The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1905-11-30
Scourge
@Damascu
Copyrighted 1891 by Robert Bonner's Sons.
".
The %Israelite.

When the king left his a~f1anced
bride he was sorely perplexed; and tho
longer he reflected upon what had
TRANSFERRED, the deeper grew his rage
and chagrin. He walked alone in the
garden until the sun had set, and then
he went in and called for his minister
to attend him.
"Aboul Cassem, what think you of
this outrage which the Scourge of Da-
mascus has now committed"
II think it is high-handed and
startling" replied the minister.
HAS your daughter explained more
to you than I have yet heard?"
'she has told me all she knows, sire.
The robber came, according to his own
account, for the purpose of wrestling
her from the King of Damascus; but
she refused to go with him; and so
urgent was she in her protestations,
that Julian finally went away and left
her. I think, however, that his retreat
was fastened by the fear that your
majesty might be upon him with a
dangerous force"
II have no doubt that such is the
case, About. But the end of this is
not yet. This daring demon has run
at large long enough. He has already
stricken fearful blows upon our COM
merce, and now he takes a new course
of attack upon our d%efenceless daugh-
tiers. 1t has come to be SO that a
caravan is not safe to start from Da-
mascus; nor are our merchants safe in
returning from other lands. It must
not be so. BY the heavens above me,
1t shall not be SO! l must find some
way for this mans capture. l have
sent out my armies against him, and
he has either avoided them, or met
and overcome them. Life of my soul
Just think of it. He met a thousand of
my armed men, and swept them back
over the plains of Abilene as though
they had been SO many women. What
shall T do, Aboul?"
There is but one way, sire, that I
can conceive Of. It seems to be useless
to send out force against him; for he
is a quick-witted rascal; and, if he
cannot successfully cope with them,
he can keep out of their way. He has
spies throughout the whole land"
"Aye-I know he hast" cried the
king, with a fresh burst of rage. "He
has friends among those who live
very near to our capital. l wish I
could get hold of them"
,"Get hold Of the chieftain first"
"Ah-but howe"
ut must be done by strategem, sire.
If you cannot find some one man who
is able to entrap the Scourge, 1 see
not how you are ever to overcome him.
A single man with wit, will and en-
durance may accomplish much. A lit
tie mouse, working in secret, may
nproot a great tree
! by myslife, About, you have spoken
the truth. The work must be done
secretly. Have 1 such a man about
me?"
{ "How is 1t with Judah, the Israel
fte?" suggested the minister.
X The king started and clapped his
hands together when he heard the
name.
{ by the shades of Tartarus, good
About, you have hit the very man. Ju-
dab is with us now. I LEFT him in the
hall as I came in from the garden. 1
will send for him."
A slave, who stood just without the
door, was sent after the man who had
been spoken of, and ere long he made
his appearance before his royal mas
ter. He was a middle-aged man, with
black hair and keen black eyes; with
features sharp in outline, and moulded
into a cast of peculiar cunning; and
with body and limbs light and muscu-
lar. He was below the ordinary size
Of man; and what he may have lacked
In physical strength was more than
made up by the q%uickness and preci-
sion of movement. He had been a
dwe!ler in Damascus since childhood,
his mother having come from Judea,
in poverty and disgrace, and given him
away to an officer of the kings house
hold.
Judah" spoke the monarch, "I
want you to engage in a dangerous en-
terprise; but, If you are successful, the
honor will be greater than the danger.
Are you willing to try it?"
Anything, sire, that can yield me
honor and emolument," replied the
Israelite, with a low bow. "Give me
the freedom of a citizen, and grid the
sword Of a lieutenant about my loins,
and l will undertake anything. 1
would not even hesitate to go out
against the Scourge Of Damascus"
"Ha! 1t is the very thing, Judah.
It is this accursed robber chieftain
that T wish to secure. II you will
Blay him. and bring me his head, 1 will
make you a free citizen of Damascus;
and If you will bring him to me alive,
and deliver him into my hands, 1 will
not only bestow the citizenship upon
you, and grid the sword of a lieuten-
ant about your loins, but I will give
o a house and a wife,
The black eyes of the Israelite snap
ped and sparkled like polished gems Of
Jet. He strobe across the room, and
then walked slowly back.
"Sire," he finally said, "give me un-
til tomorrow morning to think Of this.
In twelve hours from this you shall
have my answer. If I embark upon