hugh and watkins unlashed two heavy oars from the cabin roof and thrust them outboard through oarlocks rivetted to the cockpit railing. side by side, in unison, they pulled with a long, deliberate stroke, while betty steered. it was no easy task to move that launch across the swift-flowing tide of the bosphorus, and it seemed an endless time before the blurred mass of the shoreline, becoming visible to our unaided sight, furnished an index to the progress we were making.

"nikka and i can relieve them," i offered as the rowers began to pant.

"you haven't done it before," answered betty shortly. "you might splash."

indeed, the oars made scarcely a ripple as they were lifted, feathered and dipped, tedious as was the effort imposed both by their weight and the size of the launch.

"much farther?" hugh gritted between clenched teeth.

"the jetty is right ahead," betty reassured him. "you had better get forward, dad, and be ready to fend off the rocks."

vernon king climbed up on the cabin roof and crawled into the bow. nikka and i strained our eyes endeavoring to identify the details of the shore. to the right, and already a little astern of us, was a huge round tower, one of the bulwarks of the ancient walls. other than this there was only a dim range of masonry, the city walls, for the most part, crowned by houses. not a light showed opposite to us.

presently, letting our eyes drop lower, we descried immediately in front a low breakwater, a jagged pile of rocks that ran out from the shore in the form of a blunted hook. betty, steering carefully, brought the curlew inside the hook and bow-on to the shore, so that the launch was protected from the current that flowed through the strait. king scrambled ashore and made fast a line around one of the rocks, then felt his way back along the slippery footing of the breakwater and stepped into the cockpit. hugh and watkins unshipped the sweeps and laid them on the cabin roof.

all of us were staring at the blank darkness of the shoreline, tense and watchful; but my uncle's interest was still largely of an antiquarian nature.

"do you appreciate how extraordinarily fortunate we are to have this ruined jetty to moor to?" he whispered excitedly. "no galleys in the old days were ever able to assail these seaward walls because of the currents. without protection, we, too, should be smashed to pieces if we tried to lie under them. but this place evidently was one of the walls of a harbor for the imperial galleys. it was, of course, fortified. this hook terminated in a strong tower. a second hook—"

"daddy, daddy," remonstrated betty, "you aren't lecturing to-night. we—we're reconnoitering the enemy's position."

hugh had been studying the shore again through the night-glasses.

"not a sign of life," he murmured. "now, you chaps, show us the lay of the land."

nikka and i, with the help of the glasses, plotted for the others the arrangement of tokalji's establishment. there was the brick extension of the bachelors' quarters, crowning a part of the sea-wall. there was the gap between this structure and the house of the married, which was shut in only by the crenellated height of the wall. and finally, there was the house of the married, with the garden of the cedars concealed within its heart, lifting its solid bulk above all adjoining buildings. there were no windows on the seaward face of tokalji's house.

"the old wall between the two wings—between the bachelors' quarters and warehouse and the house of the married—ought to be easy to climb," i concluded.

"the wall of the house of the married is very irregular, too," added betty. "we have passed it close in a number of times by daylight, and we all agreed an active man could climb it."

"that's a good idea," approved nikka. "if you could enter by the house of the married you could seize the valuable part of the position first. sound military strategy."

"yes," assented hugh, "you could consolidate your position—how the old lingo comes back, though!—and then occupy the rest of the place as convenient. by jove, if you didn't want to occupy it, you could—"

"oh, you'd have to occupy it," i interrupted. "i say, do you know that place looks deserted?"

"there's somebody there, never fear," rejoined betty.

"according to nikka's uncle, a good part of the garrison were withdrawn to-day," returned hugh.

"there is no use hurrying," cautioned my uncle. "we shall have plenty of opportunities."

"there is good reason for striking when you are not expected," retorted hugh.

nobody answered him. we were all staring hungrily at the shadowy shape of the house of the married, towering above the seawall. it hypnotized us. we were enthralled by the unfathomable mysteries it suggested, by the knowledge of the mighty prize it contained.

"there's no time like the present," i said softly.

"yes, they won't be looking for us so soon again," agreed nikka. "they will be figuring that we had enough of a fright last night."

"perhaps you are right," surrendered vernon king. "audacity, we are frequently told, is the favored bride of fortune. i must admit that this place exerts a lure which arouses in me certain primitive instincts i had supposed were finally cured or buried.'

"you mean, dad," said betty, "that you feel like being foolish with the others."

"oh, come, bet," protested hugh, "this is no time for squabbling. what could be more unexpected than a raid from us to-night? they probably think, as nikka says, that we will go slow after last night, and they don't even know we are out here."

"i wouldn't be too sure of that," rejoined betty.

"besides," i said, "their force is so depleted that we couldn't have a better opportunity."

"they may be reinforced."

"nonsense," said hugh. "watty, bring out those tools. we shall want the rope for climbing and a couple of crowbars. if we need anything else we can send back for it."

watkins, who had preserved a respectful silence throughout our debate, cleared his throat apologetically.

"i beg your ludship's pardon, but—but—you'll not be going into that den of thieves at this hour of the night, sir?"

"certainly, watty. it will be easier 'at this hour of the night' than in broad daylight."

"but—but—your ludship! mister hugh, sir! it's flying in the face of providence, if i may say so—after what 'appened to mister jack and mister nikka, sir—there's no knowing what those devils 'ave waitin' for you."

i am ashamed to say that we all chuckled as loudly as we dared at watkins's fears.

"you can stay in the boat with miss betty, if you'd rather," said hugh.

without a word, watkins dropped down the cabin hatchway.

"why do you single me out to be left behind?" demanded betty indignantly.

"because, betty, you can't climb that wall—and somebody has got to be ready to start the engine and get us away in a hurry."

"i suppose you're right," she sighed. "well, don't blame me if anything goes wrong. of all the hare-brained—"

"rats!" i scoffed. "if they jump us, and there are too many of them, we'll retreat. but maybe we can clean up this job to-night for good and all. if we can, it's worth trying."

watkins emerged from the cabin with the tools and the expression of a martyr. nikka insisted that he was the best climber in the party, and took charge of the rope. hugh and i carried the crowbars, which we wrapped in sailcloth to prevent their clinking against the stones of the wall. then we stepped on to the slimy rocks of the jetty, nikka in the lead.

it was a perilous climb to the shore, and we negotiated it slowly, helping one another and taking every precaution to avoid making any noise. at last we found ourselves in the jumble of bowlders constituting the breakwater at the foot of the sea-wall, which reared its moss-grown battlements high overhead. we turned to the left here, and crawled over and through the rocks on the beach to a point under the overhanging wall of the house of the married. from the beach it looked unclimbable, but nikka, after surveying its mounting courses, shattered and riven by centuries of neglect, by earthquakes and the ceaseless battering of the waves, removed his shoes and started the ascent, an end of the grapnel-rope looped around his waist.

we who watched him stood with knocking hearts for what seemed an eternity. spread-eagled against the wall, he appeared as infinitesimal as a fly in the darkness. at first we could see him when he slipped and caught himself or sprawled or clutched for handholds. but soon he became an indistinct blotch on the masonry, and we held our breath, helpless now to aid him. our first knowledge that he had succeeded came when he jerked up the grapnel lying on the beach at our feet. he hoisted it slowly, lest it clash against the wall, adjusted its prongs and tossed down the knotted length of rope.

hugh followed him with ease, bracing his feet against the wall when he was tired. then i went up. then my uncle. watkins came last. we stood, bending low, on the seaward verge of the roof over which nikka and i had fled the previous night. it was now well towards midnight, and a haze was settling over the city. the curlew was invisible even to us who knew precisely her location. the large courtyard to our right was a mere blot; the garden of the cedars in front of us was marked by the whispering tops of its two trees. the silence was absolute. the water lapped on the beach below. that was all.

naturally and by right, hugh took command. it was his expedition.

"do we go down through the trapdoor jack and nikka used or do we use the rope to drop directly into the garden?" he asked.

"best use the trapdoor," advised nikka.

"yes," i agreed. "then the rope will always be handy in case you want to escape."

"right o!" endorsed hugh cheerfully. "jack, you and nikka will come with me. professor king and watty will be rearguard and second-line for emergency use. stay where you are, professor, until you hear from us."

"but do you consider it advisable, in full accord with military strategy, to divide your forces?" objected my uncle. "surely—"

"we can handle twice our number," replied hugh. "if there are more than that we'll call on you. but you and watty aren't as used to scrapping as we are, and it wouldn't be fair to mix you in it if it can be avoided. come on, lads."

we crossed the roof toward sokaki masyeri, the large courtyard on our right, the garden of the cedars on our left. the trapdoor was shut, but unfastened, and hugh lifted it. the ladder was in place under it. hugh lowered himself gently, and creaked down to the floor. we followed him. the room was in pitch-darkness, but we made certain by touch that it was empty. the bed from which nikka and i had cut the cords lay exactly as we had left it, the clothes tumbled over the foot. the door to the hall was off its hinges, but propped in place.

"i've picked up a chair-leg," nikka whispered by the broken door. "you fellows use your crowbars if—"

he paused significantly.

"right," hugh whispered back. "can we lift this door aside?"

the hinges rattled slightly as we shifted it. the next moment we peered through a yawning cavity, ears alert. not a sound reached us, and we stole forward with the utmost care. midway of the hall were the corkscrew stairs up which kara had guided nikka and me. i judged we were close to them when a door jarred beside us. there was a shout, and we were surrounded by a mob of half-seen figures. they poured from the head of the stairs as well as from the rooms opening off the hall in which they had lain concealed. they were all around us, but in the darkness they got in each other's way, and i thought we could beat them off.

a man seized me by the shoulder, and i drove my fist into his face. two others leaped on me. i cracked the skull of one with my crowbar, and broke the arm of the second. hugh in front of me was driving his opponents down the stairs. i heard nikka exclaim once, then a gasp—and a light flashed, three lights flashed. hugh had cleared a space, but went down as i looked, throttled from behind. nikka was just rising from beside a man whose head was crushed in. then the rush began again.

i reached for my pistol, but did not have time to draw it. the attackers surged in from all sides. i had a fleeting glimpse of hilmi bey. serge yassilievich ran up the stair. i heard somewhere the snarling voice of toutou lafitte.

"jack, hold them for me!" cried nikka. "must warn—king!"

i swung my crowbar in a circle, and backed towards nikka's voice. he had shaken himself clear.

"in that door—opposite—reach window!" he gasped.

we charged and split a path toward the door of one of the rooms. as we reached it, a pair of gorilla-like arms wound around my neck. i tried to hit over my shoulder with the crowbar, but somebody caught my wrist. as i fell i heard nikka's cry:

"run, professor! save betty! we're—"

that was all. toutou had me on the floor and was choking the life out of me. i lost consciousness.

when i came to i was lying on a very damp, hard floor. several lights dazzled my aching eyes, and a number of people were talking in french.

"ha, nash is with us again," said hilyer's voice. "i was afraid you might have done him in, toutou."

"if you take my advice,"—i recognized hilmi bey's falsetto tones—"you will have toutou operate on all three of them. he has ways to make silent men speak. do you remember rattner, the swiss broker, toutou?"

toutou's answer was an almost indistinguishable "guhr-rrrr-rrr-rr" of rage.

alive now to the position i was in, i opened my eyes wider and tried to rise. but i was bound hand and foot, and could not move. i could, however, see where i was. not far away hugh and nikka were propped against the stone wall of a chamber, which i suppose you could call a dungeon. it had no window. the one door was open. the floor sloped gradually toward the center, where there was a square stone grating about two feet square.

but the most interesting aspect of my surroundings was the group in the doorway. toutou stood in front, his green eyes sparkling with hate and lust. hilmi bey fawned at his elbow. serge yassilievich and hilyer were there. tokalji frowned at us, hand on his knife-hilt, hélène de cespedes and sandra vassilievna, in their modish costumes, looked singularly out of place. they lent a touch of unreality to what was otherwise a singularly brutish picture. as i looked, hélène stepped forward.

"help mr. nash to sit up, montey," she said.

he looked from her to toutou.

"oh, it won't prevent his answering questions," she snapped. "please do as i say."

he raised me not ungently to a sitting position. hugh and nikka grinned at me.

"the question before the house," said hugh, "is what route to hades we are to take, and the preliminary stages of discomfort we shall undergo to satisfy the head devil over there and his assistants."

"you are in a serious fix," continued hélène. "joking won't help you any. i've tried to make you boys understand that the boches were merciful enemies compared to us. we don't recognize civilization. for us it doesn't exist. we have gone back to primal principles. now we've got you, and you've got to talk."

"words, words," lamented hilmi viciously. "let toutou take his knife to them. that will do the trick."

tokalji evidently understood the purport of this, for he rasped a quick assent. toutou flashed a long, stiletto-like blade, and stepped toward us.

"i'll carve them," he purred. "they do not look now as they will when i have finished with them. ha, yes, toutou's knife knows the way to truth. soon they will be asking to die."

but hilyer jumped in front of him. the englishman's thin face was aflame with temper.

"i'll stand for a good deal," he said, "but i won't permit torture. you are a fool, toutou. you'd only kill them the way you did the old lord. here, you people, we must call him off. he'll spoil the whole show."

sandra backed him up, and compelled her brother somewhat sullenly to join in the protest. but hilmi bey and tokalji energetically took the opposing side.

"they have killed three more of my men," howled the gypsy. "shall they sow death through my tribe, and live unharmed?"'

"they shall," declared hélène calmly.

she stepped beside toutou, and placed her fingers on his wrist. her eyes sought his. he snarled in his cat-like fashion, and drew away from her. but she fearlessly came closer to him, and slowly, under the compulsion of her fingers, he returned the knife to its sheath.

"hilmi bey!" she rapped.

the levantine bowed before her.

"if you spoil this play," she said coldly, "i will kill you with my own hand. keep out of what concerns your betters, pig!"

he cringed to her, and would have answered. but she silenced him with a wave of the hand.

"there has been enough of this," she went on. "mr. nash, do you join with your friends in refusing to give up your secret?"

i nodded.

"very well," she answered, "we will leave you to think it over. if you are wise, you will understand that having blundered into this trap—as you must have blundered sooner or later—the best you can hope for is life in exchange for what we want. i cannot continue to save you from the cruelty of those of us who relish brutal measures. there is a limit to my patience, too. i advise you to make intelligent use of the next twenty-four hours. you cannot be saved. your friends cannot reach you. the authorities cannot intervene. if they did, you would disappear. you have twenty-four hours more."

they took all the lanterns, except one, and went out, locking the door after them.