When the last voice had died away i n the Alley, Arafa was
ready to set out from the basement. Awaatif went with him as
far as the porch, her eyes red from crying. She spoke with the
resignation of one who saw no way out:
- May Providence watch over you !
Hanash asked sincerely:
- Why shouldn 't I come with you?
Arafa said:
- It's easier for one person to get away than for two.
Hanash patted him on the back and advised him:
- Don ' t use the bottle unless you 're desperate.
He nodded and wen t. He glanced at the Alley wrapped i n
darkness, then headed for Gemalia. l-Ie made a wide circle,
through Wat2wi t Alley, Derrasa and the desert beyond the
Great House, and reached the north wall ofSaadallah's house,
overlooki ng the desert. He went to a poi nt half-way along the
wall and felt the ground till he found a boulder, which he
pushed aside. Then he lowered himselfinto the tun nel that he
and Hanash had been digging night after night, and crawled
through. l-Ie pu lled aside the screen that closed the other end
and emerged into the garden of Strongman 's House. He hid
by the wall and peered round. In the house he saw a fain t light
behind one shu ttered window. As for the garden, it was asleep
and in darkness except for a light in the wi ndow of the garden
house. From time to time he heard the ribaldry and coarse
laughs of the men inside. He drew his dagger and waited,
poised for action, while time hung heavier than sin.
The hashish session ended half an hour after his arrival. The
door opened and the men followed one another out through
the garden gate into the Alley, preceded by the gatekeeper
with his lantern . He closed the gate and came back, lighting
Saadallah 's r-ath to the veranda. Arafa picked up a stone i n his
left hand and crept across, bending low, gripping the dagger
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i n his right hand. He hid behind a palm tree till Saadallah was
about to climb the first step. Then he leapt at him and plunged
the dagger into his back at the level of his heart. The man let
out a scream and collapsed. The terrified gatekeeper turned,
but the stone hit his lantern, smashing and extinguishing i t.
Arafa rushed headlong towards the wall where he had come
in. The gatekeeper let out a piercing yell. In no time footsteps
were hurrying and voices were echoing in the house and at the
end of the garden. In his haste Arafa stumbled over something
like a tree stump and fell flat on his face. He felt a stabbing pain
in his leg and elbow, but he bore i t an d dragged himselfthe rest
of the way to the tun nel. The cries and footsteps grew louder.
He flung himself into the tun nel and crawled quickly through
to the desert. He stood up, groaning, then hurried off eastward.
Before he had rounded the wall of the Great House he
turned and saw figures rushing towards him. He heard a voice
shout: 'Who goes there?' He ran still faster, in spi te of the pain,
and reached the end of the back wall of the Great House. As
he crossed the space between the Great House and Trustee's
House he saw torches and heard a great noise. He bolted into
the desert, headi ng for M uqattam Bazaar. He felt that the pain
would overcome him sooner or later, and that the pursuers'
footsteps were growing closer and their voices louder as they
shouted in the stillness: 'Get him ! Catch him ! ' At that he drew
the bottle out of his cloak - the bottle that he had spent
months testing - stopped run ni ng and faced the approaching men. He peered at them till he could make out their shapes, then flung the bottle at them. A second later there was
an explosion such as no ear had heard before, followed by
screams and groans.
Arafa began to run again, no longer pursued. At the edge of
the desert he threw himself down on the ground, panting and
moaning. He lay there, weak and racked with pain, alone
u nder the stars. He looked behind him, but all was darkness
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and silence. With his hand he wiped away the blood oozing
from his leg and stanched it with sand. He knew he must go on,
whatever the cost, and he levered himself up and limped
towards Derrasa. When he reached it he saw a shape approaching and eyed it anxiously, but it passed him without turni ng.
He sighed with relief and went back by the same roundabout
way he had come. When he neared Gebelaawi Alley there was
a dreadful din such as was never heard at that time of night.
Snarls, wails, angry shouts and evil oaths flew about in the
darkness. He hung back a whi le, then went forward keeping
close to the walls. He peeped with one eye round the corner at
the end of the Alley and saw a huge crowd at the other end,
between the houses of the Trustee and Saadallah. Meanwhile,
Qaasim's sector looked dark and deserted. He crept along,
huggi ng the walls, till he reached cover in his tenement-house.
l-Ie threw hi mself down between Awaatif and Hanash, then
uncovered his bloody leg. Awaatif was alarmed and hurried
away to fetch a basin and jug of water. She washed the wound
and he had to clench his teeth to prevent himselffrom crying
out. Hanash helped her, saying anxiously:
- They're burning with rage out there.
Arafa screwed up his face as he asked:
- What did they say about the explosion?
- The men who were chasing you described what hap-
pened and nobody would believe them. But people were
amazed at the injuries to their faces and necks, and the story
of the explosion almost made them forget the murder of
Saadallah.
Arafa said:
-The Strongman of the Alley is dead; tomorrow the others
will begin to fight for h is position. (Then, looki ng tenderly at
his wife who was busy binding up his wounds: ) The age of
strongmen is about to end, and the first to go will be your
father's murderer.
She did not answer. Han ash 's eyes continued to rove round
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anxiously. Arafa buried his head in his hands because of the
pain.
I 0 5 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Early n ext morning at the door of the basement someone
knocked. When Awaatif opened it, she saw in front of her
Yoonus, gatekeeper of Trustee's House. She greeted him
courteously and invited him in, but he stayed where he was and
said:
- His Honor the Trustee i nvites Mr Arafa to m eet him for
urgent consultations.
Awaatifwent to tell Arafa, feeling anything but the pleasure
that might have been natural i n other circumstances. After a
little while Arafa emerged, putting on his best clothes - a
white jellaba, a spotted turban and clean shoes - but he was
walking with a stick because of a new and very visible limp. He
raised his hand in greeting and said: 'At your service. ' He
followed the gatekeeper out. Gloom hung over the Alley from
end to end and people's anxious eyes seemed to be askingwhat
disasters tomorrow would bring. The strongmen and their
followers were conferring in the cafes, while in Saadallah's
home there was constant wailing and moaning.
Arafa followed the gatekeeper through the gate ofTrustee's
House and they walked up the path under its canopy of
jasmine to the veranda. He considered the points of resemblance between this and the Great House, and there were so many that he decided the only difference was in the steps. He
said to h imself angrily: 'You i mitate him when it suits you, not
when it suits the people.'
The gatekeeper went i n first to ask ifArafa might enter, then
he came back and showed him in. He hobbled into the great
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drawing room where he found Qadri the Trustee si tting at the
far end, waiting for him. He stopped a fewyards away from him
and bowed respectfu lly. He saw at once the man's great height
and powerful build and his fleshy red face; but when he smiled
in acknowledgment of Arafa's greeting, he revealed dirty
yellow teeth that did not match the majesty of his outward
appearance. He motioned Arafa to sit beside him on the divan,
but Arafa went over to the nearest chair saying:
- Excuse me, your Honor !
But the Trustee insisted he sit on the divan and said gen tly
but firmly:
- Here ... sit here !
Arafa cou ld not avoid sitting beside him. He perched on the
very end of the divan, saying to himself that the matter he had
come for must be very secret. He became sure of this when he
saw that the gatekeeper locked the door. Hewai ted quietly and
meekly. The Trustee studied him calmly then said in a conspiratorial tone:
- Arafa, why did you kill Saadallah?
Gaze froze under gaze. His joints became weak. Everything
spun round. Future became past. He saw the man's confident
eyes fixed on him and did not doubt that he knew everything
with fateful certainty. The Trustee gave him no time to thin k,
but went on rather briskly:
- Don 't be afraid! Why do you kill if you 're so frightened?
Control your feelings and answer me. just tell me plainly: why
did you ki lt Saadallah?
Arafa could not bear the silence. He spoke wi thout knowing
what he was saying:
- Sir. . ! Me?
- You son of a bi tch , do you thi nk I ' m raving? Do you thin k
I'm accusing without proof? Answer me: why did you kill him?
In terror and despair, Arafa let his eyes wander ai mlessly
over the room. The Trustee spoke in a voice as cold as death:
- There's no escape Arafa. There are people outside who
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wou ld chew you to pieces and drink your blood if they knew
about you.
The wailing in Strongman's House grew louder. All hope
was lost. He opened his mouth without saying anything. The
Trustee said harshly:
- Silence seems an easy escape, but I'll throw you to the wild
animals outside and say to them: ' Here is Saadallah 's killer. ' If
you like, I'll say: ' Here is Gebelaawi's killer. '
Arafa exclaimed i n a strangled voice:
- Gebelaawi 's? !
- You dig tunnels u nder back walls. You got away the first
time but slipped up the second. Why do you kill, though,
Arafa?
He said hopelessly, without purpose or meaning:
- Innocent, your Honor ... I ' m innocent.
- If I made public the charge against you, nobody would
ask me for proof: in our Alley rumor is truth, truth is sentence
and sentence is execution. But tell me what made you break
into the Great House and then murder Saadallah?
The man knew everything. Arafa had no idea how, but he
knew everything. Otherwise how could he alone in the whole
Alley bring these charges?
- Did you i nten d to steal?
Arafa looked down in despair and said nothing. The Trustee
bellowed:
- Talk, you child of vipers!
- Sir ... !
- Why do you want to steal when you 're better off than most
people?
He answered in a tone of helpless acknowledgement:
- The sou l is prone to evil.
The Trustee laughed triump hantly. Arafa wondered confusedly why:.the man had putoffkilling him til l now; in fact, why hadn't he told his secret to one of the strongmen i nstead of
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sending for him in this strange way? The Trustee left him to his
thoughts, as if to torment him, then said:
- You're a dangerous man.
- I'm a poor man.
- Can a man be called poor when he has a weapon like
yours, which makes nonsense of cudgels?
A dead man doesn't cry for the loss of his sight. This man was
the true magician. The Trustee enjoyed h is despair for a while,
then explained:
- One of my servants joined your pursuers. He lagged
behind and was not caught by your weapon. Then he followed
you stealthily by hi mself without you seeing. In Derrasa he
recognized you, only he didn't attack for fear of your surprises
but hurried back and told me.
- Isn't it possible he'll tell somebody else?
- He's a trustworthy servant. (Then i n a meaningful tone:)
And now tell me about your weapon.
The mist began to clear from Arafa's eyes; the man wanted
something more precious than his life. His despair was total.
What escape was there? He said in a subdued voice:
- It's simpler than people imagi ne.
The Trustee frowned.
- I could easily search your house now, but I don ' t want to
draw attention to you. Do you understand? (Then, after a
pause:) You won't die as long as you obey me.
His eyes glittered with menace as he spoke. Abandoning
himself to despair, Arafa replied:
- You ' ll fi nd me obedient to your will.
- You've begu n to understand me, Mr Know-all Arafa. If i t
had been my intention to kill you , the dogs would already have