treacherously attacked his own almost unarmed men and caused such damage to property. At this point the consul, the veins swelling at his temples, shouted that the losses he had sustained far exceeded in value the lives of a few blockheads of soldiers. He demanded full compensation and a new and better house, for which he had already chosen the site.
When at last I had a chance to speak I chose my words with care: “Noble Captain, most excellent Consul, and Reverend Father! Sultan Selim ben-Hafs, blessed be his name, died this morning by accident. He slipped and fell in the baths, breaking his neck. After much discussion among his fatherless sons, the seven-year-old Mohammed has assumed the kaftan and ascended the throne. He has secured his position by distributing money among his loyal troops, and beside him as counselor stands his wise mother Amina. His elder brothers will not oppose him, for in the course of a meal a datestone lodged in each of their throats and choked them. No doubt the hand of fate thus intervened to prevent disputes over the succession.
“But,” I went on with a quaking heart, though still looking Captain de Varga steadfastly in the eye, “while all this was taking place in accordance with the time-honored customs of this city, a horde of pillaging Spaniards arrived, bringing artillery with them. I hold you in no way to blame, noble Captain, for this gross infringement of national rights. The lawless rabble must have left the fortress without your permission, and profited by the ruler’s death to bring disorder to the town. Nevertheless they desecrated the mosque, willfully defiled the holy Marabout’s tomb, and then opened fire on the kasbah, no doubt with the object of seizing the treasury. The Aga was compelled to dispatch a few cavalrymen to drive them forth with as little violence as possible. The Spaniards then overran the city, looting the homes of the faithful and ravishing their good wives. To prevent further disorders, the Sultan has been graciously pleased to sever communications between fortress and city, lest the people, enraged at the pollution of the mosque and tomb, should return evil for evil and attack the fort. The Sultan has also ordered the digging of trenches about the harbor, where he has set up his artillery, as you may see for yourself. But these measures have been adopted solely to protect the fortress and to prevent fresh violence, which might prejudice the friendly relations now happily existing between the Emperor of Spain and the Sultan of Algiers.”
Wine had so loosened my tongue that I was moved by my own eloquence. The consul listened open mouthed, but the Dominican crossed himself repeatedly and said in tones of satisfaction, “It’s only proper that our Christian soldiers should have desecrated the mosque and tomb of the infidels, and I cannot sufficiently praise them. All too often have we seen Moslems trample the Cross underfoot, to enrage us.”
Captain de Varga bade him hold his tongue, and looking at me darkly he said, “You lie. I sent the patrol ashore to discover the reason for the shooting in the kasbah, entirely in the interests of Selim ben- Hafs; but my men fell into the trap prepared, and only their good discipline saved them from utter annihilation. If there has been looting and arson the Moslems themselves have committed it, to cover their own misdeeds.”
I bowed low and said, “I have heard you, noble Captain. All that remains for me to do is to return to the Sultan and inform him that you distort the truth, harden your heart, and do your utmost to cloud the cordial relations that have hitherto existed between the Hafsids and the Emperor, your master.”
“Wait!” said Captain de Varga hastily. Taking a paper from the consul he read it through and went on, “I ask nothing better than to see those happy relations restored, and I’m willing to forget the whole incident in return for indemnification for damaged property and weapons, and for the suffering caused-and also the customary compensation to the families of the fallen. I will accept in all the sum of twenty-eight thousand Spanish gold pieces, half to be paid before the infidels’ sunset prayer, and the other half within three months, as I realize the young Sultan will have other expenses to meet at the beginning of his reign.”
I exclaimed at the very thought of so fabulous a sum, but Captain de Varga raised his hand and continued, “To prevent future misunderstandings I claim the right to build an artillery tower in the harbor, near the mosque. Further, the Sultan shall have a Spaniard for his vizier who must be allowed an armed bodyguard, to be maintained at the expense of the treasury.”
I perceived from these terms that he was a farsighted man who served the Emperor well, and was in all respects a worthy foe. Genuine tears came to my eyes as I knelt before him and begged him to strike off my head rather than send me back to the Sultan with such a message, for the Sultan would certainly not spare me. In so doing I relied on his honor as a nobleman and was not disappointed, for he bade me rise, and said, “Serve me faithfully, persuade the Sultan that I’m in earnest, and I’ll allow no harm to come to you. Tell him that my gunners stand with smoldering matches, that I mean to bombard the city with red-hot shot and that I shall occupy the harbor unless I receive a favorable answer by the hour of morning prayer tomorrow.”
“Allah is great,” said I. “Since you trust me, let me give you some good advice. Don’t threaten too much, or the Sultan-moved by wicked counselors and by the angry populace-may send word to the great Khaireddin, to make a treaty with him, and with his help expel you from your island.”
He laughed. “Renegade, you’re a wily fellow! But even a seven- year-old boy would hardly be so foolish as to saw off the bough he sits on. If he called Khaireddin he’d get more than he bargained for. But I’ll listen to any proposals the Sultan may make when he has heard my terms.”
Notwithstanding his laughter I could see that the very name of Khaireddin had startled him; and so I said, “My lord and protector! You need not send me away, for I bring you the Sultan’s proposals. He demands nothing but fair compensation for the damage done by the Spaniards’ raid, and a thousand gold pieces to buy rose water for the purification of the mosque and the Marabout’s tomb. He is willing even to reconsider the question of compensation, provided you block up all loopholes commanding the city under supervision of his officials. If you reject these proposals the Sultan.will be compelled to assume an intention on your part to interfere in internal affairs, and will then seek help wherever it may be found, to prevent further conspiracy.”
“God save us!” said Captain de Varga, crossing himself. “The terms are harder than I expected, but I know how suspicious these infidels are; because they plot incessantly they fancy others do the same. But I’m a Castilian; I will die rather than surrender-for surrender it would be. My last word is this: let us talk no more of compensation on either side. We’re all human; we’re all liable to err. I’ll even punish the culprits who have desecrated the holy places-if indeed that tale is true. But I cannot afford rose water.”
The consul wailed and the monk deplored the punishment of Christian men who had deserved reward. But Captain de Varga said, “As you sec my aims are conciliatory, and in that respect diametrically opposed to those of my advisers. Further I cannot go. If your lord won’t listen, my guns must speak. Warn him above all against Khaireddin, for the least approach to that godless pirate will be regarded by me as an act of hostility toward my lord the Emperor.”
He handed me a worn leather purse containing ten gold pieces, and I concealed my amazement that the Emperor should allow this loyal young officer to languish in such poverty. I was then honorably escorted to the jetty and at my desire-perhaps also to persuade me that he had plenty of gunpowder-he ordered a salute to be fired as we shoved off. His proud credulity astonished me and caused me to reflect that in all negotiation the honest man is bound to come off worst, while bluff wins every point.
The whole affair had gone better than I could have hoped, and my conscience was clear, for I had given him plainly to understand that he had Khaireddin to reckon with as an adversary. I stepped ashore well satisfied, and observed that the fires in the harbor quarter had been put out and that many of the gun emplacements were completed. These works would have been gravely impeded by bombardment from the fortress; my negotiations had therefore fulfilled their purpose.
On my return to the kasbah I was taken at once to the garden of the Courtyard of Bliss where Mustafa ben- Nakir, reclining at ease on a down pillow beneath a canopy, was reading Persian poems to my master Abu el-Kasim. They mentioned discreetly that Amina was no more, and while I felt no great regret I thought anxiously of Andy’s despair when he woke from his drunken stupor and learned of his beloved’s death. Mustafa divined my thoughts and said, “Allah is swift in judgment. We spoke with the woman and know that she exploited your brother’s simplicity for her own wicked ends. She bribed the eunuchs to leave Selim ben-Hafs alone with your brother in the bathhouse. So, Michael, you needn’t wonder that in righteous indignation at such treachery we arranged for her to be strangled by the eunuchs. We had your brother’s best interests at heart.”
“Yes, indeed,” put in Abu el-Kasim. “But, reflecting that the fruit never falls far from the tree, we had Amina’s son removed at the same time. This makes matters simpler for Khaireddin, who might have been inconvenienced if the boy had lived and gone over to the Spaniards, thus giving them a pretext to interfere in the succession.”
I now perceived that Mustafa ben-Nakir had deliberately sent me out of the way lest I should hinder these shady doings, and I pitied the little boy who had held his mother’s hand and stumbled over the long kaftan, and who had now perished in so sorrowful a manner.
