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