Yussuf the Guide

Yussuf the Guide, by George Manville Fenn

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Title: Yussuf the Guide The Mountain Bandits; Strange Adventure in Asia Minor
Author: George Manville Fenn
Illustrator: John Schonberg
Release Date: May 8, 2007 [EBook #21378]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

Yussuf the Guide; or, the Mountain Bandits, being a Story of Adventure in Asia Minor, by George Manville Fenn.
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Lawrence is a boy in his late teens, who has consumption, which makes him feel very tired and helpless. He says one day that he would love a holiday somewhere hot and sunny. He has no relations, but there is a guardian, a local lawyer; and a doctor and a retired professor elect to go to Turkey with him, to look at the antiquities.
They travel first to Greece, where they find a lot of dishonesty, in particular in the crew of the little ship in which they sail to Turkey. Luckily they had sent their luggage on ahead, but the experiences they had were not very nice. They had already employed a very charming and resourceful Turk as guide.
But when they get to Turkey, they find that as they travel inland people become progressively less helpful, until eventually they are captured by bandits, and a ransom is demanded. How do they get out of this? And is Turkey still like this?
An exciting thriller. Recommended.
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YUSSUF THE GUIDE; OR, THE MOUNTAIN BANDITS, BEING A STORY OF ADVENTURE IN ASIA MINOR, BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.
CHAPTER ONE.
MEDICAL AND LEGAL.
"But it seems so shocking, sir."
"Yes, madam," said the doctor, "very sad indeed. You had better get that prescription made up at once."
"And him drenched with physic!" cried Mrs Dunn; "when it doesn't do him a bit of good."
"Not very complimentary to me, Mrs Dunn," said the doctor smiling.
"Which I didn't mean any harm, sir; but wouldn't it be better to let the poor boy die in peace, instead of worrying him to keep on taking physic?"
"And what would you and his friends say if I did not prescribe for him?"
"I should say it was the best thing, sir; and as to his friends, why, he hasn't got any."
"Mr Burne?"
"What! the lawyer, sir? I don't call him a friend. Looks after the money his poor pa left, and doles it out once a month, and comes and takes snuff and blows his nose all over the room, as if he was a human trombone, and then says, `hum!' and `ha!' and `send me word how he is now and then,' and goes away."
"But his father's executor, Professor Preston?"
"Lor' bless the man! don't talk about him. I wrote to him last week about how bad the poor boy was; and he came up from Oxford to see him, and sat down and read something out of a roll of paper to him about his dog."
"About his dog, Mrs Dunn?"
"Yes, sir, about his dog Pompey, and then about tombs--nice subject to bring up to a poor boy half-dead with consumption! And as soon as he had done reading he begins talking to him. You said Master Lawrence was to be kept quiet, sir?"
"Certainly, Mrs Dunn."
"Well, if he didn't stand there sawing one of his hands about and talking there, shouting at the poor lad as if he was in the next street, or he was a hout-door preacher, till I couldn't bear it any longer, and I made him go."
"Ah, I suppose the professor is accustomed to lecture."
"Then he had better go and lecture, sir. He sha'n't talk my poor boy to death."
"Well, quiet is best for him, Mrs Dunn," said the doctor smiling at the rosy-faced old lady, who had turned quite fierce; "but still, change and something to interest him will do good."
"More good than physic, sir?"
"Well, yes, Mrs Dunn, I will be frank with you--more good than physic. What did Mr Burne say about the poor fellow going to Madeira or the south of France?"
"Said, sir, that he'd better take his Madeira out of a wine-glass and his south of France out of a book. I don't know what he meant, and when I asked him he only blew his nose till I felt as if I could have boxed his ears. But now, doctor, what do you really think about the poor dear? You see he's like my own boy. Didn't I nurse him when he was a baby, and didn't his poor mother beg of me to always look after him? And