American boys afloat : $b or, Cruising in the OrientOptic, Oliver
General
American boys afloat : $b or, Cruising in the Orient
Optic, Oliver
Voyages and travels -- Juvenile fiction
HIS HIGHNESS IN THE ORIENTAL CITY
When Louis and Felix returned to the street they found Scott and Morris
bargaining for a horse with one of the Arabs who keep them to let.
These men are found in the principal parts of the city; and when the
horse is taken, they accompany him on foot wherever he goes. With the
assistance of Munif they had made the trade, and Morris had mounted the
horse. Scott and the guide attended him.
"I think we had better go to the landing, Flix," said Louis as soon as
they came out of the hotel; and they started down the steep and filthy
street.
"Do you believe now that the gentleman is the Pacha, my darling?" asked
the Milesian.
"I have no doubt of it," replied the young millionaire. "He is dressed
like a Christian now; but there is no mistaking his face. He is the
handsomest man I ever saw in my life, not only in his figure-head, but
in his form."
"I was just going to say the same thing; and he could make his fortune
in a dime museum, with his circus clothes on, though his present dress
shows him off to the best advantage," added Felix.
"According to all accounts, he is about as bad a man as ever lived,
in spite of his masculine beauty, and he is as rich as Crœsus; a
Mohammedan millionaire. The Portuguese gentlemen at Funchal said that
he travelled all over Europe, Asia, and Africa on shore or in his
yacht, and spent his money as freely as water," continued Louis. "He is
a man of the world in the worst sense of the term."
"But how did the blackguard get here so soon?"
"We have not seen the steam-yacht in which he sails since we left
Gibraltar; but she may be in the Bosporus or Golden Horn for all that.
We stopped a day at Algiers, and the ship slowed down to the ordinary
speed of the Maud. But he could have come here by land in much less
time," Louis explained.
"Well, he is here, and it don't make much difference how he got here,"
said Felix. "But Captain Ringgold took him down so thoroughly in Gib
that I should suppose he had had enough of him."
"That may be the very reason why he is here. Whether he is dressed as
a Moor or a Christian, he has the Oriental love of vengeance in his
bones, and his millions will enable him to gratify it at any expense,"
replied Louis.
"He is a more dangerous enemy than John Scoble, _alias_ Wade
Farrongate, ever was. Do you suppose he means to follow us all over the
world to get his revenge for the upsetting the captain gave him?" asked
Felix. "He can make it lively for us, if that is his idea."
"I don't know what he means to do, and I don't much care. I only
hope the captain will not run away any more from this Mohammedan
millionaire."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account