THE KING'S
JACKAL

BY
RICHARD HARDING DAVIS





The King's Jackal

I


The private terrace of the Hotel Grand Bretagne, at Tangier,
was shaded by a great awning of red and green and yellow, and
strewn with colored mats, and plants in pots, and wicker
chairs. It reached out from the Kings apartments into the
Garden of Palms, and was hidden by them on two sides, and
showed from the third the blue waters of the Mediterranean and
the great shadow of Gibraltar in the distance.

The Sultan of Morocco had given orders from Fez that the King
of Messina, in spite of his incognito, should be treated
during his stay in Tangier with the consideration due to his
rank, so one-half of the Hotel Grand Bretagne had been set
aside for him and his suite, and two soldiers of the Bashaw's
Guard sat outside of his door with drawn swords. They were
answerable with their heads for the life and safety of the