Latu replied, “We drink rarely, and when we drink, we drink slowly.”
Tuna said, “That's the way! What's the point in running away from a happy life? Me, on the other hand, I'm fed up with my work, I'm even fed up with my family and children, and I'm sickest of all with myself, so all I want is never to take the cup away from these lips!”
A drunk clapped in pleasure at what Tuna had said and shook his head in delight, saying, “This inn is the refuge of those — who have no hope, of those — who proffer trays of food — while they are hungry, — who — weave luxurious garments while they are naked, and who play the buffoon at the celebrations of their overlords, though their hearts and spirits are broken.”
A third man said, “Listen, men of Nubia! A drinker is never happy until his legs give way, for all he wants to do is lose consciousness. Take me, for example: every night I have to be carried home to my hut!”
Isfmis recollected himself and realized that he was among the most wretched of humanity. “Are you fishermen?” heaskedthem.
Tuna replied, “All of us are fishermen.”
The innkeeper shrugged his shoulders contemptuously and said, without looking up from his work, “Not me — I'm a tavern-keeper, sir!”
Tuna guffawed, then pointed with a thick finger at a short, thin, fine-boned man with wide, bright eyes. He said, “If you want to be precise, this man's a thief.”
Isfmis looked at the man curiously and the man felt embarrassed and tried to reassure him by saying, “Don't worry, sir! I never steal anything in this quarter!”
Tuna commented, “He means that as there's nothing worth stealing in our quarter, he keeps company with us like anybody else and practices his art in the suburbs of Thebes, where there's money everywhere and everyone's well-off.”
The thief himself was drunk and said apologetically, “I'm not a thief, sir. I'm just someone who roams around, east and west, wherever his feet carry him. And if I stumble on a lost goose or chicken in my path, I guide it to a safe place, usually my hut!”
“And do you eat it?”
“God forbid, sir! Good food gives me stomach poisoning! I just sell it to anyone who'll buy.”
“Aren't you afraid of the constables?”
“I'm very afraid of them, sir, because the only ones allowed to steal in this country are the rich and the rulers!”
Tuna added his word to that of the thief, saying, “The rule in Egypt is that the rich steal from the poor, but the poor are not allowed to steal from the rich.”
As he spoke his eyes — were focused greedily on the two full cups and he changed the course of the conversation by saying accusingly, “Why do you leave your cups untouched, just waiting to stir up trouble among the drinkers?”
Isfmis smiled and said affably, “They're yours, Tuna!”
His mouth watered and he seized the cups in his thick hands, directing warning looks at those around him. Then he emptied them into his belly one after the other and sighed contentedly. Isfmis grasped the meaning of the man's threat and ordered as much beer and wine as they wanted for those nearby. Everyone drank and raised a happy clamor and started talking and singing and laughing. Hardship and poverty were written on the faces of all, but at that moment they appeared happy, laughing and giving no thought to the morrow. Isfmis threw himself into the spirit of things gaily enough, though his low spirits would revisit him from time to time. They had been with the men quite some time when a man came into the inn who appeared to be one of them, and greeted them with a wave and ordered a cup of beer. Then he said to those around him in a tone that gave nothing away, “They have arrested the Lady Ebana and taken her to the court.”
Most of the men were too befuddled with drink to pay him any attention but others asked, “And why is that?”
“They say that a high-ranking officer of the Herdsmen crossed her path on the Nile shore and wanted to take her as one of his women. She resisted and pushed him away.”
Many of the men yelled angrily and Isfmis asked him, “And what will the court do to her?”
The man stared at him unbelievingly and said, “It will sentence her to pay a fine that she cannot afford in order to give her no way out. Then it will order her to be flogged and thrown into prison.”
Isfmis's face changed and he turned pale and said to the man, “Can you show us how to get to the court?”
Tuna stammered, “It will do you more good to drink, because whoever defends this woman will anger the high-ranking officer and expose himself to who knows what punishment!”
The man — who had spread the news asked him, “Are you a stranger, sir?”
“Yes,” Isfinis replied. “And I want to attend this trial.”
“I'll be your guide to the court if you wish.”
As they left the inn, Latu bent over his ear and whispered, “Take care not to get involved in anything that will spoil our delicate mission!”
Isfinis did not answer, but turned on his heel and followed the man.
6
The court was crammed with petitioners, plaintiffs, and witnesses and the seats in the hall were filled with people of every class. In the place of honor sat judges with flowing beards and white faces, a figurine of Thamy, the goddess of justice, dangling on the chest of their chief. The two colleagues took seats close to one another and Latu whispered to Isfinis, “They imitate the externals of our system.”
They scrutinized the faces and realized that most of those present were Hyksos. The judges summoned the accused, interrogated them rapidly, and issued their sentences fast and mercilessly. Cries of complaint and lamentation arose from the naked victims with their copper-colored bodies and brown faces. Lady Ebana's turn came and the usher called, “Lady Ebana!”
The two men looked apprehensively and saw a lady approach the dais with measured steps, her bearing displaying dignity and sorrow, her features full of beauty despite her being close to forty years in age. A Hyksos man, dressed in fine clothes, followed her, bowed respectfully to the judge, and said, “Honorable Lord Judge, I am the agent of Commander Rukh — whom this woman attacked — and I am called Khumm. I shall represent his lordship before the court.”
The judge nodded his head in agreement, astonishing Latu and Isfinis. The judge said, “What does your master accuse this woman of?”
The man replied with distaste and irritation, “My master says that he met this woman this morning and wished to add her to his harem, but she refused ungratefully and rejected him with an impudence that he considered an attack on his honor as a soldier.”
The man's statement set off a clamor of indignation among those present and people put their heads together, whispering disapprovingly. The judge made a gesture toward the people with his staff of office and they fell silent. Then he said, “What say you, woman?”
The woman had maintained her calm, as though despair of fair treatment had absolved her of any susceptibility to fear. She said quietly, “This man's statement is inaccurate.”
The judge angrily rebuked her, saying, “Take care that you do not say anything that might touch the dignity of the honorable complainant, for your crime will then be twice as bad! Tell your story and leave the judgment to us!”
The woman's face reddened in embarrassment and she said, still maintaining her calm, “I was on my way to the fishermen's quarter when a carriage barred my way and an officer got down and told me to get in, without delay and without any previous acquaintance. I was terrified and wanted to get away from him, but he took hold of my hand and told me that he was doing me an honor by adding me to his women. I told him that I refused his offer, but he scoffed at me and told me that when a woman makes a show of refusal she really means, ‘Yes.’ “