THE GROTTO OF THE SULTAN.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9365, 14 March 1896, Page 2

THE GROTTO OF THE SULTAN.

-t. By Luke Sharp. Detroit Free Pre3s. Hassan, the leader of the young Turkish party in the Kassim Pasha quarter of Constantinople, received a message which he found difficult to execute. It had been conveyed to him in that round about fashion by which messages of dangerous import are transmitted in Turkey, tiiat Zebet Pasha, one of the aides-de-camp of the sultan, was ready to act, but before doiug so lie must have soma assurance from the head of the young Turkish party that a practical and unanimous body of public opinion should support him when he made his move against the corrupt and .imbecile sultan, who was bringing ruin on his country, on Turk and Armenian alike. Zebet Pasha, therefore, requested that a list of tho members of the young Turkish party should be sent him, that he might con it over in privacy and then judge whether or not it was wise to take the irrevocable step. It was suggested to Hassan that the messenger who brought this list to the palace should be given some innocent petition in writing, so that if the time proved inopportune, or if the messenger round the Pasha surrounded by his comrades, no attempt* was to be made to give him the list, but the messenger was to present the innocuous petition instead and retire until a more fitting opportunity arrived. He was only to give the list to the Pasha should he find him entirely alone. Of course Hassan needed none of these directions to make clear to him the dangerous character of the mission.. No matter how colourless the petition to be presented, there was danger even in approaching the palace with a document of any sort. Nevertheless, without delay, Hassan sent round the secret call for & meeting of the young Turkish party that night) to be held in the usual crypt of the Kassim Pasha quarter, a spot where Hassan and his fellowconspirators fondly hoped was still unknown

to the spies of the sultan. [ The call for the meeting Avas neither by I AA-ord nor by written letter, but by the sign of the open palm against the lips and on the chin stroking it with a downward motion, and was replied to by rubbing the ear, to show that the other understood. When the meeting avhs convened shortly before midnight, and the guard set to prevent surprise, Hassan briefly explained the message that had come to him. No names Avere mentioned, but everyone understood that Zebet Pasha desired a list of the members then present of those Avho sympathized with them bub not then at the meeting. A shiver ran through the assemblage at the bare thought of such a list entering the gates of the palace no matter how deftly concealed; cA r en though nothing Avere on the paper but names, every one present knoAV enough of the benign government of the sultan to be well aware that the finding of such a cata-

logue Avould result instantly in the arrest of many, if not all, of the persons mentioned, followed by imprisonment and torture, until one or other of the poor Avretches divulged the secret. Everyone at the meeting implicitly trusted Zobgt Pasha, that ia, a-; in is eh as one Turk o*ll possibly trust another, but if the document tell into other hands not a man whose name was on it would be safe from that moment forward. Why had Zebet Pasha asked for suoh a list ? j That, Hassan could not ans\A'er; it av«s probably as he had said, tp knoAV who was { behind-him in the moA-ement. Again, it might be to cement them, still closer under the fear of one common danger. The first question to settle was whether the wish of Zebet Pasha should be obeyed or not, and after some discussion it was agreed that his request should be complied with, if such a thing were possible. Working in the dark as they necessarily did,.it was impossible for .them to know A?hat plan of Zebet Pasha's might not be frustrated if they refused to folloAv the direotions given, Hassan was determined to send the list if some method could ' be devised to insure it reaching Zebet Pasha safely, and failing in that to keep it out of the hands of the authorities. The next point to be decided upon was the choice of a messenger." Every one realised the extreme danger of such a mission. More important men than any messenger they could send had before now entered the palace gates and never omergpd from them again. No one volunteered to perform the perilous task. It

Avould not be practical to leave the choice to chance and select a, candidate by ballot. The man Avho undertook the embassy must be of iron nerve and a person of resources, otherwise the exhibition of his OAvh fear would undoubtedly lead to the \-ery disaster they wished to avoid. Everyone of them kneAV the man Avho was exactly suited to the task, but each also knew that it was impossible for him to undertake it. Hassan himself, although the oldest of those gathered there, was one Avho could endure torture more unflinchingly than many a younger and stronger man. His courage liad already been tested, as the indelible marks left by the torturer on his body still attested, but he was the one indispensable man in the young Turkish party. An association that dared keep no legible record of its proceedings or its objects must have some one man who carries the full particulars in his head, and Hassan Avas that man. He was president, secretary and treasurer of the argaaixatioh. Without him united action was impossible.

Hassan kneAvin his oavh heart, who-the man Avas, best fitted to be their messenger, but eren his fidelity to the secret society made him hesitate to pronounce his name, and there was no need to pronounce it, for the eyes of all Avere turned towards him, as the thoughts of all turned instinctively tOAvard Hassan himself, although every one hesitated to speak, feeling that the ungracious task rested with the young man himself or Avith his father. Hassan's only son sat beside his father, silent, as becomes a young man when in the presence of his elders, but his noble courageous face, glowing Avith enthusiasm for the cause, showed that he v/as a fit representative of a worthy house. There was a long pause, during which no one spoke, then Ismet sloAvly rose to his feet and said to Hassan : ' " Father, I am ready to go as messenger. The lives of all our comrades depend upon him who is chosen. I swear before yon in

in the name of the Prophet, that;l Avill divulge nothing while under torture, if Allah gives mc strength to endure." The young man sat doAvn again, and the father bowed his head as one bows to fate. So it Avas arranged that Ismet should carry the fatal scroll in a manner as secret as his father and himself could devise. The meeting then dissolved in silence and Avith caution. Hassan, with his son Ismet, no word of conversation between them, Avent to their mutual home. Once inside, with the door securely shut, the young man and his father agreed on the method by which the list of names should be given to Zebet Pasha. Instead of being written on paper or parchment, whose rustling might give notice of its presence, even in the lining of a cloak, Hassan drew up the list on a cotton cloth, writing far into the night to accomplish his task. Then, before morning, the innocent petition Avas written on paper, which Ismet was to carry with him openly. The seams of Ismet's cloak were undone with great care, and the cotton list of names Avas inserted between the lining and outer cloth ; the seams were thereon re-sewn so deftly that none could tell that they had ever been touched. The cloak worn was such as every Turk possesses, and Hassan instracted bis son that the moment he was admitted to the presence of Zebet Pasha, and was assured he was entirely alone, and no one within bearing distance, be was to tell him the list was in the cloak. The garment was then to be thrown aside and left with Zebet Pasha, Ismet taking with him a cloak belonging to the pasha, or, if that were npt possible, to risk coming out of the palace without the cloak he wore when he entered.

W hen -these,- instructions M-ere *m - _T • Hassan and his son slent n,,t4? • P*,**" _fc then the father, invokin_ P L J U , m,d **% _f Allah on the young * 5 J his dangerous mission. ae part 0t UK The day passed slowly for Hassan j Vm last the sun set, but there Wasnl !" d at T Ismet. Darkness c. te ! ?»? "*?" °* I hou». but..till there wasT I/ 1 «* I old man, fearing the worst, waited ." c I lously for tid.ngs. It was mpoSeT 1 urn to sleep while his son's fate i™ /° r I known o him If everything had S o„ew» lsmet should have returned 6v fou? I' 1 c * - at the latest. Hassan, his cloak t! ± k about him, lay down beside the outer d** to be ready at a moment should any«__J indicate that some one stood ther* ' ??"& an hour after mid-night when he L !*> ' a taint sc-atch at the door, as it m i 2 K he pawing of a dog. Hassan was S £ feet instantly and cautiously opening ♦■' " Zebet Pasha ! " cried Hassan in alarm Hush,'said the other. "My i if . „*. danger There is an English ship h „ leaves the port to-morrow moraine. * you get mc quietly on board ?" ' "Yes," said Hassan. «Did vounetu. list my son brought to yon yesterday *» "The list !" cried the Pasha. *«•' Whilst ?" '*"** "The list of our members," said the heart sinking within him. "YoiT_tor it in the regular way." iSii "Beard of the prophet," cried the PasU What should 1 want with a list? Th» then, is what they did." *• . "Come," said Hassan ■« there is no tim. to lose." He barred the door, and le_dfi the Pasha through many passages, 8t £ let him out by a secret entrance. ' IT On the night ot the day when 'f 9met 1 earned to the palace the list of the memE ! of the young Turkish party, Zebet ta___ lay down on his couch without He was a light sleeper, as a man must £ who would save his neck from the bow string in the palace of the sultan- th_ Shadow of God upon earth. Even in ordin ary times it is not well to sleep too soundly in the neighbourhood of his august majesty of Turkey, but now, with insurrections all over the land, with a dissaffected people in the capital itself, with the navies of tbe great powers of Europe! hovering about the mouth of the Dardanelles, with the sultan himself crazed by narcotics, or quak. I ing with fear when not under their in.' fluence, the life of an official in the pakee j was anything but an enviable one. Added to all this Zebet Pasha had additional cmis» I for sleeplessness. He knew he was smoking his pipe on top of a powder mine, If but a suspicion of hia connection with thj young Turkish party got abroad, his life would not be worth a moment's purchase. During the few days that had gone before he had great cause for uneasiness; his con. fidential servant had suddenly and mys. teriously disappeared. This was too usual an occurrence to cause any comment, and to observers he had exhibited no great anxiety for his return, but inwardly he quaked for this man, though knowing a a little as Zebet Pasha could allow him to know, yet held certain information as to the' Pasha's methods of communication with'ser. eral persons in Constantinople. These communications were secretly carried on; the i servant knew this much, and they were supposed to relate to additions to thi Pasha's harem; still the servant -might have wondered why there was any secrecy in a matter of this kind, for even if the messages, which Avere entirely without tinderstanding to the person who carried them t relating to abduction or worse, there waa little reason for anyone in the palace mak.

ing a to-do about so simple a thing as that. NeA-ertheless, Zebet avus sorely troubled over the disappearance. The man wa» too Avell paid to have taken himself oil voluntarily, and all Zebet Pasha could hope was that confidential servant though he Avas, he knew too little of his master's doings ta brin:; danger upon the head of the Pasha. Still tfehet Avau well aware that definite details were not needed to accomplish his destruction. All that was re- ' quired was the slightest suspicion that the ■ Secret messages sent related to politics *-w [ rather than to amatory intrigues. rm On the night in question Zebet Paaha r '/m dozed off into uneasy dumber. He had lain-' r B awake for tho past two or three nights, but: ' M nothing had happened, aud noAV nature fl peremptorily demanded vest. It Avas nearly midnight Avhen he was aAvakened by Avhat appeared to be heavy breathing in the room. The lamp shone all around, but the shade upon it allowed only an imperfect illuming.* > tion of the apartment. As Zebet Pasha* set up on his couch and rubbed the - - slumber out of his eyes, he saw crawling towards him some indistinct figure '" upon the floor. Springing at once to hia feet, and grasping his sword Avhioh lay on the table near the lamp, he cried out • " Stand up, you villain, and shoAv yourself, or I will run .you through." The figure on the floor groaned out the '■- words: !5" " Master, master," and Zebet Pasha, witlr \. his SAVord tossing the shade off the lamp,? saw that the crawling object on the Hoar" ,\ was no midnight assassin stealing on him, '; but his own servant, tortured almost out of- ; .>. any semblance to humanity. ■; L A good Turk ia not, supposed to drink; '■;;' Avine or any other intoxicating liquors, hut. v. Zebet Pasha quickly produced a flask "Of, --. brandy. He poured some of it into a gl*jp/ : and held it to the unfortunate victim's lipal'. „v " Let mc help you to the couch," said $*• \f master, ''.','_ ; "No, no," groaned the servant, "lam ■';",» dying, and have come to Bave you. Fly, fly ..'.)■ at once.". " What has happened ?" asked Zebet, Pasha, glancing around him tq be sure tyM that they were alone. . J f ! ; 1 "I was arrested and gagged and tor- X/i tured," murmured the servant. "They Avanted mc to confess about you, but I had '-$1 nothing to confess, and Avhen I told then? - that they tortured mc the more.''' ?v •' Then why do you tell mc to fly ?" "Because," answered the wretched man, ,_\_ " they brought in a prisoner to-dajV'-''!, 4' young man. I did not know him, bvt,* 'hft •£- ---seemed to know mc, mutilated though * j_j

Avas. The cell Avas so full that eojne cts&frf, had to go to make room for him, so they -£.. threAv mc out into the field to die. Ab I-' >• passed the young man he whispered, ' Warn * > the pasha to fly, if they release you.' When, £:.-< they tortured mc I tqld them of the message* ' <f I carried for you. I couldn't help it. The •: J ,;V torture was awful, master. Since it wan \v dark I have craAvled here to warn you. ;. .; Give mc s6me more of the fiery "liquid, [\& master." ',*& Zebet pressed the glass to the lips of his servant, but the wretched man died at h"*. :f. | feet. f^l Zebet Pasha stood for a moment looking .' J at the prostrate body. He thought at first- '-'',% of concealing the man, so that the palace *'j; authorities would not knoAv' he had come., but he saw that the wounded servant ha 4. / left a trail of blood behind him across the - . floor, and that it would be impossible ja v'

the time at his disposal to obliterate the, y -=-t marks of his presence. The Pasha \I meditating on how best he might eSl **P^ ; He thought first of disguising himself, ''■ he reflected that such a course would< evitably lead to his detention. If the ord»J* f for his arrest had not yet gone forth, Avhif* } iit Avas evident it had not, for there was £ j not time to have tortured and wrung any - ; ' confession from the new prisoner, whoever - it was, the best plan would probably "be to 1 walk out of the palace grounds in his ow"n.-" " g roper person, as he had the right to do. "-,; [c knew that spies would be, upon hi* -_..,; track the moment he left the gate, but he must run. the risk of doubling upon them .„- or of bribing them. He knew also that the 'J ■-- moment he passed the sentries word wouW j£be sent to the grand A-izier that he had goas -;-?.; .;, out, but the chances were that the great : ; official might be asleep and that no one- -- <: >y would have the authority to wake him. At any rate, to walk boldly out was his only -. -i> chance of escaping. If overtaken he would „ , have to fight as best be could, or take to Jus heels and try to reach one of the foreign- &■ . embassies. He knetv that an English ship \?MA sailed in the morning, and once on board oi IfflSjjHj her he was safe. Everyone in the palace *.; kept a list of ships belonging to other Jff nations with the dates set down at which i|JM they were to sail, for even the grand vizier. . :jl himself did not know at Ay-hat moment he . -. I might have to claim the protection or *» foreign nation. Zebet Pasha passed the JLMs sentinels without interruption, and so far at -, he could discover, he Avas not followed fron-' , . «jMjjE the gates ; nevertheless, he took no chance* ;>&m but doubled in and out of the tortuous lane* , -'.- Jbg- ; of the city until he came to Haasan's door. No one was in sight, so he scratched lights "" •*§»

* — on the panels, and almost instantly the door was opened by Hasvan himself, who Avas Availing for his son.

Hassan guided Zebet P.asha through many unfrequented lanes for what seemed miles, until at last they came to the waters edge. IJcrc a boat was Wore-i, and t-lic two m-m ailentlv entered, Has.--.an lowing out of the Bhadow of the s'we. It- was not, however, until the small im!- lay und-r the mill; of the prcat Kngli-h tt !ii'» 'hut cither of the men spoke. Then H-v- --'i" aske:l in a low voice if the pash-i h.-i;i M--e:i anylhir.L; iv his t:o;i who had left thirteen hours beio.-e to carry his ill-fated i:ir.--.-K.ge. •' I have seiri notntng o; mm, said /.eoet Pasha, "but I ■ -'■-)-•«■•'- *'•«** 'm: is uiv er art ."■•-I. •' l "d ' s l: " v 1!l T''i"^' ! - -'■:•' se.-vnnt „ni,i that J.s h- v-.-;.-- !. ; ;i'r:/ thru.vn <,-it. a youi'U tnan AV;i-% h:ii;,{ i.:«U|.-ii in, wiu whisjicrcd to him • -.- am mt-. i'hut vov.is.-,' : '•"'"• 'i ■"■<•* •>'•-1 thi'!.'r to do is to bribe U-'i-i ,tot t.i:» guard. Itknows what is ---.ni- ~n, r.ml he has t.m i-Kiwrr to help V"i" ' : l»'- ''-' - IV '-*' l nioiiey enough. H-ise'.vnmor.. «.-'..- :i: r,|ible than a.-ivof his lellows. an-i will .-.-cd n.- -oid for j.' 1 have in tnv belt nc-re what, luor-.cy I r-oflld g>dhcr for just such an en-.r-eriey as this, ft is aim; rrcr.en nnd J-^ri■:;!;.->;i coin. I'iv'e Marash tiie half down and tins rest when your is safe. Don't pay him tiie remainder until your son is within the gates of one of the legations or on board a foreign ahio Marash is quite capable of having 1 iiii'released, andtiien having him rearrested the moment he ha:-, clutched the money." Hassan refused to take the money, saying the members of tho young Turkish party would subscribe enongn, but hnaHy Zebet J'oslia induced him to accept ban ot the gold

C °'"'l'think," said the pasha, "that Avhen they find I have escaped there will bo less difficulty in arranging for the release ot your son." Hawaii shook his head. " it is not you they Avere after," he said, »' it is the list. That is At/here the danger lies ' If the list gets into the hands of the palace authorities, not one of us will be safe from arrest and strangulation." ZcLct Pasha knew only too Avell tnat tins was true, so, without an attempt at consolation, lie wrung the hand of his friend in farewell and Avas taken aboard the English ship. Hassan rowed, as quietly as he came, to the shore, and moo ret I the boat in its former position. Day Avas breaking as he neared his deserted home. As soon as the city was awake he made his preparations for an interview with Marash of the guard. A man who comes Avith money in his hand is not kept long waiting at the door of a Turkish official. Marash would say nothing until the coins were counted out to him ; then emptying them into his Avallet he told Hassan that tho case Avas a very difficult one to deal with, but he would do his best. Hassan was to Avait quietly at his home until sent for, Marash Avarning him incidentally that Avhen he came again he Avas to be Srepared to put down more money than he „d brought with him on this occasion. Hassan returned to his home and tried to get sleep. After midday he sent around the silent warning to those of his comrades who could be met, to gather that night at the crypt as usual. This time the Avurning Avas given with the closed fist against the lips, which meant that each man Avas to come •with what money he could bring in his hand. It was a panic-stricken gathering Avhieh assembled that night in the crypt. Rumours of Zebet Pasha's night had spread about the city, but no one knoAV whether the new9Avas true or not. Hassan, addressing c meeting in a low voice, gave them the particulars of the flight, and told them of the Pasha's safety on board the English ship. He Avcnt on to tell them how thoy had been tricked into sending the fatal list; that the palace authorities had captured, tortured, and murdered Zebet's secretary, getting from him the means by which Zebet Pasha communicated with the young Turkish party. Hassan also told them he had commanded his son to say to his inquisitors, if he found they suspected the existence of such a list, that he had committed the names to memory and Avas to give them to the proper person only. A murmur of doep sympathy arose from the assembly Avhen Hassan said thia, for every one knew Avhat it meant, that Ismet would have to suffer fearful agonies, whioh 'Would be put upon him to force him"to mention the names. Hassan continued without a break in his voice, saying : "I believe my son will die before he will betray his comrades, but none of us can tell what will happen under torture. The lives of all of us clepond upon our again getting possession of that list. I have already bribed Marash of the guard, and he has promised to help us if he receives money enough. I have paid him all I have. You must now bo prepared to do the same, even if it takes all your possessions, not for my son's life, but for your oavh sakes." Tho money Avas then silently collected, and it formed an amount large enough to excite the cupidity of Marash of the guard. Two days passed, but still no word came from Marash. Hassan did not dare to atik him again, after his command to remain in the house. No sound came from the gloomy prison where Hassan supposed hisßontobe. On the fourth day Hassan received the message that Marash was ready to meet him, and that he was to bring him a stated sum of money, which, although large, was not greater than the-sum raised at tho mseting. • Hassan concealed the money about him and also took with him a copy o*f the Koran—a true and authentic copy and not such as ia sometimes used by Turkish officials to swear upon, when they wish to take oaths. When he appeared before Marash, and tho attendant had left the room, the officer said: w7 c f_ u,ot '- n9t s™ your son to liberty, but for the money I have stated I will allow you to see him." " Alone r asked Hassan. Uiwf * * ntirclv aIone »" answered Marash, but you must pay the money first," officSrterelv* * otd Buffioienti " asked the 5*2! \*?* th f T )rdof tne mlton, either." *zZBiuB£ but "■*■* for a copy of thi-» o, *- 8 " d itasßan » " not 0Q that, ° n tll f^ his shoulders, but took XrWvv 1, < £ 8n a vicioua Mussulman B H . assan P laced money before him, Marash counting it. ran* X?' Sa,d , the officer ' "S-ng. "you "?£ prepared to go without question fear wherever I shall send «a!i-! a - Witb(H . t fear -" ad ded Hassan, WW you hay the oath." « XiT in •? hru Sg Ed W« shoulders. AsbaUkeepnV'lresaid. wIJ-ti * de P? rted together in silence, and JWM0 .for half an hour until they came to •cui-ae-sae where Hassan "saw a closed jroage standmg. Into this they entered 22JT**"-driven rapidly away, 'in what Hassan could not tell. When at »»* we carnage stopped, Hassan, on stoptkHi? Bt w l th the officer * fo«nd himself on "wttore of the placid Bosphorua. Marash a-?!,* 11order to the coachman who drove •way out of sight. The officer whistled a *__? °* and Presently around a point came • boat rowed by four men. an,;* be required to put on a diving 'SLil"™ walk alon S thf * bottom of the «wpnorus until you come to a group of "'™ w -Among them you Arill find your son." Haaaa eea mui "dered, then?" said _ " He is dead," replied the other. " I did *T? r °?J Se to Bhow him to y° u alive." xae old man made no reply. »«, ♦ i *"•" said the officer, ns two of the SI-,* the divin 6 suii frora th « bottom of W ~ ' s ou do not CAreto go. but I haA-e __W y^-h ' ami none of the money will be paid back." •••^lwSlg?? 6 ° f iW> feplied HaS3aDj hht^u mm , ad J" sted the metal headwith us glass front and helped Hassan hTthlblf , i eßtoftheßmt - The other men and H egan . *° ad J ust the air-pump, i i^hia^ n ' 8 l eppin ,B bcavil y tLri™^ accu « tomed equipment, walked into if i S, -ft "I down the slo »™? ™« dd 7 bottom «* he Bosphorua until he was submerged. : Piece LS e wf? h ° had P ut onthehlad- * SaufffJt_, hlm JU f before this was done - Side th_fMS rottnd tfae waiat would b e his i direetio n ti_i 0i : would row g e -*-y m the . to be nulwl Uke > and **«> he wished on this P ropt UP he WM to J« k twice sharply j At first Haß gaa f<mnd a [,

breathing, and he could not see well in the greenish water that surrounded him, but he walked' hoav more lightly than he had dene on land. He followed the guidance of the rope, and at last he saw dimly through the quivering liquid the shadowy form of a man standing on his feet, then another, and another, and another in a grim and ghastly row. Kach man had a bar of lead tied to his feci, and thus they stoyd, their bodies Avaving gently and helplessly in tiie currents of the iiosphoras. Ho far a3 he could see r.or.e of the men standing there had been di-oivned, each being terribly mutilated about the head and face. As he walked on, the men beeaine more numerous, and farther in

tiie shadowy water lie saw dim semblances of more human beings, all standing erect. He i Avalked slowly down tins awesome, silent i avcuue of the dead, gazing horror-stricken ;at tiie f.-.ees on eaeii si.ie o: iiim. Sometimes he rceognised one as a. i:s-„:i iie had knoAvn w.io had disappeared liiystcriousiy a week 0.'.-. t.iontii ii.ro;'e. At iasl iie came upon t'.e body of hi.* son, stunning esecL like the otiurs. 1 iis cloak avus still upon him, and iiis :,-iee bore frightful evidence of tne tor- '■■ lu.-e iv- had undergone before ri;id::i;t hi? ln--.t :es;i:> place iv t.;e iv tue ;■ ■■],'.-.'.j gi-<.cto of the l-Juit-vn. Hassan spt jad ■ o:u tiie foids of tiie cloak an'i „\v id was ; untouched. Using all his strength, he tore jit open, and there between the lining and j the cloth was the fp.tal list of names, but I the sea had already done its Avork, and the j Avriting Ava3 bleared and illegible, turning I wiiat was once a white cotton cloth into a dirty smear of black and broAvn. Nevertheless, Hassan tore it into small shreds and rolled it into a lump in his hands, then with the toe of his leaden-shod shoe he dug a hole in the mud, stamping the remnants out of sit'iit.

I-'or a moment Hassan stood there, gazing at Avhat Avas once his son. His first impulse Avas to break the rubber tube Avhieh brought life and air to him and so die in the grotto of the Sultan, beside the only one on earth AA'ho visa dear to him, but he still had duties to perform to his comrades and to his country, and he felt that he could not yet relinquish the grieA-ous burden of life. Thrice he embraced the sAA'aying body of his son Avith a sob that bubbled up to the surface of the Hosphorus, unheard on earth and seemingly unheard in heaven, then he gaA-e the signal agreed upon and Avas hauled up into the boat. When next the secret society met in the crypt Hassan told them in calm and even tones that Ismet had kept his trust, and that one more Mussulman had died for that liberty still denied to a great nation at the end of the nineteenth century.