Evening star., 1925-05-03
Aviator Who Seeks Escape From Turks Joins Greek


which l was running low. Inducing
this pirate to accept my check called
forth arts of salesman nship which l
never suspected myself of possessing.
First, | had no check book SO / drew
the prettiest check l could on a half
sheet of paper and stamped it.
Then l ran my quarry to earth in a
beer house and explained to him my
Importance in the world of finance
and his Importance to me as honest
broker for passage to Odessa. l
asked for nothing sumptuous-no
spacious Stateroom, not even a bunk
but only the privilege of lying in
the bilge of tramp until we were
safely out of Turkish waters. For
this ! was ready to pay fifteen hun
dred dollars.
A T this point my prospect" stroked
his beard, hawked, gurgled and
nodded judicially. Although rather
out of line of the Chicago sales course
l had studied in my early years,
began to receEnize the symptoms of
interest. l was selling" him all
right.
Think what this means to you," 1
continued, indicating him with my in
deX finger and fixing my eyes on the
end of his long nose. with fifteen
hundred pounds, Turkish, you can
buy boat of your own. You can win
for yourself prosperity, independence,
a yali by the Bosporous adorned by
houris such as the blessed enjoy in
Paradise All this is yours, in return
for a passage to Odessa
In gold?' asked the pirate.
In cash With no trouble at all
YOU can convert this check into cash.
In fact, you have 1t here In safer
and more convenient form"
Was l pleasing his ear with the
rich mellow speaking voice and the
we'll modulated cadences which good
craftsmanship dSenands? / hoped so,
but the fact that we had to con.
verse in whispers and in French, a
language which was foreign to us
both. made the 100 per cent mental
approach" matter of dificuity.
However, 1 did my best to enlist the
sympathies of sight and touch in
the approved manner.
Here Is your check" l urged Feel
the crisp paper on which it is written.
One thousand five hundred pounds for
you"
But where is the money!" he
roared, staring at the check upside
down.
of Belial but it was a tough job. He
seemed to have no interest in the Eu.
ropean banking system. An Arme.
Man happened along, however. who
said that he could get the check dis
counted. provided that ii was certi-
fed by resident of Constantinople
This evidently impressed the pirate.
who agreed to meet me again.
made rendezvous for the next night.
hn f<,1-1
waiter, Themistocle, who had former
ly sheltered me.
That evening. in company with my
forger friend, l attended a conclave
of Greek desperadoes in the cellar of
German hotel. The douZico flowed
free and so did the oratory.
I'VE will cruelty the Turks and
Germans" said the proprietor of the
hotel, "and then eat them in little
bits;' Just as he said this, there came
a ring from upstairs; his expressive
features relaxed and he scurried
away, tying on white apron.
On his return he explained that his
patrons up above, the German officers
aforesaid, swine-born sots that they
were, were complaining that their
lager was not sufficiently iced. But
the dogs won't be able to get a cold
drink where am going to send them"
he added.
WE swore each other to eternal Sc.
crecy. sampled some more of the
contents of the cellar and then got
down TO busineSs-their business
Mine came later. A case of rusty
looking musketS was unpacked and
from a generous-sized barrel some
swords and automatics were produced.
80 weapons in all, with the aid of
which we hoped to bring in the new
age of brotherly love.
One man danced a hornpipe. An
other spoke, saying that the streets
would soon run red with Muslin blood
and the cross replace the crescent on
the dome of Ava Sofia. Then a flag
was produced, a great silk flag, stitch
ed by the fingers of Christian maidens
and destined to fly from the summit
of the famous cathedral.
Enthusiasm is contagious and as
the evening wore on and I heard of
the intrigues behind the lattices of
the harems, where 1t was whispered
that Enver's day was done, and how
high chamberlain at the sultan's
court had organized a coup detat in
which the old Turks were to oust the
gang then in power, and how the pal
began to feel that this evening l was
helping to make history.
Still more jubilant did 1 feel when
l produced a sheaf of checks-which
1 had taken the precaution to make
out in small denominations in Eng
lish pounds sterling-and received
over 500 Turkish pounds for them on
the spot "a Turkish pound was about
the equivalent of SD, with promises
of another thousand when business
opened in the morning.
At about this time Sir Robert Paul,
the friend with whom I had originally
escaped and who had attempted to
make his way through Bulgaria, was
recaptured and brought back to the
military prison in Constantinople.
Being given nothing but stale bread
to eat in prison, he went on a hunger
strike and nearly died. However, the
Turkish Red Crescent learned of his
plight and had him removed to hos
pital. From here he escaped again.
A Greek patient was his accomplice;
I Nh