B873 <=> B875 [BTG XLI The bokharian dervish, p. 874]

“He, as it appeared, was the friend of my first dervish acquaintance.

“He was already according to terrestrial understanding quite elderly, and being tall in comparison with those living round about seemed extraordinarily thin.

“His name was Hadji-Asvatz-Troov.

“While talking with us, he led us to a small section of the cave, where we all sat down on the felt that covered the floor there, and while conversing, began to eat what is cold Bokharan ‘Shila-Plav’ out of earthen vessels which this elderly being brought to us from a neighboring section.

“While we were eating, my first dervish acquaintance told him by the way that I was also very interested in the science Shat-Chai-Mernis and explained briefly which questions were already well known to me and what in general we had talked about before.

“After that, the dervish Hadji-Asvatz-Troov began to question me himself and I gave him corresponding answers, but of course in that form already habitual to me by which I could always hide my real nature.

“There on your planet I became in general so skillful in talking in this manner that your favorites always took me for one of their brother scientists.

“From subsequent conversation with him, I understood that this respected Hadji-Asvatz-Troov had already been long interested in the said knowledge and that during the last ten years he had been studying it exclusively only practically.

“I also understood that from this studying he had attained results such as it is no longer proper to terrestrial three-brained beings to attain.