Elegant Effendi edly. “By slandering you, your book and us, Elegant Effendi o set Nusret  o trying to incite turists o rebel against you. I don’t kno of jealousy, peran’s influence. And turists also ermined Elegant Effendi o destroy us all. You can imagine ened and succumbed to suspicions as I myself  , by Elegant Effendi— illustrating, painting and all else  artist fell into a panic, killing t scoundrel and tossing o a well.”

    “Scoundrel?”

    “Elegant Effendi ured, ill-bred traitor. Villain!” I sed as if he room.

    Silence. Did  o somebody else’s s; yet, t w.

    “urist rator from Isfahan? ho killed him?”

    “I don’t know,” I said.

    Yet I ed o infer from my expression t I  I’d made a grave error in coming  I  going to succumb to feelings of guilt and regret. I could see t Enisified me. If  I ruck terror t  dare refuse to sing. I  t picture, not because of any sin I’d committed on its account—I genuinely ed to see ’d turned out.

    “Is it important ?” I said. “Is it not possible t whoever rid us of him has done a good deed?”

    I ter and morally superior to ot look you in templating reporting you and abandoning you to a fate of torture and execution.

    Outside, just in front of tyard gate, the dogs began a frenzied howling.

    “It’s begun to snoe  you  even lit a candle for you.”

    “It’s quite strange, indeed,”  understand it myself.”

    I believed ely, and despite ridiculing  as turists did, I once again kne I actually l