The Washington times., 1919-01-05
(1hb,

Constance glanced toward the other
women. who had moved out into the corri-
dor, and then spoke in low voice.
An Armenian. II you are a Christian
why do you then say the prayers of IsIam?"
The girl drew short breath from the
coral mouth-piece Of her shibuk and
sighed
What does il matter! God is the same
everywhere. II pleases my master. Christ
will forgive"
The same note OF careIessness and In
difference. But beneath her words Con.
stance thought that she detected he suIlen
1re OF hope deferred There were YES
tlges OF Character too. beneath the YIELD
ing softness of her features.
You do not belong here, Amneh wm
you tell me how It happened?"
Their glances met and Amneh smiled
yes. You shall know. .mademoiselle. N
Il Interests you. I returned TO Armenia
from Paris just at the beginning of the
war. My mother and father lived In Bitiis
and-and the man | was TO marry. Nv
father was merchant and rich He had
friends In Constantinople and thought him
sell secure. But when the Turks came he
was to learn the truth. They took all his
him and my mother before my ewes Than
they carried me away" She paused a mo-
ment while an echo Of her terror giowed
In her eyes. Constance's fingers closed
over hers again.
And the man you were-to marry!" she
asked.
They killed him when he tried 10 save
me-" she replied.
No expression Of anguish or emotion
could have been more expressive OF the
horrors through which Amneh bad passed
than the hard, even tones Of this reply II
was voice without a soul Constance WAS
at loss for word and 80 merely pressed
the hand Of her companion in an eloquent
silence. Amneh closed her eyes for a
moment.
After that" she went on, calmly, sthey
sold me into slavery. I was pretty. i
brought high price. ! came TO Egypt I
was lucky. The Sheykh Hassan bought
me. There were others who went to Con
stantinople and to Mosul ana
others up the Nile to the traders of the
Haoasheeyehs. She stopped 70 shudder
and then shrug. And here I am. Last
year Hassan Isar married me- I am his
wife. / am very lucky"
All Of this in the same soulIess tone
Even by contrast TO Il the sudden shudder
had seemed almost artificial.
But the bitterness Of this creatures
misfortunes was sinking deep into the
heart OF the American girl II was merely
the tale Of thousands Of others east as
well as west and yet the unvarnished tell
ing OF 1t was more dramatic and conyinc-
ing tnan anything Constance had ever
heard. And the terrible details which
Amneh had omitted seemed 70 stand forth
one by one before the American girls eyes
In graphic pictures. Death had surely
been better than what had happened TO
Amneh, but her soft southern beauty
which should have broken gave no sign
OF the ordeal through which she had
passed, except a. the suddenly tightening
lines at brow and lip when she finished her
story.
Constance sat silent in a moment of
terror al the possibility that something OF
Amneh's experience might yet be her own.
But the thought seemed impossible. The
kaahL where they sat was a part of the
orderly house of Muslin high in family
and In rank. And outside in the bright
sunshine she heard the hum Of the drovsy
city, the cries OF the sellers Of lupins and
nmes and the rattle of an arabeah over
the cobbies of a thoroughfare nearby.
somewhere near were Englishmen-North-
by Pasha with his police and Alan. Her
heart caught a beat-yes, Alan was near,
Hut eIHdpS OduIy, .Dut near. ana
he would be well and seek her presently
and find her
And you are happy now, Amneh?" she
asked at the end of her fit Of abstraction.
Il am not unhappy" the girl replied
calmly. The Sheykh Hassan els a good
man. | am both daughter and wife to
him, and She Strengthened abruptly
with triumphant glance at the woman
Aeyneb, who sat at a menseg OF walnut
and mother-ofpearl embroidering a head
veil. Wife" she said with a show Of
white teeth, "and favorite!"
Amneh took a light for her shibuk and
smoked In moment of silence. And then:
"Ch, mademoiselle," she said. 1T is good
TO see again a white face. But how did
you come here? We are not expected to
ask questions, but am very curious"
Constance paused How much should
she tell? How little? She was singularly
attracted TO this pretty creature, beth by
the bonds OF her sympathy and the claims
OF her own need. And so with a glance
at Zeyneb, in which she had instinctiyely
recognized an enemy, Constance asked:
She need not know"
Amneh shrugged contemptuously. You
need fear nothing from me-"
And so Constance rapidly told her all
that had happened, beginning with her
friendship fOr Von penpaI On Ap,ar;o. "a