Part 30 (1/2)

?Softly, my friend,? said the dervish to the capiji, ?don?t jump so soon from the crime to the crih it may take some time to work?

He then cast his eyes upon the co them all the while in quick flashes, and said, ?I am sure every one here will be happy to be clear of suspicion, and will agree to what I shall propose

The operation is simple, and soon over?

?_Elbetteh_, certainly?: ?_Belli_, yes?: ?_Een che harf est?_ ord is this?? was heard to issue from every mouth, and I requested the dervish to proceed

He called again to his servant, who produced a se

?This bag,? said the diviner, ?contains some old rice I will put a small handful of it into each person?s mouth, which they will forthwith chew Let those who cannot break it, beware, for Eblis is near at hand?

Upon this, placing us in a row, he filled each person?sthe complainant, of course I was exempt from the ordeal; and my mother, who chose to make cohted dervish would not allow of this, but , ?The property we seek is not yours, but your son?s Had he been your husband, it would be another thing? She agreed to his request, though with bad grace, and then all the jaere set to wagging, so it a hard trial to the nerves As fast as each person had ground his mouthful, he called to the dervish, and showed the contents of histhe akhon and my mother

The former, whose face exhibited the picture of an affected cheerfulness with great nervous apprehension, keptit over between his jaws, until he cried out in a querulous tone, ?Why do you give me this stuff to chew? I am old, and have no teeth:--it is irain?; and then he spat it out My mother, too, complained of her want of power to break the hard rice, and did the sa A silence ensued, which made us all look with more attention than usual upon them, and it was only broken by a time-server of my mother, an old woman, who cried out, ?What child?s play is this?

Who has ever heard of a son treating his mother with this disrespect, and his old schoolo--he is probably the thief himself?

Upon this the dervish said, ?Are we fools and asses, to be dealt with in this manner? Either there was money in that corner, or there was not--either there are thieves in the world, or there are not Thisto the akhon and my mother, ?have not done that which all the rest have done Perhaps they say the truth, they are old, and cannot break the hard grain nobody says that they stole theat theh; ?but the famous diviner, Hezarfun, he as truly called the bosom friend to the Great Bear, and the confidant of the planet Saturn,--he who could tell all that a ht, thinks, or will think,--he hath said that the trial by rice, a cowards was the best of all tests of a man?s honesty Now, my friends, from all I have remarked, none of you are slayers of lions, and fear is easily produced a you However, if you doubt my skill in this instance, I will propose a still easier trial,--one which commits nobody, which works like a charm upon the mind, and makes the thief come forward of his own accord, to ease his conscience and purse of its ill-gotten wealth, at one and the sa up earth Here in this corner I will ht, that, by the blessing of Allah, the Hajji,?

pointing to me, ?Will find his money buried in it to-morrow at this hour Whoever is curious, let theive him a miscal of hair from my beard?

He then set to work, and heaped up earth in a corner, whilst the lookers on loitered about, discussing what they had just seen; so me and the dervish as children of the evil spirit, whilst others again began to think as much of my mother and the school to return the following , at the appointed time, to witness the search into the heap of earth

[Illustration: The diviner and the rice 27jpg]

CHAPTER LI

Of the diviner?s success indiscoveries, and of the resolution which Hajji Baba takes in consequence

I an now to look upon the restoration of my property as hopeless The diviner?s skill had certainly discovered that money had been buried in ly suspicions in ainst two persons whom I felt it to be a sin to suspect; but I doubted whether he could do, accompanied by the capiji, and by several of those who had been present at the former scene The akhon, however, did not appear, and ed to visit a sick friend We proceeded in a body to themade a holy invocation, he approached it with a sort of mysterious respect

?Noe shall see,? said he, ?whether the Gins and the Peris have been at work this night?; and exclaier

Having thrown off soed that, to the astonish well filled was discovered

?Oh my soul! oh , ?you see that the Dervish teez Negah is not a man to lose a hair of his beard There, there,? said he, putting it into ive thanks that you have fallen into et my _hak sai_, or my commission?

Everybody crowded round me, whilst I broke open the wax that was affixed to the nized the ierness was marked on all their faces as I untied the thich it was fastened My countenance dropped woefully when I found that it only contained silver, for I had old Five hundred reals[85] was the sum of which I became the possessor; out of which I counted fifty, and presented theenious discoverer of them ?There,? said I, ?ive you h this is evidently but a small part of what my father (God be with hiain I say, may your house prosper, and many sincere thanks to you?

The dervish was satisfied with my treatment of him, and took his leave, and I was soon after left by the rest of the co ?Fa,? said he

?Did I not say that these diviners performed wonders??