white garments of the venerable man who regarded him through his
spectacles.

"The hand of Allah has led me to this place," said Shiraz in his low,
reflective tones. "I seek for a little prayer-mat and a few bowls of
brass for my food; likewise, a bed for myself, and a bed of lesser value
for my companion. Hast thou these things, Leh Shin?"

Leh Shin went into his back premises and returned with the bowls and the
prayer-mat.

"The bed for thyself, O Haj, and the bed of lesser value for thy friend,
I shall make shift to procure. Presently I will send my assistant, the
eyes of my encroaching age, to bring what you need."

"It is well," said Shiraz, who was seated on a low stool near the door,
and who looked with contemplative eyes into the shop.

Leh Shin huddled himself on to the string couch again, and the slow
process of bargain-driving began. Pice by pice they argued the question,
and at last Shiraz produced a handful of small coin, which passed from
him to the Chinaman.

"I had already heard of thee," said Leh Shin, scratching his loose
sleeves with his long, claw-like fingers. "But thy friend, the Burman,
who spoke beforehand of thy coming, and who still recalls the mixture of
his opium pipe, I cannot remember." He hunched his shoulders. "Yet even
that is not strange. My house by the river is a house of many faces,
yet all who dream wear the same face in the end," his voice crooned
monotonously. "All in the end, from living in the world of visions,