Harold Lamb

“ He tugged valiantly at the rope which seemed to drag the figure of the leper along. Shrewdly enough, Hassan, on seeing that the faya was alight and crowded, had abandoned the idea of secrecy and made outcry sufficient for a half-dozen deaths. Moreover be did not make the mistake of asking that the portal be opened. But he edged closer to the janizaries who drew back with oaths.
“Child of misfortune. Cover the fire of disease with the water of solitude.” ”

“ Perforce, they both halted, and the boy whimpered when a muffled screech sounded from a tree almost overhead; but Michael remembered the Cossacks’ trick of mimicking animal calls and cried Ayub’s name softly.
Presently the giant Cossack ataman loomed over them and Hassan quivered, believing firmly that now he was about to be carried off by the djinn—for he never thought a man could be as huge as Ayub.
“Are the men safe?” whispered Michael. ”

“ The warriors, clustering restlessly around their leaders, smiled, knowing that Ayub was more afraid of a woman than of a chambul of Tatars. Michael reflected that the veteran must have kept up the spirits of the detachments rarely in the trying time of waiting for orders. ”

“ Eh, I can judge what lies behind a Turkish veil, as well as you can tell your nag from another. When I was on a raid in Trebizond, the maidens used to nudge me in the streets so hard that my ribs would have given out if I had not worn a mail shirt. ”