Chapter V: Part 5

"Resistance was out of the question. It seemed likely, indeed, that I should be safer in the prison than outside it. There, at least, I might find some intelligent person who would listen to my explanation; there, at least, I should have respite from the attentions of the Camorra, and a plain answer to a civil question.

"Patience!" I said to myself, as the great gate clanged behind me; and it soon became evident that I should have need of patience. For this Neapolitan prison was quite different from any other prison that I had ever been confined in.

"There was no ceremonious reception of new-comers by the authorities; they did not even trouble to ask who one was.

"There was no privacy. Separate cells were only provided for prisoners condemned to death--a heavy price to pay for such a privilege. For the rest, the inmates were herded together in great courtyards, with no distinction between those convicted and those awaiting trial, and no one, so far as I could see, to supervise their conduct. It was, as it were, a republic of evil-doers in which I was turned loose to take my chance and find my level.

"'There are your quarters. Soup and macaroni are served out twice daily. The other prisoners will tell you where you can sleep,' said the gaoler curtly.

"'But I demand to know----' I protested.

"'Silence! Don't bother me with your foolish questions,' he replied, and slammed a door and disappeared.

"So I got no satisfaction from him, and my heart sank within me. A period of _ennui_--a term of weary waiting, with discomfort but without excitement--that seemed to be the fate in store for me. But once more--so far, at least, as the excitement was concerned--I was mistaken. A fellow prisoner provided me with immediate excitement.

"He was tall, lithe, masterful in demeanour. He approached me, like the man whom I had prodded in the stomach after my game of billiards, with one hand extended for a donation, and the other brandishing a cudgel.

"'The due?' he demanded curtly.

"'What due?' I asked calmly.

"'To buy oil for the lamp of the Madonna.'

"It was a formula, though I did not know it. But I was not, as you may suppose, in a conciliatory temper. I drew myself up haughtily and said: 'My good man, I was not aware that I had the pleasure of your acquaintance.'

"He introduced himself.

"'_Io sono il Camorrista_--I am the Camorra man.'

"It was a blow to me. Were my footsteps to be dogged there, even in prison, by the representatives of this mysterious society? It seemed so. Yet, in a sense, I was glad to meet it there. It was a chance of solving the perplexing mystery, and I determined to solve it, even at the risk of a temporary misunderstanding.

"I fixed my eyes on the man, showing that I was ready to defend myself, and spoke to him seriously.

"'_Voyons!_' I said to him. 'The last Camorra man who was rude to me is now suffering from a pain in the pit of the stomach, and he wasn't either so rude or so ugly as you are.'

"'_Corpo di Baccho!_' the man exclaimed, making as though he would strike me, yet hesitating before my determined attitude.

"'But let us be reasonable,' I continued. 'Let me make a proposal to you.'

"'Speak!'

"'Ever since my arrival at Naples, I have been curious to know what your Camorra is, and what it does with the money which it collects with such systematic industry. If you will tell me, I will give you a piece of gold; and if you do not tell me, I will give you nothing.'

"Would he have yielded if we had been alone? I cannot say. A knot of our fellow prisoners had gathered round us, and his pride was at stake.

"'Silence! You have not to ask questions, but to pay.'

"My temper was roused, and I resolved to precipitate the crisis. I flung a piece of gold--part of my winnings at the billiard-table--on the ground, and challenged him.

"'_Voyons!_' I cried. 'No one shall say that Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski is mean. There is your money, and I will fight you for it.'

"A fierce cry of approval went up from the bystanders.

"'A duel! A duel!' they exclaimed in chorus, and the representative of the Camorra--to do him justice--did not shrink from the encounter.

"'Antonio!' he called to a companion, 'fetch knives!' And I made the strange discovery that, in a Neapolitan prison, the prisoners were allowed to borrow knives for the settlement of their affairs of honour.

"But I would not have a knife. It is a weapon in the use of which I have had little practice.

"'No, no!' I cried. 'I will take no unfair advantage of you. It shall be your knife against my umbrella. Does that seem fair to you?'

"He seemed to hesitate, as one who dreads an unfamiliar danger; but the public opinion of the prison was in favour of my proposal. It had novelty; it promised strange spectacular effects calculated to relieve the tedium of prison life. So my opponent found it impossible to refuse.

"'As you prefer,' he said; and seconds were appointed and a space was cleared. At the given word, we advanced to meet each other from opposite corners of the court-yard.

"Do not ask me for details of the combat! I am not vain. Therefore I will not dwell upon them at undue length.

"It was like this. The Camorrista at first advanced stealthily, with long, catlike strides; and I on my part advanced firmly, holding myself upright, like a master of fencing of the French rather than the Italian school. Then the Camorrista launched himself upon me like the greyhound bounding upon the hare. I saw his purpose--to grip the stick of my weapon with his left hand while he lunged with the right with a quick, simultaneous movement. As he seized it, I thrust at him, taking a quick pace to the right as I did so. He fumbled and was delayed for half a second, and the delay gave me my chance. As soon as my right foot was planted on the ground, I launched the _coup de savate_ with my left. Before he could swing the knife round, and at the moment when he was bending slightly forward, the blow caught him in that same point beneath the breast bone in which my antagonist of the previous evening had been wounded.

"The knife dropped from his grasp. He fell moaning and helpless. It was over. I was victorious; and I pointed with my umbrella at my opponent where he lay.

"'_Voyons_, gentlemen! The coin remains my property, I think,' I said, picking it up and replacing it in my pocket.

"'If any other gentleman desires to do battle similarly for the Madonna's oil,' I continued, but none came forward. On the contrary, they cheered me as the ancient Romans, of whom you have heard, might have cheered a triumphant gladiator.

"'I thank you, gentlemen,' I said, bowing with dignity, and walked away.

"But my triumph was to have a consequence which I did not foresee. For the remainder of the day my mind was not entirely easy. Some of my fellow prisoners were whispering together in a manner that did not tend to reassure me. My antagonist had partially recovered and was the centre of mysterious conclaves. There seemed reason to fear that an advantage would be taken of me while I slept--some act of violence done to me in the dark.

"'_Voyons!_' I said to myself. 'I cannot keep awake every night; but this night it is necessary that I should watch and see what happens.'

"Nor had I long to wait before I saw something to justify my fears. The very man whom I had discomfited in the morning was creeping stealthily towards me along the dormitory floor, where I lay stretched, as all the others were, upon a poor, hard mattress. I waited until he had got quite close to me, and then suddenly sat bolt upright, with my hand on my umbrella, prepared to strike with it. But there was no need to strike.

"'Hush!' the man whispered. 'You proved yourself this morning. I now come to you as a friend. I bring you these.'

"Imagine my surprise when I saw him gently place a small handful of small coins upon my bed.

"'What does this mean, then?' I whispered in reply, still watching and suspecting treachery.

"'It is your share.'

"'My share of what?'

"'Of the _barattolo_--of the funds that we collect.'

"'But----'

"'It is offered as a token that we wish you to be one of us.'

"'One of you? One of the Camorra?'

"'Precisely. It is the rule, when a man has proved himself, that he shall be invited to be one of us.'

"It really seemed as though my chance had come to get an answer to my question. I reached out my hand in sign of amity and asked it.

"'Speak to me as a friend, then. Excuse my ignorance, and tell me what is this Camorra which I am asked to join.'

"But I was once more put off.

"'Hush! It is the rule only to inform the companions by degrees.'

"'But you might at least begin informing me?'

"'Yes, I may tell you something. It is a society--secret and powerful. Those who do not love it, fear it. It has influence everywhere. It brought you here. It will arrange you your release to-morrow, by withdrawing the charge against you. A companion will meet you at the prison gate. Do as he bids you.'

"'But the object of the society? The purposes to which it devotes the great sums of money which----'

"'Hush! It is of that that I must not inform you yet. You know, at least, that it is better to be the friend of the Camorra than its enemy.'

"And that, at any rate, was clearly true. Can you blame me if, knowing that, and desiring my release, I agreed to join the society even without a full knowledge of its objects? Can you blame me if I further felt that loyalty bound me to be obedient to the behests of the companion who was to await me at the gate? This time I had to do with a Camorrista dressed as a gentleman.

"'You are the new companion?' he asked me, when I came out.

"'I am the new companion, Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski,' I replied.

"'I was expecting you,' he said.

"'It is very kind of you,' I answered. 'Perhaps you will add to your kindness by informing me what are the political objects of this interesting society in which I have enrolled myself.'

"'Hush!' he said. 'At present I am only permitted to inform you of the duties which you are to discharge.'

"'Your behaviour strikes me as very equivocal,' I protested.

"But he reasoned with me gently.

"'What!' he said. 'You would know all--before you have proved yourself, before you have given guarantees? You will not trust the Camorra even when the Camorra shows that it has trust in you? Consider, now. Does not our confidence merit yours?'

"'But I have a curiosity to know.'

"'Naturally--most naturally. And it will not be very long before your curiosity is gratified.'

"'How long, then?'

"'A week, perhaps.'

"'You mean that?'

"'Most assuredly. There are men who have worked years to conquer the privilege which you have won by a single act of courage.'

"'In a week, then----'

"'In a week you will receive notice of the meeting called for your initiation as a member of the Camorra.'

"'And then I shall know all?'

"'All--provided that in the meantime you have faithfully performed the duties that I lay upon you.'

"'Your words are plausible,' I said. 'You are an honest man. Let me shake hands with you.'

"We shook hands, and my colleague explained the nature of my appointed task. Outside the _cafe_ at which I had felled the Camorrista to the ground, I was myself to stand as the representative of the Camorra. I was to collect the Camorra's share--a tenth of every winner's winnings. I was to account to the Camorra for the money--the Camorra would dispose of it.

"'It does not strike me as an occupation of great dignity,' I represented.

"'Indeed! It is a position of trust that I assign to you.'

"There clearly was something in that.

"'If I were quite sure,' I added, 'of the objects of the association, and of the use to which the money would be put----'

"He smiled and nodded, saying--

"'You will soon know; and when you know, you will have no reason to be displeased.'

"Then he left me, and I lunched and proceeded to my post, and acted to the best of my ability as Collector of Revenues to the Camorra.

"There were no difficulties to be encountered. The tax-collectors of the Government must have envied me the simplicity of my task. There were no troublesome forms to be filled up; there were no irritating requests to call again. I had merely to extend my hand, and the coins were counted into it without demur. Nor had I to keep books. To prevent mistakes, I put the Camorra moneys aside in a separate bag. For the rest, there was perfect reliance on my honour.

"In due course a letter was slipped into my hands, running thus--

"'_Dear Companion,--It is for to-night, in the cellar of the house by which thou watchest. Thou shalt be initiated, and then shalt be informed of all. Nothing further._

"'THY COMPANION.'

"It was a great occasion for me, and I prepared myself to do full justice to it.

"'_Voyons!_' I said to myself. 'I will make my toilet; and while I am making my toilet, I will compose my speech. _Grande tenue_, I take it, will be _en regle_. Even if I am wrong, I shall have paid my companions a compliment by thinking so, and it will also be a compliment to be able to address them in a few well-chosen words.'

"So, as I had no dress-clothes with me, I hired a suit, wearing also a flowing cape to cover it, in case it should seem ostentatious; and I collected my thoughts and polished my phrases, that I might deliver a suitable harangue, on the principles of whatever revolution might be contemplated.

"Alas! it was a waste of energy, as you shall see. Listen to me, I beg of you, while I describe my first and last appearance at a formal committee meeting of the Camorra.

"The place was a long, low room, below the level of the street, reached from the _cafe_ by a winding staircase; stone oil-lamps, swinging from the ceiling, lighted it dimly, clouds of tobacco smoke thickened the atmosphere; bottles of red wine and tumblers were set out on a long table on which no cloth was laid.

"There were from twenty-five to thirty companions present--companions of all kinds and all social grades; companions who had all the appearance of prosperous professional men--doctors, lawyers, and magistrates--some of these, like myself, were in evening dress, with white gloves; companions who looked like working men; companions who looked like wandering Neapolitan mandolinists. It seemed strange that _camaraderie_ should prevail among them; yet so it was. They sat round the table together clinking glasses, while I was placed on a high stool near the door awaiting the ceremony of my initiation. It was a very simple ceremony. The president of the assemblage rose and addressed me.

"'It is the rule,' he said, 'to require a new companion to prove himself by fighting a duel with some existing member of----'

"'I shall be most pleased,' I interposed. 'If you yourself, Signor President, will do me the great honour of encountering me, I will endeavour----'

"'In certain cases,' the president continued, 'the rule is waived. It is waived in your case, because you have already proved yourself.'

"'On two occasions, Signor President,' I reminded him.'

"'Precisely--on two occasions. Consequently the third proof is not required.'

"'You are quite sure, Signor President? I ask no favour. Rather than that any irregularity should be committed----'

"'There will be no irregularity. It will only be necessary for you to swear the oath. Repeat it after me.'

"He recited the formula, a short and simple one. I swore to be faithful to the Camorra, to keep its secrets, to obey its orders, to betray no companions to the police. And that was all.

"'Now drink,' said the president. And a tumbler of red wine was handed to me, and I duly drained it to the dregs, after first walking round the table and clinking glasses with every member.

"'And now,' the president continued, 'we reach the business of the evening.'

"I listened eagerly. At last, it seemed, the mystery was to be solved, and I was to learn the secret of the Camorra--in what sacred cause it gathered in its revenues, and by what subtle means it proposed to employ them for the overthrow of principalities and powers. The truth burst upon me like a thunderbolt.

"'Giovanni, bring me the books!' called the president to a subordinate. And two great ledgers, such as you see in merchants' offices, were laid before him.

"'And the cash!' he added; and a number of small bags full of coins were also brought.

"In a few minutes he was immersed in calculations, while a loud buzz of talk went on around him. Then he looked up, and banging upon the table, called for silence. When he spoke, you could have heard a pin drop.

"'The week has been a fortunate one,' he said, and cheers broke out. 'In addition to the ordinary tribute collected on the quays, at the hotels, and in the _cafes_, some heavy fees have been received from farmers whose cattle the companions have promised not to poison, and from citizens at whose houses the companions have undertaken that there shall be no burglaries. The _barattolo_----'

"'_Viva il barattolo!_' shouted the companions gleefully.

"'The _barattolo_ for the week amounts to the sum of 20,000 lire (loud cheers). When the necessary deductions have been made for working expenses, and for the remuneration of the office-bearers of the society, there remain 730 lire for each companion.'

"Not a word, you perceive, about the political purposes of the society, concerning which I had been promised information. I rose from my stool to point out the omission.

"'_Voyons_, companions----' I began, but the president signed to me to be silent and continued--

"'Let me proceed to the distribution of the funds. Giovanni, take this bag first to the companion, Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski.'

"My turn had come, and I was free to speak. They cheered me as I rose, imagining, no doubt, that I wished to return thanks for the honour done to me. But this was not my purpose. My suspicions were awakened, and I concentrated those suspicions in the form of searching questions.

"'This bag of money is for me,' I began.

"'Naturally,' replied the president.

"'To do what I like with?'

"'Absolutely.'

"'And for each companion present there is a similar bag for him also, to do what he likes with?'

"'Assuredly. We are all brothers here.'

"'And the great revenues of this great society are collected for no other purpose than to be thus divided weekly among the favoured few?'

"'Precisely. For what other purpose should we trouble to collect them?'

"'Then I have a word to say.'

"For now the truth was out, and my suspicions were confirmed, and indignation had followed in their train.

"The companions stared at me--puzzled by my vehemence; but I quickly made them understand. The burning sentences flowed like red-hot lava from my lips. The speech which I delivered was not the speech which I had prepared. It was an infinitely greater speech.

"'Yes, I have a word to say to you; and that word is this. You have deceived, deluded, fooled me, you have inveigled me by your fair words into a companionship of which I find myself at once ashamed.'

"A murmur was arising, but I quelled it.

"'Silence! I have not finished. I have but begun. By your nods and your winks and your mysterious words you led me to believe that in joining you I was joining the mightiest revolutionary society that the world had ever seen. Heaven knows that I shrink from no revolutionary enterprise. Heaven knows that I am willing to adopt strong measures to raise the money which such enterprises need. And I thought that you were raising money for such a purpose, and that I was helping you to raise it. But what do I find? I find that you plunder--plunder the poor and weak and helpless--not for a cause, but for yourselves. I thought to be taking part with you in a high political conspiracy, and I find myself--I, _moi qui vous parle_, find myself--sitting and drinking in a den of thieves.'

"There was a further murmur; but this, too, I quelled.

"'Silence! I have nearly done. It remains for me to shake the dust from off my feet. It remains for me to say that I resign my membership, that I repudiate you, that I sever my connection with you, that I denounce you----'

"But I got no further. It was the word 'denounce,' unfortunately chosen, with its suggestion of betrayal to the police, that spurred the companions to action. Their numbers gave them courage; their knives flashed; as a single man they leapt at me.

"It was no time for argument. I hurled my stool at the nearest of them, and so secured a start. On the winding stair one of them clutched at the skirt of my cape; I threw my arms back, so that it came off in his hands. Then, in my evening dress and opera-hat, I gained the streets and ran, some twenty Neapolitan ruffians, with their knives drawn, pursuing.

"But I was fleet of foot, and they pursued in vain; and when I had reached the railway-station, and jumped into the carriage of a departing train--which seemed, in the circumstances, the safest place of refuge--I found that my bag of coins was safely in my pocket.

"'_Voyons!_' I said to myself, as I examined it. 'If I could return each of these coins to its rightful owner! But that is obviously impossible; there is no alternative but to retain them as a memento of a remarkable experience that is hardly likely to occur again.'"

THE VISIT TO THE HOLY MAN.

It was at the time when the name of the Senussi--the mysterious Holy Man who frightened the Foreign Office from an oasis of the Libyan Desert--was in the papers.

"The Senussi!" exclaimed Stromboli. "When I tell you that I--_moi qui vous parle_--have spoken with the Senussi; when I tell you that I--_moi qui vous parle_--have inflicted an indignity upon the Senussi; nay, more, when I tell you that the Senussi and I exchanged indignities! Are you at leisure? Then let me tell you."

I consented to listen; and Stromboli began--

"You all talk of the Holy Man with bated breath, as if he was Beelzebub; but I, for my part, always spoke of him openly and fearlessly. And it happened one day, some fifteen years ago, that I was imparting information about him to some old friends of mine, who were Irish members of your House of Commons.

"'He's a holy man and a strong man,' I was saying, 'and he gets holier and stronger every day, and he knows how to bide his time. One day, when he's holy enough and strong enough, he'll get up in the middle of the night and preach the Holy War. And then beware! His followers will come out of the desert like a swarm of locusts and eat up the country.'

"Having made this speech, I proceeded to withdraw with dignity; but one of the gentlemen followed me down the stairs, and spoke to me in an Irish accent--

"'Oirish whisky, Mr. Stromboli,' he said, 'is better f'r y'r health than the Scotch that ye've been drinking, an' I happen to know a little place round the corner...'

"I accepted the invitation as cordially as it was given, never guessing that it was the prelude to a political proposal; but the refreshment was no sooner set before us than my companion broke the ice.

"'I was listenin' just now with very much interest to y'r conversation, Mr. Stromboli. Ye were spaking of a sartain holy friend of yours.'

"'Hardly a personal friend,' I corrected.

"'Ah, well! ye said he was a holy man, and a powerful man, and ye seemed to know a good deal about his ways. So it occurred to me, between ourselves, to make a little proposal to ye.'

"It seemed to me, at this stage of the proceedings, that I had better ask my friend his name.

"'Me name?' he replied. 'Well, of course, that's what I should have begun by telling ye. Me name's Biggar. Maybe ye've heard of me. I'm a member of the Irish Nationalist Party.'

"I bowed; while Mr. Biggar took off his spectacles, wiped them, put them on again, and peered at me with his penetrating little eyes. Then he called for further glasses of whisky, and proceeded--

"'Well, now ye know me name an' me position in life, and we'll proceed to business. What I was about to ask ye was whether ye think it loikely that this holy friend of yours could be persuaded to take up the cause of Home Rule for Oireland.'

"I pointed out the obvious difficulty--that the Holy Man was a Mohammedan, and that the Irish people were not; but Mr. Biggar was not disconcerted.

"'I've thought of that, sorr,' he replied. 'I was thinking of that over the first glass of whisky; and the way out of the difficulty is now clear to me. All that ye have to do is to put it to the Holy Man in this way--that the down-trodden Oirish people are prevented from becoming Mohammedans because they have not yet obtained Home Rule.'

"I congratulated Mr. Biggar on the ingenuity of his argument, and he advanced it a step further.

"'I'm thinkin', Mr. Stromboli, that the party to which I hold the confidential position of treasurer might perhaps make it worth y'r while to pay a visit to Mr. Senussi.'

"'_The_ Senussi,' I corrected,

"'Ah! So they say The Senussi, just as we say The O'Donoghue. It's a further bond of union between us. And as I was saying, I'm thinking it might be made worth y'r while to go and see him, and present him with me compliments--the compliments of Mr. Joseph Gillis Biggar--and suggest to him that he should create a divarsion in the direction of Egypt, at the time when the Oirish members are moving the adjournment of the House of Commons. Will ye tell me now what ye think of the proposal?'

"I looked him in the face to make sure that he was sober and in earnest. I saw that he was both, and raised no objection when he called for a third glass of whisky.

"'_Voyons_! Mr. Biggar,' I said. 'This is a very dangerous mission on which you propose to send me. Are you aware that the oasis in which the Senussi lives is surrounded by Arabs who have absolutely no other work to do except to murder all strangers who approach it without satisfactory credentials?'

"But Mr. Biggar was not confounded by the question.

"'That's what I was thinkin' of over the second glass of whisky, Mr. Stromboli,' he replied; 'and I have already thought out a plan for you.'

"'Unfold it, Mr. Biggar,' I said. And he unfolded it.

"'It's like this, Mr. Stromboli. In addition to bein' an Oirish member, I'm in business, as ye may have heard, as a provision merchant.'

"'Proceed, sir,' I said; and he proceeded.

"'There's one of me customers that's a Mohammedan. He's an Arab who throws raw potatoes into the air and catches them on the bridge of his nose and breaks them, in circuses in the North of Oireland; but he doesn't pay up very easily, and I've threatened to County Court him for his bill. Now I'm thinking that it w'dn't take a great deal of persuasion to induce that performing Mohammedan to give ye the sort of letter of introduction that ye require.'

"And Mr. Biggar called for a fourth glass of whisky; while I pointed out a further difficulty--that a Mohammedan who wrote from Ireland might perhaps fail to inspire the Senussi with confidence.

"'I was thinkin' of that over the third glass, and it's no difficulty at all, at all,' said Mr. Biggar. 'The man w'dn't date his letter from the circus, and he w'dn't mention that he made his livin' by catchin' praties on the bridge of his nose; he'd date it from just where ye like, and he'd say just what ye please in it. Now, Mr. Stromboli, are ye satisfied? Take a minute or two to think it over.'

"I reflected for a minute or two with folded arms. Then, having made up my mind, I gripped Mr. Biggar by the hand.

"'Mr. Biggar, you are a man of genius,' I exclaimed. 'Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski says it. There now remains no difficulty but one--the payment of my travelling expenses in advance.'

"His expression changed, as I have heard that it always did when money had to be disbursed; and his tone, for the instant, was almost unfriendly. At any rate it was peremptory.

"'Now, mind me,' he began. 'Ye'll go thurred class, and ye'll take some packets of sandwiches so that ye needn't be always dining in the hotels, and ye'll----'

"But I overawed him.

"'Mr. Biggar,' I said. 'Pray observe that you are not speaking to one of your Irish members. You are speaking to Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski.'

"'I ask y'r pardon, sorr; I ask y'r pardon,' said Mr. Biggar.

"It is granted," I replied with dignity. 'The brusqueness of your manner is no doubt necessary with Irish members, when they are at once indigent and exigent; but your heart is in the right place. And now, with your permission, we will discuss the details of our project.'

"'While I have been drinkin' me fourth glass,' rejoined Mr. Biggar, 'it has occurred to me that that will be the more profitable course. General principles are best agreed upon over the convivial bowl; but it would be an error of judgment to settle the practical minutiae while under its influence, the more especially as the good people here are now engaged in turning out the lights.'

"So we bade each other an affectionate farewell, postponing the adjustment of the details, which were duly arranged at other interviews conducted in the day.

"I need not dwell upon them. Suffice it to say that my travelling expenses and my letter of introduction were both forthcoming in due season, the latter being written at my dictation, and checked and corrected, for the prevention of treachery, by an eminent Oriental scholar. As for my remuneration--

"'We'll pay ye by results,' said Mr. Biggar; 'and ye'll find that ye'll be treated very handsomely on the day when Ould Oireland gets Home Rule.'

"And his parting speech was--

"'Me bhoy, ye're one of the broightest jewels in the crown that Ould Oireland's foightin' for, and I'm only sorry we can't be after givin' ye a public dinner by way of a send-off. But there's the danger that the Holy Man would come to hear of it, and shoot at ye from behind a hedge in the desert, just for all the world as if ye were a landlord. So ye'd best go about the business stealthily. And now good luck to ye.'

"So we shook hands on the platform at Charing Cross, and I set forth alone upon my perilous adventure.

"My starting-point was Cairo. There I was to hire camels and guides, and buy presents to propitiate hostile chiefs; and there began my pilgrimage across the wide and burning wastes of the Libyan Desert.

"You will not ask me for particulars of that desert journey. One journey through the desert is very like another--blazing days and chilly nights; a parching thirst that no drink really quells; the sandstorm blown along by a wind like a blast from an oven; the welcome rest beneath the date palms at the wells; the glorious sunsets that seem to set the heavens aflame; but no real incident unless you miss the wells and die of thirst, or marauding Arabs find you out and fall on you, and slay you, or drive you away to be sold in some slave-market in the heart of the dark continent.

"And I--_moi qui vous parle_--I braved those terrors, protected only by my Arabic letter, written at my dictation by the degenerate Mohammedan who broke raw potatoes on the bridge of his nose in the circus in the North of Ireland.

"Again and again my guides tried to persuade me to turn back, their terror increasing with every step that took us nearer to our destination.

"'To draw near to Jarabub is forbidden,' they said; 'Senussi-el-Mahdi will slay us, and our blood will be on our master's head.'

"I retorted with emphasis and even with temper.

"'Are you not under my protection, and have I not paid you in advance? Go to, then, and lead on. Otherwise, your blood will truly be upon your master's head, here and now. For I will slay you, and leave you for the crows to pick your bones."

"'It is fated,' they said, and moved on sulkily.

"But presently I saw that they were whispering together; and I guessed what they were planning--to murder me in the night-time and steal away. Against this danger also, therefore, I took precaution.

"'_Voyons!_' I said. 'You have the souls of slaves, and like slaves shall you be treated. This night, and every night, shall you sleep bound, so that you may not run away.'

"But, to my amazement, my proposal did not make them angry.

"'So be it,' they said. 'For then will Senussi-el-Mahdi know that we are indeed our master's slaves, and that it is our master alone who is accountable and worthy to be put to death.'

"So I tied them up--none the less securely because they had professed themselves willing to be tied--and, so to say, drove my guides before me towards the Oasis of Jarabub.

"Once or twice parties of Arabs, springing, as it seemed, out of the yellow sand, came upon me in the early morning, and bade me turn back to the place that I had come from.

"'It is the will of Senussi-el-Mahdi,' they explained, 'and he cares but little whether we send thee back or slay thee where thou standest. Turn back, therefore, dog of a Christian, lest a worse thing befall thee.'

"No doubt they would have killed me without parley, if they had not seen that I was armed and could retaliate. But I had my rifle in my hands and two revolvers in my belt, so that they listened to me, or, rather, to my guide Abdullah, who interpreted.'

"'Nay, but we come as friends,' Abdullah said, 'and our master bears a letter for Senussi-el-Mahdi from a true son of the Prophet in a distant land.'

"'Son of a dog, thou liest!' said the savage and discourteous Arab.

"There was nothing for it, therefore, but to show him the letter and let him read it. He still seemed only half convinced, but that sufficed.

"'It is strange,' he said, 'but Senussi-el-Mahdi, who knows all things, will decide, when he has put thee to the question. It may be that he will make thee welcome, and it may be that he will slit thy throat; but I must not slit it for him until I know his will. In the meantime hast thou not perchance some gift for me?'

"I unpacked a burnous from my baggage and handed it to him with a courteous inclination.

"He took it from me with as little ceremony as though it had been a contraband article detected at a custom-house; but he made a sign to his men, and they melted away as suddenly as they had come in sight.

"We hurried on, starting each morning before dawn, so as to travel quickly while the air was cool, until one day, when the dawn broke, suddenly almost as a flash of lightning, the gleaming walls of a city showed themselves in front of us.

"'It is Jarabub,' said my guides with a single voice, throwing themselves upon the ground to say their prayers.

"I told them to make haste with their devotions and come on; and in half an hour or so we had reached our goal, and were seeking admission at the city gates.

"Do you ask me to describe the city? Well, I should say that, from a distance, it looked not unlike a group of disused limekilns, and that the resemblance did not entirely disappear when one got close to it. But I had no time just then to observe it closely. The walls and the windows were crowded with black men dressed in white, and bawling questions in a language that I did not understand.

"It was my luck that there was a man in the crowd who knew the English language; for then I knew what line to take.

"'_Voyons!_' I said to myself. 'A black man who knows English knows also Englishmen, and is accustomed to be ordered, and not asked to do what is required.'

"And to him I said, in the tones of one accustomed to command--

"'Hi, you, there! What's your name, and where do you come from?'

"The effect was instantaneous, as, indeed, I had expected. Old memories and associations triumphed, and he spoke to me as a black soldier servant to his officer--

"'Kroo boy, sah, from West Coast, sah. Name Bottled Bass, sah. Hope you quite well, sah. Get you plenty chop one time, sah.'

"It was the perpetuated triumph of the higher civilization over the lower. I lost no time in following it up.

"'That's all right, Bottled Bass,' I said; 'we'll see about the chop later on. Meanwhile get this gate open, and tell Senussi-el-Mahdi I want to see him. Say I've got a letter from an old friend of his at Mecca.'

"To an Arab, of course, I should not have spoken thus; but it was clearly the proper way to speak to Bottled Bass. The Arabs themselves seemed favourably impressed on finding that I spoke to this recent negro convert with less ceremony than to themselves; and he himself seemed proud to be spoken to at all.

"It was not likely, of course, that he would be in a position to convey my message personally. But he was a friendly interpreter, and he would pass it on. Exclusive though the Senussi might be, the rumour would reach him, and his curiosity would be aroused. And so it happened.

"After a pause the city gate was opened, and I was allowed to enter. I was put in a courtyard, closely guarded, and given some dates and a jug of water. The population came and stared at me. But, at last, after weary hours of waiting, a message was delivered to me. Abdullah and Bottled Bass were jointly charged with its interpretation.

"'The unbeliever is summoned to the presence,' was Abdullah's rendering.

"'This way, sah. Follow the gen'leman, sah,' was the gloss of Bottled Bass.

"The momentous hour had come, and I will not pretend that I approached it without apprehension. But there was no trace of nervousness in my demeanour. I was grave and dignified. Knowing what was due to myself, as well as what was due to my host, I met Senussi-el-Mahdi in the manner in which one high potentate meets another. It is not my fault that his attitude towards me was less courteous.

"Let me give him his due, however. He was a man of imposing and remarkable appearance: tall, with a fine full beard flowing to his waist, yet not hiding the fact that his chin was square and resolute; keen-eyed, as one who read the hearts of those who come before him; slow, but very masterful in his gestures. Save for his dress--he wore loose white robes and a turban on his head--he might have reminded one of those old-fashioned English schoolmasters at whose least word boys trembled. One would not dare to jest with him. He spoke French as well as Arabic.

"I bowed to him most ceremoniously, but he did not return my bow. It was a bad beginning.

"'What would you with me?' he asked curtly; and I explained myself.

"'I have come from a far country,' I said, 'that the light of Senussi-el-Mahdi may shine upon me. I am Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski.'

"He merely stared at me as at some strange insect.

"'Yes,' I repeated, 'I am Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski, and I bear a letter which will in part explain the reason why I seek this interview.'

"He motioned to a guard, who took the letter from me and placed it in his hands. He read it aloud, translating it for my benefit into French--

"'_From Mohammed-ben-Ali of Mecca, to the most Holy Son of the Prophet, the Chosen of God, Senussi-el-Mahdi. Greeting._

"'_With my own hands I write to thee commending to thee one who dwelleth among unbelievers yet worshippeth Allah according to his lights, and journeyeth to thee that a fuller light may shine upon his heart. Instruct him in the truth, O Mahdi! and he will be thy faithful servant. Nay, more, when instructed by thee in the Book, he shall in his turn instruct thee how the light may be spread among a people who yet live in darkness because their rulers hide the light. He is a man of a stout heart, moreover, and will draw the sword for thee at the hour when thou proclaimest the Jehad._'

"Senussi-el-Mahdi read this calmly and without visible emotion. There was no outburst of cordiality such as I had hoped for; there was no outburst of anger such as I had feared in the event of his guessing that I had come to him with forged credentials. Perhaps he had some faint suspicions; perhaps he was only following the ordinary rule of procedure in such cases. I cannot say. I only know that his manner was cold and judicious--like that of a schoolmaster to whom a new boy has been brought to be examined.

"'You are sent to me for instruction? It is well. Speak, then, and tell me if thou knowest the Koran.'

"It was a question that I was not prepared for, but I blurted out an ambiguous answer.

"'I know a little of most things, and my memory is good. As for the Koran, I know a very good translation of it, on which the skilled opinion of a scholar of your eminence----'

"'So thou knowest not the Koran,' interrupted Senussi-el-Mahdi pitilessly. 'Or shall I question thee therein?'

"This, too, was a proposal which I had not anticipated. It is not impossible that my face may have shown signs of my confusion. I stammered out the only excuse that occurred to me--

"'I have had a long journey, and am tired. With rest and preparation--

"But once more Senussi-el-Mahdi stopped me.

"'It is well,' he said. 'Thou knowest not the Koran. But thou hast asked for instruction, and thou shalt be instructed. When thou hast learnt the Koran, I will hear thee further on the subject of the letter.'

"And he motioned to the guards, saying--

"'Conduct him to the school, and place him in the lowest class.'

"Need I say that things were happening by no means as I had intended them to happen? Need I add that the word 'instruct' would never have appeared in my credentials had I surmised that it would be interpreted so literally? Yet it is clear, I think, that at the moment no useful alternative to doing as I was told was open to me. So I followed my guides.

"No violence was used to me; no harsh words were spoken; though I must have been a puzzle to the inhabitants, they were too well disciplined to show it--all of them, that is to say, except Bottled Bass, who grinned at me with gleaming teeth.

"They showed me to the room that I was to live in. It was close to the residence of the Senussi himself, who wished, I suppose, to keep an eye on me. And then they put me to school. I--_moi qui vous parle_--a man of much general knowledge and wide experience of life, was put to school--and in the lowest class! I had to sit, cross-legged, in the midst of a semicircle of negro boys, while a learned Arab, with a stick and a manuscript, sat in the centre and taught.

"'No matter,' I said to myself, 'my time will come, and I will bide my time, and earn my promised fee.'

"But I was curious to know the term of my probation; and I put the question to my teacher as politely as I could.

"'In view, sir,' I said, 'of the zeal for knowledge which I am demonstrating, would you mind informing me how long this interesting course of instruction is to last?'

"'You are as a little child,' he answered kindly, 'but it may, be, if Allah wills it, that in seven years you will have acquired the knowledge of a man.'

"Seven years of this tomfoolery! It was too terrible! My heart sank and my temper rose--the more so when I perceived that Bottled Bass, who was also a member of the lowest class, was grinning; and I retorted hotly--

"'Do you take me for a fool, then? A little Koran is all very well in its way; but seven years of it! If you can't shorten the course considerably, sir, I'll get up and walk out of the place!'

"The teacher answered, more in sorrow than in anger, that my words should be laid before Senussi-el-Mahdi. He went out to report them, and presently returned, and said, still more in sorrow than in anger--

"'El-Mahdi says that it is written that you shall be chastised, in order that you may learn humility.'

"And, almost before I knew what was happening, my teacher had motioned to two tall serving-men, and they had laid me on my back, holding my feet in the air, and the good old man himself was caning the soles of my feet.

"I know not whether the pain or the indignity was the worse, for both were very great. But the pain passed and the indignity remained. The more I reflected on the matter, the more certainly I felt that my position in the sacred city was untenable. Neither for the cause of Ireland nor for my promised fee would I consent to sit for seven years learning the Koran, and being caned when I displeased my teacher.

"Yet how to get away--that was indeed a knotty problem to think out. My teacher himself, who bore me no ill-will, but had merely punished me for what he considered to be my good, told me, in the kindness of his heart, that it would be impossible to get away.

"'Though thou shouldst take the swiftest camel in the city,' he said, 'yet wouldst thou be overtaken. For among the gifts of God to Senussi-el-Mahdi is this gift: he throws himself into a trance so that none can wake him, and his dreams are messages that flash across the desert, and become answering dreams in the brains of other faithful followers of the Prophet. Thus would he speed word of thy escape, and the faithful would lie in wait for thee and bring thee back. Wherefore be comforted, for it is written that thou shalt stay with us, and become, in the fulness of time, a holy man.'

"This time I did not answer hotly, having learnt from experience that it would be better not to do so; but I withdrew to meditate.

"'_Voyons!_' I said to myself. 'Let me think things out. Surely I have thought out things as difficult in other days!'

"And so I gradually framed my plan, examining it and adding to it nightly while I lay awake. This is how the plan slowly built itself--

"'Shall I slip over the wall and get away at night? It might be done, but it would be of no use. I should only be in the desert, where I should die of thirst. Shall I steal a camel? But one cannot steal a camel quite so easily as one can steal a cat or dog--nor can one lift a camel over a wall at night. What then? There is no way of going without Senussi-el-Mahdi's leave.'

"Thus I began thinking; and as night succeeded night my thoughts took more useful shape.

"'How to get leave to go? If I could lay Senussi-el-Mahdi under some great obligation--but that is hard. He is not the man to be sensible of obligations. He will let me go only if he can be made to feel that it is to his interest to be rid of me.'

"That narrowed the problem. But how to prove to Senussi-el-Mahdi that it would be well for him to let me go? It took at least three weeks' hard thought to settle that; but, at the end of the three weeks, light flashed upon me.

"'_Voyons!_' I cried. 'He has trances, and when he is in a trance----'

"I did not dare to speak aloud the thought that was in my mind; but I nursed it, filling in the details, and waiting patiently.

"As I have told you, I slept in a room quite near Senussi-el-Mahdi's own, and I now made it my rule every night to creep on tiptoe to his chamber and peep through his curtains to see whether his sleep was a trance or not. Night after night I crept back disappointed. But the night came at last when I saw that he lay stiff and still, with his eyes wide open and yet seeing nothing; and I knew that at last the hour for action had arrived.

"'He will either murder me or let me go,' I said to myself. 'I will take the risk. It is the only way.'

"With that I crept back to my own room, and fumbling in the dark among my belongings, found my razor. I looked out of the window to make sure that no one saw or heard me; but the city was silent, save for the dismal howling of stray dogs, and the watchman pacing on the walls. Then I lit a tiny lamp, and covering it with my hand, crept back to where the Senussi lay.

"To murder him? A poor plan that in a city where every man would be eager to avenge his death. To threaten him? He was hardly a man who would keep a promise made under the influence of threats. I had a plan that promised better.

"'It is a great art, the barber's!' I whispered to myself, as I mixed the lather and plastered it gently on his chin.

"He did not wake; he did not even stir. His soul was far away, communing with the souls of other pious Musselmans elsewhere; and while it wandered, I--_moi qui vous parle_--shaved Senussi-el-Mahdi where he lay.

"To what purpose? You will begin to grasp my purpose when I describe the manner in which I shaved him.

"For I did not shave him altogether; nor did I shave him precisely as the barbers shave. Far from it. On the contrary, I shaved off the beard on the right side of his face and the hair on the same side of his head; and then I took cosmetics and twisted out his great moustache until it stretched six inches or more either way, like furious spikes of straw.

"'Now for a looking-glass,' I said to myself; and having found a mirror, I so fixed it that, when Senussi-el-Mahdi woke, he would look straight into it and see his altered image.

"To what purpose? Surely you have guessed. But I had not yet quite finished my strange task.

"'_Voyons, mon cher,_' I went on, soliloquising: 'I think I should like your portrait as a souvenir.'

"So I crept back once more and fetched my camera, and blew magnesium powder through the flame of the little lamp to make a flash-light, and took my snap-shot of Senussi-el-Mahdi in his trance.

"The flash aroused him from his slumbers. His eyes opened, and he saw the reflection of his face. Doubtless he would have yelled in his amazement, but I took a quick step forward and clapped my hands upon his mouth.

"My self-possession and my quick wit had now returned to me. I was no longer the schoolboy, humbled and chastised. I was Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski, master of the situation. My tongue was loosened, and my words flowed quickly.

"'You know me?' I began. 'I am Jean Antoine Stromboli Kosnapulski.'

"Senussi-el-Mahdi nodded his grotesque head slowly. Half his proud spirit seemed to have left him with the loss of half his hair.