Qaasi m smi led.
- She didn 't exactly eavesdrop; the voice reached her by
the will ofGod,just as Rifaa heard our Ancestor's voice without
making any effort to do so. You've been blessed, Sakeena.
The maid seized his hand and covered it with kisses.
- My sou l is your ransom, master. By God, you 'll triumph
over your enemies and our enemies and rule over the whole
Alley.
- Ru ling isn't what we want, Sakeena.
She stretched out her arms in prayer.
- Oh , God, grant his wishes!
- Amen !
He looked at her and smi led.
- You shall be my messenger when I need one, and in that
way you ' ll take part in our work.
Her face shone with joy, and her eyes were full of pride. He
added:
- Iffate allows the Trust to be shared out as we wish, it shall
not be refused to any woman, whether lady or maid.
Sakeena was tongue-tied. He went on:
- The Founder said the Trust is for everybody, and you,
Sakeena, are the Founder's daughter just as much as Qamar.
Her face was fu ll of joy and she gazed up gratefully at her
master. From the Alley came the notes of a bamboo flute.
Someone shouted: 'Guzzler. .. a thousand greetings ! ' Qaasi m
turned towards the road and saw the strongmen going down
it in procession on decked-out horses, and the people greeing
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them with cheers and gifts. Then they went off into the desert
for the usual festival racing and stick-fencing.
No sooner had their procession gone than 'Bullrush' appeared outside, staggering along drunk. Qaasim smiled to see the youth, whom he counted one of the most honest young
men in the club. He watched him come to the middle of the
Desert Rats' sector, where he stood and shouted:
- I'm a fine fellow.
A sneering voice called from the nearest tenement-house i n
Rifaa's sector:
- You handsome desert rat!
Bullrush raised two bloodshot eyes towards the window and
yelled dru nkenly:
- It's our turn, you bastards!
A crowd of urchins and drunks and men high on hashish
gathered round him amid a great noise of singing and howling
and drums and pipes. Someone shouted:
- Listen ... It's the Desert Rats' turn ... Don 't you want to
listen?
Bullrush yelled, reeling about:
- One Ancestor for everybody ... One Trust for everybody ...
Goodbye strongmen !
Then he disappeared i n the crowd. In a moment Qaasim
was on his feet. He grabbed his cloak and rushed out of the
room, sayi ng:
- Damn alcohol and drunkenness !
7 7 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Don't go amongst people drunk.
Qaasi m spoke with a frown. He was sitting at the foot of
Hind's Rock looking round the faces of his close friends from
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the club: Saadiq, Hassan and Shaabaan, Bullrush, Hamroosh
and 'Wagtail'. Behind them towered the Jebel, over which
night was falling. The desert was empty, but for a shepherd
leaning on his staff, far away to the south. Bullrush was
downcast.
-I wish I'd died before that happened.
Qaasim spoke with resignation:
-There are mistakes it's no use being sorry for. I think the
important thing now is to know the effect of your raving on our
enemies.
Saadiq said:
-It's certainly been widely heard.
Hassan said gloomily:
-I found that myself in Gebel's cafe, where a friend had
invited me. I heard a man telling the story about Bullrush in a
loud voice. It's true he was laughing scornfully as he told it, but
I shan't be surprised if the story rouses some people's suspicions, and I'm afraid it will go from mouth to mouth till one of the strongmen hears it.
Bullrush sighed.
- Don't exaggerate, Hassan!
Saadiq said:
- Better exaggerate than underrate! Otherwise we'll be
caught off guard.
Bullrush exclaimed:
-We've sworn not to fear death.
Saadiq said angrily:
-Just as we've sworn to keep the secret.
Qaasim said:
-If we die now, all hope will be lost.
The silence and the darkness deepened. Qaasim spoke
again:
-We must get organized.
Hassan said:
- In our plans we must assume the very worst.
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Qaasi m said sadly:
- That means a fight.
They exchanged glances in the dark. Above them the stars
came out one by one, and a breeze blew, carrying sinister traces
of the day's heat. Hamroosh said:
- We'll fight to the death.
Qaasim was annoyed.
- Then things would stay as they are.
Saadiq added:
- They'd finish us off so quickly.
Wagtail suggested to Qaasim:
- Luckily there are family links between you and Omnibus,
and also between your wife and the Trustee's. Besides, Guzzler
was one of your father's friends i n his youth.
Qaasim spoke listlessly:
- That might perhaps put off the end, but it couldn't stop
it from coming.
Saadiq asked hopefully:
- Do you remember you once thought of taking the matter
to a lawyer?
- And we were told no lawyer would dare challenge the
Trustee and the strongmen.
Trying to make up for his misbehavior, Bullrush said:
- There's a lawyer at Beit el Qadi known for his boldness.
But Saadiq backed down.
- What I ' m most afraid of is declaring hostilities by bringing the case. It's too soon to be afraid of the consequences of Bullrush's words.
Bullrush said:
- Let's ask the lawyer's opinion, and agree with him not to
bring the case ti ll we're forced to; then we can find somebody
to sponsor it for us, even if it's somebody from outside the
Alley.
Qaasim and the others agreed to take this precaution. They
got up straight away and went to the chambers of Shanafeeri,
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the religious-court lawyer at Beit el Qadi. The learned man
met them, and Qaasim explained their problem and told him
that they meant to put off bringing the case till a later date, but
that they wanted him to study the question and prepare the
necessary measures. Contrary to what most of them expected,
the lawyer accepted the case and took part of his fee i n
advance, and they went off delighted. They split up, and
Qaasim went to Yahiaa's while his friends went back to the
Alley. Qaasim and Yahiaa sat together in the doorway of the
hut, smoking and exchanging views. The old man seemed sad
at what had happened and told Qaasim to be on his guard.
Mter that Qaasim wen t home, and when Qamar opened the
door to him the look in her face alarmed him. He asked what
was wrong and she said:
- His Honor the Trustee has sent for you.
Qaasi m's heart pounded.
- When?
- The last time was ten minutes ago.
- The last ti me? !
- He's sent for you three times i n an hour.
Her eyes were full of tears. He said:
- This is not what I expect from you.
She wailed:
- Don 't go !
He turned calmly to go.
- It's safer to go than to stay away. Don ' t forget that those
brigands won 't attack anybody in their own houses.
Inside the house Ihsaan cried and Sakeena hurried to her.
Qamar said:
- Put off going till I 've seen Lady Ameena.
He said with determi nation:
- That wouldn't be worthy of us. I'll go at once. There's
nothing to be afraid of; none of them knows anything about
me.
She clung to him.
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- It's you he sent for, not Bullrush; I'm afraid one of them
has given you away.
He broke away from her gently.
- I told you from the beginning the easy days are over. We
all know we must face trouble sooner or later. Don't be so
u pset. Take care till I get back.
7 8 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The gatekeeper returned from Trustee's House and i nvited
Qaasim in with casual distaste. He led the way, and Qaasim
followed, exerting himself to the utmost to control his feeli ngs. The pure scents of the garden wafted round him but he walked on unheeding till he found himself at the entrance to
the drawing room. The gatekeeper stood to one side, and i n
went Qaasi m, feeling a degree o f determination he had not
known in hi mself before. He looked ahead and at the far end
of the room he saw the Trustee, seated on a divan. There were
also two figures on chairs to his right and left, but Qaasim
could not clearly distinguish them nor did he feel any need to
pay attention to them. He went up and stood a few feet from
the Trustee's seat, raised his hand i n greeting and said politely:
- Good evening, your Honor!
He glanced at the man sitting on the right, and there was
Guzzler. Looking at the other man, he could not help staring;
the shock nearly shattered him. lt was none other than Sheikh
Shanafeeri, the lawyer. Qaasim realized the gravity of the
situation; his secret was out, the despicable lawyer had betrayed his trust and he was trapped. Despair conflicted with fury and resentment in his heart. He knew that cunning and
trickery cou ld not save him, so he decided on frank defiance.
It was impossible to retreat, so he had to advance or at least
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stand firm. Looking back later he was to see this resolution of
his as marking the birth of a new personality i n him, whose
existence he had never imagi ned.
He was snatched from his whirlpool of thought by the
Trustee's harsh voice asking:
- You are Qaasim?
Qaasim's voice was natural.
- Yes, sir!
The Trustee went on without i nviting him to sit down.
- Are you surprised to see this gen tleman?
He answered in the same tone:
- Not at all, sir !
The Trustee asked contemptuously:
- You are the shepherd?
- I stopped being a shepherd more than two years ago.
- What do you do now?
- I manage my wife's property.
The Trustee nodded scornfully and motioned to the lawyer
to speak. The sheikh addressed Qaasim:
- Perhaps you are surprised at my position, seeing that I'm
your lawyer, but his Honor the Trustee is above all such
considerations. My action gives you the chance to retract; that
will be better than getting embroiled i n hostilities that would
lead to your destruction. His Honor has given me leave to tell
you that I have interceded with him to grant you a pardon if
you announce your retraction. I hope you' l l appreciate my
good i ntentions. Here is your advance payment, which I'm
returning to you.
Qaasim eyed him coldly.
- Why didn't you tell me the truth when I was in your
chambers?
The lawyer was taken aback by his boldness, but the Trustee
came to his rescue.
- You are here to answer questions, not to ask them.
The lawyer stood up, excused himself and sidled out,
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adjusti ng his gown to hide his embarrassment. Then the
Trustee examined Qaasim with hard eyes and almost spat out
the words:
- How did you persuade yourself to bring a case against
me?
He was trapped; if he did not fight he would be fi nished, but
he did not know how to answer. The Trustee said:
- Speak up; tel l me what's got i nto you. Are you mad?
Qaasi m said quietly:
- I'm sane, thank God!
- That's by no means certain. What set you off on your
hateful action against me? You haven't been poor since that
crazy woman took you for a husband. What did you hope to get
from your action?
Qaasim sighed as if to prevent himself from getting angry.
- I don't want anything for myself.
The Trustee looked at Guzzler, seeming to need a witness to
such strange words, then back at Qaasim, and shouted:
- Then why have you done what you have?
- I only wanted justice.
The Trustee's eyes narrowed hatefully.
- Do you fancy your wife's connection with her ladyship
can protect you?
Qaasim looked down.
- Oh no, sir!
- Are you a strongman capable of taking on all the
strongmen in the Alley?
- Not at all, sir.
The Trustee screamed:
- Admit you 're mad and save me trouble!
- I'm sane, thank God!
- Why did you start an action agai nst me?
- I wanted justice.
- Who for?
He thought hard as he said:
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Qaasim
- For everybody.
The Trustee peered at him incredulously and said:
- What's that to do with you?
Qaasim replied as if drunk with courage:
- In that way the Founder's Clauses will be fulfilled.
The Trustee screamed:
- You desert rat! You talk of the Founder's Clauses?