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by Robert Hichens (Author), S. T. Joshi (Introduction by)
Snake-Bite: Pierpont, a wealthy American, plans to caravan down to Tombouktou, and he wants Fay and her husband Alan to join him. Alan is an English doctor, living in Northern Africa for his health, and Pierpont is willing to pay any amount for him to accompany him on his months' long journey. What Pierpont really wants is for Fay to join him. What Fay wants is another matter entirely.
The Nomad: Madame Lemaire had been a lively, coquettish girl in her youth. She had been Marie Bretelle of Marseille! Then she met a handsome acrobat. After his accident, they bought a small inn on the edge of the Sahara-where her husband now drinks absinthe, and nothing ever happens. Sometimes Marie thinks she will go mad. Yes, if the Devil himself came along the road and asked her to go, she'd go... she certainly would.
The Charmer of Snakes: Renfrew idolizes Claire, the world famous stage actress. He has been asking her to marry him for so long, that he is stunned when one night she agrees-but only if he will take her away! She is sick of the stage. Now they are living in pitched tents in Northern Africa. Renfrew is happy just being with Claire, but Claire is prey to a different calling. When the snake charmer comes to town, she finally finds the stage she was born to.
An Echo in Egypt: When Belliers meets Mademoiselle Leroux and her young companion, Lady Betty-fellow-travelers in Egypt-he notices that the younger one seems to echo all the feelings and attitudes of the older woman. So when he falls in love with Lady Betty, he decides upon an experiment to see if he can get Lady Betty to reciprocate his feeling by making her companion fall in love with him first. It is an experiment with unwanted consequences.
Enter the mysterious realm of Robert Hichens. These stories and eight more tales of mystery, intrigue and the unexpected-set in the by-gone world of Northern Africa-await you...
