Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-09-22


with him. Then, after a period of
rest during the midday heat the chess
men were brought out, and amid cir
Gle Of high dignitaries and officials of
the palace the youthful stranger faced
his imperial lord and essayed the diff
cult and, as it appeared to all present,
the foolhardy task of checkmating
him.
Only five moves had been made, dur
ing breathless silence, when Osman
calmly pronounced the word Check
mate" and on inspection the fact was
clearly established.
All were astonished. And the Sui
tan, amazed and almost Supplied, was
filled with fury
What" cried he, beaten, and in
five moves, by a mere boy What is
the meaning of this? Say, what de-
mon hath helped thee, or by what
power Of enchantment hast thou been
able to accomplish the feat?'
Sire" cried Osman, this opening
of the game Is new one. Being com,
pletely unexpected, it has given me, for
the first time, the victory, which I can
never hope again to attain over so
great and experienced a player as Your
Majesty"
These words somewhat Modified the
Sultan, and after having sat silent for
a few minutes, his wrath being partly
appeased, he said: by whatever
means the victory has been gained, in
contestably it has been won. and since
thou must have paid thy forfeit had
thou lost, Allah forbid that thou
shouldst fail to receive the reward that
l have promised"
He thereupOn commanded that Os-
man should be arrayed in the gorgeous
robes of the office, and summoning all
the officers and high dignitaries Of the
seraglio to the Hall of the Throne, he
presented Osman to them as Grand
Vizier. Then, as he dismissed him he
said, significantly: Grand Vizier, to-
morrow we will play again"
In the evening Osman sat in the Off
cial palace Of the Grand Vizier, and
the Refs Effendi an old friend of his
father, by his invitation, sat at meat
with him, and they discussed what had
passed and what was to be apprehend-
ed.
"Osman," said the Refs Effendi,
thou hast played d bold game and won
it; yet l know too we'll the character
and disposition of Murad to be able
sincerely to congratulate thee. To-
day thou art victorious and Grand VII
zier, tomorrow thou mayest only too
probably be defeated and slain"
REFS Effendi," answered Osman,
each must yield to fate, but for my
part, l have no intention of playing a
game against the Sultan tomorrow"
Thou hast no Intention cried the
Refs Effendi, in amaZement. NAY but
he has the intention of commanding
thee to do So and art thou so simple as
TO suppose that thou hast power to re-
fuse?'
Il am hardly so country bred as to
suppose that, said Osman; "neverthe-
less, I venture to hope that I may be
able to so order things that Murad
shall not demand a game again to-
morrow"
And how is that to be accomplish
ed?' demanded the Refs Efiendi
What dark scheme is this thou hast
in hand?"
AT present I have no scheme COM
pleted." said Osman, "but only the out
line or idea Of the tactics which must
be resorted to. My aim must be to get
some affair of such urgency and i'm
portance before Murad tomorrow
morning that he will have neither the
leisure nor the inclination for chess
playing or any other form Of amuse-
ment. In the concerns Of so great an
empire"
Before Osman could complete the
sentence an attendant entered and an
nounced that an old man was waiting
without who desired earnestly an in
terview with the Grand ViZier.
1T is late" said Osman, but If he be
an old man doubtless he must have an
adequate reason for coming at this
hour. Let him enter"
When the applicant entered the
apartment, what was Osman's astonish-
ment to behold in him no other than his
own father. After having been warm
ly welcomed by both Osman and the
Refs Ehendi, the old man was pressed
TO say how it came to pass that he had
undertaken so long a journey.
My SON." he replied, after the de-
parture, neither thy mother, soOth to
say, myself could control the anxiety
and apprehension we suffered on thine
account Therefore, having sold the
ring-last remaining valuable in our
pOsession-in order to provide the small
fund necessary for my journey l fol-
lowed thee to learn the result of thy
rash attempt Happily, it appears that
thou hast won and not lost the game,
yet whether thou art not still in immi-
nent peril is much to be doubted
That thy son is even now in ex-
IRENE peril of his life there can be no
question" said the Refs Effendi. "To-
morrow he must again play, unless, in
deed, he can manage to divert the Sui
tan's attention and alter his declared
intention. But in what way such a
diversion is to be accomplished 1 cannot
imagine"
If that be the case" said the old
man, 1T is indeed well that I under
took the journey hither, for I have
brought intelligence which may now
stand us in good stead. On my way
learned by accident of a conspiracy
that appears to be Matching in ROuma-
liza, the early knowledge of which may
prove of great value to the Sultan and
his advisers.
Thou art indeed fortunate" said the
Refs Effendi, ct be in possession of that
information. His Majesty viii doubt
less be alarmed and his attention en-
crossed by the details of such a pro-
ject.'
When, next morning, Osman, in his
capacity as Grand Vizier, was closeted
with Mrad, he fastened to impart to
him the intelligence he had received