第54章

MASA'S JEWELRY

THE village of Praousta had now assumed a busy look. The men had assembled around the mosque, and were conversing in eager, anxious tones.

When they saw the veiled girl approaching they bowed their heads respectfully, as is becoming in the presence of the unhappy. They knew the beautiful Masa, in spite of her veil. They knew she had gone up to her father to implore him to take pity on himself and on her. They now stepped up to her and asked if her father still lived, and if there was any hope of preserving his life.

"His life is in your hands," replied Masa. "I come to conjure you to save the life of my father, and of the noble old men, the ulemas.""How can we, daughter of Sheik Alepp?" cried the men. "How can we save their lives?""You ask me? Then I will tell you: You must bow your heads beneath the yoke. You must obey the commands of the tschorbadji.""Never! never!" cried the men. "Has not the sheik himself forbidden us to do so? Did not the ulemas, as late as yesterday evening at sunset, command us in Allah's name to be firm?""They did command it," cried the girl, passionately, "and they did so because they wished to do their duty and obey the law. But it devolves upon you, ye men, to obey the higher law that dwells in us.

Will you, ye men of Praousta, allow your best and noblest men to be murdered for the sake of a paltry sum of money. Do you wish that your children and grandchildren should one day point at you and say:

--Look at them, they are murderers! They slaughtered them that they might keep their money, that they might keep that which they held dearest!""No, Masa, it is not on account of the money!" cried the men. "It is a question of our honor, of law, and of justice. And therefore the sheik has commanded us not to pay. A double tax was imposed on us;that was unjust. The sheik and the ulemas say that, if we pay this double tax, they will the next time demand a treble, and the third time a quadruple tax. In this way they would consume our substance, and our fate would be poverty and the beggar's staff. Thus spoke the sheik and the ulemas as late as yesterday evening, and therefore must we remain firm, and, therefore, oh, forgive us, we should not dare to pay even if we could.""But we cannot even do it," cried one of the men. "No, Masa, you may believe us, it is not in our power. The tobacco-crop has turned out badly, and the storms have destroyed our nets, and let the fish escape. Really, we could not pay even if we would. It was with the greatest difficulty that we got the simple tax together, and now the tschorbadji sends us word, by his collectors, that we must pay as much more. By Allah, it is impossible, we cannot do it.""No, it is impossible; we cannot do it," cried the rest, in a chorus of lamentation.

"Then you are ready to let my father die--to become the murderers of our ulemas," cried Masa, falling on her knees, and stretching out her arms imploringly. "Oh, be merciful to yourselves, for I tell you the evil spirits will obtain power over you, if you do not abandon your cruel intention. I tell you, misery will be your portion, if you allow your noblest men to be murdered for the sake of vile money.""And we tell you, Masa, that we cannot pay," cried the men, in defiant, despairing tones. "We repeat, and call Allah to witness, we have not the money they demand of us.""You have not this money? But if you had it, would you then pay?

Would you bend your heads to save the heads of our noblest men?

Would you go to the tschorbadji and say--Here is the double tax. You do us injustice, yet we humble ourselves in order to save the lives of our sheik and the ulemas!' Say, would you do this?"The people made no reply, but cast sorrowful glances at each other, and whispered among themselves "The sheik would not forgive us; he gave strict orders that we should not pay.""But his life, and the lives of the ulemas are at stake," murmured one of them.

"Yes, his life is at stake!" cried Masa, who had heard this. "Ientreat you to grant my request. Let each of you go after the tax he has laid by, and then come with me, all of you, to the tschorbadji.

I will attend to the rest."

"Masa, what are you about to do? " asked the men, regarding her in astonishment. "It does not become a woman to meddle with such affairs.""It becomes a daughter to save her father's life. This is my only purpose, and may Allah assist me in accomplishing it!" cried she, with enthusiasm. "I pray you, go after the money, and wait at the rocky stairway. I am only going to my house, and shall return directly."She flew across the square to her father's house. Two female servants, who had been standing in the hall, anxiously awaiting the return of their mistress, cried out with joy, and hastened forward to kiss her bands.

She rushed past them up the stairway, and into her room, looking the door behind her, that none might follow. She then took hastily from a trunk, inherited from her mother, a casket, adorned with mother-of-pearl and precious, stones. She opened it and looked at its contents.

"Yes, there are the ear-rings; and there are the tiara and the necklace."Her mother had given her, on her death-bed, these, the bridal ornaments she had brought with her from her father's house, and the sheik had often remarked that these jewels were worth at least a hundred sequins.

Until now, their value had been a matter of indifference to her.

What cared she how much money could be had for her pearls and necklace? She loved this jewelry because it came from her mother, but now she thinks differently.