XXVII 
THE GENTLE ART OF POISONING 
241 
to disturb his rest, for he has no belief in an 
avenging deity, nor any lucid conception of a here¬ 
after, and the only thing that troubles him is the 
risk of discovery, a catastrophe which he employs 
all his skill to avoid. 
The preliminaries all settled, Ham ice finds that 
Manjora is such a good fellow that it is distinctly a 
duty to ask him to a quiet meal. This, however, is 
most discreetly done ; there is no necessity to make 
any definite appointment with regard to the affair, 
and over such a ticklish operation time is not a 
matter of consequence. So it happens that Manjora 
chances to pass one day as Hamice is waiting to 
partake of food that his wife is preparing, and, in a 
most casual way, Hamice asks him to share the 
meal. Manjora, being hungry, accepts the invita¬ 
tion, and Hamice immediately repairs to the spot 
outside the house where his wife is preparing the 
food. From her hands, he takes the dish and, 
carrying it through the hut to where Manjora sits 
on a mat in pleasurable anticipation of a savoury 
meal, on the way inserts a portion of the poison 
into the dish of food, taking particular care to note 
the exact position of the lethal stuff by some 
distinct mark on the platter. 
‘ Come, let us eat, friend,’ he says jovially, as he 
puts down the food between himself and Manjora, 
and soon they are eating and chatting, as if nothing 
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