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FROM THE OUTPOSTS.

A PLAN THAT FAILED.

"For the wildest dreams of Kew are the facts at Khatmandoo,
And the crimes of Clapham chaste at Martaban."

HIS Excellency Darab Nishan Pasha, elderly Notable of Mahal, a village of Upper Egypt, was no more happy under the British administration of his country than an Early Victorian Liberal would be under that of the Independent Labour Party. In the opinion of His Excellency there was far too much talk about liberty, an idea in itself subversive of social order; and the situation was not improved, from his point of view, by the recent appointment as Inspector of the Mudiria1 of a young and energetic Englishman, who listened with perfect readiness to the complaints of fellahin. The effect of this unusual behaviour upon the part of an Egyptian Government official produced an immediate result in Mahal. For

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the first time within twenty years, its Omda 2 began to show signs of restiveness. No longer were the ghafirs sent in a body to work upon His Excellency's land. In place of twelve lusty fellows there would come but two or three; and on one black morning nobody came at all. In vain the Pasha protested

that his work was urgent. The ghafirs replied simply that the new Inspector had bidden. them to rest by day, in order to be more watchful at night.

Shortly after this distressing incident, cattle plague broke out, and the public sale of cattle was strictly prohibited. But His Excellency always maintained that administrative decrees were not intended to apply to Notables of the rank of Pasha; and, being overstocked at this moment, he disposed of his weak and aged animals to less fortunate neighbours at most profitable prices. In the end, however, the authorities swooped down upon an improvised market held on his estate, and actually summoned him, Darab Nishan Pasha, for contravening the Cattle Plague Decree. He bore this indignity with fortitude; but he was deeply incensed by the fact that some resident of Mahal must have acquainted the Mudiria of the existence of the market. If the Omda was the culprit, it was clearly desirable to reduce him without delay to his former state of dependence.

1 Egypt is divided into fourteen Mudirias or provinces.

2 A village is administered by an Omda or headman, assisted by one or more Sheikhs el Balad; while public security is maintained by a force of ghafirs, or village watchmen.

Accordingly His Excellency determined upon a bold stroke. He would become the son-inlaw of the Omda. Now the latter possessed an only daughter, Fatima by name, whose future was a perpetual source of discussion among the ladies of Mahal. Fatima had been sent to a Government Girls' School in Cairo, where she had gained the Primary Certificate. Not content with that educational achievement, it was rumoured that she was intent upon securing also the Secondary. During vacations she would visit her parents, and astonish Mahal hareems by expatiating upon her intimacy with a mysterious and omniscient being enjoying the honourable title of "Mees."

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The fact that Darab Nishan Pasha already possessed the regulation number of wives presented no obstacle to his views regarding Fatima. Divorce is easy in Egypt, and he had been considering for some time the possibility of putting away his senior wife, a lady whose plain features and sharp tongue obviously marked her out for that fate.

The Omda was unable to refuse so brilliant a match for his daughter, and he gave his consent at once. An astonishing hitch, thereupon, occurred. The young lady, safe at the school in Cairo, refused the alliance. The Pasha could not credit the news. It was reported that Fatima, counselled always by "Mees," had refused his offer out of regard for her

educational future. But the would-be husband did not believe that feminine folly could go to this length; and he set down his rebuff to the influence of her father. It was clear, therefore, that the latter could no longer be permitted to retain the Omdaship of the village. So His Excellency called into council Ibrahim, the Sheikh el Balad, between whose family and that of the Omda had existed undying jealousy dating from centuries.

"O honourable Sheikh," began the Pasha, "I am grieved to see how the poor are oppressed in Mahal to-day. was not always so."

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"No, Excellency," replied the Sheikh. "When my father was Omda, the village was contented. The poor had equal rights with the rich, and tyranny was unknown. The ghafirs worked on your Excellency's land by day, and slept peacefully at night. We were human beings then: now we are as animals of the field. My father suffered great injustice when the Government deprived him of his position. What crime had he committed, Excellency, to be publicly disgraced thus?"

"What crime indeed," repeated his companion, "except that he was a poor man, like his honourable son."

"God is generous," observed the Sheikh, who was perfectly aware of the part which the Notable had played in this ancient intrigue.

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1 Arabic rendering of the English word "Miss."

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wrong. It made a mistake in accepting the advice of the Mudir upon the matter of thy father. Thou wilt remember that I raised objection at the time; but my words fell upon deaf ears. Even when I declared that no other but thou, Ibrahim, could fill thy lamented parent's place, the Government would not listen. Is it not so?"

As a matter of fact, it was not; and the speaker and the Sheikh were both aware of that fact. But in Egypt conversation is permitted a certain amount of embroidery.

By this time the Sheikh had understood that by hook or by crook the Omda was to be ejected from his post, and that his successor was to be he himself. But as favours are rarely bestowed without some return being expected, he was anxious to know the price that he would have to pay for the Pasha's support.

Accordingly he re-started the conversation with a noncommittal remark.

"God is merciful," he said. "Aye, and generous also," was the ready response. "Merciful, because He does not wish to see our village subjected to the cruel tyranny of its Omda; and generous, because He has pointed out to me, an unworthy but faithful servant, the means whereby the Government will drive him from the post." The speaker lowered his voice. "Our village must be given an evil reputation in the eyes of the Inglezi, who sit in the big offices of Cairo, reading and writing

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of crops is a crime according to Article No. 322 of the New Penal Code, and I, a Pasha, may not countenance a crime. Besides, such action would be useless, unless I suffered my own crops to be destroyed."

"Let us then poison the cattle of the Omda."

"Of no avail, unless our own suffer. Moreover, your suggestion would be also against my interests, for I have now no cattle to sell."

The Sheikh had come to the end of his ideas. His companion stroked his beard and pondered. Presently he spoke.

"O Honourable Sheikh, thou knowest the great white train which rushes nightly through Mahal, bearing pig-eating infidels to view our ancient temples." The Sheikh nodded. "If this train is arrested without orders or warning, would it fare well with our Omda? Would not the Inglezi of Cairo shout loudly 'Give us the body of this Omda, who allows his people to interfere with our works'?"

"But the train is taught to stop only at the sight of a big red flag, or at the sound of

a loud whistle, and we have ceeded to fix the night of the neither." exploit and to discuss other details of the scheme.

"Other means exist. Suppose, O Sheikh Ibrahim, thou art walking along the iron road bearing over thy shoulders a load of timber; and being greatly fatigued with the burden thou lettest it fall across the rails, in this manner," and the Pasha explained how two baulks, lashed at the centre, might be made to form an improvised cross, which, dropped on the permanent way, would form a very efficient obstacle to the progress of a train.

"But will not the train itself be damaged."

"What matter?" replied the Pasha contemptuously. "The Inglezi officials will report that the engine was Americani, and in consequence unfit. Then they will secretly demand the punishment of the Omda of Mahal. I know their ways."

"But if I am seen walking on the iron rails, shall I not be cast into prison?"

"Not so; firstly, it will be dark, and secondly, no Article of the New Penal Code forbids this practice. The offence is a contravention only (of which the penalty is a fine of £E1) against the railway regulations."

This view of the situation had not occurred to the Sheikh. "By Allah," he exclaimed, "the task is not difficult. But your Excellency will not forget that I, Ibrahim, am a poor man."

"Thou speakest truly, O Sheikh; but once Omda, thou wilt become wealthy, and a Bey." This last argument was irresistible, and the pair pro

No sooner did the Sheikh leave the house, than the chief conspirator began to study the best means of proving a personal alibi on the night in question. He concluded the surest way of obtaining that object would be to spend that day and evening in the company of the British Inspector. To effect this object he must concoct some story which would appeal to the latter's imagination. After some cogitation he mounted his mule, and set off to visit the Inspector at Sarafia, the chief town of the Mudiria.

Hercules White, Inspector of the Mudiria, had been imported from Oxford. As an undergraduate he had staunchly upheld the doctrine of the Brotherhood of Man; and at the Union debates he had constantly affirmed that the continuous subjection of Eastern people to the Anglo-Saxon race was detrimental to the moral welfare of both. His friends, therefore, were shocked when he announced his intention of joining the Egyptian Government Civil Service, although they conceded that Oxford's loss would be Egypt's gain. White, however, soon ceased to share any such illusions.

The tale unfolded by the Pasha was peculiar. It appeared that he apprehended, on the following Saturday, an attack by brigands upon his estate at Ekait, a district to the north of Mahal; and he earnestly desired that the In

spector himself should spend that night at the farm, in order to make sure of the arrest of its assailants. White had no doubt that such gentry actually existed in Ekait district; but he had understood also that his visitor maintained friendly and profitable relations with them. It was possible, of course, that he and his friends had now fallen out, and that this was a trap laid to crush them. So while the story had to be accepted with reserve, he saw no harm in giving a promise that he would accompany the Pasha to Ekait on the day fixed. The latter, inwardly amazed at the simplicity of British officials, took the next train to Ekait, where he spent the rest of the day in arranging with his servant the details of a convincing act of brigandage.

In the meantime, the other conspirator also had been reflecting over the situation; and by some queer mental process he felt that his chief requirement at this moment was a little moral support. So he proceeded to drop sundry hints to Ayeesha, his wife, of the exalted fortune in store for him; and in a short time she was acquainted with the details of the plot, and was as ambitious for its success as her husband. Now it happened that Fatima was paying one of her periodic visits to Mahal; and from the day of the girl's arrival in the village, Ayeesha had been

in a state of veiled irritation at the airs displayed by this superior young person. In the news, therefore, of her husband, Ayeesha saw a pleasing way of checking Fatima's pride. So assuming the habra, she picked her way to the Omda's house. The two ladies exchanged some formal, and untruthful, compliments; and after the visit had lasted a few minutes Ayeesha stood up to go.

"At your next visit to Mahal, O Bint 1 Fatima," she said, "many changes will have taken place."

"The world does not stand still, like Mahal, O Sitt Ayeesha," was the pert reply. "Yet, no doubt, you speak only the truth; for I do not think to see Mahal until three years have passed."

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"Three!" cried Ayeesha. "Yes; perhaps four even. have been recently chosen to go to Inghilterra, at the expense of the Government." Ayeesha sat down heavily. Such a distinction as this would shed lustre upon any hareem. So Ayeesha sped her Parthian arrow.

"Congratulations. It is well that you should succeed; for when you return a 'Mees,' your father no longer will be Omda."

"How so? He cannot yet resign, seeing that his son has but eighteen years of age." 2

"There is no talk of resignation, but of dismissal; and my husband is to be named in his place."

1 Married women enjoy the prefix of Sitt, and unmarried girls that of Bint, in Egypt.

2 No man under age can be appointed Omda.

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