Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 103 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

14 ——_— Ctl COC — ~_— —-- —_—-—- = —— ~ Se eS Re the lion’s skin falls short eke it out with the fox’s.” She looked at Selim and nodded significantly | toward the girl. and no wonder; more than any one else reason to fear. might disdain to strike her; but for himself, he had no reason to expect mercy. Selim a prcadhel the girl, and bowing low, requested her to follow him. Cleora complied, for she saw no other course open to her. Selim conducted her to the apartment which then immedi- The renegade was very pale; she had ibd ge ae Aico an ately returned to Gulnare. ‘* Tt is El Boro!” the Frenchwoman exclaimed. A second officer had recognized the minister of wae ‘* What is to be done? Shall we admit im ‘No, no!” cried the renegade, hastily. ‘‘ Once he is inside our walls we are lost, if he come on hostile intent.” ‘‘ He has only ten men with him!” ‘‘We must refuse him admittance, and fire upon him if he insists.” The Greek was pale and nervous as he gave this counsel. Never, in all his life, had he encountered greater ril, ‘* He will not dare to insist!” cried Gulnare, ree, at the very thought. ‘‘Am I a dog that FE) Boro dare to brave my anger?” ** Most gracious mistress, this Frank is a man terrible in anger, and if he believes that his daughter is detained here, he would not be apt to hesitate at any risk to release her.” ‘‘T have ordered my followers to arm them- selves and prepare for a conflict, and now I in pero will go to the wall and hold h with im. By my life it will be an unlucky hour for El Boro when he dares to provoke my wrath. Come!” Three steps the Frenchwoman took toward the door, the Greek following close upon her heels, when there came a sudden and violent crash, followed by a few scattering shots, and then a fierce and vindictive yell. Gulnare paused in alarm, while the Greek be- came as me as death. ‘* The ruffian! has he dared to use force?” the Frenchwoman cried, hardly able to believe that such could be the case. The question was eer answered. Along the corridor sounded the noise of hur- ried footsteps: then the doors of the apartment were fi violently open and half-a-dozen of the attendants of the palace came rushing in, e and breathless, while, hard at their heels, with leveled guns and brandished swords, fol- come El Boro and his rough-whiskered body- El Boro, at the gate, had demanded admit- tance; the warder at first had attempted to par- ley with him, then grew insolent, relying up- on his mistress’s protection, and never believ- ng 08 a single instant that El] Boro would dare to brave the wrath of the Queen of the Harem; but the blood of the renegade Englishman was up, and in an instant he vance. His bull-dogs liked no better fun; in a twinkling they had battered in the gate and were masters of the entrance, for the frail bar- rier which had interposed had never been fram- ed to stand such rough usage. , Then, alarmed by the warder’s cries, and sus- peesng that the intruders came on no friendl errand, some of th» soldiers of Gulnare had a tempted, by force of arms, to dispute the pas- sage of the assailants, but El Boro and his rough blades had by a single charge sent them flying in terror and dismay, and, following close upon their heels, came with angry shouts and glit- tering weapons into the very presence of Gul- nare. The Frenchwoman was no coward, and being terribly enraged, too, at the boldness of the movement, she started forward and resolutely confronted the armed intruders, with the air of an empress. ‘‘ Halt, ruffians!” she cried. ‘‘What want you here with brandished weapons? Are you weary of life that by this bold outrage you pro- voke the anger of the Dey?” ‘* Your pardon, most noble lady, that I thus oughly and hastily intrude into your palace,” El Boro replied, with stately politeness, ‘* but 1 come in search of my daughter, who has been abducted from my apartments in the Kasbah, and who, I am informed, is now secreted here,” and then at this point his eyes fell upon the Greek renegade skulking behind his mistress. In a second his rage flashed forth. ‘‘ Yonder is the Greek!” he cried. ‘‘ Down with him! Bind him hand and foot!” ) Like eager dogs released from the leash and hounded upon their prey, the soldiers seized upon the Greek. Gulnare in vain attempted to ave the word to ad-’ The Lion of the Sea. shield him. The rough fellows pushed her to _ one side as though she was naught but a lowly he had | Gulnare was a woman; El Boro | | | | slave instead of being the favorite of Aboo Has- san. Selim was seized, bound, forced to his knees, and then over his head gleamed the curved sa- bers of the soldiers, ready at once to drink his blood. Almost frantic with rage, the Frenchwoman gave vent to her indignation. ‘* Villains—monsters, do you dare? Oh! you shall pay dearly for this outrage—your heads shall roll in the dust—the Dey shall avenge me! “My daughter!” exclaimed El Boro, advanc- ing with uplifted saber; and so fierce was the determination expressed upon his face that Gul- nare, believing that her last hour had come, in terror fell upon her knees and threw up her hands to ward off the deadly stroke. There was no mistaking El Boro’s looks; blood was in his eyes. ‘*My daughter!” he cried again; “‘ give her to me, or by my head I swear I'll let loose such a torrent of blood that all the waters of yonder ocean will never be able to wash out the stain.” **Yonder—in yonder apartment!” stammered Gulnare. a oat, great lord!” cried Selim, in the same breath; ‘1 but obeyed my orders me!” vansior Jpte-peae 1 Boro spurned the grovel- ing wretch with his foot as he advanced rapidly toward the room indicated by the Frenchwo- man. A slave in terror led the way, and soon the captive was gladdened by the sight of her stern sire. With the maid El Boro returned to the main apartment. ‘*Woman!” cried the Englishman, addressing Gulnare, ‘‘ for the first time in your life you have dared to openly brave me, and now you behold the consequences of the act, Letit be a warning to ba cross my path no more, Con- fine yourself to your intrigues; plot with the Holy Man as much as you please, but never again dare to use the sword of power, for if the chance of fortune pa you a second time within my clutches, there will be a chance for our t master the Dey to choose another fa- vorite. And as for yon Greek slave, I scorn to strike worm that he is. Let him go!” Obedient to the command the soldiers released their prisoner, and never in this world did mor- tal man thank his lucky star more fervently than Selim, at this unexpected piece of good fortune, Without further words El Boro departed, his daughter and his rude soldiers bearing him com- pany. Mad with rage was the Frenchwoman at see- ing El Boro thus carry matters with so high a nd. ‘*You must mount and ride at once to Al- piers, Selim!” she cried. ‘‘See El Tokar and id him come to me instantly. Say nothing of this scene except that El Boro has been here and taken away his daughter. Leave all the rest of the explanation to me!” Selim started at once upon his mission, but a grave face he wore as he rode forth. He had escaped El Boro’s anger once, but he was not eager to risk the chance a second time. CHAPTER XVIII. A SECOND FAILURE, ‘*CaLt in your murderers!” Bold and ringing was the defiance of the cap- tive, and for a moment El Tokar glared at him in silent anger. The Moor, with all his craft was baffled and beaten at every point. He had expected by means of his threa prisoner to terms; he had thought that the ap- pearance of the stranglers would at once have reduced the stranger to a condition of abject supplication, but instead of prayers for mercy he was met by a bold defiance. ‘* Reflect—reflect!” he cried. ‘‘ By great Al- lah! I swear that your life hangs upon a thread!” ‘*Cut it then, and the quicker the better!” re- plied the captive, scornfully. ‘*Has life no charms for you—the grave no terrors?” asked the Holy Man, in amazement. ‘*Come—come! hepa wasting time with your questions,” the prisoner answered, ‘If you mean to kill, me pon and have done with it. If the gates of Paradise are yawning on their hinges to receive me, don’t keep the dark angel waiting.” 1 Tokar was amazed. What manner of man was this who made a jest of death and laughed in the face of the exe- cutioner? Although cruel by nature, as such cowardly, to bring the | crafty fellows generally are, yet El Tokar hesi- tated to carry out his threats. ‘So far his scheme had proven a total failure; the captive had baffled him at every point, and he had not gained a single bit of information. And then, as the crafty Moslem, cudgeled his brains to know what was an idea occurred to him. , What if this man whom he had taken to be the servant was in reality the master? It was not impossible—nay! it was more than likely from his bearing and manner. No one but a man used to command would be ao defiant. Good reasons had he then for not betrayi the Greek pirate, since he himself was the Captain! | Tokar wondered that this idea had not oc _ curred to him before; if his guess was correct and he felt perfectly sure that it was, perhaps his plan might succeed with the other prisoner. At any rate it was worth a trial. “IT will give you time for reflection,” he said, addressing the captive. ‘‘ When you come to think upon the matter you will see that life is better than death, and that a man isa fool to throw away that which he can retain.” “A hun years of solitary confinement would not change my opinion in regard to the matter!” the captive retorted. ‘‘ Ah, well; we will see,” El Tokar remarked. “‘ A trial will do no harm, and if your spirit is so lusty and your will so stout, perhaps a little judicious dieting may help you. Bread and water, and a scanty supply of those two articles in the bargain, has been known to accomplish wonders. Starvation is a hard taskmaster, as you shall find before you are many days older.” And with this threat E] Tokar withdrew. ‘Starvation, eh?’ muttered the prisoner, as the heavy iron door ames to after the Holy Man. ‘“‘ By all that’s evil, it will bea bad day for you, my greasy Moor, if sper that game on me and then trust yourself wi my reach after. If I don’t strangle you before your eat can save you then my name is not what it is The Moor proceeded at once to the cell occu- Ried by the other prisoner, and the jailer, un- oing the fastenings, gave him admittance. The copays was stretched at full length upon his pallet of straw, but as El Tokar en , he raised himself upon his elbow and looked in- quiringly at the Moor. ‘* Aha!” muttered the Holy Man, as he gazed upon the clear-cut, resolute features of the cap- tive, ‘‘this is the man, sure enough! I was a fool to believe the other was the servant. How do you find yourself, my fine fellow?” he con. tinued aloud, ad g the prisoner. rplexed, st to do, ‘*So badly suited that [ would be glad to | oo my quarters.” ‘* Well, that you will do and very speedily.” % ** Yes?” replied the captive, in a tone of ques- on. ‘*' Your companion has confessed.” **Confessed what?’ the man exclaimed, in a tone of surprise, and if his amazement was not real then he was a most excellent hand at de- ception. ‘Why, that you are the Greek pirate, the Lion of the Sea.” ‘*Oh, he has?’ and the man, apparently, was not at all astounded at the intelligence. ** And that settles your fate.” ‘‘My fate?’ and the captive stared with a blank face at the Moor. . , : ; y his confession he sealed yourdoom. Be- old! El Tokar waved his hand as a signal to the jailer, and that worthy, stepping to one side, allowed the stranglers to appear in the door- way. The second captive was fully as strongly nerved as the first, for he never betrayed the slightest sign of agitation at the appearance of the muscular blacks with their silken cords of slaughter pendent from their arms, The prisoner rose slowly to his feet. ‘‘Death must come some time,” he observed; ‘“‘nerhaps it is as well soon as later.” or the second time El] Tokar was thoroughly astonished. Many brave and fearless meat had he seen in his time, but never any that surpassed these two captives. ‘You are prepared to die?’ he questioned, in wonder. ‘* What does it matter whether a man is pre- — or not, so long as his time has come and e cannot escape his fate?” replied the other, philosophically. ‘But if there was a way to escape the death—” ‘That depends a great deal upon what the way is,” the prisoner answered, discussing the GOMlEVOOKS SE . ¢ - ae "=.