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Show H The JPool H of Fiame H i w i H LOUIS JOSEF VANCE HH IBaalrallaas fcr Ctnrwlk Tmi H ...... iim limn I I I I I I n i i m BBB OonrTUht ISO, b LouU JoMnk Vim, H CHAPTER XIII. BBb Some time in tho golden afternoon BBJ of the following day, tho Pelican BBJ weighed anchor and slouched with a BBJ lonflsh air out of tho harbor of tho BBJ Piraeus. BBJ "Plyn Bill 01o," tho captain said BBJ he preferred to be called. And "Plain BBJ 1)111 Hole!" mused tho Irishman, lean- BBJ Ing over the forward rail and Bucking BBJ at ft short black plpo. "Faith, not BBJ only plain, but even a trifle homely," BBJ he amended Judgmatlcally. BBJ "As for mcself," he concluded later, BBJ "I'm no Blren In this rig." And he BBJ lifted his eyebrows, protruding his BBJ lower Up, as he glanced down over his BBJ BBJ It was a strange rig for the O'Rourks BBJ to be In: an engineer's blue Jumper, BBj much the worse for wear, and a pair BBJ of trousers whose seat, O'Rourko BBj maintained, was only held together by BBj Its coating of dirt and grease. BBj O'Rourke eyed this get-up with dls- BBj daln. "Fortunately," he comforted BB himself, '"(won't be forerer I'll be BB wearing It." BB , In the present Instance, the dls- BB guise was held an advisable thing, BB since O'Rourke was officially register BB ed on the ship's books as assistant en BB gineer. The Pelican carried no II BB cense for j passengers, and In view of BB his avowed purpose It was deemed BJ! unwise for the Irishman to risk de- BB taction, by appearing "too tony" (an BB expression culled from the captain's vocabulary). BB Otherwise, It was understood that BB his duties were to consist of the pur BB suit of hU own sweet will, that he BB was to occupy a stateroom aft, and BB that he was to mess at the captain's BB BBJ On an evening, some nine or ten BBj days after he had left Athens, BBJ O'Rourke at the forward rail saw the BB long, low profile of Egypt edge up out QV of the waters, saw It take color and kjrft" form, made out palms and the wind Wft mills, the light-house and Pompey'i -Jf pillar; and know that he was close mmk upon his Journoy's end. BB Her winches rattled cheerfully at BB the Pelican dropped anchor, but Bj O'Rourke did not move. There would BJ be no going ashore, be know, until Bj Hole was ready, and that would b Bj when tho custoniB officials had paid BJ him a call -and the usual courtcslci B had beenexebanged. The Irlshmni B had no need to bo In haste to change B from his present garb to one that B better suited him. So ho lolled upon B the rail and regarded with a kindling Bj cyo tho harbor views. Bj Ho mopped his brow, simply (as be Bj 'fitted one of his apparent station Id Bj llfo) with tho back of a hand, and BJ stood erect, exulting In tho scent, th BJ Indescribable, Impalpable, Insistent BJ odor of the East that Is forgotten ol BJ nono who hnd over known It. The hot BJ wind drove It gustily In his face, and BJ he sniffed and drew great lu gfuli BJ and was glad. BJ "'Tis good!" bo said simply. And BJ a bit later, while on the short-line th BJ brazen arcs wcro beginning to pop oul BJ silently: "Thoro's tho customs boat BJ I'm thinking I'll slip below." . BJ No lamps had yet been lighted be BJ low, but O'Rourko know the way to BJ tils room. Ho entered and shut tho BJ door Tho afterglow of the sunset, BJ entering through the porthole, ren- BJ dcred tho llttlo coop light enough for BJ his purpose Dropping to his knees, BJ the Irishman pulled his kit-box from BJ beneath tho bunk. BJ Tho lid cp.mo ' up freely as he BJ touched It. For a full mlnuto ho did BJ not breathe.. Then, In ominous si- BJ lence, ho bent and examined tho lock. I The First Officer's Fist Caught O'Rourke Just Under the Ear. It became Immediately ovldont that bis memory had not tricked him; the trunk was locked, as ho had left It that morning. But tho clasp htd yioldcd to a cold chisel. It was hardly worth the troublo, etlll O'Rourko rummaged through the OQtonta of tho box. assuring bjamelt Rat the chamois bag was goneT So far as ho could detcnnlno then, nothing noth-ing else had been taken. Ho shut down the lid and sat down to think It out, eyes hard, face grimly expressionless, only an Intermittent nervous clenching and opening of his hands betraying his gathering rage and excitement. At length he arose, determination In his port. One phrase alone escaped him: "And not a gun to me name!" He went on deck. Already the tropic trop-ic night had closed down upon the harbor, but It was easy enough to lo cato the captain and first officer, still waiting at tho gangwny. From overside over-side arose the splutter of a launch a raucous sound, yet ono that barely rippled rip-pled the surface of O'Rourko's consciousness. con-sciousness. He stepped quickly to the captain's side and touched him gently on the arm. "Captain," ho said quickly, "I'll be asking the favor of a word with yo In private." Hole caught the gleam of tho Irishman's Irish-man's eye in tho lamplight and stepped back a paco. "Get forrard," ho said curtly. "Carn't you see tho customs ofllcer coming' aboard? I'll see you later." "Ye will not. Yo'll hear me now, captain " Holo backed further away. "Wot!" bo barked hoarsely, raising his voice. "Wot I I'll show you 'oo's master aboard this ship. Oet forrard to your quarters! S'hclp-me-gawdl" ho exploded ex-ploded violently. '"Oo ever heard the like of It?" O'Rourke stepped nearer, his fists closing. "Drop that tone, ye scud!" he cried. "D'ye wnnt me to spoil your little game?" The shot went home. The captain gasped, and In the darkness O'Rourke fancied be lost a shade or two of his ruddy color. "Wotcber mean?" he demanded, lowering low-ering his tone. "I mean," replied O'Rourke In a quick whisper, "that the Egyptian customs cus-toms officer Is at tho side. Return what ye've stolen from me this day, or I'll tell the wholo harbor what ye've been up to! And, if ye want me to be more explicit, perhaps the word 'hashish' will refresh your memory!" mem-ory!" "I'll talk to you later" "Ye'll give me back me property this minute or " O'Rourke was at the rail In a stride. "Shall I tell him?" he demanded. A swift step sounded beside him. He turned an Instant too late, who had reckoned without Dennlson. As he moved to protect himself tho first of ficer's fist caught the Irishman just under the ear. And one hundred and seventy-five pounds of man and malice were behind It, O'Rourke shot Into the scuppers s though kicked by a mule, struck his head against a piece of Iron work and lay still, half stunned, shutting his teeth 'savagely upon moan. Hole and the first mate stood over him, and the captain's voice, guarded but -clear enough, came to bis ear: Tou'll He there, me man, and not so much as a whimper till I give you leiwo. Take 'ced wot I says. Mr. Dennlson 'ero Is goln' to clean 'Is revolver." re-volver." O'Rourko lay silent, savo for his quick breathing. Tho first ofllcer, grinning malovolontly, sat down near at hand, keeping a basilisk cyo upon the prostrato man while ho fondled an able-bodied, hamnierlcss Wobley. Hole moved off towards the gangway, gang-way, whence his volco arose, an in-j in-j etant later, greeting his visitor. The latter put a hurried question, which O'Rourko did not catch, but the cap tain's reply was quick enough: "Only a mutinous dorg of a deck-'and. deck-'and. Wanted shoro leave and refused to go forrard when ordorcd. 'E ain't 'urted none. Mr. Dennlson 'ere Just gyve 'Im a tap to keep hlra quiet." Tho Irishman swore beneath his ! breath and watched tho first officer. The light from tho lantern at the gangway glanced dully upon the polished pol-ished barrel of the revolver, and the gleaming lino was steadily directed towards O'ltourke's head. Upon reconsideration re-consideration he concluded to lie still, to wait and watch his opportunity; for the present, at least, ho was Indisposed In-disposed to question Dennlson's willingness wil-lingness to uso tho weapon. O'Ronrke was to be kopt quiet at all hazards, and he knew It full well; for once he conceded discretion the better part ol valor, and was patient. CHAPTER XIV. In tho faco of the fact that tho Importation Im-portation of haBhlsh Into Egypt has been declared illegal by Khedlval legislation, leg-islation, the drug Is always to bo obtained ob-tained In the lower dives of Alexandria, Alexan-dria, Cairo and Port Said If one only knows whero to go and how to ask for It. Manufactured In certain Islands of the Grecian Archipelago, It Is royBterlously exported under tho very noses of complaisant authorities end, eluding tho rigor of Egyptian customs, as well as the vigilance of 1 Egyptian, spies, finds its way to the follaheen among other avid consumers; consum-ers; speaking baldly, la smuggled Into the land. Customs inspections, furthermore, fur-thermore, are as sovere as might be expected by anyone acquainted with the country and its Inhabitants as was O'Rourko. He felt, then, no sort of surprise at tho brevity of tho official visitation. Tho Inspector, tccomoanlod by an excessively urbano and suave Captain Holo, consciously but briefly glanced Into tho hold, asked a few questions which would have been portlnent had tboy not been entirely perfunctcry, and took his lo&ve. From the gangway the captain turned back directly to his first officer offi-cer and tho latter'a charge. Hearing blsjipproachlng footsteps, O'Rourke gathered himself together and summoned sum-moned nil his faculties to his aid. "Troublesome?" demanded Hole, pausing. "Not a syllablo," said the mate. "Th' mon'n sensible I ha'o mo doubts but he's too canny nltcglther." "Peaceful as a byby, oh? Well," savagely, " 'ell learn wot for. Get up, you Irish" O'Rourke lay passive under tho storm of Hole's profanity. Ho had all but closed his eyes, and was watching watch-ing the pair from beneath his lashes. Falling to elicit any response, " 'Asn't 'o moved?" demanded tho captain. cap-tain. "Not a muscle" ' "Shammln'l 'Ere, I'll show 'Im." "O'Rourke gritted his teeth and suppressed sup-pressed a groan as the too of Hole's heavy boot crashed Into his ribs. "Th' mon's nae shamming," Dennlson Dennl-son declared. "Ho's fair fainted." "Fainted hell!" countered tho captain. cap-tain. "Glvo 'Is nrm n twist, Dennlson." Dennl-son." The mnto calmly disobeyed. The arm-twist desired by th,o captain re-l nulreB the uso of the twister's two' bands, and stoutly as ho defended his J opinion, tho first officer was by no' means ready to put up his rovolver. He advanced nnd bent over tho Irishman, who lny motionless, his upper up-per Up rolled back to show his clenched tcoth. "Hough!" exclaimed tho first officer, peering Into his faco, hlB tone expressive of the liveliest concern. Without further hesitation ho dropped tho revolver Into his pocket nd received a tremendous short-arm blow in the fncc. With a stifled cry he fell back, clutching at a broken noBO, and sprawled at length; whllo O'Rourke, leaping to his feet, deliberately put a heel Into the pit of Dennlson's stomach, stom-ach, thereby effectually eliminating blm as a factor In tho further controversy, contro-versy, Simultaneously he advanced upon Captain Hole. But in the latter ho encountered no mean antagonist. The man It has been said was as tall as and heavier than the adventurer, and by vlrtuo ot his position a competent and experienced experi-enced rough-and-ready fighter. In a breath he had lowered his head and, bellowing like a bull, launched him-Belf him-Belf toward O'Rourke. The Irishman met the onslaught with a stinging uppercut; which, nevertheless, nev-ertheless, failed to discourage the captain, who grappled and began to belabor O'Rourko with short, stabbing blows on the side of the head, at the same time endeavoring 'to trip him. The fury of his onset all but carried the Irishman on hlB feet. At the same time It defeated Hole's own purpose. O'Rourke watched his chance, seized the man's throat with both hands and, tightening his grip, fairly lifted him off his feet and shook him aB a terrier ter-rier shakes a rat. Then, with a grunt ot satisfaction, he threw the captain from him nnd turned to face greater odds. The noise of the conflict had brought tho crew down upon tho contestants. Surrounded, ho was rushed to tho mil. With that to his back he drew on hlB reserve of strength and, poising himself him-self began to give his assailants personal per-sonal and Individual nttentlon. They pushed him close, snarling nnd cursing, curs-ing, hindering ono another In their eagerness, nnd suffering variously for their temerity. O'Rourko fought with trained precision; his blows, lightning quick, were direct from tho shoulder and very finely placed; and so straight did ho strike that almost from the first his knuckles wcro torn and bledlng from their Impact upon flesh and bono. Fight as fiercely as he might, how-over, how-over, tho pack was too heavy for him; and when presently ho 'discerned, not in ono but In half a dozen hands, gleams of light tho rays of a near-by lantern running down knife-blades be conceded tho moment imminent when he must sever his connection with tho Pellcnn. Moreover ho had a shrewd suspicion that Holo was up and only waiting for an opening to uso his revolver. Leaping to tho rail, ho poised an Instant, then dlvod far out from tho vessel's side, down Into the Stygian blackness of the harbor water; a good clean dlvo, cutting tho water with hardly a splash, he went down Ilka an arrow, gradually swerving from tho straight line of his flight Into a long arc so long. Indeed, that ho was well-nigh breathless when ho came to tho surface, a dozen yards or more from the Pelican. Spitting out the foul harbor water, and with a swift glance over his shoulder shoul-der that showed him tho Pelican's dark freeboard like a wall, and n cluster of dark shapes hanging over tho rati at tho top vaguely revoalcd by lantern light, bo struck out for the nearest ves'sol, employing tho doublo overhand stroke, noisy but speedy That he henrd no cry when he car to the surface, that Hole had not detected de-tected him by tho phosphorescence, and that ho had held hl3 hand from firing, at first puzzled O'Rourko; but ho reasoned that Hole probably feared to raise an alarm nnd thereby attract much undesirable attention to himself nnd his ship. In the course of the first few strokes, however, ho managed to peep again over his shoulder, and from tho activity on tho Pelican's decks concluded that ho was to bo pursued by boat; which, In fact, proved to bo the case. Fortunately tho Pelican rode at nn-cbor nn-cbor In waters studded thick with other vessels, affording plenty of hid Ing places on a night as black as that. Tho adventurer raado direct for tho first vessel, swam completely around It, and by tho tlma tho Pelican's boat was afloat and Its row"ers bending to tho oars, be was supporting hlmsolf by a hand upon the unknown ship's cablo, floating on bis back with only bis faco ouTor"wafcr Under these conditions, It was small wonder that the boat missed him so completely. At length rested, tho Irishman released re-leased hlfl hold and struck out for land at an easy pace. j Eventually he g; Ined tho end of n quay, upon 1ilch he drew himself for a last rest nnd to let his dripping garments gar-ments drain a bit ero venturing abroad In the Btrccts. Not until then, strangely enough, did It conic to him with Its full force, how he bad been tricked and played upon from tho very beginning. And no cworo bitterly when he contemplated his present position of a penniless outcast In a city almost wholly strango to blm, without friends (savo Indeed, Danny wherever he might be), with- "The Irishman Wa Upon Him" out a place to 17 his head, lacking even a chango of clothing. His kit-box kit-box was aboard the Pelican and likely to remain there, for all he could do to the contrary; In his present state, to apply to the authorities or to at-tempt at-tempt to lodge a complaint against Captain Hole would more likely than not result In Incarceration on a chargo of vagrancy more real than technical. And the Pool of Flame! He fumed with Impotent rage when he saw how blindly he had stumbled Into Hole's trap, how neatly ho had permitted per-mitted himself to be raped of the Jew-I Jew-I el. For In the light of late, events he could not doubt but that Hole had sought him out armed with the knowledge knowl-edge that O'Rourko was In possession or tno priceless jewel more mun probably advised and employed by Dcs Trebes; assuming that ho had failed I to Inflict a mortal wound upon thnt i adventurer. "Aw, the dlvvlc, tho dlvvle!" complained com-plained O'Rourke. "Sure, and 'tis a pretty mess l'vo made of It all, now!" Saying which he rose and clambered to the top of the quay with the more haste than good will In view of tho fact that tho splashing of oars, tho dimly outlined shape of n boat heading head-ing directly for his refuge, had suddenly sud-denly become visible. Of course, It might, not be the Pelican; but O'Rourko was too thoroughly Impressed Im-pressed with the conviction that tho laws of coincidence wero working against him, Just then at any rato, to bo willing to rim unnecessary risks. Chance, too, would have It that there should be an arc-light ablazo precisely at tho foot of the pier, beneath be-neath which stood, clearly deflncd In tho whlto glaro, the flguro of a hulking hulk-ing black native representative ot tho municipal police, whom O'Rourke must pass ere ho could gain solid earth. For this reason he dared not betray evidences of haste; his appearanco wbb striking enough In nil conscience,, without any additional touches. So ho thrust his hands Into his pockets and sauntered with n well-assumed but perhaps not wholly convincing air ot nonchalance toward tho officer. Tho latter remained all unsuspicious , until and then tho mischief of It was ' that O'Rourko was Btlll a full fivo yards tho wrong sldo of tho man Holo himself leaped from the boat upon tho end of tho quay and sent a yell echoing after the fugitive. I "Hey!" he roared. "Stop 'Im! Do-sorter! Do-sorter! Thief! Stop thief!" Tho black was facing O'Rourke In an Instant, but simultaneously the Irishman was upon blm and had put an elbow smartly into his midriff In passing, all but toppling the man backwards back-wards into tho harbor. It had been well for him had ho sue-I sue-I cceded. As it was tho fellow saved himself by a hair's breadth and the next mlnuto was after O'Rourke, yelling yell-ing madly. The Irishman showed a fleet pair of heels, bo suro; but, undoubtedly, the devil himself was In tho luck that n'shtl Who shall descrlbo In what manner a rabble springs out ot tho I very cobbles of Alexandria's streets? Mon, women, naked children and yapping yap-ping pariah dogs, fellaheen, Arabs, Do-doulns Do-doulns from the desert, Nubians, GreekB, Levantines the fugitive had not covered two-score yards ere a mob of Buch composition was snapping at his calves. Turning and twisting, dodging and doubling, smiting this gratuitous enemy en-emy full In the face, treating the next as he ha:' the limb ot tho law (and leaving both howling), ho seized the first opening and swung Into a narrow back-way, leading inland from the waterfront. wa-terfront. Ho ran us seldom ho had run before, be-fore, straining and laboring, stumbling, recovering nnd plunging onward. And, by tho gods, wasn't It hotl Tho khamsin raved and tore like a spirit ot hell-fire through that narrow alley, turning It Into a miniature inferno. But In the. courso of some minutes, tho end" of tho funnel camo fn vfow; a lighted rift between houso walls, giving upon the Illuminated street beyond. be-yond. The sight brought forth a fresh burst of spocd from O'Rourke. Ho dashed madly out of tho alley, stumbled and ran headlong Into n strolling Greek, who grappled with him, nt first In surprlso and then In resentment, whllo tho clamor of tho pursuing rabblo shrilled loud nnd near and over nearer. i Exhausted as he was, tho Irishman struggled with little, skill before bo mastered his own nurprlso; and in tno end saw his finis written along tho blade ot a thin, keen knlfo which tho Greek nnd whipped from tho folds of h!s garments and Jerked threateningly above his head. It was falling when O'Rourko saw It. In another breath ho had been stabbed. Unexpectedly the Greek Bhrloked. dropped tho knlfo as though It had turned suddenly white-hot In his hands, and leaped back from , O'Rourko, nursing n broken wrist; whllo n volco ns sweet ns tho slnglrg of nngolH rang In the fugitive's enr3, though the Bplrlt of Its melody was simple nnd crude enough. ' "O'Rourko, bo nil th' powers! Tho j nmRther himself! G'ory. yo beggar, , 'tis sorry I am that I didn't split the ugly face of yo wld me sthlck! This wny, ycr honor 1 Come wld mo!" nilridly enough (indeed tho world was all nwhlrl about him) O'Rourke, his arm grasped by n ntrong and confident confi-dent hnnd, permitted himself to bo 6wung to tho right and across the street. In a thought blackness again , was nil about him, but the hand gripped his arm, hurrying him onward ; I and he yielded blindly to Its guidance 1 without power, for that matter, to I question or to object; what breath he had ho sorely needed. And as blindly blind-ly he stumbled on for perhaps another hundred yards, while tho voice of tho , rabble mado hideous the night be-I be-I hind them. Hardly, Indeed, bad tho I two whipped Into tho mouth of tho j back-way ere It was choked by a swam of pursuers. But "Nlvcr I foar!" said the volco at his side. "'Tis ourselves that'll outwit them, i . . . Hero, now, ycr honor, do yo go straight on wldout stboppln' ontll , ye come to an Iron duro In a dead wall nt tho end av this. Knock there wnncc, count tin, nnd knock again. , I'll lead 'cm away and be wrd yo again In a brace av shakes!" I Benumbed by fntlguo and exhaustion, exhaus-tion, O'Rourke obeyed. He was nwarc that his preserver with a wild whoop ! had darted aside Into a cross-alloy, but hardly aware of more, niccnanicaiiy he blundered on until brought up by a wall that closed and mado a cul-do-sac of the way, With trembling hands he felt before , him, fingers encountering the smooth, I cool surface of a sheet ot metal. This, I I then, was, the door. As carefully as ho could ho knocked, counted ten, and knocked again whllo tho mob that I had lusted for bis blood trailed off i down the side alley In frantic pursuit of his generous preserver. And ho ' heard with a smile, tho lattor's shrill defiant Irish yells luring them further i upon tho falso scent. , "If 'tis not Danny," gnsped tho ad- i venturer, "then mysolf's not tho , O'Rourko! Illcss tho lad!" j But as ho breathed this benediction ' tho Iron door FWting inwards nnd he , stumbled ncross tho threshold, half- fainting, hardly conscious that ho had , done moro than pass from open night to tho night ot an enclosed space. Ills I foot caught on somo obstruction and bo wont to his knees with a cry that was a cross between a sob and a groan; and Incontinently fell full length upon an earthen floor, bis head pillowed on his nrm, panting as If bis heart would break. ! In tho darknebs abovo him someone ( cried aloud, a startled cry, and then ( the door was thrust to with n clang and rnttlo of bolts. A match rasped Exhausted as He Was, the Irishman Struggled With Little Skill. loudly and a flicker ot light leaped from a small hand lamp and revealed to Its bearer tbo fagged and quivering i flguro on tho floor. Somo ono sat down bosldo him with . low exclamation of solicitude and gatberod his head Into her lap. Some one quite simply enfolded his nock with soft arms and pressed his hend to hor bosom, and as If that wcro not j enough, ktssod him full and long upon j bis lips, j "My doarl My dear!" she murmurod In French. "What has bapponcd, O, what has happened? My poor, poor boy I" Now tbo Integral madness of all this was as effectual In restoring O'Rourke to partial consciousness as had been a douche of cold water in bis face. Blankly be told himself that he was. liiiiimeij, nnd mat" it was aTT n tVcxoua. BBJ And yet, when he looked, It wo to BBJ sec, dim In tho fceblo glimmer rf lfe BBJ lnmp, the faco of- a woman ok tVeesCE. 'BBJ ful as young, as young aB boautShL BBJ One glance was enough. O'rEaraStv BBJ shut his eyit. again. "It I loolk toe 'BBJ long," ho assured himself, "shoTI WU9& BBJ ish or or turn Into a fiend. Su?i."!Ualt BBJ n Judgment upon mot Too loncS"' BBJ I been an amorous dram-drtnkcrp ttt&j BBJ will undoubtedly bo tho dclirit&w&ar BBJ mons of love I" BBJ And with that ho paescd qu!cCVv6et BBJ temporary unconsciousness. BBJ TO Bo Continued. BBJ |