SIROCCO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13498, 27 May 1907, Page 3

SIROCCO.

BY KENNETH BROWN.

[ALL BIGHTS RESERVED.]

[COPYRIGHT.]

CHAPTER XV. DARING THE SULTAN OF; ; SIROCCO.

Duncan's official interview, as American consul, with the Sultan of Sirocco, came about in due course of time. Senator Anderson had put himself to considerable inconvenience to get Duncan the position. Fortunately, the cable, *if expensive, is expeditious; and well within the month Duncan had given his camel-driver he was hack in Kub-hub-nol. Senator Anderson was with him, and present at the official interview, together with the four foreign Cunningham, the British representative, being sober. This last was sufficiently rare to be noteworthy. _ A heavy air of ennui rested upon the Smtan. When his passions were not aroused he was very bored with having to live. Duncan had managed to rouse aim from his boredom once; and he accomplished the same feat this afternoon, although he had no wish to do so. He had hoped that the Sultan would not recognise the new consul, coming with, the best of credentials, as the blacksmith in the bazaai, at whom the potentate had had one fleeting glance. But Duncan's face was not one easy to forget, and his actions soon after the Sultan had had his glimpse of him had been such as to '-ender indelible what might otherwise have failed. When the Sultan now caught sight of him 'he sat up so quickly from his semirecumbent attitude that an .-' anticipatory shiver ran through the Court, and the consuls pricked up their, ears. For just an instant the Sultan hesitated, as if he could not believe what he saw. Then he shrieked an order to the splendidly-dressed. members of his Guard near him, and they sprang towards the American, their bared swords uplifted. With the quick knack of the cowboy, Duncan drew his revolver, and the click of its cocking fell plainly on the ears of the Guard. There was a momentary check, and in the pause the Vizier, who stood on the Sultan's right, risked his place and his life for the good of his master. He said a few > rapid, protesting words into the Sultan's ear, at the same time indicating the British consul, Cunningham, and the others clustered open-mouthed behind. It so chanced that the Sultan had had to pay a goodly sum, and to apologise abjectly to a British admiral, a few months before, for the murder of two simple tourists, who had seemed; to his noble mind of no more importance in the world than two eunuchs, such as he would not have hesitated to kill at any time -for his pleasure. The memory, of this, as well as the smart, remained; and with a snarl quite unlike his usual manner—which enthusiastic globe-trotters of ft literary bent always described as full of languid gracehe said the word that economised bullets and Royal Guards. Duncan turned to the British consul: "Apologise for me; will you, please. I'm not acquainted with Court lingo."' " His ma, his ma—ma the Sultan understands English," Cunningham answered. 1 •; . " ■' '/ The Sultan was still leaning forward, glaring at Duncan, when, the latter blandly said :-■ ; -; ■■ '•■■■■ . •■■.■'■'■ ."-' ; ..■■,■ : "Your honour highness, I mean, I'm extremely sorry for my rude and ungenteel behaviour just now. I come from a, rough, Western country where we don't: know just how to behave in tip-top society, and where we are mighty suspicious. I didn't realise at first that these gentlemen were rushing forward to give me the glad hand, and, like a fool, I pulled my gun. I'm mighty sorry to appear unsociable." '"You here!" the Sultan said, as to himself. Deep in his eyes the lust of killing burned, yet amazement at Duncan's temerity nearly wiped out every other emotion. "You—you stay here'/" " Yes, siree!" Duncan - answered, with ; emphasis. .The title was a new one to the Sultan, but it had a respectful sound, and the Sul- ■ tan .sank back in his seat, trembling with satisfaction at the presence of Ins enemy in his capital. ■ The, Sultan' was. the only man who got any satisfaction out of the interview. To Duncan the hope that 'he might not be ■ recognised was gone. . Anderson's worst fears were realised, and he looked upon his friend with the solicitude one feels to-, wards 'one about'to depart-this 'life.;' ' The : Vizier Was worried:; at the probability of fresh complications with outside nations and . his worry was not decreased when Anderson drew him aside ! and told him sig-. nificantly that the eyes of his Government, Were fixed on Duncan and his safety. And all the rest of the, Sultan's suite trembled at ;'■{' the lightning flashing in their master's;, : lightning , which, however ■aroused, (was likely to strike anywhere. And yet Duncan was not without a' certain feeling of exhilaration. The game was on, for stakes'a Sultan— a man—might play for and the devil would inevitably take the hinderaiost.~■■-,

CHAPTER XVI. . A SIKOCCAN BREAKFAST. That night three of the consuls who had been-at the interview between Duncan and the. Sill tan came secretly to the former and advised him not to let the morning find him within fifty, miles of the Sultan. Two of them proffered t'.ie loan of good horses. They did not know what the trouble was between the two, but they were well aware of the Sultan's method of dealing with those he did not,like. ' The consuls of Kub-hub-nol were not men whom desirable offices sought. All of them were of .good,■family;-: and all were fond of the bottle and of the things that go with the bottle.; - The sighs that would have been sighed at news of their demise would 'mostly have been sighs of relief; but with their faults, they were good fellows, and did not like to think of a white man dying so suddenly as they judged Duncan was about to die, though sudden death of one kind or another was what each of them expected. All of them Duncan assured that he was going to stay in Sirocco as long as his breath lasted. "A goo-good bit Monger than your breath lasts," the British consul, Cunningham, disconcertingly amended. "Will yon have a little whee-whee, Scotch?" he added, brightening up, and producing a bottle. "And for God's sake dud-don't dud-drink with strangers till you leave this infer— infer—, this rotten place! By the w-way, cuck-come to breakfast w-with me to-mor-row mum-morning of you." ■•:"• Duncan accepted the invitation,. and disregarded the advice by taking the drink; and after Cunningham had gone to his quarters and no further consuls were forthcoming he turned in with Anderson and slept— the inside of the bed—quite calmly, believing that it was soon for his enemy to make a move. Anderson, on the other hand, passed a restless six hours,-waking up continually to assure himself that he had not been stabbed in.the dark, by mistake for his bed'-fellow."

'" In the morning, when they arrived at Cunningham's, they found the breakfast already on the table awaiting them. '"Sorry we're late," Anderson apologised. "You aren't 1-late,'" the consul stammered cordially. " But-but I; th-thought I'd r-rather have the bub-breakfast all on the t-t-table before anyone knew you were guggoing to be my guests. Deuced bad f-f-f—, deuced bad f-f-f—, deuced impolite to let a bub-brother c-consnl be - poi-poisoned at your t-table. Remember Snarpe, 'Merican that pre-pre— came before Bumstead? He was p-poi, p-poikilled at Max Lauterberg's, Belgian consul, y'know. Max never g-got over it. Isn't s-s-sa-me'. man he was." ■'■■•'.'.'■'■ '

Anderson laid down his knife and fork. His appetite was gone.- Ashe told Duncan, he was pretty well acquainted with the ways of Sirocco; but when lie had studied them on his previous visit, it-' had been in an academic spirit, as natural phenomena. Your historian, investigating the tortures of the Inquisition, would have different cells in his brain agitated if he should happen to ; he put rough the third degree by an ingenious police captain. So to Anderson the lesson taught by his investigation of Siroccan methods on his first, impersonal visit, had been chiefly that it was good to be.'an American and to live in Ohio. The more personal glimpses he was now receiv-

ittg showed him'; that it was rather bad to. be in oirocco, even if .one were an American and an Ohioan—-and Duncan had not even the latter consolation, since he was born in Maine. •• Duncan however, though principal in all this, stolidly went on eating his breakfast. Cunningham noted him approvingly. "M----make a good , ni-meal this morning. May hi feasting on a cucfc-confection of old Dr. P-Putter's to-morrow." .■ "Dr. Putter?" Duncan asked, looking up. This was anew piece on the Siroccan chess board. . " Am-Ab—, ; the . Sultan's f-f-physician, yloiow. Never can s-s-say his name he can't say it himself, ha I ha!" Cunningham laughed appreciatively at his jest on Abrack's deaf-and-dumbness. "Bumstead—'M?Merican, —named him Pup-Pup, named him Putter. Said ho was always p-p-puttering around. Comic f-fellow, ! Bumstead." _ •

"Would the Sultan poison tho lot of us to get Duncan Anderson asked. " Cuck-ean't say," Cunningham replied cheerfully. "Never can s-sav what the bub-blooming beg gar'il, do. He pup-pro-bably won't, though, because he pup-pro-bably doesn't know ycu're here." The servant came in with a smoking hot dish. He passed it to Duncan. " S-s-s — Cunningham stammered hopelessly ; then reached forward and' pushed the dish away. " S-s-set it down," he finally got out. .'''; The servant struck his elbow against the back of Duncan's chair, and the dish slipped from his fingers to the floor. " Rather sus—, rather sus—, looks rather bad," Cunningham said when the servant had cleaned up the mess and gone out. " S-sleeping Dog's pretty keen on the s-scent. Bum-Bumstead called the S-Sul-tan S-S-Sleepihg Dog because he 1-lied so. Ha! ha! Funny fel-fellow, Bumstead was. But there's n-no sleeping about theSusSultan when he's after a m-man. There's no use in t-a-taking chances"." " Isn't that the biggest chance in this hot climate?" Duncan asked bluntly, pointing to the whisky bottle on the table, already warmed several times by their host's hand. Duncan was not a mar ordinarily given to preaching to others; but he wanted the help of this man, and the whisky bottle stood in the way. The Englishman flushed at this unwarranted remark of his guest. "I dud-dud-dud—" he stammered. • But the hasty words he was trying to utter never came. A sufficiently halting tongue forces men to observe the sage advice about 'thinking before speaking. Cunningham stopped his dudding in despair, then shrugged his shoulders' ■■ good-naturedly. " It-right !'.* he answered. " But-but it depends on wh-what you're living for." With the words, he reached over and poured out another stiff drink. " H-bere's to the hope th-that you may 1-blive longer than I!" he toasted, and gulped down his toast. Anderson did more thinking than eating during the rest of.the meal. Finally, he half pushed his chair back from the tabic, and burst forth: "See here, Duncan; I'll be if I leave you here to fight this thing out. It would sound mighty interesting to read about—and it seemed rather sporty when I got you the job—but— Dog-. gone it, man," he broke off ruefully, " I've got a hard winter's work before me. . You don't want me to start in with nervous prostration from worrying about you? Think of that National Good Roads "Bill I'm working on. If the farmers of America have to keep on using a four-horse team to haul half a cord of wood into town, it will be your fault." ■ " What would you have me do?" Duncan asked imperturbably; ' " acknowledge the Sultan as a better man than I, and let him keep my white alley before he's won it?" • " Yes, go home - and set J up a grocery store in some wholesome spot, and I'll get the President of the, United States and' the King of England to take this matter up, and see if we can't get the better of. old Sleeping Dog." Duncan shook his head. "You'll spend too much time looking up the Monroe Doc-, trine, or some other antiquated matter." "Oh, you may w-win out by a head," Cunningham put in» cheerfully, though he had no comprehension of the case. "W-we might g-g-get all the c-consuls to mess together, and then if one gug-goes, we'll all g-go. It w-would make no end of a r-r-row for the Sus-Sultan." Even Cunningham's cheerful willingness to have all the consuls poisoned together, to make future trouble for the Sultan, did not entirely reassure Anderson.. A few days later he wont away from Sirocco, more 'filled with 'apprehensions, perhaps, than Duncan himself, although the two had taken some elaborate. precautions, before coming into the country, against: the possibility of I being ■ poisoned, and in spite of having confidence in Duncan's ability to take care of himself, a confidence fostered by tho knowledge of many previous tight places his 'friend had managed to wriggle out of. (To be continued ,; daily.)