Part 54 (1/2)
There was an alternative, the very thought of which ht a thrill with it In all eastern lands, love scorned takes to the dagger He had half believed her when she swore she loved hiine himself loved by Yasmini and not be thrilled to his core would be inhuht whisper in iue (he felt like a th was nearly unbelievable), he started tohere thein the caveasleep at the foot of the ra away fro his hurt weary bones up the rauessed at first
The lared at him but let him by without a word It was by the fire at the back of the cave, where he stooped to dip water fro factor caht He kicked a brand into the fire and the flaht shone on a yard and a half of exquisitely fine hair, like spun gold, that caressed his shoulder and descended down one arhts, and in a second upset every arguh to her and intih with her not only to becoet her hair on his person, then gone was all iination of her love for himself! Then she had lied from first to last! Then she had tried toshe had failed, she had sent her true love with the dagger to ined a whole picture, as it ht have been in a crystal, of himself trapped and e 'Hills'-or fooled into posing to thea lurked behind the scenes and waited for the harvest in the end And what kind of harvest?
And what kind of o all the prejudices of the East and submit to what only the West has endured hitherto with any co, had been not to appreciate at once that Rewa Gunga must be her lover Why should he not be? Were they not alike as cousins? And the East does not love its contrary, but its co older in love than the West, and wiser in its ways in all but the material He had been blind He had overlooked the obvious-that from first to last her plan had been to set herself and this Rewa Gunga on the throne of India!
He washed and went through the mummery of muslim prayers for the watchful mullah's sake, and climbed on to his bed But sleep seemed out of the question He lay and tossed for an hour, his mind as busy as a terrier in hay And when he did fall asleep at last it was so to dream and mutter that the mullah caainst thethem a foretaste of the hell to co than King's own thoughts had been, for when theback to the cave mouth, he really did fall sound asleep, and it was after dahen he awoke Theall the valley echoes in the call to prayer
Allah is Alhty!
I declare there is no God but Allah!
I declare Muhammad is his prophet!
Hie ye to prayer!
Hie ye to salvation!
Prayer is better than sleep!
Prayer is better than sleep!
There is no God but Allah!
And while King knelt behind the mullah and the whole camp faced Mecca in forehead-in-the-dust abasee procession down the hts are coe to that camp and hour Somebody rose and struck them, and they knelt like the rest; but when prayer was over and cooking had begun and the caain-seven blind ed, lean-seven very tatter-deround with a long stick The others clung to him in line, one behind the other He was the only clean-shaven one, and he was the tallest He looked as if he had not been blind so long, for his physical health was better All seven s, but he yelled the loudest
”Oh, the hakiood hakim!” they wailed ”Where is the famous hakim? We be blind men-blind we be-blind-blind! Oh, pity us! Is any kismet worse than ours? Oh, show us to the hakireat, good hakim who can heal men's eyes!”
Theto see the they did not die, turned his back and went into his cave Close to the ra his head to one side as only birds and the newly blind do, gave voice again in nasal singsong
”Will none tell ood, wise haki, and he stepped doard hi hiely fau it in both hands be tilted the eyes to the light and opened one eye with his thu whatever the matter with it He opened the other
”Rub ed hiain
”Ismail!” he said ”You?”
”Aye! Father of cleverness! Make play of healing e in water and sent back for his bag andon ointlike a lunatic with both fists in the air, and yelling as if wasps had stung hiain! I see! My eyes have light in thereat wise hakfim who can heal ar and have no goods!”