Argosy, Vol. 123, No. 1 — page 106: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

96 “ Hai-hai! Allah, hai!” It was a low chant that rose and echoed against the lofty dome. It grew into a rush of sound, a deep roar, in which the echoes were lost. Edith felt the beat of the pas- Sionate cry grip her senses. Donovan did not halt. He had surveyed the further side of the temple carefully. Now he pushed through the moving men toward her position. The chant changed, as the men formed into long, sinuous lines that circled before the pc and the ray of sunlight. “Yah hai yah Allah, Aliah Akbar!” At this the white man quickered his steps. He almost ran down the side of the nave, looking sharply into the shadows. Edith wanted to call te him, but did not dare. A few moments before she would have wished to keep her disguise a secret. Clothed as she was, how was Donovan to know her? Yet she wanted him to recognize her. She felt the need of his protection, under- standing how reckless she had been in coming. And when he halted to peer at her, she drew a deep breath. She would have spoken, but silence fell again upon the Sayaks. ; For a long moment John Donovan was a man of stone, so keenly he scrutinized every detail of her clothing and figure. The girl trembled in the effort to keep from speaking. Then the man stepped casually nearer to one of the pillars and leaned against it with folded arms. “Do not speak above a whisper,” she caught his low voice. ‘‘ The Sayaks must not hear us talking. Edith, why in the world did you come here?” The girl’s reasons for entering the mosque seemed all at once very fruitless to her. She had breathed a little prayer of relief when she knew that his glance had recognized her in the native dress and veil. ‘“T came—to see the asec ” she whis- pered. At that Donovan turned away, so that she could not make out whether he was angered or not. ‘“‘ Wait,” she caught his answering whis- per, “until the Sayaks have passed out. The women would see through you.” THE ARGOSY. His face was expressionless as he watched the actions of the priest. Edith saw that the sun’s ray had fallen full on the swirling vapor. Color, limitless, impalpable, irri- descent, flooded the vapor. A haze of shimmering green and purple and red hung from dome to wall. It was as if a veil of supernatural softness and beauty had been drepped from the sky. The moving clouds of steam caused the radiance to vibrate and merge. No one color was to be seen for long; all hues glimmered and fused together, weaving a magnificent texture. . And in the heart of the steaming vapor the Aadji had taken his stand. He had ascended the gold fretwork by some hidden steps, and now stood on the top of the grille, with clouds of steam rising on all sides of him. | CHAPTER XXVI. IN THE SHADOW OF THE TEMPLE. .,PIT H gazed at the apparition in be- wildered surprise. The splendor of the flooding color had taken away her breath. She did not understand how the old priest, motionless in the stream of light, could survive the heat. But his aged face was tranquil, his eyes closed. A murmur rose from the throng. Lips parted expectantly; dark eyes shone. Then the vapor and the temple itself were plunged in semi-darkness. The aperture in the dome had been closed. Following an interval of quiet came the rustle of many bare feet as the Sayaks began to pass out of the mosque. Now that her eyes were more accustomed to the dim light, Edith could see them gathering Hy their prayer-rugs. Her quick mind had caught the expla- nation of the radiant color of the vapor clouds. It could have been nothing less than a rainbow. Light from the opening in the dome had fallen upon the steam and gathered strength until the clouds of mois- ture reflected the prismatic coloring of the rainbow, She had seen how swiftly such things appeared in the heavens on the heels on a 6 ARGOosY EbOO Conn SS C©