It was close upon dawn when the two figures suddenly and silently
emerged from the tree shadows in which they had been hiding for some
considerable time.
Very simple and harmless they looked too, the taller one in spotless
galabeah and red fez, his smallpox pitted face softened by the light of
the dying moon; the other, a mere bundle of clothes with the yashmak
covering all except the eyes, dragging back from the hand which pulled
her ruthlessly up to the door of a house conspicuous by its length of
wall unbroken by windows.
The faintest sound of music from somewhere about the immense building
sounded as out of place at that hour as would a boy's shrill whistling
in the middle of High Mass, but unperturbed thereby, the pitted-face
man knocked gently three times upon the door, vehemently upbraiding the
while his shrinking and protesting companion, who tugged still more
forcibly at the restraining hand.
"Behold, art thou the daughter of ungrateful parents and not fit to be
honoured by the great lord who awaits thee. Raise thy voice in
protest, speak but one word, and thy back shall resemble the red
pattern upon thy raiment, which has cost much hard toil to provide for
thee."
The female figure suddenly sank back, in all humility at the feet of
the upbraider, as unperceived--maybe--by both, a small portion of the
door above their heads slipped noiselessly back to show a gleaming eye
glued to the little grille, taking in the scene beneath it.
Unperceived or not, the elder man, taking a deep breath, continued in a
slightly raised tone to administer his admonition.
"Comely art thou, and young, and good is the price paid for thee, and
may he who has purchased thee be not annoyed at the hour in which I
bring thee, for in truth was thy mother against thy flight from the
nest, being not awake to the advantages of the new bough upon which
thou wouldst come to rest--therefore was I forced to bring thee by
stealth. Perchance------!"
The gentle voice stopped suddenly as the door was thrown open by a much
armed individual, who angrily demanded the meaning of the disturbance.
"The peace of Allah be upon thee and upon this house, into which, by
the order of thy master, O! brother, I bring a flower which he has
deigned to pluck from within the city. Comely is she, and gifted in
music and the dance, but young, is affrighted at the honour before her.
I------"
Here the armed individual broke in ruthlessly upon the paean of praise,
drawing a most gleaming and curved weapon from somewhere about his huge
person.
"Begone, disturbers of the peace," he ejaculated with the difficulty
natural to one who has had his tongue split. "My master awaits a
flower in truth, being even now o'ercome in sleep in the waiting, but
the flower will show a warrant the which will pass her through this
door of which I am the guardian. By Allah! it is not opened at the
tapping of every chance weed which the wind of poverty may cause to
flutter across this path!"
Things began to look somewhat awkward for the humble flower wilting on
the marble step, until her friend, speaking suddenly and sharply, saved
the situation by leaning down and quite violently snatching something
from the little hand fumbling most awkwardly among the many feminine
draperies.
"Behold the warrant, O! unbeliever. So desirous of this maiden is thy
master, upon whom may the blessing of Allah rest, that he even gave
unto her father the ring of emerald from off his right hand. Art
satisfied, or is't best to risk the tempest by still further
questioning and delay!"
The guardian of the door, not a little astounded, snatched in his turn
at the jewel, and seeming perfectly satisfied after a prolonged
scrutiny, stood aside and motioned the two to enter, and shutting the
door behind them and ordering them to stand where they were until he
returned from his dangerous mission of disobeying, by breaking in upon
his master's privacy, stalked off with much dignity into the perfumed,
half-lit, enormous hall.
Now if only he had been afflicted with one iota of the curiosity
apportioned by time to Lot's wife, that man might have been alive even
to this day. But he neither turned his head nor pricked his ears,
thereby failing to note that with the lightning methods of the eel the
comely flower had in some miraculous way slipped from her all
enveloping sheath of draperies to stand revealed a wiry,
glistening-with-oil youth, who, without a moment's pause, with knife in
teeth, and as silently as a lizard, glided across the dividing yards of
Persian carpet separating him from his quarry.
Across the hall and through endless deserted rooms they passed, the
companion of the camouflage maiden bringing up the rear. Right to the
far quarter of the house they went, one after the other, and the
guardian of the house felt little more than a pin-prick when, just as
his hand pulled aside the curtain screening a door, the youth behind
him raising his right arm drove the knife clean under the left shoulder
blade, catching the dead body as it fell backwards to lay it
noiselessly upon the floor just as his friend appeared upon the scene.
"It was well done, O! brother--neatly, and with strength--leaving no
trace of blood to speak of. But now must we proceed with cunning, else
may we too be lying lifeless upon our backs. Take even thy knife, my
brother, 'twere a pity to leave it in yon carcase!"
Indifferently turning the body over, the boy drew the knife, as
indifferently wiping it on the dead man's raiment, and stood for a
moment as still as any one of the exotic specimens of statuary which
ornamented the whole house.
Truly and implicitly had the orders of the master been obeyed; there
was no sound of any living thing in or near the place, so that after a
few whispered words the curtain was gently pulled back and the door
opened just as gently inch by inch.
For a long minute the two men peered in through the crack, their eyes
searching swiftly for sign of him whom they searched.
Unavailing at first, until with a motion of the head the younger one
pointed.
"Look! Yonder he sleeps!"
The room was still brilliantly lighted by the many lamps hanging from
the ceilings and the walls, but the shadow of the great mass of growing
plants fell upon the divan upon which Jill had sat some few hours ago.
Inch by inch the door was opened, until it was wide enough to allow the
dusky slender body of the boy to slip in. Round the wall he slid, his
eyes a-glisten, and the knife fast held between his teeth; then down
upon his hands and knees he sank to crawl as quietly as a cat up to the
back of the flowering plants. And then he quite suddenly sprang to his
feet, beckoning to his companion, who sped straight across the room,
knife in hand.
"Behold! O! brother!"
And a world of disappointment rang in the whispered words as the youth
pointed disgustedly to the picture before him.
Very peacefully lay the man whose name had been a byword in the land of
Egypt, and whose delight had been in the moral and physical terrors of
women.
His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open, showing the white
teeth; the hands were gently clasped, but over the spot where should
have been his heart, and on the silken coverings of the cushions,
spread a great crimson patch of blood, whilst at his feet, lying prone
across the couch, was the body of a girl. Her eyes were open, and a
little smile widened the beautiful mouth, but from the spot above the
heart which had so unwisely and so well loved, glittered the jewelled
hilt of a dagger. One hand touched the hem of her master's coat, but
what the bastinado had left of the little feet seemed to shriek aloud
for vengeance, vengeance for the dead child, and vengeance for all
those who had likewise suffered.
"Allah! Allah!" The cry cleft the stillness of the room as the boy's
eyes fell upon the terrible sight; and the knife flashed twice and
thrice, and yet again, until the evil beauty of the dead man's face had
been entirely obliterated, and a strong hand gripped the supple wrist.
"Come, O! brother! Waste not thy strength upon the dead. Behold! Yon
little maid has carried out our master's wish, may she rest in the
delights of paradise with the beloved of Allah whose prophet is
Mohammed, and may the spirit of him who is accursed enter into the body
of a pig to live eternally in filth and dishonour!"
And the sun had risen upon a cleaner day when the twain departed from
the house of shadows.