H. Bedford-Jones

“ Fortunately for herself, Coralie was no heroine of fiction—somehow these heroines never observe things on the desert. They do not know that Arabs are keener trailers than any Mohawk; they fail in the knowledge of tremendous trifles, such as the ablutions and the eating-hand of an Arab; they are not alive, in a word, to the realistic side of their desert sojourn. Coralie was fully alive to it. She had seen Abdul die, and his two men murdered at her side, but she was not particularly overcome by horror or hysterics; one never is, in real life, unless the horror goes too far. ”

“ Across his forehead were branded four small red circles in a line—the brand of the Itessan clan.
“You see it, eh?” Belcombe spoke slowly. “They put their accursed brand on me. You'd better go on, Coralie—leave me here. I'm a branded man.”
She darted forward as he swayed, caught him, held his cheek against her own.
“You darling!” she cried, tears dimming her eyes. Captain Maignan, being a gallant man, turned his back, took out a cigarette, worked his flint-and-steel lighter for a spark.
“A woman always has a reason,” he said to himself, rather mournfully. “I knew it.” ”

“ CORALIE SMITH, like a good many women in these degenerate days, knew too much for her own good, was proud of the fact, and was very attractive to the average man. Certainly Captain Maignan found her so, as she stood in all her trim, alert beauty at the gate of his lonely Saharan outpost and chaffed him about the four red circles. ”

“ Poor Maignan threw out his hands, helpless before such a woman. He swept his glance around the courtyard where the Senegalese of his detachment lounged, looked at the camels which Coralie's men were loading, wiped his brow, and began his recital.
“No white man has been to Bou Saffra—the Itessan tribe of Touareg live there, as you know, the oldest branch of the Touareg. The family uses four circles as a brand, for all their animals and live-stock—”
Coralie laughed. “My dear Captain, I have written two monographs on the Egyptian and Tripolitan cattle-brands! ”

“ Just what do you know about the place?”
“The Itessan family possesses there a spot which all the Touareg believe to be holy ground, and they admit no visitors,” said Maignan simply. “I know nothing more. Rumor tells how men die and babble about four red circles. That is all. The whole A-ir country is uneasy, and my five-and-twenty Senegalese are very unhappy men.” ”

“ Abdul replied, and was given a peremptory answer. He turned to Coralie, and spoke in French:
“I have told them that you came to see the man of Bagdad; they say he sleeps now and you must wait until morning. This is the chief of the village. I do not like the looks of all this, mademoiselle. If there is trouble, mount and ride while we hold them. There has been no threat; yet—”
He shrugged, and at a word from one of his own men, turned. The tall Itessan chief came forward to him and threw back his burnous, then placed something in the hand of the astonished Abdul. ”

“ When the envelope is torn open by anyone, the escaping gas is nearly always deadly—just enough of it. Takes a nice hand to do it rightly, my dear; the four red circles, the tribal brand, is only part of the hocuspocus. These Touareg don't rightly understand; they're superstitious. They've kept me a prisoner—I haven't been outside this room in two years—”
“You poor thing!” said Coralie, and snuggled against his cheek. She perceived that he was on the verge of breakdown; his voice and manner were very shaky. “Get your veil back on, now, and we'll be going. I have a pistol here.” ”

“ And I know of the four-circle brand—the circles in a line. So, proceed.”
“Yes, in a line,” repeated Maignan. “Men have died, and there has been talk of these four red circles; it is a mystery, even to the manner of death. As you know, here in the A-ir district, the sultan is only a puppet. Each Touareg clan rules absolutely in its own region—”
“You have said that I know all this, and I do,” said Coralie. “Pray come to the point. All the northern tribes are afraid of these four red circles, and there is some singular connection with Bou Saffra and the Itessan family brand. ”

“ For a space she sat in silence, reflecting. Why had that message of mysterious death been given the man in the upper room? From jealousy of his power and sanctity, no doubt; it had not been done by general consent of the tribe, certainly. ”

“ Coralie leaned forward to see what it was, and was amazed to behold an ordinary white paper envelope, upon which were scrawled four irregular circles in red, newly done.
The crowd suddenly fell back, leaving the new arrivals in a group. Abdul turned over the envelope, which appeared quite empty, with an air of perplexed dismay. Then, as though coming to a decision, he tore swiftly at one end of the paper, and peered into the empty envelope. It was empty, yes ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1949, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 74 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”