JOSEPH MAIMARAN’S hooded eyes regarded Hector with the same caution shown on the young man’s previous visit to his house only twenty-four hours earlier.
‘I am sorry to disturb you again,’ Hector began awkwardly, still standing at the half-open door, ‘but there have been important developments since we last spoke. They concern the French prisoners.’
Maimaran could see that his visitor was agitated. Hector had arrived alone in the Mellah and his manner was hesitant, yet eager. Without a word he led the young man along a narrow corridor to the plainly furnished back room where he normally discussed business with his commercial clients. Waving Hector towards a chair, he sat down at a small table, folded his hands and asked, ‘Have you been able to learn more about that great gun?’
‘No. Sean Allen thinks that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to satisfy the Emperor’s request.’
‘That is disappointing. His Majesty, as you must be aware, expects a prompt and successful response to all his demands. If you fail to supply him with a great gun, then perhaps you should make sure that Moulay receives a considerable sum for the ransom of the prisoners. It could save you and your friends from the unpleasant consequences which often result from Moulay’s displeasure.’
‘That’s why I came to talk to you again.’ Hector’s careful tone put Maimaran on his guard. He waited for Hector to continue. ‘It’s about the prisoners themselves. Do you know very much about them?’
‘Only what my assistant reported. He interviewed them this morning. He tells me that they are of the middle or lower rank, and none of them are likely to have rich families who would pay large sums for their release. So we will have to apply to their master, the Galley Corps of France, for their redemption. My assessment is that the French will offer a prisoner exchange – captive Muslim oarsmen for the Frenchmen – rather than any cash. Unfortunately, in the past the French have bartered one Muslim oarsman for every four of their nationals in these circumstances. They say that our rowers are three or four times more durable than their own nationals.’
Hector took a deep breath before stating, ‘One of the prisoners is a fraud. I believe that Moulay Ismail can obtain a very great ransom for him.’
Maimaran felt a sense of disappointment. He had been curious about the Irishman’s suppressed excitement. Now he feared he was about to hear an all too familiar story. Maimaran had been arranging prisoner ransoms for many years and was thoroughly experienced in the twists and turns of the process. Of course the captives lied. They had good reason to fake their identities and pretend that they were not who they seemed to be. Those who came from poor backgrounds tried to get better treatment from their captors by claiming they had wealthy families who could pay for their release. Others who came from rich families pleaded poverty so that their ransoms would be set cheaply. Very occasionally a master even changed places with a loyal servant. The master was then allowed to return home in the role of a negotiator to arrange a ransom for his ‘master’. But on getting to his own land, he revealed the deception knowing that the captors would release the servant as being of little value. But these ruses were so well known to men like Maimaran that they seldom worked any longer.
Hector sensed the Jew’s scepticism. ‘Please hear me out. If the Emperor discovers that a captive of such high value has slipped through his fingers, both of us will suffer.’
Maimaran bridled at the warning. Such implied threats often came from those who sought to profit from his disadvantaged status as a Jew.
‘What do you think is the real value of our French prisoners?’ he enquired, smoothing his black robe, then placing both hands palm down on the table in front of him.
Hector chose his words carefully. ‘Have you heard of a man known as “The Lion of La Religion”?’
‘Naturally. His reputation has reached us though he operates, if I recall, in the farther end of the Mediterranean.’
‘What do you know of him?’
‘That he is a Knight of Malta and a most virulent and implacable enemy of Islam. He is perhaps the most notorious of all the knights of the Order of St John. He has become a figure of hatred for the followers of Muhammad. They both fear and loathe him.’
‘I believe he is now here in Meknes and held captive among the French prisoners from the galley.’ Hector made the statement with as much certainty as he could muster.
‘That, if I may say so, is hardly likely,’ Maimaran replied. There was an edge of sarcasm in his voice. He was losing patience with his visitor. ‘If the Order of St John knew that a leading member of their order was in the Emperor’s custody, the grand council would already have opened negotiations with His Majesty for the knight’s redemption.’
‘That would be true if the Lion of La Religion were a knight of the Order of St John. But he is not. He belongs to the Order of St Stephen. The two orders are easily confused. They share the same symbol, the forked cross. I gather that the Order of St Stephen has almost abandoned the crusading zeal.’
‘And now you tell me that this knight was aboard the French galley? That seems even more difficult to believe.’ Maimaran remained incredulous.
‘My informant is someone who knows the knight well, and has served under him.’
‘And why has this informant not come forward before?’
‘Until yesterday he was unaware that the Chevalier, as he is known, was among the prisoners.’
‘And is he so sure that he is the right man that he can persuade others to believe him?’ When Hector hesitated in his reply, Maimaran sensed that he had touched on a weakness in the young man’s argument so he pressed his point. ‘Your witness would have to give clear evidence about this so-called Chevalier’s identity.’
Hector looked directly at Maimaran. ‘That would be difficult,’ he admitted. ‘My witness is a mute. He lacks a tongue.’
Despite his usual self-restraint, Maimaran gave a derisive sniff. ‘So your chief witness is dumb! How can you expect anyone to believe such a wild fiction.’
‘There is evidence which supports his claim,’ said Hector. He had expected that it would be difficult to convince Maimaran, and he knew his only hope of persuading him was to engage his curiosity. ‘When your assistant visited the prisoners this morning, was he able to learn the name of the Frenchmen’s galley?’
‘Of course. Without knowing the vessel’s identity, we could not begin to open negotiations with the French.’
‘And that name?’
Maimaran failed to see what was the point of Hector’s question. ‘Surely you know yourself,’ he said irritably. ‘Were you not an oarsman on her crew?’
‘Yes I was,’ answered Hector. ‘But it is important that these details come from an independent source.’
Maimaran sighed. ‘The galley was named St Gerassimus. I thought it an unusual name when my assistant told me. But then I know little of these maritime traditions, except that the Christians often give saint’s names to their ships, believing them to bring divine protection.’
‘Are you familiar with the story of St Gerassimus?’
‘I have not the least idea of who he was or what he did.’
‘Then perhaps you will have heard of the story of Androcles and the Lion.’
‘The fables of Aesop are known to me.’
‘The tale of St Gerassimus is very similar. He was a Christian monk living in the desert. One day he removed a thorn from the paw of a lion, and thereafter the lion came to live with the saint, and protected him from his adversaries. Whenever anyone threatened St Gerassimus, his lion attacked his aggressors. You might say that the lion with the wounded paw became the saint’s protector.’
‘And now you are telling me that the Lion of La Religion is another St Gerassimus?’