Evening star., 1924-10-05
THE OWLS HOUSE
A Thrilling Adventure Story
By Crosbie Garstin
Cep~ish by Frederick A.
Copyright, 1874 by Frederick A. Stokes G,

Tamgrout caravans hidden some
where in that village. His men tor
tured Il few of the elder women to
make them disclose the treasure. but
though they screamed and moaned
there was nothing TO be got out of
them. One Witherod hag did indeed
offer to show them where her grand
son hid his valuableS, led them into
a small room, suddenly jerked a
! koummyah from the folds OF her iaik
! and laid about her, foaninG at the
| mouth.
| The room was cramped. the men
/ crowded and taken unawares; the old
; fury whirl"d and shriekcd and chop
ped like a thing demcnted. She
/ wounded three Of them before they
/ laid her ont. On. man had has arm
! nearly taken off at the elbow. Ortho
! bound il up as b"St he could and or
/ d@rrd him back To camp, but he never
. got there. He took the wrong turn
/ ing. fell helpless among some other
women aud was disemhowelcd.
~ Allah, tn" sultan wastes time
and lives said the aSkar. The sons
Of such dams viii never pay taxes"
trtho agreed. He had lost two men
dead and three wounded. and had
got nothing for ii but a few sheep.
goats and doukcys. The racket at
,
diery Were pouring in at every point.
1t would be as well 10 secure what
little he had. He drove his bleating
captures into a court, mounted his
men on guard and went To the door
to watch.
An infantryman staggered down
the lane bent under a brass bound
! Golfer. Orthn kicked out his foot;
man and box went headlonE. The
ny md EaNI- Iii .
ortho, who beat him in the eyes with
his torch and followed that up with
menaccs of his sword. The man fed
and ortho examined the box. which
the fall had burst open. 1t contained
a brass tiara. some odds and ends of
tarnIshed Fez silk, brides belt and
slippers. that was all. Value a few
blanquils-faugh
He left the stuff where it lay in
the filth of the kennel, stroiled aim
leSSly up the street, came opposite a
Spiinlercd door and looked in.
The house was more substantial
than those he had visited. of two
! stories, with a travesty OF a foun-
tain huhbling in the court. The in
( fdntry had been there before him
! Three women and an old man were
lying dead beside the fountain and
/ i'll a patch of moonlight an impcr-
turhaDlc baby sat playing with ii
kitten.
An open stairway led aIoft. Ortho
went up, impclled by sort Of idle
corioSity. There was q room at the
top OF The stair. He peered in. RAN
sacked. The sole furniture the room
posSeSScd--a bed-had been stripped
of its coverings and overturned. He
walked round the walls. prodding
with his sword at suspicious spots
in the plaster in the hope OF finding
treasure Nothing.
Al the far end Of the gallery was
another room. Mechanically he
Strolled toward it. thinking of other
things of his debts in Mequinez, of
how to feed his starved horses on
the morrow-these people must at
least have some grain stored, in seal
ed pits probably. He entered the
second room. II was the same as the
first, but it had not been ransacked:
ii was not worth the trouble. \
palmetto basket and an old jellab
hung on one wall, bed was pushed
against the far wall-and there was
a dead man. Ortho examined him by
the flare Of his torch. \ low type of
chiauS foot soldier, fifty, diseased
and dressed III an incredible assorI-
meHt Of tatters. Both his hands were
over his heart cl.nchinG fStfulS of
bloody rags, AMI on his face was an
expression of extreme surprise. II
was as though death We're the last
person he had expected to meet
Ortho thought il comical.
What else did YOU you expect to