lse beard, forked like
the idol's golden one: he was intoning a prayer, and holding up, in
both hands, for divine inspection and approval, a long curved knife.
Behind him, about thirty feel away, stood a square stone altar, around
which four of the lesser priests, in light blue robes with less gold
fringe and dark-blue false beards, were busy with the preliminaries to
the sacrifice. At considerable distance, about halfway down the length
of the temple, some two hundred worshipers--a few substantial citizens
in gold-fringed tunics, artisans in tunics without gold fringe,
soldiers in mail hauberks and plain steel caps, one officer in
ornately gilded armor, a number of peasants in nondescript smocks, and
women of all classes--were beginning to prostrate themselves on the
stone floor.

Ghullam rose to his feet, bowing deeply to Yat-Zar and holding the
knife extended in front of him, and backed away toward the altar. As
he did, one of the lesser priests reached into a fringed and
embroidered sack and pulled out a live rabbit, a big one, obviously of
domestic breed, holding it by the ears while one of his fellows took
it by the hind legs. A third priest caught up a silver pitcher, while
the fourth fanned the altar fire with a sheet-silver fan. As they
began chanting antiphonally, Ghullam turned and quickly whipped the
edge of his knife across the rabbit's throat. The priest with the
pitcher stepped in to catch the blood, and when the rabbit was bled,
it was laid on the fire. Ghullam and his four assistants all shouted
together, and the congregation shouted in response.

The high priest waited as long as was decently necessary and then,
holding the knife in front of him, stepped around the prayer-cushion
and went through the door under the idol into the Holy of Holies. A
boy in novice's white robes met him and took the knife, carrying it
reverently to a fountain for washing. Eight or ten under-priests,
sitting at a long table, rose and bowed, then sat down again and
resumed their eating and drinking. At another table, a half-dozen
upper priests nodded to him in casual greeting.

Crossing the room, Ghullam went to the Triple Veil in front of the
House of Yat-Zar, where only the highest of the priesthood might go,
and parted the curtains, passing through, until he came to the great
gilded door. Here he fumbled under his robe and produced a small
object like a mechanical pencil, inserting the pointed end in a tiny
hole in the