"This is an Irade!" I exclaimed, in great surprise; "an imperial order
to arrest Laleli Khanum Effendi,--good heavens! Balsamides, I had no
idea that you possessed such tools as this!"
"To tell you how I got it would be to tell you my own history during the
last ten years," he answered, in low tones. "I trust you, Griggs, but
there are other reasons why I cannot tell you all that. You see the
result, at all events, and a result very dearly paid for," he added
gravely. "But I have got the thing, and what is more, I have permission
to personate the Sultan's private physician."
"What is that for? I should think the Irade were quite enough."
"Laleli might die of fright, if I merely presented myself and threatened
to arrest her. But I shall see her in the assumed character of the court
physician. Laleli is a Turkish woman, who understands no other language
but her own and Greek. She is very superstitious, and believes in all
manner of charms and spells; for she has no ideas at all concerning
Western science, except that it is all contrary to the Koran. I can talk
the jargon of an old Hadji well enough, and besides I know something of
medicine; very little, but enough to tell me whether she is absolutely
in a dying state. It is a great compliment for the Sultan to send his
private physician, and if she is in a conscious state she will be
flattered and thrown off her guard. If I can manage to get her slaves
out of the way, I may induce her to confess. If I fail in this, I have
the means to frighten her. If she dies, I have the means of arresting
Selim before he can escape. It is all very well arranged, and there is
nothing to be done but to put the plan into execution. When you left me
I had not got the Irade; it came about an hour ago."
"How can I help you?" I asked.
"You must have a disguise, too. When the court physician is sent to
visit a person of consequence, he is always accompanied by an adjutant
from the palace. You must play this part. I have borrowed a uniform from
a brother officer which will fit you. It is in your room, and I will
help you to put it on. You need say nothing, nor answer any questions
the slaves may put to you unless you are quite sure of your words. You
have a very military figure, and the sight of a uniform acts like magic
on fellows like the Lala and his companions. As I am an adjutant myself,
I can tell you exactly what to do, so that no one could detect you. Are
you willing to try?"
"Of course," I said, rising and going towards my room. "How are we to go
to Yeni Koej?"
"A carriage from the palace will be at the door in half an hour,"
answered Gregorios, looking at his watch. "Now, then, we must turn you
into a Turkish officer," he added, with a laugh.
In ten minutes the change was complete, and I do not believe that my
best friend would have recognized me in the close-fitting dress, cut
like that of a Prussian dragoon's parade uniform, but made of dark cloth
with red facings. I buckled on the sabre, and Gregorios set the fez
carefully on my head. I looked at myself in the glass. The costume
fitted as though it were made for me.
"I feel as though I were going to a masked ball," I said, laughing. "I
never was so disguised before in my life."
"I hope you may feel so when you come home," answered Balsamides, with a
smile. "Now you must take some of your own clothes in a bag. We may not
get home before morning, and we might meet some one of the adjutants
when we come back. They would know that you are not one of us, and there
might be trouble. We must take some money, too. We may need to hire a
boat or horses; one can never tell."
Balsamides stood a moment and looked at me, apparently well satisfied
with my appearance. Then he opened the window to see whether the
carriage was below, but it had not yet come.
"While we are waiting, I will explain our plan of action," he said, as
he opened his writing-desk and took a small roll of gold pieces and a
handful of silver. "We shall be driven to the door of the house, and
when we knock, Selim or some other Lala, if there are others, will open
the door. He will see you and recognize your uniform, as well as the
livery of the palace carriage. He will salute us, and you must of course
return the salutation. I will then explain that I am the court
physician, and that his majesty, having just heard of the Khanum
Effendi's illness, has sent me down to attend her. Selim will salute us
again, and show us into the house. You will be left in the _salamlek_,
the lower hall, and I shall be shown into the harem, after a few minutes
have elapsed to give time for preparation. Then you will have to wait,
but you will probably not be disturbed, unless a slave brings you
coffee and cigarettes. Selim will probably remain in the harem all the
time I am there. But if you hear anything like a scuffle, you must come
when you recognize my voice. This will not occur unless Selim hears
something which frightens him, and tries to get away. Of course you are
supposed to be present for my protection, and you must affect a certain
deference towards me."
"I will be humility itself," I answered.
"No, not too much humility. A mere show of respect for my position will
do. We adjutants about the palace are not much given to self-abasement
of any sort. There is one catastrophe which may occur. If the old woman
is really dying, as they say she is, she may die while we are there. We
must then take possession of the person of Selim and carry him off.
There will not be much trouble about that. The house is in a lonely
place, and the driver of the carriage knows his orders. He will obey
instantly, no matter what I tell him to do."
"And if we should, by any chance, find Alexander in the house," I asked,
"shall we be able to get him out without trouble?"
"Not without trouble," answered Gregorios, with a grim smile. "But we
will not stick at trifles so long as we have the imperial Irade with us.
I hear the carriage. Let us be off."
So we left the house on our errand without further words.