SERAT THE SHEIK

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 272, 15 November 1924, Page 30

SERAT THE SHEIK

By JEAN MAYE..

CHAPTER I. U Zara the Crystal Gazer. , Zara the crystal gazer sat waiting in t his shadowy chamber. i The hot sunshine blazed over old E Cairo, but within his house all was cool and dim. He sat immobile, idly s caressing a red rose, and thinking deeply. 1 1 His dark. Arab face wns set olf by his; c snowy turban and spotless robe. In c front of him was a low tripod uponj , which stood a large crystal sphere. I' Close to his hand wns a Hat wicker I ' basket containing Tanitha and Tanithe,!" two fangless cobras, with which he used i"• to impress bis client's when they called!) to have the future unrolled. a Very quiet nnd restful was the room , of the "Wise Man," as Zara was known 1 in Cairo. His fame was considerable, I I and his necromancy was spoken of with 1 awe by both the ignorant fellahin, who | ■ scraped together the fee he demanded 1 before his powers could be exercised, and j t also by the fashionable Europeans who | made up the white society of the capital i j of modern Egypt. j i Suddenly Zara struck a gong which , 1 was near his hand. Noiseless as a ( shadow Nebat the Nubian, servant and ( confidant, glided into the apartment and ( stood expectant. He was clad in gay : , garments of scarlet and blue, and made , a splash of colour in the dimness of the j j chamber. j j "Do any wait in the resting-room?" j , demanded Zara. His voice was soft i, and musical. I, "No, my master," came the response. |, "There was but one old and half crazed j Arab woman, but I drove her from the ; door as if she had been the evil Jin that., haunts the tomb of Rezar. I did thee ! good service, O my master!" he added complacently. | [ "And wherefore ? O misbegotten lump i ' of darkness!" "For surely she had the evil eye, I Fountain of Wisdom, and her glance '. was even as the baleful basilisk of Berut. Know ye not, O my master, that she is in league with nil dark spirits, and it is ' said that Elio, for such is her name." I' "Ahd thou didst drive Elio from my apartment?" j "Yes, surely!" | "0 ape and son of an ape! When wilt thou learn wisdom! For knowest thou not, witless one, that this woman had a message of much importance to give to mc. She hath come out of the desert, j 'travelling many a weary mile that she' | might rejoice mc with her tidings. I. I have seen it in the crystal these many I moons." The Nubian struck his forehead with a gesture of abasement. "Pardon, O my master. But I knew not that she bore tidings to thee. And if she had said that she desired a spe- , cial meeting with thee I would have j informed thee of her coming. But she did but mutter and moan, saying that she must see the great Zara. And I thought to do thee a service and behold I have offended thee!" | Zara turned his lustrous eyes upon I the Nubian. He was silent for a few j seconds. Then he spoke softly: "Thou dost mean • well, Nebat, I although thy head is as thick as thy heart is soft. But know that this, woman, Elio, is but one of the many who . work out my will. She' comes and she goes, and she passes hither and thither I up and down this land of Egypt. Already she hath done my bidding and Io! here in my hand is the message that she brought unto .mc." Zara opened his hand and there in the palm lay a: tiny fragment of ivory. | The eyes of the Nubian grew round] with awe as he gazed upon the talisman for such he doubted not that it was.] "May the Jin fly away with mc," he ejaculated, "if this is not magical. For how, my master, did the token pass | from Elio into thy keeping?" J "0 witless one," said Zara, "know yet | not that even Elio hath the rudiments of the necromancy of old Egypt of which, I Zara, called by these white triflers, the Crystal Gazer, am the custodian and adept. ' Pry not into these mysteries, 0 Nebat. But haste! haste! set the apartment in order. Let all be in readiness. For the hour is big with fate and already the light footfalls of the English women sound in the street without." With a look of deepest reverence the Nubian withdrew. Then Zara, bending, took up his small reed pipe and soft and low he drew forth the strains of crooning music. Swaying gently from side to side, he kept his eyes fixed upon the wicker basket. As the music grew louder, the flap of the wicker basket was pushed up and a flat and wicked-looking head appeared. Presently, both the cobras had emerged, and fascinated by the' music of the pipe were moving softly in time with the voluptuous strains. For several minutes the serpents undulated from side to side. Then Zara ceased to play and the serpents sank down into their coils. Putting forth his brown hand he replaced them in J their basket and shut down the flap. j His eyes were fixed with brilliant intensity upon the crystal sphere which j stood before him. "Yea, surely it is the hour of Fate!" ■ he said at length, speaking softly tor himself. "Not in vain have I studied the motions of the stars and planets and made my vigil in the Temple of Rathe all-knowing. Surely the white woman that shall come shall be a sign that the time of the deliverance drawcth nigh." He broke off abruptly as Nebat held up the great crimson curtains before him and said questioningly:— "It is thy pleasure, 0 wise one, to see the two white women who wait without?" He added more confidentially: "They are rich, 0 my master, for their bangles are of gold and rings of price glisten upon their fingers." "Admit them," said Zara briefly, and snatching up the red rose he had laid down he composed himself to an attitude of profound meditation. It was thus that the white women found.him as they were ceremoniously bowed into th'j shadowed chamber by Nebat the Nubian. "0 Myra," whispered Lillah Carter, "isn't he just too romantic! He looks just like one of those funny statues of old Buddha! You go first, dear," she added, hanging back behind her companion. "I am sure he is Roing to te!l awfully nice." "Hush! don't be a silly goose, Lil.," returned her companion. "And do try and behave yourself. Remember those natives understand and speak English perfectly." ° The sonorous voice of Zara struck across their whispered conversation •Welcome, O white ladie-! You have come to Zara t£at the future may be unrolled. \ou have come to hear of love, and money, and the future brisrht with expectations. Such is ever the desire of youth. There is no past and no present for those who are in the

t ; springtime of life. But draw near," he added, fixing his brilliant eyes on Lil- j lab. "You are impatient and unused • to control, therefore let thy companion wait while I read the crystal and the r stars for thee." ] As Lillah took her place on a low t stool immediately in front of the necro- t mancer, Myra withdrew into the sha- a dows and waited. A strange feeling was 1 creeping over her. This mysterious room j with the central figure of the dark- 1 skinned Zara had a sense of familiarity, i It wis as though she had been there r, before and yet rack her brains as she s would she could not recall when. Pro- ]j bably, she decided at last, it was an impression of some other native room c which she had visted in company with her father, Sir Charles Lenton, retired general of the Indian Army. His interest in excavation work and the curios |' of Egypt took him into many old native places, and to many of these Myra had i accompanied him. t As she listened to the voice of Zara, a I feeling of fear invaded her practical c mind. How inscrutable the mind of J these men like Zara, who were ever in the background of this official life of ' Cairo! That they were the custodians c of mysteries beyond the understanding r of the western intelligence she could not ' doubt. She had heard often enough from General Lenton, odd tales of the c feats of magic performed by these necromancers, who claimed to hold the secrets ' of their art from the dead priests of ' old Kgypt. She knew, too, that these ' men were the most dangerous figures in the growing national agitation against l British rule in Kgypt and that they were steeped in intrigue. * The sudden raising of Lillah's voice caught her wandering attention and she strained her ears to listen. "O how frightfully interesting!" she was saying. "But am I not to have a love affair very soon? And what about marriage? Surely you have got a husband up your sleeve for mc!" and she , gave her high, silvery laugh, which Myra ', often found rather distracting. "That, O white woman, is hidden. For , you I see the light and the trifling things , of life —the ebb and flow of the social , round, the admirers who come and go, the chatter of the gay young officers and the rich youths of Cairo; like rain- . drops pattering upon the roof of ( j the temple is their talk." . I "Oh, really! You're not very compli- , mentary! So you do nc-t think I shall | he married? Well, I have always intended to live and die an old maid." * Zara gave his slow smile. "Patience," he cried, and stared earnestly into the crystal sphere while he absently twirled his red nose in the lithe brown finger. I "Listen!" he cried at length, and raised his eyes to the face of the expect- . ant girl. "There is a marriage for you in the future, with money and happiness. Not high nor low will your path- ' I way be as it passes over the mountains ! of life, you are one of those whom fate ■ has little concern with. But there is ' I another here who is marked—aye, ' I marked I say, the hand of El Neb, god ' of life and love." He looked towards ; Myra, who was conscious of the power , of the intent eyes of the necromancer. Lillah rose with a pettish exclamation. "Oh, I see: You want to tell my ; ' friend's fortune. It's always the same, Myra, I cannot shine when you are with '■ mc! I am like a poor little candle when the electric light is full on. It was j just the same at the ball at Shepheard's • | the other evening, I was getting on I famously with Captain Berwick until you came along, and then he was all I over you." Myra blushed. Had the girls been observant they might have, noted a ' I subtle air of expectancy pass over the I face of Zara when the name of Captain i Berwick was pronounced, but it passed, and he was once more the grave and inscrutable native. "I will sit here," said Lillah, taking the place her friend had vacated, "and I shall hope you will be told something more exciting than I have. 0 dear!" she added, stifling a yawn, "how dreadfully fed up I rtm with life in Cairo. Nobody ever makes love to mc, or offers to run off with mc, or suggests something exciting! I really think 1 shall die of sheer ennui." What was Zara doing? For he did not, as in the ease of Lillah, proceed at once to gaze into the glass sphere and "unveil fate" as he called it. Instead he placed near to his hand the flat wicker basket tho girls had noticed on the floor. Then he took up his reed pipe and fingered it with a loving nir. But first he held the gaze of Myra f with his bright eyes. "Is it thy wish, O white girl, that I show thee something of what fate holds for thee?" "Why, yes? Is it so dreadful? But tell mc nil. I am not afraid." Thus Myra spoke, while a queer feeling of I excitement crept over her. "There are some," continued the fortune teller gravely, "who have their fate | bound about their neck and any can read it with ease. But you are one of I those who have much to see in life, much | to endure, much to learn. Love and life will be busy with thee ere many j months have faded. Shall . I unveil ail jto thee, O white woman, or wilt thou shrink from knowing what lies in the j yet untrodden path?" ! "I will know everything," said Myra (firmly, while Lillah cried out: j "O Myra, how frightfully exciting. Is he going to tell you about a murder or a divorce perhaps." She clasped her j hands. "Do tell him that you want to j hear, every teeny-weeny word.." ] Zara turned slowly to the speaker. "Will the white lady be pleased to 1 retire into the ante-chamber while I ! unveil Fate. For I find that the spirits do not obey my bidding while you are ] here." "O Myra, surely you do not want to be left alone with this man," said Lillah ; i hastily. But Zara, with a courteous I bow. interposed. 1 ( "Why should she fear, lady? I, Zara, I am a man of repute among my people, land though my skin is not so white \ as thine, thinkest thou my heart is black I with guile. (10, lady," he added sud-' ! |denly, lifting his eyes to her face and! [staring at her with a strange expression 'Jof authority. With a murmur of confusion Lillah withdrew, while in answer to an imperious stroke on the gong. Nebat the Nubian appeared in the ■ entrance holding up the curtain with an i expectant look upon ris face. "Yes, my master?" : "Let the white lady wait in the outer room and see that none else are admit- • ted," said Zara. ; There was silence in the chamber of t the necromancer. Myra felt conscious t that strange forces were at work. She i ! tried hard to remember that she was an 1 i English girl who, for a joke, had come to : I visit one of the most renowned fortune-

j tellers in Cairo. He was just going to I tell her the usual rot about love and marriage and money. As to the future and fate—how could anyone unveil this. She must listen and use her own jud<*ment, and ° The voice of Zara broke upon her musings. "I alone, O lady, cannot unveil fully thy fate. But I must call to my aid my two familiars. They shall tell us I something of the decrees of Khusti who ! rules the lives of the childera of men. thy heart be calm for there is nothing to fear in the chamber of Zara." A_ in a dream Myra saw Zara take his reed pipe and set it to his lips. Softly ' he blew upon it and filled the room with I the crooning music. Then the flap of I the wicker basket was raised cautiously, i and gradually there emerged the two' loathly cobras, rising higher and higher ! in their spirals until they had left the 1 basket and were swaying to the croon-1 ing voice of the flute. Faster they moved, until the music abruptly ceased,! and both withdrew again into their hiding place. Narrowly Zara looked into tho face ; of the English girl. "Thou art not afraid?" he demanded "Of what?" "Of Tanitha and Tanithe, my two 'familiars'?" "They cannot hurt mc, I suppose, for no doubt their fangs have been withdrawn as is generally the case when serpents are used to impress visitors who come to fortune-tellers." Myra spoke lightly, but her heart was beating fast. There was something repulsive about the flat heads and sparkling, bead-like eyes of the two cobras, and she could not repress a feeling of disgust, but pride would not let her show her fear to Zara. "They are wise serpents," said Zara, eagerly, "and tell mc many things which would otherwise be hidden. But come, let the future be unrolled! For I perceive that there is much to tell thee, different indeed from the trashy things which thy friend has before her in her uneventful days." Myra bent her eyes upon the dull surface of the crystal, while Zara remained obstinately silent. A hypnotic stupor of mind crept over her as she sat waiting in the dim, cool chamber, while outside the hot sunshine blazed over bazaar and temple, flat white houses and lordly native mansions of the Beys, all seemed unreal and fantastical, time standing still, anything possible, however bizarre. Such was the trend of her feelings as Zara began to speak in his velvet voice. "Know, O white woman," he said, "that for thee the future is big with Fate. I have known of thy coming. I have waited for thy footfalls to sound in the street of the merchants. They say, in old Cairo, that I am the Wise One. Yea, it is so, for the gods have taught mc some of their secrets, and of | this knowledge I would give thee, O white woman with the lovely face." "I do not understand " "Are my words so dark? or is it because my skin is dusky that thy heart is fielled with prejudice against mc?" Myra roused herself. The voice seemed to flow across her mind without meaning. What was he saying, what was this wisdom he offered? It was all nonsense, of course, yet how frightfully exciting. "I would teach thee much," came the soft voice again. "Think of the power that would be thine if you could read Fate for thyself and see the meaning of the pictures in the crystals, and why not? Zara can teach thee, and make thee as wise as my two serpents or as their master." "Please tell mc my fortune, and I must be going," said Myra. "Yea," cried the necromancer, "but you will return, the hour shall come when thy feet shall seek the chamber of Zara as* the bewitched seek the grotto i of Gershesh." He looked again at the crystal, and cried out: "See! See! the pictures form in the wreathing mist, and Fate forms before thine eyes. Look, O white woman, and acknowledge the power of Zara!" Hardly daring to breathe, Myra craned forward and gazed into the crystal before j ber. A fainting feeling had assailed her; she felt compelled to do as she was told. Vainly she tried to throw off the spell which the crystal-gazer had thrown over her. She seemed like a bird fascinated by the evil eyes of a snake. Then, as the crystal, which had been clouded a moment since, cleared before her gaze, she caught her breath, for there, before her very eyes, she saw a picture forming. As though in a mirror she saw a vision. There were two figures. One, a woman, • the other a man, but the. man was dressed ■in the flowing robes of an Arab, and his arms were locked round the woman. His head bent forward, and he showered kiss after kiss upon the face of the woman he held in his arms. Then, as the woman ill the vision turned, Myra had hard work to repress the scream that rose to her lips. For the face of the woman was her own! and dimly, as though in a dream, she heard the words of Zara, the necromancer, fall dully upon her ears: "Love shall come out of the desert!" (To be Continued Daily.)