The Case of the Purloined Pyramid by Sean McLachlan

Author:Sean McLachlan [McLachlan, Sean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-05T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Faisal was worried. When he had shown up on Ibn al-Nafis Street to take Osman ibn Akbar to morning prayers, he found the blind old beggar too sick to stand. Osman slept in the doorway of a ruined building, having set up some old boards and stones as a rough wall in front of the doorway to make a tiny room that contained a frayed old blanket, a reed mat, and a begging bowl, his only possessions beside his staff and the clothes on his back.

Usually Osman was sitting outside in the sun when Faisal came, ready to be led to the mosque so they could beg together. This morning, though, he still lay in his little cubbyhole.

Faisal peeked in, biting his lip when he heard the ragged breathing and saw how the old man’s features appeared more sunken than usual.

“Osman ibn Akbar, are you all right?” Faisal asked after a moment.

The beggar didn’t seem to hear him, and Faisal had to repeat the question in a louder voice before he got an answer.

“I think God is calling me.”

The words came out so soft and weak that Faisal barely caught them. A coldness spread through the boy’s chest.

“Nonsense!” Faisal said, rallying. “You just need to get out in the sun where it’s warm and get something in your stomach.”

“I am too weak to go to the mosque today. May God forgive me.”

Faisal removed the splintered board that served as the beggar’s front door and climbed inside. With a struggle, he got Osman to his feet and, fetching his stick and begging bowl, led him outside. Life on the street had made Faisal stronger than his years, and Osman felt like a bundle of papyrus reeds in his hands. It wasn’t long before he got him to his usual morning spot, where the sun could warm Osman’s aged bones before it got so hot he moved to a shady spot on the opposite side of the street for the rest of the day.

The beggar groaned as Faisal set him down. The passersby barely noticed the two.

“I’m sorry, Faisal, but you’ll have to get your breakfast elsewhere today. I can’t make it another step. God will provide for you.”

Faisal felt inside his pocket for the last of the bread he had swiped from the Englishman. It was a bit stale, but neither of them were so high and mighty as to make a fuss about that.

“He’s already provided!” Faisal said, trying to sound cheerful. He put the bread into Osman’s hands.

The old man frowned. “Is this stolen?”

“No, I earned it!”

“Bah! You’ve never worked a day in your life.”

“I did! I’m working for the Englishman now. He’s trying to find the man who shot one of his guests. I’m helping him. I found a book the killer dropped, and the Englishman took me all the way to Giza in his motorcar!”

Osman ibn Akbar managed a weak smile. “If you’re not telling tales, you are a lucky boy.”

“I’m not telling tales. I got to see the pyramids the jinn built and everything.

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