THE RED SLIPPER

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 163, 10 July 1907, Page 11

THE RED SLIPPER

..BY.. ST.GEORGE RATHBORNE AtJTSO* OF " 3>r. Jack," "tittle Miss Millions," "Baroa Sam," etc.

A St-wring Story of Adventure in the hand of the Moors CHAPTER XI. ! ESTEB ABOU BEX MOHAMMED, MERCHANT. •That was just like Harding. He never believed in wasting time or hreath when he had any communication Jo make. I really believe that if appointed to _s_£T a newly-made monarch to his throne he would transact the function jn something of this style: Tlere, you step lively now, and squat in that chair on the dais which yearns -Jo embrace you, oh, king." What Harding went after was results, and in the effort to attain these he had jjo use for form. I knew the Mosque of the Red Slipper ff-1 .. , It stood on the way to the seraglio ot gjfi shereef; we had passed it on the oc.casion of our visit thither, and at the _jne I remarked how it would make a splendid rendezvous when we had occa'gjon to meet. - At midnight, eh? Well, I must call my faithful Sukey to the fore again, and between us we jfonld manage somehow. Captain Ben might place his guard ground the square all right, but since ■sre had outwitted them before, it was jgasonable to suppose we could do it Besides, the captain of the guards' orders were to protect my person rather than to keep mc from running away. There is considerable difference. I ate my meal in deep reflection. The future was like a great black pit, sririeh mortal vision could not pierce. What it held for mc no man could say —perhaps glorious victory following strenuous endeavour, perhaps an ignosjnnions death. God alone knew. I must be content to do my best, satisfied to find my reward in the glorious eyes of the woman whom I served. Somehow their memory nerved mc as nothing else on earth could have done. I knew now, ii I never had before, how men were able to face the greatest perils by land and sea for the sake of one beloved. The world already began to look dif-fexemV-to take on a new phase-—things that were erstwhile prosaic now appeared glorified, for love transforms. ][ add my humble testimony to that of countless, millions, in declaring that there is nothing like it on the face of the earth. ... •ppell, there I sat, and mooned, and ftaiied. There was no hurry. Six horns must elapse ere I could hope fo meet my gallant co-labourer in the rineyard in front of the famous Mosque of the Bed Slipper, scene of more than one tragedy handed down in the traditions of El Moro. ; It mattered little just how I passed this time, so long as it was utilised for good I thought of nearly everything that seemed to have the faintest bearing on the case, wondered just how Harding would go about his business, and what flic result might be. Harding I accounted far the superior Oi that wicked old wizard. Sinbad, the prime minister, yet I knew he must exercise his magic vigorously in order to outwit our arch-enemy. Would he then lay a spell upon poor El Moro after the manner of those legends of old where every man, woman and child was transformed into a block of stone until the coming of the prince, and his kiss upon the lips of the sleeping beauty broke the enchantment ? Well, hardly in i;hese days, much too prosaic and full of autqmobiles, bicycles, f.'golf sticks and similar modern products . of fairy lore to admit of any old-time legerdemain. If my friend Harding wanted to paralyze all FJ Moro so as to prevent pursuit, . he would have to go about it in a busippcreliVft way. I would not put it past his genius, for he aeughted in handling stupendous subjects. .The landlord actually became uneasy, I remained so long at table. He feared I might not be weU served, and officiously sidled up several times to obsequiously ask if there was aught else the gentleman would wish. i. On each occasion I sought to squelch ■ - Mm by a negative shake of the head, and ' a graceful wave of the hand, that implied ] a rHsmissal; but though temporarily put to flight, he came up smiling again in a ■ feesh round. Finally I gave it up. Sukey next engaged my attention. He heard all I had to say without ex•psessing himself either for or against tie move, being decidedly non-committal . i& nature. And yet it did one good to hear him JHuark at the finish of my little recital: •; Tt can be done, good master." We entered into a committee of the - fchole, and settled numerous little details ' looking to the successful carrying out of car taking French leave. It was interesting, this deliberately ■■ faying out a plan, in the knowledge that fte whole city, with its teeming thou-E-ids, was opposed to us. Such things invariably please my fanry, and I am apt to make the most of fiem. ■ They serve to leaven the lump. This , S3, world would be a very tame proposition, to mc, at least, were it not for , ftese occasional chances to pit my pow-crs-against a strong opposition, And yet I have known lots of men $nite satisfied to live a wild sort of existence, each day passing exactly in the Ea me groove as "those before it, yearning tor no excitement, mere automatons, as OTtere. ' Bail such a life could never suit mc; .. so I thought when I was single, and had '?wer enjoy the bliss of owning a little ipme of my own, with a dear one to pre™<k as its queen. That is the magical fact calculated to Ssake all the difference in the world. How slowly the minutes dragged. Sukey had vanished. .As this was merely a part of our plan w campaign, I found no occasion for aaxiety. He would turn up at the right time, doubt. ;£ke chess players interested mc. Their tools were clumsy, and the board j ■"rt a roughly-drawn one . but I found ex- ! Pws there who could give some of our points in the game and beat Strange how this most scientific game a hold upon the followers of and all through the East and Orient. '_j_,M T _ often wondered, and finally the conclusion that it appeals to by reason of its being a » J^^S_on lnfl " With kni S iLts ' and castles '

Then, again, I would saunter outside, though sticking close to the fondak porch. Always was there one or more of the palace guards in sight, and no matter , whither I walked they kept pace with I mc like shadows. ! Of course, everything was going on in . the public mart as usual, only I fancied : the clamour was somewhat louder than I us ual, though it did not occur to mc that Harding could be the cause. The night breeze coming over the walls of the city seemed to bring with it the | breath of the desert. No one who has not experienced it can know-what that is—the peculiar scent on the heavy atmosphere when the sand, heated by a scorching sun, cools off in the night. The nearest I can describe it is that peculiar smell so often experienced when a faint shower patters down upon dusty country roads, washing the clover, bathing the leaves, and bringing new life to all creation. I sniffed the air vaguely, much as might a war-horse when the pungent smoke of battle is wafted to his quivering nostrils. It was not that I loved the desert so much as I disliked the city, where foul odours abounded and men's evil passions held sway, the more. Besides, just now the desert represented freedom for Mary Duncan; she would see in the most dreary sandy waste on earth beauties far beyond anything money conld purchase in the seraglio of a pasha or a caliph such as the Shereef of Wazzan was reckoned. A little more patience, my boy. Calm yourself, count the minutes, and presently the momentous hour would come. After that there would probably be no lack of excitement, accompanied by hard riding enough to please the most exacting. It is often quiet before the storm. If I could only have dismissed that miserable old Sinbad from my mind, I believe I could have surveyed the prospect as though it were rosy-tinted. Difficulties did not haunt mc, for I had surmounted many a desperate crisis; but it seemed to be an inspiration in my brain that if aught of evil came upon us, his would be the directing mind. And yet, being of a buoyant disposition, I would not allow even this shadow to long continue to cast its ominous proportions across my path. Time enough to worry when this Wazzan ogre proved a match for our own magician. Finally I yawned so frequently and looked so used up generally that it became evident I must have rest. So I retreated to the den, openly announcing my intention of seeking my down couch, which, of course, was about the last thing I really meant to do. It would doubtless be quite some little time before I found an opportunity to rest my weary frame on so luxurious a I thing as a divan or cot—the ground • would be good enough for such as Aleck Thompson, adventurer in general. Once alone I began my preparations for departure. Adaz Baba was an honest man, who had surely treated mc with the greatest consideration; of a verity it would ill . become his honoured guest to depart between the setting oi the sun and the rising thereof without leaving some re- | eompense to cover the cost of his enterk tainment. ' Accordingly I wrapped some gold boys in a piece of white silk that turned up handily, and addressed the packet to mine host, enjoining maledictions upon ' the head of any other who would dare " to open the same. Knowing the superstitious character of Moors in general, I fancied my fat fee would sooner or later reach the hand for ' which it was intended. That binding duty done, I next turned to my own personal affairs. Now Sukey had at divers times during the afternoon conveyed to my apartment sundry packages. These being compelled to disgorge their contents, revealed such a dress as Harding had used on the preceding night, and which had quite struck my fancy. I had been ashamed to appear before Mary Duncan in such a hateful disguise as that which proved so serviceable on the occasion of our former visit, and was firmly resolved that a second time I should show to better advantage. Not that I ever claimed to be the least handsome, Heaven is my witness, but I have a well-knit figure, and it hardly satisfies such a man's ambition to represent a lame beggar, or a tattered leper going along the streets under compulsion to cry aloud continually, "Give way, unclean !" I trust you will pardon the little vanity. On my honour, I never was guilty of such a thing before. But, then, neither had I known Mary Duncan up to this pilgrimage to the strange Wazzan metropolis. A novice might have found considerable difficulty in utilizing these strange garments. I had not lived in Fez and roamed the country these years without much profit; not only did I speak the general language fairly well, but I knew all the habits of Moors from merchant to brigand. Yes, and even in my own person I had, perhaps unconsciously—a dweller in a foreign country of tea will —come to adopt many of the smaller idioms that characterise' the better Moorish classes. This came of my intercourse with the sultan, and being an honoured guest at many a dinner given by rich Fezzan merchants. My skin was almost as brown as the next one, and a touch of henna here and there fulfilled the deception. Fortunately the Thompsons—of course I mean our particular branch of the great and glorious family—were all darkhaired, which fact, small in itself, was now about to prove of inestimable value to mc. With a blanket screening the little window so that curious eyes might not behoin the transformation, and by the dim light of a meagre tallow dip, more | after the fashion of an Esquimau blubber oil lamp than anything under creation with which I was acquainted, I managed to throw oft* the identity of Thompson, ex-Yankee consul, and assume that of Abou Ben Mohammed, a merchant, late from Fez. CHAPTER XII. AT THE MOSQUE. The lack of a decent looking-glass detracted in no small measure from the satisfaction one anticipated in making such a change. I had a pocket mirror, but this was of

I little use save in so far as to examine my face. However, I had no doubts concerning the general result. These Moors are not so particular with regard to dress that any casual glance would notice an infraction of the rules. And I was familiar with their habits, as I have taken pains to say before. The next step was to get away from the fondak. What favoured mc was the fact that , the inn, being a general rendezvous for : those who reached El Moro by caravan, strangers, as a usual thing, attracted ; very little attention, once upon the r square. l Fortunately the police system of the shereefs capital did not compare to that 1 of Paris or St. Petersburg. I A man's pedigree might remain an uni known quantity through the whole sea- ; son of his stay. I began to do some dodging, s Once in the open it would be time ; enough to assume the dignity compatible with my pretended rank. i A guileless man might have found ; more or less difficulty in evading an en- , counter while seeking an outlet, i Which, since I seemed to take naturally to the game of hide-and-seek, would ; appear to mark mc down as a rather dubious proposition. I never did claim to be an innocent, and besides, the time spent in the woods had given mc points in this tag game. Consequently I rounded up without damage, on the outside of the queer old fondak. The world was before mc. I gave the inn a last fond look, for, to tell the truth, they had taken good care of mc there, and I would often have cause to remember the modern Baba with consideration. Then I settled down to business. Men were moving about the square as usual, and I had to answer more than one salutation. I felt no fear. In this battle of wits I ought to be able to hold my own. When, however, I suddenly came face to face with rare old Capt. Ben Ali Yusef himself, I will confess my heart took a sudden bound. Especially as he seemed to step purposely out of his way to address mc. And yet it was incredible that anything like suspicion should have seized upon him; more likely he was just curious to pass the good word with every stranger of influence in the capital. For Capt. Ben, being a public official, • desired to stand well with the masses. I gave him fair words, and in answer to his eager questions related to him how matters stood at the time I left old Fez. This was rubbing it in pretty hard And some day, should a benevolent fortune carry mc safely over the whirlpool rapids that even now threatened my frail bark, I truly intended letting the captain of the guard know how close he had been to the hated foreigner that ; night. Possibly I would make as good a Mus- ; sulman as the nest one, did I but aspire to play the role. Minutes were worth something to mc, . and yet I dared not appear too anxious ■ to break away, lest Ben Ali find ground i for suspicion. In decent time I wound up the interesti ing little confab, and sauntered on my i way with such dignity as became a man . of my calling. The rich Fez merchants occupy a pc- : culiar position in all Morocco, just as a Xew York business man is a marked ; indivdual wherever he may roam. I considered myself well out of that i scrape, and even indulged in a fit .of dry ; chuckling as a peep over my shouldar [ revealedthe captain of the guard walk- • ing back toward the inn in the faithful ; performance of his duty, little dreaming - how the cage was empty and the bird - flown. Some one was following mc, though. 3 Several times I was made aware of a i shadowy figure 5 that stopped when I did, and seemed i very solicitous about not interfering with j my actions. Had Ben Ali been too keen for mc, : after all, in that he allayed my suspic--5 ions while really keeping my movements ' under surveillance? I felt chagrin arising in my throat; it 1 -was discouraging, when all had seemed so fair. ', Perhaps I might yet be able to throw ; this fellow off the track by adopting some of the strategic actions usually in- " stituted by that master of the craft, a ' fox hunted by the hounds of a Virginia 1 plantation. By doubling on my track I would • make it difficult for him to keep mc in ! his eye. ' My enthusiasm was always on tap, as "' it were, and could be relied on to come I- to my succour in time of stress. While I was thus beginning to lay out ; quite a little campaign, lo and behold, I - saw a sudden light that dazzled my ' eyes! And I was not a Saul of Tarsus, breathing out threatenings against the 1 Christians, either. My light came from within. It was a realisation of a startling truth, and seemed to bring immediate . relief in its train, just as the surgeon's lancet often does when a local gathering presses painfully upon a tender spot. Sukey Mulei! Why had I not thought of it before? Of course my shadow was none other than the faithful one. He was fully convinced that the merchant of Fez must be his good master, and bad continued to dog my footsteps with pertinacious fidelity. At the same time he dared not address mc in any way for fear lest he made a mistake, and thus precipitate trouble. I alone could remedy this. It was a signal he wanted. Sure enough, no sooner had I oriven the sound which he had agreed upon than the shadow assumed substance, and developed into my loyal Sukey. Needless to say he was tremendously pleased with the success attending my efforts to give the watchdog of El Moro the slip. Like most others, Sukey Mulei entertatined an exceedingly healthy respect for the stalwart captain of the guard, whose valorous deeds had long been the talk of the sultan's capital. I knew how much the sovereign envied his foremost subject the possession of such a model fighter, since he had frequently confided to mc his views when we were awheel around Fez. Perhaps it showed a little vanity on [ my part, but I must confess that it did give mc some pleasure to hear Sukey declare most e-arnestlv that I cut a swagger figure in my new attire. Of course, he did not exactly use those words, and it may really have been a roundabout bouquet thrown to himself, since it was his judgment that selected i the garments; but I accepted the flat- i tery. At any rate, when sweet Mary Duncan set eyes on mc again she would have a better opinion of my personal appearance than on that former occasion when I shone out in so hideous a guise. | You see that rankled in my breast. . I And perhaps it might be well to

note, as indicating the insidious pro- • gress of the fell disease within my wretched heart, "that I never thought of Mary Duncan now without the prefix of " sweet." She deserved it, too. Accompanied by Sukey Mulei, and talking in cautious tones as we walked along the narrow thoroughfares of EL oro,. we now drew near the appointed rendezvous. I felt something more than a mild curiosity, in connection with Harding. He had hinted at a possible surprise. Could that mean he would have alBeady hruoght about the liberation of Mary frbfn the' confines of the seraglio prison ? I am ashamed to admit that this suggestion gave mc chagrin as well as pleasure; While I might delight in the knowledge that the young woman no longer could be reckoned as being in the power of the haughty Shereef of Wazzan, at the same time I had been indulging in various highly seasoned dreams as to how mine should be the arm to lead her out from the labyrinth. Selfish—yes, but when, tell mc, was love anything else, from time immemorial? Othello voiced the sentiments of all sighing swains when he loudly declaimed against keeping a corner in the thing he loved for other people's uses. And they all knew about "corners" in Shakespeare's day, too, if you please, though some persons deem them a modern evil connected with the octopus— trusts. In this uncertain frame of mind, therefore, I approached the famous mosquo of the Red Slipper. Everything seemed quiet enough. Kot a light gleamed in the massive building, for the religion of Mohammed is one pertaining to daylight observance for the most part. No midnight masses, weird chants for the small hours of the night, and long, weary vigils. Prayers arise from sunrise until an hour after sunset, then the muezzin descends from his pinnacle in the tower or minaret, the priests depart from the mosques, and until another dawn religion is left to take care of itself. So that in the solemn hours of the night such a forsaken rendezvous is very appropriate. The fact that I saw not a living figure did not daunt mc in the least. A man like Harding had a way of remaining under cover until it was time to show his hand. I knew that in this particular mosque there was some mechanism of a clock- i like character through which the \ bells, sweet-toned as those of St. So- | phia in old Constantinople, were made to tangle discordantly about the middle of the night watch. It was at this period we had agreed to meet. As yet I knew to a certainty the jingling of silver-toned metal had not taken place, for my watch told mc the hour ere I left the fondak, and I had been very zealous' to keep on the alert ever i since. j "It must be almost time, Sukey Mulei," i I said to my confederate. "It is almost time, most excellent master," he replied, in his reciprocal way. And hardly had he snoken than I heard a whirring sound springing from within the adjacent mosque that reared vast copper-sheathed dome above the spot where we were standing. This for the nonce startled mc, for I was thinking of Captain Ben. and all manner- of cunning tricks which Jthese crafty Moors delight in. And yet I understood the full significance of the sound even before the bells began to clatter—the machinery only groaned for of a lubricant. Those bells seemed for once to make a most unearthly noise; perhaps because I stood directly beneath them, and the night air was perfectly calm; or it might be the wrought-up condition of my nerves had to do with it. Why, I actually feared lest they might arouse the entire population of El Moro; that from the various solemn whitcwalled houses would rush a host of armed Moorish fanatics, eager to dip their hands iv the blood of the accursed Christian dogs. And yet, though the bells clattered and banged in unison and out for a space of several minutes not a solitary figure appeared upon the broad, opening in front of the mosque, or, as far as I could see, down any of the alley-like streets leading from the circus. Stay! There was a movement of some sort yonder, as though a party advanced with more or less haste. Yes, they came from the quarter whither Harding had led mc on the previous night when we went to pay our respects to the harem of the great "mogul. And, as certain as fate, a female walked in their midst. Something told mc what to expect. "Disappointment at a lost chance to post as a hero in her eyes, was forgotten. With such a future stretching °out before us, there would no doubt be op- | portunities a plenty before we reached a j place of security. j And only rejoicing over her good for- | tune, I stepped forward to once more enter the magic of Mary Duncan's sweet . presence. j (To be continued next Saturday.) j