The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-03-27
Chapter 15 TRAGIC DAUGHTER

What a thrilling tale Fl Isa Beth el Ain had told Margaret, in her curious English interspersed with French phrases and Spanish and Arab words, about the faithful slave woman and her brother Has san el Miskeen, who had taken the child Jules from Mekazzen to Tan gier, and handed him over to his father, Pedro Maligni.
 Had they been less faithful or less fortunate in their journey, she, Margaret, would not be sitting there in the castle of Mekazzen at that moment. For Senor Pedro Maligni would not have been able to hand the boy over to his friends Doctor and Mrs. Maykings, her par ents to take home to England with them.
 What ghastly lives these native women led, even those of the rul- ing classes. Something of a hero inc this poor Lady Fl Isa Beth el Ain. Fancy seeing ones adorsd husband two or three times a year, and ones adored child once in two or three years-and that, aft CT separation in which he had changed from a child to youth.
 How had she refrained from kill ing this zainub who had killed her happiness? Doubles her English descent would have something to do with it. That and fear of the terrible Abd'allah Karin.
 Does not the Koran say that women, camels, and cattle are Al lah's gifts to men?
 And there were tfloge two wom- en sitting side by side, in appar- ent amity and peace, with all that behind them; sitting like two Eup- opean sisters-in-law at a garden party on the rectory lawn.
 But, after all, their mutual atti- tude was but an exaggeration of that of Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Jones when the former says of the latter :: Here comes that appalling eat. How do loath the woman, and, rising, kisses her fondly upon the cheek
 Poor Fl Isa Beth el Ain, tragic daughter of tragic mother, with her thin lined face a record of a lifetime of suffering and sorrow. How pathetically happy she was in this brief interlude, this rare ex- perience of having both her hus- band and her son.
 Margaret glanced at Senor Pedro Maligni, fat, sallow and-no, she must be strictly just if she couldn't be generous-not greasy. He didn't look greasy at all but he most cer- tainly looked what he was, distinct ly cosmopolitan, not to say cross- bred.
 She must conquer this unreason- ing distrust of Senor Pedro Ma ligni, and accept his paternal kiss with ,. with |. :? Well, endeavor to suffer them gladly" or pretend to.
 At the moment he was obviously more interested in the girl Sara than in herself or his wife who watched him so hungrily, much as Sara watched Jules.
 What a family circlel Did ever an English girl drop straight into a stranger one, or, indeed, into a stranger place?
 The Lady Fl ISa Beth el Ain paced the grim stone cell that was her boudoir like caged tigress. as she had done almost daily for more years than she could count, more years than she wished to remem- Der.
 In that gaunt room which, volun- tarily, she had made her prison, she had grown from girlhood to middle age, and, for quarter of a century, had wrestled with devils and fought with beasts; the devils of murder, treachery and vice. the beasts of cruelty, savagery and hate.
 With amazing courage she had fought her half-brother for him self, fought to save him from him self; had fought for the life of her baby against zainub, his wife; had fought against intrigue unceasing, for the success of her husband.
 For years, during the period of zainub's insane jealousy, she had tasted no food that faithful slave woman had not cooked there in that room.
 Life had been hard after the brief delirium of her marriage with Pedro, and the golden days of her motherhood-those glorious days be- fore the coming of Lady Zainub- when her baby had filled her life, and she had been mistress of Me kazzen and the Kaid's good angel, her baby, his plaything and his heir. Pedro had come more often then, before business in Europe and Tangier had become so ever increasing and important. Tf
 Yes, those had been hard days before zainub had aged and mel