Children of Gebelaawi (70 page)

When the last voice had died away i n the Alley, Arafa was

ready to set out from the basement. Awaatif went with him as

far as the porch, her eyes red from crying. She spoke with the

resignation of one who saw no way out:

- May Providence watch over you !

Hanash asked sincerely:

- Why shouldn 't I come with you?

Arafa said:

- It's easier for one person to get away than for two.

Hanash patted him on the back and advised him:

- Don ' t use the bottle unless you 're desperate.

He nodded and wen t. He glanced at the Alley wrapped i n

darkness, then headed for Gemalia. l-Ie made a wide circle,

through Wat2wi t Alley, Derrasa and the desert beyond the

Great House, and reached the north wall ofSaadallah's house,

overlooki ng the desert. He went to a poi nt half-way along the

wall and felt the ground till he found a boulder, which he

pushed aside. Then he lowered himselfinto the tun nel that he

and Hanash had been digging night after night, and crawled

through. l-Ie pu lled aside the screen that closed the other end

and emerged into the garden of Strongman 's House. He hid

by the wall and peered round. In the house he saw a fain t light

behind one shu ttered window. As for the garden, it was asleep

and in darkness except for a light in the wi ndow of the garden

house. From time to time he heard the ribaldry and coarse

laughs of the men inside. He drew his dagger and waited,

poised for action, while time hung heavier than sin.

The hashish session ended half an hour after his arrival. The

door opened and the men followed one another out through

the garden gate into the Alley, preceded by the gatekeeper

with his lantern . He closed the gate and came back, lighting

Saadallah 's r-ath to the veranda. Arafa picked up a stone i n his

left hand and crept across, bending low, gripping the dagger

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i n his right hand. He hid behind a palm tree till Saadallah was

about to climb the first step. Then he leapt at him and plunged

the dagger into his back at the level of his heart. The man let

out a scream and collapsed. The terrified gatekeeper turned,

but the stone hit his lantern, smashing and extinguishing i t.

Arafa rushed headlong towards the wall where he had come

in. The gatekeeper let out a piercing yell. In no time footsteps

were hurrying and voices were echoing in the house and at the

end of the garden. In his haste Arafa stumbled over something

like a tree stump and fell flat on his face. He felt a stabbing pain

in his leg and elbow, but he bore i t an d dragged himselfthe rest

of the way to the tun nel. The cries and footsteps grew louder.

He flung himself into the tun nel and crawled quickly through

to the desert. He stood up, groaning, then hurried off eastward.

Before he had rounded the wall of the Great House he

turned and saw figures rushing towards him. He heard a voice

shout: 'Who goes there?' He ran still faster, in spi te of the pain,

and reached the end of the back wall of the Great House. As

he crossed the space between the Great House and Trustee's

House he saw torches and heard a great noise. He bolted into

the desert, headi ng for M uqattam Bazaar. He felt that the pain

would overcome him sooner or later, and that the pursuers'

footsteps were growing closer and their voices louder as they

shouted in the stillness: 'Get him ! Catch him ! ' At that he drew

the bottle out of his cloak - the bottle that he had spent

months testing - stopped run ni ng and faced the approaching men. He peered at them till he could make out their shapes, then flung the bottle at them. A second later there was

an explosion such as no ear had heard before, followed by

screams and groans.

Arafa began to run again, no longer pursued. At the edge of

the desert he threw himself down on the ground, panting and

moaning. He lay there, weak and racked with pain, alone

u nder the stars. He looked behind him, but all was darkness

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and silence. With his hand he wiped away the blood oozing

from his leg and stanched it with sand. He knew he must go on,

whatever the cost, and he levered himself up and limped

towards Derrasa. When he reached it he saw a shape approaching and eyed it anxiously, but it passed him without turni ng.

He sighed with relief and went back by the same roundabout

way he had come. When he neared Gebelaawi Alley there was

a dreadful din such as was never heard at that time of night.

Snarls, wails, angry shouts and evil oaths flew about in the

darkness. He hung back a whi le, then went forward keeping

close to the walls. He peeped with one eye round the corner at

the end of the Alley and saw a huge crowd at the other end,

between the houses of the Trustee and Saadallah. Meanwhile,

Qaasim's sector looked dark and deserted. He crept along,

huggi ng the walls, till he reached cover in his tenement-house.

l-Ie threw hi mself down between Awaatif and Hanash, then

uncovered his bloody leg. Awaatif was alarmed and hurried

away to fetch a basin and jug of water. She washed the wound

and he had to clench his teeth to prevent himselffrom crying

out. Hanash helped her, saying anxiously:

- They're burning with rage out there.

Arafa screwed up his face as he asked:

- What did they say about the explosion?

- The men who were chasing you described what hap-

pened and nobody would believe them. But people were

amazed at the injuries to their faces and necks, and the story

of the explosion almost made them forget the murder of

Saadallah.

Arafa said:

-The Strongman of the Alley is dead; tomorrow the others

will begin to fight for h is position. (Then, looki ng tenderly at

his wife who was busy binding up his wounds: ) The age of

strongmen is about to end, and the first to go will be your

father's murderer.

She did not answer. Han ash 's eyes continued to rove round

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anxiously. Arafa buried his head in his hands because of the

pain.

I 0 5 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Early n ext morning at the door of the basement someone

knocked. When Awaatif opened it, she saw in front of her

Yoonus, gatekeeper of Trustee's House. She greeted him

courteously and invited him in, but he stayed where he was and

said:

- His Honor the Trustee i nvites Mr Arafa to m eet him for

urgent consultations.

Awaatifwent to tell Arafa, feeling anything but the pleasure

that might have been natural i n other circumstances. After a

little while Arafa emerged, putting on his best clothes - a

white jellaba, a spotted turban and clean shoes - but he was

walking with a stick because of a new and very visible limp. He

raised his hand in greeting and said: 'At your service. ' He

followed the gatekeeper out. Gloom hung over the Alley from

end to end and people's anxious eyes seemed to be askingwhat

disasters tomorrow would bring. The strongmen and their

followers were conferring in the cafes, while in Saadallah's

home there was constant wailing and moaning.

Arafa followed the gatekeeper through the gate ofTrustee's

House and they walked up the path under its canopy of

jasmine to the veranda. He considered the points of resemblance between this and the Great House, and there were so many that he decided the only difference was in the steps. He

said to h imself angrily: 'You i mitate him when it suits you, not

when it suits the people.'

The gatekeeper went i n first to ask ifArafa might enter, then

he came back and showed him in. He hobbled into the great

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drawing room where he found Qadri the Trustee si tting at the

far end, waiting for him. He stopped a fewyards away from him

and bowed respectfu lly. He saw at once the man's great height

and powerful build and his fleshy red face; but when he smiled

in acknowledgment of Arafa's greeting, he revealed dirty

yellow teeth that did not match the majesty of his outward

appearance. He motioned Arafa to sit beside him on the divan,

but Arafa went over to the nearest chair saying:

- Excuse me, your Honor !

But the Trustee insisted he sit on the divan and said gen tly

but firmly:

- Here ... sit here !

Arafa cou ld not avoid sitting beside him. He perched on the

very end of the divan, saying to himself that the matter he had

come for must be very secret. He became sure of this when he

saw that the gatekeeper locked the door. Hewai ted quietly and

meekly. The Trustee studied him calmly then said in a conspiratorial tone:

- Arafa, why did you kill Saadallah?

Gaze froze under gaze. His joints became weak. Everything

spun round. Future became past. He saw the man's confident

eyes fixed on him and did not doubt that he knew everything

with fateful certainty. The Trustee gave him no time to thin k,

but went on rather briskly:

- Don 't be afraid! Why do you kill if you 're so frightened?

Control your feelings and answer me. just tell me plainly: why

did you ki lt Saadallah?

Arafa could not bear the silence. He spoke wi thout knowing

what he was saying:

- Sir. . ! Me?

- You son of a bi tch , do you thi nk I ' m raving? Do you thin k

I'm accusing without proof? Answer me: why did you kill him?

In terror and despair, Arafa let his eyes wander ai mlessly

over the room. The Trustee spoke in a voice as cold as death:

- There's no escape Arafa. There are people outside who

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wou ld chew you to pieces and drink your blood if they knew

about you.

The wailing in Strongman's House grew louder. All hope

was lost. He opened his mouth without saying anything. The

Trustee said harshly:

- Silence seems an easy escape, but I'll throw you to the wild

animals outside and say to them: ' Here is Saadallah 's killer. ' If

you like, I'll say: ' Here is Gebelaawi's killer. '

Arafa exclaimed i n a strangled voice:

- Gebelaawi 's? !

- You dig tunnels u nder back walls. You got away the first

time but slipped up the second. Why do you kill, though,

Arafa?

He said hopelessly, without purpose or meaning:

- Innocent, your Honor ... I ' m innocent.

- If I made public the charge against you, nobody would

ask me for proof: in our Alley rumor is truth, truth is sentence

and sentence is execution. But tell me what made you break

into the Great House and then murder Saadallah?

The man knew everything. Arafa had no idea how, but he

knew everything. Otherwise how could he alone in the whole

Alley bring these charges?

- Did you i nten d to steal?

Arafa looked down in despair and said nothing. The Trustee

bellowed:

- Talk, you child of vipers!

- Sir ... !

- Why do you want to steal when you 're better off than most

people?

He answered in a tone of helpless acknowledgement:

- The sou l is prone to evil.

The Trustee laughed triump hantly. Arafa wondered confusedly why:.the man had putoffkilling him til l now; in fact, why hadn't he told his secret to one of the strongmen i nstead of

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sending for him in this strange way? The Trustee left him to his

thoughts, as if to torment him, then said:

- You're a dangerous man.

- I'm a poor man.

- Can a man be called poor when he has a weapon like

yours, which makes nonsense of cudgels?

A dead man doesn't cry for the loss of his sight. This man was

the true magician. The Trustee enjoyed h is despair for a while,

then explained:

- One of my servants joined your pursuers. He lagged

behind and was not caught by your weapon. Then he followed

you stealthily by hi mself without you seeing. In Derrasa he

recognized you, only he didn't attack for fear of your surprises

but hurried back and told me.

- Isn't it possible he'll tell somebody else?

- He's a trustworthy servant. (Then i n a meaningful tone:)

And now tell me about your weapon.

The mist began to clear from Arafa's eyes; the man wanted

something more precious than his life. His despair was total.

What escape was there? He said in a subdued voice:

- It's simpler than people imagi ne.

The Trustee frowned.

- I could easily search your house now, but I don ' t want to

draw attention to you. Do you understand? (Then, after a

pause:) You won't die as long as you obey me.

His eyes glittered with menace as he spoke. Abandoning

himself to despair, Arafa replied:

- You ' ll fi nd me obedient to your will.

- You've begu n to understand me, Mr Know-all Arafa. If i t

had been my intention to kill you , the dogs would already have