y.

The great ferry-boat heaved and thumped the water, and swung slowly off
the wooden pier, while we stood on the upper deck watching the scene
before us. For two men as familiar with Constantinople in all its
aspects as we were, it seemed almost ridiculous to go on board a steamer
merely for the sake of being carried to the mouth of the Black Sea and
back again. But I have always loved the Bosphorus, and I thought it
would amuse Paul to pass the many landings, and to see the crowds of
passengers, and to walk about the empty deck. He was tired with the
journey and harassed in mind, and for those ills the open air is the
best medicine.

He appeared to enjoy it, and asked me many questions about the palaces
and villas on both shores, for I was better acquainted with the place
than he. It seemed to interest him to know that such a villa belonged to
such a Pasha, that such another was the property of an old princess of
evil fame, while the third had seen strange doings in the days of
Mehemet Ali, and was now deserted or inhabited only by ghosts of the
past,--the resort of ghouls and jins from the neighboring grave-yards.
As we lay a moment at the pier of Yeni Koej,--"New town" sounds less
interesting,--we watched the stream of passengers, and I thought Paul
started slightly as a tall, smooth-faced, and hideous negro suddenly
turned and looked up to where we stood on the deck, as he left the
steamer. I might have been mistaken, but it was the only approach to an
incident of interest which occurred that day. We reached the upper part
of the Bosphorus, and at Yeni Mahalle, within sight of the Black Sea,
the ferry-boat described a wide circle and turned once more in the
direction of Stamboul.

"I feel better," said Paul, as we reached Galata bridge and elbowed our
way ashore through the crowd. "We will go again."

"By all means," I answered.

From that time during several weeks we frequently made excursions into
Stamboul and up the Bosphorus, and the constant enjoyment of the open
air did Paul good. But I could see that wherever we went he watched the
people with intense interest; following some individual with his eyes in
silence, or trying to see into dark archways and through latticed
windows, staring at the files of passengers who came on board the boats
or went ashore at the different landings, and apparently never relaxing
his attention. The people grew familiar to me, too, and gradually it
appeared that Paul was c