“It is better—far better,” said the Pimple.

I believe it was better. Only it spoils a conjuring trick or a psychical phenomenon to explain how it is done, and unfortunately I have already told the reader how Doc. O’Farrell described Kiazim’s house to me. So the photograph incident in Raymond will remain a “marvel” while our word-picture is simply a fraud.

CHAPTER XVII

HOW THE SPOOK TOOK US TREASURE-HUNTING AND WE

PHOTOGRAPHED THE TURKISH COMMANDANT

For the past fortnight Hill and I had known that a number of new prisoners were coming to Yozgad—44 officers and 25 men. These were the “Kastamouni Incorrigibles.” After the escape by Keeling, Tipton, Sweet, and Bishop from Kastamouni in 1917, their comrades of Kastamouni Camp had been badly “strafed.” The whole camp was moved to Changri, where it was housed in the vilest conditions imaginable.[[34]] In despair a number of officers gave the Turks their parole not to escape, in order to get reasonable quarters. The Turks accepted the parole and sent these to Gedos. Then Johnny Turk began to wonder why the rest would not give parole, and very naturally concluded they must be intending to escape. The safest place in Turkey for restless gentlemen of this description was Yozgad, in the heart of Anatolia. So to Yozgad they were sent.

But at Yozgad the accommodation for prisoners was very limited. To make room for all 44 incorrigibles the Turkish War Office decided to send 20 of the Yozgad officers to Afion Kara Hissar. As soon as this order arrived, Moïse came across and told us about it. The Commandant wanted the Spook to tell him which of the officers at present in Yozgad he should send away. Here was a great opportunity. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for us to send any twenty men we chose to select. We were much tempted to despatch to Afion the score whom we considered to be most vehemently opposed to all plans of escape. But we held our hand. We advised Moïse that we thought it wiser not to trouble the Spook with details, as the treasure business was sufficient worry at present. The Spook had several times told us to do as much as possible for ourselves.

Accordingly the camp was informed of the order in the usual way, but when we heard the result we were rather sorry we had not exercised our option. Moïse told us that the Commandant, in answer to enquiries, had said that Yozgad camp was in every way preferable to Afion. (As a matter of fact it was not.) In Yozgad, he said, food was cheaper, the climate better and the housing much superior. Result: those officers who had at first been tempted by the idea of a change refused to budge. Indeed, practically nobody wanted to go, for what with the Hunt Club and the Ski dinner speech, and one thing and another, Yozgad prospects looked decidedly rosy for the summer. So, to a diapason of grousing by the victims, the fiat went forth that the twenty junior officers should pack up, and our Senior Officer did Hill and myself the honour of telling Kiazim Bey that, as we were not only junior but also “the black sheep” of the camp, it would be distinctly advisable to include us in the twenty. (That “black sheep” phrase hurt a little—we had never done anybody any harm—but it amused the Turks.) Kiazim, who wanted his treasure, refused to move us. Amid much grumbling, the twenty made their preparations for departure.

On the 26th March, at 6 p.m. Moïse brought the matter up in his “report.” “I have some news for you, Sir,” he said to the board. “We have got the order for twenty officers to leave for Afion. Their names have been put down. You see we are trying to blow our own noses.” (Moïse had got it into his head that this was an English idiom meaning to be self-reliant.) “But perhaps you can give us some good suggestions as you usually do. I told Colonel Maule we could not move the mediums when he asked about them.”

“Quite right,” said the Spook, “that is all as I arranged it. But I want one small addition. I want Maule to be told that the Superior would like to be rid of these two officers, and that he would send them away if he could, but he must await orders from Constantinople, to whom a report of the trial has been sent.” (The report was dictated by the Spook and sent to the Turkish War Office on the 18th March.[[35]]) “This will explain why the Superior does not seize the opportunity to get rid of them. It will also explain matters if Constantinople wires to send these two away, as it may do. Do not be alarmed at that possibility. It will be all my doing, and I know what I am doing.”