CHAPTER XV
Von Hildemaller's Intervention
A silence settled down upon the prison and the cell in which Geoff andPhilip had been thrust, once the clanging of the iron door which closedit had subsided--a silence which told rather on their nerves, and helpedto rob them of their spirits. They sat just within the door, staringabout them, noticing with concern, almost with dismay, the solid masonrybuilt up above them, the two narrow windows which gave air and light,and the absence of any sort of opening which might give them a means ofmaking their escape. Then Philip sat down on the edge of a low platformbuilt against one of the walls and burst into loud whistling.
"No use being down-hearted! No use crying before we're hurt! In otherwords, it ain't no use giving up before we've tried, eh?" he blurted outwhen he had accomplished a few shrill bars of an air popular amongst hisfellows.
"In fact, keep on hoping!" said Geoff, laughing now, though he had feltsingularly depressed but a few moments earlier. "And, besides, Philip,I've an idea!"
"Let's hear it; something new, eh? An idea! Well, you astonish me!"
The incorrigible subaltern began whistling again, a shrill, exultant,happy whistle, and continued it though a moment later steps were heardin the corridor outside. There was a bang on the door, and the heavyiron concern was burst open. A smooth-faced, bald-headed, and raggedlydressed Turk thrust his head and shoulders in and grimaced at them. Thenhe opened his mouth, or rather let his lips fall apart, showing a set ofgleaming white teeth which perhaps might have frightened younger people.
"Silence, dogs!" he shouted at them, and at the order Philip ceasedwhistling.
"Tell the old boy that we want food and water," he said to Geoff. "And,by the way, about that idea of yours, I suppose one can take it thatthis rascal can't speak English."
Geoff gave him a quick look, and, turning, to the jailer, demanded foodand drink from him.
"As to calling us dogs," he said severely, realizing that to cringe tothis ruffian would be to invite harsh treatment, and that sternness andunconcern on his part would be more likely to impress him--"as tocalling us dogs, you rascal, bear in mind that we are not withoutfriends in this country. Listen! You may know of one Tewfic Pasha? Ah!You know the man then! That is enough--bring food and water."
It was clear in a moment that if this jailer were inclined to be asomewhat rough and rude, if not a bullying, sort of individual, he yethad a certain fund of discretion, and, moreover, that even if he werethe guardian of this cell, interned as it were, far away from activeoperations, he yet had knowledge of others outside the prison. He hadheard of Tewfic Pasha, that was certain, for on the mention of the namehis face had fallen, the grimace, the snarl, which he had turned uponthe prisoners, was changed at once to a sly, fawning smile, while heeven bowed in Geoff's direction.
"I was mistaken then, Excellency," he said at last, after some secondshad passed, during which he racked his brains for something to say."Food and water? You shall have it, for I have orders to treat you withindulgence."
"Wait!" demanded Geoff, determined not to lose his hold over thisfellow, and arresting him in the act of closing the door, "wait, my goodfellow! Doubtless you will be caring for our comfort for some while tocome, so that it may be as well at this moment to come to anunderstanding. Doubtless, too, money is of some value to you, and ifthat be so, and you treat my comrade and myself to favours, then, whenwe are released, you shall be rewarded. Say now, is that a bargain?"
The man's face lit up immediately, while he even smiled quite a pleasantsmile upon them. Sour dispositioned, ill-grained, and surly--perhapsbecause of the work allotted to him--this man, at the bottom of hisheart, was really not without his virtues. Cunning like many a Turk,avaricious, and apt to trade upon those at his mercy, he had--in spiteof the order which he had just admitted he had received--namely, that hewas to treat his prisoners with indulgence--in spite of that, he hadlooked upon them as helpless, as penniless, as likely to be only anuisance and an encumbrance. But now Geoff's tones, the peremptory wordshe had uttered, and, more than all, that suggestion of a reward quitealtered his intentions.
"A reward, Excellency! Then indeed I am fortunate," he told Geoff. "Letyour Excellency declare what is wanted, and that which I am able tobring shall surely reach you."
"And a question," said Geoff, determined to make the most of hisopportunity. "This prison, where is it situated? How far from Bagdad?"
"A day's march--not more, not less, Excellency!"
"And there are other prisoners? Others from Britain or Russia?"
The man shook his head and raised his eyes as if Geoff were encroachingupon a subject which was forbidden. Then, backing out of the door, hepulled it to after him with a clang, and went off along the passage in adifferent frame of mind from that in which he had entered it. As forPhil, he gave vent once more to a shrill whistle, which ended in a blastof air which came through his parted lips soundless.
"And that's the idea?" he asked slyly, pointing at the door, and jerkinghis thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the passage. "If you puta bird in a cage, and the doors are so strong that breaking through 'emis out of the question, that bird ain't necessarily deprived of a chanceof getting his freedom. There's the door left, an iron affair on thisoccasion, and as strong as a rock from the look of it, and then there'sthe jailer!"
"But there's something more than the jailer no doubt!" Geoff warned him;"there'll be sentries perhaps, officials in charge of the prison, otherdoors, with doors beyond them."
"Which don't say that even then we shouldn't be successful," said Philipairily. "It's a chance, of course. What would they do if they caughtus?"
"Depends. Perhaps shoot us, though I hardly think it's likely--your Turkdoesn't indulge in frightfulness, like his German ally. It's worth thechance, Philip, and we'll risk it; but, like sensible individuals, we'llfirst of all find out as much as we can about local conditions. We'llrest content here for a while and plumb this jailer fellow as far aspossible."
"And then we'll scrag him. Not that one wants to be violent with him,"said Philip; "I'd like to treat the fellow as gently as possible. Butwhere a man stands between you and a chance of getting freedom, well, itain't your fault, is it? It's his, if he gets hammered."
The two were still discussing the matter earnestly, almost eagerly, whensteps were heard again in the corridor outside, and the door was pushedopen by the jailer, now smiling widely, and bearing a Turkish tray uponwhich were set coffee and food in abundance.
A week passed, during which Geoff and his chum did their best to whileaway the weary hours, and to ascertain something of the outside of theircell and the conditions existing in other parts of the prison. By dintof carefully probing the jailer, by flattering him and raising his hopesof a reward, they ascertained that the Governor was lying ill, and thathis subordinate was often enough away from the building. There weretroops there, they gathered, but how many, and where quartered, noamount of questioning would extract from the jailer; nor was it wise toask him about the plan of the building, the position of the cell, thecorridor outside, and the road which led to the gates giving access.
As to the cell itself, the first complete day had imprinted everyfeature of it upon their minds, till they knew every crevice, every flawin the stone, every little hole and excrescence. They knew the exactheight of those two windows which admitted air and light to theirprison, and, by standing upon one another's shoulders, had contrived tolook outside--only to find that both windows looked out upon acourtyard, surrounded by a wall the top of which would undoubtedly bewell beyond their reach. As to the windows themselves, they were barredso heavily that to attempt to get through them was out of the question,and even were they provided with a saw or a chisel the job would stillbe beyond them.
"So it's got to be the jailer," grinned Philip, when the week hadpassed, "and, 'pon my word, I'm awfully sorry about it. Of course wemust do the square thing by him; we've promised him a reward, and hemust have it. Let's form our pla
ns for gagging and tying him up safely."
There was more discussion after that, eager enough to be sure, whileplans were made and unmade, every eventuality likely to occur foreseenand overcome as far as possible.
"Naturally enough, we shall not make the attempt until nightfall," saidGeoff, "and, seeing that this fellow gives us a last call just aboutdusk, that will be the most convenient hour to nab him. Let's go overthe scene for a moment. If we happen to be fairly close to the door whenhe enters, he won't be suspicious, for he's found us in every sort ofposition during the last week. A chap would get soft and out ofcondition if he stayed in one place in a cell like this, and it's onlyby walking up and down and running round that we have been able to getexercise. Exercise, by Jove! Why didn't we think of that before? Wemight have sent a message to the Governor of the prison asking him toallow us out of our cell for certain hours of the day, and that wouldhave given us an idea of our surroundings."
It was strange indeed that they had not thought of that before, and,acting on the impulse of the moment, they called loudly for the jailer,and having attracted his attention sent him on a mission to theGovernor.
"But no, Excellency!" he told Geoff on his return; "it is notpermitted--not for the moment at any rate. You must wait. The Governoris in ill-health and out of temper, and he bade me return with aperemptory refusal. Have patience. Perhaps in a little while you will beliberated and allowed to walk on the roof, where you may enjoy thesunlight."
"Prophetic!" said Philip when the door had closed again. "In a littlewhile we may be liberated--this evening, if possible, I think. What doyou say, Geoff?"
"I'm with you," answered our hero; "let's get the gag ready for him, andarrange about his money. Funny, isn't it, that we've been able to keepwhat we had in our pockets? I imagine that if Germans had captured usthey'd have rifled us of every coin, and we should have been paupers."
Yet, as it happened, despite their anxiety to break loose from theprison and find their way into the open, the evening passed withoutevent, and was followed by days of waiting. Days which stretched intoweeks--miserable, lonely weeks, the hours of which dragged by on leadenwheels, while the days themselves were often like a nightmare, so longdid the minutes take in passing, so long were they drawn out, so utterlyunending did they seem.
"But it's no use being despondent," said Geoff; "and just because thejailer seems to be on the qui vive all the time, and has not yet givenus an opportunity, and, indeed, has been accompanied by another man onmany occasions, we mustn't think that the plan is 'off', or even dreamof giving up the undertaking. We're going to break out of this place,Philip."
"You've said that time and again," grinned the irrepressible andever-jovial Philip, "and so have I; and, by Jingo! we will--only when?This waiting is getting a bit trying. I declare my joints are gettingstiff, and if I had to run a hundred yards I'd lose the race."
Lack of exercise and of fresh air was indeed telling upon the two verygreatly; for, be it remembered, they were young, enthusiastic, andopen-air creatures, who, in months past, had spent the better part oftheir waking hours out in the free open air, under the blue sky ofMesopotamia; and when in India or in England, outside buildings wheneverpossible, enjoying the sunlight and the fresh breezes which played aboutthem. And now, to be cooped up between four stone walls of thisunpleasant prison, this stone vault, was depressing, to say the least ofit; it was enervating, taking the colour out of their cheeks, and, inspite of their courage and their youthful enthusiasm, was tending ratherto take the heart out of them.
"We shall rot if we go on like this," said Geoff desperately, when afew days had passed. "I quite believe you, Philip, for my joints, too,feel stiff and useless almost. Supposing we were to beguile the time bya little active exercise--sort of Swedish gymnastics. Eh? Why not?"
"Why not?" Philip said eagerly, grasping at the suggestion with theenergy almost of a drowning man grasping at a straw. "You've takensquads in that before. Fire away, Geoff! Let's see what we make of it."
Thereafter the astonished jailer peeped in more than once on thesecurious white prisoners of his, to find them perhaps stretched on theirbacks on the stone floor of the cell, their hands clasped under theirheads, and their legs, stretched stiffly in front of them, being slowlyraised towards the ceiling. Or he came upon the two facing one anotherwith absolutely solemn visages, on tiptoe, bobbing up and down in themost extraordinary fashion.
"Allah, but this is a strange sight!" he told himself on the firstoccasion, and looked suspiciously round the cell. "No, no! There is nosign of attempted escape--windows are barred as usual. Truly this is astrange experience. Surely these young men, no doubt nobles in their owncountry, have gone crazy."
He was more than dumbfounded, absolutely staggered, one day, when,entering the cell very quietly and very suddenly, he discovered Geoffstanding behind his chum, gripping him firmly by the waist and slowlyraising him upward, raising him till the lanky figure of Philip waslifted to a horizontal position above Geoff's head, and was slowlypushed upward to the full extent of his arms and then lowered again,only to be pushed once more into the old position; then, as the gapingjailer watched, the figure of the subaltern was brought to a verticalposition and lowered ever so gently to the ground till his stockingedtoes touched the stone floor of the prison. By then the man's eyes werestarting out of his head, and he gripped the edge of the iron door as ifto support himself.
"Allah is great!" he stuttered. "Surely Allah is great! And these whiteyouths are the strangest of people. See now what they do! They are herein a prison cell, none too comfortable, perhaps, none too bright andcheery, yet with four peaceful walls about them, and a wooden divan onwhich they may without hindrance sit or lounge the day long, staringmaybe at the wall, and dreaming of the past or of the future. And surelythe future, in spite of such a prison, has much that is of rosy colourfor such youths--youths who are but on the threshold of manhood. Thereis hope for them, a peaceful life to contemplate, and, within these fourwalls, no need to do aught else but dream, but let the hours slide away,but let others work for their existence."
That was the Turkish outlook on life--an outlook which permits a man toreach man's estate as he may do, and which enjoins on him the needthereafter to live as placid, as workless a life as he may find. Passyour Turkish bazaar, wend your way through some Turkish cafe, and seethe individuals of that nationality seated there. Cross-legged, theyrest in comfort where Britons would be seized with cramp within fiveminutes. Cross-legged, they rest placidly, their open eyes fixed onnothing, their thoughts barren, their minds perhaps a blank. Or they sitwith one hand resting in their lap or toying with the tiny egg-shapedcoffee-cup which brings them refreshment, the other hand gripping thelong, braided stem of the _narghile_. Then puffs of white smoke escapeslowly, reluctantly, as it were, from their lips, and are gently waftedabove by the breeze circling round the stalls or the cafe into the openair. Who knows? It may be that in the midst of those clouds your Turksees his future, and gathers inspiration for those dreams which keep hima placid occupier of his stall or his portion of the divan in the cafe,holding him enthralled in lazy, idle speculation, in gentle, easywondering, in an aimless endeavour to burst the mists of the future anddiscover what may be his fortune in the years to come.
For a Turk that may be good enough, sufficient exercise both for mindand body; but the fresh blood, the keen intellect, the wonderful energyof Anglo-Saxons require more movement, require some better pabulum fortheir thoughts--something far more stimulating--and they find it inactive, open-air exercise, in the seeing of interest in all things, andin the taking of energetic steps which may bring into motion everyjoint, every muscle, and every fibre of their bodies. Thus what appearedto be a form of increasing mania in Geoff and Philip in the eyes oftheir jailer and of the man who accompanied him on occasion, who both ofthem stared, amazed--though they had now seen those curious actions oftheir two prisoners on many occasions--was no more strange andastonishing to them than were the sloth, the ease, and
the aimlessexistence of the Turks to our two heroes.
See the result of this extraordinary mania on the part of Geoff andPhilip. The hours began to glide away. The days fled as if there wassome driving force behind them, and slid by at such a rate that a weekwas gone before they could look round, while week piled on week in rapidsuccession. Nor was that the only advantage obtained by these twoenergetic and restless prisoners. Little by little their colour cameback, till they were rosy in spite of those four blank walls about them;and little by little their muscles hardened, their joints became moreflexible and elastic, and their strength increased to a point at whichboth of them, in spite of their moderately heavy build, threatened tobecome young Samsons. Little did the grinning jailer realize that,whereas he might have proved an easy victim of these two, attacking himtogether, at the commencement of their captivity, he would now be but asa child in the arms of one; for Geoff's fingers alone had become sopowerful that he could have taken the Turk by the neck and shaken thelife out of him single-handed.
"I think, old boy, that the jailer won't stand a dog's chance when weget busy," he told Philip.
"And I believe you, dear chap," grinned his chum, "only----" And thenPhilip's face lengthened till it had attained the length of theproverbial fiddle, "only this waiting is all rot. I believe myself thatthat beggar of a jailer suspects us. He's been awfully decent, ofcourse, in bringing us food and water, but, all the same, he's got itinto his narrow head that we mean to tackle him on the first occasion."
It was Geoff's turn to grin--a happy grin--for the exercise had improvedhis digestion, and had brought him to a position where he might be saidto be in the pink of health, and therefore looked on the bright side ofeverything.
"I believe you, dear boy," he said, repeating Philip's statement. "As towhen the chance will come, well, who knows? Only we are ready."
They spent that afternoon in carefully devising a gag and ropes, whichthey obtained by tearing strips off the blankets which had been providedfor their covering; and then counted out the sum of money which, thoughnot very great, was likely to prove a small fortune to the jailer. Infact, they had not yet completed their preparations when steps wereheard in the corridor outside and halted at the doorway.
"Ready?" asked Geoff.
Philip nodded, and, sauntering to the corner of the cell, placed himselfin a position which would allow him to throw himself on the back of thejailer. Geoff crushed the gag into his trouser pocket, and stood, as hehad often stood before, facing the door, waiting for it to open. Thebolts were pulled back with a clang, and slowly the heavy ironframe-door was pushed open, disclosing the smiling, friendly face of thejailer at first, and then a second individual--a stout, fat,heavily-built man, dressed in the loosest of European clothing, whomopped his streaming forehead with a red silk handkerchief, who pantedand grunted, who blew gusts of air out of a mouth which was out of allproportion, from between two irregular rows of yellow teeth, hiddenalmost entirely by a moustache, which flowed on either side of his fatcheeks, and which was stained by cigarette smoke in the middle. Morethan that, the man wore on his head a panama hat which shaded hisfeatures, the exact expression of which was made all the moreindistinguishable by the dusk already settling in the corridor, butwhich could yet be seen to be more pallid, of a whiter hue, than wascommon to the Turkish nation. It was no Turk in fact; it was a European,and none other than a German. More than that, what German in the heartof Mesopotamia could have answered to such a description as that abovedelineated but von Hildemaller? Yes, it was that urbane and kindlyfellow, that perspiring, panting individual, that emissary of the Kaiserwho dealt ostensibly in dates, but clandestinely in political matters.It was the garrulous, the charming, and the most entertaining Herr vonHildemaller, that cunning, scheming, unscrupulous wretch who had beeninstrumental in obtaining the imprisonment of Joe Douglas.
No wonder that Geoff stared at this apparition as though it were aghost, a well-grown, beefy, and extremely solid ghost to be sure, yetone which filled him with amazement. No wonder, too, that Philip, afterhis own particular custom and habit, pursed up his lips and allowed alow-pitched whistle of astonishment to escape him. And then it was vonHildemaller's turn. He grunted, he mopped his forehead and face moreviolently, and greeted the two, first with a penetrating, suspiciousglance, and then with an expansive smile, which took them both in at thesame moment as it were, as if he were inordinately proud to meet them.
"Ach! It is vat I haff heard--two Englishmen--hein?" he grunted, andthen, turning on the jailer, exploded: "Begone, dog!" he shouted;"close der door and go to your quarters, and haff no fear dat deeseprisoners will escape, for see, I am armed and prepared to hold dem."
He waited, mopping his forehead and standing just within the cell, tillthe jailer had departed--had crawled away in fact, showing terror ofthis German--then, stepping well within the cell, von Hildemaller closedthe door, and once more treated Geoff and his friend to an expansivegrin, which was most friendly and most inviting.
"I haff heard dat you are here," he told them, casting a glance first atone and then at the other. "I haff remember dat you are white men likemyself, and not dogs like deese Turkish; and although we are at war--weGermans and you British--yet it is far from here to Germany and England;and I haff said: 'Von Hildemaller, you are not such a craven fellow, sowrapped up in Germany, that you cannot befriend deese white men. Dey arenearer to you dan to deese Turkish dogs, deese heathen.' Mein friends,let me tell you something. I haff come to offer you friendshib andliberty."
They were sheep's eyes that he was casting at the astonished Geoff andPhilip, little, swift, sidelong glances, which fastened upon their facesin turn--critical and almost anxious, penetrating glances, which, swiftthough the glimpse was of the faces of the British subalterns, markedevery feature--their open guileless expressions, the look ofastonishment, of relief, in their faces, the gleam of coming friendshipin their eyes.
Von Hildemaller chuckled, and all the while turned on thoseunsuspicious and inexperienced subalterns his own peculiar and expansivesmile--that smile which had deceived so many people, that smile thefriendliness of which gave rise to no room for suspicion. He chortled,and mopped his streaming forehead again with his bright-redhandkerchief. He was making progress he felt sure; these two stalwartyoung men were taking him to their hearts already--this big, fat,ungainly German. And why not? For see what an offer had been made them!And consider by whom! By none other than von Hildemaller, a person, itseemed, unknown to either of them, though let us not forget that Geoffalready had some knowledge of this individual, and Philip also. Yet--yetcould these tales that had come to them be true?
"Can the fellow be a rascal really?" Geoff was asking himself; whilePhilip stared at the huge perspiring German amazed, troubled for one ofthe few occasions in his life, disconcerted, his heart fluttering withhope at the opportunity of swift liberty, his better judgment, hiscommon sense, overcome by his eagerness to be quit of this cell andprison.
And von Hildemaller, that scheming, cunning German, ogled the two withthat pair of fat eyes of his; he curled his moustache, lifting it justfor a second sufficiently high to allow them to catch a glimpse of thatrow of tobacco-stained teeth--that row of cruel teeth which gave perhapsa better inkling of this man's real nature than any other part of hisanatomy. Von Hildemaller pushed the red handkerchief into one of hisbulging pockets, and then threw out the two fat palms of his hands in amanner characteristic of him. He had made an impression, he felt; hemust drive the thing home; now that the thin edge of the wedge had beenintroduced he must drive it in firmly, securely, till he had won by hisvery impulsiveness, by his open friendship, the goodwill and confidenceof these young fellows.
"Mein friends, mein lieber friends," he said in his most unctuous andoily manner, that expansive smile now exaggerated, his broad faceshining with indulgent friendship, "though I am a German, still I loffthe English; yes, how I loff them! And, mein Gott, it is fortunate thatI came upon a man who told me of you, a Turkish officer w
ho indiscreetlywhispered to me of two brave British officers who haff been madecaptiff. And den I say: 'Von Hildemaller, you are like deese youngofficers'."
He stopped and panted for a moment, and once more dived for hishandkerchief with which to mop his face.
Like these two young officers! As if anyone in his common senses couldhave compared the huge, fat, ungainly German to either of these twospruce young officers, or could have seen the smallest likeness betweenthe broad, smiling, yet cunning face of this Teuton and the open, frank,healthy expressions of our heroes.
"Ha!" von Hildemaller grunted, catching his breath and panting stillmore heavily, for speaking so rapidly was rather a tax on his energies."And I say: 'Von Hildemaller, though you are a German, you loff deeseEnglish; dey are lost, forlorn captiffs in a strange country, a countryof brutes and beasts not worthy to eat their food with Europeans', andden I make one big, noble resolve. I say: 'Von Hildemaller, mein brave,kind fellow, you will go to seek deese young men, you will rescue dem,you will take dem to a place where they can be on der parole--livinglike white men, treated with kindness and consideration'."
Out came the red handkerchief again, and the mopping process wasrepeated, while, as the folds of the red handkerchief swept across hisforehead and cleared the vision first of one eye and then of the other,the Teuton's deeply sunk and penetrating optics lit upon the faces ofGeoff and Phil, while his lips almost trembled with joy at the thoughtof coming triumph.
"Dey are fools, deese British pups," he was telling himself, chortlingloudly, and chuckling at his obvious success. "First I haff the MajorPasha--that Douglas Pasha, and one day I will kill him--and now I haffdeese odder, deese two more British officers. Himmel! How I hate derbreed, deese British, who haff come so soon between der Kaiser and hisobject.
"Ach! If I could, I would screw the neck of every Englishman; yes, sweepthem into the desert, bury them out of sight, clear them away from thesteps of all Germans."
And yet all the time his perspiring face beamed upon our two heroes,beamed, whilst his words rang in their ears--those lying words whichinvited them to trust to this monster, which gave them hopes of liberty,which offered them a haven where they might rest in comfort and insafety, a haven which, for all they knew, might give them completeliberty to return to their own people. Indeed, though the German had notmentioned such a thing, had not even hinted at it, yet his openness ofheart, the warm friendship he expressed for them, made such apossibility not entirely out of the question. It raised hopes, hopeswhich, in the case of Phil, had now almost undermined his judgment, hadgone dangerously far towards winning his confidence, towards making himtrust von Hildemaller absolutely. For--see the cunning of thisGerman--he did not tell our heroes a fact unknown to them. He had met aTurkish officer who had let fall some indiscreet words with reference toBritish prisoners. The crafty German did not tell them that that wasTewfic Pasha, who, meeting the German, and, discovering that he alreadyhad news of such prisoners, had asked him to befriend them.
Tewfic Pasha himself was ignorant of the rascally work von Hildemallerhad already perpetrated in the case of Douglas Pasha, otherwise he wouldhave been on his guard. He distrusted Germans as a general rule, butyet, from force of circumstances, was compelled to trust vonHildemaller. He had taken a huge liking for Geoff and his chum, andwished to do them a real service, but found himself helpless. Here wasan intermediary, for surely the German would help--this German with thesmiling, friendly countenance--and von Hildemaller had pledged himselfto do so, had eagerly assented to see to the welfare of Geoff andPhilip, and had gone off chuckling, scheming--smiling no longer--with aset purpose--a purpose to wreak his hatred of all Englishmen upon thesehelpless subalterns.
And see him there, just within the door of the prison, perspiringhorribly, mopping his face constantly, panting, chuckling, smiling--thesmile of a tiger as he glanced at his two victims.
And Geoff, taken aback by his entry, by his unexpected coming, deceivedfor a moment by his demonstrative goodwill, by his words and his offerof help and liberty, almost fell into the net that was spread socleverly for him, almost succumbed to the wiles of this Teuton. But hisbetter senses, second thoughts if you will, came to the rescue. Heremembered von Hildemaller's evil reputation, he knew well enough whatpart he had taken in the capture of Joe Douglas--for had not Esbulbrought the story?--and now, as he stared unflinchingly, inquisitively,searching for the reason of this visit, into the eyes of the German, hesaw, right behind them as it were, behind that broad smile, the cunninghatred and craft of the man, and delight at coming triumph. Then,shifting his gaze to Philip of a sudden, he winked, grimaced at him, andslowly pulled the gag which he had thrust into his pocket into the open.
Did he intend to take this German's offer? Or did he propose some othercourse? And if so, what course? What action would he take?
A second later what doubts there may have been were cleared up in amanner dramatic enough for the odious von Hildemaller--stunning in itsunexpectedness by swift action which swept the blood from his face, andcaused those ogling eyes of his almost to start from their sockets. ForGeoff called in a low voice to Philip, and, leaping at the German, threwone arm round his neck, and clapped the other hand over that cunningmouth which had smiled so widely at him.
On the Road to Bagdad: A Story of Townshend's Gallant Advance on the Tigris Page 15