The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-04-11
Chapter 27 FRIENDLY PLOTTERS


 T am watching the situation. my dear young lady There are going to be-er-developmAnts. This waste uncultivated country, these savage barbarians who are two hundred two thousand years behind the times, have got to-er-adjust them selves or be adjusted to the ad- vance of civilization, the march of progress.
 Europe must expand. The colo nizing nations of Europe, save your own great country, which has al- ready colonized half the world, have their eyes on Northern Africa Germany, Spain, Italy, France Morocco, potential granary, a mine of wealth, is too near to hun gry Europe to be allowed to lie fal- low"
 "Is the motto or civilized and enlightened Europe also might is right then?" asked Margaret. Ut seems little hard on the Moors, doesn't it, that a European nation should invade their country simply because it covets it, and is strong enough to take it?"
 And what abouT when the Moors coveted European countries and were strong enough to take them? Didn't they invade Italy, France and Spain, time after time? Weren't they the curse of the whole Mediterranean? Didn't they con- quer Spain and rule most of it with a rod of iron for five hundred years or more? But do not let us talk pol itics now. Let us agree to be friends, and to help each other, shall we?"
 T shall be grateful for your help, Herr Schlacht, if you will give it, should need it. replied Margar- ct. And should be glad to help you in any way that I can. But I can't help you by betraying con- fidences, or repeating things I hear, or anything of that sort And now I must, and I will, go. So please show me the way out, or I'll try and return by the way came
 Herr Schlacht bowed.
 Come with me, Fraulein,' die said You and I will talk some more, isn't it? You and I are go- ing to be yer good friends and help each other yer much"
 A few minutes later, suddenly weary in mind and body-weary as never before had she been in all her life-frightened, unhappy and puzzled, Margaret reached her room.
 She would have been yet more puzzled could she have overheard the conversation then being car ried on between Herr Schlacht and his squint-eyed servant" in the room allotted to the former, par ticularly as the two men sat down together and talked, drank coffee and smoked cigarettes, in the style of friends and equals rather than that of master and servant.
 And no Utterly and absolutely incorruptible. You couldn't buy a word from her with a diamond tiara, a rope of pearls and a million francs"
 T was afraid so In fact, I felt perfectly certain that it was case of nothing doing-on those lines. But she might be extremely useful if you worked on her fears, or rather used her very legitimate fear to make an offensive and defensive alliance" unused the yer clever Arab who was playing the part of servant to Herr Schlacht.
 "Yes, that was my idea" agreed Herr Schlacht.
 Shed be absolutely staunch to her husband so long as he played the game by her, but I fancy she'd be on the mercileSs side if he let her down badly, that is to say if she found out that he was unfaith- full to her, as of course he is ;"
 Still more so," observed the oth- CT man, "if he even seems to take the line of complacent husband when Raisul posters her"
 "Yes, if we can step in just when and where her husband fails her and the breach between them is sufficiently irreparable we might get her-through her gratitude and sense of self preservation She's the type who'd sell you nothing and give you eyerything-if you de- served it."
 How far do you think she's in the know?"
 Do you mean with regard to the general situation, the treachery of the Malignis or our identity?"
 Well, everything"
 I'm perfectly certain she knows absolutely nothing-except what I told her-that war might come this way. I'd stake my life on it that she hasn't the vaguest idea that Papa Judas Iscariot Pedro Malieni and his precious son think they are ln with us and would betray the Kaid to Germany-or the highest bidder. Also I'm equally sure that she takes us at our face value.
 "Aand yours. my lad, is a face of | treat yalue when vo1, .aba ,,,,,~