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Show r;"-! fi..- irro r arii iron; COPYRICHT 1933 bvBRENTANOS INC. BV A RT H1J R, D. coPYP.iSHT iriJ th RipoEwftY co. tiUVypLCrJ SMITiM I "'So will 1." Nikka flung the merey-bell, some loose change and a watch down on the ground, find squatted beside them. The rest el us did the same. The girl seized the belt, find emptied the compartments, com-partments, one by one. "English gold," she exclaimed. "This was worth taking. You are ti man of judgment, friend "What la youi name?" "I am called Giorgi Bordu. M friend is named Jakka in the Tzigane camps." "Did he have any papers, thai Fran!:?" asked Tokalji. "All that he had is there," replied Nikka. "Humph !" The gypsy thought a moment. "It was strange that you attacked at-tacked those two, Giorgi Bordu. I do not want them sneaking around here. They are after something that I waul myself." Nikka, sitting back on his heels, pro dueed his tobacco box and rolled a cigarette. "Perhaps a strange thief and his friend might be of aid to you," he suggested. sug-gested. "Perhaps they might. I don't know You are smart fellows, I can see that. And I need men like you. But 1 am not alone in this. There are others, do you see? I must consult them. Still, you should be better than the two 1 am using just now." "Are they Tziganes?" inquired Nikka Nik-ka politely. "Of a sort But they have lived too long with the Franks. They are noi so ready as they once were, and I find they do not bring me the Information I require. We will accept your, com rade for whatever he is. You I know I can use. Kara, take the strangers, to Mother Kathene. Tell her to bed them with the young men." Nikka and I pouched our shares of the loot we had brought In, Nikka appropriating ap-propriating to himself Watkins' Birmingham Birm-ingham silver watch. The gypsy girl never took her eyes off him. IWe are ready," said Nikka r.. Her face tlowereu In an Instantaneous Instantane-ous smile. "It is well, Giorg Bordu. Come with me." j She led us across the courtyard U i the building which fronted it on tin' left. Inside was a big, stone-paved hall. There were traces of carving on the capitals of the pillars and a spaciousness that spoke of aneieni glories. But the place reeked with tiie squalor of a tenement. Three old women were huddled In front of a fire that blazed on an enormous hearth ami strings of onions and garlic hung from hooks in the ceiliDg. Kara skipped across to the fireplace and tapped the oldest of the three women on the shoulder. "Hi, Mother Kathene," she called loudly. "Here are two strangers Beran has taken into the tribe." The fhree hags loitered to then feel, and peered at us with bleared eyes. "Strangers?" whined Mother Kath ene. "Why strangers In the tribe? Haven't we enough fine young men to stab and sleal for the chief? Heh heh! I don't like strangers." "Strangers are bad luck," . pronounced pro-nounced a second beldame, whose name was Zitzi. "Bad luck," echoed the third, who was called I.illi. "And I suppose we'll have to cook and scrub for the rascals, too." Kara pinched her with a viciousness that made tlu poor old thing squeal. "Bah, Mother Lilli, you are lucky to .have a chief like Bcran, who gives the .old ones work to do and shelter and food for the end of their days, instead of driving them out to seek the bounty of the B,oumis and Franks. And you are luckier still to have a great thief like Giorgi Bordu to cook for. Have done with It," she commanded lm periously. "Where ore Giorgi and Jakka to lie?'1 "Where they choose," returned Zitzi sourly. To Be Continued "There Is swnefhlng to be divided," answeie"1 Nikka. "Where do you coma from?' "Salonika and elsewhere." "Tzigane both?" "My comrade is a Frank b-i. be Is one of us." A hinge creaked. "Enter growled the voice. "Quickly.' The crack was wide enough for one at .. time, and we slid through like shadows, the open leaf slamming behind be-hind us. We stood in a large courtyard court-yard ( ttered with bales of goods and boxes and a number of men and women in gypsy dress who were occupied occu-pied in staring at us. But we did not spare any protracted protract-ed attention for them. There were two far more interesting characters close at hand. One was a stalwart, blnck-beardod mam with a seamed, wicked face that wore an ' habitual CHAPTER VIII The Red Stone "We ought to try to get inside To-,ljr To-,ljr bouse as soon as possible, it nitou and Helens and the rest of em are not here it," said Nikka. "King and I have talked it over fre-,eutlV' fre-,eutlV' said Hugh. "But we haven't ,cn able to think of a safe way of tting inside. Of course, we could n ashore In the launch some night, ,d climb up the courtyard wall that onts n in Bosphorus, but we'd cer-Inly cer-Inly be discovered." "It wouldn't work," asserted Nikka. Jo, to get In and have opportunity look around for the landmark's men-med men-med in the Instructions we must be cepted as friends." "It can't be done," protested Hugh once. "Oh, yes, it can. Jack and I can do -with Watkins to help us." "What's your plan, Nikka," Hugh ked. "Just this. When we leave here, you id Watkins head for Tokalji's house, e'll follow you at a distance. You id Watty must prowl through the rect as mysieriously as you can, oking up at the house, examining l approaches, all that sort of thing, tor a while look back and you will e us lurking after you. Pretend to i seared. Then we'll go after you, lives out Run. Sou get away, Hugh, it we catch Watty and throw him iwn empty out his pockets, start cut bis throat you'd better not be riggling around that time, Watty, ! the knife might slip and you raise yell for the police around the cor-ir. cor-ir. We change our minds, kick Wat-on Wat-on his way and run back. At the ite of Tokalji's house we ask for ad- Ission, claiming we fear pursuit. 1 ink I am quite sure they will let ! In. It Is a chance we must take, hey will have seen what we did,- and on: what you and Wasso Mikali tell e, Tokalji considers himself the lief of the local criminals. He will S sniand a percentage and let it go at ; int." "It sounds simple," 1 said. "But lint abnut me?" "You are a Frenchman, an ex-Apa-9 ie and deserter from the Salonika oops. Let me do the talking. I know rpsies. If you tell them a bold tale, id carry a high blut , they will take Hi at your own valuation." "It's a plan worth trying," agreed ugh. "Start now?" "Wait until afternoon." g When the hour came to leave, Was-i Was-i Mikali and his young men escorted ugh and Watkins through the court-II court-II trd, and Nikka and I followed at ime distance. The gypsies stopped In ie gateway, and we strolled on alone a Iter our friends in the direction of ie Bosphorus. q As they rounded an alley corner In-1 In-1 a dingy lane that was overtopped ldwny by a wall of massive Roman instruction we were close at their ;els. Now l.he comedy began. Hugh ayed up In great shape. He drew a iper from his pocket, and affected i slare along the wall. He counted s ste . lie looked around him fear-illy. fear-illy. He conferred with Watkins, bo manifested even more uneasiness. We slunk Into (he alley In as hang-3g hang-3g a manner ns we could manage, 'utl.v called Hugh's attentlor to us. l we thought, with genuine dramatic 't. As Nikka whipped out his knife j id ran for them, Watty squeaked, fi Jd lit off with a considerable .ead i 1 " ''t Hugh wasted no breath. I e sprinted and lunged Into Watkins, locking hi against a house wall, so ii-t we had time to catch up. nd ns ugh reached the curve of the cres-it-shaped sfreet, Nikka overhauled ntktns and toppled him over with ev-7 ev-7 appearance of ruthless brutality, i the next roomer I added my knife 1 the picture, and while 1 menaced jj Poor chap's throat, Nikka sclen-3 sclen-3 aeally emptied his pockets and ripped money-belt from under his clothei. There came a yell from Hugh omul the corner, and Nikka bounded ie lis feet Between us we hoisted atkins to his, and propelled him om us with a couple of really brutal ' cks. Collar torn, jacket scruffed and !ll ousers unbraced. Watkins scudded r that comer like a swallow on the But we did not wait to watch s exit. We took to our own heels. '1 "ended In the opposlle direction. Elated at the far corner, and dou-. dou-. l'ncb t0 the closed door I hat wn "oil In the high wall of Tokalji's KiUka banged on the thick wood Uh hr knife hUt r knoek" rumbled a role. Two who fear tha polie." u-e want none such here," She Regarded Me Almost With Contempt, Con-tempt, but Her Eyes Fairly De voured Nikka. scowl. The other was a girl of perhaps per-haps eighteen, whose lissome figure set off her ragged dress like a Baquin toilette. She was very brown. Her hair was a tumbled heap of midnight, and her eyes were great glowing depths ol passion. Her shapely legs were bare almost to the knee, and hei flimsy bodice scarcely covered her. But she carried herself with the unconsciously un-consciously regal air that I had no tlced in Wassa Mikali. She regarded me almost with contempt, con-tempt, but her eyes fairly devoured Nikka. "This Is the one," she cried, "he ran like that stallion we had from the Arab of Nejd, and you should have seen him strip the old Frank. He would have had the other one, too. If his friend had been as swift. Heh, foster-father, he has the makings ol a great thief!" Nikka afterward translated these conversations for me. But the man only glow?ered at us, his hand on the hilt of one of the long knives in his waist sash. "Be still, girl I You jabber like a crow. Who knows them?" "Nobody," answered Nikka promptly. "Only our knives can speak for us. My comrade and I are new to Stamboul. We have heard of Beran Tokalji In many camps. A great thief, they say. and one who treats his people well." "How do you know I am Tokalji?" demanded the bearded man, plainly flattered b Nikka's sreech. Of course, Nikka did not know him, but he was quick to seize the opportunity oppor-tunity and make the most of IL "I have cflen heard you described around the llres." "If you knew me and sought my help, was It wlso to rob In front of my door?" Nikka affected embarrassment "Why, as to that, volvode, there Is something to be said," he agreed. "But we saw the I ratik3, and their looks spelt gold, anil what would you? 'Twas n chance. Also, we thought the police would not dare to touch us here." The i 'rl thrust herself scorn fully to the fere. "Gabble gab'-le, gabble," she mocked. "Are we old wives that we mouth over everything? Those men rohbol. they lied unseen, they have their lo,.i. Foster-father, you are not so keen as you once were. Something was said of a division." A greedy light dawned In Tokalji' eyes. "Yes, yes," be insisted, "that Is right So yon snld. my Lid. and 1! you would bare shelter you must pa for It. " |