"Ground gla.s.s--the Old Boy!" said Billy through his teeth. He hoisted himself cautiously, and with his handkerchief swept the top of the wall as clean as he could. He heard the little pieces fall with a perilously loud tinkling sound, and flattened himself upon the wall, and strained his eyes through the darkness of the garden, but no alarm was raised. The shadows seemed empty.
He hoped to the Lord that no disturbance would break out in the garden, for the man below would be off in the canoe like a flash. He had no illusions about the one-eyed man"s loyalty, but the fellow was already in the secret; he was needy and resourceful and as trustworthy as any dragoman that he could have gone to. And a dragoman would have had a reputation and a patronage he"d fear to lose. This melancholy Arab, hawking crocodiles for a Greek Jew, had more to gain than lose.
By now he had caught the end of the rough hook over the top of the wall, and let down the knotted rope into the garden below. It was long enough, thank goodness, he thought, wondering under what circ.u.mstances and in what company he would ascend it again. Then with one more keen look into the garden, and a rea.s.suring touch of the pocket where his revolver bulged, he gripped the rope and swiftly lowered himself.
Keeping close to the wall he pressed toward the buildings on the right, which he had been told was the wing of the harem, and as he stepped forward a flat black shadow near the wall came suddenly to life. It sprang to its feet, revealing a shrouded little form, wrapped and hooded in black, and ran to him with steps that stumbled in excitement.
"Quick, quick!" breathed an almost inaudible voice of terror, and Billy flung one strong arm about the girl and dashed toward the dangling rope. Gripping it with one hand he flung the light figure over his left shoulder, and with a cheerily whispered "Hang tight,"
he threw himself into the ascent. It was arm-wrenching, muscle-racking work, with that dead weight upon him, but the touch of those soft arms clinging childishly about his neck seemed to double and treble his strength, and with incredible quickness he lifted her to the top of the wall, and then, catching her by the wrists, he lowered her into the upreaching clasp of the Arab.
An instant more and he had reversed his rope ladder and climbed down beside her as she stood waiting, and in the throbbing triumph of that moment he flung his arm grippingly about her to sweep her into the boat. But as she raised her face to his, the shrouding mantle fell away, and he found himself staring down into the exultant face and bright, dark eyes of a girl he had never seen before.
Back of them beyond the wall, pandemonium was breaking out.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "He found himself staring down into the bright dark eyes of a girl he had never seen"]
CHAPTER XII
THE GIRL FROM THE HAREM
He was dumb with the shock. Then, "Who are you?" he demanded. "And where is she--where is Arlee Beecher?"
On her own face the astonishment grew. "What you mean? Frederick--he not send you?" she gasped, and then as the outcries grew louder and louder behind them she gripped convulsively at his arms. "Oh, quick!
come away--quick, quick!" she besought.
"I came for Arlee Beecher--an American girl. Isn"t she held here?
Isn"t she back there?"
"What you going to do? What----"
"I"m going to get her!" he said fiercely. "Tell me----"
He had caught her and unconsciously shook her as if to shake the words out of her. Furiously she struggled with him.
"Let me go. No, no, she is not there! No one is there! You are gone crazy to stay! They will kill me if they catch me--they will fire over the wall. Oh, for G.o.d"s sake, help me quick!"
"She"s not there?" he repeated stupidly, and then at her vehement "No, _no_! I tell you _no_!" he drew a breath of deep astonishment and chagrin, and turned to stow her safely low in the boat.
Hurriedly he and the one-eyed man bent over their paddles, and very swiftly the long, dark canoe went gliding down the stream, but not any too swiftly, for in an instant they heard a triumphant yell behind them, and then light, thudding feet along the path.
Steadily Billy urged the canoe forward with powerful strokes that seemed to be lifting it out of the water at each impulse, and they swept past a wall that reaching to the river bank must block their pursuers for a time, and though there was a path after that, there was soon another wall, and no more pursuit along the water edge. But every opening ahead now might mean an ambush, and as soon as a narrow lane showed between the houses to the left, the one-eyed man steered swiftly there and Billy sprang out with the girl and they raced through the lane into the adjoining street.
He looked up and down it; either they had got out at the wrong lane or the cab they had ordered to be in waiting had failed them, but there was no time for speculation and they walked on as fast as they could without the appearance of flight. The stray loiterers on the dark street stared curiously as they pa.s.sed, to see a young American in gray tweeds, his cap pulled over his eyes, with a woman in the Mohammedan wrap and mantle, but no one stopped them, and in another minute they saw a lonely cab rattling through the streets and climbed quickly in.
"And now, for Heaven"s sake, tell me all about it!" besought Billy B. Hill, staring curiously at his most unforeseen companion.
With a deep-drawn sigh of relief she had snuggled back against the cushioned seat, and now she flung off the shrouding mantle and looked up to meet his gaze with a smile of excited triumph.
She had the prettiest teeth he had ever seen, lovely little rows of pearls, and the biggest and brightest of dark eyes with wide lashes curling dramatically back. Even in the thrill and elation of the moment there was a spark of provocation in those eyes for the good-looking young man who stared down at her, and Billy would have been a very wooden young man, indeed, if he had not felt a tingling excitement in this unexpected capture, for all the destruction of his romantic plans. So this, he thought rapidly, was the foreign girl in Kerissen"s house, and Arlee, bless her little golden head, was safe where she planned, in Alexandria. A warm glow of happiness enveloped him at that.
"Now tell me all about it," he demanded again. "You are running away from Kerissen?"
"Oh, yes," she cried eagerly. "You must not let him catch us. We are safe--yes?"
"I should rather think so," Billy laughed. "And there"s a gun in my pocket that says so.... And so you sent me that message to-day by that little native girl? How in the world did that happen?"
"That girl is one who will do a little for money, you understand,"
said the Viennese, "and I have told her to look sharp out for a foreign gentleman who come to save me. You see I have sent for a friend, and I think that he--but never mind. That girl she come running this afternoon to where I am shut in way back in the palace, and she say that a foreign gentleman is painting a picture out in the street, and he stare very cunning at her. So I tell her to find out if he is the one for me, and to tell him to come quick this night. She was afraid to take note--afraid the eunuch catch her. So she went to you. She told afterwards that you ask her if there is any strange lady there anxious to get away, and she give you the message and my handkerchief and you say you will come--and my, how you give me one great surprise!"
"And a great disappointment," said Billy grinning.
"Oh, no, no," she denied, eyes and lips all mischievous smiles. "I say to myself, "My G.o.d! That is a fine-looking young man! He and I will have something to say to each other"--h"m?"
"Now who in the world are you?" demanded Billy bluntly. "And how did you happen to get into all this?"
Volubly she told. She dwelt at picturesque length upon her shining place upon the Viennese stage; she recounted her triumphs, she prophesied the joy of the playgoers at her return to them. Darkly she expatiated upon the villainy of the Turkish Captain, who had lured her to such incarceration. Gleefully she displayed the diamonds upon her small person which she was extracting from that affair.
"Not so bad, after all--h"m?" she demanded, in a brazen little content. "Maybe that prison time make good for me," and Billy shook his head and chuckled outright at the little baggage.
But through his amus.e.m.e.nt a p.r.i.c.k of uneasiness was felt. The picture she had painted of the Captain corroborated his wildest imaginings.
"You"re dead sure you know all that was going on in that palace?" he demanded. "There wasn"t any American girl coaxed into it on some pretext?"
He wanted merely the rea.s.surance of her answer, but to his surprise and growing alarm she hesitated, looking at him half fearfully and half ashamedly. "Oh, I--I don"t know about that," she murmured, with evasive eyes. "An American girl--very light hair--yes?"
"Very light hair--Oh, good G.o.d!" He leaned forward, gripping her wrist as if afraid she would spring out of the carriage. "You said she wasn"t there," he thrust at her in a voice that rasped.
"I said I don"t know--don"t know any such name you say. I never hear it. You hurt me--take your hand away."
"Not till you tell me." But he loosened his harsh grip. "Now tell me all you know--_please_ tell me all you know," he besought with a sudden melting into desperate entreaty. Worriedly he stared at this curious little kitten-thing beside him on whose truth now that other girl"s life was resting.
"Well, I tell you true I do not know that name," began Fritzi Baroff, with a little sullen dignity over her shame. "And I saved your life, for it was death for you to go back to that palace. You heard them coming for us. You would have got yourself killed and that little girl would be no better. Now I can tell you how to help her."
"All right--tell me," said the young American in a tense voice.
"Tell me everything you know about it," and Fritzi told him, throwing aside all pretense of her uncertainty about Arlee, revealing every detail of the situation that she knew.
And from the heights of his gay relief Billy Hill was flung back into the deeps of desperate indignation. The anger that had surged up in him that afternoon when he had felt his fears confirmed flamed up in him now in a fire of fury. His blood was boiling.... Arlee Beecher in the power of that Turkish devil! Arlee Beecher prisoned within that ghastly palace! It was unreal. It was monstrous.... That radiant girl he had danced with, that teasing little sprite, half flouting, half flirting. Why, the thing was unthinkable!
He put a hand on the dancer"s arm. "We must go to the consul at once," he said. "We must get her out to-night."
"Consul!" The girl gave a short, derisive laugh. "This is no matter for consuls, my young friend. The law is slow, and by the time that law will stand knocking upon the palace doorstep, your little girl with the fair hair will be buried very deep and fast--I think she would not be the first woman bricked into those black walls.... You must go about this yourself.... You are in love with her--yes?" she added impertinently, with keen, uptilted eyes.
"That"s another story," Billy curtly informed her. He made no attempt to a.n.a.lyze his feeling for Arlee Beecher. She had enchanted him in those two days that he had known her. She had obsessed his thoughts in those two days of her disappearance. Now that he was aware of her peril every selfish thought was overwhelmed in burning indignation. He told himself that he would do as much for any girl in her situation, and, indeed, so hot ran his rage and so dearly did his young blood love rash adventure and high-handed justice, that there was some honest excuse for the statement!
"Zut! A man does not risk his neck for a matter of indifference!"
said the little Baroff sagely, her knowing eyes on Billy"s grim young face. "So I am to be the sister to you--the Platonic friend--h"m?" she observed with droll resignation. "Never mind--I will help you get her out as you got me--_Gott sei dank!_ There is a way, I think--if you are not too particular about that neck. I will tell you all and draw you a plan when we get to a hotel."