The Washington times., 1918-12-15
CHAPTER v. (continued).
The Black Stone.


within my power / will give gladly
The officer smiled and brought forth q
box of cigarettes "Come, Mr.. Jessup," he
said with more hospitable air, "let US not
cry over ,our split milk. Perhaps this mis-
fortune may be blessing in disguise. for
il we can catch Conrad Won HengeP-
He stopped, his lighted match in mid-air.
and gazed at the image of Ptah. IF we
can only catch him
you have taken all precautions?"
"You may be sure of that Every man
Of my force is watching. 1t will be
miracle IL he slips through"
Where can he go?"
Northby Pasha examined the ash Of his
cigarette refectively. And then, deliber-
ately, 81 am not much of a talker about
the affairs of my department, Mr.. Jessup,
but your manner and your anxiety to cor
rect your earlier mistake have impressed
me with a sense of your loyalty to the
British Government"
"You must believe me, General Northby"
81 do. l may need your help. I'm going
to tell you what Captain Won Hengel's
presence here means. You will remember
that what I say to you is Of grave i'm
portance"-
"I am not talkative by nature"
Northby Pasha was silent a moment, re-
garding Jessup keenly with his sharp black
eyes, and then went on quickly.
you have heard Of the Black Stone Of
Mecca?"
Jessup started. "The Black Stone. Yes,
/ think so-it's set in a wall and the John
nies kiss it-or something. But WHAT
Northby Pasha waved his hand "Allah's
oon h. ,n6
"Its a sacred relic of the sanctuary of
Mecca which existed as far back as the
third century Of the Christian era, before
the Prophet even was born"
But thjs"-
"One moment. In the fourth century Of
Islam, or about the tenth of the Christian
era, the Cormathians, a Mahommedan sect
from the eastward, captured Mecca and
took away the sacred relic, the Black
Stone. They were dissenters from the
ancient religion, pupils of Ahmed, son Of
the Persian Abdallah ibn Nahum, and the
sacred relic was carried of into Persia"
But the Black Stone at Mecca
Northby Pasha shrugged
'Ts merely a substitute brought back by
the Cormathians, for the original stone
was never returned to Mecca. We know
of writings hidden in Cairo which admit
the substitution, parchments jealousy
guarded from the people Of Islam, for
whom such a revelation would be in the
nature Of a disaster
Then you believe
"All things in order, Mr.. Jessup. The
Cormathian sect still exists and its doc
trines are followed in Persia, in Syria, in
Arabia, in India. and are still propagated
in the island Of Zanzibar. Several years
ago a celebrated English student discov-
cred that the original Black Stone of
Mecca had been for many years carefully
preserved in. a safe place by a sheikh Of
an ancient family of Zanzibar, which had
always followed the doctrines Of Hamadan
Quarmat, from whom the Cormathians
took their name. He worked in secret and
succeeded at last in finding the hiding
place Of the sacred object, but, unfortu-
nately, the Arabs got wind of his efforts
and removed the Black Stone, carrying 1t
of somewhere into the heart of the desert,
where all trace Of 1t was lost.
Last year, since the war began, there
came a rumor that the Muslims of Ben
Ghazi and Fezzan in northern Africa were
being stirred to a fanatical religious fer
yor, and those of us who are interested
in Eastern politics were sure that the dis
turbance could only have been caused by
the display of this relic. Englishmen were
sent to the region, but suddenly, as though
wind had blown across the desert, all
was calm again. The Black Stone had
dropped out of existence. What happened
to It no one knows.
But a month ago a caravan came out
OF the heart Of the desert to BENZ Mora. Il
was a caravan from far to the south and
east, whose members were unknown to the
Arabs Of that vicinity. There was a camel
that bore a palanquin with a canopy or
mahmal like that of the Kisweh, the sacred
k,,k
There were circumstances attending the
the belief that some holy object had been
brought into Algiers." Northby Pasha
rose and iicked his cigarette viciously out
OF the window at is my belief, Mr.. Jes-
sup, that the Black Stone of Mecca, Of