Page:Harold Lamb--The House of the Falcon.djvu/203

 steps into that confounded steam. It does not harm him."

"Why?" He hesitated, unwilling to explain further, but anxious not to reveal to her his growing anxiety.

"You chose a bad time to come here, Edith. It is what the Sayaks call 'the miracle of life.' This mosque is their holy spot. The spring underneath has a good deal of sanctity attached to it. Some old legend, you know. Just at noon the sun pierces the hole in the roof."

"It was beautiful," she murmured. "But to see the hadji—it gave me the creeps."

Within, the gloom of the vast mosque weighed upon the two. Edith found herself gazing from shadow to shadow fearfully and listening for footsteps that she fancied were moving toward them. Impulsively she stepped to his side and took his hand, surprised to find it so chill.

"Are we in such danger?" she whispered. Then: "You came to find me."

This thought filled the woman with mute delight. She wanted him to understand that she, also, had been thinking of him. "I believed the hadji would help us if I told him everything"

The dome opened again, letting the ray of sunlight stream into the depths of the temple. They had heard no movement, nor had they seen the hands that worked the aperture. Donovan's hand closed on hers protectingly as her eyes sought him shyly, seeing in his clean-cut profile the gentleness and honesty of his race.

"Dear Edith, you must understand. The Sayaks are not ordinary Mohammedans, but are outlawed by the orthodox followers of the Prophet. They are