Michael Pearce - The Bride Box

Hassan moved away. Karim looked around uncertainly for a moment and then moved off too. Mahmoud waited for him to go and then went in search of Owen.

Owen walked back to the carpenter’s shop.

‘Can I borrow Selim?’

‘Of course!’

‘It will be for a day or two.’

‘That’s all right. We’re not busy.’

Owen went over to Selim, who was working quietly in the back of the shop. ‘Selim, I need your help.’

‘Anything I can do, Effendi …’

‘It is not an ordinary thing I am asking you for.’

Selim looked at him quickly. ‘Is it to do with Soraya?’

‘Indirectly, yes.’

‘Then I will help.’

‘Let us go to the temple.’

They clambered their way through the sunken nitre tanks and went into the temple. They stood for a moment in its cold gloom. The slightly musty air met him again. They waited for their eyes to get used to the darkness and then went through to the room Selim had shown him before. Nothing seemed to have changed in it.

‘It will,’ said Owen. ‘I think they plan to use it.’

‘To store …?’

‘As they have done before. When they come, I want you to be here but not seen.’

‘I will not be seen.’

‘I will come to you from time to time. But I must not be seen either. I will bring you food and water.’

‘Food and water?’

‘You will need them. You may be here for a day or two. Not longer, I think. But I need to know when the men come. Then come to me.’

‘You will seize them?’

‘Not yet. I think they will be bringing guns. And I need to know when the guns leave.’

‘I will tell you, Effendi.’

‘Take no risk.’

Selim thought for a moment. ‘Effendi, is not the greater risk that you yourself will be seen when you come?’

‘I shall take care.’

‘Effendi, when you come, come as the English usually do, to look at the temple. Stand in front of the marks as if perusing them. I shall whistle like this.’ He imitated the mew of a hawk. ‘When you hear that, come into the temple. I shall be waiting behind the pillars.’

The clerk was not yet back at the station. His brother, however, was still standing in for him. He greeted Owen warmly.

‘Your duties grow,’ said Owen.

‘I should be paid more,’ said the clerk’s brother.

‘But so does the need for silence.’

‘I can be silent.’

‘It is important that no one hears of this. If they do, expect the Khedive’s wrath.’

‘The Khedive need have no fears.’

‘I am expecting some boxes to come to the station. Heavy boxes. They will not be easy to lift. There will be men with them. They will put them on the train. When that happens, I need to know.’

‘You will know, Effendi.’

Mahmoud wandered through the goods piled along the railway line.

‘What is it, Effendi, that you look for?’

‘I see only gum arabic.’

‘That is what we deal in.’

‘I am told there would be trocchee shells.’

‘Ah, yes. Those we have, too. But first we have to load the gum arabic. When we get that out of the way, we can load the trocchee shells.’

‘Will that not take time?’

‘It will.’

‘The trocchee shells will have to wait for another train, perhaps?’

‘Perhaps. There is a lot of gum arabic to shift.’

‘The shells may even have to wait for another day?’

‘They may. With the shells, it does not matter.’

‘I am also expecting some boxes. Heavy boxes, which will require much lifting. When will they be put on the train?’

‘It depends when they come.’

‘Some are already here. But others arrive, I think, tomorrow.’

‘Who brings them?’

‘Tamuz. I think.’

‘Ah, yes. Tamuz. Yes, I think he comes tomorrow.’

‘But some of the boxes are already here?’

‘That is so, Effendi. Most of them are already here. The ones Tammy brings are but a small part.’

‘It is a big load, then.’

‘A big load, as you say, Effendi.’

‘But all is in hand, then, is it?’

‘All is in hand, Effendi.’

The next day, at noon, when the sun was at its hottest and the huge encampment was still, Selim came running.

‘The men, Effendi!’

‘They have come?’

This first visit had obviously been in the nature of a reconnaissance. A man had come and nosed around. He had gone inside, Selim thought to the back of the temple, probably to the chamber he had pointed out to Owen. Then he had come out and stood waiting and then another man had joined him and they had both gone inside. Apparently what they had seen had satisfied them for, said Selim, they had both looked pleased when they reappeared.

They had stood there talking for a little while longer and Selim had crept forward behind the columns to eavesdrop. What they were discussing was speed. How quickly could it be done? They had wanted to be sure that it would not take long.

The first man had assured the other man it wouldn’t. The donkeys could be brought right up to the temple and even inside. They wouldn’t be exposed to the risk of being seen for more than a couple of minutes. The boxes could be unloaded and taken to the chamber. And if they were brought when it was getting dark the chance of being observed was even less. They could do their business and then slip away again undetected.

The second man had remained uneasy. ‘I don’t like this,’ he said. ‘Are they good marks? Or the work of the Devil? I mean, this place is … It’s not exactly holy, is it?’

‘It wasn’t holy when they built it. It was built in the days of the Giants and they didn’t know God’s word. Our people came along later and sort of took it over. The old caravans used to pass close to here, at Kuft. And what I reckon happened was that they looked at this place and thought it ought to be made decent. So they painted our signs up there.’

‘Yes, but are they our signs?’

‘Oh, yes. You can see that. There’s the moon and the stars — all the signs of the heavens! The work of the sages.’

‘In line with the Koran?’

‘Oh, definitely!’

‘This must be a holy place, then.’

‘Oh, it is. That’s what I’ve been telling you. Put up by our holy men to show that the place was now decent. And that means it’s all right for us to put our things here.’

‘I suppose it does, yes.’

‘And at the same time it keeps people off.’

‘Well, it would.’

‘Giants and sages! That’s a pretty powerful combination.’

‘I’m not that keen on it myself.’

‘That’s just my point. No one is. So the boxes will be all right.’

‘Has the boss seen it?’

‘Came here himself just to take a look.’

‘And he thought it was OK?

‘Just the place,’ he said. Mind you, there was a bit of a worry. There was a kid around when he came and he didn’t like that. He worried that she might have seen something or heard something. But Ali said, “What could she have seen? There weren’t any boxes here then.” “Yes, but she might have heard something,” says the boss. “What could she have heard?” asked Ali. “And would she have understood anything?”

‘But the boss still fretted about it. He’s like that, you know. Worries about everything. Doesn’t like to leave anything to chance. Wanted to know who this girl was. “Maybe we ought to do something about her,” he said. I think, as a matter of fact, he did do something about her.’

‘He didn’t …?’

‘No. Just saw that she was taken care of. But then it went wrong somehow. And now he’s worried about her again. Thinks we ought to do something. We’re supposed to be keeping an eye out for her.’