Herman Shultz is sent to Greece to collect samples for the London Botanical Society. Once there he learns about a group of thieves that work under The Mountain King, Hadgi Stavros, who kidnaps people and holds them for ransom. Mr. Shultz is kidnapped and when Stavros finds out he is a man of Science he sets his ransom at an astronomical price. Edmond Francois Valentin About was a French novelist, publicist and journalist. He made his name as an entertaining anti-clerical writer. The satirical Le roi des montagnes, The King of the Mountains, is the best-known of his novels. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге The King of the Mountains (Edmond About)