CHAPTER XXVI—SOME INTERESTING CONVERSATIONThe sun was gone, blue shadows gathered, and night came stalking up from Syria and Arabia beyond the isthmus. So absorbed had our friends been by the splendid spectacle, that they had failed to give heed to their immediate surroundings.Nadia was at Brad’s side. Suddenly she clutched his arm with a nervous movement.“What is it?” he asked, seeming to awaken from a trance.“That man! Look there!”She made a gesture, and he looked in the direction indicated. Standing at an angle of the wall, where the shadows were upon him, was the same man to whom she had called his attention on the steps of the hotel.“He has followed me here!” she declared nervously.“Oh, he has, has he?” growled the Texan, his face flushing with anger. “Well, I sure am going to interview him some, right away.”He brushed off her hand and started toward the mysterious stranger.Immediately the unknown turned and disappeared beyond the corner of the wall.Dick had seen the stranger, also, and he joined Buckhart at once, saying:“Come ahead, Brad. It’s time to find out if he’s following us round.”Budthorne had hastened to his sister’s side.The boys ran to the point of the wall. When they reached the spot, they could see nothing of the man.“He can’t be far away,” said Dick.A few moments later they discovered the man walking hastily down the hill. Unless they chose to run after him, there was no prospect of overtaking him.“Better let him go this time,” advised Dick.“All right,” muttered the Texan; “but he is causing me to wax wroth some, and I’ll give him a game of talk the next time I find him dogging us. Who do you reckon he is, pard?”“I am unable to answer the question,” admitted Dick; “but, by his appearance, he seems to be a Turk.”“That’s right. I don’t fancy being spied on by a Turk, just at present. We’re not far enough away from Damascus. He may be one of the sultan’s secret police, sent after us for that little affair in which we were recently involved.”“I thought of that myself. I’m not anxious to be arrested and carried back to Damascus.”“I should say not! That would be mighty bad business. Still, I don’t think——”Dick checked his companion with an exclamation. Another man had joined the one who was rapidly descending the hill. Both boys obtained a glimpse of this second person before both disappeared into the shadows below.“Did you see him, Brad?” asked Dick. “Did you get a fair view of him?”“Just a look, partner, but I swear there was something a heap familiar about him. The way he carried his head—his walk—— I’ve seen that galoot before.”“And so have I. Shall we attempt to overtake them? I’d give something to get a look at his face.”But they decided it was too late, as there was little chance of overtaking those men in the narrow and gloomy streets of Cairo. Besides, in order to pursue the mysterious ones, they would be compelled to abandon Nadia and her brother.So they returned and found Dunbar and Nadia waiting, and a trifle nervous.“It’s all right,” declared Dick diplomatically. “Of course, the man had a right to come up here and view the sunset. He’s gone.”“I’m glad,” said the girl. “But it is growing dark. Let’s return to the hotel right away. I do not fancy being out in the streets of Cairo after dark.”They descended the hill and found the donkeys and the boy drivers waiting for them. Two of the boys were asleep, their hands pillowed on the bodies of their reclining donkeys.“Poor little fellows!” murmured Nadia, sympathetically. “They should be home now. It’s a shame to keep them out so late.”The boys woke up promptly on hearing the voices of their companions. Our friends mounted, and away they went, through the dim streets of the queer, old city, the boys running after the trotting donkeys and giving an occasional twist at the tails of the little beasts.Both Dick and Brad kept a sharp lookout for possible trouble, but the return to the hotel was made without incident.Brad lingered to talk with Dunbar and Nadia, in Budthorne’s room. Not that the pleasures of a chat with Budthorne attracted him so much, but there was again a complete understanding between himself and Nadia.Dick sought Professor Gunn, but failed to discover the old man. He then descended to look for him below.On the way down, the sound of laughter coming from a suite of rooms, the outer door of which was slightly ajar, attracted his attention. He had heard Zenas laugh that way before, and he knew the old pedagogue was in there.Dick stepped to the door, lifting his hand to knock. He paused, his hand uplifted.“He! he! he!” again sounded that well-known laugh. “A harem containing a dozen pretty girls! My! my! But you must have been a gay boy in those days, colonel.”“Well, suh,” said a mellow, yet somewhat husky voice, “yo’ see, suh, a man had to have some enjoyment in this infernal country. I was young, suh, and it was just after the Civil War in America. Scores of officers from the South entered the Egyptian service. Some swore nevah again to set foot on American soil. We felt that we were exiles. But we made the khedive’s army spruce up wonderfully. The pay was good, and all that; but the cursed heat, the monotony, the homesickness, made us all reckless, and set us to longing fo’ diversion. I’ll guarantee, suh, that the most of us found our only diversions in gathering wives fo’ our harems. Those boys were connoisseurs in female beauty, and the wives of many of them would have created a sensation, suh, in New York, London or Paris.”“He! he! he!” again laughed Zenas. “Oh, you rascal! Oh, you sly dog! But it must have been pleasant. What did you do with your harem when you got tired and decided to leave the Egyptian service and the country?”“Why, I sold it, of course.”“Sold it? Sold your wives, colonel?”“Certainly, suh. That was the proper course to pursue, professah. There were plenty of others who were ready to buy, in case you had a bargain to offah, and—as I was anxious to sell—a new recruit in the army obtained my harem fo’ a mere song. Of course, I regretted to part with my beautiful wives, and especially with Fatima, my favorite; but I could not take them with me, on account of the laws of the United States, and so, suh, I kissed Fatima good-by and turned the whole lot ovah to my successor.”“Er—er—ahem! Colonel, does the custom of selling harems still continue in this country, can you say?”“Why, certainly, suh, to a certain extent, suh. Are yo’ thinking of making a purchase, suh?”“Well, I—er—ahem!—I don’t know, exactly. You see, I—I’m likely to investigate. I wouldn’t mind looking a few harems over. If I found a bargain—er—ahem!—I might—— Well, you understand, colonel.”“The old reprobate!” exclaimed Dick, in a whisper. “So this is what he’s up to! This is why he wants to take an excursion trip up the Nile! I think I’ll have to find a way to teach him a lesson.”“Yes, suh,” said the voice of the professor’s companion; “I think I understand, suh. But it is possible, professah, that you do not understand yo’self, suh. When yo’ were a boy, did yo’ evah trade jackknives or anything of that sort, ‘unsight, unseen,’ suh?”“Why, yes, I——”“Well, suh, that’s the rule in purchasing a harem. It is the law of the country, professah, that no one save the ownah of a harem shall evah see the uncovered faces of its inmates. If yo’ make a purchase, yo’ have to take a chance on it. Yo’ may see the ladies in advance, but yo’ll not be permitted to see their faces.”“He! he!” again laughed Gunn. “That will make the game all the more fascinating. It adds an element of mystery and suspense. It piques me. If you don’t mind, colonel, I’ll have another nip from the decanter. I take it as a tonic, you know—merely as a tonic.”“Certainly, suh; help yo’self, suh.”“Do you think, colonel, that you might assist me in investigating a few harems?”“Why, yes, suh, it is quite likely I might. Having an extensive acquaintance in Cairo, it will be easy fo’ me to help yo’. I’ll find out what harems are on the market, suh. Drink hearty, professah.”“Well, here is luck and hoping I’ll strike a good bargain.”Dick did not linger longer. He returned to his room and was just in time to find Brad coming in from Budthorne’s room.“The old salamander!” cried the Texan, after listening to Dick’s story. “The old Mormon! Why, he’s married! He has a wife in the United States.”“Exactly.”“What does he think he’s doing, anyhow?”“He thinks he’s going to have a gay time in Cairo, evidently.”“We’ll have to stop it, pard.”“Oh, no!”“What?”“On the contrary, we’ll have to help it along.”“Hey?” shouted Buckhart, aghast. “Whatever do you mean?”“Just what I said.”“But it’s a crime! It’s scandalous! I’m astonished at you!”“It’s not a crime in this country to be the proprietor of a harem.”“But——”“We’re in Egypt, and the law of the land——”“Look here, Dick Merriwell,” blazed Brad, in sudden indignation. “I’ve generally backed you up in anything you’ve said or done; but, by the everlasting Rockies, if you’ve become so depraved and degenerate that you can regard an affair like this as anything but a crime, I want you to understand that I think you’ve lost your senses!”Dick dropped on a chair and laughed heartily.“I mean it!” roared the Texan. “It’s shameful! You hear me chirp! That doddering old chump has a wife in America! Now he wants to buy a harem in Egypt! And you’re willing to aid him in his polygamous design! Waugh! Laugh! laugh! But you’re not the sort of pard I took you for! This is my first disappointment in you! I’ll block the old roué’s game, I will! I’ll spoil his scheme, or I’m not the Unbranded Maverick of the Rio Pecos!”The Texan was greatly wrought up. He stamped up and down the room in a tempest, while Merriwell continued to laugh.“I don’t see where the joke comes in!” snarled Buckhart. “Ha, ha! Isn’t it funny? I suppose you’ll be in for buying a harem next? That’s a fine idea! Perhaps you’ll take a half interest in old Gunn’s bunch of beauties? Wow! I sure am a heap disgusted!”“Cool down a little, Brad,” said Dick, still smiling. “I hardly think I’ll invest in a harem. Why, you excitable longhorn, don’t you know harems are not sold that way here?”“Hey?”“A man may purchase wives for his harem, but he can’t sell the whole outfit when he gets tired of it.”“Can’t?”“Of course not.”“Then what—what——”“The whole thing is some kind of a game.”“But you—you said you were going to help the business along.”“So I am. I want to teach the professor a lesson.”“I don’t think I catch on, Dick.”“Let me tell you something.”“Fire away.”“To begin with, I don’t believe Colonel Stringer ever was in the Egyptian service.”“Don’t you?”“No. He’s a great bluffer. He likes to make people believe he has done wonderful things and been a gay old rascal in his day. I am satisfied that his story about having a harem once was pure fabrication.”“Mebbe you’re right.”“I’m confident of it.”“What’s his graft?”“Perhaps it’s graft, perhaps it’s joking. It may be that he simply enjoys leading the professor on. But I have a scheme. If we can carry it out, we’ll teach Zenas Gunn a lesson and have some fun on our own hook. He’ll never contemplate buying another harem.”The Texan was keenly interested now.“What’s the scheme, pard?”“If we can rig up a job with Colonel Stringer, we’ll furnish a harem for the professor to purchase, and we’ll give him the shock of his life.”Brad’s face began to glow and his eyes to gleam. His mouth expanded in a smile.“Mebbe that’s a good idea,” he nodded. “Just tell me how it can be done.”He drew up a chair and sat down near Dick. For fully thirty minutes the boys had their heads close together, talking in low tones.At intervals Buckhart laughed heartily.The professor came in and found them thus.“What are you up to now, boys?” he asked. “What are you whispering about?”“You will find out in time, professor,” answered Dick.And both lads laughed.
CHAPTER XXVI—SOME INTERESTING CONVERSATIONThe sun was gone, blue shadows gathered, and night came stalking up from Syria and Arabia beyond the isthmus. So absorbed had our friends been by the splendid spectacle, that they had failed to give heed to their immediate surroundings.Nadia was at Brad’s side. Suddenly she clutched his arm with a nervous movement.“What is it?” he asked, seeming to awaken from a trance.“That man! Look there!”She made a gesture, and he looked in the direction indicated. Standing at an angle of the wall, where the shadows were upon him, was the same man to whom she had called his attention on the steps of the hotel.“He has followed me here!” she declared nervously.“Oh, he has, has he?” growled the Texan, his face flushing with anger. “Well, I sure am going to interview him some, right away.”He brushed off her hand and started toward the mysterious stranger.Immediately the unknown turned and disappeared beyond the corner of the wall.Dick had seen the stranger, also, and he joined Buckhart at once, saying:“Come ahead, Brad. It’s time to find out if he’s following us round.”Budthorne had hastened to his sister’s side.The boys ran to the point of the wall. When they reached the spot, they could see nothing of the man.“He can’t be far away,” said Dick.A few moments later they discovered the man walking hastily down the hill. Unless they chose to run after him, there was no prospect of overtaking him.“Better let him go this time,” advised Dick.“All right,” muttered the Texan; “but he is causing me to wax wroth some, and I’ll give him a game of talk the next time I find him dogging us. Who do you reckon he is, pard?”“I am unable to answer the question,” admitted Dick; “but, by his appearance, he seems to be a Turk.”“That’s right. I don’t fancy being spied on by a Turk, just at present. We’re not far enough away from Damascus. He may be one of the sultan’s secret police, sent after us for that little affair in which we were recently involved.”“I thought of that myself. I’m not anxious to be arrested and carried back to Damascus.”“I should say not! That would be mighty bad business. Still, I don’t think——”Dick checked his companion with an exclamation. Another man had joined the one who was rapidly descending the hill. Both boys obtained a glimpse of this second person before both disappeared into the shadows below.“Did you see him, Brad?” asked Dick. “Did you get a fair view of him?”“Just a look, partner, but I swear there was something a heap familiar about him. The way he carried his head—his walk—— I’ve seen that galoot before.”“And so have I. Shall we attempt to overtake them? I’d give something to get a look at his face.”But they decided it was too late, as there was little chance of overtaking those men in the narrow and gloomy streets of Cairo. Besides, in order to pursue the mysterious ones, they would be compelled to abandon Nadia and her brother.So they returned and found Dunbar and Nadia waiting, and a trifle nervous.“It’s all right,” declared Dick diplomatically. “Of course, the man had a right to come up here and view the sunset. He’s gone.”“I’m glad,” said the girl. “But it is growing dark. Let’s return to the hotel right away. I do not fancy being out in the streets of Cairo after dark.”They descended the hill and found the donkeys and the boy drivers waiting for them. Two of the boys were asleep, their hands pillowed on the bodies of their reclining donkeys.“Poor little fellows!” murmured Nadia, sympathetically. “They should be home now. It’s a shame to keep them out so late.”The boys woke up promptly on hearing the voices of their companions. Our friends mounted, and away they went, through the dim streets of the queer, old city, the boys running after the trotting donkeys and giving an occasional twist at the tails of the little beasts.Both Dick and Brad kept a sharp lookout for possible trouble, but the return to the hotel was made without incident.Brad lingered to talk with Dunbar and Nadia, in Budthorne’s room. Not that the pleasures of a chat with Budthorne attracted him so much, but there was again a complete understanding between himself and Nadia.Dick sought Professor Gunn, but failed to discover the old man. He then descended to look for him below.On the way down, the sound of laughter coming from a suite of rooms, the outer door of which was slightly ajar, attracted his attention. He had heard Zenas laugh that way before, and he knew the old pedagogue was in there.Dick stepped to the door, lifting his hand to knock. He paused, his hand uplifted.“He! he! he!” again sounded that well-known laugh. “A harem containing a dozen pretty girls! My! my! But you must have been a gay boy in those days, colonel.”“Well, suh,” said a mellow, yet somewhat husky voice, “yo’ see, suh, a man had to have some enjoyment in this infernal country. I was young, suh, and it was just after the Civil War in America. Scores of officers from the South entered the Egyptian service. Some swore nevah again to set foot on American soil. We felt that we were exiles. But we made the khedive’s army spruce up wonderfully. The pay was good, and all that; but the cursed heat, the monotony, the homesickness, made us all reckless, and set us to longing fo’ diversion. I’ll guarantee, suh, that the most of us found our only diversions in gathering wives fo’ our harems. Those boys were connoisseurs in female beauty, and the wives of many of them would have created a sensation, suh, in New York, London or Paris.”“He! he! he!” again laughed Zenas. “Oh, you rascal! Oh, you sly dog! But it must have been pleasant. What did you do with your harem when you got tired and decided to leave the Egyptian service and the country?”“Why, I sold it, of course.”“Sold it? Sold your wives, colonel?”“Certainly, suh. That was the proper course to pursue, professah. There were plenty of others who were ready to buy, in case you had a bargain to offah, and—as I was anxious to sell—a new recruit in the army obtained my harem fo’ a mere song. Of course, I regretted to part with my beautiful wives, and especially with Fatima, my favorite; but I could not take them with me, on account of the laws of the United States, and so, suh, I kissed Fatima good-by and turned the whole lot ovah to my successor.”“Er—er—ahem! Colonel, does the custom of selling harems still continue in this country, can you say?”“Why, certainly, suh, to a certain extent, suh. Are yo’ thinking of making a purchase, suh?”“Well, I—er—ahem!—I don’t know, exactly. You see, I—I’m likely to investigate. I wouldn’t mind looking a few harems over. If I found a bargain—er—ahem!—I might—— Well, you understand, colonel.”“The old reprobate!” exclaimed Dick, in a whisper. “So this is what he’s up to! This is why he wants to take an excursion trip up the Nile! I think I’ll have to find a way to teach him a lesson.”“Yes, suh,” said the voice of the professor’s companion; “I think I understand, suh. But it is possible, professah, that you do not understand yo’self, suh. When yo’ were a boy, did yo’ evah trade jackknives or anything of that sort, ‘unsight, unseen,’ suh?”“Why, yes, I——”“Well, suh, that’s the rule in purchasing a harem. It is the law of the country, professah, that no one save the ownah of a harem shall evah see the uncovered faces of its inmates. If yo’ make a purchase, yo’ have to take a chance on it. Yo’ may see the ladies in advance, but yo’ll not be permitted to see their faces.”“He! he!” again laughed Gunn. “That will make the game all the more fascinating. It adds an element of mystery and suspense. It piques me. If you don’t mind, colonel, I’ll have another nip from the decanter. I take it as a tonic, you know—merely as a tonic.”“Certainly, suh; help yo’self, suh.”“Do you think, colonel, that you might assist me in investigating a few harems?”“Why, yes, suh, it is quite likely I might. Having an extensive acquaintance in Cairo, it will be easy fo’ me to help yo’. I’ll find out what harems are on the market, suh. Drink hearty, professah.”“Well, here is luck and hoping I’ll strike a good bargain.”Dick did not linger longer. He returned to his room and was just in time to find Brad coming in from Budthorne’s room.“The old salamander!” cried the Texan, after listening to Dick’s story. “The old Mormon! Why, he’s married! He has a wife in the United States.”“Exactly.”“What does he think he’s doing, anyhow?”“He thinks he’s going to have a gay time in Cairo, evidently.”“We’ll have to stop it, pard.”“Oh, no!”“What?”“On the contrary, we’ll have to help it along.”“Hey?” shouted Buckhart, aghast. “Whatever do you mean?”“Just what I said.”“But it’s a crime! It’s scandalous! I’m astonished at you!”“It’s not a crime in this country to be the proprietor of a harem.”“But——”“We’re in Egypt, and the law of the land——”“Look here, Dick Merriwell,” blazed Brad, in sudden indignation. “I’ve generally backed you up in anything you’ve said or done; but, by the everlasting Rockies, if you’ve become so depraved and degenerate that you can regard an affair like this as anything but a crime, I want you to understand that I think you’ve lost your senses!”Dick dropped on a chair and laughed heartily.“I mean it!” roared the Texan. “It’s shameful! You hear me chirp! That doddering old chump has a wife in America! Now he wants to buy a harem in Egypt! And you’re willing to aid him in his polygamous design! Waugh! Laugh! laugh! But you’re not the sort of pard I took you for! This is my first disappointment in you! I’ll block the old roué’s game, I will! I’ll spoil his scheme, or I’m not the Unbranded Maverick of the Rio Pecos!”The Texan was greatly wrought up. He stamped up and down the room in a tempest, while Merriwell continued to laugh.“I don’t see where the joke comes in!” snarled Buckhart. “Ha, ha! Isn’t it funny? I suppose you’ll be in for buying a harem next? That’s a fine idea! Perhaps you’ll take a half interest in old Gunn’s bunch of beauties? Wow! I sure am a heap disgusted!”“Cool down a little, Brad,” said Dick, still smiling. “I hardly think I’ll invest in a harem. Why, you excitable longhorn, don’t you know harems are not sold that way here?”“Hey?”“A man may purchase wives for his harem, but he can’t sell the whole outfit when he gets tired of it.”“Can’t?”“Of course not.”“Then what—what——”“The whole thing is some kind of a game.”“But you—you said you were going to help the business along.”“So I am. I want to teach the professor a lesson.”“I don’t think I catch on, Dick.”“Let me tell you something.”“Fire away.”“To begin with, I don’t believe Colonel Stringer ever was in the Egyptian service.”“Don’t you?”“No. He’s a great bluffer. He likes to make people believe he has done wonderful things and been a gay old rascal in his day. I am satisfied that his story about having a harem once was pure fabrication.”“Mebbe you’re right.”“I’m confident of it.”“What’s his graft?”“Perhaps it’s graft, perhaps it’s joking. It may be that he simply enjoys leading the professor on. But I have a scheme. If we can carry it out, we’ll teach Zenas Gunn a lesson and have some fun on our own hook. He’ll never contemplate buying another harem.”The Texan was keenly interested now.“What’s the scheme, pard?”“If we can rig up a job with Colonel Stringer, we’ll furnish a harem for the professor to purchase, and we’ll give him the shock of his life.”Brad’s face began to glow and his eyes to gleam. His mouth expanded in a smile.“Mebbe that’s a good idea,” he nodded. “Just tell me how it can be done.”He drew up a chair and sat down near Dick. For fully thirty minutes the boys had their heads close together, talking in low tones.At intervals Buckhart laughed heartily.The professor came in and found them thus.“What are you up to now, boys?” he asked. “What are you whispering about?”“You will find out in time, professor,” answered Dick.And both lads laughed.
The sun was gone, blue shadows gathered, and night came stalking up from Syria and Arabia beyond the isthmus. So absorbed had our friends been by the splendid spectacle, that they had failed to give heed to their immediate surroundings.
Nadia was at Brad’s side. Suddenly she clutched his arm with a nervous movement.
“What is it?” he asked, seeming to awaken from a trance.
“That man! Look there!”
She made a gesture, and he looked in the direction indicated. Standing at an angle of the wall, where the shadows were upon him, was the same man to whom she had called his attention on the steps of the hotel.
“He has followed me here!” she declared nervously.
“Oh, he has, has he?” growled the Texan, his face flushing with anger. “Well, I sure am going to interview him some, right away.”
He brushed off her hand and started toward the mysterious stranger.
Immediately the unknown turned and disappeared beyond the corner of the wall.
Dick had seen the stranger, also, and he joined Buckhart at once, saying:
“Come ahead, Brad. It’s time to find out if he’s following us round.”
Budthorne had hastened to his sister’s side.
The boys ran to the point of the wall. When they reached the spot, they could see nothing of the man.
“He can’t be far away,” said Dick.
A few moments later they discovered the man walking hastily down the hill. Unless they chose to run after him, there was no prospect of overtaking him.
“Better let him go this time,” advised Dick.
“All right,” muttered the Texan; “but he is causing me to wax wroth some, and I’ll give him a game of talk the next time I find him dogging us. Who do you reckon he is, pard?”
“I am unable to answer the question,” admitted Dick; “but, by his appearance, he seems to be a Turk.”
“That’s right. I don’t fancy being spied on by a Turk, just at present. We’re not far enough away from Damascus. He may be one of the sultan’s secret police, sent after us for that little affair in which we were recently involved.”
“I thought of that myself. I’m not anxious to be arrested and carried back to Damascus.”
“I should say not! That would be mighty bad business. Still, I don’t think——”
Dick checked his companion with an exclamation. Another man had joined the one who was rapidly descending the hill. Both boys obtained a glimpse of this second person before both disappeared into the shadows below.
“Did you see him, Brad?” asked Dick. “Did you get a fair view of him?”
“Just a look, partner, but I swear there was something a heap familiar about him. The way he carried his head—his walk—— I’ve seen that galoot before.”
“And so have I. Shall we attempt to overtake them? I’d give something to get a look at his face.”
But they decided it was too late, as there was little chance of overtaking those men in the narrow and gloomy streets of Cairo. Besides, in order to pursue the mysterious ones, they would be compelled to abandon Nadia and her brother.
So they returned and found Dunbar and Nadia waiting, and a trifle nervous.
“It’s all right,” declared Dick diplomatically. “Of course, the man had a right to come up here and view the sunset. He’s gone.”
“I’m glad,” said the girl. “But it is growing dark. Let’s return to the hotel right away. I do not fancy being out in the streets of Cairo after dark.”
They descended the hill and found the donkeys and the boy drivers waiting for them. Two of the boys were asleep, their hands pillowed on the bodies of their reclining donkeys.
“Poor little fellows!” murmured Nadia, sympathetically. “They should be home now. It’s a shame to keep them out so late.”
The boys woke up promptly on hearing the voices of their companions. Our friends mounted, and away they went, through the dim streets of the queer, old city, the boys running after the trotting donkeys and giving an occasional twist at the tails of the little beasts.
Both Dick and Brad kept a sharp lookout for possible trouble, but the return to the hotel was made without incident.
Brad lingered to talk with Dunbar and Nadia, in Budthorne’s room. Not that the pleasures of a chat with Budthorne attracted him so much, but there was again a complete understanding between himself and Nadia.
Dick sought Professor Gunn, but failed to discover the old man. He then descended to look for him below.
On the way down, the sound of laughter coming from a suite of rooms, the outer door of which was slightly ajar, attracted his attention. He had heard Zenas laugh that way before, and he knew the old pedagogue was in there.
Dick stepped to the door, lifting his hand to knock. He paused, his hand uplifted.
“He! he! he!” again sounded that well-known laugh. “A harem containing a dozen pretty girls! My! my! But you must have been a gay boy in those days, colonel.”
“Well, suh,” said a mellow, yet somewhat husky voice, “yo’ see, suh, a man had to have some enjoyment in this infernal country. I was young, suh, and it was just after the Civil War in America. Scores of officers from the South entered the Egyptian service. Some swore nevah again to set foot on American soil. We felt that we were exiles. But we made the khedive’s army spruce up wonderfully. The pay was good, and all that; but the cursed heat, the monotony, the homesickness, made us all reckless, and set us to longing fo’ diversion. I’ll guarantee, suh, that the most of us found our only diversions in gathering wives fo’ our harems. Those boys were connoisseurs in female beauty, and the wives of many of them would have created a sensation, suh, in New York, London or Paris.”
“He! he! he!” again laughed Zenas. “Oh, you rascal! Oh, you sly dog! But it must have been pleasant. What did you do with your harem when you got tired and decided to leave the Egyptian service and the country?”
“Why, I sold it, of course.”
“Sold it? Sold your wives, colonel?”
“Certainly, suh. That was the proper course to pursue, professah. There were plenty of others who were ready to buy, in case you had a bargain to offah, and—as I was anxious to sell—a new recruit in the army obtained my harem fo’ a mere song. Of course, I regretted to part with my beautiful wives, and especially with Fatima, my favorite; but I could not take them with me, on account of the laws of the United States, and so, suh, I kissed Fatima good-by and turned the whole lot ovah to my successor.”
“Er—er—ahem! Colonel, does the custom of selling harems still continue in this country, can you say?”
“Why, certainly, suh, to a certain extent, suh. Are yo’ thinking of making a purchase, suh?”
“Well, I—er—ahem!—I don’t know, exactly. You see, I—I’m likely to investigate. I wouldn’t mind looking a few harems over. If I found a bargain—er—ahem!—I might—— Well, you understand, colonel.”
“The old reprobate!” exclaimed Dick, in a whisper. “So this is what he’s up to! This is why he wants to take an excursion trip up the Nile! I think I’ll have to find a way to teach him a lesson.”
“Yes, suh,” said the voice of the professor’s companion; “I think I understand, suh. But it is possible, professah, that you do not understand yo’self, suh. When yo’ were a boy, did yo’ evah trade jackknives or anything of that sort, ‘unsight, unseen,’ suh?”
“Why, yes, I——”
“Well, suh, that’s the rule in purchasing a harem. It is the law of the country, professah, that no one save the ownah of a harem shall evah see the uncovered faces of its inmates. If yo’ make a purchase, yo’ have to take a chance on it. Yo’ may see the ladies in advance, but yo’ll not be permitted to see their faces.”
“He! he!” again laughed Gunn. “That will make the game all the more fascinating. It adds an element of mystery and suspense. It piques me. If you don’t mind, colonel, I’ll have another nip from the decanter. I take it as a tonic, you know—merely as a tonic.”
“Certainly, suh; help yo’self, suh.”
“Do you think, colonel, that you might assist me in investigating a few harems?”
“Why, yes, suh, it is quite likely I might. Having an extensive acquaintance in Cairo, it will be easy fo’ me to help yo’. I’ll find out what harems are on the market, suh. Drink hearty, professah.”
“Well, here is luck and hoping I’ll strike a good bargain.”
Dick did not linger longer. He returned to his room and was just in time to find Brad coming in from Budthorne’s room.
“The old salamander!” cried the Texan, after listening to Dick’s story. “The old Mormon! Why, he’s married! He has a wife in the United States.”
“Exactly.”
“What does he think he’s doing, anyhow?”
“He thinks he’s going to have a gay time in Cairo, evidently.”
“We’ll have to stop it, pard.”
“Oh, no!”
“What?”
“On the contrary, we’ll have to help it along.”
“Hey?” shouted Buckhart, aghast. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Just what I said.”
“But it’s a crime! It’s scandalous! I’m astonished at you!”
“It’s not a crime in this country to be the proprietor of a harem.”
“But——”
“We’re in Egypt, and the law of the land——”
“Look here, Dick Merriwell,” blazed Brad, in sudden indignation. “I’ve generally backed you up in anything you’ve said or done; but, by the everlasting Rockies, if you’ve become so depraved and degenerate that you can regard an affair like this as anything but a crime, I want you to understand that I think you’ve lost your senses!”
Dick dropped on a chair and laughed heartily.
“I mean it!” roared the Texan. “It’s shameful! You hear me chirp! That doddering old chump has a wife in America! Now he wants to buy a harem in Egypt! And you’re willing to aid him in his polygamous design! Waugh! Laugh! laugh! But you’re not the sort of pard I took you for! This is my first disappointment in you! I’ll block the old roué’s game, I will! I’ll spoil his scheme, or I’m not the Unbranded Maverick of the Rio Pecos!”
The Texan was greatly wrought up. He stamped up and down the room in a tempest, while Merriwell continued to laugh.
“I don’t see where the joke comes in!” snarled Buckhart. “Ha, ha! Isn’t it funny? I suppose you’ll be in for buying a harem next? That’s a fine idea! Perhaps you’ll take a half interest in old Gunn’s bunch of beauties? Wow! I sure am a heap disgusted!”
“Cool down a little, Brad,” said Dick, still smiling. “I hardly think I’ll invest in a harem. Why, you excitable longhorn, don’t you know harems are not sold that way here?”
“Hey?”
“A man may purchase wives for his harem, but he can’t sell the whole outfit when he gets tired of it.”
“Can’t?”
“Of course not.”
“Then what—what——”
“The whole thing is some kind of a game.”
“But you—you said you were going to help the business along.”
“So I am. I want to teach the professor a lesson.”
“I don’t think I catch on, Dick.”
“Let me tell you something.”
“Fire away.”
“To begin with, I don’t believe Colonel Stringer ever was in the Egyptian service.”
“Don’t you?”
“No. He’s a great bluffer. He likes to make people believe he has done wonderful things and been a gay old rascal in his day. I am satisfied that his story about having a harem once was pure fabrication.”
“Mebbe you’re right.”
“I’m confident of it.”
“What’s his graft?”
“Perhaps it’s graft, perhaps it’s joking. It may be that he simply enjoys leading the professor on. But I have a scheme. If we can carry it out, we’ll teach Zenas Gunn a lesson and have some fun on our own hook. He’ll never contemplate buying another harem.”
The Texan was keenly interested now.
“What’s the scheme, pard?”
“If we can rig up a job with Colonel Stringer, we’ll furnish a harem for the professor to purchase, and we’ll give him the shock of his life.”
Brad’s face began to glow and his eyes to gleam. His mouth expanded in a smile.
“Mebbe that’s a good idea,” he nodded. “Just tell me how it can be done.”
He drew up a chair and sat down near Dick. For fully thirty minutes the boys had their heads close together, talking in low tones.
At intervals Buckhart laughed heartily.
The professor came in and found them thus.
“What are you up to now, boys?” he asked. “What are you whispering about?”
“You will find out in time, professor,” answered Dick.
And both lads laughed.