Show W I 1 0 ban o me I 1 F L 0 0 u V by RUPERT HUGHES 0 RUPERT HUGHES SERVICE CHAPTER VII continued 9 but lets not talk turkish politics I 1 hear nothing else all day lets go to a cafe chastant chan tant suggested banbury anything to get my mind off my troubles replied jebb the admission was only two pi altres or ten cents apiece the price seemed small till the musicians began then it seemed excessive banbury chose a table and the waiter brought them coff coffee ee banbury rejected it with horror and ordered scotch and soda in which jebb begged to be excused from joining him at a table in front of him jebb noticed a fat neck and short bristly poll of distinctly french extraction eventually their owner turned his face glanced at jebb stared turned away turned back looked uneasy angry pugnacious puzzled jebb wondered what ailed the man he was sure he had never seen him before at length the stranger rose and left the hall and jebb gave his soul to the mis bere rere from 11 II trovatore he was absorbed so deeply in the music that he failed to notice at first the arrival of a police officer who spoke deferentially to banbury banbury was melting sympathetically under the influence of scotch and verdi but he was instant with an English mans rage at any invasion of his privacy jebb turned in surprise and found the turkish officer regarding him with a piercing scrutiny which jebb answered with the clear eyed innocence of ignorance he caught a word here and there and gleaned that the conversation had to do with a french hotelkeeper named moomoo barolet Ca rolet some other person named pierpont and an unpaid bill banbury grew more and more furious as he thundered turkish with a curious british intonation the officer grew more and more humble and finally withdrew in confusion with much apology and many a salaam when he had gone banbury said this is the most ghastly country in gods world what do you suppose that jackass of a policeman wanted it would be no end funny if it so disgustingly impertinent it seems that some silly ass of a french hotelkeeper here had a guest who lived very royally for a few days then skipped without stopping to pay the shot this jackanapes sees you and thinks you are pierpont he goes to the police and orders your arrest the officer came to me with apologies for throwing a friend of mine into a dungeon as a common thief but I 1 sent him about his business mighty nice of you dont think any more about it have another cigar and a cup of coffee and let us hope that soprano is really not so unhappy as she sounds by the way what was the name of the hotel the grand hotel de something or other I 1 dont remember dont think of it again I 1 beg you but jebb thought of it without rest at length banbury rose impatiently the scotch had made him drowsy but he blamed the italian music 1 I cant stand any more of this caterwaul can you what do you say to our getting out ill drop you at your hotel eh thank you I 1 think ill see it through very well ill wait if you want to please dont let me keep you it took much delicate management but banbury was very very sleepy and at last permitted jebb to bid him goodnight good night As soon as he was out of the building jebb rose and searched for the policeman he was greeted with profound courtesy jebb had been muIl mulling irig the affair over in his head and he was able to ask in intelligible if inelegant turkish will you please tell me ine the name of the hotel kept by barolet Ca rolet the grand hotel de et ef fendia he is a dog of a fool to have suspected you jebb bowed and murmured goodnight good night and the official answered you are welcome jebb sauntered carelessly out of the cafe and calling an araba said grand hotel de arriving there he told the arabaci to wait he found the office alight and M barolet talking excitedly to a lady who was presumably mme ame barolet Ca rolet jebb had rehearsed his french in the cab and he began smoothly monsieur thought I 1 had rested at his hotel is it not 1 I was sure of it monsieur you yoi look most like that miserable pig dog of a pierpont pont I 1 see now that thai you are not the man he was much thinner and not at all like you 1 apologize humbly when was mr pierpont here it was two weeks monsieur H he arrives in state he seems to have hav I 1 ift a little too much of the gin or thi the giskee but we others alwa always y s expect that from the english englis h an and americans ile he orders the best room in the house the best food and he drinks much of the giskee then one day his room is empty he does not come back how much was his bill five pounds turkish Is it that he left of the baggage no monsieur he brought nothing with him he said he expected his yacht to come for him he bought fresh linen here in the shops and threw the old away jebb smiled sadly the portrait sounded familiar did mr pierpont register 11 yes monsieur may I 1 see the signature but yes monsieur mine barolet whisked the little book from a drawer and jebb recognized his own writing with a conflict of relief and shame the name was vanderbilt pierpont but the hand was the hand of jebb one more question Is it that mr pierpont had a child with him a little girl no monsieur not one from what city was he come bome that he did not say monsieur and he had not of the baggage monand ih so he set forth on his 21 hour journey to constantinople he talked very little and his tongue was a little thick 1 I will pay his bill nom de dieu you will pay the will bill but why should mons monsieur i eur pay the bill of that gentleman 7 it is my whim he was an american I 1 am an american for the honor of the country but if you would prefer not I 1 will not pay the bill oh monsieur I 1 do not question you I 1 thank you he paid the bill and went back to the cab he had found a clew to himself at last so the devil in him had taken the name of vanderbilt pierpont pont and talked large and lived high but having found his alias how was he to retrace his route long after midnight he sat in his room pounding his forehead with his fist to beat out an idea and finally one came like a spark from a sm smitten i aten anvil the te he could hardly endure the delay till morning and he was waiting at the station when the fat recorder of passports waddled in and squeezed into his chair and at length after much delay he unearthed the document yes effen dim here is the permission for V pierpont effendi to travel from constantinople into the interior it carries the visa of salon ica in the writing of my assistant I 1 was absent that day may I 1 ask the date and the name of the man who issued the 1 the recorder held it out for him to see and jebb wrote down the name of the official and his address in constantinople he could hardly control his excitement as he said one more question effen dim when is the next train to constantinople shall I 1 have time to go back to my hotel before it leaves 1 I think so enen effen dim smiled the turk shaking like a vat of jelly the train to constantinople runs three times every week and the next train leaves tomorrow another twenty four hours of inaction it seemed that he could not tolerate the delay he was finished with salonica so impatient to be quit of it that he was tempted to set out for constantinople on foot he actually climbed the steep hillside through the turkish quarter young girls hung about the fountains filling their jugs and a dozen times jebb saw some profile some little form that suggested cynthia but he was all too well assured that ohp was not in salonica he kept walking and late in the afternoon he reached the southern limits of the city where houses were few ew and fields broad in the distance he saw a splendid palace in a great e a lt garden surrounded by a high gal wall he skirted the edges and continued or on his way till it began to grow dark seeing that the sunset was purpling mt olympus and that night would soon be upon him he turned back ile he was startled by distant cries he saw people running here and there suddenly a little veiled figure came out of the twilight and the shrubbery close to him jebb thought that some poor turkish wife was fleeing from murder or persecution he determined to offer her his protection he ran towards her shouting in english As he came up the little veiled figure drew two revolvers and fired at him the bullets whirred whirled past his ears he would have been glad to retreat but his impetus carried him forward and it was momentum rather than any foolhardy bravery that led him to leap at the murderous lady and wrestle with her for her revolvers which continued to spit fire in a very feminine way and fortunately with feminine aim in the highly indecorous wrestle for or life the fugitives thick yashmak ma was torn loose and jebb saw to his infinite amazement that the little lady wore a heavy beard and was a little old man the captive kept uttering violent things in a violent way then he began to plead shrilly but jebb had lost his turkish along with his breath and his patience and he simply held his prisoner fast till the pursuers arrived they gazed with awe at the scene pouring forth horrified sentences in which jebb caught the word he nearly swooned as it came over him that the little old gentleman in the disheveled fekrije and veil was no less and no more than abdul hamid I 1 each of the breathless pursuers laid hold on the royal captive till he looked as many limbed as the spider he had been always called turning to te jebb the turks with such hands as were free lifted the imaginary dust of homage to their breasts and brows then in a cloud of real dust a mounted officer thundered up he insisted that he was the dust under jebbs feet and introduced himself as raouf bey a cavalry colonel or detailed as the guardian of the sultan when the Al latini villa was reached and the sultan snugly restored to his nest raouf invited jebb to enter the carriage with him and returned him to his hotel in state 0 that night he was the guest at dinner of a group of young turkish leaders the dinner was given in the home the of the wealthy cherub pasha it was a s affair a procession of luxuries at jebbs request cranford banbury was asked to attend as interpreter though there was little need of him in this respect since all of the young turks spoke french and german and some of them english after a long and flowery speech b by a white bearded young turk who jad had spent part of his years in prison 0 and part in exile jebb turned to banbury with arr an anxious whisper 1 I quite understand what he said last banbury whispered back they want you to name some reward tor for your wonderful wonder fu et cetera et cetera what would you like most my boy the diamond star of the order of kishani Os manee or a silver medal for saving life or will you have it m n cash jebb did not hesitate about his answer tell them about the lost child and ask them if they can give me any help banbury drawled forth a long story which seemed to touch the guests deeply tor for when he finished they all spoke at once and cranford explained they promise you the aid ot of the whole nation and say that nobody in turkey shall feel himself too high or too busy to join in the search at the station the next day the young turk leaders gathered to wave him good luck and as the train pulled out he heard them crying jebb effendi chok yasha jebb effendi eff endi chok yasha I 1 and some who knew he understood french cried vive ie monsieur jebb and so he set forth on his 24 hour lourney journey to constantinople and puffed at his cigar with his first genuine contentment for he shuffled in his hands a sheaf of letters of commendation to some of the chief personages of the empire CHAPTER VIII the train was only six hours late so that instead of arriving in the early morning light jebb came in the full glow of the afternoon what chiefly overwhelmed jebb as he rode through the streets in an araba was the hugeness of the city as large as ten Salo nicas or fifty as large as lf if boston san francisco and st louis faced each other in one mass there were european hats enough in the crowd but they were worn by foreigners some of the hats were so american that jebb looked under them counting on finding a face he knew it seemed impossible that such a melee should not include some acquaintance of his A derby hat unmistakably american caught his eye and he turned to stare at it at the same instant he heard a voice behind him almost almos t at his elbow hello old man hows electricity jebb whirled so quickly that he nearly sprained his neck he caught an over the tee shoulder grin and heard a yankee chuckle he could not recall the face or the voice but the race was plainly his own the fellow countryman moved on through the crowd jebb stood up to identify him but saw only a glimpse of red hair he was tempted to leap out and go in search but a hamal carrying two huge barrels on his shoulders drifted between and hid the wayfarer from sight jebb sank back in the araba cuda eling his memory why did he be mention electricity the next morning jebb visited the american consulate but when he reached the consulate it was deserted he was tempted to forswear his allegiance and become another man without a country but there was a gorgeous kavass at the door 1 who h explained that the whole staff was away for a holiday with splendid condescension the kavass observed thees afternoon comes back one of the officers rosen effendi he has some work to be did it if you are here again three four you find him I 1 theena to kill time jebb went on along the grande rue de pera to jannis restaurant dawdled through his luncheon and strolled about its gardens dismounting before the consulate at three jebb was greeted by the kavass with the deference of expectancy and with palm open for baksheesh mr rosen was at his desk preparing some trade reports but he consented to see jebb TO BE |