Kitabı oku: «Dick Merriwell's Pranks: or, Lively Times in the Orient», sayfa 7
CHAPTER XIII – INWARD TORTURE
Alone, Brad Buckhart returned to the hotel. He realized that he had acted in a ridiculous manner in avoiding his friends and running away from Dick and Nadia on the streets, but his feeling of shame for such folly was smothered by one of resentment and jealousy.
“I thought her different from other girls,” he muttered, as he paced the floor of his room; “but she’s just like them all – false, fickle, and giddy. She pretended to like me, but out of sight is out of mind with her. She flirted with that confounded Turk – yes, she did! That’s what got her into trouble. Her brother is just as foolish as she is. He encouraged her. I suppose they think me nothing but a rough Texan, good enough to fight for them and get them out of their troubles, but not good for anything else. Well, if I take a fancy, I can show them I’m not half as rough as they think.
“I imagine I can make a respectable appearance in refined society if I choose to try. Perhaps my family is just as good as the Budthornes. I’d rather confess to hailing from Texas than to admit that I was from Chicago. Chicago! Why, a decent white man will turn to a smoked ham in that town in less than three days! As for wild and woolly places, I declare Chicago lays way over Texas. A man is liable to be held up anywhere in Chicago in broad daylight. If he’s sandbagged and robbed, and makes a complaint to the police, he stands a fine prospect of being locked up as a vagrant. No one from Chicago can get chesty with me.”
He was perfectly serious, little realizing the humor of his observations and attitude. Although naturally broad-minded and manly, he had been “rubbed the wrong way of the fur” by Nadia’s action, and, for the time, at least, he was almost childish in his resentment.
The fact that he had this weakness, however, made his other manly qualities stand out even more clearly.
“I’ll show her how much I care!” he continued. “I’ll just hold my head up and keep out of her way. Let her go it! Let her flirt with Turks! If she does, she’ll be sorry!”
He paused. The picture of Nadia making eyes at a handsome Turkish gentleman rose before him. He fancied he was willing she should do anything she wished, but now, all at once, he realized that she could hurt him very much in case she disdained him and turned her attention in other directions.
He had been bluffing when he ran away from her, and he knew it now. As a rule he was able and willing to back up any bluff he made, but now his reason told him he would weaken immediately in case this bluff was called.
What if Nadia became offended by his ungentlemanly behavior in running away from her when she called to him and tried to overtake him? What if that one bad break of his should cause her in future to regard him with indifference or aversion?
“Oh, ginger!” he exclaimed. “I couldn’t stand that! It would drive me to suicide! I’m a chump, and I can’t help it! Dick is with her. Perhaps she’ll get smitten on him!”
This thought added to his agitation.
“How can she help it?” he muttered, again fiercely pacing the floor. “Dick is the sort of fellow all the girls care for. He’s far superior to me, and I don’t see how she came to be interested the least bit in me in the first place. Of course, there is June Arlington and Doris Templeton – but they’re on the other side of the Atlantic, and I don’t believe there ever yet was a pretty girl who did not believe she could cut out another girl if she really tried.
“Perhaps that’s what Nadia is trying to do! Perhaps she’s playing a clever game by pretending to have any interest in me and seeming indifferent to Dick. A girl best attracts a fellow by seeming indifferent to him. The girl who pursues a chap is bound to lose him, nine times out of ten. It’s the fellow who wants to do the pursuing. He loves the chase and the zest of it. Some girls know this, and they play the timid deer to perfection. Nadia Budthorne is right clever, and I’ll wager something this little game is no secret to her.
“I’ve hit it at last! I’ve known all along that she really cared for Dick, and now I’ve been fool enough to help her in her play. Say, I ought to be shot! I know Dick is on the level, but how is he going to resist a clever girl like her? He might, if June Arlington were near; but June is far away, and, in my estimation, Nadia lays away over June any old time. Oh, you poor fool!”
He clenched his fist and struck himself on the side of the head.
Thus it happened that Professor Gunn and Dunbar Budthorne found the Texan in anything but a happy frame of mind when they returned to the hotel.
They were agitated over the disappearance of Dick and Nadia, for whom they had searched and inquired ere leaving the bazaars. When they did return to the hotel it was with the expectation and hope that they might find the boy and girl there.
“They will turn up all right,” declared Brad. “Dick will take care of her, never fear.”
And now for the first time in his life he grew violently jealous of his bosom comrade.
“If he plays me double I’ll never again have the least confidence in human nature!” he mentally cried.
But when an hour passed and the missing boy and girl failed to return to the hotel Buckhart began to share the alarm of the professor and Budthorne.
“If anything happens to that boy I’ll never forgive myself!” said the old pedagogue.
“We must look for them,” said Dunbar. “You know what took place at the railway station. What if some of Hafsa Pasha’s tools found Dick and Nadia alone and unprotected?”
Suddenly Brad Buckhart reassumed his Western manners.
“Whoop!” he cried. “Let’s amble forth on the warpath! Let’s take to the trail and go out for scalps! I’m ready, and you know I can scrap some, if I don’t shine resplendent at a soirée. I’m in right good humor for a scrimmage.”
Together they left the hotel and started to return to the bazaar; but they had not proceeded far when they were stopped by the appearance of an open carriage, in which were Dick and Ras al Had.
Dick called to them, and the carriage stopped. Young Merriwell sprang down.
Budthorne, pale and shaking with apprehension, rushed forward and clutched him, demanding to know what had become of Nadia.
Dick told the whole story in as few words as possible.
As he listened Brad Buckhart grew ashen. He realized that Dick and Nadia had become separated from the professor and Budthorne through their efforts to follow and overtake him. By running away in such a childish manner he had led them into all that trouble, the end of which had been the disappearance of the girl.
“Fool! fool!” he groaned. “I am to blame for it all!”
CHAPTER XIV – DICK DISOBEYS
Late that day, as the grateful shadows of approaching night were settling over Damascus, Ras al Had came quietly to the hotel, and was highly satisfied to find Dick Merriwell there. He drew the boy aside, saying he wished to speak with him in private.
“I have found one of the dogs who betrayed me,” said the old sheik. “Would you behold him? Would you hear what he has to say?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Do you trust me now?”
“Of course I do!”
“Do you trust me completely?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell your friends not to worry about you, even though you leave them and do not return with the passing of another day. If you ask questions now I shall know you do not trust me, even though you say so.”
Dick asked no questions.
Thus far everything possible had been done for Nadia. Her disappearance had been reported, and they had received the assurance that an earnest effort would be made to find her and return her in safety to her friends. Dick had made a formal complaint of the assault, and was informed that the whole matter should be investigated and the guilty parties punished.
They all knew, however, that they were not liable to receive anything more than promises from the Turkish authorities. This being the case, they were compelled to rely mainly on the American consul and the promise of Ras al Had, the sheik.
It is probable that Dick Merriwell was the only one who really placed any confidence in the old Arab.
Brad Buckhart was immovable in his conviction that the sheik was concerned in the dastardly work.
Knowing Brad would raise a disturbance, Dick told the professor that he might be gone for twenty-four hours. Immediately Zenas made an effort to exercise his authority over the boy.
“You shall not go, Richard!” he exclaimed. “I forbid it!”
“I am sorry you forbid it, professor, for you know I dislike to disobey you.”
“Eh? Hum! haw! Why, why, you don’t mean to tell me to my face that you will defy me?”
“No, sir; I do not defy you. Circumstances make it necessary for me to disobey you, and so – ”
“You shall not do it! I won’t have it! Your brother looks to me to bring you back safely to him, and I – ”
“Were my brother here he would approve of what I am doing.”
“Well, what are you doing? Where are you going?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Haw! hum! I positively decline to let you leave this hotel!”
“I can’t help that. Look after Budthorne. He’s nearly distracted. Tell him to brace up. Somehow I have confidence that we’ll be able to find Nadia. You’ll have your hands full taking care of Brad.”
“I need you to help me. The boy is crazy.”
“He blames himself for what happened, and he always will blame himself unless Nadia is found.”
“I can’t do anything with him. He’s like a mad bull. Richard, you are the only one who can handle him. Don’t leave me!”
“I must.”
“Why, I thought you an obedient boy! I never fancied you would set yourself up in defiance of me.”
“You do not understand, professor; I am doing what I firmly believe is for the best.”
Zenas wrung his hands.
“If we ever get out of this mess,” he declared, “I’m going to take you back home just as fast as possible.”
“All right; but that is something to be considered later.”
“You should be there. You should be in school at Fardale this day.”
“You forget that I was expelled, professor.”
“By that old dunkhead, Gooch! Wait till we get home. I’m going to have a little session with Barnaby Gooch, and also with Chester Arlington. Your turn is coming, Richard – that is if you do not throw your life away in some reckless folly. Do be cautious, Richard! Listen to me!”
Dick did his best to reassure the old man, but Zenas clutched his arm and attempted to cling to him, still urging and entreating.
Swiftly the boy released the fingers of the old pedagogue.
“I’ll come back all right in time,” he said, and then hastened away.
Gunn hurried after him out of the hotel. He saw Dick spring upon the back of a horse. Another horse, with a dark, silent man on its back, stood near. Both animals were off in a moment, disappearing with their riders into the dusky shadows of a street leading to the north.
Zenas Gunn stood trembling in front of the hotel. His heart was heavy with dread.
“Oh, Richard!” he murmured pathetically; “Heaven guard you! You are brave unto recklessness, and I fear that some day your recklessness will bring ruin upon you.”
At the side of Ras al Had Dick Merriwell rode through Damascus. They were on the outskirts of the city when the aged sheik drew rein.
“We stop here,” he said.
Immediately two men appeared to take the horses.
They dismounted.
“Follow, boy,” commanded the sheik.
Dick did not hesitate about obeying. He kept at the heels of the Arab, who entered some straw-thatched sheds. It was very dark under the shed, not even the light of the stars penetrating there.
Ras al Had uttered a call, and soon a man came hurrying with a fluttering light. He was black as midnight, with thick lips, and huge gold rings in his ears. He salaamed before the sheik.
“Hold the light, Assouan,” directed Ras al Had. “Let us behold the dog who betrayed me.”
Then he touched the arm of the American boy and made a gesture toward the ground not far from their feet.
Assouan held the light as commanded, and it fell on a spectacle that caused Dick to recoil and utter a cry of horror.
Face downward on the ground, his arms and legs outspread, with his wrists and ankles bound to stout stakes, was a black man, stripped of clothing. His back was covered with blood.
“You see what happens to curs who betray Ras al Had,” said the sheik, in a harsh voice.
“Heavens!” gasped Dick. “The miserable wretch has been beaten until his back is all cut up!”
“He was lashed until the pain loosened his tongue and he confessed,” said the sheik. “This man was one of the four I sent to escort you and the maiden.”
“You – you compelled him to tell what has become of her?”
“I wrung it from his lips.”
“What did he tell?”
“You shall hear.”
Ras al Had touched the wretched victim with a staff which he took from one corner of the shed.
The man did not stir.
“Look, thou dog!” said the sheik; “art longing for further punishment? Then speak promptly, or I swear by the beard of the Prophet that thou shalt be cut into a thousand pieces! Who paid thee to choke the infidel lad?”
“Why, it’s the fellow who nearly murdered me!” exclaimed Dick, for he had not recognized the mutilated wretch.
“The same,” said the sheik. “Why doesn’t he speak? Assouan, bring the whip.”
The black man with the light hastened to obey. The whip, a long, wicked-looking affair, with a rawhide lash into which were knotted many pieces of lead, was quickly produced.
Ras al Had took the spluttering light from Assouan’s hand.
“Stand ready,” he directed. “When I bid you strike have no mercy.”
Dick’s blood was cold in his body. The situation was one to fill him with horror. He was alone in that wretched shed, his companions a merciless Arab, a black man of the desert, and the helpless wretch bound outspread on the bare ground. It was night, and the moon had not yet risen. Beneath the shed the darkness was dispelled only by the flaring light, which cast many grotesque shadows dancing on the walls.
Again Ras al Had bade the man speak. In return there was neither sound nor movement.
“Strike, Assouan – strike!” said the sheik coldly.
Assouan lifted the whip.
Dick could stand no more of it, and he stepped in front of the black man, crying:
“Hold! This is too much! Tell me, Ras al Had, what he confessed, but do not carry this thing further!”
A strange look of mingled surprise and rage at this interference settled on the face of the old Arab. He opened his lips to speak, but at this moment the man on the ground groaned and mumbled a few broken words.
Instantly Ras al Had bent over the wretch, holding the light so it fell on the man’s face. The traitor’s head had dropped over to one side, his lips were open, showing his gleaming teeth, while his eyes glittered glassily.
The sheik poked a finger at those wide-open, glittering eyes. They did not blink. Then Ras al Had rose and said very quietly:
“It is too late. He will speak no more. He is dead.”
Dick felt ill, and hurried out of the shed into the open air.
The old sheik followed.
“Although he is dead,” he said, “I can tell you what he confessed. The name of the crooked old Turk who paid them to attack you and carry the maiden away is Abu Hammed. Hammed is in the employ of Hafsa Pasha. The girl is to be kept somewhere until the excitement dies down, and then she will be added to Hafsa Pasha’s harem. He thinks that by that time he can win her over so she will be willing and glad to live a life of ease in the harem.”
“If you had only learned where they took her – ”
“Wait. I told you of my friend who just arrived in Damascus with many beautiful girls, one of which he has brought for Hafsa Pasha.”
“Yes.”
“Hafsa Pasha will visit the house where those girls are to-night. I have not forgotten the fate of my brother far away in Persia. Some day my sword shall drink the blood of Hafsa Pasha; but first I would find a way to compel him to tell where the maid you seek is hidden.”
“Wait!” cried Dick, struck by a sudden idea. “It might be done! I believe it can be! It’s worth trying!”
“Of what do you speak?”
“I have a plan.”
“Unfold it.”
“Can’t you get me into the house where those girls are?”
“Of what good would that be?”
“I’ll go disguised as a girl.”
“A girl?”
“Yes.”
“But – ”
“It will not be the first time I have made up as a girl, and they say I make a pretty girl, too. If you know where I can get the outfit, I’ll make up as a girl and go there. Can’t you arrange it so I’ll fall beneath the notice of Hafsa Pasha? If his attention is called to me I’ll do my part.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ll fool him. I’ll get him to buy me and take me to his harem. I’ll win his confidence and find out where Nadia is hidden.”
“It is a desperate venture.”
“But I’ll play my part, depend on it. Wait until you see me made up as a girl. If you are not satisfied then you may refuse to go on with the scheme.”
The old Arab seemed to catch some of the boy’s enthusiasm.
“Very well,” he said. “If it costs you your life, I cannot feel that I am to bear the blame. It is your plan. I’ll take you without delay to a place where you may dress and prepare for the deception. But you shall have assistants, hairdressers, dressmakers, anything you need to make your disguise perfect.”
Ras al Had then spoke to Assouan, giving him some directions in regard to the dead man in the shed.
Dick followed his strange companion through a number of crooked streets. Finally they reached the door of a house, to which they were admitted on knocking.
The sheik conferred with a gnarled and crooked old Jew, explaining that he wished the boy to be dressed and made up like a girl. The old Jew seemed puzzled and surprised, but agreed, for a price, to attempt the transformation.
Time was passing, and the sheik did not haggle. He simply insisted that the job should be thoroughly done, and the boy should be made up as carefully and tastily as if he were in truth a girl.
Then he left Dick in the old Jew’s hands, saying he would hasten to complete the necessary arrangements and then return for the transformed boy.
Less than an hour later the aged sheik again knocked at the Jew’s door and was admitted. He was informed that the boy would soon be ready to accompany him, but that he would have to wait a few minutes while the finishing touches of the disguise were being put on.
The Jew asked him if he had any objections to waiting in a room with a young lady customer, and Ras al Had soon found himself in a small apartment, in a corner of which sat a girl in street costume. Apparently she was a foreigner, for her flesh was dazzlingly fair, and her clothes, from the beautiful hat on her head to the high-heeled boots on her feet, had a distinct Parisian touch.
The sheik remained standing, quite aware that the girl was surveying him with evident interest or curiosity. His one glance had shown him that she was unusually handsome, with dark hair and eyes.
Finally she heaved a sigh and moved impatiently.
“Dear me!” she said, in perfect English. “This is very tiresome. I’ve waited nearly an hour. Won’t you sit down, sir?”
Ras al Had bowed very low and took a seat upon the floor.
“How funny!” laughed the girl, with a fetching little shrug of her shoulders. “All you dark gentlemen decline to sit on chairs. You always sit on the floor or the ground, and cross your legs.”
Again he bowed, without speaking.
“Don’t you understand English?”
“Very well, madam.”
“I’m no madam; I’m a miss. I’m looking for a husband. I don’t suppose you know where I can find a man with plenty of rocks? I’m out for the coin.”
The Arab glanced at her keenly, wondering if she could be in earnest.
She fluttered her fan and smiled over the top of it with a bewitching look.
“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” she went on. “Well, never mind. American girls can speak for themselves, and the men, too.”
“Are you from America, miss?”
“Sure thing. I’m from Cleveland, Ohio. Really, I started out to travel round the world, writing newspaper letters for the home papers; but all the papers have cut me off, and I’m stranded. I don’t care about going back home, for I made up my mind to catch a rich husband on the trip. Now, if you could put me next with some old gazabo who has lots of the needful, and I succeeded in raking him in, I’d willingly make it worth your while.”
Ras al Had drew a deep breath of wonderment. Although he did not fully understand her, he comprehended that this was one of the free-and-easy young ladies of the Western world of whom he had heard. She was young and bewitching in appearance, but her manner of talk seemed to betray a knowledge of the world one would not suspect her to possess.
The sheik shook his head.
“I can give you no assistance,” he declared.
She laughed and sprang up, crossing the floor toward him.
He rose hastily.
“I don’t believe you know me,” said the girl. “We have met before, and I am sure, as a special favor, you will aid me in capturing a rich husband.”
He retreated before her, but she followed him up, and actually pinned him in a corner.
“Come, now!” she cried, with a dazzling smile that showed her perfect teeth; “you can’t get out of it. I’m not particular, and I’ll marry almost anybody with the dust. I’d even marry Hafsa Pasha, and you can fix that up for me.”
He protested that it was impossible, and his manner caused the girl to laugh still more heartily.
“How do I look?” she asked. “Is this get-up all right?”
“Indeed, you should have no trouble in getting a rich husband,” said the sheik.
“Then take me to the house of your friend, where I am to meet Hafsa Pasha.”
“You – you – ”
“I am the boy you brought here to be changed into a girl.”
“Allah have mercy! Impossible!”
The “girl” was in truth Dick Merriwell, and he laughed heartily over the amazement of the old Arab. Even then Ras al Had seemed to doubt his senses; but the Jew came in, grinning and rubbing his hands together, and stood waiting for his price.
“Wonderful!” murmured the sheik. “Why, you play the part so well that any man might be deceived. It is worth the money, Abraham. Now I believe you will succeed, boy, in your daring scheme. But I shall try to be near you, for you may suddenly need the aid of my arm and my sword.”
