articles and ornaments, embroideries, -rugs, carpets, silks, clothing, armors, weapons, pipes, gems, coins, -fezzes. - -They were besieged by Armenians, Greeks, and Jews, all anxious and eager -to sell them goods. Only the Turks sat back in dignified silence and -declined to solicit trade. Some of the dealers were offensive in their -insistence. They pulled Nadia and held articles before her for -inspection, dilating on the merits of the goods. They named prices and -then asked for offers. - -Budthorne became confused and Professor Gunn grew angry. Dick was -compelled to look after Nadia. She clung to his arm. - -In this manner they came face to face with Brad Buckhart, who was -wandering through the bazaars alone. - -Nadia gave a little cry. - -"There's Brad!" - -He turned like a flash and disappeared amid a mass of people who were -crowding before one of the booths. - -"Oh, Brad!" called Dick. - -"Why, what made him do that?" exclaimed the girl, in dismay. - -Merriwell was provoked. - -"Come!" he urged. "He can't get away. We'll find him." - -They hurried after the Texan. Dick caught a glimpse of him leaving the -bazaars. Nadia was still clinging to Dick's arm. - -At the beginning of a narrow street Buckhart paused and glanced back, -then he turned and disappeared down the street. - -Never had Dick known his friend to behave in such a perplexing manner. - -"I'll shake some of the foolishness out of him if I ever get my hands on -him," Merriwell mentally vowed. - -Thinking they would have no trouble in returning to the bazaars and -finding the professor and Dunbar, they hastened down the narrow street. - -Turning a corner, they came against a caravan of loaded camels in a most -sudden and startling manner. It was necessary to hug the wall in order -to let the animals and their drivers pass. - -There were many dogs in the streets. These animals prowled about or -slept serenely beneath the feet of pedestrians, who were careful to step -over them or to turn out and go round without disturbing them. - -As in Constantinople, the dogs were the street cleaners, and no one -harmed them. - -After following the crooked street some distance and failing to again -catch a glimpse of Buckhart, Dick decided they had better turn back. - -"I don't know how we could have missed him," he said. - -"He may have turned onto another street." - -"I saw no other street." - -"I did." - -Retracing their steps, they came upon a street that was like a choked -alley. Nadia believed they could return to the bazaars more quickly by -taking it. - -But when they had followed it into still another street, and turned from -this into yet another, she confessed that she was bewildered and knew -not which course should be pursued. - -Then Dick set out to make his way back as quickly as possible, the girl -relying wholly on his judgment. They seemed entangled in a network of -very crooked and very bewildering streets. - -Again they were suddenly confronted by a number of loaded camels. The -one in advance was heavily loaded, his pack being so broad that it -nearly touched the walls on either side. The beast came swinging on. - -Nadia uttered a cry of alarm and turned to run. She fled up some steps -and disappeared within an open doorway. - -Dick gave a gasp of dismay as he followed her, for he saw she had -entered a Moslem temple, and he knew such an intrusion might produce an -uproar. - -He sprang up the steps. Even as he did so, he heard sudden shouts of -alarm and anger coming from within the temple. - -Then Nadia reappeared, looking rather startled and agitated. - -"Goodness!" she gasped. "I almost ran right onto a lot of monks at their -devotions!" - -The camels were swinging past. - -"We must get away from here in a hurry!" exclaimed Dick. - -Even as he uttered the words several priests came hurrying to the open -door of the temple. They saw Nadia. One of them pointed at her and -shouted to his companions. Then the whole of them moved again, as if -eager to lay hands on her. - -"Here's trouble!" muttered Dick, feeling for his pistol. - -"Don't let them touch me!" gasped Nadia. - -The head priest called to some of the men of the train that was passing. -Several of these men, swarthy and villainous in appearance, halted in -answer to this call. The words of the priest seemed to arouse them. They -glared at the girl and started to mount the steps. - -Out flashed Merriwell's pistol. - -"Hold on, you dogs!" he commanded, displaying the weapon. "Stop where -you are! Back up, or I'll have to damage some of you!" - -The sight of that pistol caused the foremost among them to retreat -precipitately. - -But Dick and Nadia were caught between two fires, as it were. The angry -priests were behind them, while a number of savage men were in front. - -The American boy knew he must lose not a moment in changing his -position. - -Grasping Nadia's wrist, he hurried down the steps and attempted to flee -along the street. - -Another shout from the priests caused several of the fierce-looking men -to place themselves before Dick and the girl. Although Merriwell -threatened to shoot, they would not let him pass. - -Merriwell looked round for some place where he could hold off the -fanatical Moslems. He was forced to retreat against the nearest wall. - -Supporting Nadia with one arm, he lifted his pistol and fearlessly faced -the howling crowd, which now began to close about them in a half circle, -urged on by the priests. - -"Death to the infidels!" howled the crowd. - -They shook their fists at the boy and girl. Those behind tried to urge -on those in advance. One old Turk spat at Dick. - -Young Merriwell realized the seriousness of his position. He was pale, -but his nerves remained steady and unshaken. - -"Come on!" he cried clearly. "I'll fill some of you with lead!" - -Suddenly the crowd parted. A man forced his way through, pushing other -men to the right and left. As he advanced he drew a gleaming sword, the -hilt of which was set with jewels. - -The crowd seemed to think this man, who was an Arab of rank and -distinction, judging by his dress, meant to attack the boy, and they -uttered shouts of approval, urging him to run the "infidel dog" through. - -Dick had turned his pistol on the man with the sword, but he hesitated. - -"It is Ras al Had!" he exclaimed, in surprise. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--A MAN OF COMMAND - - -It was in truth the sheik who had been struck by the train the previous -day. - -The Arab turned and faced the howling mob, flourishing his shining -sword. - -"Destroy the infidel who has defiled the holy temple of the Prophet!" -snarled one of the infuriated Mohammedans. - -"By the grave of my father," cried the sheik, "I swear to slay the first -who tries to touch her!" - -They were astounded, and as he swept his sword with a hissing sound -beneath their noses they involuntarily fell back. - -One of the priests called to the sheik, demanding to know why he -defended the infidels. - -The aged Arab retorted that he had a most excellent reason, and that he -would lay down his life rather than see either the girl or boy harmed. - -He did more than that, for he called several of the mob by name, -commanding them to move on and give the strangers permission to depart -in peace. - -One of the priests attempted to expostulate, explaining that the girl -had entered the temple, thus committing an offense that could be atoned -for by blood alone. - -Then Ras al Had retorted that the girl had been alarmed by the camels of -his train and had fled into the temple to escape from them. He further -added that infidels were sometimes permitted to visit the temple, -escorted by a military guard. In conclusion he stated that he was -indebted for his very life to the boy who stood ready to defend the -maiden, and, therefore, he was willing to surrender his life in behalf -of the lad. - -They realized that he was in earnest, and those whom he had called by -name and ordered to depart began to slip away. - -He then singled out three or four of his own camel drivers, who had -dropped back to see what all the uproar was about, and called them to -his side. - -"Boy," he said, addressing Dick, "I will see that no harm comes to you -or to the girl. Trust me." - -"Thank you," said Dick gratefully. "I think you took a hand just in time -to prevent those wolves from tearing us to pieces." - -"Without doubt you would have met serious injury at their hands. These -men are my paid servants. We will escort you and protect you. Fear not." - -The camel drivers gathered about Dick and Nadia. Ras al Had placed -himself at their head and ordered them to march. - -Flinging his hands in the air, one of the priests stood firmly in the -path, refusing to move. - -The eyes of Ras al Had shone strangely. He stepped close to the priest, -called him by name, and spoke in a low tone. - -"It was thy brother whom I delivered from slavery in Nubia," he said. -"Then thou didst fall on my neck and weep and swear by the Prophet that -whatever I should ask of thee at any time thou wouldst grant. Hast -forgotten?" - -"It is true, noble sheik," confessed the priest; "but tell me hast thou -forgotten thy religion that thou canst defend an infidel who has defiled -the temple of Mohammed?" - -"Ras al Had never forgets. These infidels are mighty and powerful, and -should harm come to them through thee, then thou wilt be forced to make -reparation in the dust. For thy own good, stand aside and let them -pass." - -There seemed to be great command in the dark eyes of the swarthy man, -and those eyes were fixed on the priest with burning insistence. - -The priest hesitated a moment longer, and then, bowing low with dismay -and regret he could not utter, he stood aside. - -Ras al Had marched on, his servants following, still with Dick and Nadia -in their midst. - -They reached the camel train. Behind them the mob had melted away. The -danger was past. - -"Dick," said Nadia, pressing Merriwell's arm, "I think that old man is -just splendid! I never dreamed a black man could be so fine!" - -Ras al Had turned to them. - -"Boy," he spoke, "it has been truly said that Ras al Had is one who -never forgets a debt. Yet when I gave you my word to defend you with my -sword and life should the time ever come that I found you in peril, I -little thought to what it would bring me. Still I have canceled the -debt, and I feel that I owe you nothing." - -"You're all right, sheik!" exclaimed the boy enthusiastically. "I don't -know how we are going to thank you for----" - -Ras al Had checked him with a gesture. - -"I want no thanks. Let me caution you against wandering about Damascus -without escort or protection. It is a great folly. Where are your -friends?" - -Dick explained how it happened that he and Nadia had been caught in such -a predicament. - -The sheik gazed attentively at the girl and then shook his head soberly. - -"A maid so beautiful is in great danger here, unless she be well -protected. She might disappear suddenly, and years of searching might -not disclose her fate. There are men in Damascus who could not look on -her without coveting possession of her. How simple it would be for one -of these buildings to swallow you both! You, boy, would meet a swift -death, and your body would be so completely destroyed that no trace of -it could ever be found. There are prisons in the city where dwell -beautiful maidens like her, given every luxury save liberty. Once they -have passed within the prison doors they may never again come forth." - -Nadia shuddered and clung to Dick's arm. - -"I have heard of such things," she said; "but I supposed the custom had -been abolished." - -"This day," said Ras al Had, "a friend of mine from the interior has -arrived with many beautiful girls, the most of them Circassians. I spoke -with him as I was entering the city. He will take them to a certain -house, the location of which I know, and there they will be attended by -hairdressers and dressmakers, who will do everything possible to add to -their attractiveness. When they are prepared for inspection, certain -rich men will visit them and choose from among them, paying the price -demanded, after which no other man save their masters will ever look on -their faces." - -"Perfectly dreadful!" gasped Nadia. "It makes me shiver to think what -would have happened had Hafsa Pasha been able to hoodwink me and my -brother." - -The sheik gave her a swift, keen look. - -"Hafsa Pasha?" he said, a strange intonation in his voice. "How know you -that man?" - -"I met him on the steamer from Smyrna to Beirut." - -"What happened?" - -Nadia was confused. - -"Why, he--he----" - -"He made love to her," Dick explained. "He asked her to marry him." - -"You knew him to be a Moslem?" - -"I knew nothing at the time save what he told me of himself," answered -the girl. "The captain of the vessel told me that he had been banished -to Damascus by the sultan on account of some political intrigue, and -that he had a harem." - -Ras al Had bowed. - -"It is true. I know that man--I know him well! He takes good care to -avoid me. I was told by my friend, who had brought the girls from the -interior, that there was among them one very beautiful maiden whom he -hoped to sell to Hafsa Pasha for a handsome price." - -Nadia shivered again. - -"To think that I could even talk with a monster who buys human beings -like cattle!" she exclaimed. - -"I have contemplated seeking the opportunity to meet Hafsa Pasha when he -comes for the Circassian maiden," said the sheik. "It is possible that I -may be there." - -"It seems to me," observed Dick, "that you have no particularly friendly -feeling toward Mr. Hafsa." - -"I have no reason to feel kindly toward him," confessed the Arab, in a -tone of much bitterness. "He once did my younger brother a great wrong. -It has been truly said that Ras al Had never forgets, and this wrong he -remembers. Some day Hafsa Pasha shall suffer for it, even as he caused -my brother to suffer." - -"I don't like to be inquisitive," said Dick; "but my curiosity is -aroused, and I wonder how he wronged your brother." - -"My brother sold him a cargo of fine rugs, silks, and many precious -stones. Hafsa Pasha is no true Mohammedan. He has lived much in the -Western countries. Otherwise he would not have denied the price he owed -for the goods he had received. He was powerful in a way, and my brother -disappeared. I demanded of Hafsa Pasha what had become of my brother, -but he swore he knew not. More than a year later I found my brother, a -slave and dying far beyond Bagdad, even near to Yezd, which is in the -Great Salt Desert. With his last words my brother declared that he -believed he was carried into slavery through the plotting and command of -Hafsa Pasha, who sought thus to get him out of the way. Thus, you see, -Hafsa Pasha escaped payment of the just debt he owed. There was no real -proof, but I am satisfied that my brother was right. I have sought -diligently to obtain the proof, that I might bring Hafsa Pasha to -justice. Even though I have failed in my efforts, never once have I -faltered in my resolve to bring punishment on the evildoer." - -There was a sort of grim earnestness and intensity in the quiet words of -the old sheik, and Dick felt that Hafsa Pasha had made a very bitter and -dangerous enemy. - -"Well, I hope you corner the old rascal in the end," said the boy. "But -we must get back to the bazaars. Dunbar and the professor will be -tearing the city up in search of us." - -"I will send an escort with you," said Ras al Had. "Remember my words of -warning and be cautious. We may never meet again, but I feel that I have -canceled my debt to you, even as I shall some day make settlement with -Hafsa Pasha." - -Ras al Had called four sturdy black men and bade them escort the boy and -girl back to the bazaars and from thence to their hotel, in case they -wished it. - -Then he bade Dick and Nadia a dignified farewell. - -The escort were four villainous-looking black rascals, and Nadia was -afraid of them; but Dick tried to reassure her, declaring that the -servants of Ras al Had were to be trusted, no matter how untrustworthy -they looked. - -Here and there through the crooked, winding streets they made their way. -To Dick it seemed that they had covered a far greater distance than was -necessary in order to return directly to the bazaars; but he fancied the -black men were taking them by a round-about course in order to avoid the -vicinity of the temple where the trouble had taken place. - -As they proceeded they were joined by a crooked, wizened old Turk, who -seemed to know the black men. He spoke to them one by one, but not a -word that he said reached the ears of the boy and girl. - -Nadia shrank close to Dick, and the hand that clung to his arm trembled -a little. - -"I don't like that man," she whispered. "Did you see how he looked at -me? I wish we were by ourselves. We do not need an escort." - -Merriwell tried to reassure her, but he was not entirely easy in his -mind. - -Finally he spoke to one of the black men, asking why it took so long to -reach the bazaars. - -The fellow made some sort of an explanation in broken English, but -scarcely a word of it could Dick understand. - -By this time they were in a quarter of the city that added to the -apprehension of the American boy. The people they passed stared at them -in a manner that was decidedly disagreeable, to say the least, and many -made remarks that were plainly of an insulting nature. - -Finally Dick stopped. - -"Look here," he said; "we will go it alone the rest of the way. We are -much obliged for your kindness, but we don't need you any more." - -Then the old Turk approached him and mildly but firmly insisted that it -would be quite suicidal to dismiss the escort in such a manner and in -such a quarter of the city. - -"When did you get into this game?" demanded the boy, somewhat warmly. -"It doesn't strike me that you have anything to say about it." - -Then the crooked old fellow protested that he was a friend to Ras al Had -and was working entirely in the interest of the sheik. - -Dick's suspicions were redoubled, instead of allayed. - -"That may be true," he said; "but we don't propose to trouble Ras al -Had's friends any more. Take the whole bunch and go." - -"And never again have the courage to look the great sheik in the face?" -said the Turk. "No; not until I know you are safe with your friends will -I abandon you." - -Dick turned to one of the black men, who seemed to be something of a -leader. - -"Say, you," he exclaimed, "I want you to shake yourself and get out of -this right away! Understand? Take this befezzed old relic with you, too. -Git!" - -The man shook his head and held up his hands as if he did not -understand. - -Nadia's alarm had increased. She saw that Dick was rapidly becoming very -angry, and she urged him to hold his temper. - -"I'll travel no farther with these men!" declared the determined boy. - -The Turk said something to the black men, and they began to crowd about -Dick and the girl. - -Seeing this, the boy reached for his pistol. - -Before he could draw the weapon, however, he was seized by the throat by -a huge pair of hands, the owner of which was behind him. Another of the -black rascals clutched his arm and prevented him from producing the -weapon. - -The hands which clasped the boy's neck were very powerful, and the -massive fingers shut off his wind in a moment. The pressure thus exerted -seemed crushing flesh and bone. - -He exerted all his strength in the effort to break away, but realized -that he had very little chance to succeed. - -Through a haze he saw Nadia struggling weakly in the grip of the crooked -Turk and one of the black men. There was a sudden roaring in his ears, -but through it came a sharp sound that he knew was a scream from the -lips of the unfortunate girl. - -A feeling of desperate fury shot through his heart. The very fact that -he felt himself impotent to aid Nadia thrilled him with a horrible -madness. He remembered the warning words of Ras al Had. - -But had the old sheik been sincere? Many a time he had heard that no -Moslem ever felt himself bound in honor to an infidel. In fact, to -deceive and betray an infidel was regarded as a commendable and -praiseworthy proceeding. - -Had not Ras al Had played a crafty game from the start? It was truly -surprising that the sheik had dared array himself against the priests -before the temple. Had he not done so in order to deceive and betray the -infidels more completely? Was it not possible the old scoundrel had -realized that any harm befalling the boy and girl in the vicinity of the -bazaars might bring swift retribution on the offenders, for which reason -he had entered into the affair, held the mob in check for the time -being, finally to decoy the victims into a part of the city where they -could be murdered with very little chance that the crime would ever be -punished? - -This hazy thought caused young Merriwell to twist and squirm in the -clutch of those iron hands, making a last deranged effort to free -himself that he might fight for her. - -His senses reeled and a black cloud, riven by flashes of lightning, -descended upon him. He knew he was losing consciousness. Heavy bells -rang in his ears. Somewhere in the distance cannon boomed. Then these -sounds died away. The harsh bells and booming cannon were silenced by an -organ peal. The music thrilled through him. It sank to a soft, throbbing -strain and then receded into the distance, growing fainter and fainter. -Peace fell on him. He struggled no more. - -Was it death? - - - - -CHAPTER XII--BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH - - -Dick's next sensation was that of an acute pain that shot through every -limb and every part of his body. On his chest there seemed a terrible -weight that was smothering him, while his head was being crushed by an -iron band. He was choking; his neck gave him the most exquisite agony. -Far away he seemed to hear the babble of mocking voices. Some one was -laughing at him; there were many of them. - -In spite of the terrible pains he felt, every limb seemed numb and -helpless. He had not strength nor power of will. A husky groan came from -his lips, which were purple and tinged with blood. That sound called -forth another burst of mocking laughter. - -He opened his eyes. At first he could see nothing, for the bright sun of -the Orient was shining full upon him. - -He knew not what had happened. - -After a bit he began to realize that he was lying flat on his back in a -narrow street, while around him at a little distance were standing many -strange men. They were gazing at him in contempt and laughing at his -misery. To him in his agony their faces seemed the faces of fiends. - -A feeling of resentment and anger lay hold upon him. It infuriated him -because they could stand about and mock him in his wretchedness. - -"You dog!" he tried to cry; but the hissing gasp that came from his lips -was inarticulate. - -One of the crowd stepped out and poked the boy with his foot. Then he -lifted his hand to his mouth and threw back his head, as if drinking, -after which he made a few staggering steps. - -The crowd roared with laughter. - -For all of his condition, Dick understood that pantomime. The crowd -thought him drunk. - -But what had happened to him? Why was he lying there in that wretched -street, with the fierce sun beating on him? - -He closed his eyes and tried to remember what had taken place. His -effort carried him back to Fardale. For the time being he fancied he had -been engaged in a desperate game of football, and in the fearful -line-bucking clash he had been injured. That was it. He was lying on the -football field. The narrow street, the queer, gray houses, and the -mocking fiends who laughed at his misery were the hallucinations of his -shocked brain. - -What were the boys doing? Had they checked the charge of the enemy? -Perhaps they had the ball! Possibly some one of them had carried it over -the enemy's line for a touchdown, and so, in the excitement of victory, -their injured captain had been forgotten. - -"Rah! rah! rah! Fardale!" - -He tried to cheer. It was the duty of a true son of old Fardale to cheer -as long as the breath of life remained in his body. - -Once more that sound of mocking laughter reached him. Again he opened -his eyes. - -He saw no comrades in red and black. He saw no stand packed with -cheering cadets. Again he beheld the gray buildings of the dirty street. -Again he saw those leering faces and grinning mouths all around him. - -"It's a nightmare!" he whispered. "I must break the spell! I must move!" - -He made a mighty effort, and, in spite of the pain, rolled over on his -side. - -The old man came up and kicked him back into his former position. - -"Wait!" thought the boy--"wait till I get up, you dirty wretch! You'll -not wipe your feet on me after that!" - -One of the crowd spat at him and called him a filthy infidel. - -"I'll try to remember you, also!" said Dick to himself. - -Weakly he lifted his hands to his neck. It was paining him frightfully, -and he seemed to feel marks upon it, as if something had left indelible -prints in the flesh. - -"I'm not in Fardale," he thought. "I'm somewhere--somewhere--somewhere -far away. Where am I? and how did I get here?" - -The pressure on his head prevented him from thinking. He felt to see if -an iron band were truly crushing his skull. - -He could find nothing of the sort. - -"I must get up! I must! I will!" - -They laughed and called to him as he lifted himself little by little to -his elbow. At last, with his hands on the ground and his body lurched to -one side, like a man wounded unto death, he paused, breathing with a -horrible, whistling sound. - -"Strength--I must have strength!" he thought. "If I give up the least -bit, I'll drop back here and never rise again." - -So he waited until a little more strength came to him. He seemed to -summon it by his indomitable and unyielding will. - -He heard the rabble chattering about him, but he no longer heeded them. - -"The ocean liner--England--Italy--Constantinople!" He was beginning to -remember. - -"Where is Brad? Where is the professor?" - -He straightened up, in spite of all the pain it cost him. He shifted -until he was on his hands and knees. - -The old man, grinning maliciously, again hastened forward and lifted his -foot, intending to kick the boy over. - -"Stay!" - -It was a single word of command, but it was spoken in a tone that caused -the man to pause. - -Through the crowd strode a man with a dark face and a black beard that -was threaded with gray. He was dressed in garments that seemed to -proclaim him a person of more than common rank. He advanced and bent -over the lad, whom he lifted to a standing position, supporting him with -one arm. - -"Boy," he demanded, "what does it mean? Tell me what has happened to -thee and to the beautiful maiden." - -"The--the beautiful maiden?" muttered Dick. "You mean--you mean--Nadia?" - -Then he remembered, and the shock caused him to straighten up stiffly. -He turned and looked into the face of Ras al Had. - -"You--you treacherous snake!" he panted. - -With all the strength he could summon, he struck the old sheik in the -face. - -The mob gasped, and then it howled. It pressed forward, seeking to lay -hands on the tottering boy who had dared strike one of the true faith. - -Again Ras al Had drew his sword. Some of them expected to see him run -the infidel through the body. Instead of that, he drove them back. - -"Keep thy hands off him!" commanded the sheik. "Leave him to me!" - -Once more he clutched the lad, who was swaying and apparently ready to -fall. - -"Don't touch me, you traitor!" gasped Merriwell. "I wish I had left you -to die beside the railroad, instead of pumping the breath of life back -into your miserable, old carcass!" - -"You are mad, boy." - -"That's right, I am!" - -"Tell me what happened?" - -"You know!" - -"By the beard of the Prophet, I swear I do not know." - -"It is no sin to lie to an infidel!" - -"Ras al Had never lied to any man." - -"You do not know what happened? Well, we were betrayed by those black -dogs you sent to escort us. We were led here. I was choked into -unconsciousness. What has become of Nadia I cannot tell." - -A strange and terrible look came to the face of the old Arab. His eyes -glittered with a deadly light. - -"Do you swear that my men did this?" - -"Yes." - -"Then to you I swear that each and every one of them shall pay the -penalty of their treachery with his life! That is the oath of Ras al -Had! Do you hear me!" - -"I hear, but----" - -"You shall see that I keep it. Trust me again. With a word I might have -set these men upon you to beat the life from your weak body. Why did I -not speak that word?" - -"I don't know," confessed Dick, "unless it was in order that you might -have the satisfaction of deceiving me and betraying me again." - -"If I leave you now, they will fall on you. I will remain by you and -take you to a place of safety. I will prove to you that I am honest. -More than that, I will find the maiden and restore her to you." - -"Can--can you do it?" - -"I have given my pledge. Lean on my arm. No one will place the weight of -a finger on you while you are with me." - -They walked away, the old sheik supporting the boy and questioning him. -Dick related everything that had taken place. As well as possible he -described the appearance of the old Turk who had joined the escort sent -by Ras al Had to conduct the boy and girl back to their friends. - -"I think I know the man," nodded the sheik. "I am sure I know him." - -"But your servants--you can force the truth from them." - -"I doubt if I behold any one of them for many days to come. Without -doubt they were well paid for what they did, and they will endeavor to -keep beyond my reach, for they know the meaning of my wrath. Yet they -shall not escape me in the end." - -"But it is the girl--it is poor Nadia I am thinking of!" groaned Dick. -"She may be dragged into a harem." - -"Has she friends of influence in your country?" - -"Yes. She----" - -"You must appeal to the American consul. In the meantime I will be at -work. Hast forgotten that she fell beneath the covetous eye of Hafsa -Pasha?" - -"No! I believe that wretch is behind this dirty piece of work! If so, -I'll have his life!" - -"It is not likely she will be taken into a harem until the man who -caused her capture learns what is going to be done about it. She will be -kept somewhere for the time being. If you have influence enough to -create a great disturbance about it, some day she will be set free in -some remote part of the city. It will be claimed that she was captured -and held for ransom by brigands. You know such a thing has happened to -some of your American missionaries. If her disappearance causes no great -disturbance, then the man into whose power she has fallen may add her to -his harem. For a few days, however, I believe she is safe. For her -captors will not dare injure her." - -To a slight degree these words relieved Dick. Of course he was still -greatly distressed over what had happened to Nadia; but if she was not -immediately dragged into a harem, there might be plenty of opportunity -to frustrate any designs upon her. - -Dick's brain was growing clearer and his body stronger. He no longer -believed that Ras al Had was concerned in bringing about the misfortune -that had befallen Nadia. - -"Forgive me, sheik, for striking you as I did," he entreated. "I ask -your pardon in all humbleness. I was infuriated with the conviction that -you had betrayed us." - -"Say no more of that. I should have accompanied you, for then no harm -would have befallen you. I feel that I am responsible; and, feeling -thus, I shall leave no stone unturned to aid you. This way, we will find -a conveyance at the corner. When you have reached your friends, lose no -time in laying the case before your consul. He will know the best course -to pursue; but meanwhile Ras al Had will be working faithfully for you." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--INWARD TORTURE - - -Alone, Brad Buckhart returned to the hotel. He realized that he had -acted in a ridiculous manner in avoiding his friends and running away -from Dick and Nadia on the streets, but his feeling of shame for such -folly was smothered by one of resentment and jealousy. - -"I thought her different from other girls," he muttered, as he paced the -floor of his room; "but she's just like them all--false, fickle, and -giddy. She pretended to like me, but out of sight is out of mind with -her. She flirted with that confounded Turk--yes, she did! That's what -got her into trouble. Her brother is just as foolish as she is. He -encouraged her. I suppose they think me nothing but a rough Texan, good -enough to fight for them and get them out of their troubles, but not -good for anything else. Well, if I take a fancy, I can show them I'm not -half as rough as they think. - -"I imagine I can make a respectable appearance in refined society if I -choose to try. Perhaps my family is just as good as the Budthornes. I'd -rather confess to hailing from Texas than to admit that I was from -Chicago. Chicago! Why, a decent white man will turn to a smoked ham in -that town in less than three days! As for wild and woolly places, I -declare Chicago lays way over Texas. A man is liable to be held up -anywhere in Chicago in broad daylight. If he's sandbagged and robbed, -and makes a complaint to the police, he stands a fine prospect of being -locked up as a vagrant. No one from Chicago can get chesty with me." - -He was perfectly serious, little realizing the humor of his observations -and attitude. Although naturally broad-minded and manly, he had been -"rubbed the wrong way of the fur" by Nadia's action, and, for the time, -at least, he was almost childish in his resentment. - -The fact that he had this weakness, however, made his other manly -qualities stand out even more clearly. - -"I'll show her how much I care!" he continued. "I'll just hold my head -up and keep out of her way. Let her go it! Let her flirt with Turks! If -she does, she'll be sorry!" - -He paused. The picture of Nadia making eyes at a handsome Turkish -gentleman rose before him. He fancied he was willing she should do -anything she wished, but now, all at once, he realized that she could -hurt him very much in case she disdained him and turned her attention in -other directions. - -He had been bluffing when he ran away from her, and he knew it now. As a -rule he was able and willing to back up any bluff he made, but now his -reason told him he would weaken immediately in case this bluff was -called. - -What if Nadia became offended by his ungentlemanly behavior in running -away from her when she called to him and tried to overtake him? What if -that one bad break of his should cause her in future to regard him with -indifference or aversion? - -"Oh, ginger!" he exclaimed. "I couldn't stand that! It would drive me to -suicide! I'm a chump, and I can't help it! Dick is with her. Perhaps -she'll get smitten on him!" - -This thought added to his agitation. - -"How can she help it?" he muttered, again fiercely pacing the floor. -"Dick is the sort of fellow all the girls care for. He's far superior to -me, and I don't see how she came to be interested the least bit in me in -the first place. Of course, there is June Arlington and Doris -Templeton--but they're on the other side of the Atlantic, and I don't -believe there ever yet was a pretty girl who did not believe she could -cut out another girl if she really tried. - -"Perhaps that's what Nadia is trying to do! Perhaps she's playing a -clever game by pretending to have any interest in me and seeming -indifferent to Dick. A girl best attracts a fellow by seeming -indifferent to him. The girl who pursues a chap is bound to lose him, -nine times out of ten. It's the fellow who wants to do the pursuing. He -loves the chase and the zest of it. Some girls know this, and they play -the timid deer to perfection. Nadia Budthorne is right clever, and I'll -wager something this little game is no secret to her. - -"I've hit it at last! I've known all along that she really cared for -Dick, and now I've been fool enough to help her in her play. Say, I -ought to be shot! I know Dick is on the level, but how is he going to -resist a clever girl like her? He might, if June Arlington were near; -but June is far away, and, in my estimation, Nadia lays away over June -any old time. Oh, you poor fool!" - -He clenched his fist and struck himself on the side of the head. - -Thus it happened that Professor Gunn and Dunbar Budthorne found the -Texan in anything but a happy frame of mind when they returned to the -hotel. - -They were agitated over the disappearance of Dick and Nadia, for whom -they had searched and inquired ere leaving the bazaars. When they did -return to the hotel it was with the expectation and hope that they might -find the boy and girl there. - -"They will turn up all right," declared Brad. "Dick will take care of -her, never fear." - -And now for the first time in his life he grew violently jealous of his -bosom comrade. - -"If he plays me double I'll never again have the least confidence in -human nature!" he mentally cried. - -But when an hour passed and the missing boy and girl failed to return to -the hotel Buckhart began to share the alarm of the professor and -Budthorne. - -"If anything happens to that boy I'll never forgive myself!" said the -old pedagogue. - -"We must look for them," said Dunbar. "You know what took place at the -railway station. What if some of Hafsa Pasha's tools found Dick and -Nadia alone and unprotected?" - -Suddenly Brad Buckhart reassumed his Western manners. - -"Whoop!" he cried. "Let's amble forth on the warpath! Let's take to the -trail and go out for scalps! I'm ready, and you know I can scrap some, -if I don't shine resplendent at a soiree. I'm in right good humor for a -scrimmage." - -Together they left the hotel and started to return to the bazaar; but -they had not proceeded far when they were stopped by the appearance of -an open carriage, in which were Dick and Ras al Had. - -Dick called to them, and the carriage stopped. Young Merriwell sprang -down. - -Budthorne, pale and shaking with apprehension, rushed forward and -clutched him, demanding to know what had become of Nadia. - -Dick told the whole story in as few words as possible. - -As he listened Brad Buckhart grew ashen. He realized that Dick and Nadia -had become separated from the professor and Budthorne through their -efforts to follow and overtake him. By running away in such a childish -manner he had led them into all that trouble, the end of which had been -the disappearance of the girl. - -"Fool! fool!" he groaned. "I am to blame for it all!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--DICK DISOBEYS - - -Late that day, as the grateful shadows of approaching night were -settling over Damascus, Ras al Had came quietly to the hotel, and was -highly satisfied to find Dick Merriwell there. He drew the boy aside, -saying he wished to speak with him in private. - -"I have found one of the dogs who betrayed me," said the old sheik. -"Would you behold him? Would you hear what he has to say?" - -"Yes, yes." - -"Do you trust me now?" - -"Of course I do!" - -"Do you trust me completely?" - -"Yes." - -"Then tell your friends not to worry about you, even though you leave -them and do not return with the passing of another day. If you ask -questions now I shall know you do not trust me, even though you say so." - -Dick asked no questions. - -Thus far everything possible had been done for Nadia. Her disappearance -had been reported, and they had received the assurance that an earnest -effort would be made to find her and return her in safety to her -friends. Dick had made a formal complaint of the assault, and was -informed that the whole matter should be investigated and the guilty -parties punished. - -They all knew, however, that they were not liable to receive anything -more than promises from the Turkish authorities. This being the case, -they were compelled to rely mainly on the American consul and the -promise of Ras al Had, the sheik. - -It is probable that Dick Merriwell was the only one who really placed -any confidence in the old Arab. - -Brad Buckhart was immovable in his conviction that the sheik was -concerned in the dastardly work. - -Knowing Brad would raise a disturbance, Dick told the professor that he -might be gone for twenty-four hours. Immediately Zenas made an effort to -exercise his authority over the boy. - -"You shall not go, Richard!" he exclaimed. "I forbid it!" - -"I am sorry you forbid it, professor, for you know I dislike to disobey -you." - -"Eh? Hum! haw! Why, why, you don't mean to tell me to my face that you -will defy me?" - -"No, sir; I do not defy you. Circumstances make it necessary for me to -disobey you, and so----" - -"You shall not do it! I won't have it! Your brother looks to me to bring -you back safely to him, and I----" - -"Were my brother here he would approve of what I am doing." - -"Well, what are you doing? Where are you going?" - -"I can't tell you." - -"Haw! hum! I positively decline to let you leave this hotel!" - -"I can't help that. Look after Budthorne. He's nearly distracted. Tell -him to brace up. Somehow I have confidence that we'll be able to find -Nadia. You'll have your hands full taking care of Brad." - -"I need you to help me. The boy is crazy." - -"He blames himself for what happened, and he always will blame himself -unless Nadia is found." - -"I can't do anything with him. He's like a mad bull. Richard, you are -the only one who can handle him. Don't leave me!" - -"I must." - -"Why, I thought you an obedient boy! I never fancied you would set -yourself up in defiance of me." - -"You do not understand, professor; I am doing what I firmly believe is -for the best." - -Zenas wrung his hands. - -"If we ever get out of this mess," he declared, "I'm going to take you -back home just as fast as possible." - -"All right; but that is something to be considered later." - -"You should be there. You should be in school at Fardale this day." - -"You forget that I was expelled, professor." - -"By that old dunkhead, Gooch! Wait till we get home. I'm going to have a -little session with Barnaby Gooch, and also with Chester Arlington. Your -turn is coming, Richard--that is if you do not throw your life away in -some reckless folly. Do be cautious, Richard! Listen to me!" - -Dick did his best to reassure the old man, but Zenas clutched his arm -and attempted to cling to him, still urging and entreating. - -Swiftly the boy released the fingers of the old pedagogue. - -"I'll come back all right in time," he said, and then hastened away. - -Gunn hurried after him out of the hotel. He saw Dick spring upon the -back of a horse. Another horse, with a dark, silent man on its back, -stood near. Both animals were off in a moment, disappearing with their -riders into the dusky shadows of a street leading to the north. - -Zenas Gunn stood trembling in front of the hotel. His heart was heavy -with dread. - -"Oh, Richard!" he murmured pathetically; "Heaven guard you! You are -brave unto recklessness, and I fear that some day your recklessness will -bring ruin upon you." - -At the side of Ras al Had Dick Merriwell rode through Damascus. They -were on the outskirts of the city when the aged sheik drew rein. - -"We stop here," he said. - -Immediately two men appeared to take the horses. - -They dismounted. - -"Follow, boy," commanded the sheik. - -Dick did not hesitate about obeying. He kept at the heels of the Arab, -who entered some straw-thatched sheds. It was very dark under the shed, -not even the light of the stars penetrating there. - -Ras al Had uttered a call, and soon a man came hurrying with a -fluttering light. He was black as midnight, with thick lips, and huge -gold rings in his ears. He salaamed before the sheik. - -"Hold the light, Assouan," directed Ras al Had. "Let us behold the dog -who betrayed me." - -Then he touched the arm of the American boy and made a gesture toward -the ground not far from their feet. - -Assouan held the light as commanded, and it fell on a spectacle that -caused Dick to recoil and utter a cry of horror. - -Face downward on the ground, his arms and legs outspread, with his -wrists and ankles bound to stout stakes, was a black man, stripped of -clothing. His back was covered with blood. - -"You see what happens to curs who betray Ras al Had," said the sheik, in -a harsh voice. - -"Heavens!" gasped Dick. "The miserable wretch has been beaten until his -back is all cut up!" - -"He was lashed until the pain loosened his tongue and he confessed," -said the sheik. "This man was one of the four I sent to escort you and -the maiden." - -"You--you compelled him to tell what has become of her?" - -"I wrung it from his lips." - -"What did he tell?" - -"You shall hear." - -Ras al Had touched the wretched victim with a staff which he took from -one corner of the shed. - -The man did not stir. - -"Look, thou dog!" said the sheik; "art longing for further punishment? -Then speak promptly, or I swear by the beard of the Prophet that thou -shalt be cut into a thousand pieces! Who paid thee to choke the infidel -lad?" - -"Why, it's the fellow who nearly murdered me!" exclaimed Dick, for he -had not recognized the mutilated wretch. - -"The same," said the sheik. "Why doesn't he speak? Assouan, bring the -whip." - -The black man with the light hastened to obey. The whip, a long, -wicked-looking affair, with a rawhide lash into which were knotted many -pieces of lead, was quickly produced. - -Ras al Had took the spluttering light from Assouan's hand. - -"Stand ready," he directed. "When I bid you strike have no mercy." - -Dick's blood was cold in his body. The situation was one to fill him -with horror. He was alone in that wretched shed, his companions a -merciless Arab, a black man of the desert, and the helpless wretch bound -outspread on the bare ground. It was night, and the moon had not yet -risen. Beneath the shed the darkness was dispelled only by the flaring -light, which cast many grotesque shadows dancing on the walls. - -Again Ras al Had bade the man speak. In return there was neither sound -nor movement. - -"Strike, Assouan--strike!" said the sheik coldly. - -Assouan lifted the whip. - -Dick could stand no more of it, and he stepped in front of the black -man, crying: - -"Hold! This is too much! Tell me, Ras al Had, what he confessed, but do -not carry this thing further!" - -A strange look of mingled surprise and rage at this interference settled -on the face of the old Arab. He opened his lips to speak, but at this -moment the man on the ground groaned and mumbled a few broken words. - -Instantly Ras al Had bent over the wretch, holding the light so it fell -on the man's face. The traitor's head had dropped over to one side, his -lips were open, showing his gleaming teeth, while his eyes glittered -glassily. - -The sheik poked a finger at those wide-open, glittering eyes. They did -not blink. Then Ras al Had rose and said very quietly: - -"It is too late. He will speak no more. He is dead." - -Dick felt ill, and hurried out of the shed into the open air. - -The old sheik followed. - -"Although he is dead," he said, "I can tell you what he confessed. The -name of the crooked old Turk who paid them to attack you and carry the -maiden away is Abu Hammed. Hammed is in the employ of Hafsa Pasha. The -girl is to be kept somewhere until the excitement dies down, and then -she will be added to Hafsa Pasha's harem. He thinks that by that time he -can win her over so she will be willing and glad to live a life of ease -in the harem." - -"If you had only learned where they took her----" - -"Wait. I told you of my friend who just arrived in Damascus with many -beautiful girls, one of which he has brought for Hafsa Pasha." - -"Yes." - -"Hafsa Pasha will visit the house where those girls are to-night. I have -not forgotten the fate of my brother far away in Persia. Some day my -sword shall drink the blood of Hafsa Pasha; but first I would find a way -to compel him to tell where the maid you seek is hidden." - -"Wait!" cried Dick, struck by a sudden idea. "It might be done! I -believe it can be! It's worth trying!" - -"Of what do you speak?" - -"I have a plan." - -"Unfold it." - -"Can't you get me into the house where those girls are?" - -"Of what good would that be?" - -"I'll go disguised as a girl." - -"A girl?" - -"Yes." - -"But----" - -"It will not be the first time I have made up as a girl, and they say I -make a pretty girl, too. If you know where I can get the outfit, I'll -make up as a girl and go there. Can't you arrange it so I'll fall -beneath the notice of Hafsa Pasha? If his attention is called to me I'll -do my part." - -"What will you do?" - -"I'll fool him. I'll get him to buy me and take me to his harem. I'll -win his confidence and find out where Nadia is hidden." - -"It is a desperate venture." - -"But I'll play my part, depend on it. Wait until you see me made up as a -girl. If you are not satisfied then you may refuse to go on with the -scheme." - -The old Arab seemed to catch some of the boy's enthusiasm. - -"Very well," he said. "If it costs you your life, I cannot feel that I -am to bear the blame. It is your plan. I'll take you without delay to a -place where you may dress and prepare for the deception. But you shall -have assistants, hairdressers, dressmakers, anything you need to make -your disguise perfect." - -Ras al Had then spoke to Assouan, giving him some directions in regard -to the dead man in the shed. - -Dick followed his strange companion through a number of crooked streets. -Finally they reached the door of a house, to which they were admitted on -knocking. - -The sheik conferred with a gnarled and crooked old Jew, explaining that -he wished the boy to be dressed and made up like a girl. The old Jew -seemed puzzled and surprised, but agreed, for a price, to attempt the -transformation. - -Time was passing, and the sheik did not haggle. He simply insisted that -the job should be thoroughly done, and the boy should be made up as -carefully and tastily as if he were in truth a girl. - -Then he left Dick in the old Jew's hands, saying he would hasten to -complete the necessary arrangements and then return for the transformed -boy. - -Less than an hour later the aged sheik again knocked at the Jew's door -and was admitted. He was informed that the boy would soon be ready to -accompany him, but that he would have to wait a few minutes while the -finishing touches of the disguise were being put on. - -The Jew asked him if he had any objections to waiting in a room with a -young lady customer, and Ras al Had soon found himself in a small -apartment, in a corner of which sat a girl in street costume. Apparently -she was a foreigner, for her flesh was dazzlingly fair, and her clothes, -from the beautiful hat on her head to the high-heeled boots on her feet, -had a distinct Parisian touch. - -The sheik remained standing, quite aware that the girl was surveying him -with evident interest or curiosity. His one glance had shown him that -she was unusually handsome, with dark hair and eyes. - -Finally she heaved a sigh and moved impatiently. - -"Dear me!" she said, in perfect English. "This is very tiresome. I've -waited nearly an hour. Won't you sit down, sir?" - -Ras al Had bowed very low and took a seat upon the floor. - -"How funny!" laughed the girl, with a fetching little shrug of her -shoulders. "All you dark gentlemen decline to sit on chairs. You always -sit on the floor or the ground, and cross your legs." - -Again he bowed, without speaking. - -"Don't you understand English?" - -"Very well, madam." - -"I'm no madam; I'm a miss. I'm looking for a husband. I don't suppose -you know where I can find a man with plenty of rocks? I'm out for the -coin." - -The Arab glanced at her keenly, wondering if she could be in earnest. - -She fluttered her fan and smiled over the top of it with a bewitching -look. - -"You're not much of a talker, are you?" she went on. "Well, never mind. -American girls can speak for themselves, and the men, too." - -"Are you from America, miss?" - -"Sure thing. I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. Really, I started out to travel -round the world, writing newspaper letters for the home papers; but all -the papers have cut me off, and I'm stranded. I don't care about going -back home, for I made up my mind to catch a rich husband on the trip. -Now, if you could put me next with some old gazabo who has lots of the -needful, and I succeeded in raking him in, I'd willingly make it worth -your while." - -Ras al Had drew a deep breath of wonderment. Although he did not fully -understand her, he comprehended that this was one of the free-and-easy -young ladies of the Western world of whom he had heard. She was young -and bewitching in appearance, but her manner of talk seemed to betray a -knowledge of the world one would not suspect her to possess. - -The sheik shook his head. - -"I can give you no assistance," he declared. - -She laughed and sprang up, crossing the floor toward him. - -He rose hastily. - -"I don't believe you know me," said the girl. "We have met before, and I -am sure, as a special favor, you will aid me in capturing a rich -husband." - -He retreated before her, but she followed him up, and actually pinned -him in a corner. - -"Come, now!" she cried, with a dazzling smile that showed her perfect -teeth; "you can't get out of it. I'm not particular, and I'll marry -almost anybody with the dust. I'd even marry Hafsa Pasha, and you can -fix that up for me." - -He protested that it was impossible, and his manner caused the girl to -laugh still more heartily. - -"How do I look?" she asked. "Is this get-up all right?" - -"Indeed, you should have no trouble in getting a rich husband," said the -sheik. - -"Then take me to the house of your friend, where I am to meet Hafsa -Pasha." - -"You--you----" - -"I am the boy you brought here to be changed into a girl." - -"Allah have mercy! Impossible!" - -The "girl" was in truth Dick Merriwell, and he laughed heartily over the -amazement of the old Arab. Even then Ras al Had seemed to doubt his -senses; but the Jew came in, grinning and rubbing his hands together, -and stood waiting for his price. - -"Wonderful!" murmured the sheik. "Why, you play the part so well that -any man might be deceived. It is worth the money, Abraham. Now I believe -you will succeed, boy, in your daring scheme. But I shall try to be near -you, for you may suddenly need the aid of my arm and my sword." - - - - -CHAPTER XV--PURCHASING A HUMAN BEING - - -In a large room of many mirrors with frescoed ceilings of bright colors, -the floors covered with Turkish rugs, and the place lavishly furnished -in Oriental style, were gathered seventeen girls of various races and -still more varying beauty. The cheeks of some were dusky, while others -were wonderfully fair. All were attired in such fine clothes as seemed -best to enhance their good looks. They were taking their ease on divans -and couches, some of them smoking cigarettes, some conversing, some -remaining proudly apart from the others. - -These were the girls brought to Damascus by the trader, and all were for -sale, like so many cattle. - -To this house came various wealthy men, who inspected the girls -critically, surveying them and taking note of their charms, much after -the manner of men who purchase horses in open market. The old trader was -on hand to dilate on the attractions of each girl and to listen to such -offers as the gentlemen chose to make. - -In Damascus, as in many other parts of the Orient, this was regarded as -a legitimate business. To the would-be purchasers and the old trader -there was nothing of a shameful nature in connection with it. The girls -thus sold would be taken to the various homes of their purchasers, there -to become legitimate wives, after the custom of the country. - -One girl, dressed in unusual taste, sat apart from the others, seeming -too proud to attempt to enter into conversation with them. She was very -pretty, and many were the envious glances cast toward her by the others. - -She had lately been added to their number, and already they were -gossiping that she was an English girl who found herself penniless in -the country, and was willing to become the wife of some rich man. - -The old trader seemed to know he had secured a prize in this girl, for -the price he demanded for her was so high that several visitors who had -been attracted by her and were willing to pay unusually well to secure -her, were compelled to content themselves with others, although they all -relinquished the hope of purchasing her with expressions of regret. - -Finally a man of dignified bearing and polished appearance came -sauntering into the room and paused, glancing around in a careless -manner. - -The moment the old trader saw this man he hastened to him, rubbing his -hands and bowing very low. - -"Welcome, most noble Pasha!" he exclaimed. "I am sure I shall this night -have the pleasure of beholding thy pleasure. Never before has any man -brought to Damascus such a collection of feminine loveliness. Verily -they are pearls beyond price." - -"So I have heard, Bilmah," was the answer. "Already I have met two who -have looked on your pearls, and they informed me that you had here one -that was almost priceless in your estimation. My curiosity has been -greatly aroused. I would look on this English maiden." - -"Oh, there are others equally beautiful," the trader hastened to -declare--"many others. Look, yonder is a fair Circassian. I bought her -from her father, and paid him----" - -"Never mind her. I am not looking for a Circassian. They weary me. I -have traveled in the West, and the women of those lands interest me. I -would see the English maiden." - -"But first thou shouldst see----" - -"Not another one, old man! Show me the one I wish to see." - -"But, great Pasha, it was understood between us that I should bring -thither for thee the fairest Circassian I could discover----" - -The visitor cut the old man short. - -"You are wasting my time, old man. Unless you show me at once the -English maiden I will depart." - -The trader made a gesture of resignation. - -"Come!" he said. - -The visitor followed him until they paused before the divan on which sat -the girl who had attracted so much attention and admiration. - -"Behold her!" said Bilmah. - -The girl glanced up shyly over her outspread fan, giving the Turk a -sidelong glance from her fine, black eyes, in the depths of which there -was a strange light that fascinated him. - -Hafsa Pasha bowed very low, his hand on his heart. - -"So this is the one whose charms I heard extolled ere I crossed the -threshold of this house?" he said. "You are English, they tell me. It is -most astonishing to find an English girl here." - -"I suppose it is," she answered, in a very low voice that was full of -strange music and gave him a decided thrill. - -He sat on the floor at her feet, rolling a cigarette. - -"Tell me how it happens that you are here," he urged. - -"I cannot," she answered, in apparent great confusion. "It is a tale of -misfortune. Speak of something else." - -"Are you aware what you are doing?" - -"Fully." - -"Do you know that once you have entered the harem of any man who may -purchase you there can be no backing out--no escape?" - -"I have thought of it all." - -"And you will not be the only wife of the husband who secures you." - -"I know." - -"Still, I cannot understand you. It is utterly unlike one of your blood -to do such a thing. There must be a reason for it." - -"Of course there is. Perhaps I have a brother or a friend who is in deep -distress and needs money at once. Perhaps I have arranged with the -trader that a certain portion of the price paid for me shall be sent at -once to this person. Does that not offer an explanation?" - -Hafsa Pasha lighted his cigarette and eyed her attentively. - -"I have been told that the price Bilmah demands is exorbitant. Still, -under certain circumstances you might be worth it to me." - -"What are the circumstances?" - -He shrugged his shoulders. - -"If I purchase you you will be mine to do as I command." - -"Of course." - -"Possibly I have somewhere another English-speaking maiden who rebels -against my authority and refuses to bow unto me." - -"Another?" laughed the girl behind her fan. "You must be fond of the -English." - -"Were I to purchase you, I should expect you to become without delay the -companion of this other girl. I should expect you to exert your -influence upon her to lead her to submit to her lot." - -"I see nothing very hard in that." - -"But she might tell you a woeful tale of an imaginary wrong. She might -seek to arouse your sympathy. She might claim that she had been captured -and imprisoned against her will." - -"I am growing interested. If you can afford to pay the price demanded -for me, you must be a very rich man." - -"I am far from poor." - -"You are kind to your wives?" - -"I am gentleness itself." - -"They have every comfort and luxury in the home you provide for them?" - -"No woman can ask for more." - -"Then this girl should soon learn to be contented and happy. She has -some peculiar ideas in her head just now, but she will get over them. If -you purchase me, I shall do everything in my power for her." - -"You Western women are remarkable. No woman of the East would talk to me -like this. I almost fear you. I seem to feel that you possess a strange -power that our women know nothing of." - -Again she laughed. - -"You'll get used to me in time," she said. "That is, you will if you are -not bluffing." - -"Bluffing? Perhaps I know what you mean, and still----" - -"I mean about paying the price Bilmah demands. I have seen men who -pretended they were ready and willing to spend money when they had no -thought of doing so." - -"You shall see what I mean to do. Of course I have a right to make the -best bargain possible with old Bilmah." - -"No; you must pay the price he demands. Whatever you induce him to take -off you keep from the one to whom he is to send the money." - -"Do you trust him to forward it?" - -"That is fixed. The one who got me in here will see that Bilmah does not -cheat." - -"Very well. Although as yet I have seen scarcely more of your face than -your eyes and forehead, yet I am going to pay the price. Be ready to -leave this place directly. I shall have a carriage at the door in less -than ten minutes." - -Then Hafsa Pasha arose and sought the old trader. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--THE SWORD IS STAINED - - -Nadia Budthorne had wept until the fount of tears seemed dry. She had -beaten with her hands against the heavy door of her prison room until -her knuckles streamed blood. She had shouted and screamed until she sank -exhausted to the floor. - -How much time had passed she knew not. When a tray of food was slipped -into the room she had no knowledge of the occurrence. She first saw it -on the floor near the door, but not a morsel did she touch. - -She lay prone and helpless and despairing when a rustling sound startled -and aroused her. She rose swiftly on one hand, and then a cry of -astonishment escaped her pale lips, for before her stood a beautiful -girl. Behind the stranger the door was silently closing. - -"Who--who--are--you?" asked Nadia hoarsely. - -"Your friend," was the answer, in a softly sympathetic voice. - -"Friend? You are a stranger." - -"Still I am your friend. Let me help you." - -"Your voice!" muttered Nadia. "It seems familiar, somehow, and yet--I've -never seen you before." - -The strange girl assisted Nadia to rise, and led her to a couch. She was -much larger than Nadia, and seemed somewhat older. - -"My poor child!" she murmured. "How you have suffered!" - -"Oh, how I have suffered!" moaned Nadia. "But why are you here? I do not -understand it. You--you are English or American. You cannot be----" - -"Hush! Do not speak so loud." - -"No one can hear us. I have screamed until I lost my voice. These -terrible walls smother all sounds." - -The strange girl was looking around searchingly. Leaving Nadia, she made -a quick circuit of the room, searching the walls with her eyes. She -paused to try the door and then returned to the couch. - -"Listen," she whispered, lifting her finger warningly. "Keep your nerve -now. Do not utter a cry. I am here to save you." - -Nadia showed her incredulity. - -"To save me?" she whispered back. "How can that be? Who are you?" - -"One of your best friends." - -"I will not believe it! It is another trick!" - -"It is no trick, as far as you are concerned. It may be a trick on Hafsa -Pasha." - -"Then he----" - -"You are his captive." - -"I knew it! The monster! If my brother--if Brad and Dick find this out -he shall suffer!" - -"If you promise to do just as I direct I will save you from that man." - -"How can you? You are only a woman." - -"That's what I appear to be." - -"You cannot be more than nineteen." - -"Younger than that," was the reply. "Still I will save you." - -"It's impossible! They brought you here to deceive me!" - -"That's correct. Old Hafsa did it himself, but he is the one deceived. -To-night he paid a handsome price for me, with the idea of adding me to -his harem. Oh, I must laugh! I must! Where's my handkerchief! Let me -smother the sound!" - -The strange girl stuffed her handkerchief into her mouth and laughed -until her face was fairly purple. Her whole body shook with merriment. - -Nadia's bewilderment increased. - -"I don't know why you laugh. It's a fearful thing to be imprisoned in a -harem. Hafsa Pasha has bought you, and you must submit to him. You must -be a faithful wife, imprisoned within a harem." - -"Oh, a fine old wife I'll make!" chuckled the other. "Oh, dear! It's a -mighty dangerous lark, but it's awful funny, just the same." - -Suddenly Nadia clutched her companion's shoulder. - -"Tell me who you are!" she commanded. - -"All right. Keep your nerve. Don't utter a sound. Are you ready?" - -Nadia nodded. - -"I am Dick Merriwell." - -The girl almost fainted. - -"Dick?" she gasped--"Dick? Impossible! Yet--yet I believe you--you are! -Why, how----" - -"Can't explain in full. Fooled old Hafsa. If Ras al Had does not fail me -we'll have you out of this before morning. If Hafsa only knew----" - -A sound behind him caused Dick to turn and spring up. - -The door had opened to admit Hafsa Pasha himself, and his face was -contorted with rage. He glared at Dick. - -"So you did fool me, did you?" he snarled. "You thought I could not hear -your words, but there is a place in this wall where a person listening -outside may hear and understand the softest whisper spoken here. You -deceived me, but it will cost you your life!" - -He drew a knife. - -From some part of his clothes Dick Merriwell whipped forth a heavy -revolver, which he leveled at the Turk's heart. - -"Halt right where you are!" he commanded clearly. "Another step and I'll -drill a hole through your dastardly heart! I came prepared for any -emergency." - -Hafsa Pasha uttered a cry. It was answered somewhere outside the room. - -But at that moment there came from a distant portion of the house the -sound of heavy, crashing blows. - -The Turk turned pale. - -"What's that?" he gasped. - -"I have an idea it is Ras al Had," said Dick. "Stop! Stand in your -tracks! Try to leave the room and I'll drop you!" - -The noise ended in one great crash. Then came the soft shuffle of many -unbooted feet. - -"Hither, sheik!" cried Dick. - -There was a struggle outside, smothered cries, a fall. Then Ras al Had, -backed by several black men, together with Brad Buckhart and Dunbar -Budthorne, appeared at the door. - -"Still safe, boy?" said the old Arab. "I dared not wait. I had located -the maiden's prison, and I sent one of my servants to bring her friends -from the hotel. Then the carriage came, and I saw you enter, accompanied -by him. I feared longer delay would be fatal for you. We broke down the -door. It seems that we entered just in time." - -Hafsa Pasha was yellow with rage. - -"You old scum of the desert!" he cried. "You are behind it all! It is -your trick!" - -"I have not forgotten the fate of my brother, Pasha. His blood still -cries aloud for vengeance." - -"I'll send you to join him!" - -The Turk had held the drawn knife hidden at his side. Now he made a -pantherish leap toward the sheik and struck with the weapon. - -Ras al Had threw up his arm. The blade was driven through the muscles of -the forearm, but with a sweep the Arab sent Hafsa Pasha reeling. - -At the same time he unsheathed his sword. - -When the Turk recovered and sprang forward again he was met by the -sheik, who drove the keen sword straight through Hafsa Pasha's body. - -Brad Buckhart had reached Nadia, and she fainted in his arms. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--A POSITION OF PERIL - - -There was a great uproar in Damascus. Hafsa Pasha, an exiled Turk, once -a prime favorite of the sultan, had been slain in a house within the -city limits. - -Rumors were flying thick. There were many wild stories passing from lip -to lip. It was said that some foreigners had been concerned in the -murder of the Pasha. - -The Moslems were aroused, and they cried out for vengeance on the -murderers. Some said that a young and beautiful girl was connected with -the affair. It was said that she had tried to delude the Pasha and rob -him, and that in the end her friends, aided by a number of Arabs, had -slain him in the house to which the girl decoyed him. - -These stories aroused the followers of "the true faith" to a high pitch -of resentment against all "infidels" in the city at that time. Foreign -visitors were warned against appearing on the streets, as they were -almost certain to be insulted, roughly treated, and possibly slain. - -The foreigners stopping at the German hotel were greatly alarmed. Many -of them were planning to get out of the city as soon as possible. Some -had heard the early mutterings of the storm and departed on the train -for Beirut that day. - -Professor Z. Gunn was in a state of great distress. He found Dick -Merriwell and Brad Buckhart in earnest consultation in their room and -seized each by an arm, exclaiming: - -"This is what it has come to! You can see! We're still in the sultan's -domain. There will be an uprising. These fanatical Mohammedans will -massacre every Christian and foreigner they can find in the place! I -feel it coming. The streets of Damascus will flow with blood before -night!" - -"You're excited, professor," said Dick. - -"Excited!" squawked the old man, nearly losing his false teeth and -clapping his hand over his mouth to keep them from popping out. "Ugh! -Oogah-um! Cluck! Who wouldn't be excited? There is something to get -excited over. We're almost certain to be murdered!" - -"I hardly think," said Merriwell, "that the Turks will carry it that -far. We are citizens of the United States, with passports in our -pockets, and the sultan would have trouble on his hands with Yankee -Doodle Land if his subjects were to murder us." - -"You bet your boots!" put in Buckhart. - -"But the sultan isn't here to stop it," spluttered Zenas. "The Turks are -infuriated over the death of Hafsa Pasha. They are urging on all -Moslemites in the city. None of them are counting on the consequences. -They'll do the killing first and consider the consequences afterward." - -"No one has been killed yet," said Dick. "The authorities are doing -their best to hold the fanatics in check." - -"By promising to apprehend and bring to justice the murderers of Hafsa -Pasha. Mind, they say murderers. That means every one who was present -when the man was killed. I was right here last night when Brad and -Budthorne went away with those Arabs. I'm not the only one who knows -about that. You were present, Richard, when Hafsa Pasha's enemy slew -him. Brad was there, Budthorne was there. You're all concerned. You're -every one wanted as participants in the crime." - -"It was vengeance," said Dick. "Ras al Had, the old sheik, slew Hafsa -Pasha, and Hafsa Pasha years ago sold Ras al Had's brother into slavery. -The sheik found his brother dying in the desert, and he swore to have -vengeance on the treacherous Pasha when the time came. Last night he -carried out his oath and then fled from the city." - -"That won't clear you, boys," asserted Professor Gunn. "You were -concerned in breaking into the house where the Pasha was killed." - -"Sure we were," nodded Brad Buckhart. - -"I didn't have to break in," said Dick, with a twinkle in his dark eyes. - -"Oh, Richard," said the professor, "that was a scandalous thing! Hafsa -Pasha was fooled into paying a large sum for you." - -Buckhart grinned. - -"He was going to add you to his harem, pard. Oh, say! that was the -richest thing ever! The boys will die of laughter back at school when I -tell them about it." - -"Hem! haw! Haw! hem!" coughed the professor. "It looks just now as if -you'll never get back to Fardale to tell anything. Drat it, boys, you -don't seem to comprehend the terrible peril we're in!" - -"We comprehend it, all right," asserted Dick; "but we can't see any -sense in getting ratty over it. Hafsa Pasha got exactly what was coming -to him." - -"You bet he did!" nodded the Texan. - -"The right or wrong of it makes no difference to these fanatics," said -Zenas. "They won't stop to ask who was right and who was wrong. They'll -just go ahead and chop up the foreigners. This hotel is watched. The -people in it have been warned against leaving it. A few got away on the -train, but the rest of the people in the place are panic-stricken. They -realize the danger. The trouble with you two reckless young rascals is -that you do not realize the peril. Somebody is going to confess that two -persons left this hotel in the night. They'll trace the two. It will be -found out that you were present when the Pasha was killed, and your -lives will not be worth a penny. Oh, it's a---- Hark! What's that?" - -From the street outside came a peculiar, blood-chilling sound. It was -like the low snarling of many voices, and it grew louder and louder -until it became a sullen, muttering roar. - -The three rushed to the window and looked out. What they saw caused the -old professor to turn pale and faint. - -A great mob had gathered in front of the hotel, all Turks or people of -the Moslem faith, and others were coming rapidly from many directions. - -The crowd was armed with clubs, sticks, stones, and so forth. A few -flourished swords or other deadly weapons. - -They are crying out in their indignation against the foreigners. A -crooked, befezzed Turk was their leader. At sight of him Dick Merriwell -uttered an exclamation. - -"See that man?" he cried--"the one who is urging the mob on?" - -"I sure see the varmint," nodded Buckhart. - -"Well, he's the old wretch who bribed Ras al Had's black men to betray -Nadia and myself." - -"That dog, eh?" growled the Texan, taking something from his pocket. -"Well, I reckon I can just about shoot a couple of holes through his big -ears at this distance." - -Professor Gunn uttered a squawk of terror and clutched the wrist of the -grim-faced boy from the Panhandle country. - -"You're crazy, Bradley!" he gasped. "You're mad!" - -"I admit the accusation," said Buckhart. "I am mad--a heap mad." - -"If you were to fire at that man it would precipitate the destruction of -this hotel and the murder of every inmate!" - -"The professor is right, Brad," said Dick quietly. "Put up your gun." - -"I'd certain like to----" - -"Never mind that. Put up the weapon and bide your time. You may be -compelled to use it in self-defense before this day is over. Hear those -creatures!" - -The mob was howling: - -"Death to the foreigners!" - -"Kill the infidels!" - -"Burn their hotel!" - -"Destroy them! Destroy them!" - -"Death to the unbelievers!" - -Wildly waving his arms, the crooked old Turk shrilly yelled: - -"They have defiled our city and our temples! They have basely murdered -one of the true faith!" - -"Ah-yah!" snarled the mob. - -Then some one hurled a stone. There was a crash of glass in the lower -part of the hotel. A volley of stones followed, smashing glass and -raining against the building in a shower. - -"It begins to look pretty bad," confessed Dick. - -Dunbar Budthorne, followed by Nadia, came hurrying into the room. -Budthorne was agitated and his sister was very pale. - -"What is happening?" asked Dunbar. - -"Take a look out of this window and you will see," answered Dick. - -Nadia pressed forward to look, but drew back, shuddering. - -Brad sought to reassure her. - -"It's only a lot of crazy fools," he said. "Don't be frightened, Nadia." - -"But they are mad! They mean to destroy the hotel and murder us all!" - -"I don't reckon the governor will permit that." - -"Can we do nothing?" asked Budthorne. "Can't we apply to the American -consul?" - -"We tried that yesterday when Nadia disappeared," reminded Dick, "and -the American consul was out of the city." - -"Then there is the British consul. Surely he will act if we call on -him." - -"I doubt if he has the power," said Professor Gunn. "We are in a -terrible predicament. I fear the horror of 1860 is about to be -repeated." - -"What happened in 1860?" asked Dunbar. - -"Six thousand unarmed and unoffending Christians and foreigners were -massacred in Damascus, and nearly twice as many more outside the city, -in Syria." - -"Oh, dreadful!" gasped Nadia, growing faint and being assisted to a -chair by Buckhart. "What if it happens again? Oh, I believe it is going -to happen!" - -At this juncture a fiercer outburst of noise rose from the street, and -again Dick Merriwell looked out of the window, the others pressing close -behind him. - -It seemed that some one from the hotel had ventured to step outside to -address the crowd. Instantly his words were drowned by howls, and -shrieks, and curses, while a shower of missiles drove him back to -shelter. - -Then some one espied the little group in the upper window and called -attention to it. Instantly the crowd began shouting insults at our -friends and shaking their fists at them. - -"Take Nadia back from the window, Brad," advised Dick, in a low tone. -"Keep her mind distracted as much as possible from this." - -Again Buckhart conducted the girl to a chair. - -"Better all get back," said Professor Gunn. "We're just adding to their -fury by standing in the window and watching them." - -They moved back a little, but the mob continued to rage and snarl, like -a pack of infuriated wild animals. - -"Was no one punished for the other massacre?" asked Dick. - -"The powers of Europe finally interfered," answered the professor. "The -Turkish government was compelled to punish some one, so Ahmad Pasha, the -governor, lost his head. That was about the extent of the punishing." - -"Well the present governor ought to remember Ahmad Pasha. If he isn't -careful he may lose his head." - -The whole hotel was in a state of great excitement, as Dick learned by -stepping outside the room, and listening. Women were weeping and -wailing, while white-faced men hurried hither and thither, up and down, -without seeming able to decide on anything. He heard two men talking, -and one was telling the other that already the mob had murdered a man in -the open street. - -"It's pretty serious," Dick decided. "Once let a mob like that get a -taste of blood, and there is no telling where the affair will end. I -fear this will be a bloody day for Damascus. If they begin killing, the -odds are against any one of us escaping with his life." - -One of the men below was speaking again. - -"They say this thing started over the unwarranted murder of an exiled -Pasha." - -"That's the report, and I was told a few minutes ago that the mob -declares the murderers of the Pasha are in this very hotel. That is why -it has been singled out as the first point of attack." - -"I've heard more than that," declared the first speaker. "I understand -that the real cause of all this trouble is an American girl, stopping -here. She must be an adventuress, for they say she got gay with the -Pasha who was murdered, and decoyed him to the place where he was -assassinated. I've seen the girl, too." - -"You have?" - -"Yes. She's here in company with her brother. Has been here several -days. Day before yesterday two boys and an old man joined them." - -"Oh, I've noticed that party. And they say this girl caused all the -trouble?" - -"Yes. Some of the rest of the party were concerned in the murder of the -Pasha. The crowd outside is demanding that this girl and her friends be -given up. If the proprietor will surrender them it is possible the rest -of us may escape with our lives." - -"Then we had better unite in urging him to give that party up. It's a -case of self-preservation, and----" - -"I favor it myself." - -Dick had slipped quietly down the stairs, and now he suddenly confronted -the two men. His face was pale, but his dark eyes flashed. - -"I have a few words to say to you," he said, his voice low but clear and -steady. "I don't know where you hail from, but I do know that you are -two of the most contemptible cowards it has ever been my bad fortune to -chance upon. No one but cowards would think of surrendering an innocent -and helpless girl into the hands of a maddened and murderous mob, like -the one outside this hotel." - -Having expressed himself in this manner, the fearless American lad stood -squarely facing them both. - -There was a hush. - -Outside the mob was heard muttering sullenly. - -The two men gazed at Dick in surprise. One was a tall man, the other -decidedly below medium height. - -"Why--why----" gasped the short man, and then choked, as if unable to -find further words. - -The tall man shook himself together. - -"Look here, you insolent young puppy," he exclaimed, "how dare you come -here and use such language to us?" - -"Yes," put in the short man, with an attempt at bluster, "how dare you?" - -"I do not think there is much to fear from two men who would -deliberately talk of surrendering an innocent girl into the hands of a -murderous mob," retorted Merriwell. - -"Innocent girl!" sneered the tall man. - -"Yes, innocent! Be careful, sir! I'm only a boy, but I know the girl, -and another insulting slur from your lips will be resented in a manner -you will not like." - -Both men were astonished. - -"Why, I believe he would tackle us both!" muttered the short man. - -"You know the girl, do you?" said the tall one, overlooking Dick's -threat, as if he did not consider it worth noticing further. "And you -claim she is innocent?" - -"I happen to know." - -"Didn't she decoy the Pasha to the house where he was murdered?" - -Dick's lips curled. - -"Instead of that, sir, she was seized while walking on the street, her -escort assaulted and knocked down, and the ruffians imprisoned her in a -house. Where were you yesterday that you heard nothing of this?" - -"We made a trip into the country outside the city," explained the little -man. - -"It happens that I was the one accompanying her when she was seized and -carried off," added Dick. "By chance this girl, who is perfectly -innocent of wrongdoing, fell beneath the notice of Hafsa Pasha, a bad -man, who resolved to add her to his harem. He was baffled, and he -deserved the fate he met. However, none of our party had anything to do -with that. He was killed by an old enemy, whom he had bitterly wronged. -These are the facts, gentlemen. Now, in order to save your fine necks -you talk about turning her over to that snarling pack of wolves at the -door! I am ashamed of you both!" - -In spite of his youth he made them feel ashamed of themselves. - -"Oh, well, oh, well," said the little man apologetically; "we didn't -understand, you know. If we had----" - -"But I don't fancy being talked to in this manner by a mere boy," -growled the other. - -"I didn't expect you would fancy it," said Dick, with continued -boldness. "Lots of people do not fancy being told the plain truth. Often -it cuts to the quick. If you wish to do what you can to save yourselves, -be prepared to fight for your lives if the mob breaks in here, but do -not talk of surrendering a girl to be murdered by that pack of maddened -beasts. On the contrary, you should be ready to defend her with your -last drop of blood." - -Having scorched them in this manner, Dick turned and remounted the -stairs. - -The tall man made a move as if to stop him, but checked himself. - -Barely had Dick disappeared when a figure advanced quickly from the -shadows at the rear of the hall and spoke in a low tone to the two men. - -"I beg your pardon," said a soft voice, with a pronounced accent that -seemed to proclaim him either a Spaniard or an Italian. "I happened to -overhear a part of your conversation with that boy. I know him." - -The stranger was slim and dark, with a slight mustache, which curled -upward at the ends. He had coal-black eyes, which were very restless and -very piercing. His hands were small and slim, almost womanish. - -The two men looked at him in some surprise. As they did not speak at -once he went on hurriedly: - -"It seems that I arrived in Damascus just in time to get into this -unfortunate trap, from which not one of us may escape with our lives. I -am just here. I would I were elsewhere. I know that boy--know him most -exceedingly well. He is a thorough rascal. He was compelled to leave -England in a hurry to escape imprisonment for robbery. He is a card -sharp, although, on account of his years, he does not, to strangers, -seem to be such. That is why he deceives the great number of people with -such perfect ease. In Italy he was concerned with a very dangerous and -desperate band of criminals, and from that country he hurried with much -haste to avoid punishment. Since then he has been wandering about in -various lands, accompanied by another boy and an old man, who are his -accomplices. They tell that the old man is the tutor and guardian of the -boys, but this I do assure you is a fabrication." - -"Well!" gasped the little man, in astonishment. - -"Well!" exclaimed the tall man, bewildered. - -"Gentlemen," said the stranger, "I assure you that I know perfectly well -the complete truth of all I have said. They are traveling under false -names, having somehow secured the passports of the parties they pretend -to be. The only thing of truth that I heard fall from that boy's lips as -I listened was his statement that the girl is innocent. She, however, -with her brother, who is not strong and may be easily influenced, has -fallen into the clutches of these three rascals. Without doubt they -sought to use the girl as a tool to trap the Pasha who was murdered. I -doubt not that they led the Pasha to believe there would be no trouble -in case he seized the girl and made her an inmate of his harem. I -believe it probable that they secured a large sum of money from the -Pasha--and then they murdered him. - -"Now, gentlemen, if, instead of giving up the girl to the mob, you will -get together, seize the real culprits, tell the maddened people the -truth, and surrender them, you will be doing your duty, and nothing -more." - -The listeners gasped again. - -"Most amazing!" said the little man. - -"Quite so," agreed the tall man. - -"Who are you?" questioned the first. - -"Your name," demanded the second. - -The stranger made a graceful gesture. - -"My name matters little to you. I will not speak it at present. Those -rascals are wholly unaware that I am here. I do not care to have them -discover it just now. Listen! The mob clamors again. The doors will be -beaten down soon, and then nothing can save us. If you know these people -here, lose no time in informing them of the real cause of this riot. -Tell them that the guilty ones are sheltered beneath this roof. Propose -to them that the three scoundrels be surrendered, for it is better that -three such common wretches should be slain than that a whole hotel full -of innocent people should die." - -"Quite right!" exclaimed the small man. - -"Perfectly right," agreed the tall man. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--IN A DEADLY TRAP - - -Dick returned to his friends. - -"Where have you been, pard?" asked Buckhart. - -"Just outside," was the answer. "Wanted to see what was going on in the -hotel." - -"I opine the whole bunch is some frightened." - -"Without doubt. They have good reason to be---- Something doing!" - -This final exclamation was caused by the clear, ringing sound of a -bugle, coming from the streets below. - -Dick rushed to the window, followed by the others. - -Looking out, they saw a body of mounted soldiers coming swiftly down a -street leading to the front of the hotel. They were riding at a gallop, -the hoofs of their horses clattering rhythmically. An officer with drawn -sword was leading them. - -"The sultan's soldiers!" exclaimed Dick. "At last the governor has -awakened. Without doubt he remembers Ahmad Pasha, and he does not care -about losing his own head." - -"Oh, the soldiers are coming to drive the mob away!" exclaimed Nadia, in -relief. - -"Perhaps so," muttered Brad. "I sure hope so." - -"Why, is there any other reason why they should come?" - -"I don't know." - -Deep down in his heart, however, the Texan feared the troops were coming -for quite another purpose. He feared the ruling Pasha had ordered them -to proceed to the hotel and take possession of the ones suspected as -having had a hand in the killing of Hafsa Pasha. If this were true, -although the troops might keep them from the vengeance of the mob, it -was likely that in the end they would be punished with death, or in some -other manner, as accomplices of the murderer. - -Entertaining these thoughts, Brad watched with the greatest anxiety the -movements of the troop of soldiers. He was relieved to some extent when -the soldiers charged into the mob, the officer in command ordering the -gathering to disperse. - -Professor Gunn literally capered for joy. - -"We're saved! we're saved!" he cried. "The governor doesn't dare permit -another riot!" - -Then the old man seemed to realize that he was losing his dignity, -whereupon he stopped dancing, straightened up, threw out his thin chest, -and thrust one hand into the bosom of his coat. - -"To tell you the truth, my friends," he said, "I have not been genuinely -alarmed at any stage of the affair, for my judgment told me the governor -would see fit to interfere before anything really serious happened." - -Dick laughed. - -"My dear professor," he said, "it is not possible you fancy any of us -thought you alarmed in the slightest. We knew better than that. You are -a man of iron nerves." - -"Hum! haw!" coughed Zenas. "Perhaps not exactly iron-nerved, but I -flatter myself that I have unusal acumen and judgment, and therefore I -knew the affair would be checked in case the governor had time to act -before the mob succeeded in doing any real damage." - -In the street below the soldiers were charging up and down, scattering -the crowd. The mob dispersed with great reluctance, for it resembled a -pack of hungry wolves that had scented a feast. - -The crooked old Turk even dared stand and defy the cavalrymen, but -finally the officer in charge chased him off, belaboring him across the -back with the flat of his sword. - -"You deserve something worse than that, you old wolf!" muttered Dick. - -Nadia was greatly relieved. - -From the window they watched until the soldiers had quite succeeded in -dispersing the mob, and it began to seem that the danger was over. - -Then they discovered that the mounted men were being divided into -squads, and soon these squads began to patrol the neighboring streets. - -Dick again left the room, was gone fifteen or twenty minutes, and -returned with the information that the officer had given orders that no -one was to enter or leave the hotel until further notice. The guests -were practically prisoners, and this seemed to indicate that the danger -was not over. - -Nadia's nerves were in a sad condition from the strain and the relapse. -Her brother conducted her to her room. He then returned and, accompanied -by the professor, proceeded to interview the German proprietor of the -hotel. - -Dick and Brad were left alone. The door was standing slightly ajar. - -"This business had been a plenty exciting, partner," said the Texan; -"but I opine she's practically over now." - -"I don't know about that," said Dick, shaking his head. - -Buckhart was astonished by the grave manner of his companion. - -"Don't know?" he cried. "Why, the mob has been scattered and the -soldiers are guarding the house." - -"Yes, the soldiers are guarding the house, and orders have been given -that no one shall leave it." - -"That is so none of the inmates shall fall into the hands of the mob." - -"Is it?" - -"Isn't it?" - -"I'm not sure. I would feel easier if I knew that was the real reason -why no one will be permitted to leave." - -"Then you have an idea that there may be another reason?" - -"I have." - -"I don't opine I just understand." - -"I'm afraid we are prisoners here, held until agents of the governor can -make an investigation and find out who was present last night, when -Hafsa Pasha met his end." - -The Texan sprang up and stood in an attitude of mingled surprise and -consternation. - -"Great tarantulas!" he exclaimed. "There may be something in that!" - -Dick nodded. - -"There may be," he said. "If there is----" - -"You and I may be arrested and thrown into prison any time." - -"Nadia, also." - -"Thunder! Dick, I'm afraid you've hit the truth. What will happen if you -are right?" - -"We'll find ourselves in a very nasty scrape; but it will be hardest on -Nadia. Think of the poor girl thrown into----" - -"I can't think of it! I decline! Pard, we must find a way to get her out -of this scrape. If the governor really sends officers here to -investigate, we'll be pointed out, and then it will be too late. What -can we do?" - -"We seem to be caught like rats in a trap," admitted Dick. - -A low laugh sounded outside the door, which was pushed open, and into -the room softly stepped the dark stranger who had spoken with the tall -man and the short man in the hall below. - -"Yes, Dick Merriwell," this fellow said, with malignant satisfaction, -"you are caught, and there is no way for you to escape. When the -officers come I shall take great pleasure in pointing you out to them. -The time of my revenge and triumph has come at last." - -"Miguel Bunol!" cried Dick, in astonishment. - -It was, in truth, the young Spaniard who had once attended school at -Fardale--the fellow who had caused the Budthornes so much trouble in -England and Scotland. - -Since leaving Italy Dunbar and his sister had taken precautions to throw -Bunol off their trail, in case the venomous rascal persisted in seeking -to follow them. Their success had led them to believe they would see no -more of him. - -But in some manner Bunol had traced them to Damascus and overtaken them -there. - -Dick's eyes glittered as they fell on the fellow, while every muscle in -Buckhart's body seemed to become taut, and the Texan crouched a little, -like a person ready to make a leap. - -Bunol closed the door and placed his back against it, facing the two -boys he hated. He stood there, surveying them insolently, deep -satisfaction in his face and bearing. His manner seemed to say: "I am -master of the situation at last, and now I propose to crush you." - -"Woof!" finally burst from Buckhart, like the snort of a startled wild -beast. "It sure is that same onery coyote, partner!" - -"It would be well for you if you restrained your tongues and called no -hard names," said Bunol. - -"The varmint is plenty bold, Dick," said Brad. - -Merriwell recovered command of himself, and he seemed quite calm and -undisturbed, although inwardly a tempest was raging. - -"So you have followed us here, Mig Bunol?" he said. - -"As you see," retorted the Spaniard, "I am here. You thought yourselves -very clever, but you could not fool me for long." - -"We certain fooled you a plenty for a while," muttered Buckhart. - -"What do you think you can accomplish by chasing us round the world?" -questioned Dick. "Thus far you have met with nothing but failure." - -"My time of triumph has now come. Up to this day fortune has favored -you. Now it has turned against you." - -Bunol showed his white teeth in a pantherish grin, that caused the sharp -ends of his tiny, pointed mustache to curl upward more than usual. - -"Do you think so?" - -"I know it." - -"How do you know it?" - -"You are in a trap from which there is no escape." - -"You mean----" - -"You were concerned in the murder of Hafsa Pasha." - -"We were not!" - -"You were present when he was killed, and that is enough. Oh, I knew it -before I stood outside this door and listened to your talk just now." - -"Eavesdropper!" snarled Buckhart. - -"Rage and growl!" laughed the Spaniard. "Little good it will do you! You -are like the wolf that snaps with its teeth at the steel trap into which -it has stepped. I heard you talking, but it told me nothing new. I will -tell you something. You have made the right guess about the soldiers. -They are guarding this house in order that you may not escape until the -Pasha causes your arrest. That will not be long. The proper officers -will come very soon. Then I shall point you out to them. Once you have -been arrested for that crime no power on earth can save you from being -beheaded. How like you the prospect, my insolent American friends?" - -"So you propose to help the Turks in taking us?" questioned Dick. - -"I shall help them by pointing you out. In return, I hope I may secure -the privilege of being present when you are beheaded. It will give me -great joy to stand near and watch the executioner shave off your heads. -Ha, ha, ha!" - -Buckhart's strong fingers closed in an intense grip that made his fists -like two knobby iron balls. - -"Mebbe you won't be in condition to do any talking when the officers -come," muttered the Texan. - -"Oh, I am watching you," declared Bunol. "I have a pistol ready for use. -If you force me, no hesitation will I have in using it." - -"Why did you come here?" asked Dick. "Why didn't you hasten to send -information to the governor?" - -"Because that was not necessary, and I came here to enjoy the pleasure -of witnessing your disturbance in the face of certain death." - -"You came to gloat over us?" - -"Have it so, if it pleases you. Why shouldn't I? Many times you have -gloated over me." - -"Never! Never yet have I gloated over a fallen enemy." - -"But you have been triumphant, and I have suffered defeat." - -"Which you deserved, for you are a scheming snake in the grass!" - -"You say so, but you are not my judge. Many times have you brought -disgrace and shame upon me, until I have come to hate you with a burning -hatred. But for you, Nadia Budthorne would now be my wife." - -"And such a fate would be more terrible than death for any refined girl. -When the officers come, you will denounce her if you denounce us. You -cannot help it, for it is said that a girl was concerned in the affair -that ended with the death of Hafsa Pasha. Are you wretch enough to send -Nadia to her death?" - -Bunol shrugged his shoulders. - -"Perhaps if she were to swear to marry me----" - -"Which she'll never do, you dog!" panted Buckhart. - -"Oh, is it you who think you will secure her, you uncouth creature from -a land of savages!" cried Bunol. "Bah! It's a pity you cannot see -yourself as you are, hulking, awkward, dull-faced, slow-witted, -unpolished, swaggering, conceited--a worthy product of that raw portion -of your miserable country called the West. You Americans of the East are -more than enough bad; but those who come from the West are sickening to -one of culture and refinement." - -Buckhart took a step toward the insulting speaker, but Bunol whipped out -a pistol. - -"Stay!" he hissed. "One more step will be the last you will ever make!" - -At Dick's elbow was a writing desk, on which lay a heavy metal paper -weight. - -While Bunol's attention was given almost wholly to Brad, Merriwell's -fingers closed quickly on the paper weight. Suddenly, with a motion that -was amazingly rapid, he lifted his hand and launched the paper weight at -the Spaniard. - -Bunol attempted to dodge, having seen the sudden jerking movement of -Merriwell's arm. - -He was a second too slow. - -The paper weight struck him squarely between the eyes, and he dropped -unconscious to the floor. - -Like a panther, Dick crossed the floor in one great bound and fell on -Bunol, his fingers closing on the fellow's windpipe. - -Breathing hoarsely, Buckhart was on hand to render assistance. - -"Great work, pard!" complimented the excited Texan. "He had me under his -gun, and I couldn't do a thing." - -He picked up Bunol's pistol, which had dropped from the fellow's -fingers. - -"This may add to our armament," he observed. "We're likely to need all -the guns we can handle pretty soon." - -Dick had discovered by this time that there was no need to choke the -Spaniard, for the paper weight had fixed the fellow so he would offer no -resistance. - -"Bring me the rope we found in the wardrobe yonder, Brad," directed -Merriwell, "and bring it quickly. We must tie this fellow up good and -solid before he recovers." - -The other boy hastened to bring the rope. - -"Looks like somebody used this for a trunk strap," he observed. "Lucky -they left it in the wardrobe." - -Dick directed Brad to cut the rope into pieces of certain length, and -with these pieces he proceeded to tie Bunol in such a manner that it -would be difficult for the fellow to do much more than wiggle a toe on -recovering consciousness. - -"He'll be liable to howl some when he comes round," observed Brad. - -"Not when I have finished with him," asserted Dick. "Hand me that -clothes brush." - -Buckhart did so. - -Dick took the brush across his knee and broke off the handle in a -twinkling. Then, with the aid of his comrade's knife, he soon fixed the -handle so it would serve as a gag, and this he fastened between the -teeth of the Spaniard. - -As he was completing this task, Dick saw that Bunol was coming round. -The fellow's breast heaved, he opened his eyes, and for the time being -he seemed completely bewildered and at a loss to understand what had -happened. - -"Now, what will we do with him, pard?" questioned Brad. - -"We'll chuck him into that closet," decided Dick, at once. - -A step sounded outside the door. - -Instantly Brad leaped to the door and set his shoulder against it. - -"Go on, Dick!" he palpitated. "Get Mig out of the way somehow, while I -hold the door." - -Merriwell stooped to lift his enemy. As he did so his eyes met those of -Bunol, and in the dark orbs of the helpless Spaniard he saw a murderous -look of hatred. - -On Bunol's forehead there was a swelling, but otherwise he seemed -unharmed. - -Dick had been compelled to jerk the paper weight at the fellow with a -quick, snapping movement. Had he thrown the thing with all his strength -the rascal's skull might have been fractured. - -Unheeding the venom in Bunol's glance, Dick lifted the fellow's limp -body and carried him quickly across the room, thrusting him into the -small closet. He placed the helpless wretch in a sitting position on the -floor, with his knees curled up to his chin, and then closed the closet -door. - -Some one was rapping on the door Brad was holding. - -"Let them in," directed Dick coolly. - -Buckhart stepped away from the door. - -Professor Gunn entered, followed by a huge black man, wearing immense -brass rings in his ears. - -"This man wants to speak with you, Richard," said the old pedagogue. "He -has a message for you." - -Dick was very much surprised. - -"A message for me?" he said. "Who from?" - -"You should know," said the black man, in astonishingly good English. -"Look at me. We have met." - -"Why, it's Assouan!" cried Merriwell. - -"I am Assouan," bowed the black man. - -"But here--what are you doing here? How did you get here?" - -"I came from my master, the great sheik." - -"But he is in flight. He----" - -"He sent me." - -"Why?" - -"I bring a message from him." - -"What is it?" - -"He fears greatly that you will find yourself in great peril here in -Damascus, and that you may be slain." - -"His fears seem to be well-founded. Is that all the message?" - -"He commanded me to return to the city, seek you and learn if you were -indeed in danger." - -"I certainly appreciate the sheik's thoughtful concern. We are indeed in -danger, and by the time you can return, and so inform him, it will be -too late for him to render any assistance, should he be so inclined." - -"The noble sheik gave me instructions, in case I should find you in -peril. He bade me suggest that you should attempt to escape from the -city in disguise, at which you are exceeding clever." - -"A great idea!" Merriwell exclaimed. "It might be done." - -Then his face fell. - -"But I am not the only one in danger, and I have no disguise save that -which I used last night. I might make myself up like an English or -American girl, but little good it would do, for the mob is aroused -against foreigners, and a girl could not pass unmolested through the -streets. Besides that, how could I get out of this hotel? The place is -guarded." - -"As to that," said Assouan, "I can show the way to leave the hotel -unobserved, even as I entered it." - -"You did have to come in, that's a fact. How did you pass the soldiers -on guard?" - -"There is a way. I know it." - -"And you can show us how to leave this place without being stopped by -the soldiers?" - -"I can." - -"That's a plenty interesting!" muttered Buckhart. - -Professor Gunn was greatly excited. - -"Then show us--show us!" he fluttered. "We'll be glad enough to get -out." - -"It would do you no good as you now are, for you would be compelled to -appear on the open streets, and the people of the city are greatly -aroused against foreigners. You would be attacked on the street. Better -the mercy of the soldiers than that of the mob." - -"Then you cannot help us, after all!" - -"My instructions were to aid only the boy who restored life to the noble -sheik when he was struck by the iron chariot of the infidels." - -"Well," said Dick, "if Ras al Had fancied I would desert my friends in -order to save myself, he made a mistake." - -"If you remain, you may be beheaded." - -"Unless there is some way for the whole of us to get out, I shall remain -and take my chances." - -Assouan regarded Dick with evident surprise. - -"It is better that one should escape than that all should be slain," he -declared. - -"In order to escape, I would have to obtain some complete disguise that -would enable me to pass along the streets of the city without -molestation. How could I thus disguise myself?" - -"Abraham, the Jew, who did so once before, could attend to that." - -"Abraham? But I could not go to his place of business." - -"I could bring him here." - -Dick's eyes began to shine. - -"Can you do that, Assouan?" he asked. - -"So I have said." - -"Wait a moment; let me consult with my friend." - -He drew Buckhart aside. - -"Brad," he said, "I have an idea." - -"Fire her at me, partner," invited the Texan. - -"If old Abraham can do the trick--if he can bring disguises enough--why -should not we all make up and endeavor to get away before we are -apprehended by order of the governing Pasha? Old Abraham will do almost -anything for money. Let him bring disguises for us, for the professor, -and for Budthorne and Nadia. He ought to know how to rig us up so we can -pass through the streets without bringing the fanatics down on us. I'll -instruct Assouan to bring the old Jew here in a hurry." - -"It's worth trying, Dick. Anything to save Nadia!" - -Merriwell turned to the black messenger. - -"Is Abraham a man of education?" he asked. - -"He has traveled," was the answer. - -"Do you know if he can read English?" - -"I do not know, but it may be that he can." - -"Wait." - -Dick strode to the desk, seized a pad of paper and a pencil and wrote -rapidly. In a few moments he had finished. - -"What are you trying to do, Richard?" asked the old professor, who had -been nervously walking about the room. "You have not sought my advice." - -"There is no time for that now, professor," declared the boy. - -He thrust the folded paper into one of Assouan's huge hands. - -"Carry that to Abraham without delay if you wish to aid me," he -directed. "Let no other person see it. Time is precious." - -The black man bowed low and hurried from the room. - -"It is possible that the preservation of our lives depends on the -success of this scheme," said Dick. "I wrote urging Abraham to come and -bring disguises for five of us, including one woman, explaining briefly -that we desired to escape by passing through the streets of the city in -open day." - -"No use! no use!" exclaimed Zenas hopelessly. "It is the wild project of -harebrained youth. We cannot escape that way. If we try it, we'll simply -fall into the hands of the enraged populace and be torn to pieces." - -"Well, we'll make the attempt if Abraham comes and rigs us out for it," -said Dick decisively. "I hope he'll come. I know a message from Ras al -Had will influence him some, and on top of that I have promised to pay -him a liberal sum. If he disappoints us, our fate will lie in the hands -of the American consul, and it's likely he may be unable to do a thing -for us." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--BRAD AND NADIA - - -In an astonishingly brief time Assouan returned, with the old Jew at his -heels. - -Abraham was carrying a heavy bundle. He looked rather pale and -frightened. - -"My tear poy," he said, "vy haf you got yourself indo such a pad scrape? -If I hat known last nighdt vat you vas intending to do, I would nefer -hat anyt'ing to do vit id. So helup me, I vos in dancher to pe murtered -vor id. If id vos voundt oudt I had somedings to do vid disguisin' you -as a girl, and that you dit vool der Pasha that vay, dey vould tear mine -shop down un drag me t'rough der streets. I haf peen in terror off my -life efer since I heardt vot had habbened. I vould gif somedings -handsome if you vos a t'ousandt miles vrom Damascus this minute. Id vos -to helup you get avay that I came ven Assouan toldt me an' gafe me your -writings. I haf peen to Enklandt and America, and I read your writings -vell." - -"Then don't lose time in talk," said Dick; "but get about the job of -rigging us up. Fix us so we can escape, and you will be in no danger of -exposure." - -The boy realized that it was fear, more than anything else, that had -brought Abraham to them in this time of trouble. The Jew believed that -Dick, should he be seized by the officers of the city, as an accomplice -in the murder of Hafsa Pasha, would then tell how, disguised as a girl, -he had deceived the Pasha. He would be compelled to state where he -obtained the disguise, and that would turn the wrath of the enraged -Moslems against old Abraham. - -"You said dere vas fife peoples to be disguised," said the Jew. - -"Yes." - -"I see only t'ree." - -"Brad, call Budthorne and his sister." - -Dunbar and Nadia appeared in a few minutes, and Dick explained his plan -of escaping in disguise. - -"Do you think it necessary?" asked Dunbar. "It seems to me that we are -safe now, for the soldiers are guarding the hotel, and the mob is held -in check." - -Then Dick was compelled to tell that the soldiers were guarding the -hotel while waiting for the governing Pasha's order to arrest the -foreigners supposed to be concerned in the murder of Hafsa Pasha. - -"It is Nadia we must get out of here, first," said Dick. "You should be -ready to take any risk to get her away." - -When Budthorne was satisfied that Merriwell was not mistaken he -immediately urged his sister to permit herself to be disguised and to -follow the advice of the clear-headed American lad. - -Realizing her own frightful peril at last, the girl willingly consented. - -"It will pe easy to disguise her," declared Abraham. - -"Then," said Dick, "lose no time in making her up. Disguise Budthorne, -also, and let Assouan conduct them from the hotel while you are rigging -the rest of us up. He should be able to conduct them to some place of -safety and then return for us. Can you do so, Assouan?" - -The black man declared that he could. - -The old Jew opened his pack and spread out his supply of costumes. He -swiftly prepared for work. - -In truth, it was an easy matter to disguise Nadia. Over her regular -clothes he hastily fastened a loose dress, like that worn by a Turkish -woman of middle class, placed a high fezlike cap on her head, and -arranged a heavy veil over her face below the eyes, the brows and lashes -of which he had touched up with pencils, giving them the peculiar cast -seen in those of Moslem women. - -All this was done so swiftly and so completely changed Nadia that the -watchers were astounded. - -Abraham lost no time. - -"Nexdt," he called. - -Dick pushed Budthorne forward. - -Buckhart improved the opportunity to take charge of the girl. They -stepped outside the room, while Abraham went to work on Dunbar without -delay. - -Excited people were still moving about in the hotel. The sound of many -voices came to the boy and girl. Some one was at the foot of the stairs. - -Brad urged Nadia into her own room, the door of which was standing ajar. -She grasped his hand and drew him after her, whispering: - -"I am terribly frightened now, Brad. Don't leave me alone." - -"All right," said the Texan. "Don't you be frightened. We're going to -get you out of this scrape all right. My pard has a long head on his -shoulders." - -"Dick is a wonderful boy," declared the girl. - -Again Buckhart felt a thrill of jealousy, but he resolutely thrust such -a feeling from his heart. - -"He's a corker!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "See how quick he caught -onto the plan of old Ras al Had and turned it to the benefit of us all." - -They were in the room, but the door was still left ajar. - -"I know I'm a big blunderer beside Dick," Buckhart went on. "Of course -you're not to blame for liking him best, Nadia. It's only natural you -should, and----" - -"But I don't like him best," she hastily cut in. - -"You can't help it." - -"You're mistaken, Brad. I admire him for his courage, his -resourcefulness, his loyalty and all that; but you are just as brave and -just as loyal, and I--I like you--even better." - -He caught her hand again and gave it a squeeze. - -"I don't see how that can be," he muttered huskily. - -"It's true. You don't think I would deceive you, do you?" - -"No, but----" - -"But what?" - -"I'm going to confess," he said, almost defiantly. "I know I made a fool -of myself after we joined you here in Damascus. I never felt that way -before, and I hope I never shall again. It's an awful mean feeling. I -was jealous." - -"Jealous, Brad?" - -"Yes, I was. First I was jealous because I thought you had taken too -much interest in Hafsa Pasha. Then I was jealous of my pard, as I -couldn't see any reason why you should care more for him than for me. -And through my fool actions I brought all this trouble on us. If I had -not gone off by myself, kind of eating my heart out, and then ran away -when you and Dick saw me and tried to overtake me, you would not have -been lost in the streets, would not have enraged the Moslems by entering -one of their temples, and would not have given Hafsa Pasha's tools a -chance to seize and imprison you. Oh, I was all to blame, and I know it. -I'm a big----" - -She placed a soft hand over his mouth. - -"I won't listen to such a defamation of the character of my dearest -friend!" she whispered. - -He kissed her fingers. - -"But it's the truth," he asserted. "I hope you'll forgive me and forget -it, Nadia." - -"Why, you dear fellow, you talk as if you had committed a crime!" - -"I feel that way. If we get out of this scrape alive, Nadia, I'll try to -prove to you that I'm not such a fool as I seem. You see!" - -"Oh, hush!" - -"You see!" he repeated. - -"But we may none of us escape. Isn't it terrible! I don't like Dick's -plan for Dunbar and I to leave first. I think we had better wait and all -go together. If we----" - -She stopped, checked by a dull, muffled, murmuring roar that seemed to -come from the streets not far away. The sound made her tremble. - -"The mob has not dispersed!" she whispered. "It has been driven away, -but it is returning! I fear we're lost!" - -He did his best to cheer her and give her courage. Somehow she was -overcome by a great weakness, and suddenly he found her in his arms. The -situation thrilled him, and he held her tight, while he continued to -speak earnest words of reassurance. - -A sound behind them startled them. Brad turned his head, still holding -Nadia. - -A befezzed Turk had quietly entered the room. His eyes seemed to glitter -triumphantly. Lifting a hand and pointing at them, he exclaimed: - -"I have found you! I have come to take that girl away!" - -Nadia uttered a low cry of terror. - -Swinging her onto his left arm, Buckhart suddenly whipped out a pistol -and covered the Turk. - -"Stand back!" he growled. "Advance a step and I'll blow a hole through -you!" - -The man was startled and alarmed by this quick action on the part of the -Texan. He fell back, exclaiming: - -"Don't shoot!" - -"I certain shall," said Buckhart, "if you move another inch. Stand there -and lift your dirty paws above your head!" - -The threatened man hastily put up his hands, at the same time -spluttering: - -"Great Scott! You're altogether too handy with your pistol! Put it up, -Brad! Don't you know me? I'm Budthorne!" - -Nadia gave a start, straightened up a little, and stared at the speaker. - -"Dunbar," she gasped; "Dunbar, is it you?" - -"Of course it is," was the answer. "I wanted to see if my disguise was -any good; but I didn't care to have Buckhart jab a pistol at me so -promptly." - -"Great horn spoon!" muttered the Texan, recognizing Budthorne's voice -and manner of speaking. "I sure was fooled all right. Say, you certain -look an Allah worshiper to the life. If you ever get outside of the -hotel in that rig, you'll be all right." - -Assouan now appeared. - -"We should lose no time," he said. "Abraham is disguising the others. I -must lead you to a place of safety and return for them. The mob is again -trying to approach the hotel, and the soldiers do not seem strong enough -to hold them back much longer." - -"It doesn't seem right for us to go until all are ready," said the girl. -"I think we should not." - -Dick appeared now. - -"You must go at once," he insisted. "It is better so. Were we all to -attempt to pass through the streets together it would add to the danger -of being detected. Abraham is disguising Professor Gunn. Assouan can -conduct Nadia. She will seem to be a Turkish woman with an escort. -Budthorne can follow at a little distance, keeping them in sight. -Assouan will return for us the moment he has placed you where you will -be safe. By the time he gets back, we'll be ready to start. Do not -hesitate, Nadia--go!" - -"It is best, sister," said her brother. - -She grasped Brad's hand once more and gave it a pressure, looking into -his eyes, which smiled at her reassuringly, although his heart was heavy -with dread. - -"Come quickly, Brad," she whispered. "I shall be in mortal terror for -you until I see you again." - -Assouan led the way downstairs, the brother and sister following. - -From a distance again came an outburst of sullen muttering, like the -growling of wild animals held in check. The Moslem mob was growing -impatient. The streets in the vicinity of the hotel were choked. At any -moment the crowd might break from the control of the soldiers. - -"It certain puzzles me up a plenty to know how Assouan is going to get -them out of this building and away from here," said Brad, following Dick -back into the room where the old Jew was at work. - -Already Abraham had transformed Professor Gunn into an apparently dirty -and ragged old Armenian. He was putting on the finishing touches when -the boys entered. - -"Waugh!" grunted Brad. "Is that Professor Zenas Gunn, of Fardale -Academy? Why, I feel a whole lot like kicking that old beggar." - -"I know I'm a shameful sight," moaned Gunn; "but to save my life I have -permitted myself to be changed into a scarecrow." - -"Ven you get der street indo," said the old Jew, "it will pe vell vor -you to keep your mouth still and haf nothing to say. If you talk you -vill betray yourseluf. Now you vos done. I vill attend to der poys." - -Dick pushed Brad forward, and Abraham began on him. With marvelous -rapidity he turned the boy into a young Greek. The work of the Jew was -of the most skillful sort, yet it was performed so rapidly that it -actually seemed careless and slipshod. The results attained, however, -spoke for themselves. - -Dick's trousers were turned up, his shoes stripped off, coarse and dirty -socks pulled on over those he wore. He was given a pair of trousers -which came to his ankles, a long, loose, dirty blouse that fell to the -knees, a coarse, heavy pair of slipper-like shoes, and finally a -battered and soiled fez, with a tassle that hung down over one ear. His -face was bedaubed and rubbed with grease paint until his complexion -changed to dirty yellow. The Jew touched his features here and there -with a pencil, and last the contour of his nose was altered by a bit of -nose putty. This seemed to be an afterthought on the part of Abraham, -but it finished the effect and altered a handsome boy into a slouching, -disreputable-appearing young rascal, such as Merriwell had noticed -occasionally on the streets of Damascus. - -Outside the hotel there was a sudden great shouting. - -"Some one has arrived," announced Brad, who had ventured to peep from -the window. - -The tall form of Assouan appeared in the doorway. - -"Hasten!" he exclaimed. "The Pasha's officer has come to take you! He is -at the door." - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE FLIGHT - - -"Too late!" groaned the professor, almost collapsing. "I feared it!" - -"Thank goodness Nadia got out of the trap!" muttered Buckhart. - -"If you do nod escape now id vas der death of Abraham!" groaned the -frightened Jew. - -Dick sprang past Assouan and reached the door. He looked out and then -turned. - -"What do you mean?" he demanded. "There is no one here." - -"He is below," said the black man. "Be quick! There is still a small -chance for you." - -"Come on, then!" exclaimed Brad. - -But Dick saw the old professor had sunk down weakly on the couch, and he -leaped to the side of Zenas. - -"Come, professor!" he breathed, grasping the hand of the unnerved man. - -"Go!" gasped the old pedagogue weakly. "Save yourself, if you can. Leave -me. My strength is gone. God bless you, Richard! If I am beheaded by -these fanatics, tell my wife--tell the boys----" - -In spite of Professor Gunn's lack of nerve, in spite of the spells of -trepidation which seized him, in spite of his many weaknesses, the old -man had won a warm corner in Dick Merriwell's heart, and Dick was not -the boy to desert in time of peril any one for whom he had the slightest -regard. - -"I'll not tell them anything!" he said grimly. "If you do not brace up -and attempt to escape, I'll remain here with you, and you know what that -means. You may not be harmed, for you were not present when Hafsa Pasha -was slain; but as surely as I fall into the hands of the sultan's -officers, there will be very little show for me. Unless you brace up -now, you may destroy me." - -Dick spoke in this manner thinking it might be the best way to arouse -the old man, and he made no mistake. - -"I--I--I----" stammered the professor. - -Brad urged them to hasten. - -Suddenly Dick picked the professor up by main strength and placed him on -his feet. Supporting the old man, he hurried him toward the door. - -Assouan had grown impatient and seemed ready to dart away. His eyes were -rolling, showing the whites in a manner that betokened the man's -nervousness and increasing fear. He urged them not to waste another -moment. - -Abraham was left praying in the room. - -"Lead on," said Dick. - -Suddenly Professor Gunn displayed an astonishing burst of energy. He -broke from Dick and ran to Assouan, imploring the messenger of the sheik -to make all haste. - -Down the stairs sprang Assouan, and what seemed to be a trembling old -beggar kept close at his heels. Buckhart came next, with Dick bringing -up the rear. - -At the foot of the stairs suddenly appeared a Turkish officer with a -drawn sword. He did not attempt to stop Assouan, but lifted his sword -and placed the point against the breast of the disguised professor, -commanding him to halt. - -At the same instant, it seemed, a human figure fairly shot over the head -and shoulders of Buckhart, over the professor, and landed with full -force on the officer, hurling the latter to the floor. - -It was Dick Merriwell, who had acted with lightning-like swiftness. - -The Turk was knocked senseless, and lay stretched on the floor at the -foot of the stairs, his sword beneath him. - -Dick leaped up. - -"Come on, professor!" he hissed. "Come on, Brad!" - -He caught hold of Gunn once more, and away they went, finding it no -simple matter to keep track of the black man, who was now fleeing for -his own life. - -Other inmates of the hotel, all in great alarm, got in their way, but -were thrust aside. They rushed through several rooms. Twice some one -tried to stop them. They stumbled down some dark steps. Doors were flung -open before them and slammed behind them. Some curtains were thrust -aside, disclosing a dark passage. Into this they plunged. It brought -them quickly to other rooms and other doors that yielded to the hand of -the black leader. They were bewildered, for none save Assouan knew -whither they were going. Their wild rush hither and thither seemed -aimless. At last, in a storeroom, where there were boxes and bales and -casks, the sheik's messenger thrust a bale aside and seized an iron ring -that seemed set in the floor. With a surge, he lifted a trapdoor, -beneath which was a place of utter darkness. - -"Down!" he sibilated, pointing into the darkness. "Down, and wait for me -to follow!" - -Brad dropped through recklessly and disappeared. The professor followed, -breathing a prayer. - -Behind them there were cries and the sound of many feet. Their flight -had attracted attention. Several persons were coming, and they might be -Turkish officers. - -Dick slipped through the trap and dropped. - -He fell on his hands and knees, and instantly realized that, were he to -stand erect, his head and shoulders would protrude through the square -opening above. - -He felt one of his companions at his side. He looked up and saw the -muscular black man again moving the bale. Assouan sat with his legs -dangling through the opening. The trapdoor was leaning against his -shoulder. He reached over, grasped the bale and pulled it against the -door. Then, swiftly, yet with deliberation, he slid down through the -trap, permitting the door to close, with the tipped bale settling over -it. - -In the darkness, beneath, the four fugitives crouched on the bare -ground, hearing above their heads the feet of their pursuers. - -After a time the tread of feet and murmur of voices ceased. Evidently -their pursuers had departed baffled. - -Then Assouan whispered directions to them, and, one after the other, the -black man leading, they crawled many feet along what seemed to be a -trenchlike passage beneath the building. - -Finally Assouan paused. He rose, and they saw a gleam of light that came -faintly through another square opening. This dim light revealed their -conductor opening another trapdoor by lifting it. He stood erect, and -then sprang lightly up through the opening. - -"Oh, Richard!" whispered Professor Gunn; "this is a terrible experience! -If we escape with our lives, I shall always think of this day with -unspeakable horror." - -Assouan was stooping over the opening, with his hands outstretched. He -directed them to rise and permit him to assist them. - -Dick urged the professor onward. The black man grasped the hands of the -old pedagogue and lifted him through the trap. - -Buckhart needed no assistance, nor did Dick, who swiftly followed him. - -Assouan closed the trapdoor behind him. - -"Wherever are we?" inquired the Texan. - -The black man explained that they were in a building that stood on the -opposite side of a narrow street at the back of the German hotel. - -They had actually crept through a passage that led beneath this street. - -This passage had been made years before, by the former owner of the -hotel, who feared a repetition of the massacre of 1860, and wished a -means of escaping from the building in case it should be assailed by a -mob. It was doubtful if the present proprietor knew of the existence of -the passage. - -The old sheik, Ras al Had, had chanced by accident to discover the -passage while storing goods in the building into which it led from the -hotel. At the present time this building was used as a storehouse. The -room in which they found themselves was poorly lighted. They were again -amid boxes and bales of goods. - -Outside, between them and the hotel, they heard the sound of many -voices. The mob was there, but the soldiers were still holding the crowd -in check. - -"My goodness!" murmured Professor Gunn. "It seems to me that we're still -in a nasty scrape. We haven't escaped." - -Without a word, the black man led the way to another part of the -building. A heavy door faced them in one dim corner. This door Assouan -knew how to open, but he paused and listened some moments before -unfastening it. - -"When the door is opened," he finally said, "step quickly across and -into a doorway directly opposite." - -They were ready. The door was opened, and, without loss of time, they -crossed a space of about three feet between the two buildings and -entered the doorway spoken of by Assouan. - -The black man followed them as soon as he had closed the door after -leaving the storehouse. They found they had stepped into a room where, -sitting cross-legged on the floor, an old sandal maker was at work. To -their surprise, this old man, after looking at them curiously, kept on -about his labor without speaking a word. - -Assouan explained that the man was a mute. - -The black man made some signs, which were answered by a single signal -from the sandal maker. Then Assouan again instructed his disguised -companions to follow him, pushed aside a curtain from a low doorway, -stooped and passed into an adjoining room. - -This room was on the front of the house. The door to the street stood -wide open. A middle-aged Syrian woman was working at a rude loom, -weaving some sort of goods. Two girls, one about thirteen and the other -eight or nine, were sorting and preparing the strands used by the woman -in her work. - -The woman glanced at Assouan, but seemed to give none of the others a -look. Dick fancied an expression of alarm swept over her face, but she -continued stolidly and steadily about her work. - -The children stared at them until the woman spoke in a low tone of -command, seeming to rebuke them for their rudeness, after which they -resumed the work of sorting and preparing the strands. - -Assouan tossed a piece of silver before the woman, but she kept at her -work, without seeming to notice it. Dick would have dropped more money, -but the black man restrained him with a gesture and a shake of the head. -They passed out upon the street, one at a time. - -Assouan strode in advance. Professor Gunn, looking like a ragged old -Armenian, doddered along behind him. Buckhart, as a respectable young -Greek, kept by himself, taking the opposite side of the street. Dick -imitated the shiftless, shuffling walk of the young vagabonds of the -city, thus making his assumed character seem real, and followed them all -at a little distance. - -The street was well filled--almost crowded--with excited people, who -were talking of the murder of the Pasha and the belief that those -concerned in the murder were trapped in the German hotel. - -Although the people were speaking in various languages, Dick understood -something of what was being said, and he realized that he was surrounded -by Moslems. - -Although Abraham had performed his work well, he had made a mistake in -disguising the old professor as an Armenian. The Turks were aroused. -Although they were stirred up against foreigners, their hatred for the -Armenians was liable to burst forth any moment. - -Thus it happened that a group of young men suddenly stopped the -disguised professor and began hustling him about. - -The old man said not a word, for he knew he would betray himself if he -opened his mouth. - -Brad Buckhart paused and watched proceedings, his hands clenched and his -aspect indicating that he was on the verge of pitching in and assisting -Zenas. - -Dick made a warning gesture, which Brad saw. He also paused, but he -looked on as if quite indifferent to what was taking place. - -Assouan had disappeared. Fully understanding the terrible peril his -companions were in, he had no desire to become involved, and, therefore, -he had hastened on. - -Our friends were left to their fate in the streets of Damascus. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--SAVED BY PRAYER - - -One of the mob struck the old professor in the face. Instantly Dick -started forward. - -Then a most fortunate thing happened. - -From the balcony of a near-by minaret a muezzin sent forth the call to -prayer: - -"God is great. There is but one God. Mohammed is the prophet of God. -Prayer is better than sleep. Come to prayer." - -Immediately a wonderful change came over the crowd on the street. As one -man, they lifted their hands to their ears, the lobes of which they -touched with their thumbs, keeping their hands outspread, at the same -time beginning to repeat certain passages from the Koran. This was the -beginning of the Mohammedan prayer. - -The professor seemed forgotten. Dick realized instantly that this was a -time to be improved, for the shortest prayer would require several -minutes. - -The call to prayer had come at a moment most fortunate for Professor -Gunn. Instantly Dick hurried past the confused and trembling old man, -hissing in his ear: - -"Follow me!" - -All around them were the praying Mussulmans, but not one of them put out -a hand to stop the disguised foreigners. - -Brad followed after Dick and the professor, thus acting as a sort of -rear guard. - -Once or twice Dick looked back to see if Zenas was following. Terror had -given the old man strength, and he was not far from the boy's heels. - -Even when the devotees of Mohammed fell on their knees and began beating -their heads on the ground, the fugitives continued to thread their way -amid the half-prostrate figures. - -Dick did not know which way Assouan had gone, but he did know it was -best for them to get as far as possible from the vicinity of the German -hotel. - -Of course, he hoped the black servant of Ras al Had would again appear, -but he did not linger to look around for him. - -They were fortunate in getting out of the thickest of the crowd before -the devotees had finished praying. - -"That sure was a close call," muttered Buckhart. "I reckoned we were all -goners." - -"Why didn't you leave me, boys?" asked the professor. "I was keeping -silent to give you time to escape." - -"What are you talking about?" demanded Dick resentfully. "I hope you -don't think we're that sort!" - -"I hope so some myself!" growled the Texan. "Where is that thundering -nig--I mean colored gent?" - -"He's skipped," said Dick. - -"Hiked and left us to go it alone, eh?" nodded the Texan. "Well, that's -a plenty fine!" - -"We may find him," suggested Zenas. - -"Not likely," said Dick. "I fancy he thought the jig was up when he saw -the crowd fall on you, as he shook the dust of that locality off his -feet." - -"That will leave us in a beautiful scrape; but we're outside that -hotel," said Brad. "It was a close call there, for we barely succeeded -in slipping through the fingers of the Turks. How are we going to get -out of this dirty old city, Dick?" - -"I can't say," confessed Merriwell. - -"Talk about the wild and woolly West!" growled Brad. "Why, since the -days of Sam Houston and Davy Crockett there never were such doings in -Texas as we've struck right here in this dried-up, outlandish country. -If I ever get back home to tell about these doings, I won't dare to -tell, for they sure would lynch me as a liar." - -"We're talking too much," said Dick. "We're attracting attention. Stop -talking and keep moving." - -He led the way and they followed blindly. - -Suddenly, as they turned from one street into another, the most -appalling medley of horrible sounds burst upon their ears. It seemed -that a hundred human beings were being tortured in the most excruciating -manner, and were howling forth their dying agonies. There were yells, -screams, roars, and, amid it all, a sort of muffled music, as of drums -and other instruments. - -"Great catamounts!" gasped Buckhart. "We're up against a whole tribe of -Injuns at a scalp dance, or I'm mistaken!" - -Dick was startled and filled with wonderment. - -"Listen!" he urged. - -"Hu, ya Hu! Hu, ya Hu! Hu, ya Hu!" - -These were the only words they could distinguish amid that terrible -howling. - -The professor had been agitated, but now he was the first to recover. - -"That cry, 'Hu, ya Hu,' means 'God, oh God,'" he explained. "It is the -cry of the howling dervishes. Look--there is the open door of a temple, -and the sounds come from within. It is shortly after midday prayer on -Friday, which is the time for the howlers to do their work." - -"Well, of all howling I ever heard, that sure is about the most hair -lifting," declared Buckhart. - -They were compelled to pass the open door of the temple or turn back, -and they decided to keep on. - -As they slipped past, they obtained a peep within the place. They saw a -number of dancing, whirling, twisting, writhing men within, apparently -in a perfect frenzy--stamping their feet on the floor and yelling madly, -their lips covered with foam and their eyes closed. Others were -stretched prone on the floor. Some were sitting about beating on drums -and playing queer instruments. - -That was all they saw, for they dared not linger to look into the place, -had they so desired. - -They had not proceeded much farther when Buckhart stopped, a look of -gloom in his eyes. - -"Whatever are we going to do?" he inquired. - -"We must get out of the city just as fast as we can," declared Gunn. "By -this time it must be known that we escaped from the hotel and how we -escaped." - -"That's a fact," nodded Dick. - -"But we can't leave the city without Nadia and her brother," protested -Brad. "We can't leave them here in this nest of crazy fools, to be -butchered!" - -"We must leave them to Assouan," said Merriwell. "I believe he will get -them out of Damascus." - -"I don't know about that--I doubt it! He skipped in a hurry to save his -own black head." - -"For which we cannot blame him greatly. What have we done that he should -risk his life as far as he did for us?" - -"Why, we sort of resuscitated his old master when the whole bunch -thought him killed." - -"And for that Ras al Had sent Assouan back into Damascus, with -instructions to aid us in escaping from the city, if possible. Assouan -stuck by us longer than I thought he would. But after he left us it is -probable he hurried to Nadia and Budthorne and guided them out of the -city." - -"Mebbe so," muttered Brad; "but I doubt it. I shan't be for hiking out -until I feel sure Nadia's not waiting for us somewhere." - -"Unless we make all haste in escaping," said the professor, "we shall -not escape at all." - -"Why not?" - -"As I said before, by this time it must be known that we escaped from -the hotel in disguise." - -"Why?" - -"Have you forgotten Miguel Bunol?" asked Dick. - -"Thunder! I had forgotten him!" - -"We left him in that closet." - -"Sure." - -"He must have been found ere this." - -"That's right." - -"Although he was bound and gagged, he could hear what was going on in -that room." - -"Yes." - -"Well, you see, he knows how we were disguised." - -"Straight goods." - -"And he hates us with an undying and deadly hatred. He will lose no time -in telling the Turkish officers how we escaped. The city will be scoured -for us. Every avenue of escape will be closed. Our disguise will be -worse than useless as soon as Bunol talks. We shall be captured. Our -heads will be chopped off as soon as the Turks can attend to the job." - -"Pretty bad," admitted Buckhart grimly; "but, all the same, I hate to -run for it, thinking all the while that we may be leaving Nadia and -Budthorne to be murdered. Can't we find them? Is there no way to----" - -"What show have we to find them by searching aimlessly through the -streets, Brad?" said Dick. "Assouan hid them somewhere with a friend. -Even the Turks might not find them, but they could have no trouble in -finding us wandering about in the open streets. Be sensible, old man." - -The Texan surrendered at last. - -"All right, pard," he said; "we'll get out of the city, but I'll never -forgive myself if any harm comes to Nadia." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII--IN THE DESERT - - -Three days have passed, and it is morning on the desert. The huge, -golden sun rose over the edge of the barren world, and its rays fell on -a lonely camel train that was already on the move. - -The camels were loaded with merchandise from the interior and bound for -the port of Akka. - -A noted Syrian merchant was in charge of the train. There were other -Syrians, but most of the camel drivers were Arabs. - -Mounted on one of the many camels were Dick Merriwell and Brad Buckhart, -minus their disguises and wearing their own clothes. - -Professor Gunn was swaying and rocking miserably on the back of another -camel, his companion being one of the Syrians. - -Brad Buckhart looked no less disconsolate than the professor, while the -expression on Dick Merriwell's face was not one of absolute satisfaction -and contentment. - -Brad was grumbling. - -"Pard, I sure am a heap sore." - -"So am I," admitted Dick. "Camel riding isn't what it's cracked up to -be. It is enough to make any one sore." - -"I didn't mean that I was sore in that way." - -"Didn't you?" - -"No. I'm thinking that we were fooled a plenty." - -"How do you mean?" - -"By that old black wretch, Assouan." - -"Go on." - -"Haven't you thought the same thing?" - -"Perhaps so; but go ahead and tell me just what you have thought." - -"Why, you know how Assouan met us at the city's gate just as we were -escaping from Damascus." - -"I know." - -"He told us he had hustled Nadia and Budthorne out of the town and sent -them off on fleet horses, guided by Gumar, to join Ras al Had's train." - -"Correct." - -"And having but one good horse, which he was riding, he could not -provide for us and help us overtake them." - -"So he said." - -"Having given us that game of talk, he induced us to follow him and got -us into this merchant train, bound for Akka and the coast." - -"Which seems lucky for us----" - -"Then," cut in the Texan. "Now----" - -"Well, at least, we escaped being seized and beheaded. It is plain -Assouan kept his promise when he said he would try to put the Turks on a -false scent, and so give us a chance for our lives." - -Brad shook his head. - -"Mebbe he did. Anyhow, he didn't tell these people who we were, and you -happened to have money enough on you to induce the old rascal at the -head of the train to take us along. He knew there was trouble in -Damascus, and that foreigners were in danger, but he didn't know the -full truth. Had he, I opine he would have dodged us a heap. I judge he's -getting some suspicious of us now, and he wishes he hadn't bothered any -with us, for all of the money." - -"He did act queerly last night," admitted Dick. "He tried to question -me. I think he has been talking with the professor and the professor has -talked too much. But, then, we are now some distance from Damascus." - -"All the same, Dick, you know we won't be safe until we get out of this -infernal country. But I don't propose to leave until I know what has -become of Nadia." - -"Assouan promised to bring us together." - -"And I am beginning to believe he lied!" - -"What?" - -"I'm afraid the black rascal fooled us." - -"Why should he?" - -"Why shouldn't he? They're none of them to be trusted. Nadia is a -beautiful girl." - -"Well?" - -"In this country very beautiful girls are worth as much as five thousand -dollars each." - -Dick was startled. - -"Oh, you're wrong, Brad, in thinking Assouan would play such a trick! He -wouldn't dare." - -"Why not?" - -"Ras al Had is his master----" - -"And Ras al Had is a fugitive himself. If caught, he will lose his head -for killing Hafsa Pasha. Assouan may have feared the sheik before that -happened, but fear cannot keep Assouan loyal to Ras al Had now." - -Dick realized that this was true. - -"And do you fancy Assouan would carry Nadia off with the intention of -selling her?" - -"I fear it, partner, and that's what's disturbing me a plenty." - -Dick thought for some moments on what had taken place. Finally he shook -his head decisively. - -"I am not willing to believe that," he declared. "Somehow, I am -confident that Assouan is faithful as a dog to Ras al Had. He put -himself to altogether too much trouble about us, in case he were -otherwise. Even after getting Nadia and her brother out of Damascus, he -turned back to look for us." - -"But he deserted us in the street at a critical moment." - -"Because, as he frankly stated, he believed we were lost, and he could -do nothing to save us. Had he attempted to do anything, he would have -sacrificed himself and left Nadia and Dunbar still helpless in the -trap." - -"Well, it may be he's on the square; but it certain seems to me he's had -time to keep his word and show up with Nadia before this." - -At this moment there were signs of confusion in the train. The camel -drivers in advance halted and uttered strange cries. Others took it up. -Those cries produced still greater confusion, which seemed like -consternation. - -"What is it?" asked Brad. - -Dick shaded his eyes and peered away across the broken waste of desert. - -"Horsemen!" he exclaimed. "There is a large body of mounted men coming -toward us from the north." - -"Sure thing," said the Texan, discerning them. "I wonder if Assouan is -going to make good at last!" - -The horsemen came on rapidly, a tiny cloud of dust rising behind them. -Soon they were near enough to enable the men of the camel train to -discover an interesting thing concerning them. - -"Bedouins!" was the cry. - -Both of the American boys had heard of those desert wanderers and -marauders, but now, for the first time, they beheld genuine wild -Bedouins at home. - -The Syrians and Arabs of the train seemed in great fear and -consternation, for they saw the approaching body of men outnumbered -them, and it was impossible to know the purpose of the wild horsemen. - -The Bedouins wore loose, flowing garments and hoods on their heads. They -were all armed to the teeth, as is the habit of the desert Bedouin. - -Dick was thrilled by the picturesque spectacle. He had seen pictures of -Bedouin riders, and he was forced to confess that he was not -disappointed in the real article. - -The merchants huddled their loaded camels together and waited in -helpless suspense for what was to take place. - -Without waiting for his camel to kneel, Zenas Gunn slid down to the -ground, risking both neck and limb, and fell sprawling. He gathered -himself up and rushed forward to Dick and Brad. - -"We're all going to be murdered!" he spluttered. "Those wretches are -going to kill us and plunder the train!" - -Dick forced the camel to kneel, after the manner of camel drivers, a -trick he had learned by observation. Down went one end of the beast, -flinging the boys forward and forcing them to hold fast with all their -strength; then down went the other end, hurling them back and snapping -their teeth together. - -After that they stepped off. - -"It is useless to resist!" moaned the professor. "We have no chance -against those wretches! Oh, boys, this is the end--the awful end!" - -"You've lost your nerve again, professor," said Dick. "Brace up. Let's -not die until we have to." - -The Bedouins had halted at some distance. For a moment they huddled -together, and then out from the mass of horsemen rode one, whose bearing -was that of a leader. - -Alone and unattended, this man fearlessly rode toward the train. -Grasping his gun in the middle, he lifted it high above his head with -one hand, a signal which the merchant at the head of the train seemed to -understand, for he slowly advanced to meet the wild chief. - -The chief was a handsome man at a distance, being of unusual size and -wearing the barbaric garments and decorations of his people. He had a -jet-black beard, and there was something uncommon about his features. -The horse he bestrode was a clean-limbed, fiery animal. - -"If I had my camera now!" exclaimed Dick; "but that camera by this time -is in Alexandria, with the rest of our baggage, which we sent on ahead -of us." - -"I wonder what's up," muttered Brad. "The Syrians are mightily -disturbed." - -"Perhaps the Bedouins are going to demand tribute, and the merchants do -not wish to pay." - -"Is that a custom?" - -"I don't know; but it seems that those armed wanderers could hold up a -train like this and get everything they asked." - -The chief was seen speaking with the merchant. In a few moments the -latter turned, saw Dick and his friends, and called: - -"Mr. Merriwell is wanted." - -"What's that?" gasped Buckhart, in the greatest amazement. "Did you hear -it, pard? Did he say you were wanted?" - -"That's what he said," nodded Dick. - -Professor Gunn began to shake and choke. - -"Richard, oh, Richard!" he exclaimed huskily. "These wild men have been -sent to search the desert for you and take you back to Damascus! You are -lost!" - -"Great grizzlies!" burst from the Texan. "Is it possible that can be -correct?" - -"It may be," said Dick quietly. - -"Well, don't you surrender!" panted the Texan. "I'll back you up, pard. -We'll die with our boots on, fighting to the last ditch! We're both -armed." - -"Alone, the two of us would stand no show against those warriors of the -desert," said Dick. "However, let's not borrow trouble. Let's find out -if there really is any trouble coming." - -Saying which, he boldly walked out. - -The Bedouin chief gazed in silence at the advancing boy, while the -Syrian merchant hastened to say: - -"Here is the lad for whom thou hast called, Ali Beha. Take him and do -thy will." - -Brad had followed Dick, while the old professor timidly brought up the -rear. - -The men of the train watched in anxious silence. - -Buckhart heard the words of the Syrians, and immediately he plunged a -hand into a pocket where his revolver lay. - -"There you have it, Dick!" he half snarled. "Now you know what's coming! -Ready for business!" - -Merriwell made a calm, restraining gesture. - -"Steady, old man," he flung over his shoulder. "Let's talk to Ali Beha -and find out what he's going to do. That is the best plan. Then possibly -we'll raise an objection. Better not be too hasty." - -Experience and the example of his brother Frank had taught Dick to keep -his head in times of peril. - -As usual, Buckhart was ready to fight. For all of the apparent peril, he -was undaunted. Beyond question, he was rash and reckless; but to his -credit it must be said that he was ready to surrender his life in -defense of his rights and his friend. - -There was not one drop of cowardly blood in Brad's body. If, on account -of his assumed bluster and swagger, any one took him for a chap who -would show the white feather in a pinch, that person was certain to be -surprised and quite upset. - -At school a few of the boys had fancied the Texan to be a bluffer, but -when they had attempted to "call him," he had given them, one and all, a -setback by "making good." Physical injury in a fist fight had never -daunted him, and now, in the face of possible death, he was just as -nervy and indifferent to the result. - -Once on a time Dick Merriwell had been impulsive, reckless and -thoughtless, but he had learned to govern himself and to consider the -consequences of any act. This had changed him greatly. Not that he had -lost a whit of courage, but courage is not mere reckless -thoughtlessness. The really brave man is the one who considers the -consequences, realizes the full extent of the peril, and then calmly -faces it. - -It is possible that association with Brad, whom he often found it -necessary to restrain, had tended to make Dick more conservative and -careful, for he realized that two reckless persons who spur each other -on are certain to commit many follies. - -So Merriwell warned his chum against haste and then turned to the chief -of the Bedouins to talk the matter over. - -"You have called for me," he said. "I am here. What do you want?" - -Ali Beha was still surveying the calm, clear-eyed American lad with deep -interest. He took his time about answering Dick's question. - -"Thou art very young," he finally observed. - -"Which is not an answer to my question," retorted Dick. - -"Thou art a mere boy." - -The Bedouin seemed disappointed. - -"Acknowledged," nodded Dick. "What does Ali Beha want of a mere boy and -a stranger in this land?" - -"Thou hast friends near?" - -"Two of them are with me." - -"But there are others?" - -"Possibly." - -"They assisted thee in leaving Damascus?" - -"Yes." - -"But they are not with thee now?" - -"Do you come from them?" asked Dick quickly. - -"It is even so," declared the chief. "Thy friend sent me." - -"You mean---- Name him!" - -"I can speak no names. I am directed to bring thee and thy companions." - -Dick turned to Brad, speaking in a low tone: - -"He must be from Ras al Had. The old sheik sent him for us." - -"I reckon you're right, pard," nodded the Texan, the cloud having left -his face. "At last we have heard from Ras." - -Professor Gunn placed a still quivering hand on Dick's arm. - -"Be cautious, Richard," he warned. "I am afraid of these wild men. It is -said that they are very treacherous. Better ask him openly if he comes -from the sheik." - -"He has said that he can call no names. It is evident that Ras al Had -has taken precautions. In case he is captured and condemned for slaying -Hafsa Pasha, he does not wish to associate us with him in that business, -and so his name is not to be mentioned before these Syrians." - -"You have figured it out, partner," put in Buckhart. "I opine we've had -our little scare for nothing. The sheik has sent for us in his own way, -and we'll be liable to find Nadia and Budthorne by accompanying the -Bedouins." - -Ali Beha remained passive and apparently indifferent while they were -talking this matter over. - -Dick turned once more to the chief. - -"How far away are our friends?" he asked. - -"Beyond the horizon," was the answer. - -"You will take us to them?" - -The Bedouin bowed. - -"I have come to do so," he declared. - -"That settles it," laughed Buckhart. "I judge we're ready and willing to -go." - -The prospect of soon joining Nadia filled the Texan with enthusiasm and -relief. - -"All right," said Dick. "We'll soon be ready." - -He then turned to the Syrian merchant, whom he thanked for such favors -as they had received. - -The merchant made a deprecatory gesture and declared that it was -nothing, which he well might have done, considering the fact that he had -been well paid for those favors. - -It did not take our friends long to make arrangements for accompanying -the waiting Bedouins. - -The people of the train were greatly relieved, and they lost no time in -preparing to move onward once more. - -As Dick, Brad, and the professor followed Ali Beha, they looked back and -saw the head of the train already in motion, with the camel drivers and -their loaded "ships of the desert" falling into line in regular order. - -"I certain am plenty glad to abandon camel riding," grinned Brad. "I'd -rather ride a pitching cayuse than a hump-backed camel, for a bucker -won't buck forever, while a camel does keep up that rocking, swaying, -back-breaking movement just as long as he travels. I suppose one might -get used to it in time, but I'd rather be excused some." - -As they drew near the Bedouins they discovered that the men who had -seemed so picturesque at a distance were unkempt and dirty, although -none the less fierce on close inspection. - -These wild men regarded our friends with an air of curious contempt. -There was nothing of friendliness in their manner. - -Arrangements were quickly made for the boys and the professor to mount -behind three of the Bedouins. Zenas was assisted to his seat behind a -thin, dirty chap, and told to cling fast to the man by clasping him -around the body. This the old pedagogue did, although he made a wry face -over it. - -Dick could not wonder at Gunn's repulsion, for he, also, found himself -mounted behind an unkempt rascal, whose matted hair and beard looked as -if it might be infested, and who gave forth anything but an agreeable -odor. - -When all were ready, the Bedouins uttered a yell, and, with their chief -in advance, went tearing across the barren country. - -That was a ride long to be remembered. Mile after mile was covered at -high speed by the spirited horses. When the animals bearing double -burdens showed signs of flagging, the Bedouins halted and our friends -changed to other horses. - -The sun grew hot and beat upon them with baking fierceness. The air was -dry and their throats parched. The country became wilder and wilder. -Once they saw another camel train in the distance. - -At last they entered a hilly region, where there was more vegetation. -Finally, from an elevation, they saw before them a group of black tents, -not far from which, in a valley, were some herds. - -Straight toward the square black tents rode the Bedouins. As they -approached a number of their own people were seen waiting for them. - -Buckhart was craning his neck and peering over the shoulder of his -companion on horseback, hoping to obtain a glimpse of Nadia; but no -female was to be seen about the encampment. - -With a yell the desert Nomads swept down to the camp and leaped from -their horses, which they immediately turned over to the care of other -men. - -Professor Gunn was exhausted, and he reeled like an intoxicated man as -soon as he stood upon his feet. - -Dick looked around searchingly. Ali Beha appeared before him. - -"Where are our friends?" impatiently asked the boy. - -"Peace," said the chief. "Thou should not be impatient. Before thou -canst see them it is necessary that thou shouldst be searched for hidden -weapons." - -Merriwell took a step forward, assailed by sudden forebodings and -suspicions. He saw the fierce-looking men gathered close about them, -each with weapons ready for use. - -Buckhart, also, was startled and aroused. He pressed to Dick's side, -hissing: - -"Something crooked, pard! I'm afraid we're trapped!" - -"Why should we be disarmed?" demanded Dick. "We are harmless and----" - -"It is the rule," said Ali Beha grimly. "No one not of our people shall -be permitted to carry arms while among us. There can be no exception for -thee." - -"It sure is a trap!" whispered the Texan. "If we give up our arms, we're -goners!" - -Dick thought swiftly, and he decided at once that resistance was folly. -Were they to attempt it, they would be crushed, perhaps murdered, in a -twinkling. - -"We're in your hands, Ali Beha," he said. "We have trusted you, and we -must continue to do so." - -Immediately our friends were searched by the Bedouins and deprived of -their weapons. - -Ali Beha stood with folded arms and watched. - -The professor made no remonstrance, but on his face there was a look of -helpless despair that was pitiful to see. - -Buckhart was pale, his lips pressed together and his jaw squared. - -Dick's dark eyes flashed and his nostrils dilated. Although he submitted -without another word of protest, there were resentment and anger in his -pose. - -"It is well," said the chief. - -"Now, where are our friends?" cried Merriwell suddenly. "We wish to see -them. Have you deceived us?" - -"Thou shalt see that I have not. The friend who sent for thee is in -yonder tent. He is waiting to greet thee. Enter." - -The chief made a sweeping gesture toward one of the larger tents. - -Both Dick and Brad started toward this tent, but immediately the Texan -was stopped, while the chief informed him that he was not to enter. - -"If there's any trouble, pard," said Buckhart, "just raise the war cry. -I'll try to join you." - -Dick nodded and walked into the tent, the flap of which he was compelled -to lift. - -A single person occupied the tent. He was sitting on a mat at the rear, -smoking a cigarette. His garments were Turkish and there was a fez on -his head. About him there was something familiar. - -A muttered exclamation of surprise rose to Dick's lips. Dropping the -tent flap behind him, he stepped quickly forward. As he did so the -cigarette smoker lifted his head, and young Merriwell was face to face -with Miguel Bunol! - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--THE FOUNT OF FURY - - -"You?" exclaimed Dick, in astonishment. - -Bunol inhaled a deep whiff of smoke, permitted it to escape in a thin, -blue cloud, and smiled triumphantly. - -"As you see," he said insolently. - -"Here?" gasped the American boy. - -"Here," nodded the Spaniard. - -"I don't understand it!" - -"I didn't think you would." - -Dick's hands were clenched and his breast heaving. He stood staring at -his malignant and persistent enemy, his heart overflowing with anger. - -Bunol was languidly triumphant, his contemptuous glance an irritating -insult, his triumphant smile like a stinging blur in the face of the -duped lad. - -"Fooled!" muttered Dick bitterly. - -"Completely," nodded Bunol. - -He was enjoying his triumph to the fullest. He felt that this was his -hour, and he meant to make the most of it. - -It was a moment when a weak boy in Dick's place would have collapsed. -Dick did not. Although astonished and dismayed for the moment, he showed -no sign of weakness. - -Bunol laughed harshly. - -"You have pretty good nerves," he admitted; "but I think you do not yet -understand the situation. Look, Merriwell, you are in my power!" - -"Where do you obtain the power?" - -"I have it. You left me tied and gagged in Damascus, while you made good -your escape. Only for the uproar in the hotel you would not have -escaped. I beat against that closet door, but no one heard me for a very -long time. I was in there hours. It seemed days. I suffered. My jaws -ached, I was suffocated, I nearly perished. When they did find me and -pull me out the exhaustion so overcame me that I could not talk. I tried -to tell them how you had escaped, but my senses fled. Not until the -following morning could I tell. Then it was too late." - -"Which was our good luck," said Dick quietly. - -"I had heard enough while in that closet to know something of the course -you might pursue. I resolved to follow you. I found a Bedouin chief, Ali -Beha, who knew the country about for hundreds of miles. I paid him well -to aid me in finding you. He is chief over many men, and all the country -was scoured in search of you. Finally we learned that you were with a -camel train bound to the south. Then we located the train. Ali Beha went -for you, while I waited here until he should bring you to me. I knew you -expected to hear from the friends from whom you had become separated, so -I told him to say a friend had sent for you, but to mention no names. -You were fooled with ease the greatest, and now I have you--I have you!" - -Again Bunol laughed. - -"You are surely the most persistent rascal in the world," said Dick. - -"Perhaps so. Many times you have thought me crushed, but each time I -rose again." - -"You are sure to come to some bad end in time." - -"But you will not live to know about that." - -"I presume you mean to murder us?" - -"Oh, not with my own hands! I would not take so much trouble. But I -shall see you suffer--I shall hear you whimper and beg!" - -"You think you will." - -"I know. I have bought these dirty Arabs, and they are ready to do my -bidding. I shall take great pleasure in having you stripped and whipped -until your back is cut into ribbons. This before I bid you a last -farewell and return to look for Nadia Budthorne, who shall become mine." - -"So that is the revenge you have planned. I thought----" - -"You thought--what? That I meant to have you carried back to Damascus?" - -"I fancied you might." - -"Ha, ha! You do not know me. I shall take no chances that my revenge may -miscarry. Were you taken back to Damascus, you would appeal to the -American consul, and he might save you, for, though you were present -when Hafsa Pasha was slain, I know you well enough to know you took no -part in that. You haven't the blood in you to kill a man outright!" - -The Spaniard uttered these final words with a sneer. - -"Do you think so?" said Dick, and Bunol failed to note the deadly gleam -in the dark eyes of the trapped boy. - -"I know it," nodded Miguel. "So I shall give you no chance to escape. -You shall meet a fate worse than death. After I have seen you cut up -with whips, I shall leave you to that fate. Do you not suspect what it -is?" - -"No." - -"Then I will tell you. These Bedouins are men who deal in slaves. You -will be taken from Syria into Arabia and sold as a slave to black men. -There can be no escape. You will become a beast of burden. All day long -you will labor like a camel beneath the scorching sun of Arabia, driven -by black men, who will beat you when you falter. Your soft and tender -hands will become hardened and calloused. Your fine shoulders will -become stooped and your back bent. Your rounded, muscular body will grow -thin and emaciated. But the distress of body that must suffer will not -compare with your distress of mind. Think of it! - -"Think of yourself, a wretched and hopeless slave, lost in the desert, -weary and footsore, trying to sleep at night, but haunted with dreams of -your home far across the ocean. You will dream of those days when you -were a leader at school; when you were triumphant on the football field -or the diamond; when you were lifted on the shoulders of your shouting -companions and carried aloft in triumph. Then you will 'wake to realize -your pitiful state and know that never again can you look on the faces -of those comrades and friends, but that you must go on through the -wretched days of your wretched life, a thing to be beaten, scoffed at, -spit on, and perhaps finally cut to death with whips. How like you the -revenge I have planned? Isn't it a fine thing, indeed?" - -Dick had grown gray and rigid as the venomous Spaniard painted the -picture. - -There was silence in the tent when Bunol finished. That silence was -broken by Merriwell, who spoke in a low, intense tone. - -"You human fiend!" - -Bunol's thin lips curled back and exposed his pointed, white teeth. He -was smiling. - -For a long time Dick Merriwell had controlled himself in a masterful -manner, but now the aroused passions of his fiery nature burst beyond -suppression. Suddenly, and without the least warning, he flung himself -on his enemy, whom he clutched by the throat before an outcry could be -made. - -Bunol was hurled flat on his back. Dick's thumbs bored into the -Spaniard's throat. The knee of the American boy was planted on the -breast of his foe, pinning the fellow to the mat. - -"You devil!" hissed Dick in Bunol's ear. "You have said I have not the -blood to kill any one, but when my hands leave your neck you will be -dead!" - -Bunol had goaded the boy to a point of fury that was close allied to -madness. - -The Spaniard was able to make no more than feeble resistance. Although -he knew his peril and understood that Merriwell meant to kill him on the -spot, he found himself nailed to the ground as if a stake had been -driven through his body. His jaws opened, his tongue protruded, his eyes -bulged from his head and his face turned purple. - -"Die!" hissed Dick. - -A black cloud fell on Bunol, and in his ears there was a thundering like -the roar of Niagara. - -Then the flap of the tent behind Dick was lifted. A man peered in. He -uttered a shout. A moment later the tent was filled with men who seized -Merriwell and tried to tear him from his enemy. - -Dick's hands clung fast to Bunol's throat. The expression on his face -was awful in its deadly determination. The men cried out that he would -kill the Spaniard before their eyes. - -Some one struck the American boy in the face several times, but still -his grip did not loosen in the least. - -At the tent door there was further commotion. Brad Buckhart was fighting -to get in. - -"Pard!" he cried--"pard, what's doing?" - -Dick made no answer. - -At last Bunol was wrenched from Dick's grip, one of the men having -loosened the boy's fingers a bit. In tearing the Spaniard free, however, -they did not prevent Merriwell's fingers from lacerating the fellow's -neck. - -Dick was carried out of the tent. He offered no resistance after his -hold on his enemy was broken. They bound him, and flung him on the -ground not far from where Buckhart lay, tied in a similar manner. - -The Texan squirmed over toward Dick and tried to find out what had -happened. Although he plied Merriwell with questions, not a word in -reply could he get. Dick lay staring straight up at the sky, and the -expression on his face awed and frightened Buckhart. - -The old professor was likewise bound. - -After a long time the flap of the tent was lifted and two Bedouins -appeared, supporting between them the limp form of Miguel Bunol. The -Spaniard was deathly pale, and one of his hands kept wandering to his -lacerated and swollen throat. When his eyes fell on Dick Merriwell they -shone like the eyes of a venomous serpent. - -Bunol was led over to Dick, at whom he glared. - -"You came--near--finishing me," he said, in a husky whisper, as if every -word gave him great distress; "but--but you--failed. Now it is--my -turn." - -He made a weak motion. Immediately several of the Bedouins seized -Merriwell, unbound his hands, stripped off his clothing to the waist, -and then tied him fast with his face to a heavy post set in the ground. - -Two men with rawhide whips, each having many lashes, and the lashes -being knotted full of bits of iron and lead, approached at a call from -Ali Beha, who sat beneath an awning not far away. - -Still supported, Bunol stepped before Dick. - -"The revenge I promised you begins now!" he said. "But it shall be even -worse than I intended. I care not if they whip you to death! I shall -laugh at your shrieks and groans. Let them begin." - -One of the men was speaking to Ali Beha. The chief rose and followed -this man a little apart, where he stood gazing toward a distant ridge, -over which horsemen were riding. These horsemen were coming straight -toward the Bedouin camp. - -Quickly the Bedouins gathered with their arms, ready to repel an attack, -if necessary. They set up a shout, which was answered by the approaching -horsemen. This answer seemed to relieve the Bedouins, for, instead of -preparing for battle, they uttered cries of welcome. - -For the time attention was turned from the captive at the post. Dick was -hopeless, and he paid little heed to the strange horsemen. He was -watching Bunol. - -The Spaniard was impatient over the delay. - -"More of the dirty Arabs," he muttered. - -The leader of the strangers seemed to be a man of some distinction, for -Ali Beha hastened to bow low before him, his manner most humble. This -leader was an old man, yet he dismounted from his horse with some -sprightliness and looked around. His eyes fell on the white youth, who -was tied to the post, his bare body shining in the sun. - -"What is this, Ali Beha?" he demanded. - -"Only a dog of a foreigner whom we are about to flog." - -The stranger stepped quickly forward and obtained a look at Dick's face. -Instantly his manner underwent a change. He straightened to his full -height, lifted his hand, and cried: - -"Release him at once! He is my friend!" - -"Ras al Had!" shouted Dick, in a burst of joy. "Oh, sheik, you came just -in time!" - -"I reached the camel train shortly after these men took you away," said -the old Arab. "They told me you had been carried off by Ali Beha, and I -made haste to look for him here, knowing this to be one of his favorite -camping places. But why were they about to flog you?" - -"None of your business, you meddling old fool!" snarled Bunol, giving -Ras al Had a thrust. - -Instantly several of the sheik's followers sprang on the Spaniard and -bore him to the ground. - -"Bind him," commanded Ras al Had. - -They obeyed, in spite of Bunol's struggles and curses. - -Dick was set free at the sheik's command, as also were Brad and the old -professor. - -Ras al Had listened to Merriwell's story, and a strange expression came -to his wrinkled face as the boy told of his enemy's plan to have him -flogged and then carried into slavery in Arabia. - -Turning toward the Spaniard, the sheik grimly said: - -"Strip him as this boy was stripped, bind him to the post and flog him, -even as he ordered you to flog this boy, who is the bosom friend of Ras -al Had." - -Crying and begging like a frightened child, Miguel Bunol was stripped -and tied to the post. Then the men with the rawhide whips began their -work. The whips whistled through the air and fell on the Spaniard's bare -back, bringing the blood with the first blow. - -A shriek of pain came from Bunol's lips. - -Dick could not endure much of this. After a little he implored the sheik -to stop it. - -"But this is merely a taste," said Ras al Had grimly. "Do you think he -would have stopped so soon with you at the post?" - -"It makes no difference," returned Merriwell. "I can't see any human -being beaten up that way." - -"If I stop them now, you must promise me not to interfere further in his -behalf." - -"You will punish him in some other manner?" - -"But not with the whip." - -"All right; I promise." - -Immediately Ras al Had checked the men who were wielding the whips. He -spoke a few words to Ali Beha, who nodded. - -Then the sheik turned to Dick and his companions and bade them prepare -to leave the Bedouin camp. - -"Before the sun sinks to rest," he said, "you shall be with your -friends, both of whom are safe and well." - -It was not necessary for our friends to spend any time in preparing to -depart. They were ready and eager to go. - -"What of Bunol?" asked Dick. - -"We will leave him here with the friends he has chosen," said Ras al -Had. - -An hour later, when they were miles away, the old sheik turned to Dick, -a grim smile on his lips. - -"Your enemy will trouble you no more," he declared. "You will never -again behold his face." - -"Why not?" questioned Dick. "Do you mean that he will be slain?" - -"No; but the fate he chose for you shall be his. He condemned you to be -carried a slave into Arabia. That is to be his doom. It is the command -of Ras al Had, which Ali Beha must obey." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE FATE OF A FOE - - -Dick and Brad were lounging in their room in the Shepherd's Hotel, -Cairo, when Professor Gunn came sauntering in, with an unusually springy -step, humming a tune. - -"Ah, ha!" he cried, striking a pose. "You two rascals have your heads -together, I see. What are you planning? What new trouble are you -hatching up? Can't you rest easy for a brief time? I have enjoyed the -last two weeks. Since our escape from Damascus, we have seen Alexandria, -Cairo, the Pyramids, and so forth, and nothing unusual has happened. We -have not once been in peril of losing our lives, and so now, I suppose, -you are seeking to devise some method of getting us into danger. -Desist--I bid you desist! Already my nerves have been shattered and my -constitution ruined by what we have passed through. It was pretty bad in -England. It was worse in Italy. It became still worse in Greece. We had -to hasten out of Constantinople to escape with our heads. But the grand -climax was reached in Syria. I tell you, boys, life was becoming too -strenuous for a man of my years. A few more hairbreadth escapes would -have brought about my utter collapse. I should have had heart failure. -But you seemed to enjoy it. And now I suppose you are seeking to devise -some means of getting us all into more trouble of the same sort. I order -you to stop it!" - -"It happened that we were just speaking of Miguel Bunol and his fate," -smiled Dick. "I can't help feeling pity for the unfortunate fellow, but -Brad insists that he received nothing worse than he deserved." - -"That's what I do," put in the Texan, rising. "Bunol was thoroughly bad -and vicious. His crookedness was certain to get him hanged in the end, -unless some equally severe punishment fell upon him." - -"His fate seems to be even worse than death on the gallows," said Dick. - -"Well, pard, have you forgotten that he first condemned you to that -fate?" - -"No, but----" - -"Don't try to make any excuses for that dog!" exploded the Texan. "He -was the very limit when he attended school at Fardale. You know it, -partner--you know about all the dirty, low-down things he did there. He -was born a crook and a sneak. What was he doing when we ran across him -in London?" - -"Fleecing Dunbar Budthorne at cards." - -"Worse than that. He was ruining Budthorne by keeping him full of booze. -He had found that Budthorne had a weakness for drink. But, in order to -complete the unfortunate fellow's destruction, Bunol had doped the man -with a drug that made him crave liquor constantly. A cur that would do a -thing like that deserves anything that comes to him." - -"I'm not going to put up an argument," said Merriwell; "but it seems to -me that one of his worst tricks was the attempt to ensnare Nadia -Budthorne and force her into marriage with him." - -"You bet!" roared Brad. "It makes my blood boil to think of that!" - -"But we fooled Bunol very handsomely and rescued both Budthorne and his -sister from the rascal's grip." - -"Which was no easy job. Professor, considering everything, I leave it to -you if Bunol received punishment worse than he merited, when Ras al Had -turned the tables on him, and commanded the Bedouins to take him into -Arabia and sell him into slavery?" - -"Hum! ha!" coughed Zenas. "Well, well, it may sound harsh and cruel, but -I must confess that his punishment and fate has never given me a single -moment of uneasiness and pity. He was bad--about the worst scoundrel I -ever saw. He brought it on himself. I agree with Brad that he merited -just what he got." - -"Perhaps he did," admitted Dick; "but think of the awful life he will be -compelled to endure as a slave to black men in the Arabian desert! It -makes me shiver." - -"I opine it will make him hot," said Brad, with a faint grin. - -"There is no escape for him." - -"Oh, yes, there is." - -"What is it?" - -"Death! A fellow can always find some way to kill himself." - -Dick was thinking of the horrible word picture of slavery in Arabia that -Miguel Bunol had painted. - -"I don't like to think about it!" muttered Merriwell, his face rather -pale. "Let's do something." - -"There is only one thing more left for us to do in Egypt, boys," said -the professor. - -"What's that?" - -"Why, you might take an excursion up the Nile." - -"We might?" - -"Yes." - -"How about you?" - -"I hardly think I'll try it." - -"Why not?" - -"Well--er--ahem!--I prefer to remain here in Cairo. I am quite -contented. I have visited the Pyramids, seen the Castle of the Nile, -wandered through the Alabaster Mosque, viewed the Tombs of the Caliphs, -and peered into the Haunted House of the Afrit. I am satisfied. I'm -willing to be quiet and rest. I'll stay right here while you take an -excursion up the river." - -Dick winked at Brad. - -"What's the attraction that interests you so much in Cairo?" he asked. - -"Oh, no--no attraction," Zenas hastened to declare. "Nothing at all. I'm -contented, that's all." - -Merriwell was puzzled, for he felt that there was something behind the -old man's strange contentment in that foreign city. - -"Well, I don't think Brad and I will go off on any excursion by -ourselves." - -"Why not take Budthorne and Nadia along? That's a good idea. They'll -enjoy it." - -"I believe you are anxious to get rid of us. There's something doing, -Brad." - -"Sure thing, pard," agreed the Texan. - -But the old man protested that they were quite wrong. - -"I wish you to see all of the world that you can on this trip, that's -all. You'll be quite comfortable on the excursion boat." - -"Not if the blamed boat carries as large a cargo of fleas and biting and -stinging things as we struck on the boat from Yafa to Alexandria," -growled the Texan. "I was all chawed up by the time I landed from that -old craft. My hide looked like a map of Asia pricked out in red -splotches, and lines, and bumps, and scratches. The fleas and other -varmints of this yere part of the world sure do love the taste of a -foreigner." - -"I don't think there will be such pests on the excursion boat," said -Zenas quickly. - -"Well, I fancy we can get along without making that excursion," observed -Dick. "I'm for getting out of Cairo and continuing on our journey." - -"So am I," seconded Brad. - -"Oh, but I'm not ready," protested the professor. "My dear boys, this is -the most interesting country in the world. You don't seem to appreciate -it. You don't seem to understand that investigation and science have -established the fact that more than six thousand years ago the people of -this country had acquired a high degree of civilization and culture, and -that in those distant ages there flourished right here in the valley of -the Nile an educated priesthood, cultured society, an elaborate system -of theology and a splendid and powerful form of government. The people -were then far advanced in religion, architecture, painting, sculpture, -philosophy, and astronomy. Oh, my dear boys, I must remain here a while -longer to study and to investigate these matters." - -Dick winked at Brad once more. - -"We haven't observed you studying or investigating a great deal, -professor," he said. - -"Oh, I study far more than you suppose. I investigate by observation." - -"Well, if you wish to investigate the records of former civilization, it -seems to me you cannot do better than to take a trip up the Nile, along -which you will see the ruins of ancient cities and temples. You should -visit the ruins of Thebes, see the temple of Rameses and behold the -wonders of Karnak." - -"I'll have to forego that pleasure," said Zenas; "but I will not deprive -you of it. You must go, boys--you shall go! I'll make arrangements for -it." - -But both lads positively declined, much to the vexation of the old man. - -"Hum! haw!" he coughed. "I did have a vague idea that I was your -guardian during this trip; but it seems that I am not." - -"Would you send us away into peril?" asked Dick, with pretended -resentment. "We admire you, professor--we love you, and we propose to -stick by you. You can't shake us." - -"Not on your life," chuckled Brad. "We're going to find out whatever -your little game in Cairo is. Better tell us." - -"No game at all! It's ridiculous--simply ridiculous! All right. If you -won't go, I can't help it; but I may find it impossible to be with you -constantly while in Cairo. Private matters may call me away from you for -some days. I have met a gentleman from the United States here--a very -interesting man. His name is Stringer--Colonel Erastus Stringer. He is a -very fine gentleman, and I----" - -"I've seen the colonel," said Merriwell. "He seems to me like a rather -gay old bird. Better take care that he doesn't get you into a scrape." - -"I think I am fully competent to take care of myself," said the old -pedagogue, with dignity. "The colonel is a very quiet and retiring -person. I do not approve of the disparaging manner in which you speak of -him." - -"I think the colonel is inclined to look too often on the jag pot," said -Brad. - -"Tut, tut, tut!" exclaimed Zenas. "Such vulgarity! Jag pot! Such slang! -Bradley, you often make me blush with shame for you. I fear your travels -are not doing you much good. I did hope to take you back to America -quite changed and altered. I hoped to polish off your rough ways and -eliminate the slang from your vocabulary. But, alas! I fear my efforts -will be fruitless." - -The old man then launched into a lecture, to which the boys listened -weariedly. - -"I have given you a few things to serve as food for contemplation," -Zenas concluded. "I will now retire and let you think them over." - -When he was gone Dick turned to his friend, a puzzled expression on his -face. - -"What do you suppose the old boy is up to?" he asked. - -"Hanged if I know," admitted the Texan; "but I'll be shot if I don't -think there's something in the wind." - -"We must find out what it is. Colonel Stringer is something of a lusher, -as well as a practical joker. I hear he was put out of the Hotel Abbat, -in Alexandria, on account of some sort of practical joke in which he was -concerned." - -There was a tap on their door and Dunbar Budthorne entered. - -"What do you say, boys, to a trip to Citadel Hill to witness the -sunset?" he asked. "Nadia wants to go." - -"Then I'm ready," declared Buckhart, in a twinkling. - -"I'll go along, too," said Dick, rising. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--SUNSET FROM THE CITADEL - - -Directly across the street from the hotel were gathered forty or more -Egyptian donkeys, saddled, bridled and ready for riders. These donkeys -were guarded by boys, who acted both as guides and drivers when the -little animals were engaged. - -The moment Dick, Brad, Dunbar, and Nadia appeared on the steps of the -hotel it seemed that all the boys made a rush across the street, yelling -wildly and beckoning with their dusky hands. - -"I got good donkey; tak' him!" - -"Mine fine donkey, Teddy Rosefelt!" - -"Mine best, Cha'ncey Depoo!" - -"Tak' mine, G'orge Wash'ton!" - -"Tak' mine, Carry Nation!" - -"Well, say!" exclaimed Brad; "I'm getting some tired of being called -Cha'ncey Depoo!" - -Nadia laughed. - -"And I'm not Carry Nation," she said. - -"They are not calling us names like that," smiled Dick. "Haven't you -discovered that those are the names other travelers have applied to the -donkeys?" - -"Oh, is that it?" said Buckhart, with apparent relief. "Why, I've -happened to take the same donkey both times before, when I've not -walked, and the driver kept shouting Cha'ncey Depoo, so I thought he -meant me." - -"He was talking to the donkey." - -"Shall we take the donkeys to the hill?" asked Nadia. - -"Of course we will," nodded Dunbar. "Pick your beast." - -"Well, I like the looks of this boy," said the girl; "so I'll choose -him." - -"Girl-like," chuckled her brother, "she chooses by the looks of the boy, -instead of the donkey." - -Amid the confusion a man dressed in English clothes, yet with a -decidedly Turkish face, came out of the hotel and stood on the steps, -watching them. - -Brad was assisting Nadia to mount when she saw the watching man and -gasped: - -"There he is again!" - -"Who?" asked the surprised Texan. - -"The man who has been watching me lately." - -"There on the steps?" - -"Yes." - -"Has he been annoying you?" - -"I feel sure he has been following me and watching me." - -The boy from the Pan Handle country flushed and showed that he was -angry. - -"Wait a minute," he urged. "I'll just saunter up and inquire of the gent -whatever he means." - -Nadia caught his sleeve. - -"Don't do that!" she whispered nervously. "Don't do it, Brad!" - -"Why not?" - -"I don't wish him to know that I have noticed him." - -"Well, if the galoot keeps up his little game, he'll find out somebody -has noticed him!" - -She restrained the impulsive chap. - -By this time all were ready. The boy drivers seized the chosen donkeys -each by the tail, which they gave a twist, crying: - -"Ah-ye, Reglay!" - -Away went the little beasts, bearing their human burdens easily, while -the boy drivers ran behind, clinging to the tails of the donkeys, which -they seemed to manipulate for the purpose of guiding the animals. - -The manner in which the tough little donkeys bore their burdens was -really wonderful. Nadia was sympathetic toward the sprightly little -beasts and kept asking her driver not to make the animal go so fast. - -They turned from street to street. Some of the streets were very narrow, -with picturesque overhanging balconies and latticed windows. They passed -several mosques, which were adorned with slender and graceful minarets. -They encountered Arabs, Egyptians and Turks. They passed handsome -carriages and gayly caparisoned camels. - -Suddenly they came upon two barefooted, running black men, who were -dressed in flowing garments and carried wands in their hands. These -runners shouted out something, and waved their wands. - -Immediately each donkey driver gave a twist to the tail of his animal, -and the faithful little beasts turned aside to permit a handsome landau -to pass. The landau contained a very dignified and very pompous Pasha, -who did not even deign to waste a glance on the common infidels. - -They were glared at by a number of officers, wearing handsome uniforms -and displaying silver-mounted weapons. They were scowled at by an Arab -soldier with a musket, mounted on the back of a dromedary. - -But their travels in the East had made them accustomed to strange -sights, and no expressions of wonderment escaped them. Instead, they -laughed and joked among themselves. - -At last they came to the hill of the citadel, where they dismounted. The -donkeys and their dusky boy drivers waited at the foot of the hill, -while our friends climbed toward the huge fortress which towered above -the city. - -This fortress was most imposing in appearance. - -The professor was not there to explain how the citadel came to be built, -but Dick had posted himself about it and was able to answer all of -Nadia's questions. He told her how it was constructed in the seventh -century by the victorious followers of the Prophet, headed by Saladin, -the chivalrous foe of Richard the Lion Hearted. Saladin's architect did -not hesitate to bring thither blocks of stone from the palaces and -temples of old Memphis, and to raze several smaller pyramids, besides -removing the polished outer stones from the larger pyramids. - -"Only for that," said Dick, "it is not likely we would be able to climb -the pyramids now. It robbed them of their greatest beauty." - -"That was a shame!" exclaimed Nadia. "What good did the old citadel do -after all?" - -"It was a fine place for one of the successors to Saladin, the crafty -old viceroy, Mehemet Ali, to butcher the Mamelukes." - -"Oh, I've heard something about that. How did it happen?" - -"It didn't happen. It was one of the most crafty and cold-blooded -butcheries known in history. You know the name Mameluke signifies White -Slave. The founders of the Mamelukes were originally Circassians, who -had been brought into slavery in this country. They gradually became -favorites, but finally turned to tyrants. They had helped Mehemet Ali to -secure his position of power, but he feared and distrusted them. He -finally decided it was expedient to get rid of them. So he invited them -to a great banquet, to be held in the citadel. They came without -suspecting his bloody and treacherous purpose. There were nearly five -hundred of them, magnificently dressed and mounted. When the great gate -had closed behind them, and they could not retreat, the viceroy's troops -appeared on the walls and poured a withering fire on the entrapped -Mamelukes. They were mowed down, men and horses, in a most horrible -manner. Of all the Mamelukes only one escaped. He forced his horse to -mount the heaped-up bodies of his bleeding comrades and their dying -horses, and leaped the parapet, followed by a volley of bullets. In some -manner he escaped untouched, although his horse fell beneath him. He -fled into the desert." - -Nadia gazed at the grim walls of the citadel and shuddered. - -"It seems that every historic spot is stained with crime," she said. - -They soon reached the top of the hill and found they were just in time -to witness the glories of an Egyptian sunset. - -The view from that elevation was most impressive. Below them, and near -at hand, rose a great mass of delicate and graceful minarets, glittering -in the last rays of the sun. The strange Oriental city huddled beyond, -and then, as far as the eye could reach, wound the silver Nile, its -shores on either side green with verdure. - -Away to the west the sun was sinking into a violet sea of light. There -lay the mighty desert, brown, barren, desolate--the desert with its -dreaded sand storms and simooms. - -On the edge of this desert they could see three mighty shapes, -silhouetted against the sky--the Pyramids. They knew that for at least -five thousand years those mysterious and marvelous monuments had been -standing thus, casting their lengthening shadows across the eastern -waste, as the sun sank to its nightly rest in the bosom of the desert. - -Silence fell on them. They watched the sun go down, and it seemed that -the orb of day had sunk in hopeless despair to rise no more. They were -impressed by the mightiness of the universe, and they felt themselves -mere ants amid the marvels of creation. It was a place and time to give -them a just understanding of their own insignificance. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI--SOME INTERESTING CONVERSATION - - -The sun was gone, blue shadows gathered, and night came stalking up from -Syria and Arabia beyond the isthmus. So absorbed had our friends been by -the splendid spectacle, that they had failed to give heed to their -immediate surroundings. - -Nadia was at Brad's side. Suddenly she clutched his arm with a nervous -movement. - -"What is it?" he asked, seeming to awaken from a trance. - -"That man! Look there!" - -She made a gesture, and he looked in the direction indicated. Standing -at an angle of the wall, where the shadows were upon him, was the same -man to whom she had called his attention on the steps of the hotel. - -"He has followed me here!" she declared nervously. - -"Oh, he has, has he?" growled the Texan, his face flushing with anger. -"Well, I sure am going to interview him some, right away." - -He brushed off her hand and started toward the mysterious stranger. - -Immediately the unknown turned and disappeared beyond the corner of the -wall. - -Dick had seen the stranger, also, and he joined Buckhart at once, -saying: - -"Come ahead, Brad. It's time to find out if he's following us round." - -Budthorne had hastened to his sister's side. - -The boys ran to the point of the wall. When they reached the spot, they -could see nothing of the man. - -"He can't be far away," said Dick. - -A few moments later they discovered the man walking hastily down the -hill. Unless they chose to run after him, there was no prospect of -overtaking him. - -"Better let him go this time," advised Dick. - -"All right," muttered the Texan; "but he is causing me to wax wroth -some, and I'll give him a game of talk the next time I find him dogging -us. Who do you reckon he is, pard?" - -"I am unable to answer the question," admitted Dick; "but, by his -appearance, he seems to be a Turk." - -"That's right. I don't fancy being spied on by a Turk, just at present. -We're not far enough away from Damascus. He may be one of the sultan's -secret police, sent after us for that little affair in which we were -recently involved." - -"I thought of that myself. I'm not anxious to be arrested and carried -back to Damascus." - -"I should say not! That would be mighty bad business. Still, I don't -think----" - -Dick checked his companion with an exclamation. Another man had joined -the one who was rapidly descending the hill. Both boys obtained a -glimpse of this second person before both disappeared into the shadows -below. - -"Did you see him, Brad?" asked Dick. "Did you get a fair view of him?" - -"Just a look, partner, but I swear there was something a heap familiar -about him. The way he carried his head--his walk---- I've seen that -galoot before." - -"And so have I. Shall we attempt to overtake them? I'd give something to -get a look at his face." - -But they decided it was too late, as there was little chance of -overtaking those men in the narrow and gloomy streets of Cairo. Besides, -in order to pursue the mysterious ones, they would be compelled to -abandon Nadia and her brother. - -So they returned and found Dunbar and Nadia waiting, and a trifle -nervous. - -"It's all right," declared Dick diplomatically. "Of course, the man had -a right to come up here and view the sunset. He's gone." - -"I'm glad," said the girl. "But it is growing dark. Let's return to the -hotel right away. I do not fancy being out in the streets of Cairo after -dark." - -They descended the hill and found the donkeys and the boy drivers -waiting for them. Two of the boys were asleep, their hands pillowed on -the bodies of their reclining donkeys. - -"Poor little fellows!" murmured Nadia, sympathetically. "They should be -home now. It's a shame to keep them out so late." - -The boys woke up promptly on hearing the voices of their companions. Our -friends mounted, and away they went, through the dim streets of the -queer, old city, the boys running after the trotting donkeys and giving -an occasional twist at the tails of the little beasts. - -Both Dick and Brad kept a sharp lookout for possible trouble, but the -return to the hotel was made without incident. - -Brad lingered to talk with Dunbar and Nadia, in Budthorne's room. Not -that the pleasures of a chat with Budthorne attracted him so much, but -there was again a complete understanding between himself and Nadia. - -Dick sought Professor Gunn, but failed to discover the old man. He then -descended to look for him below. - -On the way down, the sound of laughter coming from a suite of rooms, the -outer door of which was slightly ajar, attracted his attention. He had -heard Zenas laugh that way before, and he knew the old pedagogue was in -there. - -Dick stepped to the door, lifting his hand to knock. He paused, his hand -uplifted. - -"He! he! he!" again sounded that well-known laugh. "A harem containing a -dozen pretty girls! My! my! But you must have been a gay boy in those -days, colonel." - -"Well, suh," said a mellow, yet somewhat husky voice, "yo' see, suh, a -man had to have some enjoyment in this infernal country. I was young, -suh, and it was just after the Civil War in America. Scores of officers -from the South entered the Egyptian service. Some swore nevah again to -set foot on American soil. We felt that we were exiles. But we made the -khedive's army spruce up wonderfully. The pay was good, and all that; -but the cursed heat, the monotony, the homesickness, made us all -reckless, and set us to longing fo' diversion. I'll guarantee, suh, that -the most of us found our only diversions in gathering wives fo' our -harems. Those boys were connoisseurs in female beauty, and the wives of -many of them would have created a sensation, suh, in New York, London or -Paris." - -"He! he! he!" again laughed Zenas. "Oh, you rascal! Oh, you sly dog! But -it must have been pleasant. What did you do with your harem when you got -tired and decided to leave the Egyptian service and the country?" - -"Why, I sold it, of course." - -"Sold it? Sold your wives, colonel?" - -"Certainly, suh. That was the proper course to pursue, professah. There -were plenty of others who were ready to buy, in case you had a bargain -to offah, and--as I was anxious to sell--a new recruit in the army -obtained my harem fo' a mere song. Of course, I regretted to part with -my beautiful wives, and especially with Fatima, my favorite; but I could -not take them with me, on account of the laws of the United States, and -so, suh, I kissed Fatima good-by and turned the whole lot ovah to my -successor." - -"Er--er--ahem! Colonel, does the custom of selling harems still continue -in this country, can you say?" - -"Why, certainly, suh, to a certain extent, suh. Are yo' thinking of -making a purchase, suh?" - -"Well, I--er--ahem!--I don't know, exactly. You see, I--I'm likely to -investigate. I wouldn't mind looking a few harems over. If I found a -bargain--er--ahem!--I might---- Well, you understand, colonel." - -"The old reprobate!" exclaimed Dick, in a whisper. "So this is what he's -up to! This is why he wants to take an excursion trip up the Nile! I -think I'll have to find a way to teach him a lesson." - -"Yes, suh," said the voice of the professor's companion; "I think I -understand, suh. But it is possible, professah, that you do not -understand yo'self, suh. When yo' were a boy, did yo' evah trade -jackknives or anything of that sort, 'unsight, unseen,' suh?" - -"Why, yes, I----" - -"Well, suh, that's the rule in purchasing a harem. It is the law of the -country, professah, that no one save the ownah of a harem shall evah see -the uncovered faces of its inmates. If yo' make a purchase, yo' have to -take a chance on it. Yo' may see the ladies in advance, but yo'll not be -permitted to see their faces." - -"He! he!" again laughed Gunn. "That will make the game all the more -fascinating. It adds an element of mystery and suspense. It piques me. -If you don't mind, colonel, I'll have another nip from the decanter. I -take it as a tonic, you know--merely as a tonic." - -"Certainly, suh; help yo'self, suh." - -"Do you think, colonel, that you might assist me in investigating a few -harems?" - -"Why, yes, suh, it is quite likely I might. Having an extensive -acquaintance in Cairo, it will be easy fo' me to help yo'. I'll find out -what harems are on the market, suh. Drink hearty, professah." - -"Well, here is luck and hoping I'll strike a good bargain." - -Dick did not linger longer. He returned to his room and was just in time -to find Brad coming in from Budthorne's room. - -"The old salamander!" cried the Texan, after listening to Dick's story. -"The old Mormon! Why, he's married! He has a wife in the United States." - -"Exactly." - -"What does he think he's doing, anyhow?" - -"He thinks he's going to have a gay time in Cairo, evidently." - -"We'll have to stop it, pard." - -"Oh, no!" - -"What?" - -"On the contrary, we'll have to help it along." - -"Hey?" shouted Buckhart, aghast. "Whatever do you mean?" - -"Just what I said." - -"But it's a crime! It's scandalous! I'm astonished at you!" - -"It's not a crime in this country to be the proprietor of a harem." - -"But----" - -"We're in Egypt, and the law of the land----" - -"Look here, Dick Merriwell," blazed Brad, in sudden indignation. "I've -generally backed you up in anything you've said or done; but, by the -everlasting Rockies, if you've become so depraved and degenerate that -you can regard an affair like this as anything but a crime, I want you -to understand that I think you've lost your senses!" - -Dick dropped on a chair and laughed heartily. - -"I mean it!" roared the Texan. "It's shameful! You hear me chirp! That -doddering old chump has a wife in America! Now he wants to buy a harem -in Egypt! And you're willing to aid him in his polygamous design! Waugh! -Laugh! laugh! But you're not the sort of pard I took you for! This is my -first disappointment in you! I'll block the old roue's game, I will! -I'll spoil his scheme, or I'm not the Unbranded Maverick of the Rio -Pecos!" - -The Texan was greatly wrought up. He stamped up and down the room in a -tempest, while Merriwell continued to laugh. - -"I don't see where the joke comes in!" snarled Buckhart. "Ha, ha! Isn't -it funny? I suppose you'll be in for buying a harem next? That's a fine -idea! Perhaps you'll take a half interest in old Gunn's bunch of -beauties? Wow! I sure am a heap disgusted!" - -"Cool down a little, Brad," said Dick, still smiling. "I hardly think -I'll invest in a harem. Why, you excitable longhorn, don't you know -harems are not sold that way here?" - -"Hey?" - -"A man may purchase wives for his harem, but he can't sell the whole -outfit when he gets tired of it." - -"Can't?" - -"Of course not." - -"Then what--what----" - -"The whole thing is some kind of a game." - -"But you--you said you were going to help the business along." - -"So I am. I want to teach the professor a lesson." - -"I don't think I catch on, Dick." - -"Let me tell you something." - -"Fire away." - -"To begin with, I don't believe Colonel Stringer ever was in the -Egyptian service." - -"Don't you?" - -"No. He's a great bluffer. He likes to make people believe he has done -wonderful things and been a gay old rascal in his day. I am satisfied -that his story about having a harem once was pure fabrication." - -"Mebbe you're right." - -"I'm confident of it." - -"What's his graft?" - -"Perhaps it's graft, perhaps it's joking. It may be that he simply -enjoys leading the professor on. But I have a scheme. If we can carry it -out, we'll teach Zenas Gunn a lesson and have some fun on our own hook. -He'll never contemplate buying another harem." - -The Texan was keenly interested now. - -"What's the scheme, pard?" - -"If we can rig up a job with Colonel Stringer, we'll furnish a harem for -the professor to purchase, and we'll give him the shock of his life." - -Brad's face began to glow and his eyes to gleam. His mouth expanded in a -smile. - -"Mebbe that's a good idea," he nodded. "Just tell me how it can be -done." - -He drew up a chair and sat down near Dick. For fully thirty minutes the -boys had their heads close together, talking in low tones. - -At intervals Buckhart laughed heartily. - -The professor came in and found them thus. - -"What are you up to now, boys?" he asked. "What are you whispering -about?" - -"You will find out in time, professor," answered Dick. - -And both lads laughed. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII--THE PROFESSOR'S GAME - - -Early in the afternoon of the following day, Professor Gunn informed -Dick and Brad that he was going out with a friend to inspect some -ancient Egyptian relics. - -"Take us with you," urged Merriwell. - -"Do take us," implored Buckhart. - -"We're interested in relics," said Dick. - -"Mightily interested," affirmed Brad. - -"No, no, boys," said the old man, holding up his hands; "I can't take -you." - -"Why not?" they both demanded. - -"Well--er--hem!--because you have not been invited, you see. These -relics are a private collection, in a private house, and it is not the -privilege of the general public to view them. I have obtained the -privilege of looking them over only by great effort. It is a great -concession to me on account of my standing as an educator in my own -country. What I shall behold to-day will add greatly to my knowledge. I -am sure I shall return, after examining the relics, a much wiser man. -Hum! ha!" - -"I hope you do, professor," said Dick significantly, although the old -pedagogue failed to note any underlying meaning in his words. - -"Yes, I hope so," put in Brad. - -From their window, they watched until they saw the professor, -accompanied by a small, quick-stepping man in brown, leave the hotel. - -"There he goes with the colonel, pard," said Buckhart. "We've got to -move lively to get there ahead of them." - -"Colonel Stringer will look out for that. He'll take plenty of time in -conducting the professor by a roundabout course. Come on." - -They paused a moment to speak to Budthorne and Nadia, who were to remain -at the hotel. - -Near the hotel a close carriage of English make was waiting. They sprang -in and were off. Here and there through the streets of Cairo they went, -coming at last to a house in a quiet quarter. - -The door of this house, set low and deep in the wall, opened for them as -soon as they left the carriage. - -A ruddy-faced Englishman, John Coddington by name, the Eastern agent of -a London house, welcomed them as soon as they entered. - -"You see I was expecting you, boys," he said. "My friend, Stringer, told -me when you would be likely to arrive." - -"Is everything ready?" asked Dick. - -"Yes, indeed. I have a lot of prize beauties all ready for the game. Oh, -they are fine ones!" - -"But you must make us the champion beauties of them all," said -Merriwell. - -"That's whatever," chuckled Brad. "We must be the peaches of your -harem." - -"I'll do my best. I have a customer waiting. Follow me." - -They passed through winding ways and came finally into a room where a -little Frenchman waited, amid a collection of feminine garments. - -"Here they are, Louis," said Coddington. "Make them into handsome girls. -Show your skill." - -"Make us handsome, with the exception of our faces," said Dick "Those -must be as hideous as possible." - -"But ze faces will be covaired by ze veils," protested Louis. - -"Not all the time," smiled Dick. "Some one is going to get a peep -beneath my veil." - -"Mine, too," nodded Brad. "I want a mug on me that would scare a dog -into a fit." - -"Vera well; eet s'all be. Get redee." - -"In the meantime, boys," said Coddington, "I will be on the watch for -the guest who is on the outlook for a harem." - -Some time later Colonel Stringer and Professor Gunn rapped at the door -of the house. - -They were not admitted by Coddington himself, but by a black man in -flowing garments, who bowed obsequiously before the colonel and bade -them follow him. - -They were ushered into a large, luxuriously furnished room, with many -divans and Turkish rugs, a fountain playing in the centre of the -apartment, and a man in Eastern garments propped up amid some cushions, -lazily smoking a hookah. - -"My deah Coddington," said Stringer, hastening toward the smoker and -bowing low, "delighted! Permit me to present my friend, Professor Gunn, -of America." - -The professor bowed after the fashion of Stringer. - -"Deuced glad to know you, don't you know," drawled Coddington. "Is this -the gentleman, colonel, who is looking for a harem?" - -"The same, suh," nodded Stringer. - -"Well, by Jove! I believe I've got the very thing he wants. I have the -finest harem in the East, you know. Fourteen wives, in all, and every -one a pearl. Ya-as." - -"But why do you wish to sell out, sir?" questioned Gunn. - -"It's become a deuced bore, don't you understand. Besides that, I must -return to England soon, and I can't take my beauties with me. It would -be quite scandalous there. I'd find myself arrested, don't you know. So -I have to dispose of my dear little doves. It breaks my heart, but I -can't do anything different. If you want a harem, professor, that -outrivals anything in the East, you'll get it right here, and get it for -a song, too." - -Now, it is best to confess the actual truth right here. Professor Gunn -had no intention of buying a harem. What the old boy wanted was to get -inside a harem--to see it and get a peep at the "Eastern houris," as he -had heard them called. And he took this method of getting in. - -The professor was congratulating himself on his cleverness. - -"Eh, eh, ahem!" coughed the old pedagogue. "I've always been somewhat -shy of bargains that can be obtained for a mere song. I always favor -inspecting whatever I purchase." - -"Then be seated," invited Coddington, motioning toward the heaped-up -cushions at his side. "Sit here, professor, and you shall see some of -the sights of the harem." - -The professor hastened to deposit himself amid the cushions, chuckling -inwardly over his success. - -Colonel Stringer accepted a seat on the opposite side of the professed -owner of the harem. - -Coddington clapped his hands. - -Immediately a huge black man, dressed in gaudy, barbaric clothes, his -head turbaned, his feet bare, appeared from somewhere and bowed low -before the Englishman. - -"Bring hookahs for my visitors," said Coddington, "and bid my dancing -girls appear and dance for me." - -The black man bowed sweepingly again, and hastily disappeared. - -Almost immediately two boys, clothed in purple, entered, bearing -hookahs, which they placed before the professor and the colonel. When -the visitors were ready to smoke, the boys lighted the hookahs. - -"He! he!" laughed Zenas, as he puffed away. "Makes one feel decidedly -kinky and chipper. I'm not much of a smoker, but I--ough! ugah! ugah! -agoo-ugah!--hah! Whew!" - -He had taken some of the smoke into his lungs, and it nearly strangled -him. He continued to cough for some time, but suddenly stopped and -rubbed the water from his eyes. - -Out upon the tiled floor before them glided a number of graceful -figures, girls in diaphanous draperies, which fluttered in the air, -light as azure. These girls were swaying, bending, dancing, their arms -waving in the air, their feet moving swiftly to the sound of tiny, -tinkling bells and the throb of a strange, unnatural music. The music -was produced by a number of musicians who mysteriously appeared, seated -on the floor at one side. - -The faces of the girls were hidden by veils, which were bound down -lightly, to keep them from fluttering aside with their swaying movements -and exposing their features. - -Zenas gazed and gasped. - -"Great Caesar!" he muttered. "This being the proprietor of a harem is -great!" - -The girls continued their dance, and to the old pedagogue every movement -was full of poetry. They advanced, retreated, pirouetted, their arms -waving from side to side above their heads, their heads swaying, their -garments fluttering, their veils hiding their features, yet seeming to -show glimpses of dark, flashing eyes beyond. - -The professor forgot to smoke; he forgot to breathe; he forgot to do -anything but stare. - -How long the dance continued, he was unable to say, but finally -Coddington clapped his hands, and away glided the girls, as graceful as -phantoms, and like phantoms they vanished. - -The musicians vanished in the same silent manner. - -A great sigh of regret came from Gunn. - -"Well, professor," said Coddington, "how did that hit you?" - -"Great!" was the enthusiastic answer. "How often do they perform?" - -"Whenever I bid them. I keep them to amuse me." - -"Shade of Absalom! If I owned this harem, I'd tire them out dancing. -What's next on the program?" - -"I will call in some of my wives." - -"Were there any in that bevy?" - -"Oh, no; those are nothing but dancing girls. The ladies of the harem -are more select and beautiful." - -"Call them! You can't hurry them too much to suit me." - -"But there are certain rules to which I must conform, else I forfeit my -rights. You know, the ladies of the harem never enter this room when -more than one man is present. If I call them, it will be necessary for -the colonel and myself to retire." - -"And leave me alone with them?" gasped Zenas. - -"Yes. I will send you my two favorites, the greatest beauties of the -harem. I have taught them both to speak English, although they do so -somewhat imperfectly, and they have picked up several expressions of -which I do not approve. No matter what they say, you must understand -that they are complimenting you." - -"All right," said the professor, a bit doubtfully. "But are there only -two?" - -"Only two? How many do you want? There are plenty of them, but you -understand that the two I shall send are the reigning belles of the -harem. They are marvelously beautiful." - -"Well, I--I don't know about being left alone," muttered the old fellow -nervously. "Can't it be arranged some other way?" - -"Why, I thought you might wish to be alone with them. As I have said, -the colonel and I must leave the room, as no man save yourself may be -present; but I can send in the dancing girls again and let them dance -while you are chatting with my favorites." - -"Do so, do so," urged Zenas, in relief. "That is a good idea." - -"Very well. I hope you may be pleased; and do not forget that I am -willing and ready to dispose of my harem at a most reasonable price. By -Jove! I'll almost give the whole outfit away!" - -Coddington and Stringer retired, having seen the professor take the seat -of honor in the midst of the cushions. - -The old man was rather nervous, but he endeavored to remain calm and -dignified. - -Finally a low burst of musical laughter came to his ears, causing him to -brace up. A moment later, hand in hand, two persons entered the room and -advanced swiftly, bowing low before the professor, their foreheads -touching the tiling. - -"Ah, these are the favorites!" murmured Zenas, his eyes shining. "Arise, -my dears, and come here. Be seated beside me." - -They needed no second invitation to sit beside the professor, however. -Cooing in a coy manner, they plumped themselves down amid the cushions -on either hand. - -"He nice!" said one. - -"Him fine!" murmured the other. - -Then both giggled. - -"He! he!" laughed the professor nervously, as the one on his right -leaned against his shoulder. "What's your name, my dear?" - -"Fraud," was the answer. - -"Fraud? Well, that's an odd name! How do you happen to have such a name -as that?" - -"Effendi, him give it. Effendi, him husband. Him call me Little Fraud." - -"Ah, I see; sort of a pet name." Then he turned to the other one, on his -right. "And what is your name, darling?" he asked. - -"Fake." - -"Hey? Fake?" - -"Sure. Effendi, him call me Big Fake." - -"Well, surely he has peculiar names for his wives. Do you love Effendi?" - -"Oh, so, so. Him better no husband. Much tired now. Like change." - -"Well, you're frank about it, to say the least. How many times have you -changed husbands?" - -"Sev'teen time." - -"What's that? Great Scott! Seventeen times?" - -"Maybe more." - -"Christopher! You've had seventeen different husbands--or more? -Goodness, but that's a record!" - -At this juncture, Fake threw her arms round the professor. - -"You be next one?" she asked. "Like you much. You be old Lobster." - -"What's that? Old Lobster?" - -"Pretty name," cooed Fraud, from the other side, cuddling on his -shoulder. "We like old Lobster, Fake." - -"You bet your back teeth!" elegantly retorted Fake. "We like him lot. -Pull his leg." - -"Well, you're frank in proclaiming your intentions, at least!" gasped -Zenas. - -At this moment the strange music began again, and the dancing girls -reappeared, posing and pirouetting, the tiny bells on their bare ankles -tinkling in a lively manner. - -Zenas tried to untangle himself from the twining arms of the two -favorites, but they declined to be thrust aside. - -"No! no!" they cried. "Keep so. Like it, old Lobster." - -"Old Lobster!" grated Gunn. "Say, my dears, you'll please me if you call -me something else. I don't like the name you have selected for me." - -"No like it?" questioned Fake, in apparent surprise. "Pretty name." - -"Sweet name," gurgled Fraud. "We like it." - -"But I object! You'll have to call me something else. I won't stand for -it." - -"All right," said Fraud, in apparent disappointment. - -Then she tried to get a strangle hold on Zenas, who was beginning to -perspire and wish himself a thousand miles away. - -"Well, you have a mighty queer notion about pretty names!" snapped the -old man. "Don't choke me! Those dancing girls are laughing--I know they -are! I can see them laughing behind their veils!" - -But they clung to him more closely than ever, and all his squirming was -useless. - -"Where's the boss of this house?" he spluttered. "Be careful, both of -you! I'm a respectable married man!" - -"Nobody ever think it," snickered Fraud. - -"You be married lots more when you get us," observed Fake. - -"Christopher! I should say so! I'd be too much married." - -"We not all you have," said Fraud. "You get lots more like us." - -"Only not so nice--not so pretty," declared Fake. - -"Well, I'll have to think this thing over before I close the bargain. -I'm beginning to think that one wife is enough for any man--too much in -some cases." - -"How silly!" commented Fake. - -"Awful chump," said Fraud. - -"But we love him," purred Fake. "Him old. Him not last long. Then we -have 'nother husband." - -"That fun," giggled Fraud. - -"Say, you're beginning to make me sick!" snapped the distressed victim. -"Call the boss of the house--call him! He can keep his harem!" - -"You nervous," said Fake. "See girls dance. Be still." - -"I see them," groaned Gunn, "and they see us. They're making sport of -us! I didn't come here to be laughed at! I won't stand it." - -"No stand--sit still," advised Fraud. - -He gave over his efforts and fell to watching the dancers. They were -very graceful, but he remembered that Coddington had spoken carelessly -of them, declaring that the favorites of the harem were far more -beautiful. To Zenas it seemed that the so-called favorites were big, -husky ladies, while their free-and-easy manners, and their slang, filled -him with aversion. He had fancied the beauties of a harem to be -something entirely different from the ones who were boldly embracing -him. And one of them had confessed that she had changed husbands sixteen -times--or more! This in a land where he had supposed a man could have a -number of wives, but that no wife ever had more than one husband. - -The glamour of the harem was fast wearing off, as far as Zenas Gunn, of -Fardale, was concerned. Already he was beginning to think he had seen -quite enough of it. - -Fake and Fraud were not inclined to keep still long. The former began to -dally with the professor's whiskers, running her fingers through them -and pulling them playfully. - -"Pretty! pretty!" she cooed. - -"Ba-a-a-a!" bleated Fraud, like a goat. "Wind go z-z-z-z-z." - -"Quit your fooling!" half snarled the fretted old fellow, pushing Fake's -hand away. - -Her gloved fingers seemed to catch in his whiskers and give them a -fearful yank, as he thrust her hand aside. - -He howled with pain. - -"Nice hair," commented Fraud, giving a pull at the professor's wig and -jerking it off. "Oh, see! Hair all loose! He look funny now!" - -"Gimme that!" panted the professor, snatching at the wig; but Fraud -thrust it back of her, laughing mockingly behind her heavy veil. - -She was strong, astonishingly strong. He found he could not recover the -wig by force, so he gave over the attempt. - -"That nice," said Fake. "Behave, old Lobster. Pretty teeth. Bite Fake's -little finger." - -Before he even suspected her purpose she thrust her finger into his -mouth. In some manner she caught hold of his upper set of false teeth -and jerked them out. - -Then both favorites uttered exclamations of seeming surprise and -merriment, while the triumphant Fake held the extracted set of teeth -above her head. - -"Him fine!" she cried. "Hair come off! Teeth come out! Old Lobster lots -funny!" - -"We take old Lobster all to pieces," said Fraud. "Come on, Fake. Take -him eyes out next." - -"Hold on, both of you!" frothed Zenas. "Don't you dare carry thish thing -any farsher! Gimme my wig! Gimme me my teesh! Hand 'em over, or -shomebody going to get hurt!" - -By this time he was greatly enraged, but he found himself almost -helpless in the hands of the favorites. - -The dancing girls were continuing their gyrations, but he knew they were -laughing. - -He felt that he had been robbed of his dignity and humiliated, and he -was eager to take flight from the harem. Again and again he sought to -struggle up, but Fake and Fraud pulled him back and held him. - -"Oh, good old Lobster!" they cooed. "We love old Lobster. Him great -joke." - -"I demand to be released!" gasped the professor. "If you hang onto me -you'll regret it! I'm a desperate man! I'm dangerous!" - -He had managed to recover his teeth and thrust them back into his mouth, -and now Fraud sought to mollify him by restoring his wig, which she -placed on his head, hind side foremost. - -"If this is what the owner of a harem has to endure, I'm thankful I -don't own one," declared Zenas. - -Then they patted his cheeks and sought in various ways to pacify him. - -"We like you," they protested. - -"Well, you both have hanged queer ways of showing your affection, that's -all I've got to say!" he retorted. - -"Maybe old Lobster like to kiss me?" questioned Fraud. - -"No; old Lobster like to kiss me," declared Fake. - -"Who told you so much?" sneered Gunn. - -"We say so, old Lobster have to kiss us," asserted Fake. - -"Have to?" gasped the perspiring pedagogue. "Why should I?" - -"That rule," explained Fraud. "We want it, no man get away less he do -so." - -A groan of genuine distress escaped the lips of Zenas. - -"I'm sure you don't want it," he hastened to say. "Just call Mr. -Coddington. I'm very ill! I must see a physician at once! Please let me -off!" - -But they were obdurate, both insisting on receiving a kiss from him. - -"It's foolishness," he declared. "You have veils on." - -"Oh, we move um," Fake hastened to say. - -"We move um," echoed Fraud. - -"And then will you call the boss of the house?" - -"We have him called then," they promised. - -"If this ever gets out, my reputation is blasted," sighed the professor; -"but I see no other way to escape from these creatures. I'll have to -submit." - -He signified his willingness, whereupon both favorites again clasped him -about the neck with an arm, while they prepared to lift their veils with -their free hands. - -"Here goes!" he muttered, turning to Fraud. - -She lifted her veil. - -A squawk of astonishment and horror burst from Professor Gunn, for Fraud -was black as midnight, with huge red lips, which were parted in a -horrible grin. Brass rings dangled from her ears and her nose. - -"Heavens and earth deliver me!" panted the professor. - -Then he turned and saw the face of Fake. It was that of an old, haglike -creature, wrinkled and hideous, while her mouth was filled with horrible -black teeth. - -A shriek escaped the old man. Like a maniac he tore himself free from -their clutches. - -"Help! Murder!" he yelled. - -"Come back, old Lobster!" they implored. - -But he scrambled to his feet and fled from the room, yelling for -assistance at every step, and pursued by a burst of laughter from the -dancing girls. - -The professor rushed from the room and into the arms of John Coddington -and Colonel Stringer. They grasped him and held fast. - -"Let go!" he shouted. "Don't let those creatures catch me! Let go!" - -"Well, by Jove!" drawled Coddington. "The man is crazy, don't you know!" - -"What's the matter with yo', professah?" asked the colonel, in apparent -amazement. "Have yo' lost your senses, suh?" - -"How dare you insult the favorites of the harem by running away from -them in such a manner?" sternly demanded the Englishman. - -"Insult them!" snarled Zenas, glaring at Coddington as if he longed to -throttle the man. "How dare you insult me by putting such hideous hags -onto me?" - -"Hideous hags? Sir, those are the most beautiful ladies in all Cairo, by -Jove!" - -"Beautiful! They would frighten a mummy into a fit! They would give a -dog hydrophobia." - -"Suh," said Colonel Stringer, "I am astonished, suh! My friend -Coddington is a fine judge of feminine beauty." - -"Bah!" sneered Zenas. "Bah! bah! I've seen his beauties, and they are -horrible things! Let me get out of this house! I wish never to see the -interior of another harem! A man who would have more than one wife is -insane. And a man who thinks such creatures as those beautiful ought to -be locked fast in a home for incurable imbeciles! You're an imbecile, -Coddington--that's my opinion of you! Don't talk back! Don't open your -mouth! Want to sell your harem, do you? I don't wonder! You ought to pay -somebody about ten million dollars to take it--and then he'd get stuck! -Good day, sir! I tell you not to attempt to detain me a moment! I am -going now!" - -And go he did, hurrying forth from the house with trembling steps and -almost running until he was far from that vicinity. - -Barely had the professor left the front door when the two "favorites" -appeared, both convulsed with laughter. - -They were Dick Merriwell and Brad Buckhart, the former having posed as -Fraud, while the latter had given his name as Fake. - -"Oh, great horn spoon!" gasped Buckhart, "I certain won't get over this -in a year!" - -"I think the professor has been taught a splendid lesson," laughed Dick. -"The game worked like a charm." - -"I should say it did!" agreed Coddington, who was also laughing. "We -watched it all. We were behind some curtains, and we dodged out just in -time to get ahead of the professor when he took flight. It was deucedly -funny, don't you know. You boys did your parts very cleverly." - -"Did you see Dick remove the professor's wig?" laughed the Texan. "I -thought I'd blow up then, but it gave me an idea, and I managed to get -my digits into his mouth and yank out the upper layer of his store -teeth." - -"And then I was on the point of blowing up," confessed Dick. "But the -professor was so excited he didn't notice it." - -"The climax came when yo' invited him to kiss yo'," grinned Colonel -Stringer. "He'll be ready to shoot me now." - -"Don't you think it," said Dick. "He'll be round begging you to keep -still about it. He'll be humble enough." - -"We're very much obliged to you, Mr. Coddington, for your assistance," -said Dick. "If you'll give us a bill of expenses, I'll settle it. If -Colonel Stringer hadn't known you, I fear we could not have carried out -the plan after we formed it." - -"Oh, the expense was nothing compared with the sport I've had," asserted -the Englishman. - -"But you had to engage the dancing girls." - -"They are professionals, and their services cost a mere nothing. It's -not worth mentioning." - -"Oh, yes it is. Then there was the costumer. You had to pay him. I -insist on settling the bill." - -Coddington did his best to get out of taking anything, but Dick was -obdurate and finally compelled the Englishman to state the full expense -of the affair, which he paid. - -It was nearly an hour later when the boys reappeared at the Shepherd's -Hotel, having washed off their make-ups and donned their usual attire. - -They found the professor, looking pale and wan, pacing the floor of his -room, which adjoined theirs. The old man noted their entrance, and -paused to peer at them suspiciously. - -"Where have you been, boys?" he asked. - -"Oh, out for a little airing," answered Dick, carelessly. "Did you enjoy -the afternoon, professor?" - -"Well--er--ah--I can't truthfully say that I did," confessed the old -pedagogue. - -"That was too bad. Why didn't you enjoy it?" - -"Ahem! I can't explain, boys. Don't ask foolish questions." - -"But didn't you see that collection of old relics?" - -"I did--I saw it!" - -"And you were disappointed in it?" - -"Very much so." - -"Were not the relics very ancient?" - -"Well, two of them were, beyond question." - -"And did the inspection of them add greatly to your fund of knowledge?" -persisted Dick. - -"Greatly," declared Zenas. "I know much more than I did when I left this -hotel." - -"Then I fail to understand why you seem so terribly disappointed. You -said you expected to return here a much wiser man." - -"And if I'm not wiser," said the professor, "I ought to be shot, that's -all! I have this day learned something I'll never forget. Don't ask -another question! I decline to discuss the matter further. But I will -say that no man is too old to learn, and sometimes a man who thinks -himself very wise discovers that he's a big fool. I'm going to lie down -and rest now, for I need it. I am quite exhausted." - -He closed the door between the two rooms. - -"I must tell Dunbar and Nadia about it," chuckled Buckhart. "Come on, -Dick; let's go see them." - -"You go ahead," nodded Merriwell. "I have a letter to write, and I think -I'll do it now." - -Buckhart was not gone long, and there was something of a worried look on -his face when he returned. - -"Well, did they appreciate the joke?" questioned Dick, without looking -up. - -"I didn' tell them." - -"Didn't?" - -"No." - -"Why not?" - -"They're not in." - -"Oh, that's it! Where have they gone?" - -"I don't know. I inquired and found they left the hotel about two hours -ago. They did not take a carriage, or even engage donkeys. They walked -out, without stating whither they intended to go." - -"Well, it's likely they'll return soon." - -"I hope so." - -Buckhart's tone caused Dick to look up quickly. - -"What's the matter, Brad?" he asked. - -"I'm worried, pard," confessed the Texan. - -"About them? Oh, nonsense; they're all right." - -"They may be; but you know Budthorne is a mighty poor protector for a -girl, and Nadia has been watched by that strange man we observed." - -"That is, she thought that man was watching her; but she was not sure of -it." - -"She was pretty sure. He was a Turk, and you know what happened to her -in Damascus." - -"Which, therefore, will not happen again. Don't be foolish, old man." - -"You remember that other man--the one we saw join the Turk on Citadel -Hill?" - -"Yes." - -"I dreamed about him last night, Dick." - -"Did you?" - -"Sure; and it was a bad dream. I thought you and I were walking along a -dark street, in a strange city, when that other man came up behind us -suddenly. I turned just in time to see him drive a knife into your back, -but not in time to check him. You fell! Then I sprang on your murderer -and flung him to the ground. I had him by the throat and I dragged him -to a corner, where there was a light. When I had pulled him into the -light I discovered that he was Chester Arlington." - -"Well, you see how foolish dreams are, Brad. Chet Arlington is at -Fardale, thousands of miles away." - -"That's all right. I don't opine the chap we saw was Arlington; but -somehow I have the idea that he's an enemy to you, and just as dangerous -an enemy as Chet Arlington." - -"If you take stock in dreams, you'll be calling on fortune tellers, -next." - -"Oh, you laugh! You wait and see! That dream meant something." - -Brad relapsed into silence, and Dick went on with his writing. - -Ten minutes later they heard the sound of running feet on the stairs and -outside their door. The door was burst open, and Dunbar Budthorne, -ghastly white and shaking in every limb, reeled in. - -Buckhart made a great leap and seized the fellow. - -"For Heaven's sake, Budthorne, what has happened?" he hoarsely demanded. - -"Nadia!" gasped the agitated young man, seeming barely able to utter the -word. - -"Nadia!" grated Brad. "Something has happened to her? Speak, man!" - -"We were walking----" - -"Go on!" - -"Suddenly several men sprang out on us. They tried to seize Nadia. I--I -did my best. I sought to protect her. One fellow snatched her from me. -Another hit me on the head and knocked me down. But I saw the one who -seized her--saw him face to face! I knew him. It was Miguel Bunol!" - -Brad fell back as if struck in the face. Dick uttered an exclamation of -incredulity. - -"You're crazy, Budthorne!" he palpitated. "Your eyes deceived you! Bunol -cannot be here, for the Bedouins carried him away to sell him into -slavery in Arabia." - -"I don't care about that," declared Budthorne, positively; "Bunol was -with those men who attacked us--he seized Nadia. I know him! I cannot be -deceived!" - -"But Nadia," questioned Brad; "what became of her?" - -"I was stunned for the time," said Dunbar. "When I recovered the men -were gone and she had disappeared. I ran about aimlessly, but something -guided me to the river. I saw them in a boat that was rowing off to a -small yacht. I saw them lift my sister from the boat over the rail into -the yacht. Steam was up. The yacht hoisted anchor and away it went up -the river. All this time I was running up and down the bank, trying to -hire some one to take me off to the yacht in a boat. No one would. And -when the yacht was far up the river I turned and came back here as fast -as I could. Oh, Nadia--poor Nadia! How can we save her?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII--IN BUNOL'S POWER - - -A small but handsome private yacht, under full head of steam, was making -its swift course up the Nile. - -In the tiny, Orientally furnished cabin of this yacht, Miguel Bunol -stood with his feet wide apart, his hands in his pockets, puffing at a -cigarette and triumphantly regarding a cowering, pale-faced, red-eyed -girl. - -Bunol's manner was insolent and self-satisfied in the extreme. He felt -that he was master of the situation at last and his heart beat high with -exultation. - -Nadia glanced at him in terror. She had crept as far from him as -possible. - -"I am greatly sorry to cause you such vast distress," said the young -Spaniard, with pretended regret. - -Her lips curled. - -"You, sorry!" she exclaimed chokingly. - -"No doubt you do not believe me, but it is true, my dear--I swear it is -true." - -Her eyes began to flash. - -"You know you are lying, you monster!" - -"At least," he retorted, with a dark smile, "your spirit is not broken, -and I like that. You made such a terrible disturbance, and you did weep -so much that I feared you would not have any spirit left. I admire the -girl of spirit, and for the one who cows and whimpers, like a whipped -puppy, I have but little regard." - -She was silent, but scorn and loathing continued to gleam in her eyes. - -"I regret to the exceeding limit that we felt it necessary to pursue the -course we did, but we dared not wait longer." - -"We? You mean yourself." - -"There is another concerned." - -"What other?" - -"My friend, Medjid Bey. He is the owner of this yacht." - -"A Turk! A worthy comrade!" - -"Medjid Bey is a Turkish gentleman of high rank. He stands high in the -regard of the sultan." - -"I am glad to know the name of your accomplice in this dastardly piece -of business." - -"Oh, you will know him far better before this affair is over. He is a -splendid fellow. Only for that, at this moment you might be under -arrest, and on your way back to Damascus, or to Constantinople." - -She betrayed her total disbelief in the words of Bunol. - -"I give you the assurance of a gentleman that I speak the truth," he -bowed. - -"The assurance of a gentleman!" she exclaimed. "A fine gentleman! A -gambler, a scheming scoundrel!" - -"You misjudge me greatly, Nadia. You have never understood me. From the -first I took a friendly interest in your brother. I knew his weaknesses, -and I tried----" - -"You tried to ruin him! You got him into your power by drugging him. The -drug you gave him made him the slave of drink, and you did not permit -its effect to wear off. When it seemed about to wear off, you gave him -more of the drug. Friendly interest! You were making him a drunkard!" - -"It is useless to argue with a girl. Women do not reason. What they -believe they believe, without sense or judgment." - -"I believe what I know. You had Dunbar in your grip, in London. Since -then he has never been himself. His spirit is broken and his courage -gone." - -"Surely he lacks courage, else he would not have deserted you to-day. He -ran away in the most cowardly manner when we appeared. It was our -intention to take him along with you. I thought you would feel better -about it if you had him for company." - -Nadia felt a twinge of shame for her brother, who had displayed the -white feather in the most pitiful manner. - -The account of the affair, as given by Budthorne to Merriwell and -Buckhart, was true with the single exception of Dunbar's statement that -he had defended Nadia until struck down. This part of the story he had -founded on Dick's experience in defense of the girl in Damascus. His -befuddled and unimaginable brain had been incapable of devising a -different yarn. - -"No wonder he fears you, Miguel Bunol!" panted the girl. "He has every -reason to fear you." - -"That is no excuse for his cowardly conduct. No brave man ever deserts a -lady in time of peril." - -"Perhaps you think yourself competent to judge a brave man?" she -sneered. "Perhaps you really believe yourself brave?" - -"I know what I am! but, with your brother concerned, I wish to make no -unpleasant comparisons." - -"How kind of you! You are such a gallant gentleman!" - -Her scorn was scorching, but he declined to be touched by it. Coolly he -lighted a fresh cigarette. - -"Where is the master of this boat?" she suddenly demanded, half starting -up. "I demand to see him!" - -"All in good time, my dear. You shall see him soon." - -"Now! He must listen to me! He must explain his conduct! You have -deceived him! You have lied to him! He cannot realize what he is doing!" - -"You are wholly mistaken, I assure you. Medjid Bey understands quite -perfectly what he is doing." - -"It is unlawful! It is a crime!" - -"He has learned of a certain crime that was lately committed in -Damascus." - -"You mean----" - -"I speak of the murder of Hafsa Pasha, a countryman of Medjid Bey." - -"How does that concern me?" - -"You know you are concerned. In Damascus it is said an American -adventuress ensnared Hafsa Pasha, and her friends killed him." - -"Which is a wretched story to hide the truth that Hafsa Pasha brutally -seized and imprisoned an American girl. The story is told to shield the -Pasha in case the affair should be too closely investigated." - -"Perhaps so; but you know by experience that the people of Damascus -believe it, for you were compelled to flee from the city in disguise to -escape the enraged Moslems. Had you fallen into the hands of that mob -you would have been torn limb from limb." - -"Still you--fine gentleman that you are--threatened to deliver me over, -and, to prevent you, Dick Merriwell and Brad Buckhart seized, bound and -gagged you and fastened you in a closet of the German hotel!" - -"My dear Nadia, I had no thought of permitting you to fall into the -hands of the mob; but I did wish to bring those fool boys to terms by -frightening them." - -"You found them boys you could not frighten." - -"They are young idiots! They do not know enough to be afraid!" - -"You followed us after we escaped from the city." - -"And overtook you, too, aided by the Bedouins I engaged." - -"You did not overtake Dunbar and me." - -"But I did overtake Merriwell, Buckhart and that old fool professor." - -"Yes. Then you had Dick Merriwell stripped and were on the point of -having him cruelly whipped. You threatened to have him sold into slavery -in Arabia." - -"Which would have been his fate only for the unlucky appearance of that -old devil of a sheik, Ras al Had. He turned up with his followers at the -wrong moment." - -"At the right moment!" cried Nadia. "The whipping you intended for -Merriwell you received yourself." - -Bunol's face flushed. - -"Yes," he said, in a low, fierce tone. "The scars are on my back, and I -shall bear them to the grave." - -"Retribution!" - -"The end is not yet. I have sworn to make Merriwell suffer, even as I -suffered!" - -"That shows your true nature and the blackness of your heart, for it was -not Dick Merriwell that caused you to be whipped. Ras al Had was the -one. Dick interfered, or you would have been lashed until you fainted." - -"Why did he interfere? I know! It was because he feared I would be so -weakened by the punishment that I would not be able to stand the journey -to Arabia. He left me with those Bedouins, who were commanded to take me -out of Syria and sell me into slavery in Arabia. He intended that I -should perish a wretched slave of black men." - -"Which was the fate you had chosen for him and would have forced on him, -only for the fortunate coming of the sheik. Do you never think that -there is such a thing as retributive justice? I shuddered and was sorry -for you when I learned what had happened. But now--now my only regret is -that you escaped!" - -"Well, I did escape, and I am here--to wreak vengeance on Merriwell!" - -"And it was Ras al Had who commanded the Bedouins to carry you into -captivity, not Merriwell. Merriwell did not know of the sheik's order -until he was far away and it was impossible for him to do anything." - -"He has told you that, but he lied! He urged old Ras al Had to do it! I -know him, for did he not try to murder me in the tent of the Bedouin -chief?" - -"When you had goaded him beyond endurance by your taunts and your -threats of whipping and slavery. You thought he would not touch you, -because he has wonderful command of his temper; but you found out your -mistake when he fastened his hands on your throat." - -"He told you of that? He boasted of it?" - -"Never a word of it have I received from him. Brad Buckhart told me." - -"That fellow? Well, what I have in store for him is only second to what -shall befall Merriwell. I was not carried into captivity. I am here, and -I have struck a blow. The end will come soon." - -"How you escaped I do not know, but----" - -"I will tell you. I know many Turks of influence. I have had dealings -with the Turkish secret police, and----" - -"Through your lies the secret police compelled Dick, Brad and Professor -Gunn to leave Constantinople," interrupted Nadia. - -The Spaniard smiled in a satisfied manner. - -"I think the information I furnished led to their being warned to leave -the city," he bowed. "Let me go on. Knowing a number of Turkish -gentlemen of rank, I was able to impress old Ali Beha, the chief of the -Bedouins, who had been commanded to sell me into slavery. I saw my only -hope was to bribe and frighten the ignorant old chief into releasing me. -That was no simple matter, for Ali Beha feared the sheik, Ras al Had. -However, all the wires I worked as best I knew how. I talked to Ali Beha -and told him how, if my Turkish friends ever learned what had happened, -they would be furious and seek to have him punished. I told him that Ras -al Had was now an outcast, having slain Hafsa Pasha. I told him he was -aiding the accomplices of Ras al Had to escape, which would enrage the -sultan when he learned what had taken place. I offered bribes and made -promises. Ali Beha seemed immovable, and I was in despair. - -"Think of me, a helpless captive, believing I was doomed to slavery in -burning Arabia! The thought of such a fate maddened me. I nearly lost my -reason. At times I raved and prayed. But through it all I kept saying I -would live to be revenged on Dick Merriwell." - -"It was the fate you first devised for him," said the girl, "and your -suffering was your punishment." - -Bunol snapped his fingers. - -"Whenever I recovered from those fits of despair," he continued, -"something seemed to whisper in my ear that there was yet hope and that -I would not become a slave. I did not know Ali Beha had sent two of his -men on fleet horses to Damascus to investigate my statements; but this -was what he had done. He waited for those men to return. They came back -in time, and they informed him that it was true that Ras al Had had -become an outcast, having slain Hafsa Pasha on account of an old score. -They also told the sheik that they had found I was known to the Turks I -had claimed as my friends. - -"Then Ali Beha's manner toward me underwent a change. I was no longer a -captive. He escorted me to the nearest village and set me free. From -that village I made all haste to reach the port of Akka, believing -Merriwell would take flight from Syria as soon as he could. I did hope -he would be detained; but at Akka I soon discovered he had found a way -to get off in a steamer for Alexandria. Fortunately for him, news -travels slowly in Syria, and the officials had not learned that he was -suspected of having something to do with the murder of Hafsa Pasha. -Either that was the case, or the Turks, knowing he had not really -committed the crime, were willing that he should get away. The latter -supposition may be the truth. I confess that I am half inclined to so -regard it. Later I will explain why. - -"Well, I followed to Alexandria, and from that port I traced Merriwell -to Cairo. Arriving at Cairo, I met Medjid Bey. He had been cruising in -his own yacht, on which we now are. It happened that I had met Medjid -Bey before in Syria, where I did him a special favor, which he had not -forgotten. I lost no time in telling him all that had happened in Syria. -He was interested. I could not keep watch of you and your friends -without running great risks of detection. He agreed to watch you." - -"And he is the man who annoyed me so much!" - -"Exactly, my dear. He informed me that you had observed him and grown -suspicious of him. While he was watching you we had sent word to -Damascus that Merriwell and Buckhart, the two American boys who were -present when Hafsa Pasha was slain, had been located in Cairo. We waited -for Turkish officials to come to arrest them. - -"But I found Merriwell was growing restless. I feared he would somehow -learn that I was near. In case he did so learn, it was likely he would -take flight. I have had some experience in following him, and I know he -is most baffling. He vanishes like a shadow, and he seems to leave no -track behind. Besides, my dear, I did not mean to lose you again. Then I -finally induced Medjid Bey to carry out a little scheme at the first -opportunity. The opportunity came to-day, while you were out walking -with your brother. We seized you, and it was our intention to take your -brother also, but he fled. Now you know why you are brought here." - -"I don't know!" cried Nadia passionately. "I don't understand! What can -you hope to accomplish?" - -"I can keep Merriwell from taking flight. He will follow you. In Cairo -it is dangerous to strike; but in the wild country up the Nile I shall -be able to wreak vengeance on him. The very fact that no officers were -sent to arrest him made me determine to strike the blow myself. The -officers might have reached here ere this, and so I reason that the -Turkish government is glad to have him out of the country." - -Nadia regarded the man with increased loathing and hatred. - -"In the end you will meet your just deserts!" she cried. - -"In the end I will have you, and the enemies I hate shall be swept from -the face of the earth. Somewhere up this river the end of the struggle -must come. After that, you and I will hasten away to some better land. -Your brother shall be spared, and we'll take him with us. In time you -will learn to admire the man who never rested until he had crushed his -enemies." - -"Admire you? You are insane to fancy such a thing! I despise you! I -loathe you! To me you are like a venomous serpent! Had I ever -entertained for you a spark of pity, you have quenched it. Where is this -man Medjid Bey? Let me talk to him." - -"As you like," said Bunol, lifting his eyebrows and shrugging his -shoulders. "It will give you no satisfaction. I will send him here." - -Bowing gracefully, he retired from the cabin. - -After a moment Nadia started up, a wild light in her eyes. She faltered -a bit, then swiftly crossed to leave the cabin. The man she had so often -seen watching her in Cairo entered and blocked her path. - -"You--you are Medjid Bey?" she breathed. - -"That is my name, lady." - -"You own this yacht?" - -"The _Kayala_ is mine." - -"Do you know what you are doing?" - -"I think so." - -"You are committing a crime! I have never harmed you. I am a helpless -girl. You look like a gentleman. I appeal to your manhood, your honor! -Before it is too late, turn back and set me free. Have no part in this -wicked deed. Bunol has lied to you. He has led you to think he has been -wronged. It is false! He is a scoundrel of the blackest dye, and he has -committed all the wrongs. My brother is back there in Cairo. He will be -distracted. My friends are there. They will be pained. Take me -back--please take me back! I beg--I entreat----" - -She fell on her knees, seeking to clasp his hands. - -"My dear lady, I beg you rise. It pains me to see you thus distressed." - -"You will listen? You will take me back to my friends?" - -"I will take it into consideration. In the meantime do not fear for your -personal safety. No harm shall befall you while you are on the _Kayala_. -I give you my word. Do nothing rash, but wait and trust." - -He was anxious to get away, and he bowed low once more, hastening from -the cabin. - -Nadia fell at full length on the floor. - -"Heaven protect me!" she moaned. "He will do nothing, and I am in the -power of Miguel Bunol!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX--THE PURSUIT ON THE RIVER - - -It was night in Egypt. The silver moonlight fell on the shining, silent -Nile, its low shores lined with shadowy palms. Up the Nile a small -excursion steamer was spluttering and throbbing, showing its lights. - -It was a strange and unusual hour for a steamer to be moving on that -portion of the Nile, where but few steamers are ever seen. Traffic on -this river is carried on mainly with the aid of _dahabeahs_, which are -immense combined sail and row boats, having a low forward deck and a -large cabin aft. - -Forward, near the pilot house of the little excursion steamer, there -were a number of persons. They were conversing in low tones and keeping -a sharp outlook ahead and on either side. - -Dick, Brad, Professor Gunn, and Dunbar Budthorne were there. There were -also two others in the party, and these were Colonel Stringer and John -Coddington. - -"There's a deep shadow over yonder in the bend of the river, pard," said -Buckhart, in a low tone. "They may be lying in there somewhere." - -Immediately Dick turned to the man at the wheel and gave an order. The -course of the steamer was changed and she headed toward the shadow that -lay in the bend of the river. The pilot ran as near as he dared, on -account of the shallowness of the water. He then informed Dick that they -could not go in farther. - -"I think it is near enough," said the boy. "We can see now. There's no -yacht lying in there." - -The pilot declared it impossible that a small yacht should lie hidden -from their view anywhere in the shadowy space, and Dick told him to head -up the river again and get into the channel, from which both shores -could be watched. - -In order to make sure they did not pass the yacht for which they were -searching, it was necessary at times for the steamer to make a sinuous, -winding course from side to side, the river being wide in many places. - -This steamer was one of two excursion boats which made trips from Cairo -far up the river to the ruins of ancient Thebes and other spots of -historic interest. - -Dick Merriwell had lost little time after learning from Dunbar Budthorne -that Nadia had been carried up the river in the private yacht of the -strange Turk. He formed his plans rapidly and went to work. - -The first thing was to decide on some method of pursuit, and he quickly -concluded that they must follow in a yacht or steamer. - -No yacht could be secured, and so he sought for a steamer. One of the -boats was up the river. The other, and smaller one, had just returned -from a trip and was advertised to leave again in two days. - -Dick had no small difficulty in finding the captain, but this he finally -accomplished. The captain was a Swede. At first he seemed to think the -American boy was crazy, but it did not take Richard Merriwell long to -convince that Swede of his sanity and earnestness. - -The captain stated that he must have a sum representing nearly a hundred -dollars a day for the use of his boat. Dick agreed to pay it. The -captain grinned and asked him where he was going to get so much money. - -Then the American lad flashed a purse, the clinking sound of its -contents causing the eyes of the Swede to glitter. - -"How much advance money do you demand?" asked Dick. - -The captain said he would require two days' pay. - -"And then you will be ready to start----" - -"It's night now," said the Swede. "Ay be rady to start in mornang." - -"You must be ready to start in just sixty minutes," said Dick. - -"Ay can't do it." - -"If you are ready to start in sixty minutes I'll pay you this amount -extra." - -The boy laid down four pieces of money. - -"Ay be rady," said the captain, taking up the money. - -In the meantime Professor Gunn had met and told Colonel Stringer, and -the colonel had carried the story to his English friend, Coddington. -These men were eager to join in the pursuit of Nadia's captors. They -were on hand when Dick and Brad appeared and announced the securing of -the steamer. - -"My dear Coddington," said the colonel, "the prospect of a little -fighting makes my blood stir. Are yo' armed, suh?" - -"I have my pistol, don't you know," answered the Englishman. - -"Very good, suh. I have two pistols, and I can use them both. We'll make -it red-hot fo' this Spaniard and his Turkish friend, if we evah catch -them." - -"But I'm afraid we'll never catch them," said Coddington. "This steamer -the boy has secured is a slow old tub." - -"We'll overtake them if we have to pursue them clean up to Lake Victoria -Nyanza," declared Dick grimly. "I don't see why they turned up the -river, if they wish to get away." - -"That's what puzzled me up a plenty, pard," put in Buckhart. "Mebbe -Budthorne made a mistake; mebbe the Turk's yacht went down the river." - -But Budthorne insisted that he had made no mistake, and so, when they -had boarded the excursion steamer and found everything ready for the -start, they headed toward the upper waters of the Nile. - -"Look there!" - -"Where?" - -The exclamation and the question were spoken in a whisper. Dick uttered -the first; the second came from several of his companions. - -"Close to the shore in that cove yonder." - -"What do you see?" - -"Looks like the black hulk of a boat in the shadow of those thick -palms." - -"It sure does look that way!" palpitated Buckhart. - -"But it may be one of these river boats, don't you know," said -Coddington. "They find many places where they swing in to the shore and -tie up." - -"She shows no light," said Colonel Stringer. - -Dick spoke to the pilot. - -"Can you run in there?" he asked. "We think we see a boat near the -shore." - -The pilot explained that the river was quite deep there, such current as -there was being thrown near the bank by its winding course. He sounded -the bell for half speed and the steamer glided toward the deep shadows. - -Professor Gunn was very nervous. - -"We must be near the site of old Memphis," he said. "The ruins are -covered by a great palm grove, and you can see plenty of palms there, on -the shore." - -But the others were watching the small, dark hulk that lay near the -shore close under the shadow of the palms, through which the light from -the low-lying moon sifted in spots. - -"Whoever is on board there, they ought to know we're coming," growled -Buckhart, disgusted by the fuss made by the little steamer, which was -snorting and wheezing in a manner to be heard afar in the wonderful -silence of that Egyptian night. - -"I think some one is stirring, don't you know," said Coddington. "I -fancied I saw something move." - -Dick had fancied the same. To him it seemed as if some dark figures left -the steamer and slipped away into the gloom of the palms. Once something -like a muffled cry came out across the water, but the wheezing of the -steamer prevented them from hearing it distinctly. Even though it were a -cry of some sort, they knew it might come from a night bird or a -prowling wild beast amid the ruins of the ancient city. - -Suddenly and unexpectedly a bar of light shot out from the black hulk -near the shore. It struck in their faces, dazzling and blinding them. - -Involuntarily they half crouched, while several of them reached for -their weapons. - -"A searchlight!" exclaimed Dick. "We've found the yacht! Look out for -trouble!" - -"There sure is liable to be some shooting!" breathed Buckhart; "and -we're mighty fine targets here in this light. Look out for bullets!" - -Then a voice hailed them. Some one called to them in Turkish. It was a -challenge, although they did not understand the words. - -"Talk English," cried Dick. "We don't understand that lingo." - -"No, we don't savvy it any at all," said Buckhart. - -"Are you trying to collide with me?" demanded a voice from behind the -searchlight. "Keep off!" - -"He savvys United States all right," said Brad, in deep satisfaction. -"Now we can powwow with him." - -The captain of the steamer gave a signal for the engineer to reverse his -engines. - -"Who are you?" demanded Dick. - -"What right have you to ask?" was the indignant retort. - -"We take the right. Better answer." - -"I am a peaceful individual seeking to get some sleep. Why do you come -pounding in here with your noisy old boat and disturb my rest?" - -"He's a whole lot saucy," growled the Texan. - -"We are looking for a private yacht, owned by a Turkish gentleman," -explained Dick. - -"A Turkish gentleman--not!" muttered Buckhart. - -"You are friends?" was the inquiry from behind the source of the light. - -"Not exactly; but we have important business with the gentleman." - -"What's his name?" - -"What's your name?" - -Dick was talking to give the captain time to bring the steamer alongside -the yacht, which was no simple task under the circumstances. - -Evidently the unknown did not fancy Dick's manner of speech, for he -again commanded them to keep off. - -"If you touch my boat you will mar her," he said. "I don't know you. You -may be scoundrels, robbers, assassins." - -"We're looking for some scoundrels," said the Texan, in a low tone; "and -I certain reckon we've found them. Get ready to board that boat, and be -prepared to fight." - -"I warn you to keep off!" angrily shouted the voice of the unseen man. -"We'll have to defend ourselves." - -"If you're on the level," said Dick, "you have nothing to fear from us; -but we are determined to make an investigation and find out who and what -you are." - -"We may fire on you." - -"Better not." - -"We can. You are in the light, while it is impossible for you to see -us." - -"If you do any shooting, you'll regret it." - -During this "game of talk" the pilot was manipulating the steamer as -skillfully as possible, the bell tinkling nervously and frequently in -the engine room. - -Dick felt something touch his leg and glanced down. Dunbar Budthorne, -agitated and cowering, was crouching on his knees in the shadow of the -rail at the boy's feet. - -"Get up!" muttered Dick, in a low tone. "Don't let them see they have -frightened anybody. We must bluff this thing through." - -"They may begin shooting any moment," chattered the cowering fellow. "If -they do, they can pick us all off easily. You'll be the first one -killed, too, for Bunol thirsts for your blood." - -Not another one of the group had sought shelter. Colonel Stringer, his -gray mustache bristling, was standing erect with his shoulders squared -toward the enemy, while John Coddington was planted near, his hands on -his hips. Buckhart was close to the rail, his square jaw set, fire in -his eyes. The professor, inspired by the others, had not betrayed any -alarm, although Dick fancied he was ready to drop and seek shelter the -instant any trouble began. - -In the very forefront was Merriwell. - -The enemy seemed in doubt, and while they hesitated the steamer bumped -against the side of the yacht. - -The moment the two boats touched Dick and Brad were on the jump. The -searchlight no longer bore on them. They leaped to the rail and went -over it. From the steamer they sprang to the deck of the yacht. - -Colonel Stringer followed, only he was somewhat more cautious. He was a -moment ahead of Coddington. - -Dick had a pistol in his hand when his feet struck the deck of the -yacht. Buckhart also had drawn a weapon. - -They found themselves confronted by two men, both of whom seemed -unarmed. - -"Is this the way peaceable persons behave?" asked a cuttingly sarcastic -voice. "You have boarded my yacht in defiance of my wishes, and, if my -eyes do not deceive me in this light, you have weapons in your hands." - -"We shall not use our weapons unless you force us to use them," said -Dick. "Have no fear of that." - -"Under the circumstances," said the stranger, "you must confess that you -have given us great provocation. We should have been justified in firing -on you as you drew near, for your movements have been hostile all -along." - -"I reckon there was a right good reason why you did no shooting," put in -Brad. - -"And that reason was--what?" - -"You didn't dare." - -"Oh, but any man has a right to defend himself and his property. You are -wrong in thinking we did not dare. What had we to fear?" - -"The row it would raise if you did fire on us. You bet your boots -shooting of that sort would have kicked up a rumpus." - -"Your logic is poor. However, I do not intend arguing with you. Now that -you are here, be good enough to state your business instantly. As soon -as possible I wish you to retire." - -"I presume you haven't the least idea of the nature of our business?" -said Dick sarcastically. - -"Not the least, I assure you." - -"Where is Miguel Bunol?" - -"Who is that?" - -"Miguel Bunol." - -"You will pardon me, but I fear I have not the pleasure of the -gentleman's acquaintance." - -"You are a Turk?" - -"Yes." - -"You own this yacht?" - -"Yes." - -"You are the man so often seen watching our party in Cairo." - -"I think you must be mistaken. I do not seem to remember you. However, -if you will step forward a little, I'll have the searchlight turned on -you. I may be able to recognize you then." - -"Trick, pard!" hissed the Texan. "At close range they may begin the -shooting if they get us into the light." - -"Wait a minute," invited Stringer. "Let me say something, if yo' -please." - -Then he addressed the owner of the yacht. - -"Suh," he said, "I am Stringer, suh, Colonel Weatherby Stringer, at one -time of the khedive's army. I am visiting Egypt again after a lapse of -some years, suh, but I assure yo' I have friends of power and influence -in Cairo and Alexandria. In case harm comes to me, suh, the whole affair -will be investigated, and yo' will find yo'self the sufferer if yo' are -in any degree at fault. That's all I have to say, suh. Now go ahead and -use your old searchlight as much as yo' like." - -This was the little man's defiance. - -"Perhaps you may not know me?" broke in the Englishman. "I am John -Coddington, and I have a large business interest in Cairo. If I should -happen to get shot to-night, I assure you, don't you know, that it would -be a very serious matter for any one who did the shooting." - -The stranger bowed. - -"It happened, gentlemen," he said, "that I fancied I recognized you both -when the searchlight was turned on your boat." - -That seemed to explain why no shooting had been done. The presence of -Stringer and Coddington had held the enemy in check. - -The enemy? Were these two men the only ones on the yacht? Surely not. -Our friends knew there must be more, but where were they? - -"Now," said Dick, "as we are beginning to understand each other, we will -inform you further that we are looking for a Spaniard by the name of -Miguel Bunol. It is known that he proceeded up the river on the private -yacht of a Turkish gentleman. I hardly fancy there is another such yacht -on this part of the river." - -"And so you think this man you seek must be on board my boat?" - -"Exactly." - -"He is not." - -"Do you deny that he has been? Do you deny that he brought a young girl -on board this yacht against her will?" - -The owner of the yacht laughed disdainfully. - -"Deny it?" he exclaimed. "Of course I do!" - -"Then you lie!" shouted a voice, as Dunbar Budthorne came leaping from -the steamer to the yacht and rushed forward to confront the cool Turk. -"I saw her brought on board! This is the yacht! She is here! Search the -boat!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXX--HIS JUST DESERTS - - -The Turk did not shrink before Budthorne. He remained unruffled as he -said: - -"Very well; search the boat, gentlemen. As I know two of you to be -responsible, you have my permission to look the yacht over from stem to -stern." - -"It's a bluff!" growled Buckhart. - -But in his heart Dick was beginning to fear that neither Nadia nor Bunol -would be found on the yacht. - -Budthorne was greatly wrought up, and he urged the others to come on. - -The Turk spoke to his companion, who stepped aside and disappeared. - -A moment later lights flashed up all over the yacht. - -The Turk stood smiling in the light of an electric lantern, his manner -indicating his confidence in the result of the impending search. - -The lights showed two men forward, where they had been standing in the -shadow of the pilot house. - -They were the pilot and engineer. One was a Greek and the other an -Armenian. - -"Are these all of your crew?" demanded John Coddington. - -"Yes, sir." - -Now that the lights were on, Professor Gunn came crawling cautiously -over the rail onto the deck of the yacht, to which the steamer had been -made fast. - -"Hum! ha!" he coughed. "I must see that nothing is neglected. Proceed -with the search, gentlemen." - -Medjid Bey, the owner of the yacht, lighted a Turkish cigarette and -puffed away with indifference as the boarders began searching the yacht. - -It did not take long to search the small, but elegant craft from one end -to the other, and not a trace of Nadia or Bunol was found. - -Budthorne was infuriated. He seemed almost deranged. - -"What have they done with her?" he cried. "What have they done with my -sister?" - -Brad and Dick held a consultation in low tones. - -"We're tricked, pard," said the Texan. "The Spanish snake and the dirty -Turk have fooled us. What can we do? They've carried Nadia off. I'm for -taking that Mohammedan varmint by the throat and squeezing the truth out -of him." - -"I'm afraid we can't get at the truth that way," said Dick. "It is a bad -piece of business." - -"Bad! Pard, if that Spaniard harms a hair of Nadia's head I'll skin him -alive! You hear me warble! I'll kill him by inches!" - -Dick walked toward the stern of the yacht, which had swung quite close -to the shore. Indeed, not more than twelve or fourteen feet of water lay -between that end of the yacht and the bank, showing that the water was -very deep there. - -Merriwell stood looking into the shadows of the palm grove, feeling -desperate and baffled. Suddenly in the gloom of the grove there was a -red spout of fire. - -The report of a pistol startled the peaceful night. Dick Merriwell -dropped on the deck of the yacht. A roar of fury burst from the lips of -Brad Buckhart. With two great leaps he reached the rail of the yacht and -perched on it. Then he uprose and flung himself forward in a spring for -the bank. - -He cleared the space and landed on the shore. Recklessly he charged into -the palm grove, a pistol in his hand. The Texan believed his comrade had -been shot down in a dastardly manner, and his heart was filled with a -mad longing for vengeance. - -He ran toward the spot where the flash of the weapon had been seen. -Through a dim bit of moonlight ahead of him a figure seemed to flit. -That glimpse was enough for the Texan. He flung up his hand and his -pistol barked twice. - -"Give me a fair look at ye, and I'll certain get ye!" he panted. - -He came to some ruined steps of stone and stumbled down them, losing his -footing and falling sprawling at the foot. But he was up in a moment, -and again he fancied he caught a glimpse of a flitting form. - -Crack! Once more he fired. - -"Bet I nipped him then!" he snarled. - -He continued the mad pursuit, little reckoning what might happen, -thinking only that he might reach the person who had shot down his -friend and wreak vengeance for the dastardly act. - -Suddenly right ahead of him the red fire spouted and a singing bullet -brushed his ear. At the same moment Brad struck his foot against a -broken column of marble which had been unearthed from the ruins and went -headlong to the earth. - -It must have seemed that he had been dropped by the bullet. At any rate, -with a cry of satisfaction, a man leaped up and came at him. - -Buckhart rose to his knees. He had dropped his revolver, else he could -have shot the other. As it was, the man flung himself on the Texan, -hurling him backward to the earth. - -"I have you," snarled a voice, "and when I am done both my enemies will -be dead and out of the way!" - -It was the voice of Bunol! - -It was now a hand-to-hand struggle for life or death, amid the palms -which grew above the buried city of Memphis. What little moonlight -sifted through and fell upon the combatants simply served to make the -desperate struggle seem all the more terrible. - -Although taken thus at a disadvantage, Buckhart was a fighter every inch -of him, and he was not immediately overcome by the murderous Spaniard. - -Bunol had flung his whole weight on the Texan, and Brad's head struck -against a block of stone, causing him to see stars; yet the American lad -clutched the wrist of his antagonist and held fast. - -It was well he did so, for the Spaniard had drawn a knife, and this he -was trying hard to use. - -Bunol cursed in Spanish. He twisted and squirmed, seeking to free his -hand. He was astonished at the strength of Buckhart, for he believed the -Texan had been brought down by a bullet and was sorely wounded. - -"You die hard, American dog!" he panted; "but die you shall!" - -"Not by your hand, you varmint!" retorted Brad. - -"Oh, I'll kill you yet!" - -The Texan was gathering his strength, and suddenly there was an -upheaval, Bunol being unable to pin the husky chap to the ground. -Snarling like a mad dog, the Spaniard writhed in an eellike effort to -escape from the clutch that continued to render his knife hand helpless. - -Powerful though he was, Buckhart felt his hold slipping. There was -perspiration on Bunol's wrist and on the Texan's fingers. The task of -maintaining that grip grew more and more difficult. - -Still Buckhart realized that it was possible his life depended on his -success in clinging to the fellow's wrist. - -Suddenly Bunol snapped his hand free. - -"Now," he snarled; "now I kill you!" - -But, even as he struck, Buckhart sent him backward with a surge, and the -keen blade merely slashed the sleeve of the American lad. - -Brad fancied he knew just where he had dropped his pistol, and he -hastily felt round for the weapon. - -"Let me get it," he growled, "and I'll make a sieve of that cur!" - -He was given little time to search. Bunol recovered quickly. He saw the -other feeling about on the ground. Crouching, he half rose and launched -himself at Brad. - -The boy from the Pan Handle country, however, was on the alert, and, -with equal swiftness, he sprang aside. - -The Spaniard missed his intended victim, but the knife in his fingers -struck fire from a stone, on which it was broken near the hilt. - -A snarl of dismay escaped the lips of the murderous wretch. - -Then Buckhart grappled with him again. - -Brad did not know the knife was broken, so he made a grab at Miguel's -wrist to prevent him from slashing. - -"Whoop!" came from the lips of the Texan. "This sure is the real thing -in the way of a scrimmage. It's a right long time since I've been in one -like this." - -Bunol cursed bitterly. At last he realized that his antagonist could not -be seriously wounded. Although he did his best to break away, the -American lad hurled him down and held him. - -One of Brad's hands found Miguel's throat. - -"Got ye now!" he grated triumphantly. "Tell me where you have taken -Nadia! Speak quick, or you'll never have the chance to speak at all!" - -"Go ahead!" gasped the helpless scoundrel. "Kill me! Kill me, and you'll -never set eyes on her again!" - -"Where is she?" - -"You can't force me to tell." - -The fingers on the throat of the Spaniard tightened. Bunol's breath -hissed in his throat and then stopped. - -"I certain am not in a fooling mood," said Brad, "and it's up to you to -talk plenty fast." - -Bunol could not talk then, and he could do nothing but gasp when the -crushing hold was relaxed. - -"I'll give you about twenty seconds to begin unloading your mind," said -Brad. "Time is flying a heap. Ten seconds gone! Fifteen seconds! Time's -up!" - -The cry that Bunol started to utter was cut short by the pressure once -more applied to his throat. - -Then a figure came flitting through the shadows, dark as night and -silent as a phantom. It sped to the spot and was on Buckhart before the -Texan realized that another was present. - -The boy was hurled aside. He had been attacked by a huge black man. - -This fellow flung Buckhart from Bunol and pinned him to the ground, a -knee on his breast. - -Gaspingly the Spaniard rose. - -"Hold him, Kahireh!" he gasped. "Don't let him get away! Where is your -knife? Let me have it quick!" - -His hands fumbled in the girdle of the black man. A moment later he -uttered a cry of satisfaction. A bit of moonlight that came through the -palms fell on the blade of a long knife that gleamed in the Spaniard's -hands. - -"Hold him still, Kahireh!" grated Miguel. "Now I will cut his throat!" - -Never had Brad Buckhart been nearer death than at that moment, for -Miguel Bunol really meant to make his words good. He intended to cut the -throat of the helpless boy, who was held for slaughter by the powerful -black man. - -But Brad's time had not come. - -Out of the near-by shadows leaped still another figure. Bunol was bowled -over with a kick. Then the heavy butt of a pistol fell on the head of -the black man, who pitched forward across the Texan. - -"Brad! Brad!" called a voice that was filled with anxiety; "are you all -right?" - -Then the strong hands of his dearest friend on earth pulled Buckhart -from beneath the stunned giant. - -"Pard," gasped the Texan, in joyous bewilderment, "is it you? Why, I -certain reckoned you were dead a heap! I saw the flash and saw you fall -on the deck of the yacht." - -"But I saw a moving shadow in the grove and dropped just in time to -escape being shot in my tracks," said Dick. "Are you hurt?" - -"None at all. But where is that varmint Bunol? Only for this other -galoot I'd choked the truth out of him or finished him. Where is he? -There--there he goes!" - -Bunol had taken flight, running as fast as possible through the grove. -Instantly both lads were off in pursuit, determined not to let the -scoundrel give them the slip. - -"Shoot, pard!" urged Buckhart. "He may slip us if you don't!" - -"And I may kill him if I do. I want to force him to tell where we may -find Nadia." - -"Better kill him than to let him get away," panted Brad. "If I had my -gun----" - -Crack! Dick fired. - -There was a cry of pain ahead of them, and they saw the fleeing figure -fall. - -"Nailed him, Dick!" exulted Brad. "That's the ticket! That was the way -to stop him!" - -In truth, Merriwell had brought the fleeing Spaniard down with a single -shot. In a moment they reached the fellow, who was lying on the ground, -alternately cursing and groaning. - -As they came up, Bunol lifted himself on his left elbow. His right hand -went back. A shaft of moonlight gleamed on something in his hand. - -The Texan uttered a warning cry. - -Dick Merriwell dropped as if shot, and for the second time that night he -did so barely in time to escape death at the hand of his bitter enemy. - -The huge knife Bunol had taken from the black man whistled through the -air, barely missing Merriwell as he fell. - -Then Buckhart pounced on the young scoundrel. - -"You dog!" grated Brad. "I sure will cook you this trip!" - -But Dick interfered a moment later, checking the fury of the boy from -the Pan Handle country, and preventing him from injuring the Spaniard -further. - -"Go ahead!" whimpered Miguel, in a way that seemed quite unusual for -him. "You may as well finish the job! You have smashed my knee, and I'll -bleed to death, anyhow!" - -"I must have hit him in the leg," said Dick. "I fired low." - -Buckhart struck a match and Dick made a hasty examination, questioning -the wounded rascal. He found that Bunol had been wounded in the knee and -was bleeding profusely. With his pocketknife Merriwell quickly cut away -Miguel's trousers and exposed the wound. - -The Spaniard lifted the upper part of his body and looked at his bloody -knee. A groan escaped him, and then he began to sob. All the nerve had -been taken out of him. - -Dick quickly cut a strip from the lower part of Bunol's trousers leg, -twisted it like a rope, tied it round the fellow's leg above the knee, -inserted his pistol barrel through the loop and began to twist, thus -tightening the manufactured cord until it began to cut into the flesh -and checked the flow of blood. - -In the meantime Brad had been questioning Bunol about Nadia, and the -cowered wretch confessed that she was hidden close at hand in a portion -of an excavated temple and still guarded by one of the two black men. - -A distant call startled the boys. When the call was repeated they -recognized it as coming from some of their friends, and they answered -it. - -Soon Colonel Stringer, Coddington, the professor, and Budthorne came -hastening through the palm grove. As they approached, they saw a man -dodging away. They ordered him to stop, but this resulted in his fleeing -still more swiftly, and he quickly disappeared. - -Then the colonel declared he heard a low cry, not far away. The Texan -joined them, declaring Bunol had confessed that Nadia was near by. They -began searching, and soon they came upon the mouth of an excavation, one -of many such, made by scientists in uncovering the ruins of old Memphis. - -From the depths of this opening Nadia answered his call. In a reckless, -headstrong manner, the Texan let himself down into the opening, released -all holds and slid to the bottom. - -"Here she is!" he shouted, in delighted satisfaction. "She's all right! -Hooray! Whoop! Whoop-ee! Get a rope from the steamer and yank us out." - -Medjid Bey gave an order to his engineer immediately after our friends -left the yacht for the shore. The engineer hastened to get up steam. -This was not such a difficult task, as the fires had been kept in a -condition that would enable them to move with very little delay. - -The Turk leaned on the rail of his yacht and listened to every sound -that came from the palm forest. Finally he spoke to the Greek, who had -lingered near his master's side. - -"Cast off from that steamer," he said. "Do so quietly. Don't attract -attention." - -Thus it happened that the captain of the steamer was surprised some -moments later to discover that the yacht was floating clear of his boat. -He sang out to Medjid Bey, but the Turk made no answer. - -A sound of moving machinery and puffing steam came from the yacht. The -anchor was hoisted, the yacht swung round. - -"It's no fight of mine," muttered the captain of the steamer, in -Swedish. "Let him go. I've earned my money." - -When our friends reappeared on the shore, accompanied by Nadia and -bearing the wounded Spaniard, they discovered that the yacht was rapidly -disappearing into the silver mist, far down the placid Nile. - -On the return trip to Cairo Nadia told how Bunol and Medjid Bey had -discovered the approaching of the steamer long before it arrived in the -vicinity of the yacht. The Spaniard was confident pursuers were coming. -He wished to fight them from the yacht, but the Turk objected. - -"Then put me ashore," said Bunol. "Give me the girl and those two -Nubians to take care of her. If they board your yacht, light up and keep -away from them. I'm going to kill one of my enemies to-night. I'll fire -from the shore." - -And so it happened that Nadia was dragged ashore and thrust into the -excavation, the black men being left to guard her. One of them left the -other, seeking to render Bunol assistance in the encounter with -Buckhart; but Dick appeared in the nick of time. Finally the other took -flight, and Nadia was found, exhausted and hysterical after her fearful -experience, but otherwise unharmed. - -When Cairo was finally reached Miguel Bunol was ghastly white and limp -from the loss of blood and pain he had endured. Dick lost no time in -getting the fellow into a hospital. - -In the morning Merriwell visited his enemy. He wore a very sober face on -returning to the Shepherd's Hotel. - -"Is he dead?" asked Brad. - -"No; but he may not recover. His right leg has been amputated above the -knee." - -"Well, I opine he's got what was his just due," said the Texan. - - THE END. - - - - -BURT L. STANDISH - -whose stories in book form appear exclusively in the NEW MEDAL LIBRARY -has not lived in vain. Even if he does not write another line, he has -accomplished so much good with his Merriwell stories that "Well done, -thou good and faithful servant," may be truly said to him on account of -his splendid work. 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