Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-06
THE MESSAGE
BY LOUIS TRACY.
sy

tne nrm was personal friend who would
attend to cablegrams and letters.
me hassan tower stood on a height
not far beyond the outermost city wall.
hapas being dignified with two lines OF
fortincations. built by Christian slaves
| centuries ago. Indeed. when Warden
climbed the hill of which IT formed the
pinnacle he realized that II was a land
mark shown on chart he Had examined
the previous evening. Square and strong
built to defy destruction, and rearing It's
one hundred and fifty feet OF exuuisitely
| fretted stonework from a tangled under
/ In some proud and curiousiy subtle way,
to promise the fulfillment of Domenico
Garcia's bequest.
Great marble columns. many erect. but
| the majority overthrown, indicated tho
| quadrangle of what was meant to be a
gigantic mosque. Warden passed quickly
| through these and other ruins: he caught
hint of an aqueduct. looked into deep
| excavation evidently designed as els
tern. and then. with somewhat more rapid
! pulse-beat. and certain awed wonder
| ment dominating his mind. made straight
for the causeway that led to the door
| three cubits from the ground"
| To his chagrin. though the inclined
plane itself might be ridden by q man on
horseback, the arched door was solidly
| built up.
Here was an Unforeseen check. It was
| one thing to be conscious Of a cooling OF
the ardOr that vowed tho adornment Of
Evelyn's fair hand with gem Of great
price," but 1t was none the less battling
| and exasperating to be at the foot Of the
| tower and meet an apparently insuperable
obstacle OF this nature Was he brought
to Rabat by the most extraordinary series
| of events that could well have befallen
him. only to find blind fate smiling mali
ciously? The thought was not to be borne.
Somehow. anyhow. that tower must be
entered. or the spirit of the hapless
Garcia would haunt him forever.
He looked around. thinking his Arabic
would serve him in good stead were there
a goatherder or other tender OF focks
| near at hand. But he was quite alone on
the tiny plateau. A couple Of great storks
which had built their nest on top of the
| tower looked down at him with wise eyes.
| Hundreds Of pigeons fluttered about the
| summit or chung to the ridges of fretted
stone. while the only window visible
above the doorway was a hundred feet
| from the base.
however impregnable In 'front.' may be
turned from the TANKS. Before formulate
ing any method of attack. he decided to
survey the stronghold from all points Of
third window on the left" he went to
the left. On that side there were only
two windows, each twenty feet or more
above his head, and Warden was nearly
! six feet In height. Then he reflected that
the Portuguese. writing his sorrowful leg
end ito pleasure that Ioathly barbarian.
| NJ Wanga. King of Benin" would surely
count from the inside OF the tower.
On he went. noting each Granny and
| f1ssure In the weather-beaten mass until
he reached the opposite side. Here were
three windows. and, most gratifying of
discoveries. he saw that the Arabs had
contrtved means of entry and egress
| through the center window by scooping
away the mortar between the huge blocks
| Of granite used for the foundation story.
| Debris had accumulated close to the wall
in such quantity that the window sill was
not more than fourteen feet from his
eyes. To an active. barefooted Moor.
with toes and fingers like the talons OF .
vulture, the climb would present no din
Guilty whatever. To a man whose nails
were we'll kept, and whose toes would
speedily be lacerated IL not protected by
boots, the scaling OF the rough wall was
no child's play. But Warden began I'd
crawl upward without q moments hesi-
| tation.
| (To be continued tomorrow