Archag was blushing with pleasure, for he guessed at once from whom the letter came. He stammered out that one of his friends had been in Persia for the last few months; then, making a sign to Aram to follow, he went out of the room and upstairs to the dormitory. The two boys sat down on a trunk and Archag opened the precious letter, and lowering his voice, read as follows:
“Siréli paragamner, (My dear friends)
“What must you think of me? It is five weeks yesterday since I left Van, and it is only to-day that I am able to keep my promise and tell you that, thanks to the mercy of Astwatz (God, in Armenian), I have arrived at Tabriz; but it was not without difficulty, and my adventures have been little less than miraculous.
“But let me not anticipate. When you left me, and I saw you disappearing all too quickly from the shore of Lake Van, I stopped for a moment, to follow in thought those faithful friends whom I shall probably never see again.
“I used to walk at night, avoiding the highways for fear of some misadventure; at daybreak I would lie down at the foot of a pine tree, in the shadow of a rock, no matter where, provided the place was deserted. A fortnight passed in this way; I had accomplished more than half of my journey, and everything led me to hope that I should reach the end without hindrance. Alas! it must needs be otherwise. My provisions were now gone; the country was barren, there was no fruit, not even wild strawberries or whortleberries. One day, toward nightfall, I ventured to knock at the door of a solitary house. I was well received, and my host, an old Kurd, gave me a bountiful supper, to which I did full justice. I speak Turkish fluently, so it was easy to pass myself off for a Mussulman merchant on my way to Tabriz, and I said that I had been attacked by thieves who had made off with my horse and my baggage.
“‘May the will of Allah be done!’ said my host. ‘He will repay you fourfold for what he has taken from you. But a curse on these brigands who rob the servants of the Prophet, instead of contenting themselves with Christian dogs!’
“While he was talking, one of his grandchildren, a little boy of four, had climbed on my knee and was playing with my watch; suddenly he took hold of my beard and pulled it with all his might, and the string that held the false hair broke, leaving the beard in his hands, to his great terror. I saw my host’s eyes grow big with fright.
“‘Ah!’ said he, ‘so you are not the old merchant Abdallah, as you pretended.’ He rose, and by a quick movement pulled off my turban and white wig.
“‘You are doubtless a spy, one of those fédaī that infest our country. A curse on you!’ and he spat on the ground, as a sign of scorn.
“Seeking safety in flight, I rushed to the door; it was locked. I tried to force it open, but my host had already thundered out his orders: