He shed tears of emotion and embraced me, and Abu el-Kasim also put his arms about me. Then Sinan kicked aside the rich carpet, seized a copper ring that was bolted to one of the marble slabs, and with a great effort hauled this up. Forgetful of his dignity he lay down at full length on the floor, put his arm into the hole beneath and drew up a fresh wine jar.
I have only an indistinct memory of what happened then, but when I opened my eyes next morning I was lying with Sinan’s beard in my hand and Abu el-Kasim’s toes in my mouth, and I must confess that the awakening was far from pleasant.
After a Turkish bath and massage I was so much recovered and so well pleased with life that I half thought I had dreamed the events of the previous day. But after the noon prayer, Sinan ordered me to prepare for the journey.
At dusk Abu el-Kasim led us to a little vessel moored in the harbor. Giulia came too, heavily veiled and too haughty to speak a word to us. We were soon heading out to sea with a fair wind. Thus Abu el-Kasim left the island of Jerba as quietly and inconspicuously as he had come. I stared out into the darkness and put my hand to my neck; this seemed to me thinner than ever, and I reflected anxiously upon the dangers among which, despite all my good intentions, my unlucky star had plunged me.
BOOK 2.
WE DID not sail direct to Algiers, for Abu el-Kasim explained that the Spaniards who held the island fort at the mouth of the harbor were in the habit of stopping and searching any vessels that sought to enter. For this reason we landed some distance along the coast, and we were not the only people to bring wares by devious routes into the city. In the sheltered bay where we anchored we found a great number of small craft whose owners were voluble in cursing Selim ben-Hafs and the Spaniards for obstructing honest trade. These vessels were discharging cargoes of captured Christians, and plunder rolled up in mats; instead of customs seals, patches of fresh blood were to be seen, so that my heart sank as I beheld the work.
We spent the night in the hut of a swarthy peasant, who was a friend of Abu’s and a man of few words. Next day Abu hired a donkey, loaded it with two great baskets and bade Giulia mount upon its back. After much argument he persuaded some peasants who were also bound for the city to conceal among their baggage a great many of the bundles and jars that he had unloaded from his ship. And truly I have never seen a more woeful creature than Abu el-Kasim as he wrung his hands, rent his dirty clothes, and besought both black and white Berbers to pity a poor wretch and save his goods from the rapacity of Selim ben-Hafs.
This was of course the purest humbug, for as we approached Algiers he told me, “Ours is a dangerous trade, Michael my son, and we cannot long ply it without attracting attention. Too much secrecy would defeat itself, and it’s better to expose oneself to scorn and mockery than to lose one’s head. And so I make as much commotion as possible, and I’m already notorious in Algiers, so that children run after me, pointing. Countless times I’ve been punished for my shifts and expedients and my clumsy attempts to fool Selim ben-Hafs’s customs officials. This time I shall no doubt get caught again, and some of my goods will be confiscated amid general gaiety. But all this is perfectly in order. My best wares will arrive safely; I know the rules of the game. By the way, it would do no harm for your brawny brother to jeer at me now and again. For who takes notice of a man who’s mocked by his own slaves?”
I noticed that the country round Algiers was beautiful, rich with gardens and fruit trees, while numerous windmills on the hillsides bore witness to the wealth of the city. We forded a river on whose banks I saw a crowd of women, both black-skinned and brown and wearing only brightly colored cloths wrapped about their loins, who were washing clothes.
The city lay on a slope by the blue, hazy sea, and gleamed dazzling white in the sunshine. It was surrounded by a sturdy wall and a ditch, and at its highest point there rose from an angle in the wall a round keep, which dominated town and harbor. At the eastern gate we joined a great throng; the guards were sorting sheep from goats with blows of their sticks, letting the peasants through and detaining all strangers to examine their baggage. Abu el-Kasim urged us to follow close at his heels, then, drawing the corner of his cloak over his face and murmuring numerous blessings and quotations from the Koran, he attempted to slink past the guards. But they seized him and uncovered his face, and I have never seen a more crestfallen figure than Abu el-Kasim at that moment. He cursed his birth and whined, “Why do you so relentlessly persecute me-me, the poorest of the poor? You’ll soon cause me to lose faith in the mercy of Allah the Almighty.”
The guards laughed and said, “We know you, Abu el-Kasim, and you can’t deceive us. Tell us what you have to declare, or you’ll lose all.”
Abu el-Kasim pointed to Andy and me and Giulia on her donkey, and wept bitterly, saying, “Do you not see, you hard-hearted men, that I bring but four eggs and a nest to hatch them in?”
But the men ignored his jest and took us to the guardroom. Abu el-Kasim buffeted us on before him, and I turned, smacked his face, and said, “Is this how you treat valuable slaves, fellow?”
Abu el-Kasim raised his hand as if to chastise me but seeing the look on my face he quailed, and mourned, “See how even my slave behaves to me! What can I think but that Allah has cast me out, when he burdens me with such a creature as this?”
The guards handed him over to their chief, to whom Abu el-Kasim mentioned the wares for which he was willing to pay, and these were noted down by the clerk. He then declared, “As truly as I’m a blameless man who never in his life tried to cheat anyone, I bring nothing else on which I should pay duty. For guarantee, and in token of my good will, I make you a present of these three gold pieces, which are my last.”
The men were content with this, and laughingly accepted the money, from which I concluded that the city was less well ordered than it might have been, since its officials allowed themselves to be bribed so openly. But as Abu el-Kasim was on his way out, a piece of costly ambergris the size of his fist slipped from under his arm where it had grown warm, and now filled the whole room with its fragrance.
Abu el-Kasim’s face turned ashen gray, and I could not think how he was able thus to control his features, unless it was that he so lived his part that he had come to believe in it himself. He stammered, “Hassan ben-Ismail, I had indeed forgotten that little piece of ambergris. Also a camel follows, blind of one eye, bearing a basket of grain in which are hidden five jars of good wine. Let the camel through and come and see me tomorrow evening, when we can discuss the matter rationally in all its aspects. In the meantime as a token of my good will you may keep that piece of ambergris, and Allah will reward you on the Last Day.”
The official laughed scornfully but agreed, and even gave back the ambergris, saying that its perfume made the place unbearable. As soon as Abu el-Kasim had come out into the narrow street he climbed nimbly onto Andy’s shoulders and shrieked, “Make way for Abu el-Kasim, the almsgiver, the friend of the poor, now returned from a journey which Allah has blessed!”
Thus was Andy compelled to carry his vociferous burden, and we attracted much attention as we trudged through the streets toward Abu’s hovel, which was near the harbor. From behind latticed windows curious glances followed us, and soon we had a flock of joyously screeching urchins at our heels. Abu el-Kasim threw a copper coin among them from time to time, calling God and all the faithful to witness his liberality.