Birds of Prey (89 page)

‘Most Englishmen who call at Zanzibar have one thing in mind,’ Grey went on. ‘They have come here for trade, and usually to acquire a cargo of slaves. I regret that this is not
the best season for slaving. The trade winds have brought in the dhows from Further India and beyond. They have already carried away the best specimens, and what is now left in the market is the
dregs. However, in my own barracoon I have two hundred prime creatures, the best you will find in a thousand miles of sailing.’

‘Thank you, sir, but I am not interested in slaving,’ Hal declined.

‘That, sir, is a regrettable decision. I assure you there are great fortunes still to be made in the trade. The Brazilians and the Caribbean sugar planters are crying out for labour to
work their fields.’

‘Thank you again. I am not in the market.’ Now it was clear to Hal how Grey had made his own fortune. The post of consul was secondary to that of agent and middleman to European
traders calling in at Zanzibar.

‘Then there is another highly profitable area in which I could be of assistance to you.’ Grey paused delicately. ‘I observed your ship from my rooftop when you anchored and
could not but notice that she is well armed. One might be forgiven for believing her to be a man-of-war.’ Hal nodded noncommittally, and Grey continued, ‘You may not know that the
Sultan of Oman, Beloved of Allah, Ahmed El Grang, is at war with the Emperor of Ethiopia.’

‘I had heard so.’

‘A war is raging on land and sea. The Sultan has issued Letters of Marque to ships who wish to join his forces. These commissions have been, in the main, restricted to Mussulman captains.
However, I have great influence at the Sultan’s court. I may be able to obtain a commission for you. Of course, such a boon does not come cheaply. It would cost two hundred pounds for me to
obtain an Omani Letter of Marque for you, sir.’

Hal was about to refuse with indignation this offer to join the pagan in the war against Christ and his followers, but instinct warned him not to repudiate it out of hand. ‘There might be
profits to be made, then, sir?’ he asked thoughtfully.

‘Indeed. There are vast riches to be snapped up. The empire of the Prester is one of the most ancient citadels of the Christian faith. For well over a thousand years the gold and offerings
of the pilgrims and worshippers have been piling up in the treasure houses of the churches and monasteries. The Prester himself is as rich as any European sovereign. They say there is over twenty
tons of gold in his treasury at Aksum.’ Grey was breathing heavily with avarice at the picture he had conjured up in his own mind.

‘You would be able to obtain a commission for me from the Sultan?’ Hal leaned forward with assumed eagerness.

‘Indeed, sir. Not a month past I was able to obtain a commission for a Scotsman.’ A sudden thought occurred to Grey, and his face lit up. ‘If I did the same for you, perhaps
you could join forces with him. With two fighting ships such as yours you would be a squadron powerful enough to take on anything the navy of the Prester could send against you.’

‘The thought excites me.’ Hal smiled encouragingly, trying not to show too much interest. He had guessed who the Scotsman must be. ‘But tell me, who is this man of whom you
speak?’

‘A fine gentleman and a great mariner,’ Grey replied enthusiastically. ‘He sailed from Zanzibar not five weeks back, bound for the Horn.’

‘Then I maybe able to come up with him and join my ship to his,’ Hal mused aloud. ‘Give me his name and station, sir.’

Grey glanced around the courtyard in a conspiratorial fashion, then lowered his voice. ‘He is a nobleman of high rank, the Earl of Cumbrae.’ Grey leaned back and slapped his knees to
emphasize the enormity of his disclosure. ‘There, sir! And what do you think of that?’

‘I am greatly amazed!’ Hal did not have to cover his excitement. ‘But do you truly believe that you can obtain a commission for me also? And, if so, how long will the business
take?’

‘Things are never swiftly done in Arabia.’ Grey became evasive again. ‘But they can always be speeded up with a little
baksheesh
. Say an extra two hundred pounds, that
is four hundred in all, and I should be able to place the commission in your hands by tomorrow evening. Naturally, I would need to have your payment in advance.’

‘It is a great deal of money.’ Hal frowned. Now that he knew where the Buzzard was headed, he wanted to rush back to the
Golden Bough
immediately and set off in pursuit. But
he restrained the impulse. He must gather every scrap of information from Grey.

‘Yes, it is,’ Grey agreed. ‘But think on the return it will bring. Twenty tons of pure gold for the man bold enough to seize it from the Prester’s treasury. And
that’s not all. There are also the jewels and other treasures sent in tribute to the empire over a thousand years, the treasures of the Coptic churches – the relics of Jesus Christ and
the Virgin, of the apostles and the saints. The ransom they could command is without limit.’ Grey’s eyes shone with greed. ‘They say—’ He broke off and lowered his
voice again. ‘They do say, that the Prester John is the guardian of the Holy Grail itself.’

‘The Holy Grail.’ Hal went pale with awe, and Grey was delighted to see the reaction he had evoked.

‘Yes! Yes! The Holy Grail! The precious cup for which Christians have searched since the Crucifixion.’ Hal shook his head and stared at Grey in unfeigned amazement. He was moved by a
strange sense of
déjà vu
that rendered him speechless. The prophecies of both his father and Sukeena flashed across his mind. He knew, deep in his heart, that this was part of
the destiny they had foretold for him.

Grey took his silence and the shake of his head for scepticism. ‘I assure you, sir, that the Holy Grail is the most poignant reason that the Great Mogul and Ahmed El Grang have attacked
the empire of Ethiopia. I have had this from the Sultan’s own lips. He also is convinced that the relic is in the care of the Prester. One of the mightiest ayatollahs of Islam has prophesied
this and has given him the word of Allah that if he can wrest the Grail from the Prester his dynasty will be invested with power untold, and will herald the triumph of Islam over all the false
religions of the world.’

Hal stared at him aghast. His thoughts were in wild confusion and he was no longer certain of himself or of anything around him. It took a vast effort to put aside such a terrible prospect as
the subjugation of Christianity and to reassemble his thoughts.

‘Where is this relic kept hidden?’ he asked huskily.

‘Nobody but the Prester and his monks know for certain. Some say at Aksum or at Gonder, and others say that it is secreted in a monastery in the high mountains.’

‘Perhaps it has already fallen into the hands of El Grang or the Mogul? Perhaps the war is already lost and won?’ Hal suggested.

‘No! No!’ Grey was vehement. ‘A dhow arrived from the Gulf of Aden this very morning. The news it brings is less than eight days old. It seems that the victorious armies of
Islam have been checked at Mitsiwa. There has arisen within the Christian ranks a mighty general. They call this warrior Nazet, and though he is but a stripling the armies of Tigre and Galla flock
to his standard.’ It seemed to Hal, from the relish with which Grey recounted these setbacks to the cause of Islam, that the consul was backing both horses. ‘Nazet has driven back the
armies of El Grang and the Mogul. They confront each other before Mitsiwa, gathering themselves for the final battle, which will decide the war. It is far from over yet. I earnestly counsel you, my
young friend, that once you have in your hand the Letter of Marque that I shall procure for you, you should make all haste to sail to Mitsiwa in time to share the spoils.’

‘I must think on all you have told me.’ Hal rose from the pile of carpets. ‘If I decide to avail myself of your generous offer, I will return tomorrow with the four hundred
pounds to purchase my commission from the Sultan.’

‘You will always be welcome in my home,’ Grey assured him.

‘
G
et me back to the ship as fast as you like,’ Hal snapped at Big Daniel, the moment the tall carved doors closed behind them. ‘I want
to sail on this evening’s tide.’

They had not reached the first bazaar when Althuda caught at Hal’s arm. ‘I must go back. I have left my journal in the courtyard.’

‘I am in desperate haste, Althuda. The Buzzard is already more than a month ahead of us, but I know now for certain where I must search for him.’

‘I must retrieve my journal. Go on ahead to the ship. I will not be long behind you. Send the boat back for me, and have them wait at the harbour steps. I will be there before you
sail.’

‘Do not fail me, Althuda. I cannot delay.’

Reluctantly Hal let him go, and hurried on after Big Daniel. As soon as he reached the
Golden Bough
, he sent the longboat to wait for Althuda at the landing, and gave the orders to ready
the ship for sea. Then he went down to his cabin and spread on his desk under the stern windows those charts and sailing directions for the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea that he had inherited from
Llewellyn.

He had studied these almost daily ever since he had been aboard the
Golden Bough
, so he had no difficulty in placing all the names Grey had mentioned in his discourse. He plotted his
course to round the tip of the Great Horn and sail down the Gulf of Aden, through the narrows of the Bab El Mandeb and into the southern reaches of the Red Sea. There were hundreds of tiny islands
scattered off the Ethiopian coast, perfect lairs for the privateer and the corsair.

He would have to avoid the fleets of the Mogul and the Omani until he had reached the Christian court of the Prester and obtained his commission from him. He could not attack the Mussulmen
before he had that document in his hands or he risked the same fate as his father, of being accused of piracy on the high seas.

Perhaps he would be able to link up with the Christian army commander General Nazet, of whom Grey had spoken, and place the
Golden Bough
at his disposal. In any event, he reasoned that
the transport fleet of the Mussulman army would be gathered in these crowded seas in huge numbers, and they would fall easy prey to a swift frigate boldly handled. Grey was right in one respect:
there would be fortune and glory to be won in the days ahead.

He heard the bell sound the end of the watch, left his charts and went up on deck. He saw at a glance, from the ship’s changed attitude to the tide, that the ebb had set in.

Then he looked across the harbour and, even at that distance, recognized the figure of Althuda at the head of the landing steps. He was in deep conversation with Stan Sparrow, who had taken the
longboat back to wait for him.

‘Damn him,’ Hal muttered. ‘He is wasting time in idle chatter.’ He turned all his attention to the affairs of the ship, and watched his topmastmen going aloft, quick and
surefooted, to set the sails. When he looked back at the shore again he saw that the longboat was coming in against the ship’s side below where he stood.

As soon as it touched, Althuda came up the ladder. He stood in front of Hal and said with a serious expression, ‘I have come to fetch Zwaantie and my son,’ he said solemnly.
‘And to bid you farewell.’

‘I do not understand.’ Hal was aghast.

‘Consul Grey has taken me into his service as a writer. I intend to remain with my family here in Zanzibar,’ Althuda replied.

‘But why, Althuda? Why?’

‘As you know well, both Sukeena and I were raised by our mother as followers of Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah. You are intent on waging war on the armies of Islam in the name of the
Christian God. I can no longer follow you.’ Althuda turned away and went to the forecastle. He returned a few minutes later leading Zwaantie and carrying little Bobby. Zwaantie was weeping
silently, but she did not look at Hal. Althuda stopped at the head of the ladder and gazed at him.

‘I regret this parting, but I cherish the memory of the love you bore my sister. I call down the blessing of Allah upon you,’ he said, then followed Zwaantie down into the longboat.
Hal watched them row across to the quay and climb the stone steps. Althuda never looked back, and he and his little family disappeared in the throng of white-robed merchants and their slaves.

Hal felt so saddened that he did not realize that the longboat had returned until, with a start, he saw that it had already been hoisted aboard and that Ned Tyler waited by the whipstaff for his
orders.

‘Up anchor, if you please, Mr Tyler. Set the top sails and steer for the channel.’

Hal took one last look back at the land. He felt bereaved, for Althuda had severed his last tenuous link to Sukeena. ‘She is gone,’ he whispered. ‘Now she is truly
gone.’

Resolutely he turned his back on the white citadel and looked ahead to where the Usambara mountains on the African mainland lay low and blue upon the horizon.

‘Lay the ship on the larboard tack, Mr Tyler. Set all plain sail. Course is north by east to clear Pemba Island. Mark it on the traverse board.’

T
he wind held fair, and twelve days later they cleared Cape Guardafui, at the tip of the great rhino horn of Africa, and before them opened the
Gulf of Aden. Hal ordered the change of course and they steered down into the west.

The harsh red rock cliffs and hills of the Gulf of Aden were the jaws of Africa. They sailed into them with the last breezes of the trades filling their canvas. The heat was breathtaking, and
without the wind would have been insupportable. The sea was a peculiarly vivid blue, which reflected off the snowy bellies of the terns that wheeled across the wake.

Ahead the rocky shores constricted into the throat of the Bab El Mandeb. In daylight they passed through the rock-bound narrows into the maw of the Red Sea and Hal shortened sail, for these were
treacherous waters, dotted with hundreds of islands and sown with reefs of fanged coral. To the east lay the hot lands of Arabia, and to the west the shores of Ethiopia and the empire of the
Prester.