The Tupelo journal., 1910-05-13
CHAPTER xlV.-continued.

"He was alive this morning" Logo
theft answered, land he is a strong
man. But the strong die sometimes
suddenly, by accident If not OF a
fever"
at emptiness" said Baraka, still
looking at him. "He will not die be-
fore | see him."
Allah forbid! But if such a thing
happened, should you wish to go back
to your own people? Or would you
learn to speak the Frank and live in
Europe?"
"If he were dead. which may Allah
avert Baraka answered calmly. Il
think | would ask you to find me a
husband"
"Ah." Logotheti could not repress
the little exclamation of surprise.
yes. 1t is a shame for a woman
not to be married. Am l an evil sight,
or poor, that / should go down to he
grave childless? Or is there any re-
proach upon me? Therefore l would
ask you for a husband, because l
have no other friend but only you
among the Feringhis. But if you
would not, l would go to CONSTANT
nople again, and to the Persian mer-
chants house, and l would say to his
wife: Get me a husband, for am
not a cripple, nor a monster, nor is
there any reproach upon me, and why
should l be childless? Moreover. |
would say to the merchants wife:
Behold, l have great wealth, and |
will have a rich husband, and n who
is young and pleasing to me, and who
will not take another wife; and if you
bring me such a man, for whatsoever
his riches may be-, l will pay you five
per cent"
Having made this remarkable state
ment of her intentions, Baraka was
silent, expecting LOgotheti to say
something. What struck him was not
the concluding sentence, for Asiatic
match-makers and peace-makers are
generally paid on some such basis,
and the slim Tartar girl had proved
long ago that she was a woman of
business. What impressed Logotheti
much more was what seemed the cool
cynicism of her point of view. 1t was
evidently not a romantic passion for
Kralinsky that had brought her from
beyond Turkestan to London and
Paris; her view had been simpler and
more practical; she had zee the man
who suited her, she had told him so,
and had given him the secret of great
wealth. and in return she expected
him Il marry her, If she found him
alive. But. if not, she would imme-
diately take steps to obtain another to
fill his place and be her husband, and
she was willing to pay a high price to
any one who could find one for her.
Logotheti had half expected some
such thing, but was not prepared for
her extreme directness; still less had
he thought of becoming the matri-
monial agent who was to find a match
worthy of her hand and fortune. She
was sitting beside him in a little
ready-made French dress, open at the
throat, and only a bit of veil twisted
round her hair, as any European
woman might wear it; possibly it was
her dress that made what she said
sound strangely in his ears, though it
would have struck him as natural
enough if she had been muffied in a
yashmak and ferajeh, on the deck OF
a Bosphorus ferry boat.
He said nothing in answer, and sat
thinking the matter over.
Il could not offer to pay you five
per cent" she said after a time, be
cause you are a king, but / could give
you one of the fine rlbies ! have left,
and you would look at it sometimes
and rejoice because you had found
Baraka a good husband"
L3gotheti laughed low. She amused
him exceeC.-g..y, and there were mo