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,11 :«l by Google
e People of the United Stales
the Victory Book Campaign
ft. — A. R. C. — U. S. 0.)
ed Forces and Merchant Marine
.Goo'^lc
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Zuleka
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by Google
ZULEKA
Being the History of an Adventure in
THE Life of an American Gentleman,
WITH Some Account of the Recent
Disturbances in Dorola * «
By CLINTON ROSS
DREXEL BIDDLE, Pobusher,
DREXEL BUILDING,
PHILADELPHIA.
&l Fifth Avinui, 33 BiJfirJ &., Slra,d,
New Teri. MDCCCC. Le«de«.
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jCb/O'ss^
fcOLLEQE j
DUEXEL BIDDLE,
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John Gilmer Speed
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by Google
Prologue
Tou asi mty my dear lady, to tell the itary you
inow, of how yames EnUen — af the race of the
fighting Ertleens — and /, an American, came to
do what we did in Dorola, arui of the events which
followed III hiouan and in Spain. It is a strange
enough story, perhaps, but you of all the world inow
that it is a true one, word for ivord, at I have put
it here ; for it is your own story, as well as mine.
And as for what was done, it was done mostly ly
Enleen, and so it is his story as well. But to begin
it, that lakes me so far hack, — to a time when I
indeed was so different a person ; to the November
whin my Father sent for me to go down into Devon ,■
and to the tali be and I bad there together.
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Contents
Chlptcr Pige
I. Of the Deling Family Consultation ; and
of the Viut of Mr. Mahomet All i
U. OfMr. Hicb 23
III. Of a Plain Talk at Dorola ; and of a
Surprising Adventnre .38
IV. The Sheik of Issouan ; and the Blood
of the Fighting Enleens ... 46
V. Mr. Hicks explains Business and Politics 58
VI. The Fight in the Prison ... 69
VII. The Expedition for the Reliaf of Rosola 79
VIII. The Man who carried the Mist . 87
IX. Zuleka 104
X. The Catacomb 1 20
XI. Enleen's Sortie 130
XII. The Assai^t 1 39
XIII. Of Mr. Hicks again ; and of Colonel.
the Vicomte de Saint-Dernier . .157
XIV. Of the Captain of the Spanish Sloop
Isabella 166
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Contents
CtuifCer Pige
XV. The House in the Lane . . ■ '79
XVI. The Unlocked Doors . , . 1 89
XVir. The Watch and the Bishop . .198
XVIII. The Duel in the Jail .208
XIX. The Alcalde's Court, and a Tale that's
Told JI7
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Zuleka
Chapter I
Of the Dering Family Consultation; and of
the Visit of Mr. Mahomet Ali
THERE is a. line," said my Father,
" where a man must stop."
"Yes," said I rather gloomily, "or — "
" Or, go to the Devil," my Father went
on, "But none of us Derlngs have."
"You have told me, sir, that they all —
from the first Thomas Dering, my Great-
grandfather — were as wild as I have been."
"Ah, that tradition ! We all seem to feel
that we must live up to it," said my Father
slowly, walking to the window, and looking
out over the Devon slopes, brown in the
late light of the dark November afternoon.
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2 Zuleka
I thought how fine an old gentleman he
was. I wonder if I, too, ever may be like
him. I hope I may, for we all have been
much the same, from first to last. There
have been four generations, each with but
a single son, a Thomas Dering; there
have been, they say, always a Thomas
Dering, Sr. and Jr., since New York social
life began. And all the men have been
alike physically, alike mentally; a fierce
taste for pleasure and adventure in their
earlier years ; a quiet settling down later ;
honorable men always, good American
gentlemen, — every generation slightly
increasing the family fortune.
We have lived about a deal, my Father
and I, since my Mother's death. So it
happened that I became more a cosmo-
politan than an American, and knew more
of the Boulevards and Piccadilly and the
Corso than of Broadway and Fifth Avenue.
I was educated at Christ Church ; and then,
as you know, I wandered about. There are
temptations great enough in London for a
young fellow properly introduced and with
a decent income. You can develop easily
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The Dering Family
into one of those old, red-faced fellows
whose principal occupation is to sit about
and talk and dnnk. I am going to write
an essay sometime on the viciousness of
talk ; I have seen so many clever men ruin
themselves by its abuse. But why am I
saying this of London, more than of New
York, or Paris, or Rome, or Vienna, for
that matter ? A little conviviality leads to
great uselessness.
But to return to the beginning; here I
was down in that lovely Devon country-
side, listening to the warning which my
Father had from his Father, and meditat-
ing it seriously enough.
" Now if you would marry," said he,"that
would help you out of your dilemma."
" I don't know of any girl I want to
marry," said I at this, — "whom I can
marry, that is."
"That's rather old, but it's gallant,"
sdd my Father, smiling. " There's hope
for you, Tommy, just as there's hope for
any man who knows he's been making a
fool of himself, — just as there's for the
repentant sinner."
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4 Zuleka
"I have heard," said I, "on the au-
thority of good doctors, that the men
who become drunkards are those who
never have a head in the morning."
*' That's what I mean, my boy," said
he. "I will go a. bit further: there's no
hope for a man who is idle and isn't
bored by it. The trouble with you is
that you have been idle."
"'Something for idle hands to do,'"
said I, beating a tattoo with my boot.
" Yes, exactly, — the something that de-
stroys them. You can't go in for horses — "
" We're not rich enough."
" Far from it," said he softly, " I'm
glad to say. We have between us just
enough to be quiet gentlemen. But we
shouldn't have had quite enough, my
boy, if I hadn't been made to work like
a beaver in Pennsylvania,"
" I don't Hke that word particularly,"
said I, — " 'work ' — with your expres-
sion, after it — 'like a beaver.'"
" Ah," said he, " you are lazy, then i" "
" No, not exactly that. It makes me
think of tradesmen."
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The Dering Family 5
"Well, I declare," cried he at last, —
"that's the snobbish spirit I have suc-
ceeded in developing in my son. You
forget, — we are Americans, of a race of
tradesmen. The Venetians and Floren-
tines were proud of that fact. Why
shouldn't we be? How many American
gentlemen, well received here, can you
find who don't owe their present posi-
tions either to themselves, or their fathers,
having been successful in business ? I
don't know a dozen, and they are mostly
military or naval men. Look here, Tom,
I won't have you a snob. I believe I'd
rather have you kill yourself with dissipa-
tion or idleness."
"Yes, it was snobbish," I acknowledged.
" I'm sorry I expressed it, or thought It.
As for being lazy, I think the records
show that I worked rather hard at Rugby,
— and at Oxford."
" It's since then," said he, " that you
have been developing the other thing, —
not viciousness, — but idleness which may
lead to viciousness. I am going to warn
you. My Father, your Grandfather, came
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6 Zuleka
to me once. * Tom,' said he, ' there's
just so much whiskey in the world for
any man, — just so much pleasure, — just
so much idleness. When you cross the
line to too much, you get on the side of
the brutes. Now I propose that you
brace up, and go to work.' Well, Tom,
I repeat it to you."
"That is," said I, "persons with in-
comes have quite as many problems as
those who have none. The fight with
riches is as bad as that with poverty."
"There's only one fight in this world,"
he said then, " that's the one with your-
self. When you have conquered your-
self, you can do anything, A man, God
has said, first must own his soul."
I listened there, watching him, thinking
how unworthy I was, and how fine he,
and yet he was no prude, in any particu-
lar. He had done all the things I had
done. Grimmins came in with lights,
and drew the shades.
"It promises a storm, sir," he said;
and just then there was a sudden gusty
downpour, which rattled the sash.
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The Dering Family
" Well," said I, as Grimmins went
out, " what do you wish me to do ? "
" First of all I would like to see you
married."
" I have been in love twice," swd I.
" I never regretted 'em over a month."
" I had been in love five times before
I met your Mother," said he, smiling.
"There's hope for you. But, waiv-
ing that possibility, I have four propo-
sitions for your consideration. The first
is to go back to New York and study
law."
" I don't believe I have intelligence
enough for that," said I.
" The second is for you to enter an
office in Wall Street, where you will
begin by doing the work of an office-
boy."
" I don't believe," said I, " putting aside
what I said unguardedly about trades-
men, that I have any genius for stock-trad-
ing. I'm not shrewd enough, — among
a lot of men who live entirely by their
wits."
" The third is for you to go to Colo-
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. 8 Zuleka
rado and learn mining under Simmons.
That may be more to your taste, prob-
ably, being out-of-doors, and more or less
an English gentleman's notion of exist-
ence."
" I beg your pardon," I said. " I be-
lieve I said I agreed with you, — that an
American gentleman's was quite as good.
I like this better than the others."
" There's a fourth," said he ; " the
diplomatic service."
" You mean to make me a consul some-
where ? "
" No, I'm not the administration, nor
have I a ' pull ' ; but I have you a
place for a start. You can" learn the
trade."
" As Secretary ? " said I reflectively ;
" and where's the place ? "
"Dorola; to be sure, it's out of the
way. But then there are the winter
visitors. You can make it endurable, I
know. There won't be any salary, I
believe, save about fifty pounds. The
Consul at Dorola himself only receives
three hundred, you know,"
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The Dering Family
"What sort of a chap is he?" said I
musingly.
"A Western politician of some sort, —
from Texas, without much money, they
say ; John Hicks, his name. He's to be
at the Grand in Paris in a fortnight. If it
gets so far, you can go there to see him."
"Hem," said I reflectively, "at the
Grand, — a politician, on three hundred
a year ? "
" You never can tell about an Ameri-
can's income, I found out, long ago, —
particularly when he's a politician."
"He may be," said I, "an unpleasant
fellow."
"In any career a gentleman takes up
in this world," said my Father senten-
tiously, "he must expect to be thrown
with unpleasant fellows."
" You offer me, then, New York, Colo-
rado, or an obscure place in Africa."
"You can learn something about the
work of a consular office, and we can
look up something better, — say Rome,
or even London."
" I believe," said I, " that the career
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10 Zuleka
appeals to me rather more than the others.
But under our system, it doesn't lead to
much."
" It makes you appear more than a mere
idler. As for it leading to much, we both
know several men who have followed it
for years, — whom we respect, and like to
meet. Now if you painted, or wrote, or
even were a musician, or a scholar: if I
hadn't listened to your dear Mother's ob-
jections, and not given up the idea of an
appointment to Annapolis or West Point
for you, — but you can't do those things,
— which would give you an excuse : and
I did yield to your Mother's persuasion."
" Well, well, sir," 1 interrupted, " I'll
try my hand down there for a while, and
I'll see if I can't prove that I know some-
thing besides the points of a horse, or a
dog, or polite literature."
"You must know, Tom, I shall be
sorry. I prefer you to be here, of course."
The dear good gentleman almost made
me want to sob ; but I didn't. We just
pressed each other's hands, and I said I
would report to Hicks at the Grand in
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The Dering Family
Paris. It would be a beginning at least;
and something else would turn up.
*' If I can't go, you shall take Grim-
mins."
Grimmins was a man we had had for
years, a good capable fellow. I protested,
I should do nothing of the kind. He
needed Grimmins' attention ; he couldn't
replace the fellow.
" But if 1 can't go to Dorola, I must
feel that there is somebody I can trust to
look after you," he insisted. " I must
feel that Tom, — at least."
"We'll discuss that, sir, afterward,"
said I.
" Now we will go in to dinner. I de-
clare, we have been talking here for three
hours. What a storm that is outside ! "
The wind indeed was howling, and
shaking the sash ; for out of the sea had
come a fierce bit of November weather.
At the moment Grimmins put his head
in the door, with a" beg pardon, sir," and
his usual military salute : he had been,
you know, a servant to an officer in India.
" Well," said my Father.
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1 2 Zuleka
"There be," said Grimmins, "some
people at the door. Shall I hadmit them,
sir ? "
" What kind of people ? "
" Their carriage 'as broken down, and
the 'osses *as run haway."
" Why, show them in here, and stir the
fire, — a night Uke this! " said my Father
at once. Grimmins doubtless had known
this would be the answer, — he knew us
both heart and soul, the rascal ; for he
threw the door wide and there entered a
tall man, closely muffled, and behind him
two women, who were shivering. I drew
the chairs before the hearth, and motioned
to them to take them, — poking the fire.
One bowed, and took the chair.
Her face was heavily veiled. Her
companion stood deferentially in the back-
ground, and I saw they were mistress and
maid.
"Thank you, much," came a voice,
soft and musical, with a suspicion of an
accent.
Meanwhile the man had thrown back
his heavy fur coat, and there stood re-
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The Dering Family 13
vealed one of the most remarkable men I
ever have seen; that I ever shall see. He
was tall, I say. His face, looking dark for
an European's, was rather narrow, coming
down to thin, firm lips ; the brow high,
covered by a mass of tangled black hair;
and all expressed by the most extraor-
dinarily brilliant black eyes; eyes such
as those Mr. Crawford describes in mak-
ing that wonderful fellow Isaacs known
to us ; like a pair of the most intensely
brilliant rubies. People in England are
accustomed to associate a face so dark
with Indians, Arabs, or Africans. He
was far from being a black man, you
know. His features were regular and
fine; but I was sure he did not belong
to our race, or have a drop of our blood.
His manner was easy and graceful, as
Grimmins took off his coat, showing a
man dressed in rough tweeds. A single
ruby sparkled in his scarf; and then he
turned to my Father, speaking in an
accent very decided, and yet with the
English construction excellent,
" This is very good of you, sir."
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1 4 Zuleka
" It would hardly be human, not to
take you tn out of that storm," said my
Father.
" You are Mr. Thomas Dering, I'm
told, — an American."
"Yes," said my Father.
" I, too, am obviously a foreigner,"
said he, smiling. " I am more than that,"
— and he bowed again, formally, — "I
am Mr. Mahomet AH, at your very good
service."
" Your horses ran away, I'm told, I
am sorry," said my Father, " but only
for you, for I am sure it has given me
a guest I shall Hke to know. Grimmins,
sec that Mr. Mahomet AH's men are
fed."
" I cannot expect to catch the nine-
thirty train to London ? "
" It is too late," my Father went on,
looking at the clock. "You will dine
with us, and I will send you around in
my trap, so you can get the eleven
o'clock, — certainly."
"That will be imposing on your good
nature," said the other. "But, — I will
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The Dering Family 15
accept and thank you. I am the tenant
at Sotherby Hall, and I am now — on
my way to Paris."
" You have been in Devon for the
summer," said my Father. " The fact is
I hardly know my neighbors."
"We don't go about at all when we
are in England. I am only here, sir,
that my daughter may have an English
education. Her Mother was an English
lady." His voice fell low. " My daugh-
ter, Mr. Dering."
The veiled one by the fire arose to my
shoulder's height, and, throwing back her
veil, she bowed to us both, with a gentle
dignity that I found hard to remember
in another woman of my acquaintance.
But I had never seen a woman like the
daughter of Mahomet AH. She at once
changed all my notions of women. Her
&ce was fair as an English girl's, but
her eyes were like Mahomet All's, —
wonderful, magnetic, claiming your atten-
tion. The brow, low and broad, was
framed by brownish hair. Her mouth
was piquant, and indeed the modelling
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1 6 Zuleka
of her face was exquisite. Now, as at my
Father's request she threw back her
wrap, and handed it to her maid, — a
httle Frenchwoman, — she appeared to
have a hgure increasing her claims to a
beauty which was both intellectual, and
yet enticingly womanly. She bent her
head to me politely, and yet as if she had
no particular interest in any man. She
was an English girl, who was more than
English ; the result of the mingling of
East and West. I wondered at her his-
tory, and at her Father; but in England,
where the whole world is gathered, sooner
or later, one never ought to be surprised
by the strangeness of foreign types. Per-
haps Mahomet Ali saw our inquiry, for
he hastened to add the one bit of informa-
tion these people vouchsafed our curiosity.
" My daughter at her Mother's request
has been educated in the Roman Church."
1 pondered, I think, at the mystery
permitting a Mohammedan — for such
doubtless this man was — to extend that
unholy privilege — that damning privi-
lege from the tenets of his sect — to his
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The Dering Family 17
child. And then I sat down during the
few moments before dinner to talk with
Miss Mahomet AH, — to find out what
she might be like. She turned to me an
attention, frank, unconcerned as an Anglo-
Saxon girl's.
" You must like Devon," I remember
I began.
" Yes, much," she said ; " the country
is so pretty."
" You live in — Asia ? " said I.
" Oh, I don't ; we live everywhere.
But we belong in Africa."
"Ah, in Africa," I said. " I am going
there, — to Dorola. Do you know it?"
'* No, we approach my home by way
of Algiers. It is Rosola in the moun-
tains. But then we are frequently in
Cairo."
"Cairo is a very interesting place, —
now that it is a great resort. I have
been there several winters, putting up
at Shepherd's."
" I have heard that is a good inn," she
said. " But really I don't know much
about it. You know 1 don't go out ;
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1 8 Zuleka
not only because I am very young, but
it is not the custom with our race."
" But you are a Christian," I persisted.
" I have had a Christian education, —
to please my Mother."
" I must apologize for my curiosity."
" I am sure that your hospitality makes
that unnecessary," she said, smiling, I
thought the least mischievously ; and
then Grimmins announced dinner.
While they were upstairs my Father
and I discussed our strange visitors.
" He is a very clever, — a very well-
informed man ; but he will not give one
the least clue to his identity."
"And it happened when we were talk-
ing of Africa," said I. "There's a coin-
cidence."
" She's very pretty. Beware, Tom,"
he replied, laughing. " She's half a
heathen."
" I don't know that it makes any
difference. Did you notice how simply
she was dressed ? There was not a
jewel."
"She is a lady, I'm sure," he sud.
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The Dering Family
"Ah, I'm sure."
" But it's well where women arc con-
cerned to change your sureties every now
and then," he observed, and here our
guests interrupted us.
They bore through the dinner the
simple urbanity of the earlier part of
the meeting; we found nothing to criti-
cise, while I indeed saw much to admire
in the young lady with the wonderful
eyes.
" Egypt is a place for Englishmen,"
said she.
"Since they took the suzerainty of
that interesting- land. Yes, certainly,"
said I.
"I think I like Englishmen."
"Ah, I'm only an American," said I.
" Quite as much out of the pale as I,"
said she with a little laugh.
" And you have known many — Eng-
lishmen?" I questioned.
" How old do you think I may be ? "
said she slowly. "I'm eighteen, — and
I told you, — I am not likely to go
out."
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20 Zuleka
" So you will remember me," said I ;
" so you must remember me."
She turned those startled eyes on me,
and I felt the least ashamed ; for I remem-
bered having made a speech of that phras-
ing before, but never so fervently as on
this occasion.
"Yes," said I, " I mean it all, — quite,
— you must believe me."
She was blushing a little then, her eyes
bent down : and Mahomet Ali saw us, —
with those keen, wise eyes. He seemed
to look me through and through.
" The trap is ready for the train,"
Grimmins announced.
"We have just time," said our guest.
"How may I thank you, sir?"
" The storm brought me the fortune
of a guest," said my Father.
" When I may be in Europe again, I
shall insist on you visiting us at Soth-
erby," the other said. " Unfortunately, I
have no establishment in Cairo, — or any-
where else, — where I can now bid you,
conveniently for either you or myself."
" My men will look after your car-
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The Dering Family
riage," my Father repHed, " and take it
back to Sotherby. I hear the horses
were caught in the village."
" You needn't trouble, thank you so
much more, for my servants will attend
to it all, sir."
We were in the hall ; the maid was put-
ting on the young lady's wraps ; Mahomet
All was bidding my Father good-by.
"You came out of the storm, and are
going back into it," said I to her.
"An Eastern mystery," said she with a
smile.
"Your wit is not Eastern," I said.
"Sometimes it is," she said more
gravely, extending a hand, small, well-
gloved. " I have two natures."
" I wonder if I may see you in
Dorola ? "
" We never go there. But, — it's all,
you know, as Allah wills."
" I would be a fatalist if I could believe
in some things I wish to believe in," said
I. She looked at me enigmatically, half
merrily through the veil. We stood out-
side. They were in the trap.
,11 :«l by Google
23 Zuleka
And so Mr. Mahomet Ali ttnd his
daughter dined with us in Devon.
" He is a remarkable man, — certainly,"
said my Father. " Of course his name is
not Mahomet All."
" Do the servants know anything of
the tenants of Sotherby ? " I asked.
*' Haven't you heard some gossip ? You
know I have been down here so little."
" Of course gossip, but there is nothing
enlightening," said he. " It seems to mc
you are turning mighty curious, Tom.
But then the girl was interesting. I dare
say you haven't changed your mind about
the Secretaryship at Dorola. I fancy you
will be as ready as before to go over to
Paris, and to look up our Western politi-
cian. Hicks, the Consul. Eh, he n»y be
a disagreeable fellow."
"I will take that risk, sir," I replied.
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Chapter II
Of Mr. Hicks
IT has been the custom of my family
for three generations to put up at
an old, — it was opened they say by the
Great Duke himself, — but always com-
fortable hotel on the Rue de Rivoli,
where you can look out on the garden
of the Tuileries from the front windows,
and from the inner on a little court with
a fountain. There Grimmins and I ar-
rived one December morning, for my
good Father had kept on insisting that I
should take Grimmins. It indeed seemed
to me — for I was still very young in
those days — that a great deal had hap-
pened since the night when the Secretary-
ship at Dorola had been proposed to me.
I must confess that the event had been
marked by the visit of the Arabian gentle-
,11 :«l by Google
24 Zuleka
man and his daughter. It was a matter
impressing both of us much because of
the very extraordinary character of our
visitor ; not, as I have said, that any
nationality in particular astonishes in
Great Britain, any more than in those
earlier days when Indian nabobs had
made strangely attired retinues features
of London. But here when we had
been talking of Africa, Africa had been
thrust on our attention. Nor, indeed,
could I get out of my mind the girl's
remarkable eyes. They troubled me in
some way ; I never had thought so much
about any living woman; I declare, not in
my two hot-and-cold love affairs. From
a hotel in Clarges Street frequented by
personages Mr. Mahomet AH wrote a
polite note thanking us more particularly
for our hospitality, and then disappeared
from our ken without giving us an address
to answer. We, indeed, tried Sotherby
Hall, — that we might make an oral in-
vitation to visit us again a definite one ;
but the servants there did not know of
their master's address, or had been told
,,l:al by Google
Of Mr. Hicks 15
not to admit that they knew. I myself,
I will confess, conducted the investigation;
not my Father, who never would have
thought of doing such a thing. Very
probably I should have looked up the
agent with the property in charge, had
I not been so busy with my projected
visit to Africa.
My Father, who followed me up to the
lodgings we have frequented for years in
Half-Moon Street, persisted in equipping
me with everything, as if I were going
after tigers in India, or into " darkest
Africa," instead of to a place much fre-
quented in winter by polite Europeans.
He loaded me with rifles and some good
pistols, and saw himself that the tailor
made my duck things exactly as they
should be. I myself had a round of
visits to pay. I had to take a dinner
with my friend Jemmy Simpkins. It was
no more than polite for me to pay a pro-
longed visit on Lady Flora Gadsby, the
most charming woman in London, who
I'm told was a model for Mr. Hope
Hawkins' interesting Dolly. And so.
,11 :«l by Google
36 Zuleka
between this and that, and my ferewell
to my dear Father, — we dined alone in
solitary state at the Pidgeon Club look-
ing out on Piccadilly, — the two weel^
were about up when I took the night train
for Paris. In the morning as Grimmins
brought in my boots, I remembered
I had some visits to pay there too.
I treated the little affair of going down
as American Secretary to Dorola, you will
notice, indeed most seriously. But after
my coffee, only stopping for some violets
for my buttonhole, at the flower girCs
around the corner, I hastened to see my
superior, Mr. Hicks of Texas. The con-
cierge pointed out this individual with a
great deal of gusto, and I saw at once that
Mr. Hicks had won the Tega.rd which
continental lackeys give to the lavish
abuser of fees.
Now I will confess I had expected a
tall, angular individual, like the gentle-
man in one of Bret Harte's stories, with
a long right hand always covertly ex-
tended toward his hip pocket. To the
contrary, the person who advanced to
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks
meet me was very^ well dressed indeed ;
his tailor was every bit as good as mine.
The only difference in dress was, that he
had a large diamond in his scarf which
I by no possibility could have wished to
wear. The man himself was one of those
short, compact men who impress you with
the possession of great physical power and
endurance. His face was round, red, his
lips hid by a heavy mustache, with a
projecting whisker on his chin. But his
shifty eyes — they never for a moment
looked you straight in the face — im-
pressed me most disagreeably. They
were little faded green eyes, with lines
and wrinkles about them; and I won-
dered as I noticed them if Mr. Hicks'
very black hair were not the result of dye,
— or a good wig-maker. Soon I saw
that he wore a black wig, and that he
ready was much older than the black
mustache and whisker declared him.
'* You're Mr, Dering, eh ? A very dis-
tinguished family, sir. Now do come in
and have a drink ! No ? "
For I expluned that I found life more
,11 :«l by Google
28 Zuleka
comfortable if I refrained from drinking
until after luncheon.
" You see," he went on, " we men,
brought up in the Southwest, don't have
much polish."
" You have force, maybe," said I.
" Now don't let me interfere with your
cocktail. I believe they know how to
make those things at this hotel."
He acknowledged that they were rather
good, and proceeded to take three in rapid
succession.
"You're not much of a business man? "
he said, looking me over.
" Well, no," said I ; " I don't" believe I
am, Mr. Hicks."
" If you had a little capital, I could
put you on to some very good things in
Dorola."
" There's a chance for investment? "
" Do you s'pose, sir, that I would be
down there for a paltry fifteen hundred a
year if there wasn't ? "
" What kind of investment ?"
" Selling things," he replied.
"Oh, yes, selling things," said I.
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks 29
"You represent some American factories,
then ? "
"Well, yes, I get a commission on some
things," said Mr. Hicks slowly. " You
won't find your duties very hard, dancing
and riding and playing polo. Then the
Sultan, who killed his father and five
brothers to get there, is not a bad sort."
" Not a bad kind of a bad man," I am
afraid I sneered ; for the Consul looked
at me as if he thought I were quizzing
him.
" I expect," said he, " that the Secretary
under me will know enough to keep his
mouth shut about what happens in the
office."
I am afraid my disfavor was in my
eyes and in my tone.
" I think, Mr. Hicks," said I, " if we're
going to get along, we may as well under-
stand ourselves at once. Of course you
will be my official superior down there ;
but I permit no man to speak to me in
that way."
He stared at me for a moment as hard
as those shifty green eyes would permit.
,11 :«l by Google
JO Zuleka
" It's very evident, young man, that
you never have had a training in an Amer-
ican business office."
" I should like to have had it," I re-
torted, " in some offices. It doubtless
would have made me more practical."
"Yes, that's it," he cried, "more
practical. You don't look at things in
the same way. You have to get on, or
fail, and when there are the shrewdest
fellows in the world arrayed against you,
you have to be as shrewd as they are.
There's no halfway in business. You
can be what you want to in private
life."
"A church deacon," said I, "and a
very slippery individual in your business
office."
" Oh, I didn't say that ; as the Jew says
in the fiirce, ' pizness is pizness.' It's just
a question of your bringing up."
"But," said I, "you, Mr. Hicks, are
United States representative. Can you
reconcile that position with a business one ?
Don't you see if the people down there
don't like your business methods, they
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks
will hold the United States responsible, —
that the country loses prestige ? "
" Why don't they pay salaries big
enough; so a man need do nothing else?
I'm not like you, Mr. Dering, a rich man.
They know I'm not Hving for my health."
" What a foolish nation, which, having
the slightest need of a representative to
look after its interest, doesn't have a
diplomatic corps, — men trained as they
are for the army or the navy," I re-
marked.
Mr. Hicks looked me over narrowly,
and then tapped me on the shoulder in all
frankness. I never but once have seen
him more frank.
"You're right, my boy, quite right.
I've the position because 1 did some
service to a certain politician from my
state, — that's all. It's just give and take,
you see, — nothing more. Now if I were
a rich man, I might not care. But when
I'm recalled, my ' pull ' may be gone.
Who knows ? Will the country take
care of me ? I guess not. So a man is
bound to look after himself. I always
,11 :«l by Google
32 Zuleka
have since the days when in my town it
was a matter of the first gun out. But,"
he leaned toward me, " I have the biggest
scheme on foot now. If it goes through,
I shall be as rich, — well, as the Duke of
Westminster, or the Vanderbilts, or the
Goulds. It's a ticklish job too, and I tell
you one thing right here, John Hicks
stands by the man who stands by him.
Do you understand? If I am once your
friend, your friend always, — through thick
and thin."
For a moment he paused, and then
with a friendly smile he extended hts
hand, which I took much against my
will.
" I think we shall get along very well
indeed. Our bringing up has been dif-
ferent, — that's all. You've had ease and
luxury, and I've had to work, — work.
Now do sit down to lunch."
Such was my first interview with a man
who was to have a very serious influence
on my life, had I known it that moment.
It's well, perhaps, that we can't foresee
things ; and yet, I believe I should have
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks 33
gone on exactly as I did if I had foreseen
every foot of the way before me.
I totd my superior as poUtely as possi-
ble that I would report to him in Dorola
within the month ; but that I had to stop
at Nice on my way down, and probably
should cross over from Marseilles or
Genoa. I failed to tell him that I had a
servant with me ; for I fancied that he
would hold me in supreme contempt for
indulging in such a luxury. But here
I was entirely in the wrong; he was of
that class of persons who respect all
things which money can buy ; and they
falsely hold that money can buy all things.
In a great country, where the gentleman
and the tradition of the gentleman, of
honesty, have always prevailed, this class
still is persistently evident. They are the
wreckers of corporations ; they are the
men who buy and sell the political patron-
age of a state, or even of a nation. But,
after all, they are but incidents. Back of
them all is the American strength, the
American integrity, the feeling which
destroyed slavery ; which, by a vote of
,11 :«l by Google
34 Zuleka
the people, renders impossible the viola-
tion of a national promise. If the wicked
at times prevail in the United States, they
after all don't prevail very long.
So, if it were possible for a man of
Hicks' class to obtain a position like
that of Dorola, there are, I am glad to
say, few such abuses. In the Northern
European countries, and in Great Britain
and the United States, the standard of
official honesty is very high ; and the
venality among the Asiatics and Spanish
Americans almost incredible; still in all
these countries there ever have been
exceptions proving the rule.
Now I appear to be starting this narra-
tive by calling my superior a dishonest
man. I hadn't the slightest proof that he
was, save that his code of ethics, approved
indeed by some of his associates, — the
code of outwitting a rival at any cost, —
was one entirely abhorrent to the tradi-
tions of my family ; but, then, I must say
that the Derings never had been put to
the test of the need of such a philosophy.
I myself had lied a bit to Hicks about
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks 35
my engagement at Nice, for, to tell the
truth, I hadn't &ncied having him as
travelling companion to Dorola. He
would become, I thought, an insufferable
bore before we should reach our destina-
tion. But unexpectedly I found myself
borne out by drcumstances. For as I
was crossing the court of my hotel whom
should I run across but a Christ Church
friend of mine, the Honorable James
Enleen.
" Where are you going now, Tom ? "
s^d he.
" To Dorola."
"Why?" he asked. "You will find
it dull, though there's some good shooting
in the mountains. But I tell you what
I will do. The Dor'tnda is at Nice. I'm
going somewhere, — sick of this life ; and
I'd as lief take you across."
I told him I should like it immensely,
for I preferred crossing the Mediterra-
nean in a big steamship, like Jim's
Dorinda, to doing it on any one of the
regular liners. I thought, too, that I
might persuade Enleen to remain over
,11 :«l by Google
36 Zuleka
some days, for I anticipated being at first
considerably troubled with ennui,
When I told him why I was on my way
to Dorola, he looked at me in wonder.
" They say that fellow down there is a
thundering rascal."
"What do you mean?" I asked, lean-
ing forward, and surprised at this confir-
mation of my own notion.
" Oh, this leaked out. Everybody
knows it, including Httle Brooks, who's
our Consul down there. Brooks hates
him. You know I was in Dorola for a
month last February. - You see this fellow
has been selling rifles for some big makers
somewhere, and taking a commission from
them of course, and securing beyond that
a hundred per cent advance on the gun-
makers' regular prices. So his principals
are satisfied with their legitimate returns,
less Hicks' commission, and Hicks him-
self has been able to net a profit of fifty
per cent on the prices of the guns."
" I thought you said a hundred per
cent," said I.
" Why, my dear boy, that fellow has
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks 37
bribed the Sultan of Dorola with the
other fifty per cent to let him sell rifles
to subject tribes which are in a perpetual
state of revolt."
" The deuce ! " said I.
"How's that for a situation ? " said
Jim.
" But the Sultan is increasing the power
of his dangerous subjects," said I musingly.
" What does he care ? He wants to
increase his supply of champagne and
wives," said Jim. " He believes in the
present, — the old black duffer."
" I wonder if there's not some other
consideration," I asked ; " the situation
hardly seems possible."
" There may be," Enleen acknowl-
edged. " But you must remember that
the Orientals are still the most astute
politicians in the worid. Look at the
Turks."
" I think," said I, in a moment, " that
the United States may need a Secretary
in Dorola. I may have found a career."
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter III
Of 3 Plain Talk at Dorola ; and of a Sur-
prising Adventure
I SAW my superior take on an expres-
sion of surprise when I walked up to
the little low Consulate building at Do-
rola in Jim Enleen's company. He was
very affable, and courteous to us both,
and after Jim had gone and he had re-
cited a list of my duties, — which I need
not repeat here, — we sat outside on a
terrace, with, before us, the shimmer of
the bay where Enleen's Dorinda's long
white outline was by far the most impos-
ing sight among the shipping.
" He's an awful swell, ain't he ? " Hicks
began at last. " He was here last winter.
It must take a pretty big pocket-book to
keep up a ship like that."
" Oh, he's Lord Denburden's grand-
son," said I.
38
,11 :«l by Google
A Plain Talk and an Adventure 39
" So I have heard," Hicks went on.
"You know a lot of swells. If I did, I
tell you what, I could make no end of
money. Now don't you think you could
induce him to put some capital into some-
thing or other? I have the brains, you
know, if I do say it. All I need, you
See, is the capital."
When I didn't answer, he added :
" I'll make it worth your while."
" Is it, Hicks," I said then, " a scheme
like that of the sale of rifles to the moun-
tain tribes ? "
He seemed to reflect for a moment,
looking at me out of those shifty eyes.
But he was a man equal to most emer-
gencies.
" You've heard that story ? They're
still talking about it ? "
"Yes, I've said I know about it.
Look here, Mr. Hicks, is it true ? "
" What if it is ? "
"I was wondering" — for I remem-
bered that self-control profits a man on
most occasions — " how you induced the
Sultan to enter into the agreement."
,11 :«l by Google
40 Zuleka
" Every one of 'em, from the old beg-
gar down, has a price," he said evasively.
" People don't know all they're talking
about. There may be other considera-
tions, you know."
" I thought so," said I. " I thought
so."
" I am no fool at a business transac-
tion," he went on.
" One of the biggest I ever knew,"
I cried, losing my temper.
" What's the matter with you, any-
way ? " he retorted.
" I'm Secretary of this Consulate,"
said I.
" What of that ? " he retorted. " I
have things so fixed that nobody can
complain. The Sultan is satisfied, ain't
he ? The mount^n chiefs are satisfied ?
Who's there to be hurt by it, I'd like
to know; not the United States; I've
seen to it that they can't be, in any pos-
sible way."
" Have you reported it to the Depart-
ment?" said I.
" Why in Hades should I ? " he asked.
,11 :«l by Google
A Plain Talk and an Adventure 41
" Because, if you haven't, I, as Secre-
tary of this Consulate, certainly will,"
I retorted, now in all calmness. " I don't
care whether I may be right or wrong.
I am inclined to think I am right. You
had the chance to negotiate on both sides
because you were Consul of the United
States. You have worked it prettily, I
confess. You have satisfied the mountain
chiefs, the Sultan, the gun-makers ; but
unfortunately you haven't me, until I
hear positively that the administration
may approve of your course."
For a moment Hicks looked at me, and
I at Hicks. Then, rising, he said, " I
saw the first time I Iwd my eyes on you,
that you were a precious fool."
Having expressed this opinion, he
turned on his heel and walked into the
house. For a moment I was not sure
but that he was entirely right. I had
shown my hand too soon by half. The
Consul and I stood opposed to each other
from that moment. I wondered where Jim
Enleen had gone. Perhaps his cool brain
could advise a course of action.
,11 :«l by Google
42 Zuleka
As I passed through the court and the
garden, 6'agrant then with roses, as I
looked up into that clear blue sky, the
situation did not appear much clearer;
nor as I turned into the street, and
strode down into the native quarter.
I am not writing a description, but a his-
tory of an adventure. You must not ask
me to tell of the shuffling. Oriental street,
of the squat-legged merchants, the veiled
women, the wonderliil blacks, the mosques
rising above the squalor, — the Sultan's
palace on its tittle hill with the red-fezzed
soldiers before its gates ; nor much of the
prison at the hill's foot ; but I shall have
something to say of that later.
There, I turned back from the Old
Town, threading my way through the
bazaars along the road to the European
quarter and the Consulate ; past the big
hotels overlooking the bay, — their piazzas
crowded with invalids, and people simply
leisurely, who were seeking the sun and
the blue sky. I might have gone up
there, and gossiped, and made the ac-
qu^ntances Hicks had suggested. I had
,11 :«l by Google
A Plain Talk and an Adventure 43
yet to meet the other Consuls, and the
other Secretaries, and their families. For,
save in the case of the United States, the
Powers send their cleverest representatives
to Dorota, — a place to be watched. No
Power can tell when another may step
in to lay claim to the little country, in
redress for some real or pretended griev-
ance. Usually the harbor is scattered
with war-ships of every nation. Then it
happened there was not a war-ship there.
I wanted with all the impulsiveness of a
very young man to find a good staunch
American captain; that I might go and
lay my quarrel with the Consul before
him. Jim probably had gone back to
the Dorinda. I didn't inquire. Instead
I went straight back to the Consulate.
As I entered the house two soldiers of
the Sultan — dirty, picturesque fellows —
rose and saluted. Inside were half a
dozen others, with a boyish lieutenant
in command. Standing, his face gainst
the window, was a prisoner. Something
in the outline of his figure, though now
he was in Arab costume, interested me.
,11 :«l by Google
44 Zuleka
Suddenly he turned, and I saw the man
who had dined with us that night in
Devon.
" Mahomet AJi ! " I cried.
" I am known by that name," he said.
His wonderfiil eyes seemed dimmed. I
saw a sorrow had changed the man.
" You can't speak to the prisoner," said
the Moorish Lieutenant in French.
"Why is he in the Consulate, then?"
I said.
" He is brought here, monsieur, by the
order of His Gracious Most Wonder-
ful Majesty the Sultan, to see My Lord
the Consul, Hicks."
"And the Consul is not here," I rea-
soned.
" No, monsieur."
" Then I represent him," I went on,
still in French. " If this prisoner be sent
to the American Consul, the Consular
Secretary may speak with him. Besides,"
I added, remembering that there are
times even for lies, "Monsieur Hicks has
directed me to speak to this prisoner in
his behalf."
,11 :«l by Google
A Plain Talk and an Adventure 45
The statement was risky enough from
any point of view. Hicks might enter ;
even might be in the house. As it hap-
pened, he was not there. And the Lieu-
tenant, assured by the servants that I was
indeed the Consul's Secretary, made a
deep bow, when I motioned Mahomet
All into the next room, which, luckily,
was empty.
"How does it happen," I asked quickly,
"that you, a prisoner of the Sultan of Do-
rola, are sent to the American Consul ? "
Even as I said this I remembered that
I was interfering most remarkably with
my superior's afl^irs. I had defied him,
and yet, if I but knew the situation bet-
ter, might he not prove to be entirely in
the right, and I, to be the sorry fool ?
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter IV
The Sheik of Issouan ; and the Blood of
the Fighting Enleens
NOW it occurred to me that I had
Grimmins to carry messages, and
so with a " pardon me " to the prisoner, I
sent for that worthy, who already had
declared that Dorola was a " rum spot."
It was curious that in my little walk
I hadn't before thought of Grimmins.
When he appeared, I said briefly :
" Get word to the Dorinda for Mr.
Enleen to come here, bringing with Mm
Mr. Brooks, the English Consul."
" Yes, sir," said Grimmins, who would
have gone through fire and water for me.
And he hurried away.
" Now, sir," said I, turning to the pris-
oner, " please to explain how you, whom
I saw so lately as a gentleman travelling
46
,,l:al by Google
The Sheik of Issouan 47
in England, chance to be the prisoner of
the Sultan of Dorola, and why, above all,
you are here ? "
He stood there tall and noble, distin-
guished, the very last man in the world to
look the prisoner's part. He appeared
so diffi^rent from any man I ever have
seen in adversity; as if, indeed, nothing
could daunt him ; you could kill this man
without having revenge; his soul was
above any of his enemy's methods.
** They dare to do it because now I am
a man without a country," he said in
English. "There was a time, Mr. Der-
ing, when it would have been diiiferent
with the Sultan of Dorola."
" But Hicks ? " said I ; " the Consul ? "
"It is his idea," said Mahomet Ali, if
that were his name ; and then he went on.
losing as he spoke the Western manner-
ism which he had ai&cted in Devonshire.
" In the mountains yonder," and he
pointed at their dim blue line,"are Issouan
and Rosola. I, sir, am the Sheik of
Issouan. No Sultan of Dorola has ever
conquered Issouan, — no nun tus ever
,11 :«l by Google
48 Zuleka
questioned the independence of my people,
— my people, I say, sir, — fifteen hundred
souls all told, shepherds and hunters, my
Father's people, and my Father's Father's,
back to the beginning. We have gone
into the world, the men of my family;
we have been Viziers to the Sultan at
Constantinople, — Allah be blessed. But
always we have returned to Issouan, —
always it and its secret have been ours.
" Nor, sir, has any Sultan of Dorola
conquered us, — for we could buy peace
of all the peoples in Northern Africa,
small though we might have been.
"Then there comes to Dorola this
man from over the seas, and he hears
there is a treasure in Issouan descended
from a King of Egypt, my ancestor, and
he says to the Sultan of Dorola, — the
dog ! — we will stir up the hill tribes by
giving them rifles for them to conquer
Issouan. For the Sultan of Dorola can-
not approach Issouan if the hill tribes
oppose him. So the Sultan, the chiefs
of the hills, and this man, enter into a
compact. On my way to Rosola, with
,11 :«l by Google
The Sheik of Issouan
ten attendants, they seize me, and bring
me here. To-night, sir, I die."
" Why? " siud I ; " because you will not
tell the secret they believe you have ? "
" They will torture me, sir, until I die.
Your Consul has the power of life and
death over those he may imprison in
Dorola."
" Yes, I know that," I said soberly.
" There must be some ground for sup-
posing the treasure exists, or else he would
not take the risk."
" It exists," said the Sheik of Issouan
simply; "but they shall not find it. Even
now they may be about Rosola. And " —
his face twitched like a man who has
a great mental stnig^e — " Zuleka is in
Rosola."
" Zuleka ? " I asked. " The young lady
I met."
" Yes, she is there ; but she has three
hundred men who will die for her. I sent
her on from the coast before me. I was
delayed by a message from Constanti-
nople."
I was debating rapidly the complication
,11 :«l by Google
50 Zuleka
of this extraordinary story. Here was a
man whom I had seen in England, who
had proven to be a mountain chief of
Northern Africa, who confessed to great
wealth and whose tribe had maintained
an independence for years by bribing
their more powerful neighbors, — so that
no one dared exterminate them, and
take their property. I did not know at
that moment what I was to learn later,
that the Sheiks of Issouan were powerful
politicians in Turkey, and that the fear of
the Sultan of Turkey had for generations
added to the respect in which they had
been held by their troublous neighbors.
I did not know that this man, Mahomet
Ali, now was under the Sultan's disfavor,
and banished, — which accounted for his
incognito in England. But Hicks, who
knew of all these circumstances, had art-
fully stirred up the cupidity of the hill-
tribes and of Abdul Mahommed, the
Dorolan Sultan. The plot was astound-
ing, as it was revealed to me that moment.
I had explained to me instantly how my
superior expected to make his fortune.
,,l:al by Google
The Sheik of Issouan 51
Never once did I doubt the existence
of a treasure somewhere in those blue
mountains of Issouan. My intelligent
compatriot wouldn't have gone into the
enterprise if he hadn't been sure.
" You think they will torture you ? "
" I am sure," he said calmly.
"I am sure they won't," said I, grind-
ing my teeth.
" How can you prevent Abdul Ma-
hommed treating a prisoner exactly as he
wishes ? "
"True. He will claim that you are
his subject," said I, musing. " But you
must believe I will get you out of this
in some way, despite the Consul of the
United States, a rascal in this position of
trust.
"If they should kill you, the secret of
the treasure would die with you, wouldn't
it ? " I asked.
" No ; it would not die with me. Zu-
ieka knows. They, in fact, know where
it is."
"How is that?" I asked.
"All the Kill tribes know. But there
,11 :«l by Google
52 Zuleka
are only three persons in the world who
know how to get to it."
" Who are they ? "
"Zuleka, I, and one other."
"I see," said I. "They know, should
you be killed, that they must take Zuleka
in the mountains. She is protected by
three hundred men of your tribe." I had
a vivid picture of the girl with whom I had
talked that evening in Devon. My heart
beat tumultuously ; and I felt suddenly
helpless. "And there is that other ? "
" They know him, but they can't hurt
him. For he is neither living nor dead."
I paused for a moment to consider this
extraordinary statement; and then I re-
membered I was in the Orient, where men
hold the supernatural as not only possible,
but probable. One must change one's
point of view under such circumstances, or
else he certainly is a fool ; that is, you are
a fool for regarding as a fool an Oriental
who makes an astounding statement.
But, indeed, I had no further chance to
question the prisoner ; for the door was
suddenly thrown back and the Consul
,11 :«l by Google
The Sheik of Issouan 53
came in, — as angry a man as I ever have
had the pleasure of facing.
" What' re you doing here ? " he snarled,
showing his teeth, which were pointed and
wolfish.
" I am thinking, Mr. Hicks, that if
there were an American war vessel in the
harbor, I should have you in irons in a
half hour."
Now that remark might have been in-
discreet ; he might have had me arrested
and thrown into prison with the Sheik of
Issouan, and he could have explained that
I had died of malarial fever. All this,
indeed, was quite possible, had it not been
for the fact that Jim Enleen and Brooks,
the English Consul, were in the anteroom.
Grimmins had delivered his message with
a promptness that probably saved me. As
for Hicks, he knew the game was up. He
was perfectly aware that should one of
Admiral Smith's vessels put in at Dorola,
he would be investigated. Still he might
not have cared so much at losing the Con-
sulship ; and I am not now sure that I
actually should have succeeded in having
,11 :«l by Google
54 Zuleka
him put in irons : I do not know that I
could have proven any crime. Probably
as a private individual he was entirely
within his rights in negotiating with
Abdul Mahommed ; probably Abdul
Mahommed had legally the right of life
and death over the Sheik of Issouan. I,
at least, couldn't free the prisoner with the
soldiers on guard. It was only another
one of the million cases of Oriental out-
rage ; no better, no worse.
It takes a long time to write down what
runs through one's mind in a second ; far
I saw these things, as I turned on my heel
and went outside ; not giving Hicks the
chance to say a word. The Lieutenant
and the squatting soldiers stared apatheti-
cally. And, surely enough, as I had con-
jectured, Enleen and Brooks were outside.
" Come with me," I said hurriedly.
" You are devilishly pale, Tom," I
remember old Jim said.
" Devilishly mad," I retorted. '* I pre-
sume you are Mr. Brooks," I added to
his companion.
" I b*g your pardon, Dcring," Jim
,,l:al by Google
The Sheik of Issouan 55
cried. " I thought I had introduced
you."
" I want to tell you both a story," I
said when wc were on the sunny street.
" I practically, on my own authority, shall
assume possession of our Consulate."
" How can you ? "
*' Will you support me ? " I asked
Brooks.
" How can I ? What's the story ? "
" I don't know that it will do much
good," I went on. " I don't know that
I can save a man's life by doing it. He's
likely to die to-night." Then I told
them the whole story. As I feared, the
English Consul agreed with my own theory
of the case. He could do nothing. All
I could do was to prefer charges against
the American Consul, and that would take
time.
"Then if either of us had a man-of-
war here we couldn't interfere," Enleen
put in.
" Most certainly not. This Sheik of
Issouan is undoubtedly Abdul Mahom-
med's subject."
,11 :«l by Google
56 Zuleka
"A private individual might," sud Jim.
" What do you mean ? " Brooks asked.
" Well," said he slowly, " I have fifty
men on the Dorinda. Supposing I land
twenty 'Jacks' to-night, armed with
Winchesters. What if I should break
open their prison. I think my twenty
men would do that in a hurry, be-
fore the Mogul could get his army
started."
"You run the danger of having the
Dorinda sunk by the forts."
"I don't believe they can shoot straight
enough," said Jim airily.
" Besides you may be killed yourselves
and thrown into that very prison," Brooks
went on. I was not talking. I was think-
ing of the girl back somewhere among
those blue mountains.
" Besides," the Consul swd, " it would
be piracy."
" Yes," said this descendant of a line of
English sailors, " it will be. Wc will do
it this very n^ht, and if we catch your
esteemable fellow-countryman, Hicks, we
will try how he likes being flogged, — eh ?
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The Sheik of Issouan 57
My boy, if we're to be pirates, we will be
trae ones."
"Why do you do it?" I asked.
" The man's case, and I believe for the
fun of it. I've been wanting an advent-
ure all my life."
I started to tell him of Zuleka, the girl
of Issouan, but then I hesitated. I felt,
oddly enough, that he would tease me
about her; and why, indeed, shouldn't
he, and why should I, who only had seen
her" once, be teased ? I considered this
for a moment as we walked along. I
remember a band was playing on the
veranda of one of the hotels.
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter V
Mr. Hicks explains Business and Politics
I HEARD a great cardinal once say
in a little church in London that
God judges men by their hearts, not their
intellects ; by the deeds they do through
impulse rather than by what they do with
caution. If I am a Protestant, the holy
fece of that preacher is before me still.
He was a man most distinguished for
intellectual achievement, and perhaps the
words meant more from him. I remem-
ber I asked my Father if that reason-
ing were so, how was it to be exptuned
that the world is developed by intellect.
"Yes, that is true; but there always have
been more great deeds done through im-
pulse," he said, smiting. " But don't you
rely on it, my boy; it's a bad general
theory, and will lead you into no end of
trouble."
,11 :«l by Google
Business and Politics 59
I think Jim Enleen and I debated this
thoroughly in discussing the details of
our plan to save the life of the Sheik
of Issouan ; and yet neither he nor I
retreated from the position that this de-
scendant of a line of s^lors had taken.
" If it be piracy," said Jim, " they're a set
of pirates, anyway. They're every bit as
bad as when they used to scuttle ships>
and put their crews in slavery, and that
American captain — Decatur, wasn't he?
— gave them all a drubbing. Besides,
we take a chance of losing our lives. I
shall state the case &irly to my men."
We, indeed, took a fearful chance, and
among those narrow, full streets, crowded
with Mohammedans who could and would
fight dogs of unbelievers to the end.
There exists a tradition in Dorola — as I
believe in all Mohammedan cities — that
it is never safe for a Christian to go into
the Old Town without a guide ; and not
at all after dark. Murder walks openly
in the streets of Dorola. The native
government condones, and uses it for its
own purposes. And we in the West
,11 :«l by Google
6o Zuleka
calmly watch, and know, and don't inter-
fere, because the government is lawful
enough. I remembered my little walk in
the town ; the varied humanity ; the tal!
Bedouin, grave and beautiful in his rags ;
the half-hid hatred you see in those towns
as you pass by. Yes, we took a good
chance of losing our lives ; yet, I am
glad to say now that neither that, nor any
other consideration, stood in our way.
We did not change our minds.
While Jim went back to the Derinda
to lay the matter before his crew, who
loved him as only an Enleen is loved by
his men, I sat down in Brooks' office
and wrote out some charges against the
American Consul. I did not know how
great weight these words would have,
since I was about entering on an act of
piracy. But I remembered at least that
I was engaged with a member of one
of the most powerful English families.
Brooks, in his position, would not listen
to our undertaking. He secretly, I be-
lieve, approved of it ; at any rate, he
treated it as a boyish joke, which he
,11 :«l by Google
Business and Politics
didn't believe could become a fiict. Bid-
ding him good-by, in the spirit of the
joke, I returned to our own Consulate,
remembering that Grimmins and some
of my things were there. Part of the
boxes were still on the Dorinda; besides,
I wanted to state frankly to Hicks that I
had carried out my threat, and had made
a fair report to the Department of his
negotiations in Dorola.
The courtyard was cleared of the dirty
soldiers and their prisoners. But I ran
squarely on my former superior. He was
very pale, and, I saw, a man in some per-
plexity.
" Back, eh ? " said he. " Got over your
temper?"
" I came back to tell you that I have
laid a statement of the ai&irs of this Con-
sulate before the Department. Also I
want to demand that you resign, now, at
once."
" To you ? " said he. " Well, I guess
not. You must think me a blank
fool. Besides," he added, "if this thing
goes through, I easily can buy any pos'i-
,11 :«l by Google
62 Zuleka
tion I want; I haven't done anything
criminal."
" Will that man they brought here be
killed to-night ? " I asked.
" How do I know ? He ain't my pris-
oner, but Abdul Mahommed's."
" You suggested seizing him," I said.
" Well, now, look here. 1 rather like
you, Dering, though you are so damned
meddlesome. I un't any particular grudge
against you. So, look at the case.
These fellows' down here are a set of
robbers and thieves, you know. They
probably would have killed Ahmed
Pasha, anyway — "
I interrupted him at the name.
"You don't mean to tell me that the
Sheik of Issouan is that Ahmed Pasha,
who directed Turkish aflFairs, and is now
banished? "
" Yes," said he, " the same fellow.
The Sultan of Turkey won't protect him,
— would like to see him killed. Our
friend, Abdul Mahommed, up there in the
palace on the hill, knows that well enough.
Well, you see the Sheiks of Issouan — I
,11 :«l by Google
Business and Politics 63
s'pose he explained — have kept their
independence through all these centuries
by bribing the mountain tribes to pro-
tect them ag^nst the Sultans of Dorola.
There hasn't been to this day anybody
with the head to bring about concerted
action, you know. I probably shouldn't
have done it, if that fellow hadn't been in
disgrace at Constantinople."
"Yes, I see," said I. "I admire your
frankness." And indeed I must confess
I really did.
" Well, if you do, why should those
heathens get all that money ? Sooner or
later, sure as shooting, they would. I said,
*John Hicks, do this on the division
principle.' Isn't it better, Mr. Dering,
that a Christian gentleman should have
a share rather than it should go to all
these robbers ? "
" The Asiatics are cunning, but it takes
one of us to manage them," said I,
"Yes, that's it exactly," he said with
considerable pride ; " that's just the
case."
" But how, when you get your divi-
,11 :«l by Google
64 Zuleka
sion, can you make them treat you
fairly ? "
" Well," said he, " it chances that no
one of them, nor, in ^t, no two probably
would. But a half a dozen probably will.
Then there are some Frenchmen in the
scheme."
"Frenchmen?" said I.
"Yes, refiigees from Algiers. Well,
I've told you pretty nearly all. I don't
see how you or anybody can prevent it,
because this Issouan is a fief of Dorola,
just as Dorola is a fief of Turkey."
"Yet," said I, "you, Mr. Hicks, will
see this man tortured and kilted ? " My
anger rose as I looked at him, in&tuated
with his own cleverness ; without a moral
idea in his being.
"Why, Dering, haven't I said, he
probably would be killed, anyway ? Htf
has iatten into the hands of his suzerain,
— that's the word, ain't it ? "
" But you arranged it."
" I believe firmly," he retorted, " that
it's better for a Christian to have a hand
in the matter. It's not a bit worse than
,11 :«l by Google
Business and Politics 65
the methods some of our big families took
when they 6rst got their money."
" You scoundrel ! " I cried. " I've a
mind to kick you like a dog."
"Take care, Mr. Dering. I have a
temper."
" Well, I won't deny you that," stud I.
" But here again I make my two demands.
The first is, that you save the Sheik of
Issouan's life."
" 1 can't. The ai^r has gone too far."
" The second is, that you resign your
position, now, — and put me in chai^
here."
"You don't believe I will do that, Mr.
Dering. If they or you prefer charges,
they'll have to remove me in the regular
way."
" Well, the chains are preferred," I
retorted ; and turning I went into the
house. I found Grimmins arranging my
linen, and I told him to follow me to the
Dorinda.
" Leave the things here," I said to him.
Hicks was still standing outside, medi-
tating his great scheme. It occurred to
,,l:al by Google
66 Zuleka
me that the man might be mad. At any
rate, if he were, he was a dangerous, since
a persuasive, madman. He stilt treated
me as if I were a misguided, unpractical fel-
low, badly educated. He had not shown
the least sign of anger in the remarkable
conversation I have recorded. He had
stated over ^;ain what the Sheik of Is-
souan, or Ahmed Pasha, if you will, had
himself told me ; what in addition to the
Sheik's statements I had surmised. He
plainly believed that his enterprise was
quite legitimate. Or, at any rate, if he
now were angry, — as he certainly had
been at my interference earlier in the day,
— he had the tactful self-control not to
show it,
"What do you want to make such a
fiiss for?" he asked. I looked straight
before me, without answering. " I s'pose
you'll get Enleen to chase over to Algiers
after a war-ship ? "
But Grimmins and I kept on our way.
This parting thrust, however, left me re-
lieved ; for I felt he was incapable of im-
agining what Enleen and I really intended
,11 :«l by Google
Business and Politics 67
doing. So quixotic an enterprise would
have been quite beyond his comprehen-
sion. But we would try it, come what
might. Then I thought of the girl, born
of the English mother, — back up there
at Issouan among the blue mountains.
Her Father must be saved for her sake,
if for no other reason in the world.
The sun was low as Grimmins and I
walked down from the narrow ill-smelling
streets of the Old Town, with its yelping
wolfish dogs, its ragged picturesque popu-
lation, — the grave Arabs a-donkcy-back,
and as we came to the pier, a litde caravan,
with the mse-eyed camels, swung past us.
Peters, Enleen's boatswain, was waiting
at the pier, with two white-jacketed tars.
" Mr. Enleen expected us on board."
" Well ? " said Enleen over the side.
"Any change?"
" None," I said. " It's the only way to
save the man's life."
"Oh," said he a moment later, "I
have laid the matter before Ferguson "
(Ferguson was the captain). " He said
* go ahead.' Then we addressed the men.
,11 :«l by Google
68 Zuleka
— Ferguson and I. They said, 'We'll go
wherever an Enlecn leads." ' You'll take
care of us, sir,' as Peters said. That's the
lay of ground, Tommy. I'm going to
take thirty of them, — all old men-of-war
men, — thirty instead of twenty. We
will have that fellow out of prison at nine
o'clock, God helping us."
"You're indeed a regular old pirate,
Jim," said I.
" I've often regretted I wasn't in the
service. But my Grandfather wouldn't
have it, — after my Father was drowned.
The trouble is with Lord Denburden ; he
married too much money, and he wants
to keep his descendants from being men,
— as we used to be. I wonder what he
would say if he knew what we are going
to do this night ? "
" I wonder what my Father would say,"
said I, thinking of that dear old gentle-
man alone with his books and the dogs in
the house in Devon.
,,l:al by Google
Chapter VI
The Fight in the Prison
WELL, we left the Dortnda promptly
at nine, with steam up and ten
men in charge. For we had decided to
crowd the boats a bit. Every man had
his Winchester, his pistol and cutlass ; for
the Dorinda was kept by her owner
equipped like a man-of-war. The night, ■
as if the weather were in fever of our
enterprise, had turned cloudy and dark.
The lights gleamed from the European
quarter, with its hotels, and fitfully from
the Old Town.
And Jim and I felt an enthusiasm I
would give much to have again. We
were burning our bridges ; we were turn-
ing pirates. But we were glad of it ; and I
think every man there shared our feelings.
They were as fine a lot of seamen as were
ever brought together by a rich owner,
«9
,11 :«l by Google
yo Zuleka
good pay, and excellent treatment. More
than that, they had a fine Northern scorn
of Africans and Asiatics. They had heard
a man's life was to be saved ; and they left
the consequences to their employer. Was
he not an Enleen, Lord Denburden's
grandson ; one of the richest, most power-
ful men in Great Britain ? he would look
after them. There, indeed, had not been a
dissenting voice.
We landed on the sandy beach, just
below the pier. Not a soul seemed to be
in sight. Then, leaving ten men to care
for the boats, with instructions to wait
until the very last possible moment, the
rest of us formed, and trotted up toward
the old gate under the shadow of the
wall. I have forgotten Grimmins. There
were thirty-one of us. Grimmins insisted
that he had been an officer's servant in
India, and that he should be in the fight,
if there was to be one. " 'Ow should Hi
hexptain to Mr. Dering, senior, hif you
shouldn't come back, sir, — when Hi 'ave
known you, Mr. Tom, boy hand man."
So, as I say, I let him go.
,,l:al by Google
The Fight in the Prison 71
A dirty soldier stood in the shadow of
the gate. I don't believe that gate could
work on its hinges, anyway. The senti-
nel was present to stop us; and Enleen
feared he might make trouble. So we
bound him with some rope we had
brought along, and soon were in the nar-
row foul streets. Here we gained atten-
tion at once. The fact that the English
gentleman was taking his crew out for a
bit of exercise at nine-thirty of a dark
night was not enough to explain that
formidable array. Dogs yelped; women
and men came out and execrated us.
We had, in short, a yelling mob at our
heels, which we, however, kept well ahead
of, although now and then a Jack had
to knock a man down with the butt of his
Winchester.
The prison, an old dismantled affair,
stands, I believe I have said (and you
probably know Dorola ; if you don't, read
your Baedeker), at the foot of the palace
hill. I had some misgiving lest the Sheik
of Issouan might have been taken from
the prison to the palace. I wondered why
,11 :«l by Google
72 Zuleka
that had not occurred to Jim. But we
kept on, now that we were started. Be-
sides, Brooks had said that the torture
was usually done in the prison.
The street widens as you come into the
square of the prison. The uproar had
borne itself with sullen insistence before
us. Two b^^y-breeched soldiers stood
by the prison ^te and, craning his neck,
the same Lieutenant I had seen at the
Consulate.
Enleen dashed on before they had a
chance to say a word, and had pushed
inside, guns ready. We came all at once
on to a court, lit by torches ; there were
twenty more of the Sultan's soldiers here,
with, on a little dais, a big, black, bearded
man, Abdul Mahommed himself, — as
unpleasant an individual as I want to see.
B^re him, with perfect dignity, stood the
Sheik of Issouan.
Never, I think, was a man more as-
tounded than was this servant of Allah,
this greatest of great Kings, who had
slain a father and five brothers to get his
place. The old murderer never had ev
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The Fight in the Prison 73
pccted such a scene. He gave a shout,
and we were down on them, — having the
advantage because they were unprepared.
The court was filled with cries and oaths,
Moorish 2nd English. I know that I en-
gaged in a hand-to-hand conflict with a wiry
fellow. Presently it fell stiller. They were
prisoners, or dead, or wounded. Some-
body relit a torch. I saw Peters stand-
ing in front of the prisoner, and Abdul
Mahommed of Dorola was rolling over on
the pavement like a man in a fit. Our
Jacks were disarming some men ; but I
saw seven bodies on the paving, and one
was that of a seaman, who was being lifted
up under Enleen's direction.
" I wish we had time to free the rest of
the poor devils," he said. " But we must
get out of this. It will be too hot for us
in a minute."
The hubbub outside now had become
terrible. To it was suddenly added the
roar of a volley from Captain Ferguson
and his ten men, who had been detailed
to hold the gate.
Quickly the order was passed. The
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74 Zuleka
wounded seaman — who had a nasty knife
wound — and Ahmed Pasha (the Sheik,
you know) were put in the centre. Then
with the order we filed out to support
Ferguson, and to break through the mob
in the square, back to our boats.
" Their cavalry is coming down fi-om
the palace. We'll have to hurry, sir,"
Fei^son ssud.
" Ready, men ! "
And we burst out ; Ahmed Pasha and
the wounded man in the middle ; we
fighting, and struggling through the mad-
dened ^natics, with the Dorolan soldiers
we had disarmed in the prison close on
our heels. It was well done, capitally
done. If it had not been for the disorder
of a mob suddenly confronted by a body
of disciplined men, we never should have
done it, I am sure now. As it was, it
was wonderful enough.
Fei^son led. Enleen, Peters, and I
managed the rear, backing, firing. Up
there in the European quarter they doubt-
less thought a revolution had broken out
in Dorola. As for Abdul Mahommed,
,11 :«l by Google
The Fight in the Prison 75
he, as I say, never had such a surprise in
all his experience of men, and of Eastern
politics.
I have heard often how men feel in their
first iight. I have read that interesting
book, both London and New York
have been talking about, by a very
clever countryman of mine. And didn't
Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, con-
fess that he ran away ? As for me, my
memory of that retreat is that my rage
passed. I felt a dull pity when I saw
some of the mob fall. We must have
killed or wounded at least a score. But,
after all, it was either our lives or theirs.
There was no halfway line for us, while
behind was the fear of the cavalry.
We had reached the unused gate before
they dashed down the narrow street.
We sank down, ready to receive them,
while Ferguson hurried the prisoner and
the wounded man down to one of the
boats. The streets were narrow, as you
know, and we decidedly had the advan-
tage. We feced and picked out the
foremost, and then turning, ran for the
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76 Zuleka
boats. The prisoner and the wounded
man were already embarked.
" Count your men," said Enleen, stop-
ping. "We mustn't leave one for those
brutes to tear to pieces."
" Six in the other boat, seven with
Beck, thirty-four, all told."
" All right," sang out our leader, and we
were at the oars. As the last boat put out,
the belated cavalry came prancing and
cursing, — although we couldn't under-
stand their lingoes. Then they began to
fire ; but we just bent to our oars, know-
ing the Dorinda was the place for us.
We remembered the Sultan of Dorola
had an old tub of a gunboat somewhere
along the coast. We remembered that
fort on its hill, and just then a ball flashed,
and there rang out a report among the
bedlam of noises. Bells were tolling.
A perfect inferno seemed to possess the
old town of Dorola; and bright lights
flitted from the palace on its hill. I
never may forget that night ; how at last
we climbed over the Dorivda's side, —
all of us ; how that good boat began to
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The Fight in the Prison 77
move. The shots from the fort fell
about us ; not one touched us. The
Doriitda's speed increased.
" I told you they were bad shots," said
Enleen grimly.
" But good fighters," I put in.
"Yes, they will iight, — that's certain."
The turmoil fell behind. We were out
of riie harbor.
" 1 don't thmk there's any doubt of our
bring pirates," said Jim.
" But at least successfal ones."
" That will be a consolation when they
hai^ us," Lord Denburden's grandson
acknowledged.
Such is the true account of the causes
leading to, and the actual act of, piracy on
the part of Jim Enleen's yacht Dorinda ;
and sudi was the beginning of the defence
of Issouan against the intrigues of a lot
of Orientals, one Yankee, and a French-
man, whom we didn't know at that time,
although, as I say. Hicks had mentionc;d
him to me.
" I wonder what Hicks thinks ? " En-
leen asked, with a laugh.
,11 :«l by Google
78 Zuleka
" That we are fools ; that the complaint
gainst him will amount to nothing be-
cause made by a man who has turned out
a pirate ; and finally, and totally, that he
will succeed yet."
Jim mused for a moment. " I must
see what the doctor says of Beck's wound.
I must thank the crew, and tell them that
I will see that they don't suiFer. And
then, we must look to the prisoner."
" I am here, sir," said the Sheik's voice
over our shoulders, " as much in debt as
a man can be."
" Well, you see," said Jim, blushing, I
believe, if it hadn't been too dark for us
to have seen him, " it really was, sir, the
only human thing we could have done."
I was glad Jim made that speech. I
don't know what I should have said.
It's embarrassing sometimes to be thanked
and praised. It's easier to do things, as
Enleen says. But then Enleen did this
thing, not I ; it was his su^estion, his
men, his pluck, his lack of consideration
of personal consequence.
We were at this time well out to sea.
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Chapter VII
The Expedition for the Relief of Rosola
ENLEEN has said often in recalling
his first impression of Ahmed
Pasha, — for I will call him that from
now on, — that he felt him to be a cultivated
gentleman, in the way that some of those
Turks are, with more, a reserve of honesty,
which all Oriental diplomatists do not
have. For Ahmed Pasha was first of
all a diplomatist, and the history of his
life is one of the most wonderful true
stories I ever have heard. But of that,
presently.
He expressed himself very simply and
directly for all the favors we had done
him ; and then proceeded to state his own
situation.
" My daughter is in Rosola, besieged
probably. I don't believe my men have
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So Zulektt
yet given up. I ask you to let me off
in the morning, at some point of the coast
— if you will."
" His daughter," said Enleen, looking
at me keenly. *'I don't believe you men-
tioned her, Tom."
" Well, I don't believe I have," I said
rather guiltily.
" Have you met her ? "
" Yes, we dined one night at Mr. Der-
ing's place in Devonshire," Ahmed Pasha
put in.
"Is it true, sir, — it must be, since aU
this rumpus has been kicked up, — that
you have a treasure in Issouan ? "
" Yes," said the other gravely, " quite
true. It has supplied my bmily's needs
for many generations."
" I fancy you are an older family than
the Enleens," Jim sud. " It must once
have been something rather big, and must
be still for them to be looking after it, —
and taking so many risks."
" It is considerable," said the Ahmed
gravely.
" Why, in this day and time, haven't
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Expedition for Relief of Rosola 8l
you taken it and invested it in anything
in London, — in consols, in American
railroads, in real estate?"
"Well," said Ahnred, smiling, "you
have a right to ask questions, after the
service you have done me. I will ex-
plain. The tribe of Issouan dways has
been independent, both because the diiefe
had money to bribe their neighbors, and
because they all, including mysdf, have
been successful diplomatists and politi-
cians, — in Rome, in Egypt, among the
Moors in Spain, with the Turks. We
always have had three or four hundred
fighting men. While that is not so many,
to be sure, we have been protected be-
yond bribery by the fear of our power
in the outer world. In fact, in our long
line, I am the first who has been exiled
twice. The first time, although I was
under sentence of death, I returned to
Constantinople through Persia in the train
of a French diplomatist. There at some
risk I regained the Sultan's &vor. I
have lost it again, as you know. Ner
did I anticipate this extraorrfinary «gree-
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82 Zuleka
ment between Abdul Mahommed and the
hill tribes to pillage me."
" I think we made that same Abdul
think a bit about it," s^d Enleen senten-
tiously. "What can you, sir, do alone
and unaided in Issouan?"
" I will do what I may," Ahmed replied.
*' There is no power you can call on ? "
" Issouan is a fief of Dorola."
"Yes, yes," SMd Enleen slowly; and
then he turned to me. " You know, Tom,
we are pirates already."
" Yes," said I ; "we have decided that
we must be."
" Then," said he eagerly, " will it make
our case worse if I persuade thirty of our
men to go with us to help the Sheik in
Issouan ? "
I had been thinking of this myself, but
I had not dared to formulate it. We had
violated the laws of nations most certainly;
how should this make the matter worse ?
— and I thought of the girl up there in
the mountains. If the blood of the fight-
ing Enleens dedded Jim, I think the
thought of Zuleka persuaded me.
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Expedition for Relief of Rosola 83
Ahmed had listened gravely while we
talked of this ; and now he said he could
not suffer us to do it. It was not fair to
us. We were young men, Anglo-Saxons.
We could not afford to meddle in an
Oriental embrt^Ho. He appreciated our
kindness, but he could not allow it. Jim
s^d nothing to this; only bent his
head as if agreeing, although I knew, his
mind once made up, nothing could change
him.
*' I, now, have something to say to the
men," he said. " Will you come on deck
and listen ? "
When they were assembled, he thanked
them all for the good fight they had
made in the prison. He shook Peters'
hand, and Ferguson's, and the men
cheered.
" But, men," he went on, " this advent-
ure is not over. This gentleman " — and
he pointed to Ahmed — " is resolved to
go to his own little mountain land, which
is besieged by those savages. I, James
Enleen, cannot let him go alone. Mr.
Dering goes with me. I don't ask any of
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84 Znleka
you to go, but those who wish to stake
their fortunes with ours in this aSsar may
say ay, and I shall hold it agdnst no man
if he may not wish to take the adventure.
For, after all, a man's first duty is to him-
self, — to his wife, his children. As for
myself, I shall make my will to-night,
which will hold with my fiimily, — al-
though no lawyer shall draw it up, — and
every man who goes with me shall have
five hundred pounds."
As the men cheered, he continued :
" I shall leave the Dormda with Mr.
Mackenzie."
Mackenzie was the mate, and now he
stepped forward.
" Not with me, sir, for I will go with
you."
"All who will go with me on these
terras, come aft then," Jim cried ; and, I
declare, every man of that crew crossed
over.
Then Jim took oiF his cap, as we stood
there under the stars, and he said with a
choking voice : " I thank you for it, my
friends. This proves that an Englishman
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Expedition for Relief of Rosola 85
resents an outrage wherever it may be
done. But you all can't go. Twenty
men must be left with Mr. Mackenzie to
look after the Dorinda."
When Mackenzie again expostulated,
he said that Ferguson was the mate's su-
perior in rank, and that as he had volun-
teered, he must let him go. But he left
it with Mackenzie to select the twenty
men who were to remain on the DorinJa.
He instructed the mate to keep along that
coast, and to surrender the vessel to none
save to an English war-ship. He him-
self would write out the explanation of the
affair at Dorola, word for word ; and he
would promise them that the Enleens
would see that they came to no harm nor
want. He went below and wrote this
paper, and when Ferguson brought the
list of the twenty men Mackenzie had
selected as a crew, and of the twenty-nine
who were to go, he drew up the will — or
request to his relatives — he had prom-
ised, adding a provision of a hundred
pounds each for Mackenzie and his men.
The meanwhile Ahmed had been ner-
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86 Zuleka
vously pacing about. I think now that he
did not know what to say in his apprecia-
tion of this surprising treatment at our
hands, — at Jim Enleen's hands, I should
say ; and when I say that, I can add that it
seems to me one of the finest undertakings
I ever have known or heard of. Here
was one of the fighting Enleens, as noble
as any of the great captains of his line,
starting out to head an expedition which
promised no honor, only obloquy, and
the satisl^ction of the spirit of adventure,
and of helping those who, so far as the
nations were concerned, were quite with-
out hope.
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Chapter VIII
The Man who carried the Mist
IT was near dawn I think before one of
us took any sleep ; and I, for my part,
was tired enough after the exciting events
which suddenly had seized the humdrum
course of my life. So when Grimmins
shook me roughly, it hardly seemed as if
I had closed my eyes at all. On deck the
men, after a hasty breakfast, were already
assembled. Every one of the volunteers
was equipped with his Winchester, pistols,
and cutlass, and a three days' supply of
bacon and ship biscuits. For although
Issouan is but thirty English miles inland
from this part of the coast, we did not
know by what devious route we might
have to approach the little mountain land,
besieged as it now probably was by all the
tribes in its neighborhood, as well as by
«7
,11 :«l by Google
88 Zuleka
whatever force Abdul Mahommed would
be able to put into the field.
The Dorinda now lay at anchor close
in under the coast which lifts suddenly at
this spot. A scurrying wind had scattered
the low clouds that had helped our attack
on the prison. The Mediterranean lay far-
reaching and smooth under the low winter
sun. The shining expanse was scattered
with sails, with on the northern horizon
the smoke of steamships, which might or
might not be seeking the Dorinda.
The boats were lowered, and we were
over the side, — while the men shouted
ferewelis.
" Remember the orders, Mackenzie,"
Enleen cried back.
" Ay, ay, sir," came the mate's sturdy
reply, and we had left the good ship be-
hind, and before us lay a great uncertainty.
The man for whom we were taking the
risk sat gravely scanning the coast we
were approaching. Jim Enleen himself
stood erect and strong, every line of his
figure showing a man who is born to com-
mand.
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The Man who carried the Mist 89
" Who would have thought, Tom, to
see me dallying in Park Row last summer,
that I should undertake war on my own
account, as if I were a reigning sovereign ? "
"We can't count on you, Jim," I said,
laughing.
"Just think, I was sending women
flowers then, and making love to little
Fanny Barclay. This is better than one
of Fanny's smiles."
*' I thought you were rather badly hit,
Jim," said I.
" And now we are on our way to assist
the oppressed, and to rescue a besieged
maiden, — as if we were in a novel with
buried treasure included."
The Sheik turned, appreciative of our
humor ; for, as I say, he was one of those
men who have lived much in a cosmopoli-
tan society.
" I understand your English rather well.
You know I married my wife in England,
where I was attache on the Turkish em-
bassy."
Jim whispered to me, " Then he had
only one." " Shut up, you old duffer,"
,11 :«l by Google
go Zuleka
said I. And Ahmed Pasha, without show-
ing that he had heard us, answered the
question.
" There are some women in this world,
young men, who are greater than one's
theories, — even than one's reUgion. You
must beheve me, although you never may
meet such a woman. When the lady, who
was my daughter's mother, gave me her-
self, I had a trust, to respect her prej-
udices. For her people were bitterly
opposed to such a match, you may believe.
And what pleases me now, my friends, is
the thought that I think I made her
happy. And now she knows that, despite
the feelings of my people, I have brought
up her daughter as she wished."
"A good woman," said Enlecn slowly,
" can do a deal for a man. One meets so
many who, if not bad, pretend to be. A
man sometimes begins to think that the
good ones are alt gone Irom the world."
" You will find out sometime, perhaps,"
said the Sheik of Issouan ; and Enleen did
not answer. He, too, looked grave.
Afterwards, I remember, on our tedious
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The Man who carried the Mist 91
journey, Enleen asked me if I remembered
the story of Lady Mary Geron, the then
Lord Duesdal's second daughter. " It
was before your time in England, of
course, but old women tell it over now.
She ran away with a young member of
the Turkish Legation, — one of the hand-
somest of men, they say ; I can believe it,"
he said, pointing to the Sheik. " Then," I
said, " she has the blood of the Thorn-
tons." " You seem mightily interested in
the girl I haven't seen," Enleen retorted.
But to return to the narrative, which I
am anticipating. We made the landing
at the place Ahmed Pasha directed, one of
the most lonely spots on the coast. Then
with a last good-by to the boat crew, we
started inland. The march would be a
long one, as a good deal of it must be
hill climbing, and our thirty miles easily
might turn to fifty before we could find it
safe to approach Rosola. The rising plain
which lay before us under that winter morn-
ing North African sun, showed now and
then some wild rider, — who shouted and
disappeared, perhaps to warn the Sultan
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92 Zuleka
of Dorola. We felt the more as we
advanced how perilous the expedition
really was ; how easily we might be sur-
rounded and cut to pieces. The Jacks
after some hours began to grumble a bit,
as they will ; for the long march began to
tell on men unaccustomed to much walk-
ing. We regretted that we had no horses
nor camels, although the Sheik assured us
that he should be able to get donkeys
sometime after noon, — if the enemy had
not already burned the village for friend-
liness to Issouan.
I must not delay too long over a descrip-
tion of the journey or the country. This,
indeed, is not a traveller's note-book, but
an account of what actually happened to us
adventurers in that North African journey:
a particular explanation, which I believe
never has been given, although indeed
the journalists have been keen enough
about it. They are enterprising fellows,
those journalists ; but, even if they may
be zealous, it's surprising how much use-
less fiction — to say nothing of useless
facts — you take with your morning paper
and coffee.
,11 :«l by Google
The Man who carried the Mist ^3
Well, we stopped for lunch of bacon
and biscuits by a spring that welled from
a hillside. We started on, and came, an
hour after noon, to the vill^e of the don-
keys. There the chief fell on his face
before Ahmed, as if he had been a god,
and explained in Arabic that war was in
Issonan, and that all the mountain vill^es
had been burned, and the women and
children and cattle and goats carried
away, — although many of the families
had escaped to Rosola, which still held
out, Allah be thanked. I saw Ahmed's
face turn fierce, and he cried out pas-
sionately in Arabic, and, although we
did not know the tongue, we knew he
was vowing vengeance, "eye for eye,"
"tooth for tooth." Then he sent on a
runner to announce his approach to such
of his tribe as might be hidden in the
mountains.
When Enleen told the men, they for-
got their weariness, and pushed on with
all their first enthusiasm. The ground
lifted. It is, I believe, one of the fairest
landscapes in all the world, — meadow-
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94 Zuleka
land scattered with wooded clumps, and
above the blue and gray peaks. Ahmed
had thought it prudent to take the round-
about way, and when we went into camp
that night in a narrow ravine, we were
joined by twenty of the men of Issouan,
— whom the runner had found, — tall fel-
lows, almost white, with strong fine faces.
Their dress is like that of the ordinary
Bedouins, but they themselves are of an-
other race, with the distinction that a
lineage of mountain living gives a line.
They, too, brought the news that a great
army besieged Rosola, and that the Sultan
himself was there; with all the mountain
tribes united into one army, and a French-
man directing the operations.
" Who is this fellow ? " Enleen asked.
" I hope I may hang him."
" He is the leader of a body of deserters
from Algiers, — a man, born nob!e, —
a well-mannered, but treacherous man,"
the Sheik said.
"Are there many of these fellows?"
" About a hundred, I believe," the
Sheik replied. " They are outlaws of
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The Man who carried the Mist 95
all kinds, you know, — not necessarily
French."
That night as I lay under the stars, I
could not sleep. A man can't change sud-
denly into a campaigner with none of the
habit of it. Above on the heights were
the stealthy sentinels, men of Issouan.
Around me slept our men. There was
Enleen, sleeping the sleep of the just.
There were the boson's burly form, and
Ferguson's slighter figure ; and there was
the Sheik not sleeping nor lying down
at all, but thinking of Zuleka up there in
Rosola; and I, too, thought of her with
dull despair. And then I must have
slept; for Grimmins was shaking me, —
Grimmins, who was proving as good a
soldier as any one of us.
The camp was stirring, and after the
hasty breakfast we stole up the narrow
ravine in single file. Above hung the
pines ; and occasionally a great bird soared.
The sky was wonderfully clear, and the
high altitude we had reached exhilarated
us. Two hours must have passed, before
the word " halt " was passed. The Sheik
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^6 Zuleka
called to Enleen and me ; and we followed
to the top of a rocky ledge fringed with
bushes. Then there burst on our view
one of the most remarkable sights of my
life. I always shall hold that the first
view of Rosola is a wonderful one ; and
now we saw it with all the surroundings of
an army, such as Mahomet may have ted
out of Arabia, seeking conquest, Heaven,
and houris.
Before us was a level tableland, perhaps
five miles across. At its very centre an
oblong precipitous rock rose five hundred
feet, surmounted by the towers of a village
which projected above a battlemented wall.
I saw, even at that distance, that the archi-
tecture of the place was not of the Roman,
the Saracen, nor of the more recent periods ;
Rosola was certainly very ancient. Up
two sides of the cliff precipitous paths
rose to narrow gates. These appeared to
be the only possible entrances. Whatever
defence the rock might be able to make
against modern artillery, — the artillery in
use since 1870, — it once must have been
practically impregnable.
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The Man who carried the Mist 97
Now on the wails we could see dark
figures, muskets in hand.
The Sheik said, " Ibrahim ! "
" How is it provisioned ? " asked the
practical Enleen.
" If there are seven hundred people
there, as I am told, — for not more than
ten days."
Enleen looked at me, and I at him ;
and then we watched the tableland, black
with a multitude ; a great army for that
place. I believe there must have been
three or four thousand men, — and such
a varied lot as you may imagine if you
have read the great Gordon's journal ;
or even if you have been a tourist up the
Nile. They completely surrounded Ro-
sota on its rock. And the reason that
Jim and I looked at each other question-
ingly, was that we saw no way under
Heaven how we could get into the fort;
it seemed as if our journey had been
wasted. What could we do even if
we were there ? Still it would profit the
garrison to have such an addition as En-
leen and his men.
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98 Zuleka
And then as we debated, a strange, a
wonderful thing happened. I hesitate in
recounting it here. If it were a lie, it
would be believed; as a truth, it will
appear a lie.
Now I have heard stories of Oriental
m^ic, as you all have. I have believed
them up to a certain point. I never
before had seen anything such as we saw
there ; and yet, indeed, it might have
been due entirely to natural phenomena.
But the occurrence, coming as it did,
when the question of entering the for-
tress seemed insoluble, certainly was pass-
ing strange.
For as we three stood there watching
the scene, our men back of us, a hundred
feet or more, — a fourth was in our group,
A man, thin, dark, wiry, old, naked save
for a loin cloth, a great white beard fall-
ing over his breast and hiding his face, —
a man with tangled white hmr and sunken
far-away eyes stood among us. I rubbed
my eyes, and Jim his. But the Sheik
fell down before him, exactly as the
chief of the village where we had found
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The Man who carried the Mist 99
the donkeys had fallen down before the
Sheik.
Then the stranger extended long skinny
arms toward the tableland, and began a
low chant in a tongue I never had heard,
— in a voice which was as an echo.
And suddenly, although I swear a
moment before the sky was clear as a
bell, the scene blurred. A damp mist
bit our faces; it was as when a ship
plunges into a fog bank. The chant
grew low and stopped ; the fog scurried
in waves about us, and we heard the
Sheik's voice to Enleen.
" Form your men in two's," he swd
almost imperatively. " Have every man
put his left hand on his neighbor's
shoulder, and sling his Winchester
over his own ; his cutlass in his right
hand."
He himself led us down to where we
had left the men ; and I think it was
the Sheik rather than Enleen who formed
them. For all was a white blur before
our eyes. I have been in London of a
January day, when the cabby walked by
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loo Zuleka
his horse's head ; but I never have known
a denser fog. I remember now that I
heard the boson exclaiming at the sudden
changes in the weather of that mountain
land.
" We are to pass through their ranks
in the mist," said the Sheik, still in the
tone of command. He had himself, as
I have said, formed the line. So at the
word we started, he leading, Enleen and
I close at his back.
" Not a word," he said.
So we began ; Enleen and I yielding
to this domination, like men in a dream ;
and so we passed on, we knew not whither,
but down a smooth path, and then over
some levels of tall, tangled grass. An
hour must have passed. Every man had
his cutlass drawn, as ordered ; Enleen and
I, our revolvers. But the Sheik had
noted some openings in the line. He
knew from memory, perhaps almost by
instinct, every foot of the tableland. An
hour must have passed with only the
tramp of fifty marching men, the twenty
mountaineers who had joined us the pre-
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The Man who carried the Mist loi
vious night making our force that number.
These fellows formed the rear of the Hnc.
After an hour, for the progress was
necessarily very slow and difficult, the
way began to rise, and the mist lifting
we saw we were treading a well-worn
path ; and suddenly the fog swept away.
Yes, swept away ; for with a rush of cold
wind on our faces, we found ourselves in
the sunlight under the towering walls of
Rosola.
Back of us rose a cry of amazement,
a babel of tongues.
" Ibrahim ! " cried the Sheik at the
gate.
Bullets suddenly whistled, and there
was the rattle of an irregular discharge.
There was an answer from our rear, which
had faced about, and from the battlements
above, whence was a shout. And then
the gate opened, and Ibrahim, the Sheik's
Lieutenant, stood in the way.
As we rushed in we saw a long narrow
street, into which we ran ; a tumultuous,
shouting crowd of women and children
was pouring from the houses. Ibrahim
,11 :«l by Google
clanged the gate, while the firing con-
tinued from the outside and the battle-
ments.
" I must see my daughter, if you will
excuse me," said the Sheik urbanely.
Suddenly he was again Ahmed Pasha, the
urbane polished man of zSairs, who had
dined with us that night in Devonshire.
" Ibrahim will look after the men, and I
will send for you directly," he added.
He walked up the street, the women
and children falling down before him,
and crying out, and following him.
Enleen turned an amazed, frightened
face to me.
" Did that naked chap carry the fog in
his pocket, or did it blow down from the
mountains ? "
"We don't know the weather in this
country, Mr. Enleen," Captain Ferguson
observed.
" It's a rum sort o' weather, anyway,"
we heard one of the men say.
" A sailor orter expect anythin'," began
another. " Now this reminds me of ofF
the banks, — only more sudden."
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The Man who^ carried the Mist 103
Then Enleen and I looked around at
his huddling crew. Jack may be brave
indeed, but when he faces the super-
natural he turns your arrant coward.
" Why, it was just fog, boys," Enleen
cried.
"Why, just fog," echoed the boson.
And, directly in the sunlight, they began
to believe that was indeed all it was ; just
fog. Now, as for me, I can't be sure ; it
probably was; the supernatural may not
exist. I only have put it down as it im-
pressed us then. It was, at the most, a
curious coincidence.
The meanwhile the musketry kept up ;
and Ibrahim from barring the gate turned
to us.
" If you will follow me, ExceUencies,"
he said in English.
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter IX
I Zuleka
AFTER the episode of the mist,
natural or supernatural, although
it might have been, the sound of our own
English on the tongue of a miid-iooking
fellow, — as the mountaineer Ibrahim cer-
tainly was, — I think reassured all of us,
from the merest sailor up to that " fight-
ing Enlecn" who really led the expedi-
tion. Then for a moment we looked
around at the high mountains and the
line of irregular roofs against them, and
the matter-of-fact blue sky above.
" These men of mine are to be used in
the defence," Enleen hastened to say.
" We only want something to eat, and to
have the chance to look over your works."
Ibrahim bowed gravely.
" I understand, sir," he said. " I have
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Zuteka 105
been with my master much about
Europe."
" Your mistress I hope may be well,"
said Enleen at this. "You can hold
back those fellows with the shots from
the walls ? " he asked, with the inherited
soldier's instinct strong within him ; for
still the sharp staccato of musketry kept
up.
Ibrahim then explained that we were
to go first to his master, and he motioned
up the street. This was long, narrow,
paved, singularly clean for an Oriental
thoroughfare, edged each side by the low
stucco houses, and leading to a square
with a tali stone structure in its centre.
The building might have been a prison
or a palace, for it stood there in that clear
light, formidable, and gray ; it looked
indeed very old, and belonged to the
Egyptian style of architecture, if indeed
to any style that I knew. From its centre
rose a high round tower, which I had
observed in the first view of the fortified
village. Toward this structure Ibrahim
now led, explaining that he would arrange
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lo6 Zulcka
the men's quarters ; he then asked us -to
enter the broad doorway. After Jim had
given some direction, he and I followed
him without a word.
We were in a low-ceilinged room, and,
I think, we both gave a cry of surprise ;
for the place was furnished in the Euro-
pean fashion, very richly, indeed, with
many rare rugs about the floors. From
the shadow somewhere a young lady,
who wore an EngUsh riding-habit, came
forward to meet us; and again I saw my
acquaintance of that evening in Devon.
She was, perhaps, paler, but she looked
ibr- alt the world like a girl in England,
and I remembered what I knew of her
Mother.
" I have heard of all you have done
from my Father," she said, smiling pleas-
antly. " I owe you so much, Mr. Dering;
and you, Mr. Enleen," she added, turning
to Jim.
I think that after our experiences noth-
ing could have been stranger than this
almost conventional reception.
She turned and called, when one of
,11 :«l by Google
Zuleka 107
the mountaineers appeared, who, she
said, would look to us, as we doubtless
wished to brush up a bit before breakfest,
which would follow soon; and she added
that our men should be attended to at
once.
" We are in war, it seems," she went on.
" But I am sure the men of Issouan can
look after Rosola for the present, and you
certainly deserve a little rest."
Enleen simply stared ; and, possibly, I
did nothing much better. I may have ex-
pected her in tears. I never had thought
of seeing here in Northern Africa this self-
contained and most polite young lady,
who had had surrender, imprisonment, and
the most fearsome fate, staring her in the
face. And, I noted again, as we left her,
how sweetly charming she was.
We were taken into a low chamber,
where jugs of cold water were brought,
and, as we dashed it over our faces, Enleen
asked:
" Why in the world didn't you tell- me -
we had that to expect ? I shouldn't have
paused for a moment/'
,11 :«l by Google
io8 Zuleka
" I don't think you have, from the
first," said I. "I thought her very
pretty."
" Eh, pretty ? " Enleen cried. " This
explwns why you dared to defy that chap.
Hicks. I should say she was."
The while the firing kept up, and he
added impatiently:
" I think I can help them a bit. Abdul
Mahommed will be bringing some of his
cannon to bear on us directly."
But the servant — gentle, suave. Ori-
ental — interrupted, as hurried as we had
been; our host bade us to his board,
since there was much to do. This man,
like Ibrahim, spoke good English.
"The mingling of everyday life with an
Arabian Nights experience is certainly ex-
traordinary," Enleen whispered, as we fol-
lowed the servant through the entrance
chamber into a low narrow room, ap-
pointed in the modern European fash-
ion. We might have been in London ;
and, I think, had it not been for the
picturesque costume of Issouan which the
Sheik still wore, that we should have
,11 :«l by Google
Zuleka 109
been quite ready to have believed that
such was the case; for this man talked
in the quiet manner of the cultivated host,
while Zuleka looked, as I say, — save for
those wonderful eyes, — quite the English
girl. Yet we had but to glance out of the
window to know the diiFerence ; and there
was borne to our ears the ratde of mus-
ketry. A pack of barbarous fanatics had
us surrounded here on this rock. We
needed all our wit to extricate ourselves.
And this man was the chief of this hill
tribe, — a man of the most remarkable
history, which we had every reason to be-
lieve; a record of strange inheritance,
and of a treasure like that in Monte
Cristo. What is truth, and what fiction,
in this world ?
" Our positions are reversed," Zuleka
was saying to me. " You are not now my
host."
" It seems as if this might be your own
Sotherby Hall, where your Father bade
us that evening," said I.
" It is Issouan in war-time," she said,
with a little sigh.
,11 :«l by Google
1 lo Zuleka
" How hard it must have been, when
you were here alone ! "
"I — alone!" Zuleka cried with a lit-
tle shoulder shrug. " I was busy, Mr.
Dering. I was on the walls most of the
time directing the defence. We could
hold out now, — forever, — were it not
for the provisions."
"You are brave," said I. "I wonder
if any other woman I know would not
have given up."
" Oh, Mr. Dering, don't you know
what they say, that it's easy to be brave
when the big things of life are concerned?
Yet" — and she looked at Enleen, who
was talking with the Sheik of the defences
— " no one could have done a greater
thing than Mr. Enleen and you. You
saved my Father's life. And now you
have brought him to me. You, too, take
the risk of death ; for we are io a very
dangerous position, indeed."
When a pretty woman thanks a man,
he must feel vain, I suppose ; but that
moment I didn't feel so at all; I felt as
if I were ashamed in some way, as if I
,11 :«l by Google
Zuleka 1 1 1
should take her away from all this danger,
— as if it were a crime that I did not.
But Enleen's talk helped me out of
my embarrassment.
" And the man we saw before that
providential fog arose ? It was strange
how that happened in the nick of time."
Then the Sheik said gravely : " Noth-
ing is strange before God. What do we
know of nature that we should scoff, my
friends ? "
" It was," said Zuleka, leaning forward
on the table, " Isman Seyd ? "
" Who, pray, is he ? " Enlcen asked in
his practical way of going directly to the
point at issue.
"Shall I tell you? Will you believe
me ? " said our host. " Isman Seyd, they
say, is as old as Rosota. However that
may be, I remember when I was a small
boy, he seemed as old as he does now.
There was a tradition among us that he
could do all things, — that he had what
you call occult powers. As for the fog,
it may have come through Isman ; it may
have been a mist that blew suddenly out
,11 :«l by Google
Ill Zuleka
of the hills, which is not unusual in this
region. Allah knows, my friends. But
Isman is the other, I told you of, who
knows the secret of this house, — he
alone, besides myself and Zuleka, for
Zuleka is the last of our race. As for
Isman, he lives alone in the forest, as I
say, since I remember. He was a holy
man, who lost his holiness by sin, and he
only rarely can do those things. His
power has almost gone. Of course I
can't ask you to believe that he made
the mist which permitted us to reach
Rosola. But still, being an Oriental, I
am inclined to mysticism."
He stated this almost as I have put
it down here, as nonchalantly as any man
of the world, not asking us to believe as
he did ; yet with a certain gravity, as if he
himself took all this indeed very much in
earnest. I think both Enleen and I were
impressed by his manner. We had seen
so much that was strange lately that we
were not inclined to scoff at anything at
all.
So the dinner went on, while the ser-
,11 :«l by Google
Zuleka ilj
vant went about, save for his strange
costume, like any lackey in the world.
Then, when it was over, we four went out,
and looked over the works, and out at
the besiegers. I could distinguish several
white men there ; and one, the Sheik ob-
served, was Dumont, the former officer
of the engineers in Algiers. Enleen
took him very seriously ; for he thought
a man skilled as this one was might
prove most dangerous against our poor
defences. And what would happen if
the Sultan of Dorola brought his guns
from Dorola ?
" That fellow Hicks is something of an
engineer," he added. " He told me that
once."
"They are bent on having the treas-
ure," said I.
The Sheik had been listening, looking
out over the scene, and now suddenly he
turned to us very gravely, and said:
" I believe they have said they would
not leave a pebble of the rock of Rosola."
Enleen consulted with Ferguson, and
stationed his men. We all yielded to
,11 :«l by Google
1 14 Zuleka
his genius ; and he became practically
commandant of our little force. The
mountaineers were good fighting men,
brave to the last, even anxious to die
for their chief and his family. We could .
not underrate them ; but we were glad to -
have our English sailors, and indeed we
arranged our forces — some three hun-
dred and fifty men all told — in the Eng-
lish way in Oriental countries, scattering
our men among the natives.
So some days passed ; when we lodged
in the Sheik's house in the square ; when
I saw Zuleka many times every day;
when that good Enieen seemed perfectly
happy in his duties, — save when he won-
dered about the Dortnda, and the conse-
quence o( our act of piracy ; days to me
delightful, had it not been for our con^
stant apprehension. What if they should
bring the cannon ? What would happen
when our provisions gave out ? We all
were on half rations now; and we no
longer had a dinner like that first at the
Sheik's.
The enemy had made small demonstra< -
,11 :«l by Google
Zuleka u 5
tion, as if they were waiting for their can-
non. But one morning the inevitable
happened. Abdul Mahommed's gun car-
ries appeared over the slope, a half dozen
I ttunk, — and we, in the stillness, could
almost hear the voices of the drivers be-
laboring the oxen; in the stillness, I say;
for the fooHsh musket firing had stopped;
- only both sides were constantly alert, ex-
pecting anything. I wondered how Zu-
leka could be so calm, how she could
stand the strain, which was wearing on
me.
" I have delayed too long," said Jim.
" I should have done it before. There is
nothing else to do."
" What is that ? " asked I foolishly.
" I must risk my skin, and sally out
and get help."
" Of course, help," said I. " But there's
none, is there ? "
"Did it ever occur to you that the
French or English should step in to pre-
serve order in Dorola, — particularly as
the Sultan has French and English bond-
holders ? If you can hold out a week, I
,11 :«l by Google
I T 6 Zuleka
will have a regiment here, or my name is
not Enleen."
" You will be cut to pieces," I said.
"Yes," said Zuleka softly. "We can
at least die together, — now."
He walked to her, and took her
hand, and said : " You shall not die,
cooped in this place, — if I can prevent
it." I wished I had said it in just that
way ; and for the first time in my life, I
began to be jealous of Jim. I saw clearly
that he was in love with Zuleka, and it
was only natural that she should be with
so splendid a fellow.
The Sheik had been reflecting on what
Enleen had said.
" It is certain," he said, "we can't
hold out against their cannon. We might
starve. As for Zuleka — " There was
a fierce light in his eyes, and I knew that
he meant he would kill her before she
should fall into their hands.
We were standing at that point of the
wall where Ferguson commanded ; and
Enleen now called to his captain. For
some moments they talked together ; and
then he turned to us.
,,l:al by Google
Zuleka 117
" Ferguson agrees. Either Dering or
I shall lead the sally. It will be better I,
because, fi'ankly, I have more influence in
Cairo."
" It will take a fortnight, — should you
get through."
"The chances are that we shan't," said
Jim grimly. " But something must be
done."
" What if they won't interfere ? " I
asked.
" They will, for I will make them," he
said briefly.
At the moment a ball came whistling
over our heads and fell crashing into the
town.
" The Frenchman is training his guns,"
said Enleen.
I looked at Zuleka. She was very pale
that moment. I couldn't resist stepping
close to her.
" Why do you and Enleen do so much
for us ? " she asked in a low voice.
" We are doing it for ourselves now,"
said I. "As for me," — I couldn't help
saying it that moment, — " it is because I
,11 :«l by Google
ii8 Zuleka
love you, and that, too, may be Enleen's
reason."
The color siowly mounted to her fece.
" It couldn't have been at first, for he
never had seen me."
" Ah, I had," I said eagerly.
She turned, and descended the stone
steps into the town ; and I wondered if I
had offended her.
"Yes, it is uncertain, — for us all,"
Ahmed Pasha was saying to Enleen.
" We are all likely to lose our lives. Yet
one of us may escape. Allah knows. You
may in that sortie to-night. You may
die. But it is fitting that you, who have
done me so many favors, should know
the secret of Issouan."
"We don't ask that," Enleen said.
"Yet we will try to respect your wishes."
" And both of you will protect her and
her interests. You have proven it."
"Yes," said I. And Jim said in a low
tone, " Yes."
Then, after giving Ferguson an order,
we turned and followed the Sheik, down
the stair, into the town.
,,l:al by Google
Zuleka 119
Some more shells sailed over our heads.
I shuddered, thinking of all the possibili-
ties. As we entered the Sheik's house, —
for he led thither, — we heard a woman's
shrieks. For a moment my heart stood
still ; but Ahmed Pasha explained that
this was Zuleka's French maid, — the
same woman who had been with her that
night in Devon. She was hysterical with
terror ; and I knew her mistress was there
trying to comfort her. But the sound
sickened me, as I think it did Enleen.
We both were thinking of what might
happen to Zuleka,
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter X
The Catacomb
THE quality of strangeness is that it
easily turns to acquaintanceship.
I dare say, if ghosts were the occasional
earthly visitors the spiritualists declare
they are, that we should think no more
about them than of an occasional head-
ache, if we never had headaches, or of
poor coffee at breakfast when we had
been accustomed to nothing but good.
So when Ahmed Pasha led us down in
the vaults under his house to show us
a treasure which had so stirred Northern
Africa, I think that neither Enleen nor
I thought it unusual. I have dwelt on
this fact, I believe, several times in the
course of this narrative; yet now, — that
my Ufe has again fallen on quieter times,
— ■ I will confess that this af^ir seems
,11 :«l by Google
The Catacomb
strange to me. But it is no stranger
than many things we see in our everyday
life ; no more so than many other facts
which are well proven and accepted. For
example, if Napoleon First had never
lived, the man who would have dared to
write his life as a piece of romance would
have been declared a writer of an extraor-
dinary, but improbable, fiction,
To return to the facts of this case, while
the ex-French artillery officer. Captain
Dumont, was experimenting with his guns,
— while consternation was falling on the
besieged, — Ahmed Pasha led us by a
door in his main hall, and down about a
hundred feet of steps into a cavern that
must have extended nearly under the
whole town. For the place was astonish-
ingly vast, dimly Ht from above. The
Sheik explained that the floor was about
fifty feet above the level of the outside
plain. The high vaulted roof was sup-
ported by great square pillars cut out of
the solid stone. The cave had been hol-
lowed out of the rock of Rosola with the
most incredible labor, and one wondered
,11 :«l by Google
1 21 Zuleka
— as one always does in seeing these
ancient monuments — at the power and
knowledge which had been able to accom-
plish, centuries ago, what would tax the
ingenuity of a modern engineer with all
the devices for blasting and labor which
the world now has. At one side — the
vaults seemed to be a quarter of a mile
across — was a series of stone tombs, and
there the Sheik told us were the dead of
his family for generations. There his
Father and Mother and brother had been
laid in stone coffins; and there he him-
self expected to be taken in his turn. He
said this quietly ; but we all appreciated
how near death was to every soul in
Rosola ; and I caught myself shivering,
although I never had thought myself
afraid of death.
"Zuleka is the last of the line," he
went on. "You two have proven so dis-
interested that, as I have said, I know you
can be trusted. It is rare," he added
with a return of Oriental subtlety and
pessimism, " that men can be trusted with
the knowledge of great riches."
,11 :«l by Google
The Catacomb 123
"You told me once," I replied, " that
even if Rosola were taken, you doubted if
the secret could be found."
" I have held that opinion," he replied ;
"but with capable mining engineers, such
as I think they have, I don't this moment
feel so sure of it.
" They doubtless will tear the rock to
pieces with dynamite," he said again.
I was studying an inscription in Arabic
on one of the coffins. These, too, sent
a chill through me; for they held the
remains of many powerful men, whose
names had been before the world. Here
were the forbears of the girl who was
above comforting the frightened French-
woman. That old, mysterious blood was
hers equally with that of the distinguished
English family whose daughter had run
away with the young Turkish attache.
The Pasha now took a lantern from be-
side one of the tombs. I asked him if he
did not fear that he would be watched by
some spies in his service.
"There are none among my people,"
he said almost contemptuously. "Tha
,11 :«l by Google
t34 Zuleka
door from the hall to the stair is never
locked, and never opened, by any one
besides Zuleka or myself, — save in the
case of a family death."
The lantern gave a strong light, that
vied with the pale dayshine, which entered
certain slits, as I believe I said, in the roof
These, I afterward learned, were never
more than six inches across, and hardly
would admit a man's arm. So the only
entrance to the catacomb was by the stair
from Ahmed Pasha's house.
He now led to about the centre of the
place, and, putting the lantern down, sank
on to his knees while he passed the palm
of his hand over the rocky floor. I have
not explained, I believe, that the surface
was- smooth, with an occasional slight de-
pression, or a jutting piece of rock, exactly
as the ancient workmen's chisels had left
it. But here, where the Pasha kneeled,
there appeared no particular difference in
the floor, Enleen, who had said nothing
since we had entered the vault, now
whispered, " It can't be he will find a
trap-door there ? "
,,l:al by Google
The Catacomb
25
The Pasha still kept pressing on the
floor, now strongly with both hands. And
then a strange thing happened ; for about
five feet of the floor slid away under that
pressure, and we were peering down into
a narrow hole, which seemed to descend
twenty or thirty feet.
" It is fully thirty feet of solid rock,"
Ahmed said, looking up. "So you will
see that blasting in this floor, if they get
so far as that, they will hardly be able to
stir this rock."
" How could that rock move away ? " said
the practical Enleen, in his astonishment.
" We say that we are civilized, and
know the arts. Five thousand years ^o
men knew more about mechanics than
we," said Ahmed gravely. " Now we will
descend."
I then saw that steps were cut in the
side of the opening, with projecting handles
to support the climber. Ahmed began to '
descend with the lantern and we followed,
while a close dry air, which seemed to
smell of incense, came from below. Pres-
ently I, who was before Enleen, stepped
,11 :«l by Google
1 26 Zuleka
down into sand or dust, as it proved,
which rose to above my ankles. I then
saw we were in a low chamber which was
about forty feet across. The lantern,
which was a brilliant one, lit it fitfully,
showing on one side piles of mummy
cases.
" They are as they were brought from
Egypt; the cases of a great dynasty.
When they fled to this secret place among
the wild mountains, they brought their
dead," said the Pasha reverently.
The other walls were heaped with stone
and iron chests. One of these the Pasha
opened, and we saw a marvellous pile of
rubies and diamonds, sapphires and emer-
alds. He held them up, and they fell
back, a tinkling pile of wonderful crystals,
that sent back to the lantern blue and red
and green rays. Another chest was filled
with gold pieces, the coinage of a forgot-
ten Pharaoh. The riches seemed incalcu-
lable, and in writing this now, I remember
I felt a certain lust for those things. I
could understand how the knowledge of
their existence here in that mountain land
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The Catacomb 127
had stirred up a whole country side. I
could feel in myself that which sometimes
turns men hitherto honest to hideous
crimes, to fiendish cunning. Enleen con-
fessed afterward to the same desire. We
were but men ; and I believe from that
moment I b^an to have the least feeling
of sympathy with the astute and dishonest
Hicks, out of whose subtle brain the or-
ganization of the expedition against Rosola
had come. To go more into details, there
must have been fifty of these chests, and
perhaps fifty that were empty. I could
not calculate the amount of the treasure ;
but afterward it was inventoried at about
thirty millions of pounds sterling, so that
the owner of Rosola was really among
the world's very great millionaires. The
original fugitive from Egypt must have
quite depleted the treasury, and left a
very barren land, indeed, to his conqueror
and successor. I have heard since that
now it is currently believed that many
of the best rubies came from the collec-
tion. And this was the treasure which
Ahmed Pasha chose that we should guard
,11 :«l by Google
128 Zuleka
in trust for his daughter. In her case,
he said that he wanted a departure from
the tradition of his race; he desired
the fortune deposited in trust for her
in London or Paris. The probabilities
were, indeed, that Rosola would be rased
to the ground, but it might not happen
that our enemy should find the treasure.
Then if either Enleen or 1 should sur-
vive Ahmed or his daughter, he wished
that the fortune should be spent in chari-
ties, in relieving the poor of Constan-
tinople and of Dorola. These things
Enleen and I promised to do. I never
shall forget the scene in that still, dead
place. This fortune had been obtained
by blood, by oppression, by robbery. It
had remained in one family that had per-
sisted most remarkably through the ages ;
and now the last of the family — in the
event of the line felling — asked us, an
English gentleman and a young American,
to see that it went back to the people.
The vault received air only from above,
and it was hot and stified that we again
reached the great chamber above. The
,,l:al by Google
The Catacomb 129
Pasha explained the ingenious spring
which moved the rock ; and then, having
closed the opening and put the lantern
back in its place beside the stone coffin,
we ascended the long stair and stepped
out into a hall, which, as I have said, had
all the comfortable appointments of a
modern room in England or France or
America.
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter XI
Etileen's Sortie
THE louder firing of the newly arrived
guns still kept up, and Enleen and
I hurried to the defences, leaving the
Pasha, who wished to talk with Zuleka.
We were assailed as we came into the
square by a most dismal wailing of women
and children, — a sort of death chant
over a half dozen men who had been
shot on the walls. Two of these victims
proved to have been our sailors, which
seemed to dash Enleen's already sober
spirits a bit more. But Ferguson said,
that while we had met this catastrophe he
had found that the enemy's cannon were
too light for their purpose of demolishing
the town. Enleen already had told Fer-
guson of his plan of leaving Rosola in the
hope of getting help from some source or
,,l:al by Google
Enleen's Sortie
other. Now he said he had talked with
Peters and the men, who all declared that
they still were ready to go wherever the
Honorable Jim might lead them. I
think tears were in my friend's eyes as
he heard this ; and it is not a nice thing
to see tears in the eyes of a man like Jim
Enleen.
"Some of them — perhaps all of them
— are bound to die," he said; "and it's
for me, you know."
" Look here, Jim," I said, " I don't see
why you don't let me go."
"The same old objection, Tom," he
said, smiling. " I happen to be an Enleen,
and only an Enleen can stir up British
interference. If I die, why, — I shall
die. I'm not afraid of that; I never was.
But as for the men, — that is different,
you know."
"Yes, it is different."
" Still, it must be done. Didn't Gordon
die in Africa trying to do the right thing?
We are trying to do the right thing here ;
and, by Jove, we will do it. Now, Tom,
you mustn't sleep ; you must watch. The
,11 :«l by Google
132 Zuleka
Pasha- is a good soldier, and I am going to
leave you Ferguson. But much depends
on you. One good point is that the can-
non we were afraid of have proven to be
too light. They can't knock the place
down with them, I'm convinced as well
as Ferguson. But the next thing they
will try an assault. I wonder that they
have not done it before."
" I fancy," said I, " that they expected
to batter in the walls first. It isn't a
pleasant assault for a besieger to contem-
plate, — those steep paths up to the gates."
** No, it isn't," said he.
He scanned the plain below.
" If we oniy had those cannon here, we
at least might frighten them a bit. But
we haven't," and he turned to Fergu-
son. " Have the men ready."
" Not so soon ? " I said.
"In an hour, — in the dusk. I will
take twenty men, — cutlasses, Winchesters
over the shoulders. I find we have the
horses. We will tear down that slope
when they least expect it. I'm going to
break through there."
,11 :«l by Google
Enleen's Sortie 133
He pointed to a spot where their ranks
appeared to be slightly broken,
" Ibrahim has found us a guide, you
know. Stay here now, and take com-
mand. I must speak to the men."
Ferguson interrupted, and his face
twitched. I saw he felt the situation
keenly.
"You mean Peters is to go, and I'm
not."
" You have a duty here, Ferguson," his
employer said. " You must die for the
lady of Rosola."
" Ay, ay, sir," Fet^son cried, " that I
will, if you order it. But we haven't
come to dying yet. I wonder how Mac-
kenzie is getting on with Dorinda?"
" There are more Important matters
then even the Dorinda," Enleen said,
smiling. "You say the men are ready."
As they walked away, I, left on the wall,
wondered why I was not so ready a witted
man as my friend. But it is a useless
conjecture ; God makes hearts and brains
of different thoughts.
As I waited, the firing stopped.
,11 :«l by Google
134 Zulcka
Although they had disabled six of our
men, they were ignorant of it ; and they
soon saw that the labor of bringing the
artillery from Dorola had been useless.
The sun was now low between the west-
ern peaks. The horizon suddenly flamed ;
and it promised a splendid sunset. I won-
dered if I should take it as an omen of
Enleen's success.
Presently he returned, whistling a little
air which had been popular at the Lon-
don music halls the previous season. His
face had lost some of its gravity.
" I'm in for it now, Tom. You'll have
charge of Zuleka."
There was something in his tone that
I resented.
" What is she to you ? " I said.
"All nicfe girls are interesting to me,
you old duiFer," he said. " Don't lose
your temper."
" God forgive me if I do, Jim," I said ;
and we pressed each other's hands.
It happened that Zuleka was busied
with the men who had been hurt in the
explosion of the shell on the wall ; and
,11 :«l by Google
Enleen's Sortie 13J
she did not appear during our prepara-
tions.
The square, fallen dark, was lit by
torches, showing an e^er, staring group,
picturesque in the extreme. (We were not
thinking of picturesqueness just then, I
can tell you.) The horses, stout mountain
ponies, were saddled, and restive. Poor
little brutes, they hadn't had their regular
exercise in a long time. We might be
brought to eating horse-flesh, and Jim
said lightly that he was reducing our prov-
ender. He had been to bid good-by
to the two wounded men, — one of whom
had a bad hole in the right lung. Luck-
ily, he was spared a worse fate by death
the next day. Jim had seen Zuleka there,
and I wondered what she had said to him.
Now he shook hands with every one of
us, from Ferguson, and Grimmins, and
Ibrahim, to the other men of Issouan.
He only said to me,
" Keep up your heart, Tom ! "
" I'll do that, Jim. Good-by."
" Good-by, old man," said his cheery
tone.
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136 Zuleka
How was I to long for that jovial
voice afterward ! Then he came to Ahmed
Pasha, who stood gravely waiting. What
they said together, I don't know ; for I
couldn't endure looking at him that mo-
ment. He was going out to die, and I
felt I had sent him. But if I had in-
volved him in the complication, there, in
that darefiil moment, he did not appear
to regret it.
I looked about; and Zuleka was com-
ing down the steps of the house. I
remember she was all in white, and that
her eyes were very bright ; and that she
walked across to where Enleen stood by
Ahmed Pasha. And when she was near
him, she reached her hand to his shoul-
ders, and kissed him on the lips twice.
Then she fell on her knees, and raised
her clasped hands to the sky ; and sud-
denly a low chant arose from the women
hovered about, — a chant that was a la-
ment and a prayer. 1 have said the firing
had stopped an hour before; and this
song, plaintive, beseechfiil, was one of the
weirdest and most impressive that I ever
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Enleen's Sortie 137
have heard. (The people of Issouan, you
know, are not really Mohammedans.
They only pretend to be that, preserv-
ing, however, a secret worship of a God,
whom they praise and implore in these
strange shouts.)
For a moment Enleen seemed to hesi-
tate. Then I heard the command, hoarse,
brusque. The men said a last word to
their comrades; every one mounted his
pony and followed the leader, who had
Peters at his heels. Ibrahim stood by
the gate, which was thrown wide.
I remember I turned, and ran up the
steps to the wall over the gate, where fifty
men of Issouan crouched under the battle-
ments, muskets ready. The ponies were
picking their way sturdily down the steep
path. And then a shout and a volley
rang out. Enteen and his men dashed on,
down into the dusk of the plain, which
seemed alive with scurrying figures. The
noise became pandemonic; we could see
a struggling mass; but we could not be
sure about the result. Only I felt that
my friend was being killed there ; that his
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138 Zuleka
attempt had foiled ; that I was powerless
to help him.
Then I felt a hand on my shoulder,
and, turning, I saw Zuleka's eyes, up-
turned to mine ; and as we looked at each
other the voices below faded and died
away.
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Chapter XII
The Assault
HE has gone," said Zuleka.
" Yes, gone ! " said I dully.
" You loved him ? " she said.
" Yes, Zuleka," — and I never had
called her by that name, — "I never had
a brother, but this moment he is more
to me — dead though he is — than any
brother could have been."
She laughed, strangely, softly.
" He is not dead. Men who dare like
that do not die so easily. How do you
know ? How do I ? Yet I know. I tell
you he is not dead."
"A prisoner, perhaps," I said. " It
was ftiolhardy. We should not have let
him go."
" Can you stop the wind when it blows
out of the desert? No; for the wind
blows where it listeth."
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140 Zuleka
Her hand rested on my arm for a
moment; and she looked into my eyes.
"We arc all in the hands of God. Jf
he be dead, as you say, is his condition
worse than ours ? Is not my Mother,
whom I loved, dead ? I am not afraid
of death. And if he be dead, is it
not splendid to die like that, doing
brave things bravely, — with all your
heart ? "
"Yes," said I. "But I can't bear to
think I shall hear his voice no more."
" I say he is not dead," she repeated.
She rose now.
" I am going to look after the wounded."
" Wait," I said ; and I called Grimmins,
who was on duty at this point,
" You have been a good soldier, Grim-
mins."
" Hi 'are done has Hi could, Mr.
Tom," he said.
" Now I have another duty for you, —
which you observe. You are to go with
my Lady Zuleka, and you are to help
her with the wounded : and you are never
to leave her, — except as I tell you."
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The Assault 14I
" You need him here," Zuleka said.
"There are too few men already."
" He was in India, and learned there
something about the care of the wounded,"
said I. " I am to be here in the defence,
every moment, now."
" Will you like it better if I have him
with me ? " she said.
"Yes, I shall like it better," said I.
" Then I will take him," she said simply ;
and had turned to go. But I called her
back to me.
"You kissed him," I said, — "Jim
Enleen."
She looked me in the face quietly,
intently.
" He was on my mission," she said
softly, "and" — her voice suddenly sank
— " he was your friend."
And there was that in her eyes which
made me glad, even in that terrible mo-
ment, when our comrades just had died
for us. For if some had escaped, — and
the chances were indeed against that, —
many of the twenty men must have been
killed ; and I made no doubt but that.
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142 Zuleka
wounded, they had been put immediately
to death. Yet the girl, standing with
the faint blush, there in the light of the
torch which leaned against the walls,
made me forget everything, — all that
1 should have remembered. But she,
turning, walked away hastily, Grimmins
at her heels, like a mastiff. There never
was a more faithful fellow.
Presently the Pasha appeared, and,
without referring to our comrades, we
talked over the defence in the most prac-
tical way. Whatever might be the out-
come of Enleen's expedition, — if he were
dead, or no, — we must make our fight the
one he would have made.
As a result, we strengthened the forces
over the two gates. One I commanded
in person, being now decided not to
leave the walls under any pretext. Fer-
guson commanded the other. The stretch
of the wall to my right, I put under Ibra-
him, while Wells, a seaman, was to con-
duct the defence of the other. The Pasha
himself had the general command of the
town, and had about fifty of the moun-
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The Assault 143
taineers inside each gate. These gates I
examined closely myself, and thought them
very strong, even should an assaulting party
get up the steep narrow paths, without
being entirely picked off by our musket-
eers. These details I had before left to
Enleen, who you know took the lead wher-
ever he was by sheer force of character.
That night it again fell still, and we
anxiously waited the dawn. I don't think
I closed my eyes. I was longing for Jim's
voice, Jim's advice. I was watching the
men, seeing that every eye was about for
a possible skulking figure below ; and the
watches were carefully kept. The dawn
came slowly, and as we looked down on
the plain the situation seemed unchanged,
and we could not iind out what had hap-
pened. But about eight o'clock a party
of wild horsemen appeared below with
objects that sickened us all. These were
men's heads at the end of the lances these
people carry. They kept well out of
range of our riflemen. Yet we could not
make out more than six of these ghasdy
objects ; and Fei^son, who, beside him-
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144 Zuleka
self with rage, came over to my post,
reasoned from this that the others had
gotten away. But I, on my part, could
not agree with this theory, because I
thought that the part of the besiegers
immediately under the influence of the
Frenchman, or of Hicks, would not be
likely to permit such atrocities. But the
occurrence made me think the more of
poor Enleen. If he had escaped, I made
no doubt but that he would bring the
aid ; even if he did not succeed tn getting
English help, he would recruit an army of
adventurers. But my heart whispered to
me that his head might be on one of those
lance points. And when I lay down on
the stones, a cloak over me, I dreamed of
that bloody head.
That day, two of the wounded moun-
taineers and one of the sailors died ; and
the death chant rose dolorously from the
town. Zuleka came several times to the
walls, pale but self-held, as brave as any
woman in the world. She had conducted
the defence herself before our arrival ;
and now she heartened us by her simple
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The Assault 145
strength of spirit. I believe she never
was more beautiful than during those ter-
rible days. We did not once mention
Enleen, or our troubles. I talked none
of the sentiment which was beating in
my heart. She was above me, and all
men.
And so three days passed, — days with-
out sleep, almost without hope. And we
knew so well that our provisions could
not last; and already the men were on
a rations of horse-flesh. When I heard
the stories of how men lived on horse-
flesh in the siege of Paris, I never thought
what that meant; and you who like a story
of war — particularly of barbarous war —
cannot know what is behind the story.
You may ask why it never occurred to
us to surrender the treasure, which might
have satisfied our besiegers. Yet that
never occurred to me ; it never had to
Enleen ; I don't believe that either the
Pasha or Zuleka would have entertained it.
We all might perish, however fearfully, but
we would not give up what these rascals
were after. That defence now seemed like
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146 Zuleka
a prindple, more important than, life or
death, or any suffering. Nor, indeed, was
there any negotiation or parleying on
either side, strange as this may seem.
Now there was against us a certain
shrewd rascal, whom I have mentioned
several times ; this, Dumont, the ex-ar-
tillery officer, the renegade ; I was to know
much of him later, as this story will tell ;
I was to see then a keen suave man, with
an exterior of polite sophistication and
the heart of a devil ; a man shrewd, and
very brave, — who again and ^ain had
risked his life for a trifle ; who in following
an honest career might have ended most
honorable and distinguished. But you
know how it is with some men ; both ways
presenting equal chances, they invariably
prefer that leading to the devil. We had
felt enough nervousness in the silence
of our foe ; and indeed behind that silence,
was this fellow's cunning. I knew it as I
watched, — tired out as I was. What I
had heard of Dumont made me fear him,
although I, or no one of us, suspected
what was to follow.
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The Assault 147
For it chanced that one night a mist blew
down from the mountains; such a confus-
ing fog as that which I once had attrib-
uted to supernatural means. This time,
if it were supernatural, it was ag^nst all
our interest ; and it seemed then as if
everything were against us ; for we had
fellen to that dull depth of depression.
At sundown, nothing could be seen ;
and I warned the men to have additional
vigilance. But in the hour before sunrise
we all had ^tlen, I suspect, a bit careless.
We had been so long on the alert, and I
am sure we all were tired out ; when out
of the stillness of the hour and our leth-
argy, was a deafening report, which came
from the Northern gate.
When I looked down into the town,
— for already there showed a palish
light, — I saw a scurry of mist and a great
rush of smoke, clearly defined against the
white damp mass of the fog ; while there
was an outcry and a burst of musketry
from my sentinels. The way below was
black with dark rushing figures; and in
the town, in the shadow of the wall, was a
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148 Zuleka
fierce turmoil. I instantly saw what had
happened ; this was our assault.
I instantly warned the men to do all
they could from the wall, picking out the
charging enemy as well as they could in
the dim light, while I rushed down to see
the situation in the street.
One of the fiercest fights I ever have
known was taking place. Men were
hand to hand, struggling together in a
confijsed mass. The gate and a greater
part of the wall were blown down by
the dynamite discharge. For in that still,
dark hour before dawn, they had succeeded
in putting dynamite against the gate, with
the consequences I have detailed.
The Pasha's men were being driven
back, I saw instantly, and I despatched a
man for recruits from the walls, telling
Ferguson to have Wells — the seaman
who commanded one side of the wall —
take my place over the North gate. The
noise was now terrific, the darkness lit
by exploding missiles. Ferguson himself
came down with a hundred men, and we
bore up to aid the Pasha's yielding line.
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The Assault 149
To add to the confusion,' one of the houses
suddenly burst into flames, showing luridly
one of the most terrible street fights that
I believe ever occurred. We were hin-
dered, of course, by the narrowness of the
way, — a restraint, however, as confusing
to our enemy as to ourselves. Then as
I forced my way in with my recruits, I
saw that there were many white men among
these desperate invaders, and I knew that
we had to face first of all the convicts and
refugees from Algiers. But they were
backed by the natives, all good fighting
men, whatever their chief's cause, — al-
though it might be a mere robbing expe-
dition, as this was. Among them all was
one man, — I can see his fine, boyish,
demoniac face now of nights, — a tall
gracefiil man with a boy's face, and this
was the man Dumont. We singled him
out several times when bullets were possi-
ble, but he bore a charmed life ; and indeed
it became again directly a matter of a hand-
to-hand conflict, although from the walls.
Wells and Ibrahim were doing some terri-
bl? execution.
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1 50 Zuleka
In describing that fight, I find my im-
pressions as confusing as the startling scene
itself; for directly we were rolling over
together ; the way was clogged with dead
and dying men. I myself, like the rest of
us, was in a kind of fury. It was a ques-
tion of the cutlass when you could use it ;
of muscle to muscle when that was out of
the question. Yet although I was in the
midst of it all, I was not hurt then, and I,
by pushing through the crowd, came up-
on their leader, Dumont. When he saw
me, he knew in a moment that he had to
deal with a man quite as mad as himself;
and he tried to whip out a pistol he had
in his belt. But I was too quick for him,
and knocked his hand with the butt of my
cutlass, when that itself was struck out of
my hand by a brawny fellow, who just
had finished his opponent. Between them
they would undoubtedly have ended the
writer of this history then and there
had it not been that somebody at my
heels caught the other man by the
waist.
" That for our dead comrades," came
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The Assault 151
Ferguson's hoarse voice, and the man fell
over in a hideous mass.
My own opponent, in the meantime, had
snatched a sword and retreated, swinging
it into a lane which opened there. His
comrades had been forced back; and he
had pushed forward too far. Yet I never
saw a braver resistance; for seeing that
the lane was a blind one, he suddenly
leaped forward toward us. You know
that for the most we had dropped our
cutlasses in the close conflict, and so he
had the small advantage. But it was at
the best an advantage small enough, and
so I only can acknowledge the fine brav-
ery of this one of my enemies, bare-
headed, a bloody gash on one cheek, yet
lithe and gracefiil to the extreme; and he
smiled derisively, like a man who enjoyed
the fight to the full, like a veritable battle
spirit. As we bore down and almost sur-
rounded him, he broke through, and was
in front of his own, now retreating, line,
which he tried to encourage. But Ibra-
him had brought reinforcements from the
walls, and, our forces greatly increased,
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152 Zuleka
now pushed them back to and through
the North gate; and they retreated — to
make a long, confused story short —
down the slope.
I hastily directed the throwing up of a
barricade. I had no time to think of the
dead and dying, nor of the burning town.
For the low frail buildings now were burn-
ing like tinder; and it was light as day.
The whole wall where the gate had been
was torn apart by the explosion, and I knew
that, at the best, we were weakened. If
they, indeed, had known how small was our
force, they would have charged again ; and
although in our desperation we had forced
them back, we must have some barrier
when they should renew the assaults.
Ferguson said something over my
shoulder. His arm was in a sling; his
face bloody ; his voice uncertain.
" Cap'n," said he, " you've done as
well to-night as Mr. Enleen — God bless
him — could have done. You know the
Pasha was hurt."
" Hurt ! " said I, for I only had seen
him in the first moment when I had come
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The Assault 153
down from the wall. In the confusion
following I had small time to note any
man, save one, and he the Frenchman.
" They have taken him back to the
palace. Maybe you'd better go back
there and inquire. I'll look after things
here, and on the walls."
I turned hastily, picking my way among
the bodies, between the falling crackling
ruins of the town of Rosola, and into the
square, where the great stone house stood,
still untouched by the flames. The grew-
some song for the dead here struck my
ears above the turmoil ; and I shud-
dered. And then I noticed a barrier had
been thrown up before the doors, and
I saw Grimmins — which pleased me
mightily — putting up a defence of the
palace. The little cockney was executing
to the letter my order in defence of the
Lady Zuleka.
" Hin there, sir," he said, while ex-
plaining that he had the women armed
and that they would make a brisk fight
if it came to that. The palace — so
I will call it — was crowded with refu-
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1 54 Zuleka
gees from the burning town. I saw and
heard so much, I say, as I went into the
room where we had dined that first day in
Rosola. On a couch lay, pale and hand-
some, he who had been that wonderful
man in the Turkish world, Ahmed Pasha,
last Sheik of the ancient tribe Issouan in
Dorola ; and I knew as I looked at him
that he was dead. Over him, his head in
her lap, was Zuleka. I never have seen,
even in that terrible fight, anything more
fearsome than her sorrow. Yet she looked
up to me calmly, and said :
" He is not dead. There is no death.
He has gone beyond trouble."
Even as she spoke, a great noise arose,
and I knew the attack on the North gate
had begun again ; and that I must be back
to my duty. But I kneeled down before
her, and said :
"When Enlcen went out to fight for
you, you kissed him, Zuleka."
She looked at me strangely, and she
said:
" For us there is still vengeance, and
above all is God."
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The Assault 155
" Yes, Zuleka."
*' And you ask me that I shall give
you — love ? "
"No, not that," said I. "But if I
could have it, it would be more to me
than anything else in this world, — or in
any other."
" Ask not," said Zuleka, " for that
which you have." And she leaned for-
ward and kissed me on the lips, as she
had Enleen that night in the square ; and
I kissed her back, and told her again of
my love; and she answered me; and then
I turned and went out, passing Grimmins
and encouraging work at his barricade.
Now the human mind is a curious
thing; for all the trouble we were in, for
ail the sorrow of her I held most in
the world, I found myself laughing as I
rushed along those lurid streets. And
then, oddly enough, the most incongruous
scene presented itself to me. I was laugh-
ing at some after-dinner talk at a house
in Mayfair. That polite scene came of
itself in this one so different. I remem-
bered a girl I once had made love to then ;
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156 Zuleka
I could hear her insufferable chatter. I
remembered what my Father had said
that far-away evening in Devon about
having made love to five women before
meeting my Mother. And now I knew
Zuleka, — who was as far above most
women as the stars are above the earth.
At the barricade the men were arranged
in very good order indeed, firing the
volleys.
" But there are a lot of the vermin
down there, Mr. Dering. Take care, sir."
For I was looking down at that strug-
gling mass below. I was laughing at
them, ^ as Dumont had laughed at us
in the street fight, and now I was laugh-
ing because I said that for every one of
those who had died in Rosola, I should
have three lives ; for Enleen and the
Pasha, a score.
I felt a quick blow. I heard Ferguson's
vigorous " Damn it ! " and the scene,
livid, terrific, blurred ; and there ended,
as fer as I knew anything about it, the
battle of Rosola, in the mountains of
Issouan.
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Chapter XIII
Of Mr. Hicks again ; and of Colonel, the
Vicomte de Saint-Dernier
NOW I awoke — for it was like after
a long bad dream — with the feel-
ing of pain; and then as I thought of all
that had happened, it was not the physical
aches, but the sense of the distress that
the lady of Issouan might be in, which
put me into the lowest depression I ever
have known. Ah, my friends, — for I
feel you must be my friends if you have
listened to this account so iar as it has
gone, — how fearful was that depression !
Of her I thought ; of what had followed
that sorry predicament we were in.
And then I was aware of voices, low,
subdued, and I looked about, to find I
was in a cot in a military tent ; and what
first impressed me was a blue officer's
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158 Zuleka
jacket, elaborate with its gold braiding.
Then somebody came over to my side,
and looked down at me.
" You are alive ? " said he.
I remembered him in an instant ; a
little dandy I had known at the Jockey
Club, no less a personage than the Vi-
comte de Saint-Dernier, Colonel in the
cavalry.
" Well," said I, as if I had parted from
him yesterday, "how is life on the Fau-
boui^ Saint-Germain ? "
He laughed at this uproariously.
" My dear fellow, we are a thousand
miles from there."
" But Rosola, — Zuleka," I cried, re-
membering. " I must have been shot."
" You were, indeed," said he then, look-
ing at me pityingly. " You made a good
fight, and for every one who died there,
we have had an accoundng, Dering.
Trust me for that."
"And the Lady Zuleka," said I, —
" the Lady Zuleka ? "
"Well, we held Issouan," he said
soberly. " Don't ask the rest. We
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Of Mr. Hicks and of the Colonel 159
have taken possession of the province for
Algiers, because we hold that Doroia
can't keep order here. It's on our
border, you know."
" Then Enleen ? " I began.
"Yes," said he, "he reached us. He's
now on an expedition to make these
people fear us a bit more." The Vicomte
lit a cigarette at this point, in his way.
He looked, I declare, just as if he had
come out of the bandbox.
" Enleen," he said, " likes to fight."
But I was noting the other in the tent ;
a little bald-headed man, and though his
whiskers were gray, I recognized John
Hicks of Texas, with whom this adventure
had begun. He had lost his mustache
and had no dye for his beard. He looked
indeed wizened and old, and as he came
near the cot where I lay his manner was
the least abashed.
" I'm glad to see you're all right again,"
he said, and I answered :
" You scoundrel ! "
"Are you strong enough to listen to
me ? " he replied.
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i6o Zuleka
" Well," said I, like a judge in court,
" what have you to say ? "
" Well, if you can listen, — and it may
be against the doctor for me to talk to
you.^just this: I went into this enter-
prise as a business one."
" Yes," said I sarcastically, " a business
venture."
"Well, it promised fair at first. But
when you opened the prison, I didn't like
the color of it."
"You didn't?" said I; "you didn't?
Well, that's queer."
" Look here, Bering," he went on
with a show of rage. " If I did go
into this as a matter of business, as
soon as that prison delivery had hap-
pened, I saw there was one thing to do.
I went around to all the Consuls, Rus-
sian, French, and English, and explained
that Mr. Enleen had done it at my re-
quest."
"Your request?" said I. I was
thinking of Zuleka.
" I continued : that there was no war
vessel in the harbor, and — since it was
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks and of the Colonel i6i
an outrage — I had called on Mr. Enleen.
Well," — he paused for a moment, —
" they, sir, supported me. Now, I must
explain, I didn't enter into this thing as
a matter of pillage and making war on
women. I'm — I'm proud to say — too
much of an American gentleman for that.
I did it as a legitimate speculation, — that
was all. Now, as a consequence of my
position, the Russian, Italian, English, and
German Consuls supported me; though
Abdul Mahommed did say I was in the
thing. Then, knowing the chaises you
had made, I put Mr. Brooks, the English
Consul, in charge of our Consulate. I
resigned. In the meantime the war ves-
sels had appeared, and Abdul Mahommed
didn't dare say a word."
" But what did you do, man ? " swd I.
" You killed many you can't replace."
" Well," said he, " I'm sorry. I always
considered they might get hold of the
money up here, and I thought I could
arrange to have a legitimate share. But
when I saw the extreme you and Mr.
Enleen went to, I took another course.'"
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1 62 Zuteka
I listened in amazement ; the fellow
truly was a remarkable — a frank rascal.
"The next thing I wrote Algiers,
describing the disorders in Issouan.
About the same time, Mr. Enleen with
ten of his men reached the border. The
rest were killed. I'm getting through."
" But the Lady Zuleka ? " I said.
"What of her?"
"Well," he said slowly, "perhaps I'm
telling you too much, but I will, for you
seem worried. It seems that Abdul
Mahommed, to legalize his claim on
Issouan, had intended to marry the Lady
Zuleka. He wanted her brought to him
when captured. But Captain Dumont
had the same idea. When Rosola was
taken that morning, he first of all seized
the Lady Zuleka, though he had to kill
three of the Sultan's officers. Then, learn-
ing that a French regiment was approach-
ing to restore order here, he disappeared
with his captive."
" You scoundrel ! " said I to Hicks. But
that imperturbable person with the shrewd
wit answered : " I may have stirred up the
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks and 6f the Colonel 163
thing ; yet where would you have been if
I hadn't followed the course I did? You
are not pirates. You did what you did at
your Consul's request. I, as well as Mr.
Enleen, laid the matter before the French.
Again I have resigned the Consulate. Can
I do anything more, Mr. Dering, to atone .
for a mistaken business policy ?"
I did not answer this question ; but I
found from the Vicomte that Ferguson
and Grimmins and Wells were among the
wounded. The Vicomte then went more
into detuls about the afSiir. He had taken
life for life that had been taken in Issouan ;
and the property of Ahmed Pasha should
be respected; but he doubted not, he
added, that the province would be added
to Algiers. As for this renegade artillery
Captain Dumont, he had disappeared
with the Lady Zuleka. He probably
wanted to force her to marry him that he
might possess Issouan. He had literally
torn her away from the Sultan's soldiers ;
if the Sultan had the same design, Dumont
had outwitted him. Saint-Dernier told
this gloomily enough, and I reached for-
,11 :«l by Google
164 Zuleka
ward my hand and clasped his, while this
rascal Hicks, who had extricated himself
from his dilemma, with Yankee subtlety,
sat in the corner. I could not bear the
man. Yet, if he had b^un the affair, he
now certainly could show us a service;
that was patent.
And then Jim Enleen entered, — he
whom I thought was dead.
" Dear old Tom," he said. " At least
the inheritance Ahmed Pasha put in our
hands can be protected."
" But she," I said, " Zuteka ? "
" We will meet that fellow sometime,"
he said.
"Yes," said I, "we will meet him."
And so there in the camp of the
French cavalry several weeks passed ;
and, although I wanted to die, the sur-
geon was skilful, and I steadily regained
my strength.
One day a messenger brought us a
strange story. Abdul Mahommed had
been assassinated by a religious fanatic.
On his way to the mosque a man had
sprung out on him and stabbed him. And
,11 :«l by Google
Of Mr. Hicks and of the Colonel 165
so had died this Oriental despot. You
know I believe that the avenger was Isman
Seyd, the hermit of the mountains ; and,
indeed, I am borne out in this impression
by the subsequent descriptions we had of
him.
I reflected, lying there in the tent, about
the story Ahmed Pasha had told of how
ages ^o his fortune had been obtained, —
from the oppression of a great people ; and
now it appeared that the theory that blood
money must end in blood was literally
true. The last man of that old race was
dead, and his daughter — whom I loved
— in we knew not what sorry predicament.
Yet the French cavalry had extorted ven-
geance from the mountain tribes ; the Sul-
tan of Dorola, who had been in the af^ir,
had perished miserably. Only Hicks, —
who had started with keen perception to
avoid the consequence of what he called
a business speculation, — and Dumont, —
so h.T had escaped.
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter XIV
Of the Captain of the Spanish Sloop
Isabella
YOU may wonder, perhaps, at this man
Hicks, who really had formed the
combination against Issouan of the moun-
tain tribes, and of the Sultan of Dorola,
their hereditary enemy. To-day as I look
back on these occurrences, his conduct,
his remarkable cleverness, seem indeed
little less than wonderfijl. For he had the
rare good sense to foresee in time the fail-
ure of the scheme ; and actually he, who
in the light of events had done us a great
injury, now could show positive services
which almost left us quits. He had
quick intelligence and, so soon as the
Dorinda's act of piracy, had taken the posi-
tion of supporting us ; claiming that in
the absence of a war-ship in the harbor,
166
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Captain of Spanish Sloop Isabella 167
he, the American Consul, had induced the
Honorable James Enleen to act for him.
He had persuaded the foreign Consuls,
including Brooks (who knew him for what
he was worth), to abet him. He had
written the authorities in Algiers that a
body of refugees, combined with the
mountain tribes, and Abdul Mahommed
were stirring up disorders on their border,
which left the French a fair pretext for an
additional acquisition, — when they hardly
needed one. He knew of the charges I
had made against him, and he had politely
sent in his own resignation, declaring that
he did not care to retain a position where
such opinions of his integrity were even
entertained. And now, because his letter
had been the first received, — before, in-
deed, Enleen and his men had appeared,
— the French authorities were willing to
extend him their protection. They had
looked too long for a reason for occupying
this territory. They were grateful to the
individual who first had given the news of
the state of aiFairs there.
Nor, indeed, when Enleen and myself
,11 :«l by Google
1 68 Zuleka
came to analyze the situation, were we so
sure that he had not removed, by his
prompt action, our own cause for holding
him an enemy. He had by acknowledg-
ing her action kept the Derinda from being
charged with piracy ; that is, he had kept
the Sultan of Dorola, supported as he was
by the jealousy of the Powers, from push-
ing a case which was looked upon as jus-
tifiable by all the foreign representatives.
Brooks told us afterwards that he him-
self was only too glad to have this ready
reason for the Dorinda's action ; and he
confessed that he himself hardly would
have dared to have supported us. That
was left to Hicks in his own predicament,
and he had done it bravely and cleverly.
But, let me say here, that I now firmly
believe that the man did as he did, be-
cause, as he always said, he believed that
the enterprise against Dorola was a legiti-
mate one. When he saw that he was an-
tagonizing a powerful British family, like
the Enleens, he at first tried to frighten,
or, as he would say, " to bluff" us. Then,
seeing that was impossible, he had taken
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Captain of Spanish Sloop Isabella 169
a decidedly opposite course, and tried as
much as possible to put us in his debt;
at least the Vicomte de Saint-Dernier
seemed to hold that Hicks had done the
French a favor. He was ready to sup-
port him; and we, because the French
cavalry had done so thoroughly the work
of vengeance we desired, were not pre-
pared to take issue with that distinguished
officer.
Well, to make a long explanation
shorter, Enleen and I decided that we
were ready to say quits to the Texan
politician, rascal though he might be ; he
certainly had put himself in a position
where we could not hurt him. We talked
the man's case over many times as I lay
a convalescent in Issouan. Nor, indeed,
was I quite prepared to push the chaises
I had made. It always has seemed to me
that when a man has done you an injury,
and has tried to atone for it, — whether
through reasons of honest impulse or of
self-interest, — that he has himself dis-
charged his obligation. As for Hicks
himself, — for the man is here dismissed
,11 :«l by Google
170 Zuleka
from this narrative, — he remained in
Algiers, where through a land specula-
tion he has become a very rich man, as
was to be expected. He, indeed, is only
one of many persons who use the word
" business " to cover any project for self-
advancement. He considers "business"
on that basis both proper and honorable ;
and his kind is confined to no country.
But there was another for whom neither
Enleen nor I would have any mercy,
should we ever meet him, and that was
the ex-artillery Captain Dumont. We
prayed that we might meet hira. I, at
least, remembered Zuleka's own simple
faith in God. Yet, although every clue
was followed, it seemed that this fellow
with his captive had escaped us. Hicks,
very shrewdly, advanced the theory that
he probably intended to make Zuleka
marry him, — as that vile, and now dead
creature, Abdul Mahommed, had, — that
he might have a legal claim to the fort-
une of Rosola. But Enleen and I held
ourselves Ahmed Pasha's executors ; we
felt that we would look to that.
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Captain of Spanish Sloop Isabella 171
We never talked about our own feel-
ings toward Zuleka. I wondered if he
loved her as I did, but I had had in that
last moment her confession. I was glad
of that, although I did not tell Jim about
it; for still I was vaguely suspicious of
him. I felt she might be one of many to
him ; for me, dead or alive, whatever her
plight, she would remwn the one woman,
so long, I said, as the universe existed ; so
long as I knew, if we may know then.
But I can't describe my despair when
I thought of what might be her fate if
she were alive. I remembered that dare-
devil boy I had seen in the fight at the
North gate. I went all over it again as,
in my convalescence, I sat outside the tent
in the February sunshine, and looked up at
the charred rocks of Rosola. The whole
place had been burned down. The walls
were shattered and tumbling. The few
survivors had moved away from the vil-
lage, and yet Enleen and I knew that
there lay many millions sterling under
that rock, which, as executors, we were
bound to distribute in charities in Con-
,11 :«l by Google
172 Zuleka
stantinople and Northern Africa. (As a
matter of fact, we did not know the exact
amount then, but we estimated it as very
great. The lust for it, at least, had stirred
up a most brutal war, which had lost us
many of our dear comrades.) Enleen
buried the bodies he could find. The
great house in the square still was stand-
ing over its secret. Finding the Pasha's
body there, he had it interred with the
great nun's ancestors in the vault under
the rock, where a stone coffin was found
ready. The French regimental chaplain
performed the service.
Enleen told me how he had lost twelve
men in the bold dash he had made that
night. He brought Ferguson, who had
lost an eye, the sailor. Wells, and Grim-
mins, and Peters to see me, That dear
little cockney, Grimmins, had had an arm
amputated, and he told me how he had
fought to the last behind his barricade ;
how Zuleka herself had stood ready, using
a rifle ; how he had lost consciousness, and
only regained it, like myself, after the
French cavalry held the place. Ferguson
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Captain of Spanish Sloop Isabella 173
told a story of how he had been driven
back, and taken prisoner, to be freed from
the torture that probably awaited him by
the timely appearance of Colonel de Saint-
Dernier. We poor survivors found that
we owed a deal to this little French gen-
tleman, whom I had taken for a fop when
I had known him in the frivolities of
Paris.
Well, the time came when we could
leave that still dismal battle scene ; when
I could sit a horse, and the rest were tit ;
when we bade de Saint-Dernier good-by,
and started for Dorola, where the Dortnda
awaited us. I think — to make the story
of that ride short — that we all cheered
when we saw the long white hull of the
good ship in the shining bay, now crowded
with war-ships of all the nations. The
disturbances had called them there, eagerly
alert for their national interest. As we
rode down the slope, we recalled how we
had surprised that half-savage potentate,
Abdul Mahommed, in his own prison,
about to enjoy his own barbarities. Now
he had gone to his Fathers by way of
,11 :«l by Google
174 Zuleka
the assassin's knife, — Isman Seyd's, the
mysterious hermit, I still believed, —
who thus had avenged the wrongs of
Issouan.
We hardly waited in the town, except
to get Brooks to dine with us on board.
You may believe there were many greet-
ings, as we, the remnant of the expedi-
tion to Issouan, went over the side, and
the one-eyed Captain Ferguson greeted the
mate Mackenzie. You can imagine the
yarns the tars spun that night ; and they
are still spinning them. Of those that
died, every man's widow, or heir, has the
five hundred pounds from Enleen, and, I
am glad to say, that some other persons
have added to that pension.
I myself dictated a long cable to my
Father, which I asked Brooks to send on
to Mustapha Superior (there being no
cable in Dorola). Then we sat down to
dine, and told the whole story to Brooks,
from the beginning to the point when we
had despaired of finding the Lady Zuleka
about Issouan, and had left the further
search there to the zealous efforts of the
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Captain of SpanisK Sloop Isabella 175
Vicomte de Saint-Dernier, knowing that,
should he catch him, he would hang
Dumont at once without process of law.
At this juncture Mackenzie appeared.
"There's a rum-looking customer, sir,
just out from Dorola. Shall I let his
boatman come near us ? He asks for
you."
"Yes," said Enleen, "let's see him.
Send him down here."
A moment later a little pale-faced,
white-haired, shabby old man entered.
He addressed Enleen, — you never ad-
dress any one else if you are a stranger
and Enleen is in the room.
" I understand, monsieur wishes to
know where Captain Dumont may be."
We all started.
"You know then?" said Enleen calmly.
I wondered how he could be so calm.
" I, monsieur, am the Master of the
Isabella, which conveyed the Captain and
eight of his men to Spain."
" Was there a lady with him ? " I asked,
— " the Lady Zuleka of Issouan ? You
know the story, my man."
,,l:al by Google
lyfi Zuleka
" That's the reason I am here."
" Can you take us to him ? " Enleen
asked mth that masterly calmness.
" Yes, monsieur."
" For money, I dare say ? "
"A thousand pounds." His eyes gleamed
avariciously.
" What terms ? "
" To be delivered when you catch him,
monsieur."
" It is a bai^in. Captain — "
" Fernandez."
"Well, Captain Fernandez, where do
you lead us ? "
" Have your steam put on. We go
to-night to Barros on the Spanish coast.
I know exactly where my merry Captain
is. He says he is a Baron."
" King, or Baron, he will explain to
me," Enleen said.
" I must speak to my man. My sloop,
the Isabella, is in the harbor."
"Very well," said Enleen. "Watch
Captain Fernandez," he added to Macken-
zie, who was waiting. " You understand
Spanish. See that he only gives his man
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Captain of Spanish Sloop Isabella 177
the orders necessary to look after his
sloop."
" My lady promised me you would
give me the thousand pounds, — were
you alive."
" She doesn't know that either of us is
alive," I said to myself "So you had
speech with her ? "
"Yes, monsieur."
" Was she well treated ? " I asked.
"With much consideration. The Baron
said she was his betrothed. She had a
French maid with her. My lady was
very brave. She would speak to none of
the men, — except that once to me. Du-
mont, who had some money, paid me a
price. But my lady excited my pity, mon-
sieur. I put back at once to this coast
and, luckily, I have found you. Dumont
has gone to his cousin's, Senor Raceo's
house, in Santi^o de Barros. You can
believe me."
" I do," Enleen said simply. " Now,
dismiss your man."
As they left us, Brooks asked practically :
*' What do you know about this fellow ? "
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178 Zulefca
" It's a clue. I wil! follow it up," En-
leen said with his usual stubbornness.
A half hour later, the Consul was bid-
ding us good-by from his boat ; and the
Dorinduy anchor up, was pointed out to
sea.
She was alive then. We might see her,
and save her ; and, at least, we should have
an accounting with this Dumont.
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter XV
The House in the Lane
MASTER FERNANDEZ of the
sloop Isabella, we soon found,
was frankly a smuggler, plying his trade
between Spain and Northern Africa. He
had known Dumont for years ; there was an
understanding that at a certain date every
two months he should stand oiF a point
of the coast of Dorola. For the outlaw,
never knowing what might happen, had
secured this means of retreat as well as the
other to the interior. He did not dare
appear in any place having a French Con-
sul, lest he be delivered up to his govern-
ment. It had chanced, as Dumont's luck,
good or bad, would have it, that the Isa-
bella had been at the station on the coast
in the very nick of the time when he needed
her assistance. He did not dare remwn
,,l:al by Google
1 80 Zuleka
in the mountains lest the hill tribes, after
their decided punishment by the Vicomte
de Saint-Dernier, might turn against him,
— after an affair so unfortunate for a
gentleman of fortune who risked all on
a single throw; nor could he hope that
Abdul Mahommed, the Sultan, would
protect him when indeed he had torn
Zuleka from this same Sultan's soldiers;
Abdul Mahommed, as you know, having
the same design of marrying the heiress,
for whose fortune so much blood had
been spent and now so much territory
lost to the realm of Dorola. The Sultan
could not resent French interference, be-
cause, as Enleen remarked the day of his
departure from Rosola, the Sultan had a
loan advanced in London and Paris, and
this held him to the preservation of order;
his territory, rich in itself, was sufHcient
to well guarantee the principal ; there have
been similar cases ; so our British cousins
came into Egypt. The fugitive was forced
to trust to the smuggler, risky as that
was. The Captain of the Isabella had
a price ; and, fortunately for herself
,11 :«l by Google
The House in the Lane i8l
and for us, Zuleka had been able to get
word to him ; and Fernandez, of course,
knew that Lord Denburden's grandson, a
gentleman like the Honorable James En-
leen, had more ready money in the pale
of the law than Dumont the outlaw.
The little scoundrel frankly told us that
he was tired of his trade, and with the
thousand pounds he intended to retire
and live in peace and plenty, as was befit-
ting a Spanish gentleman of an old and
distinguished family.
Now it was obvious to both En-
leen and myself, that in Spain we could
not march our men on shore as we had
done at Dorola. A second piracy was
rather too risky ; we could not ex-
pect to find another Hicks with the
ready wit to see, that to protect himself
he must take the responsibility of our
act; while equally we did not dare risk the
consequences to a lady whom we wished
to save. Here was a case requiring sub-
tlety; and we went at it after due consul-
tation with Master Fernandez.
We decided to make our landing below
,,l:al by Google
»82 Zuleka
the port of Barros ; for the presence of a
private ship, like the Dortnda, — white
and beautiful as she was, and appearing Hke
a war-ship, — certainly would excite com-
ment at Barros ; and the gossip would put
our enemy at once on ths alert. The village
of the Senor Raceo, Dumont's cousin, was
Santiago de Barros, — a straggling place
about five miles inland, much visited by
tourists because of the two excellent Muril-
los in the Cathedral, and because it affords
a good example of Spanish village life.
The house, Fernandez said, stood on a
lane near the square of the Cathedral;
and he drew us a map of the village, — a
broad long street with outlying lanes,
with, at the centre, the great church.
Opposite Seiior Raceo's house was a con-
vent of the Ursulines. Fernandez hap-
pened to know very well the details of the
house. For it proved that Raceo, whom
he was now betraying for a price, was
a kind of partner in the business of the
Isabella ; and when Raceo's cousin —
Dumont's Mother had been the Seiior's
aunt — had met with his trouble in Al-
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The House in the Lane 183
giers, it was Raceo who had enlisted the
smuggler's interest. Now this Raceo was
a rich man for a Spanish village. He
absolutely had the ofEcers of the law at
his disposal ; so it was necessary for us
not to get into any complication. As for
the presence of the Lady Zuleka under
the Sefior's roof, how would we prove
it, even if we bribed every official of
the district ? And Master Fernandez's
word, it would be questioned at once;
nor did he, in the light of his trade, dare
to excite Raceo's enmity. It would mean
a life's imprisonment for him at the best.
What he would do was this: he would go
to Raceo's, as was his custom. He would
get us word what room in the house the
Lady Zuleka and her maid occupied.
He would manage to unlock her door,
and the outer one — after the household
had gone to bed. But more than that
he would not do. In his relations with
Raceo he dared not. He must appear as
having no hand in the matter. Again,
he thought it better that but one of
us should enter the house; who would
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1 84 Zuleka
steal up to the Lady Zuleka's room, and
then, if cautious, should get her away.
He also Insisted that we should take to
Santiago de Barros but two men. After
all these details, he drew a map of the
house, numbering each room. He would
send us, to the Inn of PhiUp Second, a
postal with a single number, from which
we should understand that the prisoner
and her maid occupied that room. The
doors were to be unlocked at two of the
morning after our landing. He abso-
lutely refused to warn the Lady Zuleka
in any way. As an evidence of the entire
good faith, he did not ask for a penny of
the thousand pounds unless the attempt
succeeded to our entire satisfaction ; he
had said that at the first.
Enleen looked at him keenly, with the
same thought I myself had. What if,
after all, this was a plan to silence the
two persons who knew about the Lady
Zuleka, so that Dumont would be left
in entire control of her person with the
hope of sooner or later obtaining her
fortune ? What Enleen did say was ;
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The House in the Lane 185
" How can you explain to this man
Raceo your presence here without the
Isabella? "
" I often cross over from Tangiers to
Gibraltar to advise with him about the
best point of running in our cargo," he
replied, very reasonably.
" Well, we will do as you direct,"
Enleen said. But he whispered to me,
"We must keep our wits about us,"
That evening about sundown, we
sighted the coast below Barros, and
about nine o'clock sent Fernandez ashore.
We were to Wiut ourselves until six in the
morning and then to appear like tourists,
who had left the steamer from Marseilles,
which then put into Barros at half-past five.
As our confederate went over the side
after stipulating that the draft for a thou-
sand pounds should be sent to him, on
the Isabella at Dorola, Enleen said :
" He's a too cunning rascal by half
What did he say about the men Dumont
brought with him on the Isabella ? "
"That they scattered, excepting two,
who are with him at Santt^o de Barros."
,,i:«iivGooglc
1 86 Zuleka
" Then we shall be about evenly
matched, — not counting on the number
in Raceo's establishment."
"You are thinking that we may have
one more fight, Jim," said I.
" I was thinking that you or I, Tom,
must kill that man."
" It is my part," said I softly.
"If you put it that way, — should
you l^il, I will take my turn, you may
believe. And, which one of us, Tom,
shall go into the house?"
" If the smuggler should keep his
word ! " for I feared that indeed it might
prove to be a snare. " But why can't
three of us go in ? We shall make no
more noise than one, and we will leave
Petere, say, outside to warn us."
" Didn't you say if the smuggler keeps
his word ? Now it seems to me, Tom,
that we have given ours to follow his
plan, which especially stipulates that only
one shall enter."
" Did we ask him why he wished it that
way ?"
" He is afraid that two or three men
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The House in the Lane 187
are more likely to be observed in a house
at night than one. At any rate, we
are bound to obey him. He has our
word. But why should it be your part,
both to take the first shot at Dumont,
and to go into the house ? "
" Because," said I, " I love her."
" What of that ? " he asked after a
moment.
" And she has told me that she loves
me."
For some moments we stood there
silently under the stars, with the dark
coast-line before us ; and I was thinking
of how, if the smuggler's story were true,
my dear lady had gone ashore there in
that rough company. But at least she
had had the Frenchwoman with her ;
and from that fact I knew that Dumont
had treated her with some consideration.
" My dear boy," came Jim's voice after
a while, " it's not the love of a woman
which first led me into this adventure,
you yourself know, but the love of an
adventure for itself, and the love of
justice, — if I do say it. Nor, Tom, is it
,11 :«l by Google
1 88 Zuleka
the love of a woman now, — though I can
understand how you feel."
And then we shook hands gravely,
there under the stars ; and, as men will to
hide emotion, we took up our expedition
agMn, Peters, the boson, should go, and
Mackenzie, the mate.
"Grimmins and Fet^son will be dis-
appointed," said I.
" Poor Grimmins has only one arm,
and Ferguson but one eye," Enleen said ;
" and this is an occasion when our small
force will require all their arms and eyes."
" Yes," said I, " I believe that will
certainly be the case."
,11 :«l by Google
Chapter XVI
The Unlocked Doors
WE were awakened at five, — after on
my part a sleepless night. Mac-
kenzie and Peters made up to look as
much like gentlemen's servants as old
tars could; and Enleen and I put on the
knickerbocker suits of the ordinary tour-
ist. The morning was clear and cold ;
and we could see on the horizon the
splendid tower of the great church of
Santiago de Barros, — beckoning us.
Peters and Mackenzie carried portman-
teaus and rugs, as if we were indeed just olF
the Marseilles steamer, and were there to
see the church and its Murillos, and the
quaint town itself Ferguson was in-
structed to keep a boat in waiting for us,
and the Dorinda with steam up, as on a
former more warlike occasion. We had
»89
,11 :«l by Google
190 Zuleka
not talked to the men about our errand,
although they would have been eager
enough about it if they knew we were in
search of the Lady Zuleka, who was the
heroine of not only those who had been
in Issouan, but of their comrades, who
already had heard the story of our advent-
ures told over many times.
Fernandez' rough map made the path
plain which led to the highway between
Barros and Santiago de Barros. Up this
broad white road we stepped briskly,
my spirits rising with the exercise ; and
alt the time the great church loomed up,
ever greater, ever nearer. Staring peas-
ants passed us, and a rambling diligence,
and an occasional priest. I thought of
what might happen should we pass
Dumont, but I did not deem him a per-
son likely to be abroad at that hour of
the morning. And the sunlight suddenly
smote the stained glass of the Cathedral,
which gleamed before us like a promise.
The Philip Second was found with-
out trouble, — a typical Spanish inn. The
landlord was bowing and scraping, and we
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The Unlocked Doors 191
explaining that we were just off the sea, —
where the weather had been particularly
bad, — and that we wanted to be in our
rooms all that day to rest up ; we did not
care to be seen in Santiago de Barroa;
yes, Dumont was likely to remember me ;
I, for my part, never could forget the man
I had seen in the tight of the flames of
Rosola. The host still was palavering,
when we heard a modulated English voice,
— the accent of Mayfair, of a country
house, of the season.
" Why, Mr. Enleen ? *' said the lady.
" The devil," said Jim, taken aback. I
looked about to see three modish persons,
— ^^ Mrs. and Miss Penfield of Warwick-
shire and Lady Kitty Robbins. I knew
why Jim said " the devil," for it was embar-
rassing on an expedition like ours to run
into a lady who had been assiduously try-
ing to make you marry her daughter for
the last two years. But Enleen, as usual,
was equal to the occasion, and the ladies
explained they were up so early to see
the sunrise, and to hear mass, which the
Bishop himself had performed in the
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192 Zuleka
Cathedral. The chatter of their voices
struck me like a sharp pain; I don't
know what Jim felt. Where had we
been ? Where was the Dorinda ? Enleen
lied about all these facts with due discre-
tion ; and finally we managed to get away
to our rooms.
"They never will let me escape them.
She will watch for me like a cat." But
suddenly he brightened up. " If we suc-
ceed, we shall need a chaperon for Zuleka,"
he said. "If we succeed!" I echoed
almost despairfuUy. For I was thinking
how near my dear lady was, and I as yet
with no power to comfort her.
You may believe that day dragged fear-
fully. For Jim there were some notes, —
two, I think, — urging him to go out with
Mrs. Penfield. " Lady Kitty," wrote the
discreet Mamma, " is such a pretty girl."
"The old cat doesn't mention Alice, you
see," said this fighting Enleen. " Do you
know, I believe she will end by making
me marry that girl ? Oh, brace up, Tom,
don't be so serious. Listen, I'm writing,
' My dear Mrs. Penfield : —
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The Unlocked Doors 193
" ' Thank you, but make it to-morrow,
if I may have the pleasure. Both Mr.
Dering and I are fearfully indisposed
to-day.' "
He paused, and I saw he was as serious
as I, although he was trying hard to hide
it from me. " If we may be here to-mor-
row. — Damn it, Tom, I can't stand it."
I never had seen him give way to a
passion before. In all this adventure he
had acted with a certain cool deliberation.
And I don't know what I myself should
have said, had not the waiter appeared at
the door with a postal directed to the
Honorable James Enleen, for we had sent
at once to the post. On the card was one
figure, — 7; when we took out Fernan-
dez's plan of the house on the lane. He
had been right in his conjecture. The
prisoner and her maid were lodged in two
adjoining rooms, on the second floor rear;
90 our plan declared. The house was
built on a court which opened on the
lane, with, you will remember, the convent
of the Ursulines opposite. The entrance
door, which was to be left unlocked and
,,l:al by Google
194 Zuleka
unbolted, opened on a square room with
the door to the stair at its right corner.
No. Seven was three doors from the top
of the stair. We debated the question
very carefully, and then called Peters and
Mackenzie in. We told them the exact
situation, and the boson swore that he at
least would die for the Lady Zuleka, and
Mackenzie, hitching his trousers, said he
felt interested in her from what he had
heard, and, besides, he was ready to obey
orders. Their part was very simple. Each
man had two revolvers, and Jim two,
They were to wait in the shadow of the
convent wall. If there was an outcry,
they were to rush in to help me. I still
held that my relation to Zuleka gave me
the right to enter the house, and Jim, as
before, yielded to me.
We didn't go to bed at all ; but lin-
gered long over the dinner which, like
the other meals that day, the host served
in our rooms. Peters and Mackenzie had
rooms across the hall, and we did not let
them go out, no more than we ourselves.
The host doubtless put us down as two
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The Unlocked Doors 195
more mad Englishmen, — possibly rather
madder than our countrymen.
But at last the hour was reached. I,
too, had my revolver ready at my belt.
And we four stole out into the square and
under the dark shadow of the Cathedral.
The night had fallen chill, and now it be-
gan to snow. We passed nobody but a
belated watchman, who peered at us sus-
piciously. At last we came to the lane
opposite the convent, where a clock rang
out two. We were on the tick.
" I am oflF," I sud to Jim. There was
no mistaking the house of Senor Raceo.
In &ct, the tane was a blind one.
I was now walking up to the door des-
ignated in the plan and lifting the latch.
Trap or no, the smu^ler had done exactly
as he had promised. The heavy door
swung back. I was in the square entrance
chamber, and was closing the door softly
behind. Then across the broad bare
room I tiptoed, making a fearful noise, I
was sure, and I cursed myself that I had
not thought to take off my boots. But
now I was at the stair door, on the stair.
,11 :«l by Google
196 Zuleka
at its top. The third door to the right
had a pencilling of light. Yes, that was
the door. In an instant I was before it,
wandering if I should better knock or try
it; wondering if this were the trap. The
door was unlocked. I threw it back. In
a chair by a window sat my lady, reading,
her fece, sad, worn, pale ; yet for all her
sorrow, she still had spirit. On the bed
was her woman sleeping, 3 rug thrown
over her.
My observation of the scene — the
bare, square Spanish room, with its cheap
lithographs of the saints — could not have
taken more than a second. In that
second, my dear lady looked up, startledy
and saw me. There was no surprise ;
only a look of supreme relief; and she
arose, stretched out her arms, and said
simply ;
" I knew you would be here."
And as I held her close I whispered
my love over again. " But he has not
hurt you, dear?"
" He hasn't dared. I haven't once
spoken to him. Only once I tried to kill
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The Unlocked Doors
197
him, — for my Father, who is with the
Father of us all, — and for the men of
Issouan." And her eyes shone brightly;
and I knew that for all her sufferings she
was sdli the Zuleka I knew; and I kissed
her again and ^ain.
The door was suddenly thrown open,
and Dumont stood there, with the same
sneering smile I had seen him wear that
morning in the battle. He seemed now
calm and debonair.
" You are caught, fool," he said in
French. " Caught."
" God will give me strength to kill
you," I sad; and Zuleka's arms were
about me.
At the moment Celeste, the French-
woman, awoke, and began to scream
shrilly ; and the house was aUve with
noises. I knew that my friends had heard,
and were rushing in ; I knew that the
others were aroused as well.
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Chapter XVII
The Watch and the Bishop
ZULEKA clung close to me, I say,
softly sobbing. That was proba-
bly the reason why he didn't fire, with us
completely in his power, as he had us ;
I myself failed to realize that moment his
real reason. Now I tried to disengage
her arms, for I thought he might kill
us both together. And the maid still
screamed shrilly. (You will remember
how once at Rosola she had frightened me
with her hysterical cries, and now they
were as bad.) The uproar in the house
increased and suddenly — ^as we stood in
that tableau, I looking fiercely at Dumont,
with Zuleka's dear self in my arms —
Enleen's figure was projected into the
door ; and with an oath, — I never before
heard him use one so fierce, — he was at
19S
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The Watch and the Bishop 199
Dumont ; and the pistol went off with
a terrible report ; while I think Celeste
fainted, for her screams died away.
But Zuleka was my charge. I did not
even think of the issue of Jim's fight.
I simply lifted the dear prisoner in my
arms, and pushed my way out of the room.
Her arms pressed close about mc, and I
could feel her breath on my face. As we
reached the stair top, a head projected, in
the light of the open doorway we had left,
whence we could hear the struggle between
Jim and Dumont. They seemed to be
rolling over together.
The head on the stair and I peered at
each other ; and then suddenly the head
shook; another was behind; and threw it
with a mighty swing, down the stairs.
"Where's Mr. Enleen ? " came Peters'
voice. '* Mac will manage tfiat hulk.
He's at the foot of the stairs."
I motioned to the open door, and the
boson rushed in there to help Enleen,
while 1 kept on with my burden. Sud-
denly, on the top step, she slid out of my
arms.
,11 :«l by Google
200 Zuleka
" But Celeste ? " she said.
" They won't hurt her. Ah, you must
come with me." And I tried to lift her
^ain. But she gently insisted ; and with
one arm around my neck, and my arm
about her waist, we ran down the stairs
together.
It was pitch dark below; but Macken-
zie sang out :
" I can take care of 'em, sir."
He seemed to be struggling with three,
one probably the man Peters had thrown
downstairs.
I now lifted Zuleka up and ran toward
the open door, and in a moment we were
in the lane tn the moonshine. For the
clouds had broken, and the moon lay
over the little covering of new-fallen
snow ; and the great church stood out,
grand and mighty, there in the square
before us.
And my heart was glad. She was in
my care, and let him be brave who will
take her from me.
I noticed a vigorous tapping, as of
sticks on the paving, and a dozen men,
,,l:al by Google
The Watch and the Bishop aoi
some with lanterns and with stout sticks,
met us. Putting Zuleka down, I whipped
out my revolver.
"In the King's name, surrender," came
a voice ; and I saw and understood enough
Spanish to know that we were in the hands
of the gendarmes. I put my pistol back.
" Don't tremble, dear," I whispered.
"Are you not here? "she said almost
reproachfully ; and 1 held her close.
" I give myself up to the police, of
course," I said in my best Spanish. " I
only ask permission to leave this iady
with the ■ Mother Superior of the con-
vent."
"Is she with you wllingly, rascal?"
said the officer, a stout fellow, moving a
short sword, " On, to the house, fellows."
For there had burst from the house
loud cries of " Murder ! " " Robbers ! "
I saw our Captain wished any excuse to
get out of the direct fray ; and while his
men swept on, save one, I took a sover-
eign I happened to have loose in my
pocket. He saw the color of gold, and
seemed more pacified.
,11 :«l by Google
ao2 Zuleka
" Ask the lady in French," I said.
" Do you go with this gentleman will-
ingly ? " he said in a patois ; but Zuleka,
understanding, spoke up in a firm voice ;
"Yes, he is my betrothed."
" It is reasonable, then," said the
worthy, touching his cap {the sovereign
had had that efFect). "But I shall have
to detain you until I find out what the
disturbance is about."
At the moment the other gendarmes
appeared, with seven prisoners. They
were preceded by a little thin man, who
was gesticulating wildly. I divined that
this must certainly be the Seiior Raceo
whose household we had disturbed. In
the throng of the gendarmes — there must .
have been fourteen of these fellows —
there was Enleen, tall, proud, and still
self-possessed, although sadly bedraggled
by his encounter with our enemy. Du-
mont's fee was bloodied, and he limped ;
and for once the sneer had gone from his
face, and he looked thoroughly dismayed.
Behind these two, with their hands behind,
were Peters and Mackenzie, as suUen-
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The Watch and the Bishop 203
looking sea-dogs, just out of a fight, as
you could wish to see. With them, un-
bound, were four others, one evidently
a Spaniard, and the three others the fel-
lows in Dumont's following.
Raceo came forward, gesticulating and
shouting :
"These men broke into my house to
steal the ward of my friend, the Baron dc
Bire," and he pointed to Dumont.
" Yes," said that worthy easily ; " the
lady is my ward."
" He is a French outlaw, Dumont,"
Enleen exclaimed. " And I must tell
you I am James Enleen, brother-in-law
to Lord Travers, the British Minister at
Madrid ; and for every injury you do us
you will be asked to account, my friends."
But Raceo advanced to the Captain of
the gendarmes, almost threateningly.
" You know me, Setior Gomez. I am
a man of weight in Santiago de Barros."
"Yes," said the Captain of the gen-
darmes respectfully. " I know you, Seiior
Raceo."
" Then I will be responsible. Give the
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204 Zuleka
lady back to her guardian. Put these
robbers in jaii over night. To-morrow
the Alcalde will pass judgment on them."
" That is reasonable," said Captain
Gomez, and I saw the influence of my
sovereign had passed before the fear of
the local magnate, Raceo. " Go over to
your guardian, woman."
"He is not my guardian," said Zuleka
in French ; and she whispered to me,
" You will not let them take me away ? "
" Release Seiior Raceo's servants. Take
these men to jail," satd the Captain of
the gendarmes.
" Come, mademoiselle," said Raceo,
advancing toward us. And then I forgot
myself I sprang forward and brought
this same Setlor Raceo a good left-hander,
which tumbled him over on the pave-
ment. In an instant all was in uproar.
Peters and Mackenzie strutted with
their captors. I retreated to Zuleka
and pulled out my pistol. Enleen him-
self did not make a move ; he knew
better.
" My friend is naturally excited," he
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The Watch and the Bishop 205
said. Dumont smiled snecringly, for he
knew I had made our case worse.
As the short swords of the police sud-
denly gleamed, a calm authoritative voice
interrupted, while a tall figure in black
came from the shadow of the church.
" Stop ! " said the voice.
The change was instantaneous. Half
of the gendarmes fell on their knees.
*' The Bishop ! " was the cry.
" I have heard the dispute," said the
authoritative voice. *' I know Mr. Enlcen
to be what he says he is. The lady shall
lodge to-night under my protection, with
the Mother Superior of the convent.
The gentlemen — the men against whom
Seiior Raceo and his guest have a griev-
ance — shall be lodged in jail, until
the Alcalde can act on the case in the
morning."
" Haven't I told you we were in God's
hands?" Zuleka said, raising her Hps to
mine. And then with gentle dignity she
turned to the priest.
" I am of your Church, Father. My
case is in your hands."
,,l:al by Google
2o6 Zuleka
The Bishop bowed his head. The
crowd opened, and they walked together
toward the convent gate. Even Senor
Raceo, discomfited as he was, forgot to
expostulate.
" Bring on your prisoners," the Captain
of the gendarmes at last found voice to
say. " Leave Senor Raceo's household.
The case will be judged to-morrow by the
Alcalde, as His Reverence the Bishop has
decreed."
It was lucky for us that the Bishop had
been sitting up that night with a sick gen-
tleman of Santiago de Barros ; it was lucky
that returning through the square he had
stopped in the shadow of the Cathedral to
note the disorder ; it was lucky that he
had known Enleen in Paris. But as my
dear lady says, God knows no luck.
Perhaps it was all just His will that the
l^dy Zuleka slept that night in the con-
vent of Ursulines beyond the reach of her
enemies. And as we marched along in
the moonshine with the gendarmes to
the jail of Santiago de Barros, I had the
consolation of knowing that at least our
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The Watch and the Bishop 207
undertaking had succeeded in part; and
1 found myself even whistling a merry
air.
So we came to the jail, the Captain of
the Guard treating Enleen most respect-
fully on account of the Bishop's recogni-
tion. I noticed they walked apart from
the others.
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Chapter XVIII
The Dud in the Jail
THERE was one large vile room in
the jail ; a square place guarded
by heavy iron doors, and with little htgh-
put, iron-barred apertures to give it air.
The floor was scattered with filthy straw ;
and a dirty, drunken, bandit-looking pris-
oner stretched himself as we were brought
in.
The Captain here ordered Mackenzie
and Peters to be unbound. The latter
swore a round sailor's oath at the situa-
tion, but he ended :
"At least, the lady is not with them
rats, eh, sir ? "
But Mackenzie preserved his Scottish
stolidity.
They could get no word from him.
The Captain politely asked us to deliver
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The Duel in the Jail 209
any weapons we had, which we did with
poor enough grace ; the two men having
to receive first a most decided order from
Enleen,
" Now, sir," swd the Captain, " since
you are an acquaintance of His Reverend
Grace, I see no reason why I shouldn't
deliver the message you wish."
Without a word, Enleen took a card
and a little stiver pencil from his pocket,
and wrote something. Handing the card
to the Captain, he added five sovereigns,
which the Captain pocketed without any
show of reluctance.
" I hope you will take it, as an evidence
that I know I am putting ycu to trouble,
and of my appreciation of your courtesy."
The Captain bowed obsequiously, and
said he knew the Senor was a great prince.
And, having ordered that a candle be left
with us, he bowed himself out. As the
doors closed, and we heard the heavy
bolts against their sockets, my fiiend
turned to me with a grim smile.
" This is another evidence that the in-
fluence of money over matter — namely,
,11 :«l by Google
2IO Zuleka
our friend, the Captain — is greater than
that of mind."
"Well?" said 1.
" I have bribed him to take a note to
our acquaintance, Mrs. Penfield, at the
inn, asking her to have the English and
French Consuls at Barros in the Alcalde's
court to-morrow at ten," and he added:
"I learned that it will be to-morrow
at ten ; and that all these police are here
because of socialist Hots in this province.
That's the reason so formidable a force
happened to be patrolling to-night."
"I think," said I, "that the night's
work might have had a worse ending."
" At least," said Enleen gravely, " she
is safe, I think. I will trust to the
Bishop of Barros."
" Yes," said I, " at least we have accom-
plished so much. And, after all, the smug-
gler played us true."
" Yes, he probably is on his way back
to Dorola, where he will wait for his draft.
He will get it. I hope he will get out
of it without any trouble. I say, we
didn't see him once to-night."
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The Duel in the Jail
" Trust to a rascal for looking after
himself. Fernandez and Hicks both have
done us favors."
"You have to bargain with the devil
sometimes to accomplish any good," my
friend said. And he added : " We were
having a pretty wrestle — Dumont and
I — when we were interrupted. I must
kill him yet."
" I notice your clothes are torn and
very dirty," I said.
At the moment there was a rasping of
the bolts. The doors swung back, and
we saw, to our surprise, the man we were
talking about.
"Speaking of the devil," Enleen ex-
claimed.
" Close the doors. When I want you,
I will knock on the panel with the butt
of my pistol," Dumont said to the gen-
darme, who, bowing, did as he was bade.
" You are surprised," said the man,
turning to us. Mackenzie and Peters
stood in the background, staring. Du-
mont himself appeared very different. He
had an ugly gash in the right cheek En-
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212 Zuleka
leen had made, and the limp from a
strained ankle muscle.
" You think," he went on almost defi-
antly, " that because a man commits
crimes, he doesn't remain a gentleman.
Well, I was born a Baron de Bire. Raceo,
who gained me this entrance here, spoke
the entire truth, I was retired from the
service. I entered it again in the Colonies
through my family influence, under another
name. Misfortune led me to appropriate
some money. I escaped. I became the
leader of the men you know on the Al-
gerian border."
He stopped as if to see how we were
taking what he said. But we, despite our
hate of him, watched him in sheer amaze-
ment. He had ventured in among us,
every man of us ready to kill him, because
of his crimes against our friends; and yet
we listened, — awed by the bravery which
he ever had displayed in our experience
of him.
"Now, as for the lady of Issouan, I
have treated her, gentlemen, as a Baron
de Bire should a woman of his own rank,
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The Duel in the Jail 213
— do you understand me? I saved her
from Abdul Mahommed at a great risk
to myself. I intended, it is true, to try
to marry her; but even that intention
passed, because — "
He paused, as if meditating the next
words. " She tried to kill me on the Isa-
bella one day — with a pistol which had
been carelessly left in her cabin. The
shot missed. I picked up the pistol, and
asked her to shoot me. It was not play-
acting ; I meant it. She dropped the
pistol, and ran to the cabin.
"Yet I was not inclined to give her
up. I shall be in court to-morrow with
my cousin. But I wanted you to know
that you misjudged me. And what do I
care for you, pray ? Not a snap of the
finger, it is true. I only care for her, —
since I have known her, — since I brought
her from Issouan. I am here — because
I love her."
" Take care ! " I said, advancing a step ;
and I think Enleen said " take care " ;
while the men pushed forward like two bull-
dogs ; they remembered their comrades
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214 Zuleica
dead in Issouan ; but Enleen motioned
them back.
" Well," de Birc went on, " you have
a grievance against me. Because of her
I came here to let you settle tt; and I
ask you to let me, — as if I were still a
Baron de Bire, your equal ; not Dumont,
with a price on his head."
" I agree," said Enleen. " When ? "
De Bire took from his pocket two duel-
ling pistols, extending them to us.
" Here," he said. " Here ! "
" I am ready," I said. " You remember
our agreement on this subject, Enleen ? "
My friend, — remembering that talk
on the Dorinda, — ^^ approaching my right,
bowed in acknowledgment, and drew
back. Then he took the pistols from
de Bire, and examined them, and handed
them over to Mackenzie, while he paced
out the distances.
" Stand here, Baron de Bire," he said.
" And believe that while I have decidedly
a grudge against you, I appreciate that you
are a brave man, — born a gentleman."
De Hire bent his head in a low
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The Duel in the Jail 215
bow, and took the place assigned him.
Enleen pointed out the spot where I
was to stand. Mackenzie brought the
pistols.
" Look out for him, Mr. Dering; he is
a trickster, and as dirty a villain as ever
lived."
Peters, the boson, hitched his trousers,
and looked anxious. Since the fight, both
he and the mate were a bedraggled pair,
" I too respect your bravery. Baron de
Eire," I said.
But he said nothing at all ; only stood
there, looking very comely and boyish,
even with that gash on his cheek.
"One, — two, — three," said Enleen.
And I fired to kill him ; but, as the
smoke cleared, his voice came out low
and firm :
" You have broken my right wrist.
That is all. I can shoot equally well with
my left."
But at that moment the doors were
thrown open and there was a crowd of the
guards, shouting and gesticulating as the
Latin races will in excitement. De Hire
,11 :«l by Google
216 Zuleka
was seized by two, and I, by two ; and
de Bire was taken away.
" I had not killed him, then," I said to
myself; and for some reason, I was not
particularly sorry. Enleen and I talked
it over, for we could not sleep in that vile
place. The original drunken prisoner
seemed to be quite undisturbed by all the
uproar. Mackenzie and Peters fell to
talking and I to thinking of my lady,
there in the convent of the UrsuHnes.
So that night passed.
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Chapter XIX
The Alcalde's Court, and a Tale that's
Told
THE Alcalde sat in the court-room of
Santiago de Barros, the picture of
a Spanish Shallow, Awaiting the prison-
ers were the ladies from the Inn of
Philip the Second, curious and modish, —
London fashions and gossip, carried down
into Spain. There were the English and
French Consuls from Barros. And to these
entered the prisoners, — Enleen, the two
men, and I. Enleen obtained permission
of the Alcalde to speak to the English Con-
sul, The Alcalde was willing to oblige a
prisoner known to His Gracious Highness
the Bishop. The red-faced little man,
who looked as if he wiled away the dul-
ness of Barros by a Scotch too often a
day, crossed over to the great Honorable
James Enleen, Lord Denburden's grand~
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21 8 Zu!eka
son. What the Honorable Mr. Enleen
said to him, the Consul at once repeated
to the French one ; who it chanced had
known the Baron de Eire, and was ready
to demand the arrest of that famous
criminal.
And then there entered side by side
with the Mother Superior of the Ursu-
lines, and His Grace the Bishop, a lady
heavily veiled, whose eyes yet sought
mine ; and she was my love.
But where was the Senor Raceo, who
had the charge to press ? Where was the
Baron de Eire?
Then late, hatless, there entered a Httle,
cunning-faced, shrill-voiced, and very ex-
cited Senor.
"What is it, Senor?" the Alcalde de-
manded severely.
"Your Honor, I am here to inform
you that a duel was fought in the jail
last night, and my friend, the Baron de
Eire's wrist broken."
A duel in the jail, by a thousand
saints ! What was law and order in San-
tiago de Barros coming to I
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The Alcalde's Court 219
" By the favor of Captain Gomez of
the gendarmes I secured my friend's re-
lease. But, Your Honor, a half hour
since at my house, he shot himself through
the heart, and is dead."
A suicide! The lady across the room
by the Bishop raises her veil, and her dear
sweet face looks across to me. Yes, in
truth, the crime of Issouan is avenged.
" A suicide ! " says the Alcalde ; " he
must have been a bad man. Only bad
men wish to affront God by taking their
lives before their respective times," and
the Alcalde looks across to the Bishop for
approval. But His Grace's grave fine
face — his wise eyes — say nothing. The
ladies from England are staring at and
whispering about the wonderfully pretty
lady by the Bishop's side.
The French Consul rises. This de
Bire is a French criminal whose arrest
he has come there to demand ; but de Bire
has gone beyond human justice.
" Eh, a criminal, your friend, Seiior
Raceo ? " says the Alcalde with great
severity.
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220 Zuleka
Setior Raceo stammers and mutters, and
says at last that he misunderstood the
situation ; he has been persuaded by His
Gracious Reverence the Bishop, that he
has been mistaken in his estimate of the
character of this so-called Baron de Eire ;
he has been led to think that the Eng-
lish milords, with their provocations, were
perfectly right in breaking into his house
as they did.
So the charge is dismissed. So I have
crossed over to my lady's side, and we
are walking side by side in the square of
the great church of Santiago de Barros.
And there in the church we were mar-
ried by that very Bishop, Heaven bless and
prosper him. And one of the Thorntons
came down from England to give away his
grandniece. My Father was there from
Devon, now rather proud of me, I think,
since he had proven his theory that we
Derings are sure to straighten up sooner
or later. And dear old Jim Enleen was
there. I wonder if he loved her. How
could he have helped it? Even that villain
de Eire in the end saw how bad he was
,11 :«l by Google
The Alcalde's Court
because of her. And there were the crew
of the Dorinda, — every manof them, from
one-eyed Ferguson, Peters, Mackenzie,
Wells, down to the ship's cook. (Enleen
hired some men to look after the good
ship the meanwhile.) And there was
Grimmins, the little cockney, who had
lost an arm at my lady's service. There
never was, I believe, such a day in Santiago
de Barros.
But all's now a tale that's told. The
treasure itself has been turned into Eng-
lish and French securities, and two-thirds
of it distributed in charities in Northern
Africa and Constantinople, exactly as was
Ahmed Pasha's desire. Blood money it
was, taken from the poor of ages ; and
blood followed it to the end. In fact, all
of the leaders who fought against Rosola,
out of the lust for the treasure, are dead,
except one, John Hicks, — who, indeed,
made amends ; his like is not now in the
service.
And for my dear lady it is a story, I
hope ; a sad fearsome story, which has
ended in our happiness.
,11 :«l by Google
231 Zuleka
As for Jim Enleen, now, through three
deaths, the Earl of Denburden, there are
many more stories about him. He or I
will tell you one some day which is better
than this as a story. He is still doing
things ; still going about the world.
What matters whether American or
English, — he's the masterfijl, strong
man. Don't, I pray, misjudge me,
who am the narrator, by calling me a
snob or an Anglo-maniac; I'm neither
one nor the other. A man, dear sir or
madam, is a man, whatever his nation-
ality; and so is a gentleman, a gentle-
man. Let 's thank God, unprincipled
adventurers are fewer every year in
England and in America ; let 's thank
God that both nations appreciate duty
and truth and honesty.
And, then, there's love, which is God's
blessing.
THE END
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A DUEL "WITH DB8TINT
AND
OTHER STOBIES,
Br EDITH TOWNSEND EVERETT.
Cl»lh, GHt bip, IZno-, llluitntod, tU pp. Prlc*, 75 cwt*.
"Till* Ii>cliaimliiK?rciDP of stories, wide in uope and Tanurkable Ibt ■!»
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"A Dew woman atory-wrlter. An eDlertaJnlns boi>lc of lltait itaileala 'A
I>ael wltti DeetlnT.' They aie in the strong BI017 claK and the reader eila bolt
npnghtall the liine. One reads tlie booli thioiigh with gnat Inteieat and Is
nrry when the finish comes. Ura. £>erett i* oneoT Ametlca'a leading news-
paper wotaen"— Buffalo BaBpraMM^
THE REVENGE OE LUCAS HELM,
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Cloth, Gilt top, Uman lltiirtntMl, 100 pp, Price, SO CMiti,
* One or UuHe rare (&!« which f^w beside Fiench wilten can make leeni
plausible throucb (tie cbarm of the telling, as against the Ikntasr of the (ale.
It appealed flnt Id the ' Kevue d» l)eui Mondes,' and tianslated Into Kng-
Usb baa added one mora to our More of pert^ Gallic abort stoiisa."— St. Pnut
IHrpateh.
" The tmiulBtlan la well done. Tbe worth of tbe itoiT may be Judged Itom
the &ct that a volume of Ibe author's (hortMi^ca was crowned by tbe Franeb
Academy." — Biwfon Globe.
" Tbe tale mingles medlerallim aod moderDlty in tbe happiest way, and
oaonoc but please any leader wbo knows the dieamy imtraslTeness of tbe
-'-* Bavarian eapllal.''—Af<iik«>vASei>
the: ""
"The translator has been especially mcceseral In transfentng the stnr to
e Enriiah fbrm, the style of tne writing being added to rather than ImpaucL
Is so often tbe case."— MUfoHe^iMa Coll.
SHANTTTOWN SKETCHES"
:EzesUeiitlr Bound In Bed BUI. with a StriUng Cotsi Dedgn \ij
W. BIEHEY JEBUBOV, and aontaining Ten OUnr Fnll-pag*
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12nia,, 100 pagsi.
rOUBTB TBOVSAXn sow BSADT.
Prtee. per wU ZS caati.
"Tbe only otaerrahle fault being that tbey were eompounded In sac
homiBOpathIc doeei. Ula venatUe acanalnlanoe with all rlnmm nt rlinlrrl
his thorougb grasp of the humors of a situation, illuminate [be lines of tba
laughable little Welches with an electric brilliancy. "—JH»«frutv Pre—.
"Elocutionists will find hers a Klondike."— A. Anil IHtpattIt,
Drexel BiddlCf l*hiUulelphia,
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TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE.
"•»"";»'■ PAVINO THE WAV,
A Bonuuiae of Auitr&lian Life,
By SIMPSON NE WXJLND, ex-Treastirer of South AnstraUa,
With twenty-llTe fall-page UlDatntfonB by Ebebut Coi-b,
the famoui Bngllah artist.
Oiywn, 8vf>., cloth, aUt, 9}t pviei, price, V.M,
"A better book for bOTt ooatd not be fOand."—XJ«erp0<)I FMt.
"The dlBcnasioiiB over tbe genulneneBi of the adventurea of LoaU
de BoDgemont which recently raged In London and was Ibllowed In
thlB coantr; with mach Interest, makei timely a romance of the Aiw-
trallao bush entitled 'Paving the Way,' b; Simpson Newland, ex-
Treasurer or Bontb Anitrallk. De BougemoDt wu proved to be a
fraud and bis story largely a work of Imagination. Hr. Newland,
however, betravs perfect (amlllarltr with life In Australia, and )>« hu
succeeded In telling a story that will Interest any one who takes
with wild deeds of savEigGB and eqaallv aavEige acta of tlie men who
cleared the way for tbe settlers or Australia."— Aan Franeltec
ChronMe.
"The story Is a BkllfUl blending of fact and Action, presented with a
eDthrBlhnglntereaLfor It Is Qne In narrative and unusually cl
and powerful In description. ASoat and ashore, adventure ibllows
atlyenture/' — JAtftrpool J^ut.
" Mr, Drexel Blddle In an Introdnotion declares that Mr. Newland
has produced In ' Paving the Way ' a book which does for Sooth Aua-
tralfa very mach what "Loma Doone ' has aobleved for Devoniblre."
—rhUalMphta Tettgraph.
.^ THB MADEIRA ISLANDS,
By A. J. DREXEL BIDDLE,
Containing twenty-Ove fall-page lllnstratlODs and Mveral map*.
CSoth and gOtiBW; price, tLSO.
"Among the snocessful books of the eurrent jeav."~Boak Xeat,
"It begins with a love story lived so long ago that It bas become
hlltory.''— jr. T. Beeordw.
"The author, who has already won laurels as a writer of short
Btorles, has rendered B valuable Mrvlce to history."— .y«w Xowlon
TelfffrVft-
"Tbe pages are embellished with amusing aneodotes."- J!laMin«re
"The author tells all that Is worth knowing about the Islands.''
— JT. X. Herald.
'• It baa been left to Mr. Blddle to be the historian of wbat under tbe
magic ofbls pen are veritable summer Isles ofEdeuI And the spell
of romance that the 111-lkted history of Robert ft Machin and his luck-
less love Anna d' Arfet caats over the beautlfnl Mlba da Madeira'
•eein* to linger to tbla day."— :9eaMIa roet-XiUeUiffeneer.
DREXEL BIDDLE, PhHadelphia.
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READY IN THE FALL OF '99.
A NEW AND THOROUGHLY BBVISISD EDITION OF
THE MADEIRA ISLANDS.
again sabdivlded Ic
■bb: the
Dlicoven or MB4eltB;'Tbe UIbcov^t and Settlenieiit of Porto 8i
and the Re-diacovery or Hsdeira; 'Hie Bettlement or Hadelra,; Tbe
Modern HiBtory or tbe Madelnu; Landing at Madeira; All *•>»"■
Steomstalp Rontes.aod Hotels and Boardlns Houses In theTowi
Rellg
DnuHu, uuu AuiuiruLion lur Auierjcand; AntjeiauuD u> u
8tateB,tbe Creed; The Social Life; PSte bays and Rellglou
tions; Commeree and Money of Madeira.
Tbe last roar Parte are contained in Vol. II.; tbey treat or tbe
Gwwrapby and Geology; The Flora; Tbs Vine and Tbe Wine;
Tbe E^UDEk They are enbdlvlded Into fifteen chapters. Part V. on
Tbe Flora, fUr iDHtaDce, contains tbe rollowlng chapters: Agrlcnltura,
and Vegetable RaUIng; Fmlts; Flowering Plants; Trees; Ferns;
HosBes. Tbe Vine and The Wine Is a Fart In Itself, and will be
Illustrated with many Interesting and instructive pictures.
Tbe antbor has been engaged during the past eleven years In the
fireparatlon or this work, wbtcb Is llKcly to prove the Dook or his
lie. He has sought out existing scraps of^blElory relallng to Madeira
as publlabed in various well-fcnown and obscure works In different-
tongues. In the course of this search he bos delved Inio the dust-
covered Bbelves of many of the libraries of the Old World. Havlno;
been at all times at pains to sift hlslory and traditioh for the trntn
regarding tbe discovery and history of tbe Madeiras, he ban succeeded
Id compIltDK the IlrHt complete account of these Islands yet offered
to the EDKliBb-readlne pablic. A detailed history ol the coarlsblp
and married life or Colombna In tbe Madeiras will cerhapa add
appreciable Interest for Americans, as will the account of how tbe
Hadeirsns have long wanted to become American citizeus. Some
B(at« secrels will also be revealed, and these will show how the
Portuguese have kept tbe tr ^ ' -^ '^ • ' .■ .^ -. ..
latlon which tbe n
offers tbe followInL .._-
to the dlBOOvery Of America, and tbe Madelran race bos r<
large admixture of bloods by reason o[ lotermaTrlage of tbe origlDal
Bt<jck with ooiOQlsts Trora every country of tbe Old World, which has
caused the presentnlay natives to be noticeably different from tbe
_ _.. 1£ ^jig so-called Mother Country In language, appearance, and
DREXEL BIDDLE, Philadelphia.
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The Santiago Campaign.
MAJOR-OeNBRAL JOSEim WHEELER.
Blue silk cloth and gold binding. Printed in handBome,
Dew types on flneet laid paper. Blze, 0^x6^ ; 369 pages.
With a superb frontispiece etching of General Wheeler,
and numerous maps of the battle-flelds and other
Cuban districts of noteworthy Interest.
Price . - - $3.50.
"One must have recourse ta this narrative by General
Wheeler, wherein he celebrates with hearty devotion to his
comrades and modest self-effiwement 'the glory achieved
by American arms in the campaign of Santiago.' A
spirited portrait of General Wheeler in full uniform and
a number of field maps give additional interest to this
handsome and important volume. There are, moreover,
in conclusion, several chapters devoted to the despatehes
in the camp^gn, forming la themselves a supplementary
narrative that will prove valuable to future writers who
seek veriflcation of doubtful points. The entire volume
forms in ito dignity, conciseness, and slmplloity the best
report of the Santiago campidgn yet le»U6d."~PkUctdetphia
Pubtie Ledger.
DREXEL BIDDLE, Philadelphia.
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By the World's Leading Novelists.
Mr. Dreial Blddle bees to annonnce Ih&t be has arranged with ci
■ated Amvrioui and £![i)[lish authors to publish theli furthcom
ivelB ; these will be issued periodically In
A NOVEL SERIES,
that tbepnbllc may be enabled to procure a
Hon, The ftJllowliig copyrighted no»eU art
the Dew works or their respective authors.
Olith ul cold, ISmo. lOD f*". Hi". 91M.
" Has created such a stir that one edition was required to meet ad-
vance orders. . . . The Umlt«d, beautifully Illustrated edlUoD, with
art work by Mr. Speoce, will appease those who wish the book In Its
best form. The plot Is a deal stronger than in the previous works by
the same author.^'— ^i bo ny Tinma- Union.
"'OUea iDgllby' springs Into the lull glare ol celebrity within a
week : an achievemeDt hardly paralleled by Kipling himself."— /■Mto-
dclpJUn BvmtHff Telfffraph.
By aUY DE MAUPASSANT.
STRONG AS DEATH.
"A powerful novel that will live." Trauslated by TlOFiLO E. Comba.
Olsth and toll, lUmtntnl, prioe, (LEO,
No record can be found of another Entltsh translation of this work.
By B. P. KNSON, author of "Dodo" and"Tlienapsltia."
THE MONEY MARKET.
lUBitratad, ilstb ind gtU, IM pscM, priet, 91,00.
" Better than ' Dodo.' "—ir«e Tork World.
"The London rage." About to be dramatized. "Much the best
work Its author has written."— <A<d'i(n> Inttr-Oeean.
"Uestlnedlobe one of the notable books of the century."
This new w
. Clath sad KtM, »1 *■»■■ *lth ■ iipHb frantiiplcH by I. H. Bttti,
prin, $1.E0.
By W. CLARK RUSSELL.
AN ATLANTIC TRAGEDY.
with six full-page reproductions traia oil paintings, done specially by
C W. BUTDBB.
Clstli ud (Bid, IBms, priiie, $l.Bfi.
" As a writer of sea tales W. Clark Kussell Is /acij« prfruMfu In Eng-
lish among living authors. "—OilcnoD TIumi' £f smfd.
"'An AUantlc Tragedy' is one of the best nautical novels tliat W.
Olark Russell ever ooncelved. It seems that be has put the strength
of a longer story Into this briefer one."— .Itbany TUitf-Vntait,
DREXEL BIDDLE, Philadelphia.
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auct THB WOODLEY LANE GHOST
•(vl™- AND OTHER STOftlBS,
By MADELEIWE VINTOIf DAHLQREN,
Wldoif of tbe late Admiral Doblxren, IT. 8. N. Author of "South
B«» BketidieB," "Chlm," etc
(SOCA, omamtntal, iSmo., 171 paget, price, H^GO. WUlt a /nmttipieoe per-
iraU of the auUurr.
"Tbla oollecUoD of twenty-ftmr atoTtes 1b an nni^Buall; InUreBtlDE
one. Mrs. Dahlgren, 11 will c>e remembered, died on Uemorlal Dar <»
ttila year, and tbe book basbeen brought ont glnce tben by hereon, to
wbom It has been dedicated as a monnacrlpt. Mn. Dahlgreii wasa
brilliant seholar. She «a« a friend of Cardinal Qlbbons, and her oe-
qualnlance with men and women of the world waa a wide one."
— JDoiltf Courier, Zioieell, Xmt.
"Hinged on the lapematural, on the potency of Oriental inyHtlo
rltaa and bellefB, and on the visible mMnlreitatloo of astral or aural
bodlei."— jr. T, XaU and .EiEj»-««.
V devised sitnatlonB. 'The Woodley Liane
weird than Its title suKiests."— I^UndeliiAia JSvtntnff .BwUetin.
"Tbe most vivid and awful.. . ghoct stories , . . oonslderable Inalsht
Into the occnlt."~BujfteI(i .£tepr»i.
Aa.«ift.r THE LAUREL WALK.
OMa. A NOVBL,
By HBS. HOLESWOBTH,
Author of "Carrots," " Meg Lingholme," etc
With eight fbll-pafte reprodnctiona from palutlngB by J. STBEPLB
DAVI8.
OoOt and gold, Ifltm., 4^4 paga, price, (1.60.
'■In mofltcasei it will be found tbatahealtby-mindedglrl will pr«-
fer a story, like Mrs. Moleswortb'a ' Laurel Walk 'to tbe morbid and
by aWrloal productions like 'The Yellow Aster,' ■Betb,"et hoc genus
omne.' Hence, we extend a cordial welcome to the book eelscted tot
publication by tbe Pblladelphlan author and publisher, Mr. Drexel
Blddle. He aeema to have a keen Instinct for what Is likely to be
popular."— JHimlreal Star.
"A chaste at has be-
young glrla, ai ;uaran-
Ue oflts wortt glrla of
tbe houBebold. uedber
to withhold be ty, pre-
vailed upon be Jspleoe
to thia volume , bound
In buckram a It Is
prising house.'
DREXEL BIDDLE, Philadelphia.
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WORD FOR WORD AND LETTER FOR LETTER.
rSSKI*'*^ By A. J. DREXEL BIDDLE,
With six tail-page IlliutratloiiB by Bdwakd HolixiWat.
Oroum, Svo., cloth, gill top, SOBpagel, price, TS eento.
PnbUabed la Umaoa b? Qay « Bled, at 33 Bedford Street, Stranil, sod
' obtainable at all bookBtores thronghout the United Blates.
"Sixth EagUsb edition of Mr. Blddle's biographical romance, a1-
readj w«ll known In this country."— ««<fr«iv -teoitfT.
"Mi. Biddle, wbose writing basa distinct charm and wbo ia one Of
tbe most entertaining and unique ofstoiy-teUera, baa glveo us in tbls
volume In tbegulae ot oonrespondenoe a lasclDatlog love-atoiy. It
deals with iDcldenta In tbe higher clroies of New York society. 8a
eminentan authority Bithe'Saturday Review' cbaraoteruas the sit-
uations as ' blgbly thrilling' ajndgment with wblcb tbe reader who
gvesan hoar or two to Its pages will be In hearty agreement. Hr
Iddle's style iB that at tbe oooompllBhed litterateur."— £rooft(v»
"The book has already found many appreciative readers both here
atidln England and baa been hvorably reviewed all around. Itpos-
sesaes sterling qualities In Ingenuity and novelty of scene and Inci-
dent/' — Fhiltiaviphia Firett^
"A detective sforr that slg-iaeB all over the world In tbe chase alter
amnrderer, who Is anally tbnndattermanybalr-brsadtb adventures."
— JTnr Orbaiu FicayuTU.
" It has a taint Kn^Mon of Wllkle CoUtnsUm, all of whose tales carry
something ■Dpemataral or a monstrosity. Called a biographical ro-
mance, it mljchtbe called an antobloicraphical, sofamllar Is Mr. Bld-
dle with the •eenes described and tbe people who animate them from
thesalonsofNew York, Philadelphia, Chfoago.and to tbe back alley
_t — .1 , and Dooner.lhe mu--* •■ — " ■>•-••■ ■--
universal ^varile.—IHUaburg Freta.
*'ABsaaBlnatton, general villainy, mysterious and melodramatio ei
plattons give plenty of lurid color.''— Jr«e forfc Zni(tip«ndtrat.
" The cover deslgi
Jrlental dress ana features, conoeallnE a dagger, i
a dlxntOed Ksntleman who with eyes oent upon t
-"-•-'•"-'Tgthe rnfllan with the time. Thui "
BaIor7, which Is told with a grapb
bert Parker. Id these pages Mr. BIddle bandlea a
BO brllUant a manner that one is easily persuaded'
tranaorlblnDr tbe details of actual life. The central oharacMr, George
bine the details of actual uie. ive central onaracMr, ueorge
Han, the son of the victim. Is a high-strung rouDs man, wlDi
nBlblUtles. which enable blm to unravel the scheme which
LeflbrUHiJ
keen BenBlb.„„„„
brought his fiither to an untimely end in Madeira, at the hands of a
" A Pblladelpblan of anoldand wealthy family, bedevoles
'e story wblch Is undeniably enterlalDibg. A
Komlnent characlerlBtlc of Mr. Blddle's story is the prevalence olcer-
In problems or the occult In hnnnan destiny relating U
; characlerlBtlc of Mr. Blddle's story is the prevalence o1
ems or the occult In hnnnan destiny relating to hypi-u,,iv
__.,„ , and the weight Of prophetic dreams In mundane affairs.
As several of Hall's dreams forcast events as they come to pass, 'word
for word and letter (br letter '"-'- -■ — — '■ ' " -' — *""-
to the book. Without doul
This la a beautiful speatmen ofthepubllsber's art, containing bIi
,— . ,.-^. , — ... w..t — „ — .1.. . — . „i^ft
to the book. Without dou^t It adds appreciably to Its bsclnation.
This la a beautlfhl spectinen ofthepubllsber's art, containing slxflill-
page plates, by Edward Holloway, wblch follow Uie text with a fidel-
ity which la unusual."— The Sorth Atnerican.
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!n londwi itvQAY & BIRD, ai tt BtOfiirA
" 9oi)kt«llan will find tha following, goixl booki to cirry In itock. Thtj hiv*
■Imd; iold largs)}, fnd promlH to milntaln th»lr populirllj."— I^ Ciuta-
<lla» BmlutUar.
THE FLOWERS OF LIFE,
By a. J. D. B.
" OoDTey. In brief form snd rimple Isnguiigo, wme Of the deepMt leaaoni
or life. The thought, Etyle, and Kultment are of mie be&uty; and it Is Impos-
-"■'" — ■ •" ■■" '.mpreesed with their philosophy. Tha allegOTle* In p«Kticular
wi-i. ,„ iii^ralure, and thair bi — " -• ■* — "-" ■-•
to the cblldKn. The lacce
THE FROGGY FAIRY BOOK,
(Now in its Third Thonsand)
THE SECOND FROGGY FAIRY BOOK
"Anthony J. Drejiel B
Fnimyr»li7 Books' pramlM to beeomo M
childish mind as the flu-hmed 'Alice Id WondeiluMl'
Elsie Lee Is as American as 'Alice tn Wonderland' Is Enellih. It li %
._Uyu>dl]ealthr«oiT, V ^^' ■" ~
ree^nuinf Mdinburgh.
Neltyuid bMl^jr^itoi^ vhlch Is certain to deilght all good lAfldren."— !%«
ukablj clever, Knd the long-haired yoang ladr wbo has
_.. . wland la cbanningly contraited wUh tanirtio Bruce s«
portly elderiy genUemen, or ate got up like tespeclable fiimily butlen."*— T%e
"A ftmny book tor chUdno, which h«i obulned a gnat vogna."— n^
NEW EDITIONS FOR SALE BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.
rax BBOOND FROOOX FAIBY BOOK. Superbly lllnalialea with
1 and color (hll-page and inta^teIt drawings by well-known artlsta. printed
heavy satln-flnlabed paper, and bound Id Uue Bilk cloth sUmped in goM,
rer. and i«a. A gift-book appropriate for all pitsentallon oecannu. Rloa
I>rexa, Biddle, Philadelphia.
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