Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-25

way to right and left, though from a
| bayonet charge. In fact, the natives did
not wait for the troops, but melted away
before the tanning countenance of Tamas
/ Macmillan.
One of Kostakes' Bashi Bazouks. a great,
splendid fellow, with a blue and yellow tur-
ban about his head and gaudy sash about
his waist, in yellow Cretan boots and blue
Cretan breeches of a baggy sort, appeared
beneath Mehemet's awning and salaamed:
| Your men are going up to the custom
house., he said.
Kostakes was fretting to and fro in the
shop like hig lion in small cage, gna W.
| ing his upper lip, twitching at his mus
tache Every moment his passion grew,
and the snorts of indignation became more
and more frequent.
Doesn't want me- Ell? The slut! What
does she want? Wouldn't have me on any
terms? Ha, ha! Well see about THAR
Enendi' said the man in louder voice.
/ Ihe captain whirled about with jerk
ana elared at tho speaker.
We'll. what do you want?'
The man retreated a step. Kostakcs' face
was purple and his eyes looked uncanny in
| the half light, like cats.
your men, said are going to the Gus
tom house"
Bah! Tell them to go to the devilr'
The Bashi Bazouk salaamed and started
away, but Mehemet caught him by the arm.
| The efendi is in a terrible rage about
Platonides. Tell the men to go up in twos
s ana threes' and-and-to keep out of mis-
We are not armed, effendi," replied the
man, smiling grimly, and laying his hand
upon the butt of one of the large, old
fashioned pistols in his belt. Besides these
weapons, he carried long Cretan knife In
a leathern sheath. tipped with silver.
we are not armed he repeated, lex
cept for Dress
| There will surely be trouble" whined
| Hassan, land these foreigners are our best
customers
What are the Christians doing now?"
sneered kostakes, standing in the door. He
ccad i,,x~ oF tod
| calm which manifest themselves in violent
| ebullittons of rage, like the fearful silences
| between thunderclaps.
Mehemet pointed. The British troops and
| the marines were drawn up in front of the
| custom house. Red jackets and cleaning
| helmet tips on one side; bare knees in a
| row, kits and little caps with frisking tails
| on the other. Numerous Bashi Bazouks
were seen standing among the throng, sew
| eral of them upon its outer edge. Kostakes
| caught sight of the hated Platonides in
! company with a British officer. The guard
| saluted, and the Cretan raised his hat, as
though the military courtesy were intended
| for him.
IF there is a row." chuckled Kostakes
my men will attend to you They'll install
| you!"
And he started briskly across the square,
| accompanied by Mehemet.
Hassan retired into the shop, trembling
| with fear
| Our best customers" he muttered, "and
| they never forgive nor forget! But he
could not restrain his curiosity; and So
after another moment, he peeped from the
door again. EVERYTHING was proceeding
| quietly and in order.
| Bah. There will be no trouble, with all
those English there
He tiptoed across the open space in front
or the door, ready to scurry back at the
least symptom Of alarm. He reached the
| edge of the throng, and forgetting his fear
In the midst of so many friends and neigh
| bors, pushed boldly through, arriving at
| lIcyn inst ", tfv,oa
| bullet In his breast. Clutching at the air.
| he staggered a few steps into the open and
fell dead, with one loud cry to Allah for
help. Like many another peaceful and m
| offensive man. he had fallen the first vic
| tim In a scene OF violence.
CHAPTER xxXu.
| Kostakes himself had been the indirect
| cause of Hassan's death. This is what had
happened He and the impetuous Mehemet
| We're standing close to one end of the line
of Highlanders, making insulting remarks
| in Greek for"the benefit of Platonides and
their Christian peighbors. Stung beyond
endurance, the excitable Greek pulled the
English officers sleeve and pointed to his
tormentors with raised arm. Kostakes step
| ped boldly forward and shook his fist in
the direction of his enemy, whereupon one
OF the statues in kits came to life and
dropped the butt Of his musket on the
/ Turks toe. The latter sprang back with a
cry of pain and the exclamation in Turk
/ ish
Death To the Christiansv
/ y BaShi BaZouk, enraged at the insult
suffered by his commanding officer and
taking the exclamation for command
drew his knife and plunged it to the handle
into the Highlanders back. As the unfor-
tunate man fell his gun was discharged
| causing the death Of Hassan Ben Sabbah
and awakening the demon of massacre that
now for many years had lurked in the
ri lNrata l. \
htfuily sleeping. And what an inconceiv-
ably horrible demon 1t is, Here is the
sweetly whipping sea. with the Grecian sky
above; here are vineyards and pastures on
the hillsides and the ancient pipe of the
| shepherd boy: here are white villages that
should ne ar no sound save such as harmon
| lie with the vesper chime Of some mon
| astery bell drifting across the waters or
the choiring of the Cretan nightingales
And yet nowhere on earth has hate ire
sponsible and pitiless, found so congenial q
nome as among these idyllic scenes. Me-
| hemet whipped an English navy revolver
from beneath his coat, and shouting al
| lab IL Allah!' fired point blank at the lieu
tenant in charge of the guard, who sank to
| the earth, gasping:
STEADY, boys steady"
| kostakes Bashi Bazouks came plungine
through the press from all directions, gath
ering about their master Knives twirled
| in the sun and flashed above the heads of
| the peOple-horrible knives with concaye
edges. made for the cutting Of throats And
now, from the mob, from windows and
from the roofs Of houses, commenced a
sporadic suffering of guns against that
gallant body OF men standing in front of
the custom house, statues yet, save when
now and then one sank to earth-brought to
life by death. Their officer lay dead at
their feet. and his last words had been.
| STEADY, boys; steady"
The beardless boy who stood there now
In command, trifie pale, but firm as a
STRIPPING oak, was for one moment at his
wits ends. He could not give the order to
fire into the crowd, killing Turk and Chris
tian alike. That certainly would not he
obeying the last command of the man
whom he had loved, and who had been his
| model soldier and gentleman At anv rate
he could die bravely; he was not in doubt
| about that part of 1t for a single moment
But his hesitation did not last for long. A
gun doomed out in the bay louder than ali
the pandemonium that was increasing here
on shore every minute, and shell dronned
on the roof of house from which several
| Turks had been firing at the British He
| would get his men to the wharf AZ close
under shelter of the guns as possible
They arrived at the wharf lust as tho
steam launch from the Hazard drew nm
to take them off. and two sailors held her
fast with graphing poles. Other boats were
| creeping across the narrow strtp of So.
their oars moving rapidly, like the legs of
| frightened centiPedes. The little sub lien
| Iraxx