With Rama translating, we uttered our greetings and presented our gift: a handsome silver cup set with garnets. I said grandly:
"I, Eudoxos of Kyzikos, am the ambassador of the mighty king of Egypt, Ptolemaios Evergetes. My master greets his brother king—"
"Peace to all beings! Where is this Egypt?" said the king, giving me a haughty stare from one of his crossed eyes.
"Two months' sail to the west, sire. It compares in size and population with all Bharata. To further the prosperity of our respective realms—"
"What is this story of your sailing straight across the ocean, without stopping at the Arabian ports?"
I explained as best I could. Beside me, I could see Hippolas suppressing a guffaw at my description of myself as an ambassador. While Rama was translating, I muttered out of the side of my mouth:
"If you laugh, by Herakles, I'll break your fornicating neck!"
"Well," said the king at last, "tell your master I am glad to have his friendship. As for sending his ships to trade, I am glad of that, too—provided he gives us equal privileges in his ports. That is all, except that I shall ask you to receive some small gifts from me."
He snapped a finger, and a servant came out with a tray on which lay a rope of pearls, like that which the king wore, and a couple of other pieces of jewelry.
"The pearls," said King Kumara, "are for your king. You may have the first choice of the other gifts."
I chose a silver bracelet set with three small pearls, leaving a silver broach with a big turquoise for Hippalos. The bracelet was of no use to me—a Hellene does not wear such things, and I could not have gotten my big fist through it anyway— but maybe Astra would like it. They were nice gauds, although one can find the equal in Alexandria for fifteen or twenty drachmai. I thought that, counting the pearls, we had gotten the better of the exchange. But doubtless King Kumara thought he had, too, because pearls were so much cheaper in India than in Egypt.
When we returned to the ship, we found four Barygazan merchants standing at the foot of the plank. Displaying his hook, Linos said:
"They wanted to come aboard to look over the cargo, sir: but I figured if they stole anything you'd take it out of my hide."
"Quite right," I said and led the merchants aboard.
Since my sailors had gone ashore, Gnouros, Linos, Hippalos, and I had to haul the samples up from the hold ourselves —a procedure that the Indians found extraordinary. They poked and fingered and smelt, as solemn as owls. Naturally, when one is about to make an offer, one does not display enthusiasm, lest one's eagerness stiffen the price. But these men, it seemed to me, carried disdainful indifference beyond reasonable bounds.
They finally muttered a few offers, as if they were doing us a great favor even to look at our garbage. The olive oil they would not consider at any price. Even when I had explained, through Rama, the many uses to which we put it, he reported back:
"They say this oil smells foul and tastes dreadful, and it is not customary to rub oil on themselves or to cook with it. In India, we cook with butter."
"They could burn it in their lamps."
"We burn butter in lamps, too. Oil lamps stink."
"Well then," said I wearily, "tell them we won't sell anything today. We shall have to learn the Indian market better. Ask them if they'd care to join us in a round of drinks."
"So sorry," said Rama, "but they are not drinking wine. It against their religion is."
"Well then, how would they like to have supper with us?"
When Rama translated this offer, the faces of the merchants, hitherto as blank as virgin papyrus, took on expressions of stark horror.
"Oh, sir!" said Rama. "Indians never eat with strangers, or with people not of their color. It would be a—how do you say —poll—"
"Pollution?"
"Yes, pollution. Why, if the shadow of person of lower color on your food falls, you must throw it away."
"I notice you ate with the boys on the voyage."
"Oh, but I am traveled man, used to funny customs of foreigners. But these men could not eat your food anyway. Members of high colors are not eating meat."
"I thought your wise Buddha taught that color was not important?"
Rama shrugged and spread his hands. "Even Enlightened One cannot change all old customs."
That evening, when the blue haze and pungent smell of cow-dung fires hung in the air, Nysos and Apries appeared, begging to be taken back aboard ship.
"You're murdering us, Captain," wailed Nysos. "These barbarians won't hire us for even the dirtiest work. In this dunghill of a country, all jobs are inherited, so there's no place for a foreigner. We shall have to live by stealing, and they'll catch us and have us tramped by those polluted elephants."
"Go to the crows!" I said. "I wouldn't let you temple thieves back aboard, if you were the only sailors in India."
After the pair had wandered despondently off, I returned to Hala's tavern; but the Persian factor was not there. As before, there were many Arabs and a few Indians.
I hung around for a while, trying to strike up acquaintances. But the Arabs only glowered and fingered then-daggers. I tried them in my bad Syrian, which is similar to Arabic and which most northern Arabs understand, but without success. My rudimentary Indian was no more successful. As for the Indians, they stared coldly at me and made remarks, meant to be overheard, about the uncouth appearance and disgusting habits of this crazy foreigner.
I do not think my failure was entirely due to a poor command of the languages. I have struck up acquaintances in pothouses all around the Inner and Euxine Seas without any trouble, when I knew even less of the lingo. Doubtless the Arabs had decided that I represented a threat to their coastal shipping business, while the Indians were just being Indians.
I gave up at last and set out for the ship. Since it was almost the end of Boedromion, there was no moon. As I walked, I thought I heard the patter of feet behind me, but I could not be sure. When I stopped, the sound stopped; when I went on, it resumed.
Having been through this sort of thing before, I slipped around a corner and waited. Presently three shadowy figures appeared, slinking along. Even in the feeble starlight that filtered through the palm fronds, I could tell an Arab cloak and head cloth from the skirt and turban of an Indian.
"Well?" I said.
The three whirled with guttural exclamations, and I caught the gleam of a curved dagger in the starlight. I sprang forward and brought my stick down on the arm that held the knife. I heard the bone snap and the knife skitter away. A rap on the pate sent a second man sprawling. The unhurt man dragged his felled companion to his feet, and the three scuttled off.
When I got back to the Ourania, I told Linos to post a double watch, since there might be trouble. Everybody was aboard save Rama, who had gone home, and Hippalos, who was out whoring. In the cabin, I unwrapped my Scythian bow.
I had hardly been asleep for an hour or two when a yell brought me out. On shore, twenty or thirty paces away, a group of Arabs stood around a man with a big torch, by which they were lighting fire arrows and shooting them at the Ourania. Several had already stuck in the woodwork. My men were running about, wrenching them out and throwing them over the side, or knocking them loose with boathooks.
I stepped to the rail and sent a Scythian arrow whizzing towards the group. I missed, but range is hard to judge by such lighting. A second shaft was luckier. The Arabs gave a wild yell and scattered; the torch bearer threw his torch at the ship, but it only struck the side, fell into the water, and went out with a sizzle.