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Show ' .iMpT TREASURE COPYRIGHT 1933 bvBRENTANO's INC. B PJiV 1 . f It I COPYRIGHT 1923 THE PJDOg WAY CO. Il i)VD N M I 7jH rTiTiTTTo TjiTTf "castle" perclieTPufcTp "ol a huge crag miles away across a tumbled tum-bled mass cf peaks. But Nikka ex-plaine.1 ex-plaine.1 that it was one of those fortified forti-fied monasteries which kept the Ores of learning alight during the gloomy centuries when the Turk's rule ran as far a.; the Danube. The path we followed was eccentric In the extreme. In fact, there was Fife streets ; u uehse Toass "67 "un washed humans eddied to and fro; squalor beggaring description leered from the steep lanes and alleys that branched off from ihe main streets. A hundred races swarmed about us, vying vy-ing with one another In wretchedness and misery. It was as if a gignDtic, cancerous sore, festering and gangrened gan-grened through the centuries, had eaten eat-en away the vitality of what had once been the richest city in the world. And back and forth In that swarm of humanity's hu-manity's dregs wandered men of the civilization which had prospered outside out-side the pale of Islam, French and Hi ' ish ohicers, bluejackets, poiius, tommies tom-mies and an occasional tourist, clinging cling-ing to a smirking guide. We plunged into the dark byways, sometimes trversing streets so narrow that pedestrians were compelled to squeeze themselves flat against the house-walls to permit us to pass. But at last we rode forth into a wider thoroughfare and stopped opposite the gate of a huge, fortress-like building, whose windowless stone walls towered above the surrounding housetops. "The Khan of the Georgians," ex plained Nikka. "ITere we shall be swallowed up in an army of travelers. No one would think of looking for us in such a place." Wasso Mikali made the necessary payment to the porter at the gate, and we rode between the ponderous, steel-bouLd steel-bouLd doors into a courtyard such as you find in a barracks. Around it rose three tiers of galleries, arched in stone, and below them were a succession of stables fronted by sheds and penthouses. pent-houses. Piles of goods lay everywhere, in the. courtyard and on the galleries. Horses, mules, oxen and camels neighed, brayed, bellowed and grunted. grunt-ed. Men talked in knots on the mucky cobbles of the court, squatted In every gallery or leaned over the railings shouting to each other. Women sat on balet and nursed their Infants. Children ran about with the nsual ability abil-ity of children to escape sudden death in dangero s places. It sounded like a boiler factory and an insane asylum holding a jubilee convention. But Wasso Mikali and his young men pushed through the confusion with the same bored air I would have worn in bucking the subway rush at Grand Central. They appropriated a corner of a stable, and put up the horses, uncinched the packs and climbed a flight of stone stairs to the second floor, where the old gypsy rented two cubicles, each lighted by leVy. TiikI T.'asSrr "MikaTI Tfpenen TT.t door of our cubic! 2 and stood aside until Wi;ki:!s had entered. Then m came Mi. himself, and locked it an.! squatted down with his back attain! it. Nikka introduced his uncle, ami Wasso Mikali met Hugh with the unstudied un-studied courtesy that made it so di.ii cult to remember 'hat he knew njtb ing of what we call manners or the gentler aspects of life. "Is Toutou here?" Nikka asked Hugh. "I think not. So far as we have ob served, none of the headliners lias ap pea red on the scene, but the underlings under-lings are very ellioient Vernon Kin:; and I have been over the ground rather thoroughly. He's heen a priceless price-less help. And Betty she's the nios; enthusiastic worker on our side. Sh-. has n motor-launch her father char terod so they could run t.p and down the const on his archeological trips, and we used that to mark down the house where we think the treas.ire Is located." "Have you really got a line on the site of the Bucoleon?" asked Nikka. "Yes," said Hugh. "Matter of fact that was comparatively easy, thanks to Vernon King. You see, he knows his Constantinople of old; and after consulting with some other learned Johnnies out at Robert college and several ancient Greeks of the Syllo gos, the historical society, you know, he was able to point out qrite accurately accu-rately the general site of the great palace. When we had gone so far. it became a case of picking out the building within that area that held our prize. There Isn't any doubt about it. It's in what they call Sokr'-i Masyeri, a mean little street In a mean cnarter that skirts the old seawalls sea-walls beyond the railroad tracks." "This house Is built right on the walls. It has a kind of battered magnificence, mag-nificence, elaborately carved cornices and window-moldings, and it rambles over a good bit of ground, including a fairish-sized courtyard, just as you would expect of the wreck of an old palace. There can't be any mistake. Why, the bird who lives In this house Is the king of the Stamboul gypsies, the chief bad man of Constantinople. He has a whole flock of cut-throats at his beck and call. Ask anybody here about Beran Tokaljl " Wasso Mikali leaped to his feet at sound of that name and strode over to us, his hand on his knife. "What's the row?" inquired Hugh as the old gypsy and Nikka engaged in a bri k exchange of sibilant phrases. "Our friend has this person Tokal-ji's Tokal-ji's number," I explained. "He told us about him. He had heard about the treasure I'd the house." "Then we must be right," cried Hugh. "You're right enough," agreed Nikka, while Vasso Mikali returned to his place by the door and rolled a cigarette. ciga-rette. "It seems, also, that this To-kalji To-kalji is a particular enemy of m. uncle. He was suggesting a little ex terminating expedition." "We've got six of Mkka's cousins in the next room, first-class knife-handlers, every one of them," I put in. "With Wasso Mikali and us, that makes eleven." "And Vernon King is twelve,' add ed Hugh. "He wants to be in on the whole business. It appeals to his at cheological bump, as well as to his sportii.g tasles. But we can't haw a rougl houst yet. We don't know ihe ground well enough. . The next slep 's to get inside that house, by stealth, if possible, by force, If every otbei means fails." - To Be Continued .... ( pi.n 2 CHAPTER VII ...1 The Road lo Stamboul Vasso Mikali was a very wise man. -2 questioned Nikka closely concern- our situation, and this was his 2'dict: 'When you light with thieves you st use thieves' tricks. You did right 9come to me. Now I will secure fit-"" fit-"" j; garments for you, my sister's son. j for your Americansky friend, Jak-. Jak-. For him also I will brew a dye -t will make hira as dark as our iple, so that men will not turn and re at him on Ihe road, p After that 1 think we had best go ay from this place as soon as pos-jTle. pos-jTle. You have traveled rapidly and iken off your enemies' pursuit. It Is 11 to take e.ery advantage of an itirtunity. We will collect some of young men who can handle a 31 fe, and go on to Stamboul. All men to Stamboul, and who will notice Tzigane band?" But it wasn't my thought that yon iuld abandon the affairs of the e and come and fight with me," re-nstrated re-nstrated Nikka. Are you not the son of my sister?" IKoined the old gypsy. "If you had : elected to go to Buda with your lin would you not be chief of the id? Do 1 not stand in your place? ill, then, light of my eyes, we will for you all that we may.". anikka flung me a proud glance as ket translated the pledge. flikall left us, and Nikka and I se- pjjj.ed another hour's sleep. When he urned he was accompanied by a inger edition of himself, who carried I i bundles which were disclosed as iplete suits of Tzigane dress. Ha, II iself, carried ft pot of warm, brown iid, and he proceeded to apply the "'"in to ljt witli a small paint-brush, ir, mustache, face and bodj were kened to a mellow brown. The ff dried quickly, and 1 was soon e to pull on h- strange garments, Ich Nikka showed me how to adjust 1 fas. en. could not help laughing at my re-:t re-:t on in the mirror. I felt uncom-tahle, uncom-tahle, as though I had dressed for a icy-dre.'.3 ball, and overdone the t. Bu' there was none of this effect Mli' -' getup. "With the donning his gypsy costume he discarded '.is t visible link with the West. He ked tl.e gypsy, the oriental, a king-vagabond. king-vagabond. 'You belong," I said. "But 1 feul Sj e an inipuster.' j 'You'll grow used to it," he an-ercd, an-ercd, folding in the ends of his Hi. "Did they jive you a knife?" exhibted the ho.u-handled. eight-:h eight-:h blade, with Its 'heath hooked to .cather belt that encircled my waist neath the sash. "Good 1 Got your uu-natic uu-natic and spare clips?" 'And these clothes?" I pointed to the civilized garments ' i had discarded. i 'Kostabidiian will send them on to nstaiilinoph in a few days" He lied. "Personally, Jack, I don't care I neve, wear ' rni again. I can rn a thousand dollars an hour with ! fiddle, but what's it worth corn-red corn-red with this? Rawhide on your :t that Ilexes with your soles; Hhing that covers you, but doesn't :nl; unci the open road ahead I Civ-zation Civ-zation i, fraud. .Tai k. I was a fool ever quit ihr gypsy life." 'Well, you're hack In It again," 1 'li'-d. "ami perhaps you'll be .-cling J were a fool to return to it. I know eel like n fool. Let's go." t was 'ill dark when we left the ise. Kostahidjian and his servant re waiting in the courtyard. They s:"Ll!cd two horses, and a mule s loaded with bulky packs, food. 1 blankets, tarpaulins and several Kins "tonsils. 'ileidl. lakkal" called Wasso Ml- -"i tit, Jack,' added Nikka. "The bcrse is for you. We must "'-'i- My uncle does not like to be ti entering or leaving the town." e re - out hi single file, Wasso :nl1- then Xikkh. then mvsoif. last "ling rzlgane, leading the pack-IP- T'e gypsies set a pace that JO the 1,,,,-ses ,rot t0 klVp wilb a i-km-ed shaa.hle. uncaln-,n. uncaln-,n. ni'l'carance, but tremendously 'v'v- I'ii'-iiii. i!U. t:i,iv ,:lrf of the ," P1U!S0'1 frequent villages, mel-'"' mel-'"' co lections of hovels that had .torched by the awful visitation rS !:ns had known for a in in , , " n'm C;1M,e "'e mde ' roof r;,vi,le Nvit1' th" st:lrs ''e nt day It was practically the ile trail we followed was a rd"-ce that sometimes disap- 1,Ssu'lr0reW that day the moun-beo moun-beo ,e wilder and more barren. L'eari, afternoona saw what 1 a grated windoT . two feet square and containing nothing except some foul straw. , Such food ar we did not have with us we bought from a general store conducted con-ducted In a angle cf the courtyard, and the cooking was done ever a brazier. bra-zier. When night fell, and the cooking cook-ing fires blazed out all over the court j yard and In the galleries it was a j sight worth coming to Constantinople j to see. There was an acrid reek of dung In the air, the sweaty smell of i human bodies, the pungent aroma of the charcoal, and an endless babble of voices in a score of tongues and j dialects. We were asti: early in the morning, and before Mght o'clock Wasso Ml- j ka!'. Nikka and i left the khan Was- ! so having given strict Injunction to his young men to stick close to their quarters and discourage any endeavors endeav-ors to mane thor:i talk to cross the Golden Horn to the European quarter of Pera. Once we had left Stamboul Nikka relinquished some of the wolfish man- ' ner which his return to gypsy life had inspired, and we discussed eagerly, and not for the first time, the possibility possi-bility that harm had come to Hugh. But our fears were relieved ' hen we came to the corner of the street opposite oppo-site the hotel, for there oy the entrance en-trance stood Hugh and Watkins chat-tir,' chat-tir,' with Vernon tCing. Nikka led tho Lvree of us op to the hotel, shambling ungracefully and goggling a: the western aspect of the building and the people who passed on the sidewalk. "All right," he said. "We'll move up beside Hugh, and when there's nobody no-body In earshot you say what you have to say, speaking to me." We peered opon-mouthed Into the lobby, gaped at shop windows nn.l slowly worked Into a position close by Hugh and Vernon King. Hugh gave The Path We Followed Was Eccentric in the Extreme. no path. We climbed a succession ot gullies and ravines opening out of one anr'her, at.d at dusk emerged upon a sheltered valley. A little rivulet rivu-let foamed down the middle, damme.l at the foot by a crude barrier oJ rocks. Horses and mules and a fe.v sheep and goats grazed on the banks Against the mountain wall on either side were built a number of rougii log shelters, part houses, part caves (.'h!'Jren, naked f- - the most pari, played about. Women were washing in the brook or tending several open fires. A dozen men were lying or sitting sit-ting on the ground. Wasso Mikali, striding in front ol us, raised his voice in a great shout, and the men by the houses Jumped io their feet and crowded toward us. The old gypsy added something In which Nikka's name was repeated two or three times, and they cried out In astonishment In the next moment they were swarming around us, and sinewy hands were clasping ours, rows of white teeth were gleaming in welcoming welcom-ing smiles, and Nikka was being greeted with a heart-warming mixture of affection and respect. Their attitude toward hira was extraordinary. ex-traordinary. He was one of themselves them-selves severaS were his cousins, most of them were related to him in some remote degree of consanguinity; he had lived amongst them for years. Yet to them, as to the rest of the world, be was also tho great master, the violinist who could charm multl tudes, upon whose bounty, too, the.y and others like them had been sus tained in periods of want. We remained In the valley for one day, just long enough for Wasso Ml kali to pick the six men he intendeo to take with him, select horseflesh foi ostensible trading purposes, and mal the necessary arrangements for leaving leav-ing the tribe so long without his guhl anco. Two days' journey to the east carried car-ried us into the colorful stream of traf fie on a main-traveled highway, (.'am vans of pack-ponies jingled along Bands of Itinerant gypsie9 like our selves; camel trains, endless proces sions of ox carts, and very rarely an automobile or fiacre, moved In ho;,i directions. The Balkan races In theli varied garb jangled and wrangled by. Two hundred and Bfty miles we traveled, south and east, and at last there came a day when we passed the Tebbaldya barrier, and from a hillock caught a gliinpso of a skyline of towers and floating domes and soar tug minarets and beyond thorn to the rit:ht a hint of blue that was the meet ing place of the Bosphorus and tin Marmora. "It looks like a fairy city I" I ex claimed. "It will slink in your nostril.," replied re-plied Nikka curdy. "I; is Su.ni'.vui-llM Su.ni'.vui-llM last stand of Ihe Turk." Until we crossed its very thi-csS'''' the spell of the city held us. Not evi-r lhe noisome belt of Russian rof:-c. camps and tawdry villas and the un kempt tombs of the lli',',s of the lY;i-; could shatter the illusion of i!..;: splendid skyiine. But when we p: -". ' through the echoing arch of th'1 ib! nnople gale the spell was br-iit (.Yazy Jiouses UippjcdoverLhe M!ih oi us one keen glance, obviously because we were gypsies. But he did not recognize recog-nize us. and Indeed, In our gaudy-clothes, gaudy-clothes, dirty and unshaven, we looked nothing like his memory of us. "If they don't come In the next few " King was saying as we halted close by, staring nt a Levantine lady In a Tarislan frock who was entering a taxi. "Better not," warned Hugh, with a wink toward us. "Thii, Is one time we fooled you," I remarked, speaking In a low tone of voice at Nikka there was nobody else within twenty feet of our groups at the moment, "Jack speaking, I Hugh. You and Watty follow us. Go around the block the other way from us. We'll pick yon up." Hugh and Watkins watched us dls-sppear, dls-sppear, then said good-by to King, and walked down the street They were rounding the corner of the farther sic of the block as we entered It, and when we made sure they had seeD us. we turned it. to a cross street thai led between b:i!i!:nss toward Gabita and the Golden IKrn. i When we de.iged into the gateway of the Khan of the Georgians. Hugh was bursting to t;.i'.;, but Nikka motioned mo-tioned him to he silent. Tl.e appear ance o' two Ear.-poans Ilk' himself and Watkins was bound to attrm-t some attention, and we rushed i u-m ltteSteepstlrs Jo t-a second gaj |