THE duhr, or noonday call to prayer, had just sounded from the minarets of the Mosques of Kala�n and En-Nas�r, and I was idly noting the negligible effect of the adan upon the occupants of the neighboring shops-coppersmiths for the most part-when suddenly my errant attention became arrested. A mendicant of unwholesome aspect crouched in the shadow of the narrow gateway at the entrance to the S�k es-Sa�gh, or gold and silver bazaar, having his one serviceable eye fixed in a malevolent stare upon something or someone ...
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THE duhr, or noonday call to prayer, had just sounded from the minarets of the Mosques of Kala�n and En-Nas�r, and I was idly noting the negligible effect of the adan upon the occupants of the neighboring shops-coppersmiths for the most part-when suddenly my errant attention became arrested. A mendicant of unwholesome aspect crouched in the shadow of the narrow gateway at the entrance to the S�k es-Sa�gh, or gold and silver bazaar, having his one serviceable eye fixed in a malevolent stare upon something or someone immediately behind me. It is part and parcel of my difficult profession to subdue all impulses and to think before acting. I sipped my coffee and selected a fresh cigarette from the silver box upon the rug beside me. In this interval I had decided that the one-eyed mendicant cherished in his bosom an implacable and murderous hatred for my genial friend, Ali Mohammed, the dealer in antiques; that he was unaware of my having divined his bloody secret; and that if I would profit by my accidental discovery, I must continue to feign complete ignorance of it. Turning casually to Ali Mohammed, I was startled to observe the expression upon his usually immobile face: he was positively gray, and I thought I detected a faint rattling sound, apparently produced by his teeth; his eyes were set as if by hypnosis upon the uncleanly figure huddled in the shadow of the low gate. "You are unwell, my friend," I said. Ali Mohammed shook his head feebly, removed his eyes by a palpable effort from the watcher in the gateway, but almost instantly reverted again to that fixed and terrified scrutiny.
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Add this copy of Tales of Secret Egypt to cart. $14.00, very good condition, Sold by Dotcom liquidators / dc1 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fort Worth, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
