Edith Ballinger Price

“ Far off, outlined against the saffron sky, lay Venice, with its tumbled silhouette of domes and campaniles. Lights were coming out in clusters along the water-front, and glancing here and there across the shimmering lagoon.
Fen begged so hard to sit up a little later than usual that he was allowed to stay on deck until the sunset glow had faded and the sky had paled and then deepened to dusk.
"It's a much beautifuller place to look at than Egypt," he thought as he fell asleep. "Oh, if Siddereticus were only here to tell me things—he makes everything be diff'rent, somehow." ”

“ She it is who soothes us into sleeping; the little drowsy night-noises are her lullaby; she it is who even now is making your eyelids droop, my Fen—and see! there is the moon, Maut's lamp, lighting her a pathway across the waters."
Fen snuggled happily into the strong arms that lifted him so gently, and he was almost asleep when Siddereticus laid him quietly on his bed.
"Good night. Fen Effendi, good night," whispered the Djinn, "Maut is watching over you, with eyes that will not close till Sate, the pale morning sky of the East, waits for the coming of the Sun-god." ”

“ Strange flowers grew on the mountain-side—pale, translucent flowers, whose centers glowed like the heart of a fire-opal. In the deep, pearly cup of each lay a little pool of dew which tasted like the most wonderful honey, but it was really melted starlight. They picked some of the flowers and made wreaths of them, and they ran and laughed. For Fen could run very fast—even up the mountain—even faster than Siddereticus. Their feet hardly touched the blue grass, and the transparent flowers sprang up again where they had passed. ”

“ ARABS AND SCARABS
FEN sighed a little as he lay back among the pillows in the deck-chair and closed his eyes. His back hurt a good deal to-day. Beyond the awning the sun beat so mercilessly on the deck of the yacht that it made his eyes ache to look at it, and there was not very much else to be seen. Unless you could sit up, you could not see the stretches of blue Nile flecked with dahabiyeh sails, nor the pale, chalky bluffs crested with solemn date-palms. ”

“ Larry, who shared the same cabin with Fen, always fell asleep the instant that Mammy turned off the light, and he had done so to-night with his usual promptness.
Fen could see one star through the porthole, and he could hear the soft wash of the river against the side of the yacht. Upstream, the crew of an anchored dahabiyeh were singing a sort of endless chantey:
They sang it over and over again, their voices rising in a shrill and prolonged wail at the end, before they took up for the hundredth time the strain of "Amanuseh, Amananeh." ”

“ Siddereticus slid his arm under the pillow, and laid his cheek beside Fen's hair.
"Make it stop—hurting," whispered Fen. "Oh, do a magic, and—make it stop—hurting!"
"My dearest!" groaned Siddereticus, "I would bear it all a thousand times over, if I could. But," his voice broke, "I am not powerful enough to make it stop hurting."
There was no sound but Fen's painful breathing and the ticking of the doctor's watch.
"The heart action is very weak," the doctor said. "It's a fearful shock to the whole system—no vitality to draw on—nothing left. ”

“ This is our private expedition, and—I'm your private Djinn."
So Fen, conscience-clear, gave himself up to the unbelievable joy of it all. The gondola, with Fen comfortably settled among the cushions, and Siddereticus beside him, slid away from the yacht and was soon threading its way among the craft in the lagoon. There was a soft, warm breeze, and the moving, glittering water was spangled with golden sun-flecks. The gondola neared the water-front, and drifted slowly past the Piazzetta, whose marble steps were washed by the ever-present sea. ”

“ You must have a magic carpet, after all!" cried Fen.
"Nay, caro mio," said Siddereticus, "but did I not tell you that I have other means of—" He stopped short, perceiving fixed on him the astonished gaze of an auburn-haired young lady, who sat motionless with amazement behind an easel.
"Oh!" cried Fen, "this is my Aunt Cynthia—I told you about her. Auntie, this is Siddereticus."
"This is Siddereticus, is it?" thought Cynthia, as she acknowledged the young man's bow. "I don't know that that enlightens me much!"
The Djinn turned gravely to Fen again. ”

“ Fen's eyes shone—in "Twilight Land" people always clapped their hands to summon slaves. But now over the side appeared a most gorgeous personage. His fez was of the richest scarlet, his jacket was curiously braided with gold, about his waist was an ample red sash, and a long, curved sword swung at his side. His white teeth gleamed in sharp contrast to his dark-skinned face and short black mustache. Fen, entirely speechless, gazed at this picturesque creature, to whom Siddereticus was speaking in low tones and with frequent gestures. ”

“ The gondola had reached a spot where the canal widened a little and a tall mooring-post rose slanting from the water. At a word from Siddereticus the gondolier brought his boat up beside the post and made it fast. Fen looked rather perplexed as Siddereticus reached back into the gondola and brought out a portly basket.
"I thought this would be a rather good place for supper," said he.
"Supper!" gasped Fen. "Are you—are we—"
We most certainly are," said the Djinn, as he set up the spirit-lamp and lighted it. ”

“ Fen's eyes grew very perplexed again.
"But I always thought genii were all 'black an' horrible to look upon'; but you look just like anybody—that is," he added hastily, flushing a little, "not just like anybody, but like a person, you know."
"Ah!" cried Siddereticus, "I have to disguise myself, you see. Even in Egypt people would stare if they saw a Blue Djinn, with a rather greenish face and a long white beard, walking about. I have to make myself look like other people." ”

“ You aren't the kind of Djinn that has magic carpets, are you?" inquired Fen, rather diffidently.
"How I wish I were! Unfortunately, the Blue Djinns have nothing to do with magic carpets and such. They are not so powerful as some of the genii."
"I suppose you've seen lots of Arabs—I mean scarabs," said Fen, presently, bringing his mind back from wistful imaginings. "Could you tell me about them?"
"Scarabs?" said the Djinn. "Indeed I have seen scarabs—and Arabs, too, for that matter. I believe," he added, looking vaguely around the deck, "that I could get a scarab or two for you now." ”

“ The sun was beginning to set; the broad surface of the Nile lay like a smooth sheet of gold, and the dahabiyeh sails made rosy flecks upon it.
"Nearly tea-time," said Siddereticus.
"Yes," sighed Fen. "I suppose Mammy will be bringing mine in a few minutes."
"Oh, then I shall have to vanish," said the Djinn, as he put Fen carefully into the deck-chair.
"Oh, no, no!" cried the little boy. "Oh, why did I say that! Please, please don't! Everybody has gone ashore for a picnic, an' it'll only be me here alone, an' surely just Mammy won't make you vanish. Oh, please stay an' have tea with me!" ”

“ Norvell blew smoke rings into the darkness and shook his head.
"A most singular chap, altogether," he observed.
A little later Mrs. Norvell went in, herself, to look at Fen asleep—a thing she rarely did. She noticed the amulet which lay beside his cheek and wondered where it had come from, as she knew she had never seen it before. "Something that odd young man has given him, I dare say," she thought. ”

“ But when the two people that he loved most in the world bent over him, he was able to give them almost as ineffably sweet a smile as of old.
"Dear to my heart," said Siddereticus, as he knelt beside the bed and took one of Fen's hands, while Cynthia possessed herself of the other, "we have something very important to ask you. We want your permission. Do you know, that when a Djinn marries a mortal,—which doesn't often happen,—he loses all his magic power, and has to become a human creature. ”

“ He bent for an instant over the smoking ashes. A great cloud of sweet-smelling smoke rose suddenly; and when it drifted and cleared away, Siddereticus was gone and the Book of the King with him.
"You look as if you'd just waked up," said Sally, coming round the end of the deck-house. "Were you asleep? What a funny smell!" ”

“ Siddereticus took one out by its thread-like handle, and against the light it seemed almost to disappear, a filmy opal bubble.
"Where did the lovely, lovely things come from?'" asked Fen. "Whose are they?"
"Yours, apparently. It's very queer that you shouldn't remember your own things, I must say. Let's put them here, where the light makes such pretty colors in them. Now," he said, having arranged them satisfactorily, "tell me when you leave Venezia."
"We sail to-morrow afternoon," said Fen, with his eyes on the iridescent bubbles. ”

“ If you're going to get so much excited, we'll have to go back to the yacht this instant."
"Oh, please!" cried Fen, "I won't get excited—I'm not excited,—but it—it's too wonderful!"
"Yes," agreed Siddereticus, "it is too wonderful. We'll seek a dark and remote canal, where it's not so full of light and color and splendor."
He gave an order to the gondolier, who, with a mellow assent, swept the gondola into one of the quieter water-streets which joined the busy Grand Canal. ”

“ The young man boarded the yacht very cautiously on the following day; but seeing Fen alone, he approached more boldly, and, slipping behind the chair, covered the child's eyes with his hands.
"It's Siddereticus!" said Fen, promptly. "Your hands feel so strong and magic."
"What did you mean by telling me that your Auntie was 'quite old'?" demanded Siddereticus.
"Why, she is," said Fen'; "she's nearly twenty-four. But I suppose you must be ever so much older. If you're a Djinn I suppose you're thousands of years old." ”

“ Meanwhile, the engines churned on steadily, and the monotonous Nile banks slipped as steadily astern.
The amulet certainly fulfilled its mission during the days which followed, since Sally and Larry were present almost all the time. Sometimes Fen grew very tired, watching their boundless energy and listening to their far from inspiring conversation with each other. Very often he longed to be alone with Siddereticus; and often when Larry was asleep, he talked to Thoth, whom he had installed on a little shelf beside his bed. ”

“ Far into the desert, where it is sometimes overflowed by the Nile, stand two great statues, bigger than anything you can imagine, yet each one is carven from a single block of stone. Their mighty hands rest on their knees; the wind and the sand have worn away their faces; armies that are passed and gone have shattered the great crowns they used long ago to wear. ”

“ And Sally, who had a kindly heart after all, read to him most of the morning, with frequent interruptions from Larry. The story she read—with a good deal of stumbling over long words—was about a Djinn who came out of a bottle, thereby astounding an honest fisherman and bringing him both good and bad luck. Fen, you may be sure, was only too glad to hear about any variety of genie, though he was of the private opinion that his own Siddereticus was much nicer than the personage who came out of the bottle. ”

“ Be off! Do not let me have to command thee thrice! Depart! Go in peace, O Daughter of Senegambia!"
"Lawsy!" muttered Mammy, as she retreated, looking fearfully over her shoulder. "Whut he mean by daughter ob Sunny Gammy, I dunno. Pappy's name was G'o'ge Washin'ton Johnson."
A few stars were beginning to appear in the sky, which had grown dark very suddenly after the sunset, and a luminous glow far down in the east showed where the moon was rising.
"When the rim of the moon comes up from the Nile and makes a pathway of silver upon the waters, then must you go to bed," said Siddereticus. ”

“ Oh, Massa Fen! honey chile, doan' let dat air E-gypshun critter tech you!"
"It's all right, Mammy," said Fen. "This is a—a friend of mine. Please go away."
Siddereticus, who had been stooping over the spirit-lamp, the red glow of it on his lean, bronzed face and crimson fez, stood suddenly erect and pointed a terrifying finger at Mammy, who remained motionless at the companionway, a tray in her hands.
"Leave us in peace, woman!" he cried. "I mean the young effendi no harm. Take away your unnecessary tea-tray, and
"Leave us in peace, woman!" ”

“ At Venice it had been low and widespread, with great stretches of marsh and sandy flats, over which tiny iridescent waves tiptoed endlessly. But all this had vanished; the coast was high now, and ragged, with cliffs dropping sheer into the sea, and the greater shadows of dim blue peaks rising behind. ”

“ Fen, hardly believing himself to be awake, struggled to sit up enough to look out at the port-hole, but he only fell back upon the pillow with his back aching worse than even
"Of course it was Siddereticus," he thought; "nobody but a Djinn could possibly make up songs on purpose for people and sing them out of nothing in the middle of the water. ”

“ In and out the boat wove through a bewildering labyrinth of narrow ways, under ancient walls and high, grated windows, into the velvet shadow of a bridge, then out again to slip beside the waterworn steps of some palace invisible in the gloom. ”