The Sleeping Sands by Edwards Nat

Author:Edwards, Nat [Edwards, Nat]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Nat Edwards
Published: 2012-05-22T04:30:00+00:00

* * *

The oldest dervish sat in reflection for long moments. Layard watched the lamplight cast flickering shadows across his creased brown face. At last, after a long silence, the dervish scratched himself absently and spat a lump of brown spittle onto the rug before him.

‘There,’ he said, ‘those are our tales. Make of them what you will. Now, brother Foreigner, it is your turn.’

CHAPTER 12

THROUGHOUT HIS STAY IN ISFAHAN, Layard could not escape the sense that he was being watched. It was not simply that everywhere he went in the city, passers by would stop and stare at the foreigner. He had soon become used to the unabashed curiosity his presence aroused among the city’s population. He had even learned to ignore the muttered threats and imprecations thrown after him by ragged mullahs and fanatical mountain men who would follow him around the narrow streets whenever he ventured out. His sense of being watched was not born of the casual hostility of the populace but from something more insidious and intangible. In the moments of clarity that seemed to come fewer and fewer, between his mornings drinking with the khan and his evenings of entertainment at the house of the Sufi, Layard could not escape the sense of some invisible and malevolent intelligence observing his every private moment. He tried to dismiss the feeling as a residue of his recent illness but, as his body gradually strengthened, he felt his spirit was weakening with every hour spent in Isfahan. Despite having made every effort to avoid the vicinity of the Matamet’s palace, it seemed as if each night the smooth, passionless face of the Governor would gaze down upon him from a dark recess of his dreams.

In the evenings, when he was walking home to Boré’s house in the fragrant suburb of Julfa, he would stop at the faintest sound of the breeze rustling in the litter of the street and turn, seeing patches of darkness congealing into the forms of the Matamet’s ferrashes or one of the dervishes’ tomb guardians before dissolving once more into shadow. He felt as if his nerves were slowly being picked apart by the city; as if his very identity was becoming divided. It seemed to him that the city was distilling him into two Layards. One was the fearless, confident adventurer who revelled in exploring new experiences and acquaintances. The other was an anxious and suspicious Layard whose plans were being foiled at every turn. Even friendly faces seemed to take on a hidden menace to this Layard. He began to detect a supercilious contempt in the constant attentive ministrations of Boré and his household. The Sufi began to appear to him as an impish obstacle, diverting him from his journey with a succession of dancing girls and sweetmeats. When the bold young Layard had told his story to the dervishes at the Sufi’s house, the other Layard had watched anxiously, convinced that the three travellers knew far more of his business than they had any right to.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.