Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-28
on Course You Are Acquainted
With Paul Harley, the Great
Detective-He Grapples
With an Egyptian
Mystery

I raised my head from the cushion upon
which IL rested and stared az him. lie was con-
,sntsdly watching the float upen the end Of
his line. which bobbed gently up ana down on
the miniature waves Of the river, Al a spot
selected by my friend We had anchored our
boat, the anchors consisting OF blocks OF stone
lowered over bow and stern The day was hot
snd sili and the contents of the luncheon
basket from the Cardinals Hat"-a quaint
riverside hastslry which was our temporary
home-had induced In mo somnolent mood
without in any way diminishing Harlsy's en-
thuklasm Tor rod and line,
SO tortuous were the windings OF tho little
stream that one might behold the miracle of
wherry with It's great brown sail seemingly
uayerslng meadow, No other fishers were near
ps, and except for the periodical passage OF the
wheffss whose masters. without exception,
seemed 10 cherish fendish desir. 10 run US
down. nothing had disturbed our placid sport.
what do YOU mean" said. sleepily.
Look" Harley pointed down stream.
Resting on my elbow. I stared In that dree-
ton and then sat uprlght. staring even harder
A man wearing tnrbnSh. that little red felt
cap commonly called a fex in this country.
standing on the river bank n hundred yards
below US He was otherwise a,tired in European
fashion -xcep, that he wore jacket OF khaki
drill lie was clearly some kind OF easterner.
lie seemed TO be looking in our direction.
when:
"Ha!" exclaimed Harley. rapidly winding in
MS line. "A DIE one this tme'
He proceeded TO land a roach. and was
stricken with the old smazement 10 note how
this man. whose life had been one long adven-
ture. whom ! had seen calm and unmoved
amidst scenes OF panic, now was stirred TO child
ish excitement by the presence upon his line Of
a flapping fish.
"spiendd," he cried. THE biggest today
think that will do Knox Our Oriental friend
seems TO be coming in this direction. suppose
We hail him.
Dropping the fish into the basket which con-
tained his earlier captures, Harley raised one
anchor and the other. so that very gently we
began to drift down stream. At suitable spot
forced the nose OF the boat into the reedy
bank the man in the red cap approached us.
"Salamat!' cried Harley. genally.
The brown face of the stranger lighted up at
sound OF the familiar tongue.
"Esh .halak. Effendim!" he replied.
Harley turned laughing eyes in my direction.
IAN interchange of Arab greetings on a Nor
folk river bank" he said. Are you satisfied,
Knox"
He scrambled forward and Jumped ashore.
entering into an animated conversation with the
Oriental in what was evidently the latters native
language.
I gathered that the brown man was some
kind of peddler--although Of superior sort.
since he was neatly dressed. This idea was born
OF one more terrifying. for as the two conversed.
I saw tho produce from his pocket a dam
gerous looking dagger, its hilt thicky encrusted
with gems. whether real otherwise 1 could
not determine. I started but, seeing him hand
the weapon to Harley, recognized that his in
tcntions were pacific enough.
Harley examined the thing critically, shook
his head and returned 1t to the man, speaking
to him rapidly in Arabic. Finally of
money changed hands. and the Oriental with
many expressions and gestures of profound
gratitude, departed, whilst my friend rejoined
me in the boat.
4-{y
ously to his place. THAT poor fellows guardian
angel must have guided his steps in drec-
ton"
what is he?" asked "an Arab?"
Possibly has Arab blood" returned Harley
"but he comes from Mitrahina, in Egypt that
romantic village in the palm groves which is all
that remains of royal Memphis"
What on earth is he doing wandering about
Norfolk"
"He is some kind Of performer; member Of
a combination which came to grief in Cromer
recently The manager did the traditional thing
and bolted with all the available funds, leaving
poor Ali Mahmoud and the rest stranded. As
case is aggravated by the fact that he has very
little English. and he has been wandering about
for several days endeavoring to raise enough
money to get to London. from whence he seems
confident that he can work his passage home"
did he want to sell you that wonderful look
Ing dagger"
HE did. He uses it in his performance ap-
parently. and it's the only thing Of value which
s he has left" He stared at queerly. II ad-
vised him to keep it and gave him the address
OF man in London who would offer him
fair price for it."
"Is it genuine. then? Are the jewels real?"
Absolutely real, Knox. It's old Damascus
work-apart from which should say there
hundred pounds worth of gems in the hit"
He paused. fumbling for his tobacco pouch. "Ah
Mahmoud offered to sell it for 40 shings" he
added. II gave him that amount and returned
him his dagger"
VERY odd" / murmured, taking the sculls
and heading upstream.
Dusk was not far off. and beer Jar had
long ago run dry. The day had been an ex-
ceedingly hot one and now the charms OF the
Cardinals Hat" called to me urgently. Harley
began to arrange his tackle and to pull gently
upstream. But another encounter was to come;l
for, as me turned bend, where row of pol
lard willows broke the reedy flatness. there
stood short. thickset man in riding kit. staring
intently toward us.
"sir Joseph Peek" murmured Harley. "As
pretty scoundrel anything outside Moscow!
But suppose must be civil
had been staring at the man over my
shoulder. but now turned my head again and
grimaced at Harley. My acquaintance with Sir
Joseph slight, and I had no desire to i'm
prove it. j
At this moment, however, surprise pre-
dominant in my mind and my grimace had in
dicated this, for Sir Joseph Peek. a wealthy
land owner of the neighborhood, had accumu-
lated his fortune, and subsequently earned his
knighthood in the Egyptian Delta, his interests
being concerned with cotton.
YES" murmured Harley, reading my glance
Alright. ITS very odd First Egyptian juggler
and then Egyptian cotton grower. Complain
no more. Knox.
"Hullo!" called Sir Joseph from the bank as
I pulled slowly by. What luck today. gentle
men,"
Fair" returned Harley. holding up the roach
which he had last captured Sixteen inches of
1n1l euer see hireerin