52 
LAND & WATER 
December 7, 1916 
garden. Remember, the watch-dog was barking just now." 
" And suppose she's got away ? ' 
" How ? " 
" By the door on the lane ? " 
" Impossible ! " 
" Wliy ? " 
" The door hasn't been used for years. There's not even a 
key to it." 
" That's as may be," Boumef rejoined. " All the same, 
we're surely not going to organise a battue with lanterns and 
rou<:<^ t>H> whole district for the sake of finding a woman. . ." 
" Yes, but that woman. . . ." 
Colonel Faklu seemed exasperated. He turned to the 
prisoner : 
" You're in luck, you old rascal ! This is the second time 
to-day that min.\ of yours has slipped through my fingers! 
Did she tell vmi what I appcned tins afteinocni' Oh, if it 
hadn't been for an infernal officer who happened to be pas- 
sing ! . . . But I'll get hold of him yet and he shall pay 
dearly for his interference. . . ." 
Patrice clenched his fists with fury. He understood : 
CoraUe was hidins; in her own house. Surprised by the sudden 
arrival of the five men, she had managed to cUmb out of her 
window and, making her way along the terrace to the steps, 
had gone to the part of the house opposite the rooms that were 
in use and taken refuge in the gallery of the library, where 
she was able to witness the terrible torture practiced on her 
husband. 
" Her husband ! " thought Patrice, with a shudder. " Her 
husband ! " 
And, if he still entertained any doubts on the subject, the 
hurried course of events soon removed them, for the leader 
began to chuckle 
" Yes, Essares, old man, I confess that she attracts me more 
than I can tell you ; and, as I failed to catch her earher in 
the day, I did hope th's evening, as soon as I had settled my 
business with you, to settle something infinitely more agreeable 
with your wife. Not to mention that, once in my {xjwer, the 
httle woman would be serving me as a hostage and that I 
would only have restored her to you — oh, safe and sound, 
beUeve me !— after specific performance of our agreement. 
And you would have run straight, Essards ! For you love 
your Gjrahe passionately ! And quite right too ! " 
He went to the right-hand side of the fireplace and, touching 
a switch, lit an electric lamp under a reflector between the 
third and fourth windows. 'There weis a companion picture 
here to Essarfes portrait ; but it was covered over. The 
leader drew the curtciin ; and CoraUe appeared in the full 
light. 
" The monarch of all she surveys ! The idol ! The witch ! 
The pearl of pearls ! The imperial diamond of Essares Bey, 
banker ! Isn't she beautiful ? I ask you ? Admire the dehcate 
outline of her face, the purity of that oval ; and the pretty 
neck ; and those graceful shoulders. Essares, there's not a 
favourite in the country we come from who can hold a candle 
to your Coralie ! My CoraUe, soon ! For I shall know how to 
find her. Ah, CoraJie, Coral'e ! . . ." 
Patrice looked across at her ; and it seemed to him that her 
face was reddened with a blush of shame. He himself was 
shaken by indignation and anger at each insulting word. It 
was a violent enough sorrow to him to know that Coralie was 
the wife of another ; and added to this sorrow was his rage at 
seeing her thus exposed to these men's gaze and promised as a 
helpless prey to whosever should prove himself the strongest. 
At the same time, he wondered why CoraUe remained in the 
room. Supposing that she could not leave the garden, never- 
theless she was free to move about in that part of the house and 
might weU have opened a window and called for help. What 
prevented her from doing so ? Of course, she did not love 
ner husband. If she had loved him, she would have faced 
every danger to defend him. But how was it possible for her 
to allow that man to be tortured, worse still, to be present at 
his sufferings, to contemplate that most hideous of sights and 
to Usten to his yells of pain ? 
" Enough of this nonsense ! " cried the leader, pulling the 
curtain back into its place. " Coralie, you shall be my 
final reward ; but I must first win you. Comrades, to work ; 
let's finish our friend's job. First of aU, twenty inches nearer, 
no more. Good ! Does it burn, Essares ? AU the same, it's 
not more than you can stand. Bear up, old feUow." 
He unfastened the prisoner's right arm, put a Uttle table 
by his side, laid a pencil and paper on it and continued : 
" There's writing-materials for you. As your gag prevents 
you from speaking, write. You know what's wanted of you, 
don't you ? Scribble a few letters ; and you're free. Do 
you consent ? No ? Comrades, three inches nearer." 
He moved away and stooped over the secretary, whom 
Patrice, by the brighter light, had recognised as the old feUow 
who sometimes escorted CoraUe to the hospital. 
" As for you. Simeon, " he said, " you shaU come to no 
harm. I know that you are devoted to your master, but I 
also know that he tells you none of his private affairs. On 
the other hand, I am certain that you will keep silent as to ill 
this, because a single word of betrayal would involve your 
master's ruin even more than ours. That's understood 
between us, isn't it ? WeU, why don't you answer ? Have 
they squeezed your throat a bit too tight with their cords ? 
Wait. I'll give you some air. . . ." 
Meanwhile the ugly work at the fireplace pursued its 
course. The two feet were reddened by the heat until it 
seemed almost as thougii the bright flames of the fire were 
glowing through them. The sufferer exerted aU his strength 
in trying to bend his legs and to draw back ; and a dull, con- 
tinuous moan came through his gag. 
" Oh, hang it aU ! " thought Patrice. " Are we going to 
let him roast Uke this, like a chicken on a spit ? ' 
He looked at CoraUe. She did not stir. Her face was 
distorted beyond recognition ; and her eyes seemed fascinated 
by the terrifying sight. 
" Couple of inches nearer ! " cried the leader, from the other 
end of the room, as he unfastened Simeon's bonds. 
The order was executed. The victim gave such a yell that 
Patrice's blood froze in his veins. But, at the same moment, 
he became aware of something that had not struck him so far, 
or at least he had attached no significance to it. The prisoner's 
hand, as the result of a sequence of Uttle movements appa- 
rently due to nervous twitches, had seized the opposite edge 
of the table, while his arm rested on the marble top. And 
gradually, unseen by the torturers, aU whose efforts wer" 
directed to keeping his legs in position, or by the leader, who 
was still engaged with Simeon, this hand opened a drawer 
which swung on a hinge, dipf)ed into the drawer, took out a 
revolver and, resuming its original position with a jerk, hid 
the weapon in the chair. 
The act, or rather the intention which it indicated, was 
foolhardy in the extreme, for, when aU was said, reduced to 
his present state of helplessness, the man could not hope 
for victory against five adversaries, aU free and all armed. 
Nevertheless, as Patrice looked at the glass in which he beheld 
him, he saw a fierce determination pictured in the man's face. 
" Another two inches," said Colonel Fakhi, as he walked 
back to the fireplace. He examined the condition of the 
flesh and said, with a laugh : 
" The skin is bUstering in places ; the veins are ready to 
burst. Essares Bey, you can't be enjoying yourself ; and 
it strikes me that you mean to do the right thing at last. 
Have you started scribbling yet ? No ? And don't you 
mean to ? Are you still hoping ? Counting on your wife, 
perhaps ? Come, come, you must see that, even if she has 
succeeded in escaping, she won't say anything ! WeU, then, 
you are humbugging me, or what ? . . ." 
He was seized with a sudden burst of rage and shouted : 
" Shove his feet into the fire ! And let's have a good smeU 
of burning for once ! Ah, you would defy me, would you ? 
Well, wait a bit, old chap, and let me have a go at you 1 I'U 
cut you off an ear or two : you know, the way we have in our 
couiitry ! " 
He drew from his waistcoat a dagger that gleamed in the 
firelight. His face was hideous with animal cruelty. He 
gave a fierce cry, raised his arm and stood over the other 
relentlessly. 
But, swift as his movement was, Essards was before him. 
The revolver, quickly aimed, was discharged with a loud 
report. The dagger dropped from the colonel's hand. For 
two or three seconds he maintained his threatening attitude, 
with one arm Ufted on high and a haggard look in his eyes, as 
though he did not quite understand wliat had happened to him. 
And then, "suddenly, he feU upon his victim in a huddled heap, 
paralysing his arm with the fuU weight of his body, at the 
moment when Essares was taking aim at one of the other 
confederates. 
He was still breathing. 
" Oh, the brute, the brute ! " he panted. " He's kiUed 
me ! . . . But you'll lose by it, Essares . . .1 
prepare;! for this. If I t'on't come home to-night, the Prefect 
of PoUce wiU receive a letter. . . . They'U know about 
your treason, Essar^ ... all your story . . . your 
plans. . . . Oh, you devil ! . . ". And what a 
fool ! . . . We could so easily have come to terms. 
He muttered a few inaudible words and roUed down to the 
floor. It was all over. 
A moment of stupefaction was produced, not so much by 
this unexpected tragedy as by the revelation which the leader 
had made before dying, and by the thought of that letter, 
wliich no doubt implicated the aggressors as well as their 
victim. .Boumef had disarmed Essar^. The latter, now 
that the chair was no longer held in position, had succeeded 
in bending his legs. No one moved. 
Meanwhile, the sense of terror which the whole scene had 
^Continued on page 54) 
