Aravang Explains
these mountain places are considered sacred by the natives."
"I thought no Mohammedans ever lived above the Himalayas." Edith was guilefully seeking the forbidden fruit of knowledge which Donovan had denied her.
"Your wisdom is too young, Miss Rand. The forefathers of the Moslems, the Uigurs and the Tartars had their birthplace in upper Central Asia. And they had Yakka Arik. Now they come here from Arabia, Turkestan, and the corners of Asia. The Arabs, Persians, Uigurs, Taghliks, and not a few Afghans ride here in the pilgrimage caravans"
"Sometimes called the 'caravan of the dead'?" she put in.
Donovan looked at her sharply, and a hard mask settled on his lean face.
"Those who ride in the caravan of the dead have offended against the law of Yakka Arik. God grant you never come to know its meaning"
He fell silent, his hands gripped tight together, sunk in meditation. Edith was startled by the gravity of his low voice. She half put out her hand to touch his, then drew back.
"I am so glad that I found you here," she said impulsively. "Mahmoud and the others frighten me. They never even look at me, and I am sure they have no syrmpathy at all. No one, even, except Iskander, comes to the house." It was her way of offering him peace—with honor—of asking him to trust her.
Donovan replied abstractedly, without weighing the possible effect of his words: "You see, it's my house, given me because they've made me khan— equal in rank to Iskander. They don't look at you because you
153
