Evening star., 1922-12-15

| I
surrounded by fertile gardens and
groves Of fruit trees. And the whole
Is encircled by the desert.
Annette lie Breton remembered moth
ing of her journey to El-Ammeh. Her
life was q nightmare Of horror that
held nothing but her husbands muir
derer. whom she could not escape from.
She was taken to the palace and placed
In the apartment reserved for the Sui
tan's favorite. A big room with walls
ottomans. rugs and cushions. and little
tables and stools Of carved sandalwood
inlaid with ivory and silver.
On one side OF the apartment series
Of archways opened on a screened and
flight Of wide. shallow steps led down
into a walled garden, a dream Of roses.
But 1t was weeks before Annette
knew anything Of this.
All day long she lay. broken and suf-
fering. on one Of the ottomans. and
dark-faced women fawned upon her.
saying words she could not understand:
women who looked at her queerly. 5eal-
ously. and talked about her among
themselves.
A strange girl. this new fancy Of the
sultan's! Who wanted none Of the
things he piled upon her-not even his
love- A girl who looked as though life
were a mirage: as II she moved in bad
dreams-a listless girl. beautiful beyond
any yet seen in the harem, who seemed
to have neither idea nor appreciation
Of the honor that was hers; who lay all
day in silence. her only language tears.
Tears that even the Sultan could not
charm away.
In fact they seemed to fall more
quickly and hopelessly when he came
to see her.
Yet he did everything that mortal
man could do to comfort her.
Jewels were showered upon her:
Jewels she refused to wear. to look at
even: casting them from her with weak.
have decked her with them for her
masters coming.
And never before were SO many mu-
sfcians. singers. dancers, and conturers
sent to the women'S apartments. Hard
ly day passed without bringing some
such form Of diversion: or merchants
with rare silks. perfumes and ostrich
feathers. The harem had never had such
a perpetual round of amuselnents.
All for this new slave-girl. And she
ested. She would look neither at the
goods nor the entertainers. She Just
stayed with her face turned toward
the wall and wept.
One day when the sultan came to the
harem to visit his new favorite. some
Of the older women drew him aside and
whispered with him.
They suspected they had found a rea-
son for the girls strange behavior.
Their words sent the sultan from the
chamber set aside for Annette. with
hope in his savage heart. and left him
looking down at her with 4 touch OF
tenderness on his cruel face.
He laid a dark hand on the girl,
careeSing her fondiy
Give me son. my pearl" he whis-
pered. Then my cup will be full In
deed
Annette shuddered at his touch.
She had no idea what he said. He
and his language were beyond her.
AS the long weeks ground out their
slow and dreary course. Annette grew
to suspect what her attendants now
knsw.
The weeks became months and An
nette languished In her captor's palace:
her only respite the times he was away
on some marauding expedition. He
loved rapine and murder, and was never
happy unless dabbling in blood. Some
times he was away for weeks together,
killing and stealing. bringing slaves for
the slave market of his city, and fresh
women for his harem.
During one Of his absences Annette's
baby arrived.
The child came week or so before
the women had expected it.
THE girl has wept SO much" they
said, that her son has come before his
time. to see what his mothers tears
u,
let US hope the child will dry them"
For fortnight Annette was too i'll to
know even that she had a son.
When the baby was brought to her.
she hardly dared look at it. not knowing
what horror might have come from
those ghastly nights spent with the
Sultan Casim Ammeh.
But when she looked. 1t was not his
face. dark and cruel, that looked back
In mfniat ture she s,v +h. tam -
Raoul Le Briton!
This son Of hers did not owe his life
to the sultan. He was legacy from
her murdered husband. Something that
belonged to her lost life.
With Wild sob Of Joy, Annette held
out weak arms for her baby. Weeping
she strained the mite to her breast
baptizing 1t with her tears. Tears Of
happiness this time
Light and love had come into her life
again. For Raoul was not dead. He had
come back to her. Weak and tiny he
lay upon her heart, hers to love and
cherish.
She was lying on her couch one day.
too absorbed in tracing out each one Of
her dead lovers features In the tiny
face pillowed on her breast, TO notice
what was happening, when the voice
she dreaded said in fierce, fond man
80. Pearl Of my Heart. you love my
son. even II you hate me-"
Annette did not know what the Sultan
said. But she held her child closer,
watching its fathers murderer with
fear and loathing: afraid that he might
put his. dark. deflling hands upon her
treasure.
But he did not attempt to touch
either her or the child.
Seating himself at her side, he stayed
face. for the first time having pity on
her weakness. The weakness OF the
woman who had given him the one
thing his savage heart crayed for. and
which. until now, had been denied him
"a son.
CHAPTER III.
BY the time Annette knew enough
Arabic to make herself understood.
and to understand what was said
around her. she realized that If the
sultan learnt her boy was not his, this
one joy OF her tragic life would be
taken from her. He would murder
the son as he had murdered the
AS the baby grew, her one idea was
to keep Its true parentage from her
savage captor. II she could have done
so, she would have kept his dark,
blood stained hands from touching
When in El-Ammeh. the sultan came
every day to see the child, often sit
ting with it in his arms. watching it
with an air of proud possession.
And fearsomely Annette would
watch him. wondering why he never
suspected. But he was too eaten up
with his own desire for a son to ever
give q thought to her dead husband.
Tho baby was given the name of
Casim Ammeh. But Annette always
called her boy by another name,
"Raoul Le Breton"
And at the age OF five he said to
her: