Evening star., 1923-01-11

stayed with her gaze on the flowers,
despising herself for having been so
upset at the thought of the sultan's
demise.
That morning Alice dressed her in
! her usual civilized attire. In spite of
this. Pansy found she was still a
prisoner, still within the precincts of
the harem. The rose garden was hers
TO wander in at will. But the guards
were still stationed outside one of the
sandalWood doors, as they had been
on the day of her arrival at the pal
| ace. However, one of the two other
doors was unlocked.
Pansy opened it, hoping some way
OF escape might lay beyond. A dim
hight Of stairs led downward. She de-
scended, only to. find herself in the
| harem.
! The girls and women greeted her
with an awed and servile air. To
| them now she was the sultans first
Wife; the most envied and most hon
| ored woman in the province of
El-Ammeh.
Curious glances were cast at her
attire. Leonora appeared most at
her ease. For she fingered Pansy's
garments with soft, slow. indolent
| hands.
IT'S quite ten years since I've
seen woman dressed as you are"
she remarked. mot since l lived in
Tangier. before my uncle sold me to
i an Arab merchant"
y. l.
ala not sound pretty one to civil
| ICED ears
Sold at the age Of fourteen, she
| had been handed from one desert
chief to another, until finally she
had appeared in the slave market of
El-Ammeh and had taken the sui
! tan's fancy.
What an awful life you've had"
| Pansy said, pity in her voice.
keonora's languid eyes opened
with surprise.
ME! Oh. no I'm beautiful, and
! most of my masters have been kind
But none so kind and generous as
the Sultan Casim. BESIDES. now my
travels are at an end. When the
sultan tires OF slave, he does not
sell her. She is given in marriage
to one OF his officers, with a good
dowry. And she is then a woman
| with an established position. He is
! always generous to woman who
TO be picked for his first wife! You'll
hnd him almost always kind. I've
been here more than q year and /
| know. He IS never harsh without
| a reason. He is never hard and un-
just like some of the masters I've
known"
AS Pansy listened to this euIogy
on her captor she was surprised and
ashamed OF herself for having a
scrap OF liking left for him. All
HcI IiSllIlCCb TeVOlLeQ AT mis- QOlngS,
but much as she tried she could not
make them revolt at the man himself
He was hard enough last night"
she remarked.
But he had reason. Rayma
would have shamed and injured you.
She could not see what saw-that
the sultan has eyes and thoughts
and heart for no one but you now.
She Is a stupid girl, that Rayma
Because he loved her for a month
& a ~ ~ y
her forever He was her first mas
ter. He bought her but a few
weeks before he last went to Paris
Ana he Is so angry now that he will
sell her again, not give her in mar
riage to one Of his officers, making
her woman of Importance"
Leonorais remarks made Pansy
glance sharply round the big hall,
suddenly aware that Rayma was not
present. Already she saw the Arab
sea of eyes, as she, herself, had
Where is Raymao" she asked
quickly.
The guards took her away last
night Leonora answered indiffer-
emily. She'll trouble you no more"
Hastily Pansy got to her feet, and
went to the big door leading out of
the harem. She knew what lay be-
yond; large yestibule where, day
and night, half a dozen eunuchs
lounged.
Seeing Pansy on the threshold,
brought them to their feet, barring
her exit
81 must see the sultan" she said.
Although she made the request she
hardly expected to have 1t granted,
for the sultan came when he felt dis
posed.
Lady I'll inform the sultan Of
your desires" one Of the guards re-
piled
With that he left the vestibuIe.
Pansy waited conscious of the
servility and overwhelming desire to
please that oozed from these menials.
Before long the messenger returned.
It appeared that the girls wish
was TO be granted. With n negro
on either side of her Pansy was taken
through an intricate maze of corri-
dors, past closed doors, open arches
and arabesque windows, to a fur
ther door that her escort opened.
Pansy found herself in room that
looked more like a sumptuous office
than anything else, with a balcony
that jutted over the lake.
At a large desk 4 man was seated
in white drill suit with a black
cummerbund, who rose at her entry
and smiled at her, as If the last week
had never been; as II he were still
Raoul LIE Breton and there had been
no unveiling.
w ell, Hanby, It's natterlnB 10 Inlnk
you want to see me-" he remarked :
Pansy did not waste any time be-
fore stating the reason of her visit
rs 1t true you're going to sell
Rayma?" she asked in horror
stricken tone.
The mere mention of her name
made savage expression fit across
his face.
What I'm going to do with her is
my own concern"
How can you be such brute, such
a savage, SO abominably cruel?" she
cried, distress in her voice.
do you know, my little slave that
you're the only person in the place
who dares take me to task about
my doings?" he remarked.
Pansy did not know, or care; her
only desire was to save him from
himself.
II shall stay here until you prom
ise not to sell her" she said tensely.
1t won't worry me-" he replied. You
must find some other threat"
Pansy could have shaken him for
daring to poke fun at her, when her
only desire was to keep him from
slave-dealing.
How can you even contemplate
such CHASTITY thing" she gasped.
"As what?' he asked in a uncon-
cerned manner.
Don't you know that slave-deal-
ing Is an abomination?"
1T may be in your country. but
it isn't in mine"
."I can't bear to think of you doing
anything so dreadful" she said In a
strained voice.
He glanced at her, a soft, mocking
light in his eyes.
Should you like me any better If
/ didn't sell Rayma?"
II should hate you IL you did"
II couldn't run such a risk a. sec
ond time,' he replied. "Tll send
her back to the harem, and keep
her there until I can find a suit HE