Children of Gebelaawi (60 page)

path . And if he and his men attacked, could they be sure of

victory against men led by Guzzler, Bruiser and Pilgrim Grim?

What fate lay i n wait for them at the end of this day? He went

back to his hut and came out clutching his cudgel, then joined

Hassan and his men at the top of the path. Hassan told him:

- None of them dares come close.

Qaasim went to the brink of the precipice and saw his

enemies in a crescent formation in the desert, far out of range

of any stones. He was horrified at their numbers, but he could

not pick out the strongmen among them. He looked out across

the waste at the Great House, the home of Gebelaawi, who was

sunk in si lence as though he did not care that his children were

fighting for his sake. How they needed his tremendous strength,

which had subdued these places in times gone by! Qaasim

would perhaps not have been so anxious had it not been for

the memory of the death ofRifaa near to h is Ancestor's house.

He felt an urge to shout at the top of his voice 'Gebelaawi ! '

as the people of the Alley sometimes do, but he heard women's

voices nearby and turned to look. He saw his men stru ng out

along the brink of the precipice looking at their enemies, and

the women approaching the same places. He shouted to them

to go back, and when they hesitated he shouted still louder that

they must get some food ready and carry on work as usual. He

kept on at the women till they obeyed his orders. Saadiq came

over, and said:

- Well done ! What I'm most afraid of is the effect of

Guzzler's name on us.

Hassan said:

- There's nothing for it but to strike. ( He waved his

cudgel) . It'd be impossible for us to go about getting a living,

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now that they know our hidi ng place. There's nothing for i t

but to attack.

Qaasim turned his head and looked at the Great House.

- You 're right. What do you say Saadiq?

- Let's wait till night comes.

Hassan protested:

- Waiting would only harm us, and night would be no use

to us in a battle.

Qaasim mused:

- What can their plan be?

Saadiq said:

- To force us to come down to them.

Qaasi m thought for a while, then said:

- If Guzzler is killed, victory is ours. ( He looked at the two

of them and added:) If he falls, Bruiser and Pilgri m Grim wil l

figh t for his place.

The sun climbed higher and the stones gleamed, promising

a scorc hing day. Hassan asked:

- Can you two tell me what's to be done?

His question clearly referred to the siege, but there was not

time for either of them to answer before there came a woman's

scream from the direction of the encampment followed immediately by more screams. They heard a voice shouti ng:

- We've been attacked from the other side.

The men pulled back from the bri nk and rushed to the

southern end of the encampment. Qaasim told those who

stayed to defend the path to be sti ll more watchful. He ordered

Trinket to fetch the able-bodied women to join the guard on

the path. Then he ran with Hassan and Saadiq towards the

encampment to join his men there. They could all see Guzzler

leadi ng a large company of men from the southern end of the

Jebel. Qaasim said angrily:

- He sent the others to distract us so that he could make his

way round the Jebel and reach us by the southern path.

Hassan's gigantic body was pulsi ng with energy. He roared:

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- He's walking to his death.

Qaasim bellowed:

- We must win and we shall win.

His men spread out on either side like two strong arms. The

enemy came on, their cudgels bristling like thorns in a thicket,

till every detai l was clearly visible. Saadiq said:

- Neither Bruiser nor Pilgrim Grim is with them.

Qaasi m realized that Bruiser and Pilgrim Grim must be

leading the party at the foot of the Jebel. He guessed the two

of them would attack whatever the cost, but he told no one his

thoughts. He went a few steps forward, brandishing his cudgel,

and his men gripped theirs. They heard Guzzler's harsh voice

shouti ng:

- You shan't have a decent burial, you bastards !

Qaasi m rushed i n to the attack, surrounded by his men. The

enemy hurled themselves forward like an avalan che, and the

onslaught began with a great roaring and a banging of cudgels.

At the same time the women defending the path pelted stones

at an attack beginning from below. Every one of Qaasim 's men

was locked in combat with one of the enemy. Qaasim and

Freewheeler were fencing violently and skillfully. Guzzler's

cudgel broke Hamroosh's collar-bone. Saadiq fought repeatedly agai nst Zaynhum till Hassan knocked him out with a furious blow. Guzzler felled Crookstaff with a thump on the

neck. Qaasim managed to hit Freewheeler on the ear and he

screamed and retreated, then collapsed. Zaynhum charged

fiercely at Saadiq, who was too quick for him and jabbed him

in the stomach twice, bringing him down. Trin ket got the

better of Hafnaawi, but Guzzler put his arm out of action

before he cou ld enjoy his victory. Hassan took a swing at

Guzzler, but he dodged it nimbly and lifted his cudgel to strike

back. Before he could do so, Qaasim aimed a blow at him, but

he took it on his cudgel. Wagtail rushed across to give him a

third blow, but Guzzler butted him in the face, breaking his

nose. Guzzler seemed to be an irresistible force.

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Qaasim

The battle grew fiercer and the cudgels banged together

mercilessly and there was a stream of curses and insu lts. The

blood flowed under the burning sun, and on each side one

man after another fell. Guzzler was burning with rage at this

u nexpectedly brave resistance, and he grew ever fiercer in his

attacks, his blows and his cruelty. On his side, Qaasim told

Hassan and Bullrush to seize the next opportunity to join him

in an attack on Guzzler to break the bond that held the

attackers together. At that moment one of the women defending the path rushed over to scream a warning:

- They're coming up under cover of pastry boards.

The men of the jebel were terrified. Guzzler yelled:

- You shan 't have a decent burial, you bastards !

Qaasim called to his men:

- Win your victory before the criminals get to the top !

H e charged at Guzzler, flanked by Hassan and Bullrush.

The strongman lashed out at him, but he took the blow on his

cudgel. Bullrush tried to get in a quick smash, but the brute

caught him on the chin and he fell flat on his face. Hassan leapt

towards Guzzler and they exchanged a couple of blows. Then

Hassan threw himself on him for a fight to the death. The

women at the top of the path were screaming and some of

them began running away. The position was critical. Qaasim

hastily sent Saadiq with reinforcements to the brink of the

precipice, then he rushed at Guzzler, but 'Tortoise' lumbered

into his path and a fierce battle ensued between them.

Hassan pushed Guzzler wi th all his might, forci ng him to

retreat one step. then spat in his eyes, bellowing, kicked him

on the knee, then charged with terrific speed and butted him

in the stomach like a mad bull. The tyrant lost his balance and

fell on his back. Hassan knelt on top of him and pressed his

cudgel on the man 's neck with all the strength of both his

hands. Men came up to defend their strongman, but Qaasim

and some ofhis men kept them off. Guzzler's legs thrashed, his

eyes bulged, his face went crimson and he began to choke.

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Suddenly Hassan jumped up to stand over his weakened

enemy, brought his cudgel down with wild fury and smashed

his skull. He shouted in a thunderous voice:

- Guzzler is dead. Your Strongman is dead. See his body!

The unexpected death of Guzzler had a powerful effect,

bringing new hope to one side, despair to the other. Hassan

joined Qaasim in his struggle, and every blow he struck hit its

mark. All over the battlefield men were crouching and pounci ng, cudgels rising and falling. A cloud of dust was rising, and the fighters were crowned with blood. There were groans,

shouts, curses, screams, roars. Every few minutes a man staggered and fell, or drew back and fled. The fallen lay strewn on the ground and blood glistened i n the sun.

Qaasim went aside and looked towards the top of the path

where the situation worried him. He saw Saadiq and his men

sending down basketfuls of stones with an urgency that showed

how near was the danger from below. He heard the women,

among them his wife, screaming for help. He saw some of

Saadiq's men grasping their cudgels, ready to meet those who

persisted in coming up under the hail of stones. He realized

h ow critical the position was and at once went over to Guzzler's

body, which was now some way from the fighting because the

men from the Alley had retreated. He began dragging it

towards the path and called Saadiq, who hurried over and

helped him to carry the body to the top of the path. They threw

it over and it plunged down and rolled to the feet of the

attackers under their pastry boards. There was consternation;

Pilgri m Grim's angry voice rang out:

- On ! Up ! Dam n the criminals!

Qaasim shouted scornfully, with amazing cool:

- Come on up! That's your strongman's body, and behind

me are the bodies of the rest of your people. Come on up !

We're wai ting for you.

He gave a sign to the men and women and they rained down

stones till the vanguard of the attackers halted and began to

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retreat slowly, in spite of the urgi ng of Pilgrim Grim and

Bruiser. Qaasim heard a buzz of rebellion and argument and

complaint, and he shouted:

- Bruiser! Pilgrim Grim! Come on! Don't run away!

Bruiser's voice was heard, full of hatred:

- Come down ifyou 're men ! Come down you women, you

bastards!

Pilgrim Grim stood still amid the wave of retreating men

and yelled:

- May I die if I don't dri nk your blood, you filthy shepherd.

Qaasim pic ked up a stone and hurled it with all his might.

The shower of stones went on, and the retreat grew faster ti ll

it was almost a rout. Then Hassan came across, wiping away the

blood that flowed from his forehead, and said:

- The battle is over. Those of them that are alive are

ru nning away towards the south.

Qaasi m shouted:

- Call the men to pursue them.

But Saadiq said:

- Your mouth and chin are bleeding.

He wiped his mouth with his hand, looked at it and saw that

it was bright red. Hassan said sadly:

- Eigh t of us have been ki lled, and those who are sti ll alive

have too many injuries to do anything.

l-Ie looked down through the shower of stones and saw his

enemies rush ing down the path. Saadiq said:

- If they'd fi nished their climb they wouldn ' t have found