Children of Gebelaawi (54 page)

Qaasim said calmly:

- He's our Ancestor - all of ours.

The Trustee leapt up in a fury and struck Qaasim in the face

with his horsehair fly-whisk, using all his force. He yelled:

- 'Our Ancestor' ! None of you even knows who his father

was; yet you have the cheek to say 'our Ancestor' . Thieves!

Desert rats ! Scu m! You only persist because you think this

household will protect you and your wife, but a dog loses its

protection when it bi tes the hand that feeds it.

Guzzler stood up to calm the Trustee's rage. He said:

- Sit down and take it easy! It's not right for you to be upset

by a fly.

Rifaat sat down, his lips trembling. He shouted:

- Even the Desert Rats covet the Trust and say without any

shame, 'our Ancestor' .

Guzzler sat down again, saying:

- It's plain that what people say about the Desert Rats is

true. Unfortunately our Alley is racing towards destruction.

(Then, turning to Qaasim:) Your father was one of my childhood friends; don't force me to kill you.

The Trustee bellowed:

- His action deserves worse than death. If it wasn' t for her

ladysh ip, he'd die right now.

Guzzler went on with the interrogation.

- Listen to me, young man ; who's behind you?

Qaasi m said, sti ll feeling the sti ng of the fly-whisk:

- Who do you mean, sir?

- Who persuaded you to bring the case?

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- Only myself.

- You were a shepherd and then fortune smiled on you;

what more do you want?

-Justice, sir, justice.

The Trustee ground his teeth and shouted:

-Justice? Dogs! Vermin ! That's your password when you're

bent on stealing and looting. (Then, to Guzzler: ) Force him to

confess!

Guzzler spoke in a voice full of menace:

- Tell me who's behind you.

With mysterious defiance, Qaasim said:

- Our Ancestor.

- Our Ancestor? !

- Yes! Look at the Clauses governing his Trust; you wil l

realize that he's the o n e who made m e act.

Rifaat leapt up again, yelling:

- Get him ou t of my sight! Throw him out!

Guzzler stood up, seized Qaasim by the arm and marched

him to the door. Qaasim bore his iron grip bravely. Then

Guzzler hissed in his ear:

- For your own sake, be sensible! Don't force me to drink

your blood.

7 9 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Qaasim wen t home to be met by Zakaria, Uwayss, Hassan,

Saadiq, Bu llrush, Shaabaan, Wagtail and Hamroosh. They

looked up at him, anxious and silent. When he had sat down

beside his wife, Uwayss said:

- Didn 't I warn you?

Qamar reproached him:

- Wait, Uncle; let him rest a bit!

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But he bellowed:

- The worst troubles are those a man brings on hi mself.

Zakaria studied Qaasim's face, then said:

- They insulted you, my boy; I know you as well as I know

myself. You could have done without that.

Uwayss said:

- But for Lady Ameena you wouldn't have come back in

one piece.

Qaasi m looked round his friends' faces, and said:

- That vile lawyer betrayed us.

Their faces hardened and they looked at one another

angrily. Uwayss was the first to speak:

- Give up peacefully now, all of you ; and thank God for his

escape!

Hassan said:

- What do you say, cousin?

Qaasi m thought for a while, then said:

- I won't hide it from you that death threatens us. I ' l l

release anybody who doesn ' t wish to help m e any more.

Zakaria begged:

- Don ' t let things go any further.

Qaasi m replied with calm determination:

- I'm not going to drop the matter, whatever the consequences. I shan 't be less loyal than Gebel and Rifaa to our Ancestor and to the people of our Alley.

Uwayss got up in a rage and stalked out of the room, saying:

- The man's mad. God help you, my niece !

Saadiq leapt up and kissed Qaasi m on the forehead, saying:

- You 've revived my spirits with what you've said.

Hassan said enthusiastically:

- The people here kill for the sake of a piaster or for no

reason at all. Why should we be afraid of dying, when we have

a real reason?

They heard Omnibus's voice from the Alley calli ng Zakaria,

who leaned out of the wi ndow and i nvited him in. In a momen t

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he was in the room and sat down scowling grimly. He looked

at Qaasi m and said:

- I didn't know there was another strongman in our sector

besides me.

Zakaria said anxiously:

- Things are not as bad as you've heard.

- What I heard was even worse.

Zakaria moaned:

- Satan has been fooling about with the minds of our sons.

Omnibus spoke sternly:

- Guzzler gave me a long lecture about your nephew. I

thought he was a sensible lad, but he turns out to be the craziest

lunatic. Now look here; if I 'm too easy on you all, Guzzler's

going to come and deal with you himself. But I'm not letting

any of you drag my good name in the dirt, so behave yourselves,

and heaven help anybody who's obstinate.

Omnibus began keepi ng a watch on Qaasim 's followers and

not letting any of them near his house. In the course of doi ng

so he humiliated Saadiq and beat up Wagtail. He asked Zakaria

to tell Qaasim to stay at home till the storm had blown over.

Qaasim found himself a prisoner in his own home, visited only

by his cousin Hassan. But there is no power that can imprison

news in the Alley. Whispers reached Gebel's sector and Rifaa's,

telling what was stirring among the Desert Rats: the case that

had nearly been brought against the Trustee, particular claims

concerning the Ten Clauses, even the con nection between

Qindeel, Gebelaawi 's servant, and Qaasim. There was great

excitement and plenty of skepticism and scorn.

Hassan said to Qaasim one day:

- The news is being whispered around the Alley. They talk

about nothing but you in all the hashish dens.

Qaasim looked up, his face, as usual of late, haggard from

thought and worry. He said:

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- We've become pnsoners, and the days pass without

action.

Qamar spoke with concern:

- Nobody is called on to do the impossible.

Hassan said:

- Our brothers are as keen as can be.

Qaasim asked:

- Is it true that Gebel's people and Rifaa's accuse me of

being a liar and a madman?

Hassan looked down unhappily.

- Cowardice ruins men.

Qaasi m nodded helplessly.

- Why do they call me a liar when one of them was the man

who met Gebelaawi and anotherwas the man he spoke to? Why

do they call me a liar when they of all people shou ld be the first

to believe me and help me?

- Cowardice is the plague of our Alley; that's why they

cringe before their strongmen.

From outside came the sound of Omnibus bellowing curses

and insults. The family looked ou t of the window and saw

Omnibus gripping Shaabaan by the collar and screaming at

him:

- What brings you here, you bastard?

The young man tried in vain to free himself from his grip.

Omnibus held his collar with his left hand and rai ned blows on

his face and head with his right. Qaasim was furious and left the

window and hurried to the door, ignoring Qamar's pleas. In a

moment he was standing in front of Omnibus, sayi ng firmly:

- Let him go, Omnibus !

But he went on punching his victim and shouted at Qaasim:

- Mind yourself or I ' ll make even your enemies cry for you.

Qaasi m seized the fist the was doing the hitting and gripped

it tightly, shouting furiously:

- I shan 't let you kill him whatever you do.

Omnibus let go ofShaabaan, who fell to the ground uncon-

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scious, then snatched a basket of earth off the head of a passing

woman and emptied it over Qaasim. Hassan was about to

spring at him, but Zakaria arrived just i n time to throw an arm

roun d him. Qaasim lifted off the basket, and his head emerged,

covered with earth, which went all over his clothes too. He was

seized with a fit of coughing. Qamar screamed and Sakeena

howled. Uwayss hurried up, men, women and children rushed

out from doorways on to the scene, and there was uproar.

Zakaria held on to Hassan's arm with all his strength and

looked imploringly into his bulging eyes. Uwayss went up to

Omnibus and said:

- Forgive him for my sake, Omnibus, my dear sir.

Several voices cried: 'For God's sake, chie£1 ' and Omnibus

bawled:

- What with relatives and friends! It's as if Omnibus was a

woman and not your strongman.

Zakaria shouted:

- God forbid, chie£1 You 're our lord and our crowning

glory.

Omnibus went off to the cafe, and some men lifted up

Shaabaan, and Hassan began brushing the earth off Qaasim's

head and clothes. With Omnibus out ofthe way, the onlookers

were able to express their grief.

8 0 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

That evening, one of the Desert Rats' tenement houses

resounded with wails announcing a death. The cry was taken

up by dozens of other voices in houses all around. Qaasim

leaned out of his window and asked Fateen, the melon-seed

vendor, about it. The man answered: 'Long may you live!

Shaabaan is dead. ' Qaasim was horrified and left the house to

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go to Shaabaan 's tenement, which was two doors away. He

fou nd the courtyard there in darkness and packed with the

people who lived on the lower floors. They were talking

together sadly and indignantly, while from upstairs came sobs

and wails. Qaasim heard a woman saying bitterly:

- He didn't just die; Omnibus killed him.

A second said:

- May God strike your household, Omnibus!

A third protested:

- It was Qaasim that killed him; he tells lies and our men

get killed for them.

Qaasim was deeply distressed. He made his way through the

darkness up to the first floor where the dead man 's home was.

By the ligh t of a lamp fixed to the wall of the corridor outside

he saw his friends, among them Hassan, Saadiq, Bullrush,

Wagtail and 1-Iamroosh. Saadiq came to meet him, crying, and

they embraced wi thout a word. Hassan, whose face looked

ghastly in the dim light, sai d:

- His blood won't have been spi lt in vain.

Bullrush came up to Qaasim and whispered to him:

- His wife's i n such a dreadful state she's even blamed us

for his death.

Qaasim whispered back:

- God help her!

Hassan spoke vengefully:

- The murderer must be executed.

Wagtai l growled:

- Who in the Alley wou ld give evidence against him?

Hassan said:

- But we can kill like everybody else.

Qaasim pu nched him to silence him, and said:

- It'll be best if you people don 't attend his funeral, but

we'll meet afterwards in Qarafa graveyard.

He started to enter the dead man's home and Saadiq tried

to bar his way, but he pushed him aside and went i n. He called

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Shaabaan's widow, and she came, her reddened eyes wide

open in astonishment. Her look hardened, and she asked:

- What do you want?

- I've come with my condolences.

She said fiercely:

- You killed him. We can do without the Trust, and it was

him we needed.

He said gently:

- May God give you strength to bear it, and may He destroy

the criminals. We are your family whenever you need us. His

blood isn't spilt in vain.

She looked askance at him, then turned and retreated.

When she got back i nside there was an outburst of wails and

moans. He left the place grief-stricken.

Next morni ng the people saw Omnibus sitting i n the doorway of Freewheeler's cafe watching the passers-by with a defiant, evil look on his face. They greeted him with extra