The Sleeping Sands Read Online Free PDF Page B

professionals.
    He exhaled a long ribbon of fragrant blue smoke and continued, ‘as I was saying, I persuaded a sheikh of the Kalikat tribe to furnish your young friend with two camels and guides for his journey to Petra.
    ‘It was not easy. There has been much unrest and in-fighting between the desert tribes since the uprising and talk has been growing of – something worse. Caravans from the east are bringing stories of a plague spreading through the Holy Lands. Crops and livestock are dying and there is talk of war once more along the Persian borders. Against the rumours and superstitions of the desert savages, our authority is growing more tenuous by the day. Hence the occasion of a more frequent and emphatic use of administrative correction.’
    ‘Ah, yes. I saw how effectively you employed your administrative expertise this morning, Yusuf Effendi,’ replied the European. He drew on his own water pipe deeply and blew a series of perfect rings that floated up into the still evening air of the courtyard, expanding and changing from blue to black as they were silhouetted against the orange dusk.
    The Colonel slightly inclined his head in acknowledgment of the compliment and continued, ‘I am afraid that Mr Layard found passage expensive. The town of Kerak is in more or less open revolt and the road to Petra is beset by marauding Bedouins. The sheikh who eventually provided camels and an escort only did so at an inflated cost and only then after a fairly concentrated negotiation.’ The Colonel raised an eyebrow and looked directly at the other seated man, his eyes glinting mischievously.
    ‘His brother remains a guest of mine.’
    ‘Your efforts on my countryman’s behalf are most appreciated, Colonel. He does not yet know it, but the object of his mission could well lead to a significant change for the better in the stability of the region. It is the duty of enlightened men such as we to help him on his way.
    ‘Speaking of duty, what has become of poor Elias? He has not, I trust, been subject to the more robust aspects of your administration?’
    ‘Elias is fine,’ the Colonel smiled. ‘He shares our finest cell with the sheikh’s brother and has even been allowed to keep his infidel books. He will be released in a month or two.’
    ‘Not sooner? After all, he has served his purpose.’
    ‘Alas no. For appearance’s sake, he must serve some sort of sentence.’ The Colonel shrugged with the universal, studied helplessness of the bureaucrat.
    ‘Ah, but of course,’ nodded the European politely. ‘For appearance’s sake - I understand. Still, the Society will recompense him for his inconvenience. I trust that you will be able to help us expedite the arrangements?’
    ‘But of course,’ smiled Yusuf Effendi, leaning back and taking a long, luxurious draw on his water pipe.
    In the courtyard, the night air was heavy with the smell of tobacco, cardamon and roses. Above, in the darkening sky, a single bright star was visible. To the east, a nightbird let out a single, mournful note. The Colonel blew out a languorous column of smoke, watching it rise in a dance of swirling shapes into the night. He sat in silence for a minute, contemplating the star.
    ‘Let us withdraw to the house. It is beginning to get cold.’
     
     
    *                      *                      *
     
    With the assistance of the Colonel, Layard had haggled the cost of camels and guides for his trip across the desert to two thousand piastres – or about twenty pounds. The price was steep but, after several days in Hebron, he could find none willing to go cheaper and had reluctantly concluded the deal in the black tents of Sheikh Abu Dhaouk, camped a day’s journey from Hebron in view of the shore of the Dead Sea. His discontent at parting with so much of his dwindling money was only surpassed by that which he felt at his first attempt at camel riding. Having, with Antonio’s assistance,