The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1897-02-26

ingly behind me, I followed. without
= protest, iu bits footsteps, just ng o
lamb goes 30 tho Blaughtcr.houac.
no carried O lamp. such as an drago.
men carry In tho night time, and sud-
donly bothinking myself of this, /
asked him 90 light H.
Presently, saro." be said; eve
shall come into plenty light soon.
To the boat OF my belief we had now
gone about half a mile Once or twice
/ iancicd / heard o football Ina our rear,
and with a contraction OF the heart,
half turned 30 face GA anticipated as
gailaut, but nothing emerged from tho
darkness, and resumed my journey,
perturbod aud painfully suspicious.
The clouds suddenly thinnod before
tho watory moon, and the irregular
walls Of an old tumblo.down ruin for
merly o mosque OF much rcputo, but
now a playhouse for an the little
Turks IN the villages round about,
doomed directly before as, the doGlo
abruptly ending Nc tho mouth Of q
rude road on tho right.
The Albanian proposed lighting tho
lamp in this ruin, as, on account OF a
gusty wind, it would DO difficult 10
| light II outside.
i thought his proposal rather un.
called for, since We had tho moon, but
acquiesced quietly, and followed him
in the mosque, which had been built
in that semi. Oriental Byzantine style
that, back through Venice, spread
throughout Europe, even in Canute Of
England's time. was interested in
this relic Of another age, and momen-
tarily forgot my suspicious. Antonio
stepped into a vault, which was still
almost entire, and which had once, in
all probability, been the refectorY,
where tho dervishes, or priests, par
took moderately of food. He opened
the door of the gaudy lantern, which
would have reminded you of Aladdin's,
and striking q match, lit the wick.
"You wait, me I'll chibouk," said
he, setting the lantern down.
was seized from behind and thrown
violently to the ground, falling with
my hip on a sharp stone that made me
lame for weeks after. / turned round
without rising, being then unable on
account of the wound l had received,
and saw one stalwart assailant cover
me with a gun, and the other behind
him grasp the hilt of q disagreeable
knife.
Antonio held the lamp aloft, and
seemed to regard the whole affair as a
capital joke.
The boatman with the gun spoke
fiercely in Turkish, and the Albanian,
turning to me, said "Want money,
sare. Give 'em money, you so safe. "
1t was very unpleasant looking up
the muzzle of that gun, and feeling
that the slightest movement might en-
danger my life, but I was an American,
and disliked the cavali or manner OF
those Turkish dogs. was Just about
to defy them to do their worst, when
1 heard the tread of men outside. ]
shouted out for help at the top of my
voice, and six Turkish soldiers, headed
by an officer, came into the ruin at a
trot and halted at the entrance of the
vault, covering US all with their
matchlocks,
That villainous Albanian, as soon as
he saw how quickly the tables
we're turned, ran forward and com.
menced a fierce denunciation of his
accomplices,
English subjek2" asked Che Turk.
ish officer turning to me-
The English, you must know, have
so bullied and brow-beaten the Turks
that they would rather allow an Eng.
lish murderer to go scot free thar
come into collision with them.
American subject" 1 answered
succeeding in a painful attempt to rise
Then I made him understand by suit
able gestures that the Albanian anC
the two boatmen were all alike culpa
BILE, and they were presently deprived
of their knives and the gun, each ont
of them placed between two men, anG
marched off toward the spot where VIZ
j had landed.
Outside the ruin the road was full
of Turkish soldiers, all going in thu
direction of the Circassian encamp
ment, for purpose Of overawing tina
brave and turbulent people. Judges ar
very corrupt in Turkey. The Albanian
contrived to bride himself out tn
clutches of the law, but the two boat
men we're very properly punished. -