{"product_id":"2940015718690","title":"The Hawk of Egypt","description":"THE HAWK OF EGYPT\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"_For in the days we know not of\u003cbr\u003e  Did fate begin\u003cbr\u003e  Weaving the web of days that wove\u003cbr\u003e  Your doom_.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          SWINBURNE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\". . . allahu akbar--la ilaha--illa 'llah!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcross the golden glory of the sky floated the insistent call of the\u003cbr\u003e_muezzin_ just as Damaris, followed closely by Wellington, her bulldog,\u003cbr\u003eturned out of the narrow street into the Khan el-Khalili.  Shrill and\u003cbr\u003esweet, from far and near it came, calling the faithful to prayer,\u003cbr\u003eimpelling merchants to leave their wares, buyers their purchases,\u003cbr\u003egossips their chatter, and to turn in the direction of Mecca and offer\u003cbr\u003etheir praise to Allah, who is God.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the entire male population of the native quarter knelt, the girl\u003cbr\u003edrew back beneath an awning of many colours which shaded silken goods\u003cbr\u003efrom the rays of the sun, whilst curious eyes peeped down upon her from\u003cbr\u003ebehind the shelter of the _masharabeyeh_, the harem lattice of\u003cbr\u003efinely-carved wood.  Yards of silk of every hue lay tumbled inside and\u003cbr\u003eoutside the _dukkan_ or shop in the silk-market; silken scarves, plain\u003cbr\u003eand embroidered, hung from strings; silk shawls were spread upon\u003cbr\u003ePersian carpets; a veritable riot of colour against the yellow-white\u003cbr\u003eplaster of the shop walls, above which flamed the sky, a cloak of blue,\u003cbr\u003eembroidered in rose and gold and amethyst.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe native women behind the shelter of the wood lattice or the\u003cbr\u003e_yashmak_ or the all-enveloping _barku_, talked softly together as they\u003cbr\u003ewatched the beautiful girl who serenely and quite unveiled walked\u003cbr\u003eamongst men with an animal of surpassing hideousness at her heels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe stood with her head uncovered--it is permissible at sunset--and\u003cbr\u003ewith her face lifted, as she listened to the call to prayer, so that a\u003cbr\u003esun-ray silting in through the silks blazed down upon the positively\u003cbr\u003ered curls which rioted all over her head and were of a tone sharper\u003cbr\u003ethan henna, yet many times removed from the shades of red known as\u003cbr\u003ecarrots or ginger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer skin was _matte_, her mouth crimson, and curved, the teeth perfect,\u003cbr\u003eand her heavily-lashed eyes of so deep a purple as to appear black.\u003cbr\u003eShe was slim and supple, unencumbered by anything more confining than a\u003cbr\u003esuspender-belt, a fortnight off her eighteenth birthday and entirely\u003cbr\u003elovable in looks, ways and temperament in the eyes of all mankind,\u003cbr\u003ewhich includes women.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe prayer over, and the men again about the business of the hour, she\u003cbr\u003eenquired her way of the vendor of silks who, having quickly replaced\u003cbr\u003ehis shoes, had as hastily returned to his shop, his heart rejoicing at\u003cbr\u003ethe prospect of perhaps one or two hours' more bargaining--for where is\u003cbr\u003eto be found the Oriental who knows the value of time?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLoving animals, Damaris wanted to find that corner near the silk-market\u003cbr\u003ewhere can be purchased anything from a camel to a hunting cheetah, a\u003cbr\u003egreyhound to a falcon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is not wise for European women to saunter about the old Arabian\u003cbr\u003equarter unaccompanied, especially if they have been blessed by the gods\u003cbr\u003ein the ways of looks.  Damaris Hethencourt most certainly ought not to\u003cbr\u003ehave been there, but you must perforce follow the path Fate has marked\u003cbr\u003eout for you, whether it leads through country lanes, or Piccadilly, or\u003cbr\u003ethe Arab quarter of Cairo.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe vendor of silks salaamed deeply before her beauty and the\u003cbr\u003egraciousness of her manner, for she smiled when she talked and spoke\u003cbr\u003ethe prettiest broken Arabic in the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo, putting the huge two-year-old bulldog, which one day was to claim\u003cbr\u003ethe proud title of champion, on the leash, she wended her way through\u003cbr\u003ethe narrow streets in which two camels may scarce squeeze past each\u003cbr\u003eother and where the _masharabeyeh_ of the harems almost meet overhead.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47080924512496,"sku":"2940015718690","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015718690","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}