El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-01-30
Cheref
A short Story.


the table With legs and feet
~ naked, she carefully carried IN
the piIaff and the chick-kebab, which
Marika, the Greek servant girl. handed
her. When she was not working or
sleeping Cheref spent her time IN the
garden-and this garden seemed
paradise to hq- The trees Wnlcn
shaded her from the hot sun and tllIeo
the air with fragrance were Iul4 OF
wild birds and covered with roses req
and white about which golden anu
gaily c0lCred butterflies lowered some
times Ali Bekir played with her he
seemed d very big and grown up per-
, son to her, though he was DareIy 10
He would chase her along the garue1
paths; and Cherefs long halr IIuItereu
in the wind as her naked feet paJtereo
the sand, and as she jumped across
rose beds or broke the slender stems "a
tulips and hyacinths.
, One day Cheref had painful sur
prise. Ali Bekir went away IN car
/ riage drawn by two pretty little WnltS
horses. Then 1t seemed to ner as II an
the world had grown dark, ana the
flowers and the trees Of the garden na0
J lost their fragrance and beauty Sne
stood mute and mOtiOnlesS, her Dig
[ eyes staring far away to a city calieu
Paris, where her friend, Aid Beklr, nsG
gone. Her sorrow made her thin ana
threatened her health In the narem
she was all alone with old Marlka, as
! the master had neither mother nor WE
I nor Ali any sister he IOld neF lnat
Ali rad reached the age when he must
I learn something; and that IN these days
when the followers Of the propnet
were threatened by the Christians, II
was necessary to know many Things
{ He informed her that Ali, son OF MS
( own blood, had gone away Tor several
/ years, but that he would come BACK
! from time to time until the day Wnen
( he would settle down IN turkey 70 cure
{ sick people, including Cheref herself
( if she should be taken sick Cheret IN
/ nerly hoped that she might contract all
! kinds of diseases.
! Twice during the following years All
} Bekir came home for few weeks she
( had hardly recognized him so greatly
( had he changed She felt as II she dld
J not dare talk to him. When he tried 70
{ speak to her in the old familiar way II
was an effort for him to do so. The
! last time, however, just before he lett,
/ he suddenly took both her hands,
] looked into her eyes, and said: Little
/ CheTef you are growing into very
! beautiful flower"
He hesitated a little when he said
{ goodbye, and did not kiss her as usual
/ Her heart started beating as never be-
/ fore. She suddenly felt horribly con-
/ fused. She felt ashamed of her hair
! that was still hanging loose, her naked
/ legs, her unveiled face, and trembling
/ once more Cheref had a great sur
/ prisz but this time 1t was one that
/ made her feel unspeakably happy
! Cheref had grown into very demure
/ person of fifteen She no longer
/ romped the garden, now she had long
l. skirts and yelled her face, when out
/ side the harem- Ali had been home Tor
{ two months. He was to go away again.
! however for ne was to settle down as
/ a doctor in StambuL He constantly
/ postponed the date Of his departure,
and this pleased ChereL They did not
! play in the garden as in the old days,
but they took long walks together,
and talked about all sorts Of things or
sat on the terrace at the end of the
! garden, where they looked silently into
/ each others eyes And one night All
] took both her hands, as he had done
! once before, and said
Dear little Cheref, you have grown
intO very beautiful flower.
, But this time he added.
''WilI you be my wife?"
/ Cnerefs lips moved, but her heart
stopped, and she could not speak
! The next day the rumOr reached Be
| kir Beys kOnak that great war had
( broken out. Cheref hardly knew what
! that meant, and Ali was called away
! suddenly
! For many weeks the konak was sill
/ emit Now and again Bekir Bey came
| into the harem and read letter he
| had just received He read slowly and
| Cheref cried. Then no more letters
] came and the kOnak was plunged into
sorrow.
Along muddy roads. filled with
| clumsy vehicles Of all kinds, crowded
! with rough and boisterOus soldiers,
/ Cheref walked day and night her face
I covered with a sheltering yasmak- She
1 wandered through countless villages
/ through Constantinople, with its hun
/ dreds Of mosques. She passed through
/ many Camps of refugees. Often she was
caught in maelstrOm of people,
I horses and wagons moving aimlessly
I ha
| managed to get a little to eat here and
I there, and slept in deserted houses OF
/ ten half-starved, always fOOtsOre and
! Sired but filled with courage
One morning she reached a dreary
/ plain. A few large tents and some
! scattered houses were visible far away,
! an everywhere deed bodies. She ap-
/ preached two houses and caught sight
] Ut All. He stood inside one Of the
| houses among a heap OF bodies OF dead
! and dyiuS. His unifOdm was torn and
! dirty, bis beard was unkept, and his
| <aoe had grown thin and old Sick and
( lying people GrOaned all around him
! WHeH he came out of the house he
( iulm ediateiy recognized Cheref, who
j had unveiled her face and stood staring
| at him, too Mortified to speak He
/ stopped and turned pale
/ 60 away" he said
l She did not move and he repeated:
/ Go away, Cneref, you must not stay
/ here This place is accursed. We axe
J in the midst of plague, more cruel
| than guns, more murderous than the
Eulgduans. The people you hear moan
ing are all dying. I have struggled day
! ami night against the invincible enemy
and now / myself am doomed to die
! Little Cheref, my beautiful flower, do
! not look at me, but go back where you
came from"
His strength failed him. He leaned
| against the wall and then dropped
| Cheref bent down over him and kissed
| his lips He was crying. She took his
/ hand which was trembling, and felt II
| grow cold
! Some hours later they were both
/ found dead by a Red Crescent )ambu-
| lance.