In came the armed eunuchs ready for slaughter.
"Good-bye to your boys," said the Irishman, in a whisper.
"Not if I know it," returned Jack; "I"m on in this scene, old man."
"I"m with you, Jack," cried Harry.
Jack was in danger. Over went Harry to help him.
The fierce Turk was filled with wonder and dismay; the enemies appeared to drop from the clouds.
"Now, old big bags," said young Jack, saucily, "come on, and see how a Boy of England can fight."
The words were not intelligible to the Turks, but the gesture was thoroughly understood.
There was a gong-bell close beside the deputy-pasha, and one tap on this sufficed to bring a whole mob of armed men into the room.
"Seize these Franks!" exclaimed the tyrant, still holding his hands round his sides in pain; "they have earned their fate. Let it be swift.
Away with them--oh, I am nearly killed--away with them!"
They resisted stoutly enough, fought like tiger-cats; but what was the use?
None whatever.
The Irishman waited to hear an ugly order given anent bowstringing, and then he came down stairs, and made his way artfully (so that his presence in the gallery overlooking the seraglio might not be suspected) to the corridor, where he once more discovered the two armed eunuchs on guard, looking like ebony statues again, and as calm as if they had never taken part in the short but stirring scene just described.
"I wish to see his excellency the pasha," said he, "for I came here conducting two young Englishman, of great distinction, who brought some rich presents to his excellency."
One of the men went in, and brought out the tyrant.
To him the Irishman repeated his tale with an extravagant show of respect and deference.
"Are these the two Franks?" demanded the Turk.
He gave the word as he spoke, and out from the seraglio marched Jack and Harry Girdwood, their arms tightly bound to their sides, between a strong escort of armed men.
"Yes, excellency," answered the Irishman.
"Then they have been there," returned the deputy-pasha; "you know what that means?"
"They have erred through ignorance, your excellency."
"Then," replied the Turk, with vindictive significance, "within an hour they will grow wiser. Away with them!"
And the prisoners were all marched away.
"Begorra," muttered the Irishman to himself, "it"s all up."
But he never relaxed his efforts for all this.
"Pardon, O excellency," he said, "but these young gentlemen who have offended through ignorance, being princes of the royal blood of Britain, their continued absence will lead to inquiries, and----"
"They shall die like dogs if they are kings," growled the deputy-pasha.
"Let me entreat humbly that you wait the return of his excellency, for these Franks are but savages, and the least slight, even to their princes, would bring their ships of war along our coast; the town would be razed to the ground."
"Ships of war!" responded the deputy-pasha.
"Yes, excellency," continued the Irishman, with a frightened air, seeing the slight advantage he had got now, "the ship they came in is now nearing the coast. It is well within range, with the cruel engines of war these barbarians use. I tremble for the Konaki."
"They would never dare----"
"Pardon, they would dare any thing. The death of the two princes of the blood royal would be the signal for the first shot, and then good-bye to us all."
The deputy-pasha paused.
The Irishman eyed him askance.
"Begorra!" he muttered to himself, "that ought to be sthrong enough for him. Them boys have made me tell enough lies in ten minutes to last a Turk himself a lifetime. Be jabers, I"ve pitched it sthrong with a purpose. He who hesitates is lost. He is thinking better of it."
The Irishman was right.
"I will reflect," said the Turk, with a dignified air; "I may not spare their lives, but possibly await the return of his highness the pasha."
The Irishman was dismissed.
He bowed and retired.
CHAPTER LXX.
OSMOND AND LOLO THE SLAVE--THREATS AND DEFIANCE--THE CIRCa.s.sIAN"S DOOM--OSMOND EARNS HIS REWARD.
The three Circa.s.sian slaves had been sent as a present to the real pasha, Osmond"s master, by some friendly Algerian prince, and, arriving in the absence of the pasha, the deputy had cast greedy eyes upon the rich prize.
Finding all his authority was lost upon the Circa.s.sians girls, who stoutly refused to be persuaded, he grew vicious.
Nothing was positively known, but the tragedy which Jack and Harry Girdwood had witnessed hard by the water-gate of the Konaki, coupled with the recognition of the two eunuchs by Tinker as the two a.s.sa.s.sins whom he and Bogey had capsized into the water, made matters look altogether very suspicious indeed.
The few threatening words which Osmond had muttered to one of the fair Circa.s.sians, too, should have told their own tale.
The Circa.s.sian girls had endeavoured to screen those luckless negroes, Tinker and Bogey, for had they not led the boys into the presence of Osmond disguised as girls?
Here, then, was a pretext for further ill-usage of the unfortunate slaves.