The ship arrived at its moorings as the sun — was sinking into the Nile and the glow of evening stained the horizon. They made for Ebana's house and found the lady lighting her lamp. As soon as she became aware of their approach, she turned toward them with a smile of welcome on her lips. Latu and Isfmis came up to her and bowed to her with respect and the older man said in a solemn voice, “The Lord bless the evening of the widow of our great commander Pepi!”
The smile disappeared from her lips and her eyes widened in amazement and alarm. She fixed a look of reproof and rebuke on her son and tried to speak, but could not, her eyes brimming with tears. Ahmose went up to her, put his hands between hers, and said to her tenderly, “Mother, do not be afraid or sad! You know what kindness these two have shown me. Know too that they are, as I thought, among the ancient nobles of Thebes whom tyranny forced into exile, brought here by their longing to see the face of Egypt once again.”
The woman regained her composure and stretched out her hand to them, while they gazed at her, their faces eloquent with candor and sincerity. They all sat down close to one another and Isfmis said, “It is a great source of pride for us to sit with the widow of our brave commander Pepi, who died in defense of Thebes so that he could join his lord by the noblest of routes, and with his zealous son Ahmose.”
Ebana said, “I am truly happy that a fortunate coincidence has brought me together with two noble men of the old order. Let us reminisce together over days past and share our common feelings about the present. Ahmose is a youth full of ardor, worthy of his name, which his father gave him in honor of Ahmose, grandson of our sovereign Seqenenra and son of our king Kamose, the two being born on the same day — may the Lord bless him wherever he be!”
Latu spread his hands in support of her words and said honestly and sincerely, “The Lord keep our friend Ahmose, and his mighty namesake, wherever he be!”
12
The affection between the two traders and Ebana's family took firm hold and they lived together as one family, spending only the evenings apart. The men learned that the fishermen's quarter was crowded with people in hiding, merchants of Thebes and former owners of its estates and farms. Happy to learn this, the men desired to make the acquaintance of some of the more prominent among them, a wish that they made known to Ahmose, once they had made sure of the trustworthiness of the people. The youth welcomed the idea and chose four of those closest to his mother: Seneb, Ham, Kom, and Deeb. Having revealed to them the secret of the traders’ identity, he invited them one day to his house, where Latu and Isfinis received them. The men were dressed in the garb of the poor — a kilt and worn linen upper garment. All welcomed the traders and exchanged greetings with a warmth indicative of their honesty and affection. Ahmose said, “Those you see are, like yourselves, ancient lords of Egypt and all of them live as do the miserable, neglected fishermen, while the accursed Herdsmen have sole possession of their land.”
Ham asked the traders, ‘Are you from Thebes, gentlemen?”
Latu replied, “No, sir. However, we were once landowners in Ombos.”
Seneb said, “Did many fly, like you, to Nubia?”
Latu replied, “Indeed, sir. At Napata especially there are hundreds of Egyptians, from Ombos, Sayin, Habu, and Thebes itself.”
The men exchanged glances, none of them doubting the traders after what Ahmose had told them of what Isfinis had done for his mother at the court. Ham put the question, “And how do you live at Napata, Lord Latu?”
“We live a life of hardship like the Nubians themselves, for the soil of Nubia is generous with gold, miserly with grain.”
“You are, however, fortunate, since the hands of the Herdsmen cannot reach you.”
“No doubt. That is why we think constantly of Egypt and its enslaved and captured inhabitants.”
“Do we not have a military force in the south?”
“We do, but it is small, and Ra'um, the Egyptian governor of the south, uses it to keep order in the towns.”
“What might be the feelings of the Nubians toward us, following the invasion?”
“The Nubians love us and submit willingly to our rule. That is why Ra'um finds no difficulty in ruling the towns with an insignificant force. Were they to rebel, they would find no one to discipline them.”
The men's eyes lit up with dreams. Ahmose had told them how the two traders had managed to cross the border and visit the governor, and how Isfmis was going to present Apophis with a gift at the victory feast. Ham asked with displeasure, “And what do you hope to gain by presenting your gift to Apophis?”
Isfmis said, “To stir his greed, so that he will give me permission to carry on trade between Nubia and Egypt and exchange gold for grain.”
The men were silent and Isfmis said nothing for a while, thinking. Finally he decided to take a new step on the road of his mission. He said solemnly, “Listen well, gentlemen. The goal we seek to achieve is not trade and it is not proper that trade should be the goal of people presented to you in the house of the widow of our great commander Pepi. What we do hope is to link Egypt to Nubia by means of our convoy and to employ some of you as workers, in appearance, and transport you to our brothers in the south. We shall carry gold to Egypt and return with grain and men and maybe we shall come back one day, with men only….”
Everyone listened with astonishment mixed with joy and their eyes flashed with a sudden light. Ebana cried, “Lord! What lovely voice is this that revives the dead hopes in our hearts?”
Ham cried, “Dear God! Life stirs again in the graveyard of Thebes.”
And Kom exclaimed, “Young man, whose voice resurrects our dead hearts, we were living till now without hope or future, weighed down by the misery of our present and finding no escape from it but in recalling the glorious past and mourning it. Now you have opened the curtain on a splendid future.”
Isfinis was overjoyed and hope filled his heart. In his beautiful, stirring voice he said, “Weeping is no use, gentlemen. The past will disappear into ancient times and obliteration so long as you are content to do nothing but mourn it. Its glory will remain close at hand only if you work it energetically. Let it not sadden you that today you are merchants, for soon you will be soldiers with the world in the palms of your hands and its fortresses at your feet. But tell me the truth, do you have trust in all your brethren?”
With one breath they responded, “As we trust ourselves!”
“You are not afraid of spies?”
“The Herdsmen are mindless tyrants. They have been lulled by their ability to keep us slaves for ten years and take no precautions.”
Isfinis clapped his hands in delight and said, “Go to your faithful brethren and tell them the good news of fresh hope and bring us together as often as you can so that we may exchange views and advice and pass on to them the message of the south. If the Egyptians of Napata are angry in their safe haven, you have even better reason to be so.”
The men eagerly gave their assent to what he had said and Deeb said, “We are angry, noble youth. Our efforts will prove to you that we are angrier than our brethren of Napata.”
They bowed to the two traders and departed, overcome by an upsurge of anger and eagerness for battle that would neither quieten nor go away. The two men heard Ebana sigh and say, “Lord! Who will direct us to the family of our martyred sovereign? And where on the face of the earth is he?”
Two weeks passed, during which Isfinis and his older companion did not taste rest. They met with Thebes’ hidden men at the house of Ebana and made known to them the hopes of the Egyptians in exile, thus planting hope and life in their hearts and pouring strength and a thirst for battle into their souls till the whole of the fishermen's quarter was waiting impatiently and anxiously for the hour when Isfinis would be summoned to the royal palace.