The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-02
(Chapter II continued


read Wenman's letter first. Good
OF DAD, the news must be broken to me
gently. Hardly had I torn the sheet
open when saw what it contained My
little Noel had been ill; he was still So
put not seriously, and l was not to be
alarmed. The silence on their part which
| had complained of so bitterly had mere
" been due to their fear of giving me
unnecessary anxiety. For his part (Wen-
man's) he would have written before
relying on my manliness and good sense
but my wife had restrained him, saving
she knew me better. There was no cause
for apprehension; the boy was going
along as we'll as could be expected, etc.,
| etc., etc.
Not word to indicate the nature and
degree of the attack. Such an in
sufficient episte must have disquieted the
veriest nincompoop alive. To send a
thing like that to me-to me of all men!
| Was there ever SO gross q mistake Of
| judgment2
| 1 knew in an instant what the fact
must be-my boy was down with that old
congential infirmity of the throat. Sure
~ my wife had told me more. She had.
Not by design. but unwittingly she had
revealed the truth to me. Granville Wen.
man had written to me, she said, ex-
planning everything, and l was not to
worry and bother. All that was possible
1 were there l could do more The ILL
ness had to have its course, SO I must be
patient All this is the usual jargon of
the SURGERY know that Wenman had
dictated it-aud then true line or two
worth all the rest from my dear girl s
own bleeding mothers heart. Our poor
Noel was this, and that, he complained
of SO and SO, and first began to look I'M
well in such and such ways.
1t was clear as monday. The attack
of the throat which l had foreseen had
come. Five years had looked for it,
Through five long years had waited and
watched to check it. had laboured
day and night that when it should come
might meet it. My own health had
wasted-and for what? For fame, for
wealth, for humanity, for science? No,
no but for the life of my boy. And now
when his enemy was upon him at length,
where was IL who alone in all this
world of God could save him? 1 was
thirteen hundred miles from home.
o. the irony of my fate! My soul rose
in rebellion against it Staggering back
through the darkening streets the whole
city seemed dead and damned.
How far walked in this state of OBJ
livion do not know, but presently out of
the vague atmosphere wherein all things
. one awakening after drug, of an unu-
sual commotion going on around. Peo-
pie were running past me and across me
in the direction OF the Karueein Mosque.
From that place loud tumult was
rising into the air. The noise was in
creasing with every moment, and rising
to babel of human voices.
l did not very much heed the cOmmo-
ton. What were the paltry excitements
OF life to me now? l was repeating to
myself the last words of my poor wife 6
letter: "How miss you, and wish you
4 T
was telling myself, 81 will go back
In the confusion of my mind I heard
snatches of words spoken by the people
as they ran by me. "Nazarenee!
Christian!'' "Cursed Jew!" They were
Missed out at each other by the Moors
as they were scurrying past. AS length
heard Spaniard shout up to a fellow
Icountryman who was on a hOusetop:
"Englishman caught in the mosque
At that my disordered senses recovered
themselves. And, suddenly, I became
aware that the tumult was coming in
my direction. The noise grew deeper,
louder, and more shrill at every step. In
another moment 1t had burst upon me in
a whirlpool of uproar.
Round the corner of the narrow lane
that led to the Karueein mosque crowd
OF people came roaring like torrent.
They were Moors Arabs, and Berbers,
and they were shouting, shrieking, yell
| ing, yelplng, ana uGCer1nG every sound
that the human voice can make. At the
first instant 1 realized no more than this,
but at the next / saw that the people
were hunting man as hounds hunt q
wolf. The man was flying before them !;
he was coming toward me; in the gath
lering darkness could see him; his dress,
which was Moorish, was torn into shreds
about his body; his head was bare; his
chest was bleeding. / saw his FACET
was the face of the American, my COM
panion of the voyage.
He saw me, too and at that instant he
turned about and faced full upon his pur-
suers. What happened then dare not
tell.
Father, he was brave man, and he
sold his life dearly. But he fell at last.
He was but one to hundred. The yelp-
ing human dogs trod him down like YER
min.
I am coward. I fled and left him.
When got back to my lodgings |
called for my guide, for was resolved
to leave Fee without an hours delay.
The guide was not to be found, and L
had to go in search of him. When lit
on him at length he was Gin bdlngy
coffee house. squatting on the ground by
the side of another Moor, an eviI-looklng
scoundrel who was Teciting some brave
adventure to group OF admlr1ng lis
teners
called my man out and told him of
my purpose. He lifted his hands IN con-
-.