There was a great uproar in Damascus. Hafsa Pasha, an exiled Turk, once
a prime favorite of the sultan, had been slain in a house within the
city limits.
Rumors were flying thick. There were many wild stories passing from lip
to lip. It was said that some foreigners had been concerned in the
murder of the Pasha.
The Moslems were aroused, and they cried out for vengeance on the
murderers. Some said that a young and beautiful girl was connected with
the affair. It was said that she had tried to delude the Pasha and rob
him, and that in the end her friends, aided by a number of Arabs, had
slain him in the house to which the girl decoyed him.
These stories aroused the followers of "the true faith" to a high pitch
of resentment against all "infidels" in the city at that time. Foreign
visitors were warned against appearing on the streets, as they were
almost certain to be insulted, roughly treated, and possibly slain.
The foreigners stopping at the German hotel were greatly alarmed. Many
of them were planning to get out of the city as soon as possible. Some
had heard the early mutterings of the storm and departed on the train
for Beirut that day.
Professor Z. Gunn was in a state of great distress. He found Dick
Merriwell and Brad Buckhart in earnest consultation in their room and
seized each by an arm, exclaiming:
"This is what it has come to! You can see! We're still in the sultan's
domain. There will be an uprising. These fanatical Mohammedans will
massacre every Christian and foreigner they can find in the place! I
feel it coming. The streets of Damascus will flow with blood before
night!"
"You're excited, professor," said Dick.
"Excited!" squawked the old man, nearly losing his false teeth and
clapping his hand over his mouth to keep them from popping out. "Ugh!
Oogah-um! Cluck! Who wouldn't be excited? There is something to get
excited over. We're almost certain to be murdered!"
"I hardly think," said Merriwell, "that the Turks will carry it that
far. We are citizens of the United States, with passports in our
pockets, and the sultan would have trouble on his hands with Yankee
Doodle Land if his subjects were to murder us."
"You bet your boots!" put in Buckhart.
"But the sultan isn't here to stop it," spluttered Zenas. "The Turks are
infuriated over the death of Hafsa Pasha. They are urging on all
Moslemites in the city. None of them are counting on the consequences.
They'll do the killing first and consider the consequences afterward."
"No one has been killed yet," said Dick. "The authorities are doing
their best to hold the fanatics in check."
"By promising to apprehend and bring to justice the murderers of Hafsa
Pasha. Mind, they say murderers. That means every one who was present
when the man was killed. I was right here last night when Brad and
Budthorne went away with those Arabs. I'm not the only one who knows
about that. You were present, Richard, when Hafsa Pasha's enemy slew
him. Brad was there, Budthorne was there. You're all concerned. You're
every one wanted as participants in the crime."
"It was vengeance," said Dick. "Ras al Had, the old sheik, slew Hafsa
Pasha, and Hafsa Pasha years ago sold Ras al Had's brother into slavery.
The sheik found his brother dying in the desert, and he swore to have
vengeance on the treacherous Pasha when the time came. Last night he
carried out his oath and then fled from the city."
"That won't clear you, boys," asserted Professor Gunn. "You were
concerned in breaking into the house where the Pasha was killed."
"Sure we were," nodded Brad Buckhart.
"I didn't have to break in," said Dick, with a twinkle in his dark eyes.
"Oh, Richard," said the professor, "that was a scandalous thing! Hafsa
Pasha was fooled into paying a large sum for you."
Buckhart grinned.
"He was going to add you to his harem, pard. Oh, say! that was the
richest thing ever! The boys will die of laughter back at school when I
tell them about it."
"Hem! haw! Haw! hem!" coughed the professor. "It looks just now as if
you'll never get back to Fardale to tell anything. Drat it, boys, you
don't seem to comprehend the terrible peril we're in!"
"We comprehend it, all right," asserted Dick; "but we can't see any
sense in getting ratty over it. Hafsa Pasha got exactly what was coming
to him."
"You bet he did!" nodded the Texan.
"The right or wrong of it makes no difference to these fanatics," said
Zenas. "They won't stop to ask who was right and who was wrong. They'll
just go ahead and chop up the foreigners. This hotel is watched. The
people in it have been warned against leaving it. A few got away on the
train, but the rest of the people in the place are panic-stricken. They
realize the danger. The trouble with you two reckless young rascals is
that you do not realize the peril. Somebody is going to confess that two
persons left this hotel in the night. They'll trace the two. It will be
found out that you were present when the Pasha was killed, and your
lives will not be worth a penny. Oh, it's a---- Hark! What's that?"
From the street outside came a peculiar, blood-chilling sound. It was
like the low snarling of many voices, and it grew louder and louder
until it became a sullen, muttering roar.
The three rushed to the window and looked out. What they saw caused the
old professor to turn pale and faint.
A great mob had gathered in front of the hotel, all Turks or people of
the Moslem faith, and others were coming rapidly from many directions.
The crowd was armed with clubs, sticks, stones, and so forth. A few
flourished swords or other deadly weapons.
They are crying out in their indignation against the foreigners. A
crooked, befezzed Turk was their leader. At sight of him Dick Merriwell
uttered an exclamation.
"See that man?" he cried--"the one who is urging the mob on?"
"I sure see the varmint," nodded Buckhart.
"Well, he's the old wretch who bribed Ras al Had's black men to betray
Nadia and myself."
"That dog, eh?" growled the Texan, taking something from his pocket.
"Well, I reckon I can just about shoot a couple of holes through his big
ears at this distance."
Professor Gunn uttered a squawk of terror and clutched the wrist of the
grim-faced boy from the Panhandle country.
"You're crazy, Bradley!" he gasped. "You're mad!"
"I admit the accusation," said Buckhart. "I am mad--a heap mad."
"If you were to fire at that man it would precipitate the destruction of
this hotel and the murder of every inmate!"
"The professor is right, Brad," said Dick quietly. "Put up your gun."
"I'd certain like to----"
"Never mind that. Put up the weapon and bide your time. You may be
compelled to use it in self-defense before this day is over. Hear those
creatures!"
The mob was howling:
"Death to the foreigners!"
"Kill the infidels!"
"Burn their hotel!"
"Destroy them! Destroy them!"
"Death to the unbelievers!"
Wildly waving his arms, the crooked old Turk shrilly yelled:
"They have defiled our city and our temples! They have basely murdered
one of the true faith!"
"Ah-yah!" snarled the mob.
Then some one hurled a stone. There was a crash of glass in the lower
part of the hotel. A volley of stones followed, smashing glass and
raining against the building in a shower.
"It begins to look pretty bad," confessed Dick.
Dunbar Budthorne, followed by Nadia, came hurrying into the room.
Budthorne was agitated and his sister was very pale.
"What is happening?" asked Dunbar.
"Take a look out of this window and you will see," answered Dick.
Nadia pressed forward to look, but drew back, shuddering.
Brad sought to reassure her.
"It's only a lot of crazy fools," he said. "Don't be frightened, Nadia."
"But they are mad! They mean to destroy the hotel and murder us all!"
"I don't reckon the governor will permit that."
"Can we do nothing?" asked Budthorne. "Can't we apply to the American
consul?"
"We tried that yesterday when Nadia disappeared," reminded Dick, "and
the American consul was out of the city."
"Then there is the British consul. Surely he will act if we call on
him."
"I doubt if he has the power," said Professor Gunn. "We are in a
terrible predicament. I fear the horror of 1860 is about to be
repeated."
"What happened in 1860?" asked Dunbar.
"Six thousand unarmed and unoffending Christians and foreigners were
massacred in Damascus, and nearly twice as many more outside the city,
in Syria."
"Oh, dreadful!" gasped Nadia, growing faint and being assisted to a
chair by Buckhart. "What if it happens again? Oh, I believe it is going
to happen!"
At this juncture a fiercer outburst of noise rose from the street, and
again Dick Merriwell looked out of the window, the others pressing close
behind him.
It seemed that some one from the hotel had ventured to step outside to
address the crowd. Instantly his words were drowned by howls, and
shrieks, and curses, while a shower of missiles drove him back to
shelter.
Then some one espied the little group in the upper window and called
attention to it. Instantly the crowd began shouting insults at our
friends and shaking their fists at them.
"Take Nadia back from the window, Brad," advised Dick, in a low tone.
"Keep her mind distracted as much as possible from this."
Again Buckhart conducted the girl to a chair.
"Better all get back," said Professor Gunn. "We're just adding to their
fury by standing in the window and watching them."
They moved back a little, but the mob continued to rage and snarl, like
a pack of infuriated wild animals.
"Was no one punished for the other massacre?" asked Dick.
"The powers of Europe finally interfered," answered the professor. "The
Turkish government was compelled to punish some one, so Ahmad Pasha, the
governor, lost his head. That was about the extent of the punishing."
"Well the present governor ought to remember Ahmad Pasha. If he isn't
careful he may lose his head."
The whole hotel was in a state of great excitement, as Dick learned by
stepping outside the room, and listening. Women were weeping and
wailing, while white-faced men hurried hither and thither, up and down,
without seeming able to decide on anything. He heard two men talking,
and one was telling the other that already the mob had murdered a man in
the open street.
"It's pretty serious," Dick decided. "Once let a mob like that get a
taste of blood, and there is no telling where the affair will end. I
fear this will be a bloody day for Damascus. If they begin killing, the
odds are against any one of us escaping with his life."
One of the men below was speaking again.
"They say this thing started over the unwarranted murder of an exiled
Pasha."
"That's the report, and I was told a few minutes ago that the mob
declares the murderers of the Pasha are in this very hotel. That is why
it has been singled out as the first point of attack."
"I've heard more than that," declared the first speaker. "I understand
that the real cause of all this trouble is an American girl, stopping
here. She must be an adventuress, for they say she got gay with the
Pasha who was murdered, and decoyed him to the place where he was
assassinated. I've seen the girl, too."
"You have?"
"Yes. She's here in company with her brother. Has been here several
days. Day before yesterday two boys and an old man joined them."
"Oh, I've noticed that party. And they say this girl caused all the
trouble?"
"Yes. Some of the rest of the party were concerned in the murder of the
Pasha. The crowd outside is demanding that this girl and her friends be
given up. If the proprietor will surrender them it is possible the rest
of us may escape with our lives."
"Then we had better unite in urging him to give that party up. It's a
case of self-preservation, and----"
"I favor it myself."
Dick had slipped quietly down the stairs, and now he suddenly confronted
the two men. His face was pale, but his dark eyes flashed.
"I have a few words to say to you," he said, his voice low but clear and
steady. "I don't know where you hail from, but I do know that you are
two of the most contemptible cowards it has ever been my bad fortune to
chance upon. No one but cowards would think of surrendering an innocent
and helpless girl into the hands of a maddened and murderous mob, like
the one outside this hotel."
Having expressed himself in this manner, the fearless American lad stood
squarely facing them both.
There was a hush.
Outside the mob was heard muttering sullenly.
The two men gazed at Dick in surprise. One was a tall man, the other
decidedly below medium height.
"Why--why----" gasped the short man, and then choked, as if unable to
find further words.
The tall man shook himself together.
"Look here, you insolent young puppy," he exclaimed, "how dare you come
here and use such language to us?"
"Yes," put in the short man, with an attempt at bluster, "how dare you?"
"I do not think there is much to fear from two men who would
deliberately talk of surrendering an innocent girl into the hands of a
murderous mob," retorted Merriwell.
"Innocent girl!" sneered the tall man.
"Yes, innocent! Be careful, sir! I'm only a boy, but I know the girl,
and another insulting slur from your lips will be resented in a manner
you will not like."
Both men were astonished.
"Why, I believe he would tackle us both!" muttered the short man.
"You know the girl, do you?" said the tall one, overlooking Dick's
threat, as if he did not consider it worth noticing further. "And you
claim she is innocent?"
"I happen to know."
"Didn't she decoy the Pasha to the house where he was murdered?"
Dick's lips curled.
"Instead of that, sir, she was seized while walking on the street, her
escort assaulted and knocked down, and the ruffians imprisoned her in a
house. Where were you yesterday that you heard nothing of this?"
"We made a trip into the country outside the city," explained the little
man.
"It happens that I was the one accompanying her when she was seized and
carried off," added Dick. "By chance this girl, who is perfectly
innocent of wrongdoing, fell beneath the notice of Hafsa Pasha, a bad
man, who resolved to add her to his harem. He was baffled, and he
deserved the fate he met. However, none of our party had anything to do
with that. He was killed by an old enemy, whom he had bitterly wronged.
These are the facts, gentlemen. Now, in order to save your fine necks
you talk about turning her over to that snarling pack of wolves at the
door! I am ashamed of you both!"
In spite of his youth he made them feel ashamed of themselves.
"Oh, well, oh, well," said the little man apologetically; "we didn't
understand, you know. If we had----"
"But I don't fancy being talked to in this manner by a mere boy,"
growled the other.
"I didn't expect you would fancy it," said Dick, with continued
boldness. "Lots of people do not fancy being told the plain truth. Often
it cuts to the quick. If you wish to do what you can to save yourselves,
be prepared to fight for your lives if the mob breaks in here, but do
not talk of surrendering a girl to be murdered by that pack of maddened
beasts. On the contrary, you should be ready to defend her with your
last drop of blood."
Having scorched them in this manner, Dick turned and remounted the
stairs.
The tall man made a move as if to stop him, but checked himself.
Barely had Dick disappeared when a figure advanced quickly from the
shadows at the rear of the hall and spoke in a low tone to the two men.
"I beg your pardon," said a soft voice, with a pronounced accent that
seemed to proclaim him either a Spaniard or an Italian. "I happened to
overhear a part of your conversation with that boy. I know him."
The stranger was slim and dark, with a slight mustache, which curled
upward at the ends. He had coal-black eyes, which were very restless and
very piercing. His hands were small and slim, almost womanish.
The two men looked at him in some surprise. As they did not speak at
once he went on hurriedly:
"It seems that I arrived in Damascus just in time to get into this
unfortunate trap, from which not one of us may escape with our lives. I
am just here. I would I were elsewhere. I know that boy--know him most
exceedingly well. He is a thorough rascal. He was compelled to leave
England in a hurry to escape imprisonment for robbery. He is a card
sharp, although, on account of his years, he does not, to strangers,
seem to be such. That is why he deceives the great number of people with
such perfect ease. In Italy he was concerned with a very dangerous and
desperate band of criminals, and from that country he hurried with much
haste to avoid punishment. Since then he has been wandering about in
various lands, accompanied by another boy and an old man, who are his
accomplices. They tell that the old man is the tutor and guardian of the
boys, but this I do assure you is a fabrication."
"Well!" gasped the little man, in astonishment.
"Well!" exclaimed the tall man, bewildered.
"Gentlemen," said the stranger, "I assure you that I know perfectly well
the complete truth of all I have said. They are traveling under false
names, having somehow secured the passports of the parties they pretend
to be. The only thing of truth that I heard fall from that boy's lips as
I listened was his statement that the girl is innocent. She, however,
with her brother, who is not strong and may be easily influenced, has
fallen into the clutches of these three rascals. Without doubt they
sought to use the girl as a tool to trap the Pasha who was murdered. I
doubt not that they led the Pasha to believe there would be no trouble
in case he seized the girl and made her an inmate of his harem. I
believe it probable that they secured a large sum of money from the
Pasha--and then they murdered him.
"Now, gentlemen, if, instead of giving up the girl to the mob, you will
get together, seize the real culprits, tell the maddened people the
truth, and surrender them, you will be doing your duty, and nothing
more."
The listeners gasped again.
"Most amazing!" said the little man.
"Quite so," agreed the tall man.
"Who are you?" questioned the first.
"Your name," demanded the second.
The stranger made a graceful gesture.
"My name matters little to you. I will not speak it at present. Those
rascals are wholly unaware that I am here. I do not care to have them
discover it just now. Listen! The mob clamors again. The doors will be
beaten down soon, and then nothing can save us. If you know these people
here, lose no time in informing them of the real cause of this riot.
Tell them that the guilty ones are sheltered beneath this roof. Propose
to them that the three scoundrels be surrendered, for it is better that
three such common wretches should be slain than that a whole hotel full
of innocent people should die."
"Quite right!" exclaimed the small man.
"Perfectly right," agreed the tall man.