Children of Gebelaawi (58 page)

know ourselves. But for you, the Desert Rats wou ld never have

been talked of.

He looked at her curiously and wondered: 'How is our

Ancestor today? ' He went on smi ling gently at her, and she

blessed him profusely ti ll he left. He walked on till he came to

the top of the path down the precipitous side of thejebel. l-Ie

looked down at the desert below and then towards the horizon. In the distance he could see the domes and roofs of Cairo like the features of a single organism.

'Only one thing is needed, and from up here it looks so

small. Trustee Rifaat and Strongman Guzzler seem so unimportant. From here there's no difference between Rifaat and Uncle Zakaria. It would be difficult to find your way from this

place back to the Alley that has caused so much trouble if it

wasn' t for the Founder's house, which seems cut off from ti me

and place - our Ancestor's house, with its amazing wall and

its tall trees. But he is old, and his prestige has gone down like

this sin king sun . Where are you and how are you and why do

you seem as though you no longer exist? Those who pervert

your will are a few yards from your house, but these women and

children - far away from you on the jebel - aren 't they the

closest to your heart? You will regain your proper place whe n

the Clauses governing our Trust are carried out, just as the sun

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will rise tomorrow to its zeni th. Without you we should be

fatherless and homeless, with no Trust and no hope.'

A sweet voice roused him:

- Coffee, Mr Qaasi m?

He turned and saw Badria holding out the cup to him. He

took it, sayi ng:

- Why the trouble?

- It's a pleasure to take trouble for you, sir.

He said a mental prayer for Qamar's soul and began sipping

the coffee appreciatively. Between sips his eyes met hers in a

smile. How good coffee tasted on the bri nk of the precipice,

looking down on the desert!

- How old are you, Badria?

She bit her lips and murmured:

- I don ' t know.

But you know what has brought us to the Jebel?

She hesi tated shyly.

- You !

- Me?

- You want to beat the Trustee and the strongmen and get

the Trust for us; that's what my father says.

He smiled. Then he realized that he had emptied the cup

and forgotten to give it back. He handed it to her.

- I wish I could thank you as you deserve.

She smiled as she turned away blushing and left. He .murmured his goodbye.

8 5 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Late afternoon was stick-fencing time, and the men practiced difficult strokes. This began when both men and women had come back with a little money and some plain food after

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Qaasim

a gruelling day's work. Qaasi m himself was the keenest fencer.

He was very happy to see the enthusiasm of his men, and their

eagerness for the crucial day. There were strong men among

them, but they felt towards him such love as their hate-riven

Alley had never known. The cudgels rose and fell and met i n

terrible clashes, while the boys watched and copied, and the

women rested or made the supper.

The row of huts grew longer as more people joined them.

Saadiq and Hassan and Wagtail proved skilfu l hunters. They

would lie in wai t in likely places for men from the Alley and

would not rest ti ll they had persuaded them to joi n up and to

leave the Alley secretly, inspired by hopes they had not known

before. Saadiq used to say to Qaasim:

- With all this movement there's no guarantee that our

enemies won't fi nd their way to our camp.

- The only way to reach us is that narrow path; they're

doomed if they come up it.

Ihsaan was his lasti ngjoy when he played with her or rocked

her or talked to her. But it was not the same when she

reminded him of his lost wife; then loneliness oppressed him

and he longed for her. She had been snatched from him at the

begi n ning of the road and had left him prey to melancholy

whenever he was left by himself- and someti mes to remorse,

as had happened on the brink of the precipice the day of the

coffee, or on the day he was carressed by a glance as gentle as

an afternoon breeze. One night he could not sleep and was

tormented by loneliness in the dark hut. He got up and wen t

out to walk in the space between the huts under the starlight,

enjoying the refreshing air of the summer night on the jebel.

A voice called to him:

- Where are you going at this hour of the nigh t?

He turned and, seeing Saadiq approachi ng, asked:

- Arcn 't you going to sleep yet?

- I caught sigh t of you as I was lying in front of my hut. You

are dearer to me than sleep.

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They walked side by side to the brin k of the precipice and

stood there. Qaasim said:

- Loneliness is sometimes too much to bear.

Saadiq laughed.

- It's damnable.

They looked towards the horizon. The world seemed reduced to a sparkling sky above an earth plunged i n darkness.

Saadiq said:

- Most of your men are husbands or have families; they

don't feel lonely.

Qaasi m tried to sound disapproving.

- Whatever do you mean?

- A man like you can't do without a wife.

Feeli ng how right Saadiq was, Qaasim spoke i n a tone of

protest:

- How could I marry again after Qamar?

- If she could speak to you, she'd say the same as me.

Confused emotions raged in Qaasim 's heart. He said as if

talking to himself:

- It'd be like a betrayal of her love and tenderness.

- The dead don' t need our loyalty.

Qaasim thought: ' Is this true, or just what I want to hear?

Truth can sometimes taste bitter. You have never faced up to

yourself as frankly as you have faced up to the condition of the

Alley. He who fixed these things in your world is He who fixed

the stars in the sky. The simple truth is that your heart beats

still, just as i t has always done. ' He sighed audibly. Saadiq said:

- You, more than anybody, need a companion.

When he got back to his hut he found Sakeena standing at

the door. She looked up at him anxiously.

- I saw that you 'd gone out when I thought you were fast

asleep.

Qaasim was so much troubled by his thoughts that he said

without any preliminaries:

- Look at the way Saadiq is urging me to get married !

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She seized on this heaven-sent opportunity.

- I wish I'd been the first to say i t.

- You?!

- Yes, sir! It wounds my heart to see you sitti ng there so

lonely and full of thoughts.

He pointed at the sleeping huts.

- All those people are with me.

- Yes, but you have nobody with you at home. I'm an old

woman with one foot in the grave.

He fe lt that his hesitation was a proof that he accepted her

idea. Still he did not go into his hut but said mournfully:

- I shan 't fi nd a wife like her.

- That's true, but there are promisi ng girls.

They exchanged glances in the darkness. She was silent for

a while, then murmured:

- Badria! What a sweet girl!

His heart pou nded.

- That li ttle girl!

Sakeena suppressed a crafty smile.

- She's a ripe little th ing when she brings a meal or some

coffee.

He turned away.

- You devi l! A curse on your brood!

The news was joyfully received throughout the encampment on the Jebel. Saadiq almost danced, and his mother's whoops of joy could be heard in the desert below. Qaasim

received many congratu lations. They celebrated the wedding

withou t bringing in any professionals. Some of the women

danced, including Badria's mother, and Wagtail sang in a

sweet voice:

Here I go a-fishing.

Better than just wishing!

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The bridegroom 's procession wound round the huts, lit by

the lamps of heaven. Sakeena moved with l hsaan to Hassan's

hut, leaving Qaasim's hut for the bridal pair.

8 6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was with real pleasure that Qaasim sat on a ski n i n front of

the hut watching Badria knead dough. She was, to be sure, very

young but what woman was more energetic or efficient? She

stopped to stretch and pushed the hair back from her brow

with the back of her hand. Her charm invaded the inmost

recesses of his heart. A blush showed that she could feel his

eyes on her and she stopped flirtatiously. He laughed and

leaned across to her, took her plait and kissed it repeatedly,

then sat back again. He was happy and carefree, as he usually

was in the brief moments when he escaped from his companions and his thoughts. Not far off, Ihsaan was toddling about, watched by Sakeena who was resting on a rock.

There was a commotion at the top of the path, and he saw

Saadiq, Hassan and some other friends coming towards him,

clustered rou nd a man whom he recognized as 'Trinket' the

garbage man from Rifaa's sector. Qaasim stood up at once to

meet them and the women whooped with joy, as they did

whenever a new man came to the Jebel from the Alley. The

man embraced Qaasim, saying:

- I ' m with you, and I've brought my cudgel.

Qaasi m said happily:

- Welcome Trinket! We don ' t make any difference between one sector and another; it's all one Alley, and the Trust belongs to everybody.

The Rifaaite laughed as he said:

- They're wondering where your hideout is, and they

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expect trouble from you, but many hearts long foryourvictory.

Trinket looked around, taking in the huts and the people,

and exclaimed in amazement:

- All these people are with you!

Saadiq said:

- Trinket has brought important news.

Qaasim looked at him curiously and Trin ket told him:

- Omnibus is marrying today for the fifth time; the

bridegroom's procession will take place this eveni ng.

Hassan said eagerly:

- There won 't be another chance like this to destroy him.

The men were all enthusiastic and Saadiq said:

- One day we shall attack the Alley, and every strongman

we can get ou t ofthe way before then will make the fight easier

and the outcome more certai n.

Qaasim thought for a while, then said:

- We'll attack the procession just as the strongmen do; but

remember, we are attacking to put an end to strongman

methods.

A little before midnight the men gathered on the brink of

the precipice. They followed Qaasim down one by one, gripping their cudgels. The sky was clear, and the full moon was at the zenith, giving a dreamy quality to the world. They reached

the desert and headed north, behind Muqattam Bazaar, keepi ng to the foot of the Jebel so as not to lose the way. When they were near Hind's Rock a figure came towards them. He had

been sent to scout for them and he told Qaasim:

- The procession wi ll go towards Bab el Nasr.

- But our bridegrooms' processions usually go towards

Gem alia.

- Perhaps they are keeping away from where they thi nk you

are.

Qaasim thought rapidly, and said:

- Saadiq will take a party to Bab el-Fotouh. Bullrush and

another party will go to the desert beside Bab el-Nasr. Hassan

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and I will wait with the rest outside Bab el-Nasr Gate. You wil l

attack when I give the signal.

The men split up into three parties. Before they set off,

Qaasim said:

- Keep your blows for Omnibus and his men; the rest wi ll

be your brothers tomorrow.

The parties went their different ways, and he and Hassan

with their party followed the Jebel northwards, then turned

left to the cemetery road and hid behind the gateway. He and

his men watched the road, while Saadiq lay i n wait to the right

and Bu llrush to the left. Hassan said:

- The procession will stop at Falaki Cafe.

Qaasi m said:

- We must attack before they get to it, so as not to harm

anybody who has nothing to do with us.

They waited tensely in the dark. Hassan said suddenly:

- I can 't stop thin king how Shaabaan was killed.

Qaasim replied:

- The strongmen have had countless victi ms.

Saadiq whistled and Bullrush followed suit. They became

still more determined. Hassan said:

- IfOmnibusis killed the people ofour sector will soonjoin

us.

- And if the rest come to destroy us, we'll ki ll them on the

path up the jebel.

These dreams were like the moonlight. Within the hour

either they would have won their victory or their hopes would

have been lost with their lives. Qaasim seemed to see the figure

of Qindeel and to hear the voice of Qamar. It was as if an age

had passed since he had watched the flocks. He gripped his

cudgel tighter and said to himself: 'We can't possibly be