Chicago eagle., 1896-07-25
LIFE FOR a L
? II sat together in the veran.

Cairo lny beneath ana
around us-Cairo filthy, multi.cOlOred,
and malodorous. but always pictur-
esque. suddenly an Arab boy came
around the corner. and with a salaam
Of the deepest. handed some mail to
Grimshaw. Then he squatted down
on the veranda boards, with his great
black eyes fixed on my companions
face. waiting for further orders.
"Your boy, Captain?" I asked.
"Yes." replied Grimshnw, but good
deal more than that. I should be buried
In the Soudan now II 1t were not for
lbrahim yonder."
'"Tell me about II. please" I asked.
rather eagerly: for this small Arab In
the clear. white tunic. and brilliant tur-
ban Interested me nightly.
Grimshaw settled himself back In the
bungalow chair and began:
"You know. Of course" he said. "that
was In Khartoum with Gordon.
did not regularly belong to the Gener-
ais forces. but I had volunteered ms
one Of his nides-dc-cnmp. Well. we
were shut up IN that death trap City OF |
Khnrtouin. surrounded on every side |
by the forces Of the Mahii-myrinds Of |
fanatical Soudancse Arabs following |
that high priest of bloodshcd. We En-. |
glish were hut mere handful Of men; |
the auxiliar- forces were wretchct,ly |
small. Our only hope was MD from
Egypt; and. ms the whole world knows,
that never came. Poor Gordon was nj.
lowed to fail victim to the Mahdrs
sword, and most Of the garrison were
slain. With the exception Of Slatin
Bey, who became Mussulmnn, think
was the only European who got out
Of the doomed city with his life. That
did so was due to 1bruhim."
Here the Arnb boy-hearing his name
mentioncd--lookcd up and smiled,
showing a row Of teeth exceptionally
even and white.
"A few days after. We entered Khnr-
toum," continued Grimshnw. II was
patrollpg til, town under Gen. Gordon's
order. when we came across great
rabble Of boys. hallOoing and shouting
at a deafeniLg rate. sent an Egyp.
tian soldier to discover the cause, and
he reported that the young 'fuxxy.wuz.
sies' IT Ii 80 that Private Atkins Of her
Majesty's troops denominates the Sou.
dancse) were having fun with one Of
their number. I was then, a. now, In
tensoly interested In native manners
and customs. Hating my men, I en-.
tered the boistcrous Gordon Of boys to
determine the reason Of their tumult.
"The little rascals were teasing one
OF their number. Teasing indeed, In
this case, Is too mid word. They
were beating and stoning the lad, who
lay bruised and half-blinded In the gut.
ter. HIS turban wns OF. and his al-
ready scant clothing had been torn to
shreds. ] sprang into tho middle Of the
mob and demanded the cause Of such
brutal treatment. At FIRST they affect.
ed not TO understand my Arabic. and
went on beating their victim. but when
had soundly cuffed one or two and
summoned my interpreter to my aid,
succeeded In making them answer.
"'He In the renegade's son. said a
ringleader-'Hassan. the renegadc's
son. Stone him, In the name Of the
prophet
"Then I understood. The poor boys
father had taken service with Gordon.
leaving his offspring to suffer all che
cruelties which the KhartOum chill
dren, eRged on by their elders. were
sure to infict upon him. lost no time
In calling up q few men and sending
that pack Of youthful fanatics to the
right about. They went away, vOwing
dire vengeance on the 'renegade's
brat and raised my protege from the
dust. He had tainted from pain and
loss Of blood. but one Of our surgeons
soon brought him to. When he opened
his eyes and saw me he smiled like
little coffee, olored angel and wanted
there and then to give me his best
salsam. OF course made him lie down
again, but he bluytcd out his gratitude
for preservation 30 vigorously that he
came near fainting again.
Next day his fasher, Hassan, one of
Gordon's servants, came to see him.
The two had long talk. ind finally
Hassan announced that for his sons
cake he had decided to leave the Gen.
eral and 60 back to his cobbler's stall
In the bazaar. Ibrahim-f0r the lad
whom ] had helped to rescue was the
same one now sitting before you
soon recovered. thanks to his native,
tough constitution. He left my hut.
absolutely refusing to touch any Of
the money which offered him.
Protector of the poor he said In
his quaint, grandiloquent Eastern way.
you have saved your servants life.
Did not the mouse once repay the lion
that had been his benefactor? Lo!
am the mouse. effendi; and you are
the lion. Perhaps some day I may re-
pay you. Salaam. friend! Then he
backed out of my hut, and saw him
not for many days.
III.
"One evening, while ehurrying through
the bazaar on my way to Gen. G0rdOn's
quarters, a boy sprang out Of cob
bler's stall and handed me tiny bum
dle-slipping away into the darkness
before had time to do more than rec
0gnize him rs Ibrahim, son of Hassan.
! carried the bundle to the General,
and together we undid Its fastenings.
Have You ever declphered an Oriental
object letter? mean a letter which
10 not written upon paper, but of which
the sense Is conveyed by objects-h0w-
ers and the like. The bundle handed
me by Ibrahim was Just such cOmmu.
nication. 1t contained a queer collec-
tion Of articles. They were: A piece