Children of Gebelaawi (31 page)

Henna's voice came from behind a window:

- Give us your word of honor that anybody who comes out

will not be tricked.

Thudclub was furious at her alluding to the 'word ofhonor'.

He yelled:

- Is this old tart your only spokesman?

Henna yelled:

- God forgive your mother, Thudclub!

Thudclub screamed his command to attack the gate. Some

of the men hurled themselves at it while others flung stones at

the shutters, so that no one would dare to open them for a

counter-attack. The attackers clustered round the gate, thrusti ng against it with their shoulders. They kept on heaving till it began to tremble. They grew still more determined, rocking it

till it worked loose. Then they drew back, ran at it and rammed

it, bursting it right open. Through it, at the end of the long

passage, cou ld be seen the courtyard, and in it Gebel and the

men of Hamdaan, all with cudgels _poised. Thudclub made an

obscene gesture with his hand and let out a jeering laugh, then

charged down the passage with his men behind him.

They had scarcely gone half way when the ground gaped

suddenly open beneath them and they tumbled to the bottom

of a deep pit. Straight away the windows on either side of the

passage were flung open, and from them water was poured out

ofjugs, pots, basi ns and water-skins. The men of Hamdaan at

once rushed to the pit and flung in basket-loads of stones. For

the very first ti me the Alley heard screams coming from its

strongmen and saw blood spurting from Thudclub's head and

sticks batt<�.·ing the heads of Hamooda, Barakaat, Lionheart

and Quicksilver as they floundered in the muddy water. Their

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henchmen saw what had happened to them and took to their

heels, leaving the strongmen helpless before their fate. The

hail of water and stones fell thicker and faster and the sticks

cracked down wi thout mercy. The people heard cries for help

from throats which had only been used to uttering abuse and

insults. Radwaan the bard was shouting at the top of his voice:

- Don 't spare a single one of them!

Blood mi ngled with the muddy water. Hamooda was the

first to die. Lion heart and Quicksilver screamed loudly, but

Thudclub grasped the side of the pit with both hands, wan ti ng

to scramble out. His eyes were full of hatred and he was

overcoming his feelings of weakness and impotence and was

roaring like a bu II. Blows rained down on him till he fell back,

losing his grip on the side of the pit, and dropped into the

water, clutching a lump of mud in each hand. Stillness descended on the pit, where nothing moved or made a sound, and the surface of the water was stained with blood and mud.

The men ofl-lamdaan stood gazing down, panti ng. The crowd

pressed round the entrance of the passage, staring in amazement into the pit. Radwaan shouted:

- This is the tyrants' punishment.

The news spread through the Alley like wi ldfire. People said

that Gebel had got rid of the strongmen as he had got rid of the

snakes. Everyone cheered him thunderously. They burned

with enthusiasm, not caring about the cold wi nd, and proclaimed him Strongman of Gebelaawi Alley. They asked for the strongmen's corpses, to mutilate them. There was much

clappi ng, and some people began to dance. Gebel, however,

did not for a moment lose sight of his plan, and he had

everything clearly worked ou t in his head. He shouted to his

people:

- Come now to Trustee's House.

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4 1 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I n the few minutes that passed before Gebel and his people

set out from the tenement-house, volcanoes of fury erupted.

The women poured ou t to join their men, and they all fell

upon the strongmen 's homes, attacking their occupants with

punches and kicks, so that they ran for their lives, shielding

their heads with their hands and moaning and weeping. The

houses were plundered of every piece of furniture, food and

clothing, and everything else was smashed, leaving a trail of

splintered wood and glass. The angry mob set offfor Trustee's

House and gathered outside the locked gate chanting thunderously after their leader: 'Bring the Trustee! And if he won' t come .. . '

Their shouting turned to jeering. Some turned towards the

Great House, calling on their Ancestor Gebelaawi to come out

of his isolation and set right what had gone wrong i n their

affairs and those of the Alley. Others began thumping the

Trustee's gate with their fists and heaving at it with their

shoulders, urging those who hung back fearfully to help batter

it down. At that tense moment Gebel arrived leading his

people, both men and women, walking tall and proud because

of the decisive victory they had won. The crowd made way for

them and cheered and shrieked till Gebel signed to them to be

quiet. Their voices trailed away and fell silent, so that they

heard the howling of the wind again. Gebel looked at the faces

gazing up at him and said:

- People of the Alley, my greetings and thanks!

They cheered again till he raised h is hand for silence. Then

he said:

- Our work won ' t be done till you have broken up peace-

fully.

From several throats came the cry:

- We want justice, master of the Alley.

He said in a voice that all could hear:

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Gebel

- Go now, quietly! The Founder's will shall indeed be

done.

There were cheers for the Founder and his son Gebel.

Gebel's steady gaze urged the crowd to be gone. They would

have loved to stay where they were, but faced with his stare they

could not avoid dispersing. One by one they left, till all had

gone. Then Gebel went to the gate of Trustee's House and

knocked, shouting:

- Open up, Hassanayn !

The man's trembling voice was heard:

- The people ... The people .. .

- There i s nobody here but us.

He opened the gate and Gebel went in, followed by his

people. They walked up the trellised path to the veranda, and

there they saw Hudaa standing submissively in front of the

door of the drawi ng room, while the Effendi stood in the

doorway, hanging his head, his face deathly pale. At the sight

of him people began to snarl. Hudaa moaned:

- I'm in a dreadful state, Gebel.

Gebel pointed contemptuously at the Effendi and said:

- If the schemes of this shameless man had succeeded,

we' d all be mangled corpses now.

Hudaa's answer was a heavy sigh. Gebel turned a cold stare

on the wilting Trustee and said:

- Now you see yourself helpless with no power and no

glory, no strongmen to protect you, no courage to support

you, no manli ness to plead for you. If l chose to leave you to the

people of our Alley, they wou ld tear yoti to pieces and trample

you underfoot.

The Effendi quaked with fear, and he seemed bent and

shrunken, bu t 1-Iudaa took a step towards Gebel and said

hopefully:

- I don 't li ke to hear anything from you but the kind words

I ' m used to. We're in a dreadful state of nerves that deserves

merciful treatmen t from a real man like you.

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Gebel frowned to hide his emotion and said:

- If it wasn't for my regard for you, things would go quite

differently.

- I don 't doubt i t, Gebel. You 're a man who doesn ' t

disappoi nt hopes.

Gebel said with regret:

- How much easier it would have been if justice had been

done without a drop of blood being spilt!

The Effendi made an obscure gesture of helplessness, and

he crumpled up still further. Hudaa said:

- What is past is past. You 'll find us very ready to listen .

The Trustee seemed to want to break h i s silence a t any cost

and said in a weak voice:

- This is a chance to make up for the wrongs of the past.

They listened eagerly, anxious to know what state the tyrant

was in now that his power had left him. They stared at him

feeli ng at once a li ttle appeased and very disapproving and

curious. The Trustee grew bolder, now that he had broken his

silence. He said:

- Today you are worthy to take the p lace of Thudclub.

Gebel's face was grim and he said con temptuously:

- Being Strongman is not my aim. Fin d somebody else to

protect you; I only want the full rights of Hamdaan's people.

- They are all yours, and you can manage the Trust if you

wan t.

Hudaa added hopefully:

- Like you used to, Gebel.

At this Digger called out from the crowd of Hamdaan's

people:

- An d why shouldn't the whole Trust belong to us?

There was a buzz of exci tement, and the Trustee and his wife

grew pale as death, bu t Gebel said angrily:

- The Founder told me to wi n back your rights, not to rob

others of theirs.

Digger asked:

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Gebel

- And how do you know the others will get their rights?

Gebel shouted:

- That's not my business. You seem only to hate oppression

if i t's turned agai nst you.

Hudaa said with emotion:

- Gebel, what a fine, honest man you are. I hope so very

much that you wi ll come back to my house.

Gebel said resolutely:

- I shall stay in Hamdaan's sector.

- It doesn ' t suit your position.

- When riches flow into our hands, we'll make our houses

as good as the Great House. That is the wish of our Ancestor

Gebelaawi.

The Trustee looked up hesitan tly at Gebel's face and said:

- The way we saw the people of the Alley behave today

threatens our security.

Gebel said scornfully:

- How you get on with them is nothing to do with me.

Digger sai d:

- If you respect your agreement with us, none of them wi ll

dare to defy you .

The Trustee said eagerly:

- You rights shall be restored for all to see.

Hudaa said hopefully:

- You must have dinner with me tonight; that is a mother's

wish.

Gebel understood this declaration of friendship between

himself and the Trustee's family and could not refuse.

- Your wish is granted.

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4 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The days that followed were bright with the rejoicing of

Hamdaan's people - Gebel's people, as they came to be

called. Their cafe opened its doors again, and Radwaan the

bard sat cross-legged on the bench, playing his rebec. Ale

flowed freely for several days, the air grew thick with hashishsmoke and old Henna started belly-dancing. People were happy to reveal who had killed Qidra, and Gebelaawi 's meeting with Gebel was described with a halo of imagined detail.

For Gebel and Shafeeqa this was a very good time. One day

he said to her:

- It would be lovely to have Balqeeti to stay!

She was thi nki ng of her i mminent ordeal.

- Yes, so that he can greet his grandchild with a blessing.

- You are the source of my happiness, Shafeeqa. Sayida will

find a good husband among Hamdaan's people.

- Say ' Gebel's people' as everybody else does. You 're the

best man this sector has ever known.

He smiled and said:

- No, Adham was the best of us all. How he longed for the

happy life in which the on ly work would be music; his dream

will yet come true.

Digger came into sight. He was drunk and was dancing with

a group of Gebel's people. When he saw Gebel coming up he

brandished his cudgel playfully and said:

- You don' t wan t to be Strongman, so I'm going to be.

Gebel roared at him, so that everyone heard:

- There's to be no more strongman business among

Hamdaan's people, but they must all be strong against anybody who means them harm.

Digger went i nto the cafe, and the rest followed him,

staggering dru nkenly. Gebel told them:

- Of all the people of the Alley you are the dearest to our