Jack Hildreth on the Nile | Page 7

wrenched himself free, made a dash for the wall, mounted it, dropped on the other side, and I heard him running away for dear life.
Well, it was a pity he had got off, but I was lucky to have escaped his knife. Consoling myself with this thought, I returned to the house. I found Ghost Number Two lying where my blow had stretched him. I disarmed him, and went to the main entrance of the house, where the brave Selim lay. As he heard me coming he began the Moslem pilgrim's prayer: "O Allah, protect me from the thrice stoned devil, deliver me from all evil spirits, and cover the depths of hell from mine eyes."
"Stop whimpering," I said, "and get up. It is I."
"You? And who are you?" came a voice from beneath the blanket in which he had muffled himself. "I know who you are. Go from me, for I am beloved of the Prophet, and you have no power over me."
"Nonsense! Don't you know my voice ? I am the stranger Effendi, who is your guest."
"No, you are not. You have assumed his voice to deceive. But the hands of the holy caliphs are outspread to protect me, and in paradise a million lips move in prayer for my delivery. O Allah, Allah, Allah, let my sins be so small before Thee that Thou canst not see them, and help me to overcome the evil spirit whose claws tear at my back."
The man who had boasted himself the greatest hero in the universe was fairly quivering with terror, till I pulled him out of his blanket, and he saw it was indeed I, in my own flesh, when he changed his tone. "Effendi!" he cried, "what a risk you ran! Fortunately, I recognized your voice instantly. Had I mistaken you for the ghost, your soul would have gone out of your body like smoke, for I am terrible in my wrath."
"It's a lucky thing you feel thus," I answered, "for you can help me with the ghost I have captured in my room."
"Effendi, you are jesting. Who could capture a ghost?"
"I am not jesting; he lies yonder; we'll bring him in here."
"Deliver us, O Lord, and bless us with Thy blessing!" he cried, stretching out his hands as if to ward off danger. "No order from the khedive, no law and no command could make me go into that place where the evil spirit lies."
"It isn't a ghost; it's a man."
"Then tell me his name, the name of his father, and his father's father, and where his tribe abides, or I cannot believe him a man."
"This is sheer nonsense; I knocked him down, and bound him, and in the next room lies a second man in the same condition," I said impatiently.
"Then you are lost; they have let themselves appear conquered, only to destroy you, body and soul, and throw the pieces to the wind."
"Go back to your bed and hide under the blanket. But never say again you are the most famous hero of your tribe."
So saying I left him in disgust to return to my prisoners, while he, as I learned later, went to call his master and tell him how he, Selim, single-handed and alone, had fought and conquered the two men who were playing ghosts.
I went over to Ghost Number Two and felt his head; it was swollen, but not broken; his heart beat evenly. I laid my hand on him none too gently, saying: "He who plays the dead should be dead. Take care I do not put an end to you. You have escaped this time, but ghosts receive very little mercy at my hands."
Selim opportunely thrust his head around the door at this moment, and I beckoned him to me. "You must stay with my other prisoner while I speak with Murad Nassyr," I said. "I hope I can trust him to you?"
"With full confidence, Effendi," he replied, vauntingly.
"You may rest assured that he is safe. A glance from my eagle eye will be enough to fill him with terror. But let me get my weapons."
"That is not necessary, for he is bound."
"I know that well, Effendi, but weapons double a man's value, and give his orders the force they require."
Plainly he was afraid to be left alone with these helpless men, so I consented to his dragging in his entire arsenal, and went to find Murad Nassyr. We agreed in our opinion of the best course to take, and returned together to Abd el Barak, sending Selim away, that he might not know what was done with the prisoner. I went over to Abd el Barak and unfastened his bonds. Then showing him my revolver, I said: "I'll make you a ghost in truth if you move without my