“Professor, in the United States you are my guardian, but we are in a heathen country now, and I refuse to be dragged away till I am sure I have done everything in my power to aid that unfortunate girl.”
“Are you in love with her?”
“No; but my manhood has been appealed to, and I feel that it is my duty to save her, if I can.”
“Yeou may not be in love with her,” drawled Ephraim; “but, by thutter! she’s smashed on yeou.”
“There is something remarkable about that,” said Frank. “The girl seems to know me, and she speaks as if there had been something between us in the past. That seems impossible, for I have no recollection of her, and she appears to be a devout little Mohammedan. Is this not mystery enough to pique the curiosity of anybody?”
“Your curiosity may cost you your life.”
“Oh, you are a croaker, professor. Besides my curiosity to know more about the girl, I want to get even with Ali Mustaf and Ben Ahmet, as I swore I would when I was a captive in that underground dungeon.”
Professor Scotch made a gesture of despair.
“Wait till I get you back to the United States!” he cried. “I’ll throw up my job as your guardian quicker than a wink.”
The professor found it useless to argue with the boy, and he gave it up.