456 
THROUGH ASIA 
A inollah from Khotan was more successful. He had 
fallen into debt, and went into the desert to die. But 
instead of dying, he discovered a treasure of gold and 
silver, and was now an exceedingly rich man. The 
number of those who had gone into the desert with the 
same design, and never returned, was legion. The old 
man solemnly assured me, that the evil spirits must be 
exorcised, before the hidden treasure could be sought for 
A DERVISH FROM EAST TURKESTAN 
with any likelihood of success. The spirits bewitch the 
unhappy beings who venture thither, so that they become 
confused and bewildered, and without knowing what they 
are doing they go round and round in a circle, retracing 
their own footsteps, and go and go until they fall down 
from sheer exhaustion, and die of thirst. 
There is a tribe of ne’er-do-weels hanging about the 
places round the outskirts of the desert, who firmly believe 
that sooner or later they will discover the hidden treasures 
