Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-12-20

his face inflamed, and stood to beard the
impressive dalai
"She is dead" he bleated. 81 am defraud-
ed Give me back my gold!
Are We to give back the price of every
slave that dies?" the dalai questioned him.
But she was not yet delivered to me,
raved the Jew. 'My hands had not Touched
her. Give me back my gold
Thou lest, son of a dog" was the an
swer, dispassonately delivered. "She was
thine already. | had so pronounced her.
Bear her hence since she belongs to thee
The Jew, his face empurpling, seemed to
fight for breath.
Howe he choked. cam to lose hun
dred philips?'
What is written is written replied the
serene dalai.
Ibrahim was frothing at the lips, his eyes
were blood-ini ected
"But it was never written that"
Peace said the dalai. Had it not been
written it could not have come to pass. 1t is
the will of Allah! Who dares rebel against
t?''
The crowd began to murmur.
Il want my hundred philips" the Jew in
sisted, whereupon the murmur sWelled into
sudden roar.
Thou hearest?" said the dalai "AIlah
pardon thee thou art disturbing the peace Of
this market. Away, ere i'll betide thee"
'Hence! Hence!" roared the crowd, and
some advanced threateningly upon the luck
less Ibrahim. Away, thou perverter Of Holy
Writ! Thou filth Thou dog! Away!'
Such was the uproar, such the menace Of
angry countenances and clenched fists shaken
in his very face, that Ibrakim quailed and
forgot his loss in fear.
Il 80, 1 CO. he said, and turned hastily to
depart
But the dalai summoned him back.
Take hence thy property said he, and
pointed to the body.
And so Ibrahim forced to suffer the
further mockery of summoning his slaves to
bear away the lifeless body for which he
had paid in lively potent gold.
The dalai turned to the portly Ayoub, who
was plucking at his sleeve.
He bent his head to catch the muttered
words of Fenzilehs WAGER. Then, in ODE
dience to them, he ordered Rosamund to be
brought forward
She offered no least resistance, advancing
in sngularIy ifeless way, like a sleep.
walker who had been drugged. In
the heat and glare of the open market she
stood by the dalal's side at the head of the
we'll, whilst he dilated upon her physical
merits in that lngua franea which he used
since it was current coin among all the as
sorted races represented there-a language
which the knowledge of French that her resi-
dence in France had taught her she was to
her increasing horror and shame able to un-
Gerstand.
The first to make an offer for her was that
same portly Moor who had sought to pur-
chase the two Nubians He rose to scrutinize
her closely and must have been satisfied, for
the price he offered was good one, and he
offered II with contemptuous assurance that
he would not be Outbidden.
zone hundred philips for the milk-faced
girl"
" tbs not enough. Consider me the moon
bright loneliness of her face" said the dalai
as he moved on. "Chigil yields us fair wom-
en-. but no woman of Chigil was ever half
so fair"
"One hundred and fifty" said the Levan-
tine Turk with a snap.
"Not yet enough. Behold the stately
height which Allah hath vouchsafed err See
the noble carriage of her head the luster of
her eye! By Allah, she is worthy to grace
the S-ltan S own harem."
He said no more than the buyers reco9-
nzed to be true, and excitement stirred faint
Ily through their usually impressive ranks. A
Tagareen Moor named Yusuf offered at once
two huIurv~.
But still the dalai continued to sing her
praises. He held up one of her arms for in
spection, and she submitted with lowered
eyes, and no sign of resentment beyond the
slow flush that spread across her face and
vanished again
Behold me these limbs, smooth as Ara
bian silks and whittier than ivory. Look at
those lips like pomegr~nate blossoms. The
thou 49,, o Hamet?'
Hame5 showed himself angry that his orig
inal bid should speedily have been doubled
'T the Koran, I have purchased three
sturdy Is from the Sus for less"
"Wouldst thou compare the squat-faced girl
from he Sus with this narcissus-eyed glory
of womanhood?" scoffe- dalai.
1.-TWO hundred and ten, them" was Hamet's
sulky grunt
The watchful Tsamanni considered that
the time had come to buy her for his lord
as he had been hidden.
Three hundred he said CURLY, to make
an end of matters. and"
-Four hundred" instantly piped shrill
voice behind him.
He spun round in his amazement and me-
the leering face of Ayoub. A murmur ran
throush the ranks of the buyers. the people
ICraned their necks to catch glimpse of this
open handed purchaser
Nusut the Tagareen rose up in passion.
He announced angrly that never again
should the dust of the sok of Algiers defle
his slippers, that never again would he come
there to purchase slaves
by the Well of Zem-Zem,'' he swore "aIl
men are bewitched in this market Four
hundred philips for Frankish girl. May
Allah incre&c~ your wealth, for verify you III
need it,
And in his supreme disgust he stalked to
the gates, and elbowed his way through the
crowd and vanished from the sok
Yet ere he was out Of earshot her price
had risen Iur,er. Whilst Tsamanni was re-
covering from his surprise at the competitor
that had Suddenly appeared before him. the
dalai had lured an increased offer from he
turk.
" lis madness" the latter depIored.
But she pl ~aseth me. and should it seem
! IN no if,1