For the first three days after leaving Suez, Frederick failed to put in an appearance either at table or on deck, and remained most of the time in the seclusion3 of his own cabin. His nerves had been rudely shaken by the exciting scenes attending his departure from Cairo, and he felt a cold shiver run down his back when he thought of the terrible fate that would have been his lot had he fallen into the hands of the janizaries and eunuchs of M. le Pasha. With all its veneer4 of civilization, Egypt was then, and still is to this day, an essentially5 oriental country. The mysteries of the harem are still as dark and shadowy as in days of yore; and notwithstanding all that may be said to the contrary, neither justice nor police legislation has ever succeeded in penetrating6 the Zenana. Within its walls, the pasha, or bey, especially if he be wealthy and influential7, is absolute master of life and death of the inmates8. He is accountable to no one for what goes on in his harem; and the stranger who dares to commit the unpardonable offense9 of invading its sanctity must be prepared to face either death or the most horrible forms of mutilation and torture.
Of remorse10 for the death of the pasha's second wife, Frederick felt none. He had strangled her in self-defense; [Pg 57] and, although he had no intention of killing11 her at the time, yet he considered that she fully12 merited her fate. He was equally indifferent as to what had become of the princess. His enthusiasm had given way to feelings of anger against her for causing him to incur13 so terrible a danger. It is evident, however, that she must have succeeded in giving some satisfactory explanation to the pasha, both as to the presence of a stranger in her apartments, and as to the death of his second wife, for she is alive to this day, and neither increasing age nor corpulency had had the effect of putting a stop to her adventures, which from time to time furnish a piece of gossip, seasoned highly enough even for the jaded14 palates of the Cairenes. Her husband, the pasha, expired somewhat suddenly a few years ago, and she has not since remarried.
On the fourth day of the voyage, just as the vessel15 was steaming past the barren island of Perim, Frederick, who by this time had entirely16 recovered, made his way on deck, and, with a cigar in his mouth, leaned against the bulwarks17, watching signals which were being displayed from the masthead of the fort. He was just about to turn away and to stroll forward for the purpose of inspecting the strange assortment18 of native deck passengers bound for Aden, when he was accosted19 by a handsome young Englishman, who requested the favor of a light for his pipe. A conversation sprang up between the two, during the course of which Frederick discovered that his new acquaintance was a wealthy young guardsman, Sir Charles Montgomery by name, who was on his way out to take up a staff appointment at Calcutta. The name of General von Waldberg was not unknown to the baronet, and he therefore had no hesitancy about introducing Frederick not only to his fellow-officers, but also to most of of the other prominent passengers on board. The young count soon became a great favorite, especially with the ladies. Much of his time, however, was [Pg 58] spent in the smoking-room on deck, playing cards with Sir Charles, and some four or five of the latter's messmates. During the first two days Frederick lost heavily, which he could ill afford, for, after paying his hotel bill at Cairo, and purchasing his passage for Bombay, he had found that his money was almost exhausted20. On the third day, however, his spell of bad luck came to an end, and from that time forth21 his winnings were considerable. No matter what the game might be, his hand was invariably such as to arouse the envy and admiration22 of all beholders. Both Sir Charles and two other of the officers lost large sums to him, and at length one night, on rising from the card-table, the baronet was sharply taken to task by one of his fellow-losers, a Captain Clery, who inquired, with some asperity23, whether he was sure of “that dused German fellow.”
“What do you mean? What on earth are you driving at, my dear Clery? What should I know more about him than you do yourself? There is no doubt about his being the son of old General von Waldberg, whose name you are just as well acquainted with as I am.”
“That is just what puzzles me,” replied the captain. “How can you explain the fact that a man of his station and military training should be here on board a Bombay-bound steamer, instead of being with the German Army before Paris? There is something very fishy24 and queer about him.”
“I don't agree with you one bit,” retorted Sir Charles. “I think he is a very nice fellow—remarkably bright and amusing, and exceedingly wide awake and clever.”
“Too clever by half,” muttered Captain Clery, savagely25 twisting his heavy blonde mustache. “I am going to watch his game. I don't believe he plays fair. It isn't natural that he should win whenever there is a heavy stake on the [Pg 59] table. I believe he is simply plucking us like so many blue-necked pigeons.”
Had Frederick obtained any inkling of the purport26 of Captain Clery's remarks about his extraordinary run of luck, or was it mere27 coincidence that he lost twenty guineas at ecarte on the following afternoon? Be this as it may, the fact remains28 that during the rest of the voyage he seized various pretexts29 for absenting himself from the card-table, and devoted30 his whole time to a very lovely girl, Florence Fitzpatrick by name, to whom he had been presented by Sir Charles. Her father, who hailed from County Cork31, held a high command in the Army of the “Guicowar,” or King of Baroda, and had made the acquaintance of General von Waldberg some years previously32 at Vienna. The old count had not only treated him with much kindness and consideration, but had also obtained him facilities for attending the annual maneuvers33 of the Prussian and Austrian Armies. He was therefore delighted to have an opportunity of making some return for the courtesy shown to him by Frederick's father, and warmly pressed the young man to visit him at Baroda.
About a fortnight after landing in India, just as Frederick was beginning to grow heartily34 sick of Bombay, he received a letter from Colonel Fitzpatrick reminding him of his promise to spend a few weeks at Baroda, and urging him to come up at once so as to be in time for a big tiger-hunt which was about to take place. Accordingly, on the next day, having telegraphed to the colonel to announce his impending35 arrival, he started on his journey up country.
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1
contingent
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| adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队 | |
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expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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3
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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5
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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6
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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7
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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8
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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9
offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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10
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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11
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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12
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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13
incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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14
jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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15
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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16
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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17
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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18
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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19
accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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21
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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24
fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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25
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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27
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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28
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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29
pretexts
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| n.借口，托辞( pretext的名词复数 ) | |
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30
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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31
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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32
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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33
maneuvers
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| n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 ) | |
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34
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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35
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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