Show t 7 7 L THE HE GIFT FT W WIFE IFE I F E q HES O 0 RUPERT HU GHE HUGHES SERVICE By RUPERT Hu HUGHES SYNOPSIS A passenger on n the N rd with Ostend nd nd as his Immediate destination Dr David Jebb is bound for America Accompanying Ac Ac- companying hn hIm i is ls year old year old Cynthia Thatcher his charming temporary ward On the train they meet Bill Gaines former classmate of Davids He tells G Gaines of his mission and tells him of his one terrible vice vice-an Tn overwhelming desire for liquor T Jebb feels the urge coming to him again again and nd wants to safeguard the child whose father lather Is dead and whose mother mothe Is in America During a stop Gaines leaves the train ln for a minute The train starts up without t him Then en Jebb Is painfully InJured In In- in a minor accident A pas fellow revives him with a drink which makes his desire for liquor all aU the stronger At the next stop David and Cynthia leave the train David begins drinking The next thing he is conscious of is a strange sort of chanting He looks around round d dazed zed and sick A d door or opens and in looking Negro CHAPTER III Ill III-Continued Continued 5 Leaving his slippers outside thedoor thedoor the thedoor door the fellow padded over to J Jebb ebb ebband and with soft fat hands adjusted the pillow under his head He wants me to die comfortably bly sighed Jebb helplessly Then the man shuffled back to the corridor and lugged in a brazier full of glowing charcoal Squatting about it he began to brew an ebon syrup The voluminous aroma floating floating floating float float- ing to J Jebb ebb announced it to him as coffee Poisoned no doubt thought Jebb But he was so sick that he did not much care care Where am I How Ho did I get here What country is this Who are you But the answer was a falsetto gibberish in which Jebb who was something of a linguist could find no kinship to any language of his ac ac- ac- ac Jebb noticed now that he was clothed neither in his suit street nor norin norin norin in his pyjamas but in a garment he could not recognize His hands remembering a habit he had acquired acquired acquired ac ac- ac- ac an and 1 lost went convulsively to his waist His money belt was gone his ten thousand dollars had evaporated evaporated and and the belt with it Where are my clothes he demanded demanded demanded de de- de- de and again in bad German Wo Vo Kleider and in tourist French Ou sont mes habits habits habits hab hab- its But the black only gibbered Then the fellow backed out as from a presence with many any a long bow Left alone to meditation Jebb glanced idly down and noted that his thumb wore a deep scar His experienced eye showed him what sort of it was He remembered remembered remembered the accident on the train But who had lanced his thumb And when Where Why The wound had already healed heale It must have been days ago And on the little fing finger r of his lefthand lefthand left lefthand hand was a ring a curio curious s ring with a dark and cloudy stone of great size and unknown name set alongside a diamond also large and of evident price He took the ring off and stared at atit it it On the inner rim Was the lege legend legend leg leg- plainly for e end d C to J. J Jf J was Jebb but who was C certainly certainly not Cynthia Who then I It might be a token love token love but whose There was a sound of colloquy quy inthe in inthe inthe the hall han outside of angry argument He recognized the uncanny treble of the slave and another voice lower but a womans woman's voice The TIle door opened wide and the slave paused on the sill Hi His face was as livid as the ashes in m the charcoal brazier and his eyes flashed and roved in their sockets But Buthe Buthe he made reluctant way for a figure that floated rather than walked and floated straight from the pages of and One Une Thousand Night the Nights ui blackcloud i blacK blacKcloud great was one Her costume fC f cloud from which none of her transpired transpired transpired tran tran- sheltered half-sheltered not ev even n the eyes of the Orient The slave oozed through the door and closed it but as if he w would uld c cling ing to the other side The Veil bent and billowed in low curtsies and through it came these and English words with long pauses The effendi has long Allah All Allah Al Al- and I 1 do hope he hea thanked l lah a h be well also him him- instinctively hoping to make understood he spoke very sell l better f loudly ud ly y and in a foolish dialect where me have May m me e ask b be to pleasure The effendi is in m r he gasped I I never heard of ofis Where please it iS yet of It It It is in the from Nish far IS no 1 t NishI Nish he wailed KO Kos os- os Where am I I. I What is a vila vila- Vl so vo effendI call me yet Wh Why Y do you earth didI did YI'S IS I'S Jebb How on My name me on ear earth th I If I am I get et there here effendi is on very earth The he earth but how he gets much uch on m more more a won- won is perhaps that here to the effendi Perhaps Per Per- to me as de der time the effendi weel I wee inform mme m- m his h haps haps' P Ln m but woman it is perk form farm per a ap P me me s pardoned hardened I am tf it t I have a curia cud curi- cun The voice mothered him now Then I shall not derange the poor weary effendi with the impertinence impertinence impertinence nence of to make questions I tell you what I know Last night there was great storm here in I Iwas Iwas Iwas was much of the storm but ut it is beautiful too I am watching watching watch watch- m ing through my window I can just see the road over that high wall Great reat flash ash of lightning comes omes and andIn in the light I see man man man-it it was the eff ef ef- f He is walk in the road Whence y you u corned I dont don't know You are there Y You qu look very wild and staggering You fall down in inthe inthe inthe the of the rO road d. d Then darkness dark dark- ness I W was S more for I first of some some Some gin echoed J Jebb ebb ebbYe Yes Ye dj th the demon you demon you know kow I watch again and a new lightning lightning light light- ning shows the effendi lying lyng still in inthe inthe inthe the road no demon but poor man I clap my hands hard Jaffar who sleeps before my door the door the same who is wait wai upon you this morning morning morning-he he he comes at my call caB I Itell Itell tell him to bring the poor effendi into house At last he goes out the gate and brings you in I see you you are very see k a and d do not speak only only moan oan I tell him to place you 4 tit vt S r r y yv v Suddenly there was a snap and the pain was gone in room and make you a bed and take yo your r clothes to be made dry All thees he does very secret and terribly But the child I had with me The child she echoed blankly Yes the little girl You have a young daughter then And the veil did not entirely strain out a tang of disappointment She is not my daughter he explained explained explained ex ex- she is the child of a friend Oh She was in my charge I was taking her to America She must have been with me She She She-oh oh she must have been with me You did had no child with you when I I. see you in the storm J Jaffar Jaffar af- af far he say nothing of a child Itis It Itis Itis is only you he But the little girl the poor little waif waif waif-I I must go hunt for her He rose to his feet but his nerves flared and burned like live wires His knees refused their office and he would have gone crashing backwards backwards backwards back back- wards had she not risen swiftly caught him in her arms and eased him to the cushions The hidden woman was soothing his brow with cool palms and vas p was vas quieting him as if he were a child Effendi must be most quiet or he shall shaH be much ill and p perhaps die I go to send Jaffar to the town for the girl If she is in or near somebody shall know and Jaffar will bring her to you He closed his eyes under the soothe of her strangely potent prayer pray pray- er and she clapped her hands Instantly Instantly Instantly In In- the door opened and the black was there J Jebb ebb did not look to see but he heard a heated parley between mistress and slave At length there was silence and the woman said He is goed He was to leave me lest the other servants find you but I did made him go and to send my woman to bring food and to keep watch He is goed now to bring you the HUla child He will the city as if it is a cup cup- board Why is he afraid that the other servants might find me It is perhaps kindest to tell the effendi everything Last night my fear for you all my other fears all my my duty I only that some poor man mangoes mangoes mangoes goes to perish I shall shaH give to him shelter for the night in Allah's name But J Jaffar tells me you are too weak to walk and I cannot even send you to the city to a khan or orto orto orto to the house of a friend He wish to put you again in the street I resolve resolve resolve re re- solve to come to see sec you for my my- self Jaffar oppose me he try to hold me back He loves me much He is horrified afraid and ashamed for me Wh Vb said Jebb feebly I have crossed the The ma what ma-what what The hall between th the and the The more you tell me the less I know said J Jebb The effendi effend has mu much h hungry I you listen better after you have to eat I dare not have such poor poo food as we have by byall byall byall all the slaves but only my own woman woman woman wom wom- an if the effendi excuse After Jebb had eaten he said Tell me why I I. I brought I-brought you a and d your house such danger If my husban should find that I have t talked with you he would keel us both Your husband And now it was his turn to betray a flaw of re re- re- re gret You are married then Yes and no Yes and no My husban did not raise my veil after the ceremony I was a wife gift-wife and unwelcome A wife gift groaned Jebb I have a splitting headache Shall I tell you who I am from am-from from the beginning Minima is my name It means the sun and the moon I Iam Iam Iam am great yes to be both sun and moon I am in My poor father is poor and Allah sends him more childs than wealth But we live in mountains the mountains the Cau Cau- Caucasus casus peaks and we do not need much And then my poor f father ether dies himself himself Allah Allah grant him bliss and and my mother has no man and five childs Follows some years of ugly poverty poverty pov pov- erty and not much to eat I am grow to have nine years People tell my mother I am beautiful ul and shall become more And I did I was very beautiful till I became old J JAre woman Are you an old woman said Jebb with a sigh Your voice and your hands do not seem old But they are I did pass my twenty year l last st Shaban Jebb sighed again a comfort bler sigh My mother sees that I shall be beautiful for awhile and she sells me as slave The brute No She is is g good od mother She sells me to rich hanim a lady who is most kind to me In Turkey a woman slave who is pretty is treated treated treated treat treat- ed wonderful kind I am by great lady lady lady-a a rich hanim A rich what please Hanim that Hanim that means a lady madame madame madame ma- ma dame same like effendi means monsieur mister Should I call you hanim then If you wish to be very respectable ble or ble-or or is it respectful you respectful you should call me hanim effendi or hanim ef- ef that means like my lady But you tell me effendi means monsieur Yes and hanim effendi means monsieur madame or mister missus mis mis- sus sus-it sus it is very respectable But I like better be called joost madame it educated All right hanim effendi I will call you madame me sometimes S though I like hanim hamm effendI or hanim hanim han han- im like like you But you were telling me how you were bought by the rich rich rich-hanim hanim Yes and I am educate like as I Iam Iam Iam am her own daughter child I am the the Francais the the to play to sing to paint to dance I am become very wise lady Five years I am live with this hanim lik like her bes' bes belove child One day I wife of a Bey she tells her husban that I am beautiful beautiful beautiful beau beau- so much I must be as asa asa asa a present to the So Raghib Bey he bayed me He He you Yes the Veil ven answered with answered with a certain pride They Bey me meto meto meto to the on the anniversary of the Alai when they did bind the great sword of or Othman on him And who is the said Jebb Sh She g gasped ped at this The do not know who he is He is is- the Sultan th the greatest of all all kings kin gs f the shadow V of L i Allah LAllah on earth Oh from JebbA Jebb A year I did did liv lived d in the harem of the Khalif and then the S Sultana t tells that I am again t to be given away as a present this time timeto to a a pasha and to 10 be really a wife My heart leap up for foI of a woman is nothing if Allah does not make her the priceless gift of a achild achild achild child a man My new husban husban husban hus hus- ban is then great man rising in inthe inthe inthe the world like like- th the sun himself But sometimes the clouds come ome before the sun reach his his' zenith Hussein Fehmi Pasha is begin very poor he was a khanji's boy boy boy- you do not know what that th-at is is-a is a khanji is man who keeps a khan khan- how you say a little ittle inn But he heis heis heis is too brave for to make the beds and cook the coffee he be becomes orries soldier and is rise And the call him to the Yildiz-Kiosk Yildiz and make him decorated and titles him Pasha Then he make him Vila of the Aidin It is then that the present me meto to Fehmi Pasha And he married a girl as young as you were then gasped Jebb Oh yes effendi We have a saying saying saying say say- ing Before your daughter is sixteen sixteen sixteen six six- teen she should be e m married or bur bur- At feerst Fehmi Pasha did lived at Smyrna and have a splendid white summer palace at Kogar But Fehmi Pasha has a quarrel with the sp spy the send to watch him The spy is tell wicked bad lies an and l my poor husban is exile to And here I live But what did you mean by calling calling calling call call- ing yourself a Yes-and-No Yes wife Already the pasha did Iid have a wife whom he love extremely much Fehmi Pasha loves his only wife He wants no other She did bear him many sons and some daughters daughters daughters daugh daugh- why should he have other wives But when the present present present pre pre- sent him me he is afraid to refuse He th thank the one thousand times he makes me me- free woman and he marries me but he does not lift my veil Suddenly there was the sound as of a little child wailing Jebbs Jebb's heart lurched Had his lost been found The door burst open and Jaffar rushed into the room It was Jaffar Jaffar Jaffar far who was was' crying hysterically with words which even his mistress could not understand Hes had an accident said Jebb and rose at once to go to him but his knees cautioned him to remain Bring him here It was the voice of authority Ask him if he didn't slip and fall The question repeated in Turkish Turkish Turkish Turk Turk- ish brought a flood of confirmation awfully came from the trembling veil No its it's nothing much It hurts a trifle J Jebb ebb admitted with the relative relative relative rel rel- rel- rel standard of pain that surgeons acquire Tell the black idiot not to pull away from me Ill I'll help him Im I'm a surgeon Jebbs Jebb's fingers went out on the discolored discolored discolored dis dis- dis- dis colored black flesh like ten white carpenters They pressed here pulled there twisted urged persuaded persuaded persuaded per per- as the victim writhed and blubbered Suddenly there was a snap and the pain was gone with such suddenness suddenness suddenness sud sud- denness that it left ecstasy Jaffar almost fainted of joy Henceforth whoever might nominally pay Jaffar Jaffar Jaffar far his wages really he was Jebb's Jebbs slave TO BE HE CONTINUED |