“A rotten shame,” thought the Lieutenant.
Offers were buffeted about. The auctioneer bellowed and roared, told funny stories, extolled the virtues of Jeppa women and finally brought a bidder up to a good price.
The money was paid on the spot. The big-chested, hairy-faced Berber took his merchandise. The girl, to the Lieutenant’s surprise, went willingly enough.
“And now!” cried the auctioneer. “We have the best of the lot. I have here a jewel, a flame-colored flower, worth a sultan’s ransom. Untouched, pure as spring water, brought up in the harem, the very harem of Kirzigh himself. She is the finest of all. When she looks at you, you think two moons have risen. When she sighs you think the gentle breezes have cooled your brows. When she talks you think that nightingales have swarmed down from the heavens. She is a gift of Allah, more beautiful than the houris themselves. Her waist could be encircled with the smallest hand. A glimpse of her face and figure would pull a dead man from his shroud. And her hair! It is the color of the dawn, of the evening. It is the color of silk beyond value. It is a crown of molten gold flowing across her milk white shoulders. My brothers, gaze upon this woman and be confounded!”
He threw back a drape, dramatically bringing forth another article.
The Lieutenant had, until now, thought that this was just some pat speech of the auctioneer’s. The Lieutenant had seen many, many Arab and Berber women. Some of them were very pretty, yes, but not like this one.
My God, no!
She was all the auctioneer said and more, and the Lieutenant began to think poorly of the auctioneer’s oratorical abilities.
She was beautiful, but the mention of it made that word pale and insipid.
In all his life, in magazines, on the screen, the Lieutenant had never beheld such a face or such a figure.
Her hair was golden red, her eyes were clear and alive and gray. She looked down into the crowd as though she gazed upon so many mangy camels.
The crowd said not a word. Not one man there breathed for the space of a dozen heartbeats.
Suddenly an engulfing roar soared skyward. They slapped each other and slapped themselves and laughed and cheered and howled with pleasure.
The auctioneer, conscious that he had done something great, puffed up considerably, stroked his beard and waited for them to grow quiet.
The girl was haughty and unafraid. It was her voice which struck the crowd into silence.
“What one among you dares make a bid for Morgiana, Buddir al Buddor, daughter of the Caid?”
They gaped at her. Never in the history of Harj had a woman captive had the courage to speak from the auction block.
“Why don’t you bid?” she cried. “Look at me. I am beautiful. I am worth ten thousand pieces of gold. Buy me as you buy a camel or a barb. Bid, beasts, and show me which one among you wants me the most.”
For seconds nothing sounded but the clattering of palms in the public square. Then a stately Berber stepped forward and cried, “One hundred pieces of gold I bid for the honor of breaking that woman’s spirit.”
Another voice roared, “Two hundred pieces of gold.”
A third cried, “Three hundred.”
The first bidder, stroking his beard, looked up at the girl thoughtfully.
She called to him. “Am I not worth it? Will you not bid five hundred, you malformed ox? Bid and show them, and then I’ll show you which one of us is broken first.”
The Lieutenant was still dazed. His heart was beating queerly and gave little bumps every time her white teeth flashed. Then he tried to catch hold of himself. This was no way for the conqueror of Harj to act. No way at all.
He felt something press against his side. His fingers closed on a terrific weight. He glanced down.
Just as though some spirit had come to him unseen and had departed without noise, he found himself possessed of a big sack. It jingled.
“Bid!” cried the girl. “Buy me for a bargain at ten thousand pieces of gold. Ah, you’re afraid. Afraid I might tear your eyes out of your heads and pluck your beards, hair by hair. We’ll see about that. Bid!”
The Lieutenant raised the bag to shoulder height. The auctioneer stared blankly at him and at the sack.
The Lieutenant threw the money to the block. The bag broke and gold scattered over it like a torrent of sunlight.
The auctioneer’s helpers dashed forward and scooped up the wealth. To their practiced eyes, it amounted to some seven or eight hundred pieces of gold.
The crowd cheered. In the middle of a nightmare, the Lieutenant stepped up, took the girl’s hand in his own and tried to pull her away with him.
She stood where she was. He touched her again and their eyes met and clashed.
Suddenly she seized his hand, jerked it toward her and sank her teeth in it to the bone.
The sudden pain of it made the Lieutenant strike. The girl reeled back, dropping his hand. He looked down at the flowing blood. A stain as red as his own was against the girl’s cheek.
In Shilha, the Lieutenant said, “Come with me.”
She withdrew a little farther, head erect, glaring, drawing the cloak the auctioneer had handed her tightly about her white body.
The Lieutenant knew he was acting a fool. The girl hated him and, suddenly, he hated the girl.
In a voice as hard as Toledo steel, he said, “Come with me or stay where you are. I care very little what you do. I bought you with no intention of giving you anything but your liberty. You can stay here and be damned!”
He about-faced, started down. The crowd opened a path for him.
Heels ringing on the stones, he went across the square and turned down a side street, heading back for the fort.
He stopped and looked back.
The girl was ten feet behind him and they were, for the moment, alone.
Nothing had altered in her manner. She was merely following him because she could do nothing else.
“Walk beside me, if you’ll walk at all,” said the Lieutenant, harshly.
“Slaves,” she said, “always follow at a respectful distance.” Her voice purred in a deadly way. “Lead on, my master.”
To find out more about While Bugles Blow! and how you can obtain your copy, go to www.goldenagestories.com.
Glossary
STORIES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.
alidade: a topographic surveying and mapping instrument used for determining directions, consisting of a telescope and attached parts.→ to text
altimeter: a gauge that measures altitude.→ to text
Atlas: Atlas Mountains; a mountain range in northwest Africa extending about fifteen hundred miles through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, including the Rock of Gibraltar. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert.→ to text
azimuth:in artillery, the angle of deviation of a projectile or bomb from a known direction, such as north or south.→ to text
bandoliers: broad belts worn over the shoulder by soldiers and having a number of small loops or pockets, for holding cartridges.→ to text
bataillon pénal: (French) penal battalion; military unit consisting of convicted persons for whom military service was either assigned punishment or a voluntary replacement of imprisonment. Penal battalion service was very dangerous: the official view was that they were highly expendable and were to be used to reduce losses in regular units. Convicts were released from their term of service early if they suffered a combat injury (the crime was considered to be “washed out with blood”) or performed a heroic deed.→ to text
Berbers: members of a people living in North Africa, primarily Muslim, living in settled o
r nomadic tribes between the Sahara and Mediterranean Sea and between Egypt and the Atlantic Ocean.→ to text
burnoose: a long hooded cloak worn by some Arabs.→ to text
cafard: (French) a mood of madness and suicidal depression that commonly afflicted Legionnaires.→ to text
caid: a Berber chieftain.→ to text
cantle: the raised back part of a saddle for a horse.→ to text
Casablanca: a seaport on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.→ to text
Caudron: airplane made by the Caudron Airplane Company, a French aircraft company founded in 1909 by Gaston (1882–1915) and René (1884–1959) Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for the military in both World War I and World War II.→ to text
Chauchat: a light machine gun used mainly by the French Army. It was among the first light machine-gun designs of the early 1900s. It set a precedent for twentieth-century firearm projects as it could be built inexpensively in very large numbers.→ to text
coyote: used for a man who has the sneaking and skulking characteristics of a coyote.→ to text
deuce, what the: what the devil; expressing surprise.→ to text
djellaba: a long loose hooded garment with full sleeves, worn especially in Muslim countries.→ to text
drome: short for airdrome; a military air base.→ to text
Fez: the former capital of several dynasties and one of the holiest places in Morocco; it has kept its religious primacy through the ages.→ to text
flintlock: a type of gun fired by a spark from a flint (rock used with steel to produce an igniting spark). It was introduced about 1630.→ to text
Foreign Legion: French Foreign Legion; a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. It was created as a unit for foreign volunteers and was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the nineteenth century, but has also taken part in all of France’s wars with other European powers. It is known to be an elite military unit whose training focuses not only on traditional military skills, but also on the building of a strong esprit de corps amongst members. As its men come from different countries with different cultures, this is a widely accepted solution to strengthen them enough to work as a team. Training is often not only physically hard with brutal training methods, but also extremely stressful with high rates of desertion.→ to text
Franzawi: (Arabic) Frenchman.→ to text
G-men: government men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.→ to text
hein?: (French) eh?→ to text
High Atlas: portion of the Atlas Mountain range that rises in the west at the Atlantic coast and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border.→ to text
houris: in Muslim belief, any of the dark-eyed virgins of perfect beauty believed to live with the blessed in Paradise.→ to text
hp: horsepower.→ to text
ifrïts: (Arabic) powerful evil jinn, demons or monstrous giants in Arabic mythology.→ to text
Jebel Druses: Jebel is Arabic for mountain. The Druse (also Druze) are members of a tightly organized, independent religious sect dwelling in the Jebel Druze State, a region in southern Syria named after the Jabal el Druze mountain and formerly part of the Turkish Empire. They have been known to be strong fighting people.→ to text
kepi: a cap with a circular top and a nearly horizontal visor; a French military cap that men in the Foreign Legion wear.→ to text
kohl: a cosmetic preparation used especially in the Middle East to darken the rims of the eyelids.→ to text
la Légion: (French) the Legion; the French Foreign Legion.→ to text
Lawrence: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, also known as T. E. Lawrence. A British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916-18. Extraordinary breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, a title which was used for the 1962 film based on his World War I activities. Lawrence's major written work is Seven Pillars of Wisdom. In addition to being a memoir of his war experiences, certain parts also serve as essays on military strategy, Arabian culture and geography. → to text
Lebels: French rifles that were adopted as standard infantry weapons in 1887 and remained in official service until after World War II.→ to text
Legion: French Foreign Legion, a specialized military unit of the French Army, consisting of volunteers of all nationalities assigned to military operations and duties outside France.→ to text
Legionnaire: a member of the French Foreign Legion.→ to text
light out: to leave quickly; depart hurriedly.→ to text
lucre: money, wealth or profit.→ to text
mailed fist: superior force.→ to text
Makhzan: (Arabic) the privileged people from whom the Moroccan state officials are recruited.→ to text
Mannlicher: a type of rifle equipped with a manually operated sliding bolt that loads cartridges for firing. Ferdinand Mannlicher, an Austrian engineer and armaments designer, created rifles that were considered reasonably strong and accurate. → to text
mes amis: (French) my friends.→ to text
mon Dieu: (French) my God.→ to text
Moorish barb: a desert horse of a breed introduced by the Moors (Muslim people of mixed Berber and Arab descent) that resembles the Arabian horse and is known for speed and endurance.→ to text
Moors: members of a northwest African Muslim people of mixed descent.→ to text
Morocco: a country of northwest Africa on the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The French established a protectorate over most of the region in 1912, and in 1956 Morocco achieved independence as a kingdom.→ to text
m’sieu: (French) sir.→ to text
Mt. Tizi-n-Tamjurt: the highest elevation in the Atlas Mountain range.→ to text
murette: (French) a low wall.→ to text
musette: a small canvas or leather bag with a shoulder strap, as one used by soldiers or travelers.→ to text
paquetage: (French) soldier’s pack.→ to text
prop wash: the disturbed mass of air pushed aft by the propeller of an aircraft.→ to text
Riffs: members of any of several Berber peoples inhabiting the Er Rif, a hilly region along the coast of northern Morocco. The Berber people of the area remained fiercely independent until they were subdued by French and Spanish forces (1925–1926).→ to text
Scheherazade: the female narrator of The Arabian Nights, who during one thousand and one adventurous nights saved her life by entertaining her husband, the king, with stories.→ to text
scow: an old or clumsy boat; hulk; tub.→ to text
Shilha: the Berber dialect spoken in the mountains of southern Morocco.→ to text
sïdï (Arabic) a general title of respect.→ to text
Sidi-bel-Abbès: the capital of the Sidi-bel-Abbès province in northwestern Algeria. The city was developed around a French camp built in 1843. From 1931 until 1961, the city was the “holy city” or spiritual home of the French Foreign Legion, the location of its basic training camp and the headquarters of its first foreign regiment.→ to text
Snider: a rifle formerly used in the British service. It was invented by American Jacob Snider in the mid-1800s. The Snider was a breech-loading rifle, derived from its muzzle-loading predecessor called the Enfield.→ to text
sou: (French) a French coin worth a very small amount.→ to text
Toledo: Toledo, Spain; a city renowned for making swords of finely tempered steel.→ to text
turtleback: the part of the airplane behind the cockpit that is shaped like the back of a turtle.→ to text
Zephyrs: penal battalions for the French Foreign Legion; nickname given in Algeria to a corps that is recruited from the French Army, those who would not conform to discipline or who were criminals. This punish
ment, no matter its length, does not count in the term of military duty which the state requires.→ to text
L. Ron Hubbard in the
Golden Age of
Pulp Fiction
In writing an adventure story
a writer has to know that he is adventuring
for a lot of people who cannot.
The writer has to take them here and there
about the globe and show them
excitement and love and realism.
As long as that writer is living the part of an
adventurer when he is hammering
the keys, he is succeeding with his story.
Adventuring is a state of mind.
If you adventure through life, you have a
good chance to be a success on paper.
Adventure doesn’t mean globe-trotting,
exactly, and it doesn’t mean great deeds.
Adventuring is like art.
You have to live it to make it real.
— L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
and American
Pulp Fiction
BORN March 13, 1911, L. Ron Hubbard lived a life at least as expansive as the stories with which he enthralled a hundred million readers through a fifty-year career.
Originally hailing from Tilden, Nebraska, he spent his formative years in a classically rugged Montana, replete with the cowpunchers, lawmen and desperadoes who would later people his Wild West adventures. And lest anyone imagine those adventures were drawn from vicarious experience, he was not only breaking broncs at a tender age, he was also among the few whites ever admitted into Blackfoot society as a bona fide blood brother. While if only to round out an otherwise rough and tumble youth, his mother was that rarity of her time—a thoroughly educated woman—who introduced her son to the classics of Occidental literature even before his seventh birthday.
But as any dedicated L. Ron Hubbard reader will attest, his world extended far beyond Montana. In point of fact, and as the son of a United States naval officer, by the age of eighteen he had traveled over a quarter of a million miles. Included therein were three Pacific crossings to a then still mysterious Asia, where he ran with the likes of Her British Majesty’s agent-in-place for North China, and the last in the line of Royal Magicians from the court of Kublai Khan. For the record, L.RonHubbard was also among the first Westerners to gain admittance to forbidden Tibetan monasteries below Manchuria, and his photographs of China’s Great Wall long graced American geography texts.
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