CHAPTER XIII

AN ATTEMPTED ESCAPE (_Friday, July 13; 3.45 p. m._) It was Hani who broke the silence after Bliss’s departure. “You wish me to go away, _effendi_?” he asked Vance, with a respect that struck me as overdone. “Yes, yes.” Vance had become _distrait_ and introspective. I knew something was preying on his mind. He stood near the table, his hands in his pockets, regarding the samovar intently. “Go up-stairs, Hani. Take some sodium bicarbonate—and meditate. Divinely bend yourself, so to speak; indulge …