"Eh? Hum! haw! Why, why, you don"t mean to tell me to my face that you will defy me?"
"No, sir; I do not defy you. Circ.u.mstances make it necessary for me to disobey you, and so--"
"You shall not do it! I won"t have it! Your brother looks to me to bring you back safely to him, and I--"
"Were my brother here he would approve of what I am doing."
"Well, what are you doing? Where are you going?"
"I can"t tell you."
"Haw! hum! I positively decline to let you leave this hotel!"
"I can"t help that. Look after Budthorne. He"s nearly distracted. Tell him to brace up. Somehow I have confidence that we"ll be able to find Nadia. You"ll have your hands full taking care of Brad."
"I need you to help me. The boy is crazy."
"He blames himself for what happened, and he always will blame himself unless Nadia is found."
"I can"t do anything with him. He"s like a mad bull. Richard, you are the only one who can handle him. Don"t leave me!"
"I must."
"Why, I thought you an obedient boy! I never fancied you would set yourself up in defiance of me."
"You do not understand, professor; I am doing what I firmly believe is for the best."
Zenas wrung his hands.
"If we ever get out of this mess," he declared, "I"m going to take you back home just as fast as possible."
"All right; but that is something to be considered later."
"You should be there. You should be in school at Fardale this day."
"You forget that I was expelled, professor."
"By that old dunkhead, Gooch! Wait till we get home. I"m going to have a little session with Barnaby Gooch, and also with Chester Arlington. Your turn is coming, Richard-that is if you do not throw your life away in some reckless folly. Do be cautious, Richard! Listen to me!"
d.i.c.k did his best to rea.s.sure the old man, but Zenas clutched his arm and attempted to cling to him, still urging and entreating.
Swiftly the boy released the fingers of the old pedagogue.
"I"ll come back all right in time," he said, and then hastened away.
Gunn hurried after him out of the hotel. He saw d.i.c.k spring upon the back of a horse. Another horse, with a dark, silent man on its back, stood near. Both animals were off in a moment, disappearing with their riders into the dusky shadows of a street leading to the north.
Zenas Gunn stood trembling in front of the hotel. His heart was heavy with dread.
"Oh, Richard!" he murmured pathetically; "Heaven guard you! You are brave unto recklessness, and I fear that some day your recklessness will bring ruin upon you."
At the side of Ras al Had d.i.c.k Merriwell rode through Damascus. They were on the outskirts of the city when the aged sheik drew rein.
"We stop here," he said.
Immediately two men appeared to take the horses.
They dismounted.
"Follow, boy," commanded the sheik.
d.i.c.k did not hesitate about obeying. He kept at the heels of the Arab, who entered some straw-thatched sheds. It was very dark under the shed, not even the light of the stars penetrating there.
Ras al Had uttered a call, and soon a man came hurrying with a fluttering light. He was black as midnight, with thick lips, and huge gold rings in his ears. He salaamed before the sheik.
"Hold the light, a.s.souan," directed Ras al Had. "Let us behold the dog who betrayed me."
Then he touched the arm of the American boy and made a gesture toward the ground not far from their feet.
a.s.souan held the light as commanded, and it fell on a spectacle that caused d.i.c.k to recoil and utter a cry of horror.
Face downward on the ground, his arms and legs outspread, with his wrists and ankles bound to stout stakes, was a black man, stripped of clothing. His back was covered with blood.
"You see what happens to curs who betray Ras al Had," said the sheik, in a harsh voice.
"Heavens!" gasped d.i.c.k. "The miserable wretch has been beaten until his back is all cut up!"
"He was lashed until the pain loosened his tongue and he confessed,"
said the sheik. "This man was one of the four I sent to escort you and the maiden."
"You-you compelled him to tell what has become of her?"
"I wrung it from his lips."
"What did he tell?"
"You shall hear."
Ras al Had touched the wretched victim with a staff which he took from one corner of the shed.
The man did not stir.
"Look, thou dog!" said the sheik; "art longing for further punishment?
Then speak promptly, or I swear by the beard of the Prophet that thou shalt be cut into a thousand pieces! Who paid thee to choke the infidel lad?"
"Why, it"s the fellow who nearly murdered me!" exclaimed d.i.c.k, for he had not recognized the mutilated wretch.
"The same," said the sheik. "Why doesn"t he speak? a.s.souan, bring the whip."