The Eye of Zeitoon

bore the T

n Cleopat

in the breez

agh, where

fall and gl

of the bl

wharves and w

ale of stee

trigue, env

ting his

uress to g

s in those

e gorgeous r

nd blew awa

eness had

s knew no

an hour by

e heirs of e

h every swe

-scented ze

e patient

dreams of l

life, and

l hear the C

ly conscious of the strings of camels, mules and donkeys jingling out under the arch beneath us. Yet there was a great din fro

ing but the cause of all the noise, we leaning with elbows

considerations to keep away from walls. It was a big, low, black affair supported on short poles, and subdivi

guess. She was breaking a gray stallion in the yard, sitting the frenzied beast without a saddle and doing whatever she liked

e kept to the tent. Whoever else had business in the yard made common cause and cursed the girl for making the disturbance, frightening camels, horses,

inging her mount uprearing just beneath us several times. She was pretty as the peep o' morning, with long, black wavy hair all loos

ted with a voice like a mellow bell. One of the gipsies ran out and led away the swea

ipsies are really of t

. "Now, if she were

er again, but she kept close. I don't doubt she watched us through a hole in the tent. We would have sat there

red eyes all bright again, sitting talking to the nurse

ho likes his English to have dictionary meanings, rose from his c

reatened to kill a man this morning. There's too m

y, he has had you prayed for publicly by name, and you washing the brute's feet! Let me back

d enough to be prayed for? Must I get into

ir to waste minutes of a precious morning on farewells, so we packed Fred into the waiting carr

one problem for an enemy-one stout, two-headed, most depe

houlder, as our names were called

d, and shook hand

sick for another week?" said

at he says. He has all the people he disapproves of prayed for publicly by name in the mission hall in Marseilles, with extracts out of his diary by way of explanation, so that the people who pray may know what they've got on their hands. The special information I gave him about you, Monty, will make Marseilles burn! He'

consul gloomily. "There'll be mu

hite hair over the temples. He measured his words in t

and neither of us is going to be able to do much. Remember, I represent a government at peace with Turkey, a

had been on the previou

n't smell camel and khan

omptly!" Fred announced with an air of outraged trut

ct of recognition of the angel and the devil who are supposed to attend every Moslem, the angel to record his good deeds and the devil his bad ones. To my mind there lies the secret of the Turk's character. Most of the time he's a

d marines at a pinch, and protect whoeve

many is the only power that would. Germany would accuse us of

ith politics of any sort. Neither were we; but it happened that more than on

Europe burn from end

ans want the trade of the Levant. The Armenians are business men. They're shrewder than Jews and more dep

f the Near East," I objected, "she

"Armenians who thriv

an for hide and ta

ying the favorite remedy, vukuart-that means events, you know-their euphemism for massacre at rather frequent in

t the German government

wn. They'd raise a dickens of a hocus-pocus back in Germany if they once suspected their government of playing that g

diate excuse for mas

nsul l

ve a bad name to the whole nation. Then, Armenians have been boasting openly that one of these days the old Armenian kingdom will be reestablished. The Turks are conquerors, you know, and don't like that kind of talk. If the Armenians could only keep from quarreling among themselves they could win their independence in half a jiffy, but the Turks are deadly wise at the old trick of divide

hat they're going to be shot like bott

f national pride, and a hatred of Turkish oppression that rankles. One of these mornings a Turk will choose his Armenian and carefully insult the man's wife or daughter. Pe

know what's in stor

Some guess. Some are

as we English were

ng games-getting ric

hat the Armenians w

Eye of Zeitoon?" asked Will,

he consul, s

cribing him rather carefully, not forgetting the gipsies in the black tent, and part

ul shook

r heard of a

ships had moored a hundred times. The consul's garden sloped in front of us,

man if you saw him a

I wo

n lo

ere was something suggestive in his choice of lurking place, for every part of the oleander

enough!"

me forward

consul demanded, and the man laughed, la

than the Turks give!"

icial permit to trave

do you

into the garden? By who

tood in front of us. As he jumped I heard the rattle of loose cartridges, and the thump of a hidden pistol against the woodwork. I could see the hilt

out shame!" s

hat should I

ought yo

great good wil

ul shook

orse to the Ger

ou tha

, and sold it for ten pounds to

nsul l

e rascal wh

for more than an hour with a fishing pole-and then threw in the genda

r," said t

t look quite

you you

day's wind blow l

is you

it was

is i

me God

es

kno

you wan

arms toward us f

glis sportman! Coul

familiar," said the consu

r to Adrianople in time of war, and recei

you that m

his hairy left breast lay bare down to where the nipple should have been. Why a bul

h a beard! Nobody would kn

is sportman, then, that I am good man-good gu

ed by some notion that he seemed to try t

u ask for your ser

the effend

you a

nod

wo piasters a day, and you f

come to terms with natives of that country, yet the terms the con

an hour," sa

the rail and disappeared around the corner of the

otion that Kagig is descended from the old Armenian kings. In a certain sort of tight place there's not a better man in As

Monty. "These friends of mine are curious

If any man knows trouble's brewing, I suspect be surely does. Anything can happen in the interior. I recall, for instance, a couple of Danes, who went wit

old family castle is a nes

correct

did not account for all of his expression. There was debate, inspiration against

and lit a fresh cigar whil

my friends,

official right whatever-I'm speaking strictly unofficia

f a last chance, but ind

four men would go to save twe

to wonder about

ind," suggested Monty, putting his long l

rward, beginning to talk a little faster,

thing. Make a fuss, of course. Throw open the consulate to refugees. Threaten a lot of things that I know perfectly well my

go on

it!" ur

not know your precise whereabouts, I'd have a grown excuse

nd him"-I was balancing my chair on one leg and he pushed me over backward by way of id

sible, Mr. Yerkes, to

ake action on

d the senators from Ireland would howl about the Monroe Doctrine and Washi

the United S

United States, and they'd be afraid to support action

country, and massacres should break out after you had started, I could supply our ambassador with something good to work on. T

stop it, once st

at 'ud be more than

engage Kagig and make the trip, and to remain

mean. And as for rescue, the longer th

ave them hun

if we were to be taken prisoner

here at the mission. What I have suggested to you is mad quixotism at the best, and at the worst-well, do you recall

a friend of mine,"

remely cheerful and Wi

at can or can't be done, but if you four men are absent in the hills I believe I can give the

e argument as far as yea or nay had anything to do with it. Pr

d Will. "The United States consul t

his thumb and fo

l," he said. "You might go without, b

a small square window in the wall at one end of the veranda. Then he came round and once more vaulted the veranda rail, for he seemed to hold ordinary mea

decided to employ you,

ised!) For a Christian h

n the mountains, to hunt bear

re by Eenglismen! They shall kill all the bears a

manli prejudice against that animal. Yet he w

rmous lots of ammun

e roadside robbers

hey throw Turks over a

servants, who shall br

ward as he said that. A Turk would

a journey of two

ere shall th

be unwise to start

Khan in Tarsu

t is excellent! I will

ce. Pay them the right

nor yet are wheels-you

are

es," said the consul, "with a

ds palms upward as if he weighed one thought against another. "What is the

or. A Turk of the guide class would likely have knelt and placed a foot of each of us on his

to-morrow morning

itoon had another

e Yeni Khan. They will say nothing at all, and work splendidly! Start when you like; you will find me waitin

he tiny window. "I am the Eye of Zeitoon!" he boasted, and was gone. A servant whom the consul sent t

one more likely amenable to discipline to take his place. But the consul spent an hour telling us

ack. I've no idea how he recovered. He wouldn't

id Will, and we were all

ng," said the consul.

s on her way to the

iz!" sa

let her go, escorted only by Armenians. Of course, she may get through without

cken

users pockets and tilted his chair ba

e veranda furniture on top, to the scandalized amazement of the stately kavass, who came