Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1896-07-16
VT TE sat together in the yeran-
wv da at Shepherds Hotel.
" nnIrn I'M hnnnnth nnd

Cairo lay beneath dnC
around us-Cairo filthy, multi-colored
and malodorous, but always pictur-
esque. Suddenly an Arab boy came
around the corner, and with 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" asked.
YES" replied Grimshaw, but good
deal more than that. should be buried
in the Soudan now if it were not for
Ibrahim yonder"
Tell me about 1t, please" l 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
l was In Khartoum with Gordon.
did not regularly belong to the Gener-
ais forces, but l had volunteered as
one Of his aides-de-camp. Well, we
were shut up in that death trap City of
Khartoum, surrounded on every side
by the forces of the Mahdi-myriads of
fanatical Soudanese Arabs following
that high priest Of bloodshed. We En-
glish were but a mere handful Of men;
the auxiliary forces were wretchedly
small. Our only hope was aid from
Egypt; and, as the whole world knows,
that never came. Poor Gordon was al
lowed to fall a victim to the Mahdi's
sword, and most Of the garrison were
slain. With the exception of Slatin
Bey, who became Mussulman, think
l was the only European who got out
of the doomed city with his life. That
l did so was due to Ibrahlm."
Here the Arab boy-hearlng his name
mentloned-lOoked up and smiled,
showing row Of teeth exceptionally
even and white.
"A few days after we entered Khar-
toum," continued Grimshaw, II was
patroling the town under Gen GordOn's
order when we came across a great
rabble of boys, hallooing and shouting
at a deafenihg rate. sent an Egyp- |
tan soldier to discover the cause, and |
he reported that the young 'fuzzy-wuz- /
Zies' (it Is so that Private Atkins of her
Majesty's troops denOminates the Sou
danese) were having fun with one Of
their number. was then, as now, in
tensely interested In native manners
ana customs. Hating my men, | en-
tered the boisterouS 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 mild a word. They
were beating and stoning the lad who
lay bruised and half-blinded in the gut.
ter. HIS turban was off. and his al-
ready scant clothing had been torn TO
shreds. Sprang into the middle of the
mob and demanded the cause of such
brutal treatment. ct first they affect
ed not To understand my Arabic. and
Went ON beating their victim, but when
/ had soundly cutfcd one or two and
summoned my interpreter to my aid,
succeeded in making them answer
He is the rcncgade's SON said n
llaSSan, the rcnpgade's
son Stone him, in the name of the
prophet
Then | understood. The poor boy's
rather had taken service with Gordon.
leaving his offspring 10 suffer all the
which the Khartoum chill
dren. eggei on by their elders. We're
sure 10 indict upon him. | lost no time
In calling UP few men and sending
that pack OF youthful fanatics TO tbe
right about. They went away, vowinr
dire vengeance on the 'renegade's
brat, and l raised my protege from the
dust He had tainted from paln and
loss of blood, but one of our SURGEONS
soon brought him 10. When no onencd
his eyes and saw me he smiled like
little cofee-colored angel and wanted
there ana then to give me his hest
salaam. OF course made him lie down
again, but he blurtcd out his gratitude
for preservation so vigorously that he
came near fainting again.
Next day his father. uasson ono of
Gordons servants, came to see him.
The two had long talk. and finally |
Hassan announced that for his sons |
sake he had decided To leave the Gen |
eral and 20 back TO his cobblcrs stall /
In the bazaar lhrahim-for the lad |
whom had helped 10 rescue was the
same one now sitting before YOU !
soon recovered, thanks to his native,
tough constitution. He left my hut.
absolutely refusing 10 touch any of
the money which l 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!
l am the mouse, cflendi; and you are