Adventure Magazine Cover — page 116: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Grand Cham The Thunderbolt shook his head coldly. He had not yet tasted the delight of the torture to the fullest. “Nay. I would watch the caphar run beside my litter on the morrow, and see how he bears his pain.” The Sheikh of Rum was very wise. | A IT WAS a week later that the six cap- F. tives made their attempt to escape t@eirom the caravan of the Osmanli. During the week they had been ascending to the cooler plateau of Lake Van, where the summits of the Caucasus were visible far to the north. Yet it was to the east that the six a decided to flee. They had seen that the outriders of the Turks who pillaged supplies in the villages of lesser Armenia had kept a vigilant outlook in that direction. To the east lay a pass called the Gate of Shadows, leading into the lands of Tatary. Michael and his mates did not then know why the Turks shuaned this pass. But they believed that once in the Gate of Shadows they would be safe from pursuit owing to this superstition of the Turks. The night on which they made’ their ven- ture was clear. The stars shone brilliantly through the colder air of the height by the - lake. Men and beasts of the caravan were weary after a long march. Bayezid was never sparing of his followers. Two things had decided the Christians upon this night. They were at the point of the march from Constantinople to Aleppo, which was nearest the Gate of Shadows. And the Moslems had fasted for three days. That night was the feast of Miriam when the long fast was broken and warriors and courtiers alike satiated themselves with meat and wine. Bayezid, although calling himself head of the faith, always allowed his men their fill of debauchery, knowing that it drew soldiers to his ranks. Consequently the Janisseries who watched the aul where the Christian cap- tives were kept apart from the slaves of other races were a little drunk and more than a little sleepy. Michael, by tacit consent, had been chosen the leader of the six. Memory of the torture to which he had been subiected had made the Portuguese and Italians eager to flee. Cowards at heart, the nearer peril of the “iron sleeve” made them willing to f the fire that had sunk to embers. 115 risk the death that was penalty for an attempt to flee their bondage. And Michael, who yearned for the free- dom that would afford him a chance to strike back at Bayezid, had formed a plan readily. The aul was a rough square shelter of rocks resembling very much a large hut without a roof. The stone walls were as high as a man. The two yawning spear- men who acted as guards had built a fire just within the entrance. As usual the prisoners gobbled down the evil-tasting pilau—broth of rotting sheep’s flesh—that was set before them in a kettle. The evening prayers of the Moslems had been completed long since and soft radiance coming from the silk pavilions of the nobles indicated that the feast was well along. A heavy guard of wakeful Mamelukes stood about the enclosure where Bayezid . was quartered and other mounted sentries paced about the circuit of the fires around which warriors and slaves alike drank, sang and slept. It was the first watch of the night when one of the Portuguese rose and tossed a double armful of dried tamarisk branches on A crack- ling blaze climbed skyward barely three paces inside the aul entrance. For a moment *the interior of the walled space. would be concealed from the glance of passers-by. One of the Janisseries growled and spat, motioning the Portuguese back to his place. The other sentry leaned on his battle-ax half-asleep. Making signs that he wished to communi- cate something, the captive moved nearer the first sentry, while one of the Italians arose stealthily and keeping within the large shadow cast by the three men near the fire, slipped to the rear of the Janissery. Michael appeared to be asleep. In spite of his crippled arm—the bones had been rudely set by a hakim of the sheikh who, in obedience to the pleasure of his master, intended Michael to live—in spite of his weakness and the fever that had set upon him for several days, the guards always ~ kept vigilant watch upon him, knowing that the Breton was more dangerous than his mates. Through his half-closed eyes Michael could see the Italian detach a stone from the top of the wall behind the three men silently. The arms of the captives had been left free, CORMICE SOOKS.EO