CHAPTER XI--A MAN OF COMMAND
It was in truth the sheik who had been struck by the train the previousday.
The Arab turned and faced the howling mob, flourishing his shiningsword.
"Destroy the infidel who has defiled the holy temple of the Prophet!"snarled one of the infuriated Mohammedans.
"By the grave of my father," cried the sheik, "I swear to slay the firstwho tries to touch her!"
They were astounded, and as he swept his sword with a hissing soundbeneath their noses they involuntarily fell back.
One of the priests called to the sheik, demanding to know why hedefended the infidels.
The aged Arab retorted that he had a most excellent reason, and that hewould lay down his life rather than see either the girl or boy harmed.
He did more than that, for he called several of the mob by name,commanding them to move on and give the strangers permission to departin peace.
One of the priests attempted to expostulate, explaining that the girlhad entered the temple, thus committing an offense that could be atonedfor by blood alone.
Then Ras al Had retorted that the girl had been alarmed by the camels ofhis train and had fled into the temple to escape from them. He furtheradded that infidels were sometimes permitted to visit the temple,escorted by a military guard. In conclusion he stated that he wasindebted for his very life to the boy who stood ready to defend themaiden, and, therefore, he was willing to surrender his life in behalfof the lad.
They realized that he was in earnest, and those whom he had called byname and ordered to depart began to slip away.
He then singled out three or four of his own camel drivers, who haddropped back to see what all the uproar was about, and called them tohis side.
"Boy," he said, addressing Dick, "I will see that no harm comes to youor to the girl. Trust me."
"Thank you," said Dick gratefully. "I think you took a hand just in timeto prevent those wolves from tearing us to pieces."
"Without doubt you would have met serious injury at their hands. Thesemen are my paid servants. We will escort you and protect you. Fear not."
The camel drivers gathered about Dick and Nadia. Ras al Had placedhimself at their head and ordered them to march.
Flinging his hands in the air, one of the priests stood firmly in thepath, refusing to move.
The eyes of Ras al Had shone strangely. He stepped close to the priest,called him by name, and spoke in a low tone.
"It was thy brother whom I delivered from slavery in Nubia," he said."Then thou didst fall on my neck and weep and swear by the Prophet thatwhatever I should ask of thee at any time thou wouldst grant. Hastforgotten?"
"It is true, noble sheik," confessed the priest; "but tell me hast thouforgotten thy religion that thou canst defend an infidel who has defiledthe temple of Mohammed?"
"Ras al Had never forgets. These infidels are mighty and powerful, andshould harm come to them through thee, then thou wilt be forced to makereparation in the dust. For thy own good, stand aside and let thempass."
There seemed to be great command in the dark eyes of the swarthy man,and those eyes were fixed on the priest with burning insistence.
The priest hesitated a moment longer, and then, bowing low with dismayand regret he could not utter, he stood aside.
Ras al Had marched on, his servants following, still with Dick and Nadiain their midst.
They reached the camel train. Behind them the mob had melted away. Thedanger was past.
"Dick," said Nadia, pressing Merriwell's arm, "I think that old man isjust splendid! I never dreamed a black man could be so fine!"
Ras al Had turned to them.
"Boy," he spoke, "it has been truly said that Ras al Had is one whonever forgets a debt. Yet when I gave you my word to defend you with mysword and life should the time ever come that I found you in peril, Ilittle thought to what it would bring me. Still I have canceled thedebt, and I feel that I owe you nothing."
"You're all right, sheik!" exclaimed the boy enthusiastically. "I don'tknow how we are going to thank you for----"
Ras al Had checked him with a gesture.
"I want no thanks. Let me caution you against wandering about Damascuswithout escort or protection. It is a great folly. Where are yourfriends?"
Dick explained how it happened that he and Nadia had been caught in sucha predicament.
The sheik gazed attentively at the girl and then shook his head soberly.
"A maid so beautiful is in great danger here, unless she be wellprotected. She might disappear suddenly, and years of searching mightnot disclose her fate. There are men in Damascus who could not look onher without coveting possession of her. How simple it would be for oneof these buildings to swallow you both! You, boy, would meet a swiftdeath, and your body would be so completely destroyed that no trace ofit could ever be found. There are prisons in the city where dwellbeautiful maidens like her, given every luxury save liberty. Once theyhave passed within the prison doors they may never again come forth."
Nadia shuddered and clung to Dick's arm.
"I have heard of such things," she said; "but I supposed the custom hadbeen abolished."
"This day," said Ras al Had, "a friend of mine from the interior hasarrived with many beautiful girls, the most of them Circassians. I spokewith him as I was entering the city. He will take them to a certainhouse, the location of which I know, and there they will be attended byhairdressers and dressmakers, who will do everything possible to add totheir attractiveness. When they are prepared for inspection, certainrich men will visit them and choose from among them, paying the pricedemanded, after which no other man save their masters will ever look ontheir faces."
"Perfectly dreadful!" gasped Nadia. "It makes me shiver to think whatwould have happened had Hafsa Pasha been able to hoodwink me and mybrother."
The sheik gave her a swift, keen look.
"Hafsa Pasha?" he said, a strange intonation in his voice. "How know youthat man?"
"I met him on the steamer from Smyrna to Beirut."
"What happened?"
Nadia was confused.
"Why, he--he----"
"He made love to her," Dick explained. "He asked her to marry him."
"You knew him to be a Moslem?"
"I knew nothing at the time save what he told me of himself," answeredthe girl. "The captain of the vessel told me that he had been banishedto Damascus by the sultan on account of some political intrigue, andthat he had a harem."
Ras al Had bowed.
"It is true. I know that man--I know him well! He takes good care toavoid me. I was told by my friend, who had brought the girls from theinterior, that there was among them one very beautiful maiden whom hehoped to sell to Hafsa Pasha for a handsome price."
Nadia shivered again.
"To think that I could even talk with a monster who buys human beingslike cattle!" she exclaimed.
"I have contemplated seeking the opportunity to meet Hafsa Pasha when hecomes for the Circassian maiden," said the sheik. "It is possible that Imay be there."
"It seems to me," observed Dick, "that you have no particularly friendlyfeeling toward Mr. Hafsa."
"I have no reason to feel kindly toward him," confessed the Arab, in atone of much bitterness. "He once did my younger brother a great wrong.It has been truly said that Ras al Had never forgets, and this wrong heremembers. Some day Hafsa Pasha shall suffer for it, even as he causedmy brother to suffer."
"I don't like to be inquisitive," said Dick; "but my curiosity isaroused, and I wonder how he wronged your brother."
"My brother sold him a cargo of fine rugs, silks, and many preciousstones. Hafsa Pasha is no true Mohammedan. He has lived much in theWestern countries. Otherwise he would not have denied the price he owedfor the goods he had received. He was powerful in a way, and my brotherdisappeared. I demanded of Hafsa Pasha what had become of my brother,but he swore he knew not. More than a year later I found my brother, aslave and dying far beyond Bagdad, even
near to Yezd, which is in theGreat Salt Desert. With his last words my brother declared that hebelieved he was carried into slavery through the plotting and command ofHafsa Pasha, who sought thus to get him out of the way. Thus, you see,Hafsa Pasha escaped payment of the just debt he owed. There was no realproof, but I am satisfied that my brother was right. I have soughtdiligently to obtain the proof, that I might bring Hafsa Pasha tojustice. Even though I have failed in my efforts, never once have Ifaltered in my resolve to bring punishment on the evildoer."
There was a sort of grim earnestness and intensity in the quiet words ofthe old sheik, and Dick felt that Hafsa Pasha had made a very bitter anddangerous enemy.
"Well, I hope you corner the old rascal in the end," said the boy. "Butwe must get back to the bazaars. Dunbar and the professor will betearing the city up in search of us."
"I will send an escort with you," said Ras al Had. "Remember my words ofwarning and be cautious. We may never meet again, but I feel that I havecanceled my debt to you, even as I shall some day make settlement withHafsa Pasha."
Ras al Had called four sturdy black men and bade them escort the boy andgirl back to the bazaars and from thence to their hotel, in case theywished it.
Then he bade Dick and Nadia a dignified farewell.
The escort were four villainous-looking black rascals, and Nadia wasafraid of them; but Dick tried to reassure her, declaring that theservants of Ras al Had were to be trusted, no matter how untrustworthythey looked.
Here and there through the crooked, winding streets they made their way.To Dick it seemed that they had covered a far greater distance than wasnecessary in order to return directly to the bazaars; but he fancied theblack men were taking them by a round-about course in order to avoid thevicinity of the temple where the trouble had taken place.
As they proceeded they were joined by a crooked, wizened old Turk, whoseemed to know the black men. He spoke to them one by one, but not aword that he said reached the ears of the boy and girl.
Nadia shrank close to Dick, and the hand that clung to his arm trembleda little.
"I don't like that man," she whispered. "Did you see how he looked atme? I wish we were by ourselves. We do not need an escort."
Merriwell tried to reassure her, but he was not entirely easy in hismind.
Finally he spoke to one of the black men, asking why it took so long toreach the bazaars.
The fellow made some sort of an explanation in broken English, butscarcely a word of it could Dick understand.
By this time they were in a quarter of the city that added to theapprehension of the American boy. The people they passed stared at themin a manner that was decidedly disagreeable, to say the least, and manymade remarks that were plainly of an insulting nature.
Finally Dick stopped.
"Look here," he said; "we will go it alone the rest of the way. We aremuch obliged for your kindness, but we don't need you any more."
Then the old Turk approached him and mildly but firmly insisted that itwould be quite suicidal to dismiss the escort in such a manner and insuch a quarter of the city.
"When did you get into this game?" demanded the boy, somewhat warmly."It doesn't strike me that you have anything to say about it."
Then the crooked old fellow protested that he was a friend to Ras al Hadand was working entirely in the interest of the sheik.
Dick's suspicions were redoubled, instead of allayed.
"That may be true," he said; "but we don't propose to trouble Ras alHad's friends any more. Take the whole bunch and go."
"And never again have the courage to look the great sheik in the face?"said the Turk. "No; not until I know you are safe with your friends willI abandon you."
Dick turned to one of the black men, who seemed to be something of aleader.
"Say, you," he exclaimed, "I want you to shake yourself and get out ofthis right away! Understand? Take this befezzed old relic with you, too.Git!"
The man shook his head and held up his hands as if he did notunderstand.
Nadia's alarm had increased. She saw that Dick was rapidly becoming veryangry, and she urged him to hold his temper.
"I'll travel no farther with these men!" declared the determined boy.
The Turk said something to the black men, and they began to crowd aboutDick and the girl.
Seeing this, the boy reached for his pistol.
Before he could draw the weapon, however, he was seized by the throat bya huge pair of hands, the owner of which was behind him. Another of theblack rascals clutched his arm and prevented him from producing theweapon.
The hands which clasped the boy's neck were very powerful, and themassive fingers shut off his wind in a moment. The pressure thus exertedseemed crushing flesh and bone.
He exerted all his strength in the effort to break away, but realizedthat he had very little chance to succeed.
Through a haze he saw Nadia struggling weakly in the grip of the crookedTurk and one of the black men. There was a sudden roaring in his ears,but through it came a sharp sound that he knew was a scream from thelips of the unfortunate girl.
A feeling of desperate fury shot through his heart. The very fact thathe felt himself impotent to aid Nadia thrilled him with a horriblemadness. He remembered the warning words of Ras al Had.
But had the old sheik been sincere? Many a time he had heard that noMoslem ever felt himself bound in honor to an infidel. In fact, todeceive and betray an infidel was regarded as a commendable andpraiseworthy proceeding.
Had not Ras al Had played a crafty game from the start? It was trulysurprising that the sheik had dared array himself against the priestsbefore the temple. Had he not done so in order to deceive and betray theinfidels more completely? Was it not possible the old scoundrel hadrealized that any harm befalling the boy and girl in the vicinity of thebazaars might bring swift retribution on the offenders, for which reasonhe had entered into the affair, held the mob in check for the timebeing, finally to decoy the victims into a part of the city where theycould be murdered with very little chance that the crime would ever bepunished?
This hazy thought caused young Merriwell to twist and squirm in theclutch of those iron hands, making a last deranged effort to freehimself that he might fight for her.
His senses reeled and a black cloud, riven by flashes of lightning,descended upon him. He knew he was losing consciousness. Heavy bellsrang in his ears. Somewhere in the distance cannon boomed. Then thesesounds died away. The harsh bells and booming cannon were silenced by anorgan peal. The music thrilled through him. It sank to a soft, throbbingstrain and then receded into the distance, growing fainter and fainter.Peace fell on him. He struggled no more.
Was it death?