him.”
Sinan the Jew and Captain Torgut now appeared at the doors of the palace, and the noise in the courtyard died away. Sinan spoke with the pirates and caused garments of honor and also small sums of money to be distributed among them. Thus the day ended. Mardshan the eunuch led us to remoter parts of the building, and showed us very pleasant quarters in the barracks where Sinan’s slaves and bodyguard were housed.
Mardshan taught me Arabic, and showed me how to read and write its strange characters. The Koran was my lesson book. As Mussuf had gone to sea again with Captain Torgut, Sinan the Jew found another wrestling instructor for Andy. My dog was given back to me, and I hardly know which of us was happiest. So I found nothing to complain of in my bondage. And yet as the days passed the oppressive sensation grew within me that I was being watched and that my smallest action was recorded, so that I began to speculate upon the fate in store for me. Sinan the Jew was not one to show favor to anyone without good reason.
One day when I was scrubbing the bathroom floor Giulia approached me, unseen by anyone, and said, “The slave does slave’s work!”
I was so glad to see her that I ignored her words and exclaimed, “Giulia! Are you well, and well treated? Can I do anything for you?”
She said, “Scrub your floor and keep your eyes lowered in my presence, for I’m a lady of distinction, and have no need to work or do more than eat rose leaves in honey, and good kukurrush, so that I am as you see noticeably plumper than before.”
I was seized by terrible jealousy, and asked, “Has Sinan the Jew found delight in you, then? And doesn’t time thus idly spent hang heavy on your hands? Idleness is the mother of vice, and I would not see you sink into vice, Giulia.”
Giulia drew aside her veil a little absently, stroked my cheek, and said, “I’ve every reason to think that my lord has found delight in me, for he often summons me to gaze into a copper dish filled with sand, in which I draw lines with my finger.”
“Allah!” I cried, even more surprised at Sinan’s behavior. “Why does he want you to draw lines in the sand?”
“How should I know?” returned Giulia frankly. “I believe he is in his second childhood, and likes to have an excuse to send for me and admire my beauty. For I am indeed fair as the moon and my eyes are like jewels of different colors.”
There was a roar of laughter from behind me, and Sinan the Jew, drawing aside a curtain, stepped forward unable any longer to contain his mirth. Mardshan the eunuch followed close at his heels, distractedly wringing his hands, and I thought my last hour had come, for I had presumed to speak to Giulia, and she had uncovered her face before me, which among Mussulmans is a great sin.
Panic stricken though I was, I yet sought to save Giulia and raising my scrubbing brush I said, “Lord, punish me, for she is innocent and I addressed her first. But we have uttered nothing but praise of your gendeness and wisdom.”
Sinan laughed still more and answered, “I heard how warmly you praised me. Rise up out of the dirt, Michael, and fear nothing. You’re a physician, as you assured me, and before such men a woman may unveil without sin. But come, it is time I talked to you seriously. I want to present you to your future master, to whom you owe obedience.”
He went, and my heart turned to ice. But Mardshan said, “Sinan has given you away and you must follow Abu el-Kasim, your new master. He is a drug merchant of ill repute from the town of Algiers, the curse of Allah be upon him.”
My heart was in my mouth and I was a prey to great anguish, but Mardshan ordered me to hasten, and as I had no choice I hurried after Sinan the Jew.
With lowered eyes I entered the room; Sinan spoke to me kindly, bidding me be seated on a cushion and look about me fearlessly. On obeying I was surprised to behold a small, apelike man wearing a ragged cloak. He looked a very shady character and as I submitted to his keen gaze I felt I need expect no good from him. I turned beseechingly to Sinan, who said smiling, “Behold your new master, Abu el- Kasim. He is a poor man and makes a bare living by diluting rose water, and selling imitation ambergris and inferior eye black. He has promised to send you every day to the madrasseh of the mosque in Algiers, where you may hear the best teachers and so most rapidly learn Arabic and acquire knowledge of the pillars of the faith-of law, tradition, and the true path.”
I dared not utter a word of protest, and bowed my head submissively. Abu el-Kasim stared at me and said, “I’m told you’re a physician and familiar with Christian remedies. Now, I have undergone an arduous journey and am sick at the stomach. Can you cure me?”
He leered unpleasantly and I found him so repellent that I had no wish to examine him. But my duty compelled me, and I said, “Show me your tongue. Have your bowels moved today? Let me feel your pulse. When I have also felt your stomach I will tell you what medicine you need.”
Abu el-Kasim held his belly and moaned.
“I see that you know your business according to Frankish practice. But the best remedy for these pains of mine would be a good wine. Were it prescribed by a physician I could drink it without sin.”
I wondered at first whether he were testing me. But now Sinan the Jew also rubbed his belly and with loud lamentation said, “Oh, accursed! Abu el-Kasim, you have brought an infectious sickness into my house, and I too am afflicted. Hell is loose within me, and only the good remedy you speak of can bring relief. By the boundless favor of Allah I happen to possess a sealed jar of wine, given me by a sea captain who knew no better; I could not have declined the gift without offense. We trust you, Michael. Break the seal, smell and taste the wine, and tell us whether it will be of benefit. If so we may drink it without sin.”
The sanctimonious old frauds sat and looked at me as if I had been their master instead of their slave, and I had no choice but to break the seal and pour the wine into three finely ornamented cups which Sinan readily handed me.
“Taste the medicine,” he said, “and tell us whether it is suited to our disorder.”
But it was not the quality of the wine he doubted; he wanted first to assure himself that it had not been poisoned, and then to incriminate me,_ so that I could not afterward inform against him. However, I needed no second bidding. I tasted the dark, sweet, fragrant wine with relish and said quickly, “Drink in the name of Allah, for this is a good wine and will certainly cure all ills of mind and body.”
When we had drunk, and refilled our cups and drunk again, Abu el-Kasim said to me, “I am told that you’re familiar with Christian methods of warfare, that you know the qualities of the Christian leaders, that you have yourself served in the wars, that you speak many Christian languages and have in general deeper knowledge of all these matters than one could expect in a man of your age. Even Mardshan the eunuch has often wondered at it.”
I made no answer, but with burning cheeks drank more wine; for the words came strangely from such an old ragbag as he was.
He then asked, “If, besides adulterating drugs and pursuing useless studies at the mosque school, you had the chance to serve the world’s mightiest ruler, what would you say?”
I answered bitterly, “I served him long enough, and ingratitude was my only wage. I’ve had more than enough of the Emperor; he even wanted to send me across the western ocean, to conquer new kingdoms for him, under the command of a one-time swineherd.”
Abu el-Kasim said eagerly, “You speak of things new to me. But it was not the Emperor of the unbelievers that I meant-the ruler of the German and Spanish dominions-but the great Sultan Suleiman, who justly and liberally rewards his servants.”
“Blessed be his name,” added Sinan the Jew. “The Sultan has captured the Christian strongholds of Belgrade and Rhodes; he has conquered Hungary and, according to prediction, he is to subdue all the Christian peoples. As High Porte he is the refuge of all kings. He makes the rich poor and the poor rich and lays no undue burdens on any, so that within his dominions the nations live without fear and in brotherly concord.”
“These are dreams born of wine,” I said. “You speak of a realm that may perhaps exist in heaven, but never on earth.”
But Abu el-Kasim warmly concurred in what Sinan said.
“This is no drunken dream. In Sultan Suleiman’s empire justice is incorruptible; judges pronounce sentence according to the law, without respect of persons. Nor are any forced to renounce their faith, for Christians and Jews
