"Rameses built one."
"What for?"
"To keep his fellows from getting tired."
"Sure now," said Paddy, "there"s a dog wid a woman"s head."
"That"s a Sphinx," remarked Claud with a smile.
These ancient things and the general surroundings made all open their eyes in wonder, and feel that there were more things on earth than their own little cabbage patch.
They settled down quickly, and having received an enormous haul of cash in the form of arrears of pay, the Kangaroo Marines and every other corps set out on donkeys, motor-cars, cabs, camels and carts to see the sights of Cairo.
"Gee whiz! this is some town," said Bill, on reaching the gay and dazzling city. The wide streets, oriental buildings, the weird bazaars, gaily-lit cafes, and veiled women, amazed these simple Bushmen. It was like "The Arabian Nights," wonderful, alluring, seductive and strange. All were gripped by the subtle atmosphere of things. Their blood tingled with the sensuous aroma of the East.
Cheap wine in the cafes of the Greeks let the devil loose, and so they fell an easy prey to the lures of the bold and handsome wantons of Cairo. Thus many were duped and robbed.
Australians when wronged must have revenge. An eye for an eye is the law of the bush. The revenge came in an unexpected way. In one of the streets where the wantons live an injustice had been done to one of the boys. The exact reason was never told. But Cairo was soon alarmed by the shrieks of women, the shouts of fire, and the galloping of mounted police. Through the glare and smoke could be seen a little army of men wreaking revenge. Windows were being smashed, a piano was crashed from above to the ground, doors were torn down, crockery clattered into the street.
"Allah! Allah! Save us, save us! The mad Australians! The mad Australians!" cried the cowardly _effendis_ as they fled.
"Help! Help!" screamed the wantons, as they ran like maddened hares.
But the wrecking went on, despite the charging pickets and hoa.r.s.e commands from officers and police.
"Here"s the fire brigade, boys, capture them," yelled a great hulking fellow. And they did. With a wild haloo, they captured the engines, cut the pipes, and terrified the poor gippy firemen out of their lives.
It was an ugly time. And the riot was only quelled by armed pickets sent from other corps.
"It"s a great pity we interfered at all," said a Cairo dignitary that night.
"Why?" inquired his friend.
"They would have burned the whole dirty place down, and that would have been the greatest blessing to Cairo."
"Then you don"t blame them?"
"No. I think Cairo has been cursed with the vilest creatures G.o.d ever made. Yes, I admit, the Capitulations have hitherto tied our hands.
Thank Heaven Egypt is now a Protectorate. We can clean out these filthy dens after the war."
"Yes, it is a queer hole, but East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet," chipped in another member of the club. "It"s a wonder they didn"t kill that fellow Ha.s.sein."
"Who"s he?"
"A rotter who dresses as a woman and runs a crowd of white slaves.
And, by Jove! he looks like a woman too--all scented and faked."
"Oh, he"s a law-abiding merchant of sin," said a gippy officer.
"There"s a worse person than he here."
"Who"s that?"
"Madame Mysterious, who owns dozens of these low shows in Cairo."
"Isn"t that the woman who used to buy and sell wives to the rich _effendis_ and gippy _pashas_?"
"The same. That old Pasha down near Alex is one of her patrons. He"s a proper old rascal. Do you know that he has got women in his harem who have been educated in some of our greatest schools in England?"
"Not English women, surely?"
"No. Gippy girls, daughters of rich fellows."
"And why shouldn"t he?" interjected an old gippy warrior who defended the customs of the East. "We have no right to force our Western morals down an Oriental"s throat. It is easy to be a moralist in a freezing climate like ours. The snow makes for virtue; the sun always warps morality. The harem is as ancient as the sun. And the harem will remain. It"s no good of you fellows hoping to alter it. And, after all, the Oriental is, at least, honest. He has a harem, the world knows he has a harem. He is not ashamed of the fact. But what of our Mayfair bloods, who have their secret "wives," and who hunt everybody else"s wife. The Oriental is straight about it--we Westerners are hypocritical."
"I offer no defence of the harem," said a doctor, "but I"ve found it a mighty interesting place when visiting there in a professional capacity. Do you fellows know that I have met some of the most intellectual women there. Strange to say, they like the life. And, after all, they are well cared for. They have money--heaps of it--beautiful clothes, lovely rooms, servants, carriages, and motors.
They see everything, they do almost everything, and since the revolution in Turkey they have had greater freedom. Why, they travel abroad now without their eunuchs. What more does a woman want? Money, clothes and comfort are everything to an Easterner. In my humble opinion there is no virtue in an eastern climate. There can never be."
"We"ve got off the track altogether," said the father of this discussion. "I am liberal-minded so far as the Egyptians are concerned. In their own way they are virtuous. And I agree that it is ridiculous to suggest that we should interfere with any of their social or religious arrangements. But this riot has again proved to us that Cairo is a pretty rotten show. We ought to clean it up, and we shall do so after the war. It will pay us. Let us make Cairo a cleaner and more charming place. It means health and business to the community.
Why should Cairo be the cesspool of European iniquity? Personally, as I said before, I"m very sorry the Australians did not burn the whole of that rotten quarter down."
CHAPTER IV
TREASURE TROVE
"Look here, men," said Colonel Killem, "I want to talk to you about some interesting things, especially your conduct towards Mohammedans.
First of all, Doolan, tell me what a Mohammedan means?"
"Sure, sir, it manes a n.i.g.g.e.r who jabbers "Allah" when yis put a bayonet in his guts."
"Not exactly; but what would you shout if you got a bayonet in your tummy."
"A gill of the best, sir."
"Well, now, a Mohammedan"s a sort of eastern fanatic who thinks he"ll get a "corner lot" in Paradise if he reads the Koran and dies on the edge of your bayonets. Mecca is his holy shrine, and the old Sultan acts as a sort of elder or high priest who takes up the collections.
We meet "em ourselves--religious beggars who"re always pa.s.sing round the hat for ninepence to make up another shilling. Religion is always an expensive business, except in Scotland, where you get free seats to support the Kirk and Government. Isn"t that so, Brown?"
"Jist in the Auld Kirk, sir, but I belang tae the Wee Frees."
"Who are the Wee Frees?"
"The Wee Frees were started by a lot o" Hielan-men oot o" a job."
"What were they after?"
"Deevidends, sir."
The Colonel grinned. Continuing, he said, "Now, men, these Mohammedans are very touchy. You"ve got to be careful how you treat them. For example, their headgear is sacred. Don"t touch it. And when you get a little of home-brewed Scotch into you, don"t knock their head-dress off. They"ll probably knife you. It isn"t a pleasant thing to get a rusty blade stuck into your kidneys. Bad for the health, I a.s.sure you.
"Tell me something else you must not do?" inquired the Colonel, a.s.suming the role of regimental schoolmaster.