Tim Severin - Corsair

As he left the cell, Hector saw that Piecourt had now deliberately placed himself so he could ignore his visitor. He was seated next to the rowing master and also leaning back against the pillar of the arch. The two of them had their eyes closed as they basked in the sun waiting for the time when the prisoners had to return to their cells and be locked in for the night. Their colleague with the speckled cheek was nowhere to be seen.

Walking back through the gathering darkness, Hector was troubled. There was something he had failed to notice during his visit to the prisoners. Piecourt had been too cool, too composed. It was almost as if, by his nonchalant indifference, he was trying to distract Hector’s attention.

He voiced his disquiet to Dan the following day. They were in the armoury where the Miskito was carefully examining the long barrel of an old-fashioned musket. At a work bench nearby Jacques Bourdon was dismantling the weapon’s obsolete firing mechanism. ‘Piecourt’s hiding something,’ said Hector, ‘or at least he was not telling me the truth.’

‘Hardly surprising,’ Dan replied. ‘In the bagnio, if you remember, it was wise to say as little as possible to strangers or anyone in authority in case you got yourself or a friend into trouble.’

‘But this was more than that. Piecourt deliberately discouraged any conversation with me. I have a suspicion that he knows one of the prisoners can supply information about the mortar but didn’t want me to identify who the man is.’

‘And you are sure the technician wasn’t there?’

‘Definitely. I had a good look round and couldn’t see him anywhere, though I did recognise one of the men who normally worked on the rambade.’

‘I doubt that the sailor would know very much,’ said Dan. He was holding the musket barrel up to the light so he could squint down inside the barrel. ‘If you remember, the regular rambade crew was terrified that the mortar would burst, or a bomb explode while still on deck. So they kept well clear when the gun was being tested.’ He picked up a small file and scraped at a rust mark on the musket barrel, then put the musket barrel on one side, and called out to Bourdon, ‘No need to fix that lock, Jacques. This gun’s so rotten that it would blow up the face of the man who used it. Get one of the lads to give it a polish and put it back in the rack so it looks good on display if Moulay comes round on an inspection. But make sure that it doesn’t get issued for active service. I’m condemning it.’

‘That’s one of the guns I got from Hakim Reis, back in the old days,’ commented Allen. The gun founder had just come out of his office on his way to the foundry where the new brass culverin was being chipped out of its mould. ‘Those muskets were made specially for the export market. Shoddy, cheap stuff.’ Turning to Hector, he asked whether he had come back with any more information about the galley mortar. When Hector admitted that he suspected the French comite of the St Gerassimus was holding something back, Allen suggested a new approach. ‘Why don’t you go to speak with Joseph Maimaran, Moulay’s ransom agent? He’s very clever. See if he can devise a way of putting some pressure on the comite to make him talk. I know Joseph quite well as I obtain all my brandy and spirits from the Jews because they have the monopoly on distillation. I’ll send one of the English lads with you, and he’ll bring you to Maimaran’s house. It’s in the Jewish quarter, of course, so you’ll need to explain your business to the guards at the gate.’

THE MELLAH, the Jewish quarter, lay deep within a maze of narrow streets to the rear of the palace compound, and the young lad who guided Hector took gruesome delight in explaining that its name meant ‘the place of salt’ because Jewish butchers were obliged to pickle the heads of traitors before the heads were nailed up on the city gates. The youth also managed to get himself lost, and it was only by following a stranger dressed in a Jew’s black skull cap and cloak who was walking bare foot – the boy explained that the Jews had to go shoeless by Moulay’s order – that they finally came to the gateway in the wall enclosing the Jewish enclave. Here Hector and his guide were allowed to pass after handing over a small bribe.

Joseph Maimaran’s house lay at the end of a narrow alley and had a modest unpainted door set so deep in the surrounding wall that it was easily overlooked. The humble appearance of the building was as unassuming as its owner who greeted his visitor warily. Maimaran was at least sixty years old, and possessed one of the saddest faces Hector had ever seen. There were deep shadows under his doleful eyes, and the small mouth beneath the prominent nose was permanently downturned and despondent. Hector had to remind himself that Joseph Maimaran, according to Allen, was one of the richest men in Morocco. His wealth had helped bring Moulay to power and he was acknowledged leader of the Jewish community. This meant he had to tread a delicate path. Often, when Moulay needed money, Maimaran was expected to extract it from his fellow Jews, and he could not ask for the return of any loan to the Emperor. If he did so, he risked suffering at the hands of the Black Guard.

‘I’ve come about the prisoners from the French galley St Gerassimus ,’ Hector began carefully. ‘The Emperor gave instructions that I was to assist you in setting the amount of their ransom.’

‘So I believe,’ answered Maimaran, who made it his business to stay closely informed about the Emperor’s latest whim.

‘He also wants to acquire a siege gun similar to one on the galley, and for that I need information from the prisoners.’

‘And have you had any success?’

‘Not yet. I was wondering whether it would be possible to reduce the amount of their ransom if they cooperated in the matter of the gun.’

‘It is a proposition fraught with risk,’ commented the Jew. As he observed the young Irishman in front of him, Maimaran wondered if the young man knew just how angry and violent Moulay would be if he learned that he had been denied a full ransom.

‘Sean Allen thought you might be able to suggest another way forward.’

Maimaran pretended to give the matter some thought. But he had already decided he would prevaricate. He spread out his hands in a gesture of helplessness. ‘At this stage I don’t know what to propose. I know too little about the case. It would be helpful to have some more information about the French prisoners, any details that would help me calculate their ransom.’

Hector looked disappointed. ‘Would there be any advantage in getting in touch with other ransom brokers? The leader of the prisoners is a man called Piecourt. He has twice asked that someone send word of their capture to Algiers. Apparently there is someone there – an Iphrahim Cohen – who can arrange their speedy release.’

This time Maimaran’s hesitation was genuine. Hector’s suggestion was a surprise. Of course, Maimaran knew that the leading ransom brokers in Algiers were the Cohen family. He had dealt with them in the past, though in matters of trade, not as ransom brokers. Again the Jew was cautious. ‘Did this man Piecourt give any reason why this Iphrahim Cohen should be told?’

‘No. He only asked that someone contact him.’

‘An interesting idea . . .’ It was odd, Maimaran reflected, that a comite of the French Galley Corps should know the identities of the leading ransom agents in Algiers. ‘Again, it seems that we need to be better informed about the Frenchmen. One of my assistants will visit them. He will assess their ransom value – he is an expert in these matters – and report back to me. In the meantime I suggest you also try to learn more about them. You said that is the Emperor’s wish: that you act as the go-between.’