Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-06-09
tory not reaSsurinT-

tory not reassurlng.
They soon, however, succeeded in leav-
ing the forest behind them About a
mile farther on, they came upon a
czarda (innl and entered it The horse
man had some time before ridden away.
During the night, however, when Ste
phan and Gezas had retired to rest,
there came loud knocking at the door
of the czarda. On the innkeeper's open
ing it, band of armed and masked
men pushed violently past him into the
house and entered the chamber where
the foster brothers were lying, and, bid
ding them arise and dress as quickly as
possible, bound them and carried them
off. On they went through the dark
ness until they came to a slight emil
nence where a group of mounted men
were drawn up. BY the ficlxering red
light of the torches the prisoners could
see that these last were Turks To
them they were handed over by their
captors. The leader of the troop, after
| looking closely at the prisoners for
some moments in silence, exclaimed:
THE gypsy l do not want. Let him
| be off. And GeZas, who would have
fingered near his master, was driven
/ away by blows of the horsemen's long
whips. Stephan, however, was bound
| securely to a horse and the troops gal
| loped off After some hours journey
he was brought into the presence of
! the pasha of 0fen. The latter measur ed
him with naughty looks of exuitation,
and exclaimed in eXultaut tones: You
are now my slave; and in my service be
! -
| the virtues of obedience and humility"
And now began for stephan time OF
unmitigated and unameliorated misery.
| He was given the hardest tasks. loaded
with chains and every indignity. He
was attached. to the personal suite OF
the pasha, but this was done, not as
favor, but to give his captor an oppor-
| tunity of pursuing him continually
with tyranny and severity that knew
no abatement
The pasha seemed really to revel in
| infiicting torments and humiliations
upon his victim. Stephan's belief, that
this inhuman treatment of him was
| due to the hatred feltby fanatic Turk
toward one whom he knew to be
| Christian, was soon to be dispelled by
an incident that took place some weeks
| after his imprisonment. One day he was
| taken by two soldiers into a field ad-
| joining the pasha's place: there he was
harnessed to plough and driven in the
| burrows. When he stumbled or reeled
from fatigue and weakness, he was
driven forward by heavy blows from
long whips OF bullocks hide. While
this scene was being enacted, the pasha,
accompanied by a woman wrapped from
head to foot in thick veil, came into
the field, and from small hill in the
middle of it stood watching the spec
tacle in silence.
At last Stephan fell face forward to
the ground, and lay there moaning,
unable to rise in spite of the blows that
were rained down by the drivers on his
PROSTATE, quivering body. At that
| moment the woman, stepping up to
| where he lay, and spurning him with
| tiny foot incased in a gilded slipper,
threw back her veil, revealing to the
tortured mans haggard eyes the face of
his former mistress, Princess Irma
''Ah, you recognize me, then, Count
! Thurzo," she exclaimed, laughing
scornfully. Stephan making her no re-
| ply, she went on furiously, 81 am she
| whom you swore to love faithfully, and
then basely deserted"
'sThat is falsehood," he returned
| hotly.
''Do not attempt to deny it, she re-
turned violently. "You forsook me.
| And II have revenged myself well on
| you-for your treachery. 1t was that
A a. rf.,fU A1r dE
| that made yon his slave-and your slav-
cry will be perpetual one. Of that
have taken care. The ransom your
| parents have already offered the pasha
has been scornfully refused by him.
| No ransom-not even that of king
| could free you from his bonds. You
will die slave, a tortured, miserable
wretch, who will desire death, and long
| for him as for deliverer."
Stephan gave no answer. With the
| patience of a Christian and the courage
of hero he submitted silently to the
inevitable.
That very evening, however, at sup
per, while waiting at table on the
| pasha and the princess, he was again
subjec ted to gross indignity. Down
| on YOUR face, slave" thundered the
pasha in stentorian tones, and, motion
| ing with his hand to three black slaves
| standing near, Stephan was flung by
them face downward on the floor before
the pasha. He placed his foot on the
| neck of the PROSTATE figure and turn
| ing to the princess seated at his side in
| quired
Are you satisfied now, princess, with
my treatment of the slave you have
| sent me?"
Quite satisfied" she answered, cast
ing a look of gratified hate and malice
at Stephan, lying in the dust before
her.
While Stephan was the victim of
I sighted woman's vengeance, Gezas
sought assiduously for a way to liber-
ate his master. He managed at last to
| effect an entrance into the pasha's pal
ace in the disguise of a peddler.
In this garb he penetrated into the
harem and discovered, among the in
mates there, young girl whose heart
had been touched by the sufferings and
| indignities that the captive nobleman
was subjected to by the tyranny of the
| pasha.
One night, therefore, Stephan, lying
sleepless in his cell, heard the sound OF
violin played softly beneath his win
| dow. He recognized the air as one that
he and Gezas had often played together.
! Directly after, stone, around which
| slip of paper was wrapped, was flung
| in at the window. On the paper was
written: Tomorrow night-midnight
in the east arbor in the small garden. :"
| A few more notes, played softly, fol
| lowed-then all was silent as before.
The next night at midnight Stephan
| stole unperceived into the garden and
concea led himself in the arbor To his
! great surprise, after waiting some min
utes, there appeared, not Gezas, whom
he expected, but slight, veiled female
| figure.
He mistrusted treachery at first, but
was reassured when, on the figure
throwing back the veil, the beautiful
face of one of the ladies of the harem
was revealed. 1t was that of a young
| girl who only short time before had
been brought as a slave to the pasha.
These two, captives though they were,
| had yet managed to exchange glances-
| glances that spoke pity on her side and
profound admiration on his Falling at
the feet of the lovely Zobeide, Stephan
covered her small hands with kisses
"Only a word is necessary" she
| whispered. ''do Won really love me?"