CHAPTER VI
RIGOUR
It was now the beginning of September. Frank had received no lettersfrom Europe for two or three weeks, nor the parcel of London newspaperswhich he was accustomed to get by the weekly mail. He suspected thatthis had been confiscated by the officials. All the news he heard wasthat given out by the authorities, together with that which was broughthim by Joseph, who was in a position to learn more than was commonproperty. His father, Isaac Kopri, the contractor, included in hisbusiness organization a private intelligence department. He gotimportant news as a rule long before the general public, and oftenbefore the officials themselves. The value of his information of coursedepended on its source, and his agents could only pass on what wasofficially given out in the towns where they were stationed, and theunofficial rumours that passed from mouth to mouth. Thus it happenedthat, even five weeks after the outbreak of war, Frank knew next tonothing of the actual course of events, and, if he had believed what wasreported, would have been wretched because Paris and Warsaw were in thehands of the Germans, the British navy was annihilated, all the Britishcolonies in revolt, and London at the mercy of the enemy.
One day, happily, Joseph brought in, hidden in the folds of hisgarments, a number of London newspapers which had come into the hands ofhis father. From these Frank learnt that though Belgium was occupied bythe Germans, their offensive had been checked in all quarters, and theirhope of an easy and a speedy triumph was shattered. What most deeplyinterested him, however, was the news that Lord Kitchener was creatingan immense new army, the ranks of which were being rapidly filled byvolunteers from every class and section of the people. This did butincrease his eagerness to get away from Erzerum. He longed for the dayto come when he might hurry back to England and enlist in what promisedto be the first national army that Britain had put into the field sincethe far-gone days when every citizen was a soldier as a matter ofcourse.
Day by day it grew clearer from Joseph's reports that Germany would dragTurkey into the war. Wonckhaus was constantly at the Governor's house;the Governor's aides-de-camp were frequent visitors to Wonckhaus. The9th Army Corps was being brought up to full strength, and Germanofficers were drilling the recruits. It was even announced that theGovernor himself would shortly be replaced by a German officer of highrank. One morning Joseph announced that Wonckhaus had appeared in theuniform of a major in the Turkish army; it had become known that in hisown country he had been a captain of Landwehr. The ostensible merchanthad been all along, it was clear, an agent of the German Government.
Weeks passed, irksomely, drearily. No letter came from Mr. Forester.Frank was never allowed to leave his house. Night and day a sentrystood on guard. Frank could take exercise only in his yard and on hisroof. He did his best to keep himself in condition by means ofgymnastic practice, but he was becoming low-spirited and sick of hislife. Ideas of attempting escape often came to him, but were alwayschecked by the thought of his stock, worth several thousands of pounds,which he felt he could not leave to be confiscated. To sell it wasimpossible. In the present situation no one would buy it; if any onewere so rash as to purchase, he would probably be making a present ofhis money and the goods to the Turkish officials.
Frank's fears in this regard were confirmed by the news brought him oneday by Joseph. The _Goeben_ and the _Breslau_ had been attacking Russianvessels in the Black Sea. War was certain. A matter that affected Frankmore closely was a conversation which Kopri had partially overheardbetween the new German Governor and Wonckhaus. Frank's name had beenmentioned, in what connection Kopri, being ignorant of German, did notknow. But he suggested that the authorities were only awaiting a formaldeclaration of war to seize the Foresters' stock, among other Englishproperty. Wonckhaus was well aware of its value, and apart from itsusefulness in assisting the Turkish finances, Wonckhaus had a personalgrudge to pay off.
This news set Frank in a ferment. Every other consideration was nowsubordinated in his mind to the question of saving his stock. He was athis wits' end. He consulted with Joseph, but Joseph seemed unable tosuggest any likely means. It was only at the end of a long conversationthat the Armenian sprang a surprise upon him.
In Erzerum, owing to the constantly recurring troubles, the Armenianshave various hiding-places in which they secrete their valuables andoccasionally themselves. The whereabouts of these spots is jealouslyguarded, and it was only when Frank had given up his problem in despairthat Joseph divulged a secret locked up in his breast.
"Why on earth didn't you tell me this before?" demanded Frank with someindignation.
Joseph begged for forgiveness on the plea that the secret belonged tohis community, and he had his father's permission to reveal it only inthe last resort.
"Well, send the servants out of the house on some errand or other, andthen show me the place."
The house was an old one, which had played a part in the troubledhistory of the city. When the servants had been disposed of, Josephtook Frank to one of the lower rooms. The back wall was apparentlybuilt against the solid hillside; but a sliding panel, cunninglydisguised, gave access to a narrow passage which bent abruptly to theleft. Groping his way through this for some distance at Joseph's heels,Frank found himself in a small chamber about eight feet square. Hesniffed.
"What is this smell of smoke?" he asked.
"There is a narrow pipe running into the chimney next door," Josephreplied.
"Does Wonckhaus know of it?" asked Frank instantly.
"It is not at all likely. Karamin, who owns this house, probably doesnot know of it. If he does, he would not tell Wonckhaus. I should nothave told you but----"
"Yes, yes; I understand. But this is capital. We can bring here themost valuable part of our stock; it won't do to bring it all, forWonckhaus would suspect a hiding-place if he found all our things gone.Come, let us do it at once."
Together they worked for an hour or two in transporting the mostvaluable rugs, including Mirza Aga's, to the secret chamber. When thiswas done, and the panel replaced, Frank felt exultingly confident thatthe inevitable search would completely baffle the enemy.
He had not long to wait for confirmation of his faith. October draggedaway; on November 2 the streets were filled with excited people,cheering the news that the British and Russian ambassadors had leftConstantinople. In anticipation of the outbreak of hostilities troopshad been for some days marching eastward and north-eastward towards theRussian frontier and the Caucasus, deluded by their German officers intothe belief that Russia had withdrawn the greater part of her forces fromTranscaucasia to withstand the German onslaught on Poland, and that theywould have an easy task in recovering the ground lost in the war of1878.
On the same day, a Turkish officer with a file of men came to Frank'shouse. Leaving the men at the door, he entered.
"I regret, effendim," he said to Frank politely, "that I have orders toarrest you and convey you to the citadel."
"For what reason, and on what charge?" asked Frank.
"Your country and mine are now at war, effendim. As an alien ofmilitary age, you cannot remain at large. Besides, there is that matterof blocking the road. The higher authorities at Stamboul have not yetgiven their decision; but in the meantime the Governor deems itnecessary to imprison you. I assure you of my personal regret, and onthe Governor's part that your treatment shall be as mild as possible."
Frank did not then know what mildness meant, as interpreted by Germanmilitary officers. The Turkish lieutenant's politeness and apologeticmanner prevented him from feeling any personal resentment at the moment.
While he was gathering a few things together, Wonckhaus came in. TheGerman was so impatient to secure his booty, and possibly to enjoy thespectacle of his victim's humiliation, that he had not waited forFrank's departure. Accompanied by one of his clerks, he hastened to thestoreroom, and taking from his pocket a list of the stock, obtainedFrank knew not how, began to call
over the items.
"You take an inventory for the purpose of safeguarding my property andreturning it at the end of the war, I presume," said Frank to the Turk.
"That I know nothing about," was the answer. "The Governor will nodoubt do everything in order. Are you ready, effendim?"
"In a minute or two, if you don't mind waiting until Major Wonckhaus hascompleted his task."
Wonckhaus's voice could be heard from the storeroom.
"The rug of Shiraz, 16 by 12. Where is that? Not here? And theKhorassan rug of Mirza Aga. Not here? But it must be here. It has notbeen sold. It has not been removed. Pull down that big Ispahan carpet;it may be under that."
A few minutes passed. Wonckhaus was growing furious. He uttered aresounding German curse.
"Come, we must search the house," he cried.
He returned to the room where Frank stood, glared at him savagely,glanced around, and assuring himself that the rugs on the floor were ofno great value, proceeded to a systematic search of the premises. Heransacked every room, and went so far as to strip the roof of its turf.But nowhere could he find the Khorassan rug of Mirza Aga, or severalother rugs representing some tens of thousands of German marks.
Frank, in spite of his situation, was amused. Wonckhaus, he thought,could hardly show his hand so completely as to demand information aboutproperty which was in no way his concern, and his rage and air ofbafflement when he returned to the lower room was certainly comical towitness. Frank's amusement would have been less if he could haveforeseen what the discrepancy between the actual stock and the list wasto cost him.
Plunder was Wonckhaus's object, and, to Frank's surprise--he did not yetknow German shamelessness---Wonckhaus now made no secret of it. He wentto the office desk, wrenched it open--"He might at least have asked forthe key," thought Frank--and examined the stock book. He wheeled round.
"The stock is short," he cried. "What have you done with the goods?"
Frank looked at him with a smile, but said nothing.
"Do you hear?" shouted Wonckhaus, the charm of manner which had won hima certain popularity among the Europeans dropping from him like aloosened garment. "What have you done with the goods?"
Frank turned to the Turkish officer.
"Major Wonckhaus is curious about my business," he said. "I have noinformation to give."
Wonckhaus blustered. He roared at Joseph, who had been standing silentin the background.
"You fellow, where are the rugs? What have you done with them?"
"I am my master's servant," said Joseph quietly.
"And your father's son!" cried the German. "You will tell me instantlywhat I want to know, or you will find yourself laid by the heels, andthe army will have another contractor."
Wonckhaus had lost his temper, or he would have reflected that a changeof contractors at this critical moment was out of the question. Josephwas shrewd enough to perceive the emptiness of his threat, and merelyreplied that he could say nothing without his master's orders.
At this moment, while Wonckhaus was glaring with baffled rage at Frankand his faithful clerk, a non-commissioned officer came in.
"A message from the Governor, effendim," he said to the lieutenant."The Englishman is to be kept a prisoner in the upper storey of thishouse, the lower storey will be occupied by his guards."
To Frank this was very agreeable news. He had felt unhappy at theprospect of being shut up in the common prison, or even in the soldiers'prison at the citadel: Turkish jails are unsavoury places. In his ownhouse he would at least be able to keep clean. Moreover, he would thenbe able, in a sense, to watch over his carpets. The hiding-place couldhardly be discovered without his hearing of it, and there would be acertain satisfaction in knowing that his property was still safe, or, ifit were found, in learning definitely what had become of it. Heafterwards discovered that the change of plan was due to the Britishconsul, who had learnt of the order for his arrest when he applied for apassport for him, and had obtained this indulgence from the Governor.
Frank noticed that Wonckhaus also appeared to get some satisfaction fromthe change. The German made no further attempt to obtain theinformation he desired, and left the house. Frank was taken upstairsand locked in his own bedroom. Joseph, however, was marched off by acouple of the soldiers, and it was some few days before Frank learntwhat had become of him.
Frank Forester: A Story of the Dardanelles Page 6
