Hadji well enough, and besides I know something of
medicine; very little, but enough to tell me whether she is absolutely
in a dying state. It is a great compliment for the Sultan to send his
private physician, and if she is in a conscious state she will be
flattered and thrown off her guard. If I can manage to get her slaves
out of the way, I may induce her to confess. If I fail in this, I have
the means to frighten her. If she dies, I have the means of arresting
Selim before he can escape. It is all very well arranged, and there is
nothing to be done but to put the plan into execution. When you left me
I had not got the Irade; it came about an hour ago."

"How can I help you?" I asked.

"You must have a disguise, too. When the court physician is sent to
visit a person of consequence, he is always accompanied by an adjutant
from the palace. You must play this part. I have borrowed a uniform from
a brother officer which will fit you. It is in your room, and I will
help you to put it on. You need say nothing, nor answer any questions
the slaves may put to you unless you are quite sure of your words. You
have a very military figure, and the sight of a uniform acts like magic
on fellows like the Lala and his companions. As I am an adjutant myself,
I can tell you exactly what to do, so that no one could detect you. Are
you willing to try?"

"Of course," I said, rising and going towards my room. "How are we to go
to Yeni Koej?"

"A carriage from the palace will be at the door in half an hour,"
answered Gregorios, looking at his watch. "Now, then, we must turn you
into a Turkish officer," he added, with a laugh.

In ten minutes the change was complete, and I do not believe that my
best friend would have recognized me in the close-fitting dress, cut
like that of a Prussian dragoon's parade uniform, but made of dark cloth
with red facings. I buckled on the sabre, and Gregorios set the fez
carefully on my head. I looked at myself in the glass. The costume
fitted as though it were made for me.

"I feel as though I were going to a masked ball," I said, laughing. "I
never was so disguised before in my life."

"I hope you may feel so when you come home," answered Balsamides, with a
smile. "Now you must take some of your own clothes in a bag. We may not
get home before morning, and we might meet some one of the adjutants
when we come back. They would know that you are not one of us, and there
might be trouble. We must take s