439
Children of Gebelaawi
loomed out of the darkness. As he made his way towards it, he
experienced worse fear than he had ever known i n his life,
although he had been used to going through darkness and
spending nights in the desert or in ruins. He crawled along,
keeping close to the wall till his hand touched the foot of the
steps which, if the rebec spoke true, led up to the veranda.
Here Gebelaawi had marched ldrees out of the house. That
had been his fate for defying his father's orders. What then
might Gebelaawi do to someone who broke i nto his house to
steal the secret of his power? But steady on ! No one could
expect that a thief would get into this house which had been
safe all these years, protected by Gebelaawi's terrible reputation.
He crept round the balustrade and climbed the steps on his
hands and knees. He reached the veranda, took off his shoes
and tucked them under his arm, then stole towards the side
door which, according fo the bards, led to the bedroom.
Suddenly he heard a cough. It came from the garden. He froze
on the doorstep and peered into the garden. He saw a figure
approaching the veranda. He held his breath, imagining that
his pounding heart would be heard. The figure came on and
began walking up the steps. Perhaps it was Gebelaawi himself.
Perhaps he would catch Arafa red-handed just as he had once
caught Adham at about the same time of the morni ng. The
figure reached the veranda only a couple of paces from his
h iding place, but it wen t to the other end and lay down on what
seemed to be a bed. The tension eased, leaving exhaustion i n
its train. The figure was probably just a servant who had gone
out to relieve himself and then come back to bed. Now he was
snoring!
Some of Arafa's courage returned and he raised his hand to
feel for the handle. He turned it carefully and pushed the door
gently till it was wide enough open for him to slip through. He
closed the door behind him and found himself in total darkness. He groped around till he found the first stair, and began 440
A raja
climbing, ligh t as air. He came out on a long gallery lit by a
lamp i n a niche. To the right i t bent round towards the
interior; but to the left it ran the breadth of the house, and half
way along was the closed door of the bedroom. At that bend
U mayma had waited, and from where he stood Adham had set
off; and here was he setting off after the very same thing.
Fear filled his heart and he summoned his wil l and his
courage. It would be contemptible to turn back now. A servant
might appear at any moment. He might be roused from his
madness by a hand on his shoulder. He had better hurry. He
tiptoed to the door and turned its shiny handle. He pushed it
gently open and slipped in, closing it behind him. He leaned
his back against the door, unable to make out anythi ng in the
darkness. He was taki ng small, controlled breaths, and tryi ng
i n vain to see. After a li ttle while he smelt a pure scen t of
i ncense, which fi lled his heart with a strange unease and
sadness for no good reason. l-Ie no longer doubted that he was
i n Gebelaawi 's bedroom. When would he get used to the
darkness? How cou ld he gather his scattered wits? Who had
stood in this place before? Why did he feel that all was lost
unless he took complete hold of his strength and determination and courage? l-Ie was in danger of destruction if he did not calculate every movement precisely. He thought of clouds
scudding along and changi ng into strange shapes - now a
jebel, now a tomb.
He felt the wall with his fingers and took it as his guide,
crawling forward till his shoulder touched a chair. A sudden
movement in the far corner of the room made his flesh creep.
He crouched behind the chair, strai ning his eyes towards the
door by which he had come in. He heard the pad of feet and
the rustle of clothes and expected that the room would be
flooded with light and that he wou ld see Gebelaawi standing
in front of him. l-Ie would prostrate h imself at his feet and
plead for mercy; he would say: 'I am your descendant. I have
no father. I only meant to do good. Do what you like to me. ' I n
441
Children of Gebelaawi
spite of the darkness he saw a figure approaching the door,
which opened gently, letting light from the corridor filter
through. The figure went out, leaving the door ajar. As it
turned to the right, by the light of the lamp outside he
glimpsed an old woman with a long, thin, black face - an
u nforgettable image. Could she be a servant? Could this room
be in the servants' quarters?
He peered out from behind the chair, picking out by the
faint light from the door the outlines of the chairs and the
sofas. At the back he could see the shape of a large four-poster
bed with a mosquito net. At i ts foot was a small bed, perhaps the
one the old woman had left. This big bed could belong to none
other than Gebelaawi. He was sleeping there now, unaware of
Arafa's crime. How he longed to peep at him, if only from a
distance. But the open door warned him that the woman was
going to come back. He looked to the left and saw the outline
of the door of the private chamber, closed on its terrible secret.
This was how Ad ham had seen it long ago, God rest his soul!
He crept round behind the chairs, forgetting even Gebelaawi,
till he reached the foot of the little door.
He could not resist the temptation. He stretched his hand
up, put his fi nger on the latch, pressed it down and pulled the
door. It opened. He closed it again hastily, his heart fluttering
with excitement and feeli ngs of triumph. Then the fai nt light
disappeared and the room was plunged in darkness again.
Once more he heard the pad offeet. Then the bed creaked as
the old woman lay down, and there was silence. He waited
patiently for her to go to sleep and tried hard to glimpse the
big bed bu t could not see a thing. He convinced himself that
it would be madness to try making contact with the old man,
for the woman would wake up before he could do so and would
fill the air with screams, and all would be over. Anyway, the
mighty book would be enough for him, with the Clauses
governing the Trust and the magic spells by which the young
Gebelaawi had subdued the desert and its people. No one
442
A raja
before him had imagi ned that the book was a book of magic,
because no one before him had practiced the art.
He stretched his hand up again, put his finger on the latch
and pulled the door open. He crept in and closed it behin d
him. He stood u p cautiously and breathed deeply t o steady his
taut nerves a little. Why had Gebelaawi withheld the secret of
the book from his children, even Ad ham, the one dearest to his
heart? There was a real secret, and in a few seconds he would
discover i t, as soon as his candle was lit. Ad ham had lit his long
ago, and now here was he, the son without a father, lighting
one again in the very same place. This would be told for ever
to the music of the rebec.
He lit the candle and saw a pair of eyes looking at him. I n
spite o f his shock and fear, h e realized that the eyes belonged
to an old black man, who was lying on a bed opposite the
entrance, and that he was struggling to emerge from the state
between sleeping and waking. He had been disturbed perhaps
by the scraping of the match. In a movement that was neither
voluntary nor conscious, Arafa leapt at him and put his right
hand on his throat, pressing with all his might. The old man
writhed and grabbed his hand. Arafa kicked him in the
stomach and tightened his grip on his throat. The candle fel l
from h i s left hand a n d went out. The old man m ade a last
convulsive movement in the darkness and then lay still. Arafa's
crazy hand did not loosen its grip til l his fingers went numb.
Then he drew back, panting, till his back touched the door.
As the seconds passed he suffered a hell of silent torment. He
felt his strength ebbing. Time hung heavier than si n. He might
fall down on the ground or on his victim's corpse if he could
not master this weakness. Flight called him like an irresistible
force. He would not be able to step over the body to get to the
ancient book, the accursed book. He had no courage to light
the candle again; he would rather go blind. His arms were sore,
perhaps where the man had scratched him in his desperate
struggle. He trembled to think that, while Adham's crime had
443
Children of Gebelaawi
been disobedience, his own was murder. He h ad killed a man
he did not know, and whom he had no reason to kill. He had
come i n quest of power to use against evildoers and had turned
unawares i nto an evildoer.
He turned in the darkness towards the corner where he
thought the book was fastened, then pushed the door open
and slipped out, closing it behind him. He crept along the wall
towards the way out, hesitating behind the last chair. There
were only servants to be seen in this house; where was the
master? This crime would come between him and Gebelaawi
for ever. He felt defeat and failure to the very depths ofhis soul.
He opened the door gently. The light assailed him with what
he i magi ned was a deafening roar as well as a blinding brilliance. He shut the door, tiptoed away, descended the stairs i n pitch darkness, and crossed the veranda to the garden.
Because of his exhaustion and unhappiness he was less
cautious. The man on the veranda woke up and asked: 'Who
goes there? ' Arafa crouched agai nst the wall at the end of the
veranda, his strength renewed by fear. The voice called out
again and a cat answered with a miaow. Arafa stayed in his
hiding p lace, terrified of bei ng driven to a fresh crime. When
all was quiet again he crept through the garden to the wall. He
felt for the hole till he found it and crept away as he had come.
When he had almost got to the end of the tun nel he bumped
i nto a foot. The foot kicked him on the head before he knew
what was happening.
I 0 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Arafa leapt on the owner ofth e foot and for a short time they
struggled. Then the other man let out a cry of rage that told
Arafa who it was. He exclaimed in surprise:
444
A raja
- Hanash, you old snake!
They helped each other to climb out, and Hanash said:
- You were away so long. I went in to sniff out some news.
Breathing hard, Arafa said:
- You made a mistake, as usual; but let's go.
They went back to the sleeping Alley. When she saw him,
Awaalif shouted:
- Go and wash! Oh God ! What's this blood on your hand
and your neck?
l-Ie trembled, but did not answer. He went to wash hi mself,
but a moment later fainted. He recovered after a while and,
with the help of Awaatif and Hanash, sat down between them
on the sofa. l-Ie felt as if sleep was further away from him than
Gebelaawi was. l-Ie could no longer bear the burden of his
secret alone and told them what had happened to him on his
strange expedition. When he fi nished they were staring at him,
their eyes full of terror and despair. Awaatif murmured:
- I was against the idea from the beginning.
But 1-Ianash tried to lighten the blow.
- There's no way a crime like this can be avoided.
Arafa said:
- Bu t it's worse than the crimes of Harpstrings and the
other strongmen.
1-Ianash said:
- Mind you don't call suspicion on yourself.
- But I 've killed an old man who'd done no wrong. Who
knows, perhaps he was the servant Gebelaawi sent to Qaasim.
For a while they were plunged in a black si lence like that of
i nsomnia. Then Awaatif said:
- Hadn't we better sleep?
Arafa said:
- You two sleep. I shan ' t sleep tonigh L
They fell silent agai n. Then Hanash asked:
- Didn't you glimpse Gebelaawi or hear his voice?
He shook his head sadly.
445
Children of Gebelaawi
- Not at all.
- But you saw his bed?
- Just as we see his house.
Hanash sighed.
- With you so long gone, I thoughtyou were talking to him.
- It's easy to imagine things outside the house.
Awaatif said anxiously:
- You seem feverish. You'd better sleep.
- How can I sleep?
But he felt the truth of her words in his hot and dazed state.
Hanash spoke again:
- You were within reach of the Testament and you didn't
look at it!
His face screwed up with pain. Hanash went on:
- What a disastrous journey!
- Yes ! (Then, in a new tone of determination:) But it's