“Sandy,” I said, as soon as I got my breath, “you’re an incarnate2 devil. You’ve given Peter and me the fright of our lives.”
“It was the only way, Dick. If I hadn’t come mewing like a tom-cat at your heels yesterday, Rasta would have had you long before you got to your hotel. You two have given me a pretty anxious time, and it took some doing to get you safe here. However, that is all over now. Make yourselves at home, my children.”
“Over!” I cried incredulously, for my wits were still wool-gathering. “What place is this?”
“You may call it my humble3 home”—it was Blenkiron’s sleek4 voice that spoke5. “We’ve been preparing for you, Major, but it was only yesterday I heard of your friend.”
I introduced Peter.
“Mr Pienaar,” said Blenkiron, “pleased to meet you. Well, as I was observing, you’re safe enough here, but you’ve cut it mighty6 fine. Officially, a Dutchman called Brandt was to be arrested this afternoon and handed over to the German authorities. When Germany begins to trouble about that Dutchman she will find difficulty in getting the body; but such are the languid ways of an Oriental despotism. Meantime the Dutchman will be no more. He will have ceased upon the midnight without pain, as your poet sings.”
“My men,” said Sandy. “We have a bit of a graft8 here, and it wasn’t difficult to manage it. Old Moellendorff will be nosing after the business tomorrow, but he will find the mystery too deep for him. That is the advantage of a Government run by a pack of adventurers. But, by Jove, Dick, we hadn’t any time to spare. If Rasta had got you, or the Germans had had the job of lifting you, your goose would have been jolly well cooked. I had some unquiet hours this morning.”
The thing was too deep for me. I looked at Blenkiron, shuffling9 his Patience cards with his old sleepy smile, and Sandy, dressed like some bandit in melodrama10, his lean face as brown as a nut, his bare arms all tattooed11 with crimson12 rings, and the fox pelt13 drawn14 tight over brow and ears. It was still a nightmare world, but the dream was getting pleasanter. Peter said not a word, but I could see his eyes heavy with his own thoughts.
“You boys must be hungry,” he said. “My duo-denum has been giving me hell as usual, and I don’t eat no more than a squirrel. But I laid in some stores, for I guessed you would want to stoke up some after your travels.”
He brought out a couple of Strassburg pies, a cheese, a cold chicken, a loaf, and three bottles of champagne16.
“Fizz,” said Sandy rapturously. “And a dry Heidsieck too! We’re in luck, Dick, old man.”
I never ate a more welcome meal, for we had starved in that dirty hotel. But I had still the old feeling of the hunted, and before I began I asked about the door.
“That’s all right,” said Sandy. “My fellows are on the stair and at the gate. If the Metreb are in possession, you may bet that other people will keep off. Your past is blotted17 out, clean vanished away, and you begin tomorrow morning with a new sheet. Blenkiron’s the man you’ve got to thank for that. He was pretty certain you’d get here, but he was also certain that you’d arrive in a hurry with a good many inquirers behind you. So he arranged that you should leak away and start fresh.”
“Your name is Richard Hanau,” Blenkiron said, “born in Cleveland, Ohio, of German parentage on both sides. One of our brightest mining-engineers, and the apple of Guggenheim’s eye. You arrived this afternoon from Constanza, and I met you at the packet. The clothes for the part are in your bedroom next door. But I guess all that can wait, for I’m anxious to get to business. We’re not here on a joy-ride, Major, so I reckon we’ll leave out the dime-novel adventures. I’m just dying to hear them, but they’ll keep. I want to know how our mutual18 inquiries19 have prospered20.”
He gave Peter and me cigars, and we sat ourselves in armchairs in front of the blaze. Sandy squatted21 cross-legged on the hearthrug and lit a foul22 old briar pipe, which he extricated23 from some pouch24 among his skins. And so began that conversation which had never been out of my thoughts for four hectic25 weeks.
“If I presume to begin,” said Blenkiron, “it’s because I reckon my story is the shortest. I have to confess to you, gentlemen, that I have failed.”
He drew down the corners of his mouth till he looked a cross between a music-hall comedian26 and a sick child.
“If you were looking for something in the root of the hedge, you wouldn’t want to scour27 the road in a high-speed automobile28. And still less would you want to get a bird’s-eye view in an aeroplane. That parable29 about fits my case. I have been in the clouds and I’ve been scorching30 on the pikes, but what I was wanting was in the ditch all the time, and I naturally missed it ... I had the wrong stunt31, Major. I was too high up and refined. I’ve been processing through Europe like Barnum’s Circus, and living with generals and transparencies. Not that I haven’t picked up a lot of noos, and got some very interesting sidelights on high politics. But the thing I was after wasn’t to be found on my beat, for those that knew it weren’t going to tell. In that kind of society they don’t get drunk and blab after their tenth cocktail32. So I guess I’ve no contribution to make to quieting Sir Walter Bullivant’s mind, except that he’s dead right. Yes, Sir, he has hit the spot and rung the bell. There is a mighty miracle-working proposition being floated in these parts, but the promoters are keeping it to themselves. They aren’t taking in more than they can help on the ground-floor.”
Blenkiron stopped to light a fresh cigar. He was leaner than when he left London and there were pouches33 below his eyes. I fancy his journey had not been as fur-lined as he made out. “I’ve found out one thing, and that is, that the last dream Germany will part with is the control of the Near East. That is what your statesmen don’t figure enough on. She’ll give up Belgium and Alsace-Lorraine and Poland, but by God! she’ll never give up the road to Mesopotamia till you have her by the throat and make her drop it. Sir Walter is a pretty bright-eyed citizen, and he sees it right enough. If the worst happens, Kaiser will fling overboard a lot of ballast in Europe, and it will look like a big victory for the Allies, but he won’t be beaten if he has the road to the East safe. Germany’s like a scorpion34: her sting’s in her tail, and that tail stretches way down into Asia.
“I got that clear, and I also made out that it wasn’t going to be dead easy for her to keep that tail healthy. Turkey’s a bit of an anxiety, as you’ll soon discover. But Germany thinks she can manage it, and I won’t say she can’t. It depends on the hand she holds, and she reckons it a good one. I tried to find out, but they gave me nothing but eyewash. I had to pretend to be satisfied, for the position of John S. wasn’t so strong as to allow him to take liberties. If I asked one of the highbrows he looked wise and spoke of the might of German arms and German organization and German staff-work. I used to nod my head and get enthusiastic about these stunts35, but it was all soft soap. She has a trick in hand—that much I know, but I’m darned if I can put a name to it. I pray to God you boys have been cleverer.”
His tone was quite melancholy36, and I was mean enough to feel rather glad. He had been the professional with the best chance. It would be a good joke if the amateur succeeded where the expert failed.
I looked at Sandy. He filled his pipe again, and pushed back his skin cap from his brows. What with his long dishevelled hair, his high-boned face, and stained eyebrows37 he had the appearance of some mad mullah.
“I went straight to Smyrna,” he said. “It wasn’t difficult, for you see I had laid down a good many lines in former travels. I reached the town as a Greek money-lender from the Fayum, but I had friends there I could count on, and the same evening I was a Turkish gipsy, a member of the most famous fraternity in Western Asia. I had long been a member, and I’m blood-brother of the chief boss, so I stepped into the part ready made. But I found out that the Company of the Rosy39 Hours was not what I had known it in 1910. Then it had been all for the Young Turks and reform; now it hankered after the old regime and was the last hope of the Orthodox. It had no use for Enver and his friends, and it did not regard with pleasure the beaux yeux of the Teuton. It stood for Islam and the old ways, and might be described as a Conservative-Nationalist caucus40. But it was uncommon41 powerful in the provinces, and Enver and Talaat daren’t meddle42 with it. The dangerous thing about it was that it said nothing and apparently43 did nothing. It just bided44 its time and took notes.
“You can imagine that this was the very kind of crowd for my purpose. I knew of old its little ways, for with all its orthodoxy it dabbled45 a good deal in magic, and owed half its power to its atmosphere of the uncanny. The Companions could dance the heart out of the ordinary Turk. You saw a bit of one of our dances this afternoon, Dick—pretty good, wasn’t it? They could go anywhere, and no questions asked. They knew what the ordinary man was thinking, for they were the best intelligence department in the Ottoman Empire—far better than Enver’s Khafiyeh. And they were popular, too, for they had never bowed the knee to the Nemseh—the Germans who are squeezing out the life-blood of the Osmanli for their own ends. It would have been as much as the life of the Committee or its German masters was worth to lay a hand on us, for we clung together like leeches46 and we were not in the habit of sticking at trifles.
“Well, you may imagine it wasn’t difficult for me to move where I wanted. My dress and the pass-word franked me anywhere. I travelled from Smyrna by the new railway to Panderma on the Marmora, and got there just before Christmas. That was after Anzac and Suvla had been evacuated47, but I could hear the guns going hard at Cape48 Helles. From Panderma I started to cross to Thrace in a coasting steamer. And there an uncommon funny thing happened—I got torpedoed49.
“It must have been about the last effort of a British submarine in those waters. But she got us all right. She gave us ten minutes to take to the boats, and then sent the blighted50 old packet and a fine cargo51 of 6-inch shells to the bottom. There weren’t many passengers, so it was easy enough to get ashore52 in the ship’s boats. The submarine sat on the surface watching us, as we wailed53 and howled in the true Oriental way, and I saw the captain quite close in the conning-tower. Who do you think it was? Tommy Elliot, who lives on the other side of the hill from me at home.
“I gave Tommy the surprise of his life. As we bumped past him, I started the ‘Flowers of the Forest’—the old version—on the antique stringed instrument I carried, and I sang the words very plain. Tommy’s eyes bulged54 out of his head, and he shouted at me in English to know who the devil I was. I replied in the broadest Scots, which no man in the submarine or in our boat could have understood a word of. ‘Maister Tammy,’ I cried, ‘what for wad ye skail a dacent tinkler lad intil a cauld sea? I’ll gie ye your kail through the reek38 for this ploy55 the next time I forgaither wi’ ye on the tap o’ Caerdon.’
“Tommy spotted56 me in a second. He laughed till he cried, and as we moved off shouted to me in the same language to ‘pit a stoot hert tae a stey brae’. I hope to Heaven he had the sense not to tell my father, or the old man will have had a fit. He never much approved of my wanderings, and thought I was safely anchored in the battalion57.
“Well, to make a long story short, I got to Constantinople, and pretty soon found touch with Blenkiron. The rest you know. And now for business. I have been fairly lucky—but no more, for I haven’t got to the bottom of the thing nor anything like it. But I’ve solved the first of Harry58 Bullivant’s riddles59. I know the meaning of Kasredin.
“Sir Walter was right, as Blenkiron has told us. There’s a great stirring in Islam, something moving on the face of the waters. They make no secret of it. Those religious revivals60 come in cycles, and one was due about now. And they are quite clear about the details. A seer has arisen of the blood of the Prophet, who will restore the Khalifate to its old glories and Islam to its old purity. His sayings are everywhere in the Moslem61 world. All the orthodox believers have them by heart. That is why they are enduring grinding poverty and preposterous62 taxation63, and that is why their young men are rolling up to the armies and dying without complaint in Gallipoli and Transcaucasia. They believe they are on the eve of a great deliverance.
“Now the first thing I found out was that the Young Turks had nothing to do with this. They are unpopular and unorthodox, and no true Turks. But Germany has. How, I don’t know, but I could see quite plainly that in some subtle way Germany was regarded as a collaborator64 in the movement. It is that belief that is keeping the present regime going. The ordinary Turk loathes65 the Committee, but he has some queer perverted66 expectation from Germany. It is not a case of Enver and the rest carrying on their shoulders the unpopular Teuton; it is a case of the Teuton carrying the unpopular Committee. And Germany’s graft is just this and nothing more—that she has some hand in the coming of the new deliverer.
“They talk about the thing quite openly. It is called the Kaába-i-hurriyeh, the Palladium of Liberty. The prophet himself is known as Zimrud—‘the Emerald’—and his four ministers are called also after jewels—Sapphire, Ruby67, Pearl, and Topaz. You will hear their names as often in the talk of the towns and villages as you will hear the names of generals in England. But no one knew where Zimrud was or when he would reveal himself, though every week came his messages to the faithful. All that I could learn was that he and his followers68 were coming from the West.
“You will say, what about Kasredin? That puzzled me dreadfully, for no one used the phrase. The Home of the Spirit! It is an obvious cliche69, just as in England some new sect70 might call itself the Church of Christ. Only no one seemed to use it.
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1
spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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incarnate
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| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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graft
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| n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接 | |
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9
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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10
melodrama
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| n.音乐剧；情节剧 | |
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11
tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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13
pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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15
waddled
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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25
hectic
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| adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的 | |
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comedian
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| n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员 | |
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scour
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| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
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automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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parable
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| n.寓言，比喻 | |
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scorching
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| adj. 灼热的 | |
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stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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cocktail
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| n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物 | |
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pouches
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| n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋 | |
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scorpion
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| n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭 | |
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stunts
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| n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 ) | |
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36
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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reek
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| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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caucus
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| n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议 | |
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41
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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42
meddle
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| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
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43
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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44
bided
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| v.等待，停留( bide的过去式 )；居住；等待；面临 | |
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45
dabbled
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| v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
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46
leeches
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| n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生 | |
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47
evacuated
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| 撤退者的 | |
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48
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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49
torpedoed
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| 用鱼雷袭击（torpedo的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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50
blighted
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| adj.枯萎的，摧毁的 | |
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51
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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52
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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53
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
bulged
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| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
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55
ploy
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| n.花招，手段 | |
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56
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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57
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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58
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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59
riddles
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| n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜 | |
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60
revivals
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| n.复活( revival的名词复数 )；再生；复兴；（老戏多年后）重新上演 | |
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61
Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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62
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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63
taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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64
collaborator
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| n.合作者，协作者 | |
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65
loathes
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的第三人称单数 )；极不喜欢 | |
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66
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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67
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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68
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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69
cliche
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| n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的 | |
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70
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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