Children of Gebelaawi (72 page)

Harpstrings, his arms wide open. Harpstrings opened his arms

to embrace him, but the man stabbed him in the heart with

incredible force and speed. Harpstrings fell forward, dead.

There was a moment of stunned silence, then an explosion of

furious shouts and threats. The two factions met in fierce and

bloody battle but none of the Qaasimites could stand against

Fisticuff. Soon the prospect of defeat broke their spirit, and

some fel l while others fled, and by the evening Fisticuff was

firmly established as Strongman of the Alley. While Qaasim's

sector resounded with howls of grief, Rifaa's was filled with

shouts of joy, and they crowded into the Alley, dancing round

Fisticuff.

Suddenly a voice shouted above the cheers:

- Quiet! Listen! Listen you sheep !

They looked rou nd in amazement to see the arrival of

Yoonus, the Trustee's gatekeeper, followed by the Trustee

himself, ringed by his servants. Fisticuff went towards the

Trustee's party, saying:

- Fisticuff, Strongman of the Alley, at your service!

The Trustee glared at him scornfully. In the terrible silence

that fell, he said:

- Fisticuff, I don'twant any strongmen in the Alley, nor any

strongman methods.

R.ifaa's men were bewildered, and the triu mphant smi les

died on their lips. Fisticuff asked in astonishment:

- What does your Honor mean?

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- We don't want any strongmen nor any strongman methods. Let the Alley live in peace!

- Peace? !

The Trustee looked at him coldly but Fisticuff asked provocatively:

- And who will protect yoU?

Bottles flew from the hands of the servants and landed on

Fisticuff and his men. Explosions shook the walls, and splinters

of glass and pellets of gravel flew into faces and bodies. Blood

flowed, and terror seized them in its talons. Bewildered and

helpless, Fisticuff and his men went down , and the servants

finished them off. There were howls of misery from the

Rifaaites, and cries of spiteful joy from the Gebelites and

Qaasimites. Yoonus walked to the middle of the Alley and

called for silence, then proclaimed:

- People of the Alley, happiness and peace have been

granted to you by grace of his Honor the Trustee. Long may he

live! From today there are no strongmen to humiliate you and

steal your money.

Shouts of joy rose to the sky.

I 0 8 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Arafa and his family moved by night from their basement in

the Rifaai te sector to Strongman 's House on the right of the

Great House. It was the Trustee's order, against which there

was no recourse. They found themselves in a dream-like place.

They wandered about the luxuriant garden, the deligh tful

garden-house, the veranda, the drawing room, the bedrooms,

the boudoirs, the upstairs dining-room and the roof with its

collection of hen-houses, rabbit-hutches and dove-cotes. For

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the first time they put on fine clothes, breathed pure air and

savored delicate scents. Arafa said:

- A little replica of the Great House, but wi thout the

secrets.

Hanash asked:

- And your magic? Doesn't that count as a secret?

Awaatifs eyes were full of astonishment.

- Nobody could dream of anything like this.

The three of them changed in appearance, color and odor.

Hardly had they begun to get used to the place than a group

of men and women presented themselves. One said he was the

gatekeeper, another the cook, a third the gardener, a fourth

the pou ltry-keeper, and the rest said they were housemaids.

Arafa asked in amazement:

- Who sent you?

The gatekeeper spoke for them:

- His Honor the Trustee.

Soon after, Arafa was su mmoned by the Trustee and went

straight away. They sat down side by side on the divan in the

drawing room and Qadri said:

- We shall meet often, Arafa; don't let it disturb you when

I send for you.

In fact he was worried by the place, the occasion and the

man, bu t he said cheerfully:

- You are too good, sir.

- The good comes from your magic. How do you like the

house?

- It is beyond the dreams of poor people like us. And today

all sorts of servants came to us.

The Trustee studied his face as he said:

- They are people of mine whom I sent over to serve and

protect you.

- Protect me?!

Qadri laughed.

- Yes! Didn't you know that in the Alley they're talki ng

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about nothing but your move to Strongman's House. They're

saying to each other: 'So, he's the one who makes the magic

bottles. ' The strongmen's families haven't disappeared, you

know, and the rest are dying of jealousy. So you're in grave

danger. My advice is not to trust anybody or walk alone or go

far fro m your house.

Arafa frowned. He was just a prisoner surrounded by anger

and hatred. Qadri went on:

- But don't be afraid. My men are around you. Enjoy life

as you p lease i n your house and in mine. What will you have

lost? What else is there other than desert and ruins? Don't

forget that in the Alley people are saying: 'Saadallah's killer

used the same weapon as Fisticuffs, and his way into Saadallah's

house was the same as the way the Great House was broken

into; so one man killed Fisticuff and Saadallah and Gebelaawi:

Arafa the magician.'

Arafa trembled, shouting:

- This is a sword over my head.

The Trustee said calmly:

- There's no need to be afraid as long as you're under my

protection and surrounded by my servants.

Arafa thought: 'You wretch; you've made me your prisoner.

I wanted to use magic to destroy you, not to serve you. Now

those I love and wish to free hate me, and I may be killed by one

of them. ' Out loud, he said hopefully:

- Share out the strongmen's portion between the people;

they will be pleased with you and with us.

Qadri laughed scornfully.

- Then why get rid of the strongmen? (He examined him

coldly: ) So you're looking for ways to please them! Give that up

and get used to their hatred as I have done. And don't forget

that your real protection lies in pleasing me.

Arafa said in despair:

- I've been at your service and still am.

The Trustee raised his eyes to the ceiling, as though study-

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A raja

ing its decorations, then looked back at Arafa and said:

- I hope the pleasures of your new life won't distract you

from your magic. (Arafa nodded.) And that you'll make as

many of the magic bottles as possible.

- We don't need any more than we already have.

Qadri smiled to hide his annoyance.

- Wouldn 't it be a good idea to stockpile a good number

of them?

Arafa did not answer. He was overcoiTle with despair; was i t

his turn already? H e asked suddenly:

- Your Honor, if my staying is a nuisance to you, let me go

away for good.

Qadri looked alarmed.

- What did you say, young man?

Arafa faced him wi th a frank look.

- I know my life depends on how much you need me . . .

Qadri laughed mirthlessly.

- Don ' t get the idea I underrate your intelligence. I can see

what you're thinking; bu t why do you imagine my need for you

is limited to the bottles? Doesn ' t your magic have the power to

work other wonders?

Arafa persisted in his first line of thought.

- It was your men who spread the secret of my services to

you; I ' m sure of that. But you must remember too that your life

depends on me. (The Trustee frowned menacingly but Arafa

wen t on: ) Today you have no strongman; your only power

comes from my bottles, and the few that you have don't make

you i ndependent at all. If I died today, you would follow me

tomorrow.

The Trustee suddenly turned on him like a wild beast,

seized him by the throat and squeezed till his body trembled.

But he quickly relaxed his grip, removed his hands and said,

smiling evilly:

- See what your blathering tongue has made me do, Mr

Know-All Arafa, when there's no reason for us to quarrel, and

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when we can enjoy the fruits of victory in peace. (Arafa

breathed deeply to get his wind back. Qadri went on:) Don't

be afraid; your life is i n no danger from me. I care for it as much

as I care for life itself. Enjoy the world and don't forget your

magic, whose fruits we gather. Realize that if one of us betrays

the other, he betrays himself.

Awaatif and Han ash looked miserable when he recounted

this conversation to them in the new house. None of the three

seemed to be finding any real peace in their changed life.

H owever, they forgot their worries at supper round a table

laden with all kinds of delicious food and vintage wine. For the

first time Arafa and Hanash laughed heartily. The two of them

started to live as circumstances dictated. They worked in a

room behind the drawing room, which they fitted out for

magic. Arafa took great trouble putting down the symbols he

had devised in an exercise book that only the two of them knew

about. Hanash said to him one time while they were working:

- What prisoners we are !

- Talk quietly; the walls have ears.

Hanash looked resentfully towards the door, then went on,

almost in a whisper:

- Wouldn't it be possible for you to make a new weapon

with which we cou ld destroy him by surprise?

- We wou ldn't get a chance to test it secretly with all these

servants arou nd. There's nothing about us he doesn't know.

And if we cestroyed him, then before we could defend ourselves we'd be destroyed by the people who want revenge.

- Then why work so hard?

Arafa sighed.

- Because nothing is left to me except my work.

I n the evening Arafa would go to Trustee's House to sit

drinking with him, then would come home at night to fin d that

Hanash had prepared a little hashish session in the garden or

by the wood-lattice bay window, and the two of them would