SIROCCO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13450, 29 May 1907, Page 10

SIROCCO.

[PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.]

BY KENNETH BROWN.

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]

[COPYRIGHT.]

CHAPTER XVIII. HEALTH FOOD.

Duncan had installed himself in the rooms formerly occupied by Bumstead, his predecessor. A venerable Siroccan had waited on him ; and urged him -to take the apartment, • not for : : its excellence, which was famed throughout Kub-hub-nol, but in order that he, the venerable Siroccan, might enjoy the inestimable privilege of refreshing his eyes with the-sight" of Duncan as he passed in and out. With becoming humility he then asked twice the price for the rooms that the late lamented Bumstead had been in the habitif his irregular payments may be dignified with the title of habitof paying. With instinctive caution Duncan returned the Siroccan his compliments manifolded, and proffered onethird the sum suggested for the use of the rooms, thereby causing the venerable one to weep and tear his hair theatrically. They finally compromised on a . sum near that paid by Bumstead, and the Siroccan went away blessing the name of his new tenant. ■:'/■' ; .r : -''V : , ■■■-]•.:': .;;- .'v.

Duncan went to the caravansary where he had stopped on • his first trip to Ktib-hub-nol, expecting ,to • find nothing more substantial than a rumour of the possible whereabouts of his camels; but to his considerable surprise, he found Ben in the compound, smoking, with his eyes fixed sleepily on: the camels chewing their cud. Duncan gave a grunt at the sight, and it 'was; not a; grunt of unmixed satisfaction. His judgment was not vindicated :by finding Ben and the camels still there. ; Ben.rose to his feet and saluted. //

;'" The camels are looking well," Duncan said. ' " ' . '•/.'". ' //;' /'/'.'

-" The ■ fat ' lias grown upon them, fold upon fold," Ben answered. "The three be here. One of those that the noble-born: took with him on the night that he went away was standing without the gate the next morning. All three have I kept carefully—and the ■ month . was nearly vat an end," he" concluded plaintively, the hope of camel-possession dying within him.. " You have the small pack that was on the camel that returned the morning afterI went away?". Duncan asked, with suppressed eagerness. - "Yes, my master, I have it, unopened, as you left it." , Duncan put his hand over his mouth to hide the satisfaction he felt at recovering his poison ring—fit weapon for Siroccan diplomacy. * ' "I will take it with me now," he said, carelessly. . o, • .__ , When it was safe within his embrace he stood pondering what to do with the camels. As American consul. his trading trip was manifestly at an end. And it appeared as if Ben could be trusted. "Take the three camels," he said at length, ''and sell them. Sell also the packs that the four camels brought here, and buy me the two swiftest camels you can find of the: Bisharin breed"—his experience in the desert with Techryk had. taught him the difference between camels, and camels —" and also a. horse of. the best Arabian strain. If Select the camels,, yourself; i but show me the horse before * you buy it. Make a 'decent profit on the transaction— and remember this, I know a,, horse when I see one. Also I shall take out the camels : and find out what speed they, can travel, and ho far in a day. ; And—that you may see that the value of : the camels will not ultimately be wastedwhen I "go: away from Sirocco I shall give you the camels. Therefore there is no economy in'buying poor ones."

Duncan was playing on the instincts of the Sirocc'an servant, " who loves to be trusted; by his master, and only loves more to cheat him. He believed, that Ben was honester than he had ; any right to expect of one hired casually. He '' was convinced, however, \ that his servant's ; judgment' in camels would be stimulated *by the ; knowledge that they would - eventually" pass into his own possession. - In the matter of horseflesh Duncan felt, that he could trust himself. - ' • '

" And since there will . not be much',' for you to 'do at present with -your camels," Duncan concluded, "you will come to my lodgings and attend me there." . :. ' Ben modestly disclaimed any ability beyond driving camels; and ,a few hours'; trial? convinced the American that he spoke the truth. Nevertheless/ Duncan i felt a sense of comparative security in .the' thought of Ben as? his servant that would have enabled him to put up with his shortcomings—which were so very short <that they could hardly be called comings at all —had not the camel-driver appeared one morning with a countenance" of such: ltfgii-. briousness that his master at once asked the reason. . '_, . '

"I am a camel-driver, oh heaven-born, and the son of ,; a camel-driver. Also all of my brothers are camel-drivers, and my uncle on my, father's side, aud the; three uncles on my mother's side. Before them my / .grandfather— //father: of my •father" • ' '' ■" " Hold on!' Duncan interrupted, knowing something of the tenacity of Ben's memory, and fearing to hark back to the first man that ever drove .the first camel that ever was captured. "Now what does all this lead to?" / '".-.."'..•

■"There came this morning into the compound, where , I was attending: to the beautiful camels that belong to the most condescending of masters, and which, by his goodness and the 'favour of Allah, will some day be mine, an ancient, holy woman, so old and so holy, that she has lived ever since the •; time of the Prophet himself, having as a little child touched his hand,. and thereby been made holy and given everlasting life. She is not as other women are, but far superior, even the equal of a man; and she started upon seeing me, and when I asked her what made her start, she would not at first tell me ; but when I- had urged her more, and; given her. a''gift of money, she declared that she had seen me in the dreams the night before, and had been warned that if I forsook my calling of camel-driverl that had within me the blood of hundreds "■■ of cam drivers —a great calamity would befall me, and. my flesh would shortly be torn '. by the beaks of vultures, and my bones would be crunched between the . fangs of jackals. Therefore must I leave the service of the most gracious one, who has been as a mother and as a father to me, ; unless he permits me to return to the compound and tend his camels." . / ;- - /

"But see here, Ben, how about those Bisharin camels that are coming: to you?" Duncan argued. v " ' / Z "The thought of them brings sorrow to my heart, but what are Bisharin camels to a dead man? And how could I serve the noble one if my bonee were crunched >y jackals?'

Duncan knew enough of the native sup-* erstition to be aware of the futility' of arguments, entreaties, or threats. 7He accepted the position philosophically, since there was nothing i else to do, and went over to Cunningham to ask his help in getting a reliable servant.. "Re-reliable!" Cunningham repeated. "Any of 'em '11 kick-kill you for tuppence ha'penny. But I'll s-see what I c-can do." The ■ next , morning ; four men presented themselves to Duncan. They looked alike as quadruplets. The circumstance struck Duncan as odd. He chose one of them atrandom, and installed him in the place left vacant by Ben,' now happy again with his camels. When he mentioned : this curious resemblance to Cunningham later, the Englishman replied: js "P-probably wanted you to take a suscertain one, and so they sent four wh-who looked, alike to you—all' these——n-n-'na-tives look alike, anyway.! Whichever one you c-choose, you'd" have gug-got the one th-they wanted you■".to t-take." "'They?'" Duncan repeated. "I thought you were attending to'. it." ' _■ " I t-told my man to find you a goo-goo-good servant. But I h-haven't an idea he isn't in the pay of the S-S-Sultan." . " What do you suppose they'll want him to do» v - '-•'■-

"Pup-pup-poison," Cunningham answered as laconically as he was able. - •"'. "How about knifing me to-night?" " N-not likely, unless you're out s-sdme-where alone, w-when. it might appear: as if f-footpads had dud-done it. The Sultan knows we haven't the greatest kuk-confi-dence in him, and he'll b-be in-interrogated if he murders you :in c-cold blood. >. But dud-dying suddenly,. without ,: any. m-marks of violencewhy, ththat's only natural in this b-beastly country. We don't take out a m-man's stomach and make a, mike-micro-scopical examination of it; we just bury him." /;/:/: -' . .' "■,/■/"/ ;

Cunningham's words had rather a reassuring effect on ' Duncan, • for reasons which the Englishman did hot know. Duncan * preferred attempts;' at poisoning him to any other form of insidious attack. He and Anderson had foreseen these and provided against : them. They had arrived in the Siroccan capital with two tremendous tin ■ trunks. The trunks were both Duncan's, and they promised more in the way of wearing apparel than his appearance since had justified. As a matter of fact, Duncan's wardrobe was meagre. He was not naturally, a dressy man, and much travelling had made it a custom with him to have as few clothes as he could get along with. . His trunks, which to the chagrin of his new servant's curiosity were always kep't locked, contained a complete and varied assortment. of such prepared foods as would keep in a- hot climate.

There is an unpretentious shop in MarseillesForne's—which does for the ardent spirits of France who desire to penetrate into the interior of Africa what the famous Lippeneck does in London. Lippeneck is world-famed, through his cleverness in creeping into the books of African and polar explorers. Forne is a man whose eccentricity has somewhat'the' effect of modesty. There is a form of egotism so complete that it will not;advertise, itself— a rare form . nowadays, I admit—and this was Forne's. His business, with him,* was an art, and among' men interested in'that sort of thing, he had come to be nearly as well known as Lippeneck himself. »; Anderson had originally devoted himself to the wholesale. drug business, with an eye out for everything touching on and appertaining to it. He still was a wholesale druggist, in addition to being a United States senator, and he. had been brought in contact.with Fonie at the time of the complications arising out of the Chicago Mid West's sending Dorsett, .'the explorer, to Boobagoo, for the glory of the Anglo-Saxon race and the great advertising of the Mid West. ' Forne was a man who could see the 'instant need of things, and after he had ; received 'a; telegram from Anderson at Malta, lie had sat.'- up the whole of the night packing the two. trunks already mentioned. The menu prepared for Duncan by Forne promised, if he adhered to it, •to '.be thoroughly hygienic, however tiresome,, it might prove. There was an assortment of patent foods, and malted cereals, and desiccated things, and "pr'e-digested nourishment that would have made the advertising solicitor' for a popular magazine faint with joy. Every granulated substance that had raised puling infants to perfect manhood was present. No dyspeptic had been reclaimed from the grave by meat tablets of a certain make but they were; in the trunks. : ; The :-. tinned meats that; had sue-: cessfully withstood the blazing sun. of darkest Africa and brought some hardy explorer safely back to civilisation flashed their inviting labels "at; Duncan 'every'; time he lifted; the lids of the trunks. '; • -

"Good to have all there are," Anderson had said. ,'- : ;'"".''; v: :-:/ ■' '■:'-;■'.:

..;" You'll get sick of the nasty things soon enough. : I've tried 'em all on my -different trips, ,and. they're ;only, fit : ; for pigs,'or North Pole explorers." One of the trunks 1 contained another .precautionary article which. Duncan had,, not : recognised. "■- "Anderson had ;:'presented'' it. to him just before", going away. Duncan turned it over, when he received it, wondering.' :;-'" What the devil 'is that?" he asked. i'" A strait-jacket. Do : you think I'm ' as'badly off. as that?" ;v ;\ ,', ", t • ':;' '.'■■>•■ :';••' "I'm not sure you aren't," , Anderson replied,:"to stay in.the/same country with this Sultan. of yours.''./,';'- <i- ■'■?:> ■ ■;'■"■ No Sultan of mine—-not yet," : Duncan retorted. " But you haven't told me-*whit this strait-jacket is for. I don't..suppose you want me to wear it to advertise your opinion' of me to the natives." .;' 7 &i ):, v " That is one of those bullet-proof.yests that created something of a furore, few years ago. I ran across the' inventoi&qf it, the other day, : poor; devil, and bought it as a curiosity. 'It'll do the trick, too. I saw a 38 calibre bullet from a Colt flatten against it last month. You may .be able to work,a bluff with, it or something." Duncan was: rather, • more pleased with the bullet-proof vest than . with, all the deeding arrac.iw«.nents of his friends. A "little Western mystery in the land of .the*. Eastern mystery sometimes carries one a' long way. For ordinary wear the tiling was /too clumsy but the occasion might arise,' as Anderson had said, when it would: come in magnificently to carry out a bluff. V, ;i After Anderson bad left Kub-hub-nol Duncan did not neglect any of the jffecautionary measures against poison, that Anderson had provided for. Instead of allowing Desevere to wait at table, as was customary, he had all the dishes brought in and put on the table, and' then, sent; him from the room while" he ate. Duncan'took considerable pains to'< mess jup the : food, and throw portions of it out of the window, to give the impression that he had dined off it. Then lie would unlock his trunk and partake of the food t'tlat he had brought with 'him, and oh whose}, nonpoisonous quality he could rely. ;..', .", - .Poor Desevere! He was near bursting rvith unsatisfied curiosity. His little black ;ye gleamed through the keyhole ,at the Deginning of the first meal. Duncan per-.-eived it, and hung a cap on the doorknob, an operation he repeated at-every subsequent meal.); This reproved,, without jffending the sensibilities.

Duncan's exclusive and boring diet was entirely useless at this time, had he' onlyknown it. TtTis true his servant, as Cunningham had surmised, was provided by Abrack. It. is true the Vizier was studying out plans whereby ho might destroy Duncan— whom lie had considerable friendliness of feeling personallyin order to win greater favour with his master. But two circumstances held his hand temporarily.. He wished to find out from Duncan in", what manner Dalmera Graham© had managed to communicate with' him, to guard against a repetition of it; and he had been impressed by Anderson's intimation that lie should keep an eye on the, welfare of his friend, from Washington. This was soon, after the Spanish war," and even Sirocco; had heard a little about the United States byreason of it. The Vizier's efforts were directed, not stopped, by the warning of Anderson: Whatever" befell Duncan must appear in the light of an accident or of natural climatic results; and poison must not be administered in less time [ than it was natural that .one coming to Sirocco should fall" a victim to one of the swift diseases that abound in that country. •• ";

(To be continued daily.)