Chapter II


The Frank rode round the next bend in the wadi and disappeared from sight behind the sheep's head rock. The next moment I heard a shout, followed almost immediately by a confused yelling and the sound of iron clashing against iron. An Arab on a horse burst into view, his horse's hooves kicking up a cloud of dust as he wheeled in a wide circle and charged back down the wadi. At the same moment the Frank came into sight again, his horse staggering backwards as the Frank slashed and parried and slashed again at the two men on horseback who were attacking him.

I narrowed my eyes and then broke into a run towards the battle. These men were of the Bani Jibrin, our enemies, and though I should, of course, have supported True Believers when they attacked a Nasrani, yet the Frank had been both courteous and kind to me. I had accepted his gift of silver so that he was, as it were, a guest in our tents. In any case, there was a blood fued between the Bani Jibrin and our tribe, for they had slain my brother in a raid two years previously. The fact that our enemies were his enemies as well left me no choice.

As I ran I scanned the ground. My pockets were full of clods of earth; now I needed good round stones for a sure aim. After only a few paces I spotted one and stooped to pick it up. When I stood up again the first Arab I had seen was nearly upon the Frank, clearly intending to attack him from behind. At almost the last moment, however, the Frank swung his horse around, turning it so that his back was to the sheep rock. Perforce his enemies had to turn as well and the one nearer to me was now in the way of his comrade, who had to swerve past him and wheel again beyond the struggle.

I ran towards them, fumbling the stone into the sling. The first man was at the extreme limit of my range, so I continued to run and to swing the sling in wide circles until he had turned his horse and was charging back, seemingly directly towards me. When I judged that he was within reach I stopped, swung once more and then stepped forward, timing the release to come just as my foot hit the ground. The stone flew straight as an arrow and struck the rider full in the face. He threw up his hands and fell backwards off his horse. The horse galloped on past the fight and then stopped near me, its sides heaving.

Right by my foot was another stone, almost perfectly round. I put it in the sling and then considered. The remaining two men were much nearer but in their fight with the Frank they were lurching back and forth at such a rate that any shot would be risky. I therefore took aim and slung my stone at the horse of the nearer man. I saw the cloud of dust rise from the animal's withers where the stone struck and the horse reared up, screaming with pain and surprise.

I am sure that the Frank did not know the reason why the man's horse reared, but he was quick to take advantage of it. On the instant he kicked his horse with his heels, launching it forward towards the man who was still untouched. With two strokes of his long, straight sword the Frank cut the man down and then turned towards the remaining Arab.

The man had only just succeeded in mastering his horse and was totally unprepared to withstand an assault. He jerked savagely at his reins, hauling his horse round by main force, and galloped up the wadi towards me. It looked like flight, but perhaps he merely intended to outrun the Frank's heavy horse and then return to the struggle. I, however, was not minded to let any of the sons of Jibrin ride freely in our territory. I snatched up the first stone that came to hand, swung the sling once and let go.

The man jerked upright in his saddle and then sagged slowly sideways, dropped his sword and toppled off to land only a few paces from me. I ran past him, snatched up his sword and whirled, ready to sell my life as dearly as possible, but there was no need. The man lay on his face, unmoving and when I cautiously turned him over there was blood all over his nose and between his eyes where my stone had hit him.

"Bring him here, O boy."

I looked up. The Frank had climbed down from his horse and was bending over the first man. As I watched he grasped the neck of the man's robe and dragged him up the wadi towards where the great horse was standing quietly, shaking its head and snorting now and then. I bent down and did the same, dragging my victim down the wadi towards the Frank.

I had the greater distance to cover - and I had to stop and rest twice - so the Frank was standing waiting for me when I arrived, his feet straddling the man he had killed with his sword.

"Well done, boy!" He stepped over and looked closely at the man I had brought. He chuckled. "Wait till I tell my friends in Jerusalem that I was attacked by three men but only killed one of them. A shepherd boy dealt with the other two. Thy name should be Daoud."

"Are they dead?" I asked, my heart beating faster. They were the first men I had ever killed and even though it had not been in battle, face to face with swords, I could surely call myself a man now.

"This one isn't," the Frank said, pointing to the man he had brought. "Let's see the other one." He stooped down and peered closely at the third man. "No, this one also lives. I wonder who they are?"

"They are of the Bani Jibrin," I told him. "They are the enemies of our house. By your leave, Sidi, I will kill them."

I raised my sword and took aim at the man lying at my feet. The Frank laughed.

"Truly, thou art a blood-thirsty imp. Let him be, boy."

"Why?" I demanded. "The Bani Jibrin are our enemies."

"There are two reasons," the Frank said, calmly. "First, thou art holding the sword all wrong. If, when thy man is lying at thy feet, thou strikest so, thou wilt surely blunt the sword on the ground. Better far to place the point against his chest and thrust. But secondly," he continued in haste as I changed my grip on the sword, "I want to know why these men were here and why they attacked me. They cannot tell me this if they are dead."

I lowered my sword. "Sidi, as to why they came, they are raiders come to attack us and to steal our animals. Look."

I went over to the nearest horse, making gentle noises in my throat to calm it, and caught hold of its reins. There was a saddlebag hanging from the crupper and I lifted it down and shook it out on the ground. Some bread fell out and I picked it up, broke a piece off and crumbled it between my fingers.

"This bread, Sidi, is at least three days old."

I unhooked the waterskin and sniffed at its contents and then took a sip, swilling it round my mouth.

"This water, Sidi, comes from Bir ash-Sharif. The men of my tribe were there two nights ago and also last night. One came from there in the morning and he spoke of old tracks on the ground. Therefore these sons of Iblis must have visited the well at least three nights ago, as you may see from the fact that the skin is nearly empty."

The Frank looked at me, his eyebrows raised. "So much from so little! Tell me, boy, what else canst thou tell concerning these sons of Jibrin?"

I considered them carefully before replying.

"Sidi, the men themselves I do not know, but by his dress I think the man you killed may be Ahmed ibn Abd-allah ibn al-Mansoor. He is a famous warrior and if it is he, you have gained great honour by killing him. Also their weapons:" I gestured with the sword I was holding. "They look new and the edges are straight. They have not been dented in battle and then resharpened. I am no judge of such matters, but I would say that they are Syrian made, from Damascus. Now the Bani Jibrin are not so wealthy that they can afford swords from Damascus, therefore someone has been supplying them."

"Ha!" The Frank looked pleased. "And when thou sayest 'someone' thy meaning is the Sultan?"

I shrugged. "That is not for me to say, Sidi, but there is talk in the tents that the Sultan, whom God protect, is preparing for war against the Franks."

"The king in al-Quds has also heard these tales," the Frank said, "and his councils are disturbed. That is the purpose of my journey, though I would not say as much to anyone except thee, for today my life was in thy hands."

I smiled at him. He was a just man who acknowledged his debts and did not seek to avoid them by boasting. I felt that I could come to like him, even though he was a Nasrani.

"Well," said the Frank, "Let us bind these men while they sleep and do not cause trouble."

He drew a small dagger from his belt and stooped over the first man. With swift movements he cut a long strip of cloth from his jellabiyeh and then rolled him over and used it to bind the man's hands. Another strip served to bind his ankles and then the Frank turned to the third man and bound him likewise.

"Sidi," I informed him, "Our people regard it as kindness to kill a wounded man rather than leave him alive to die of thirst."

The Frank straightened up and grinned at me. "Perhaps we shall grant this kindness to these men, but only after they have spoken to us. I wish to know whether I can expect other ambushes along the way or whether this was a chance affair."

"Then may I kill them?"

"I said thou wast a blood-thirsty imp!" The Frank stared at me. "Why art thou so eager to kill a man?"

"Sidi, my brother was killed in just such a raid two years ago. It is my duty to avenge his blood."

"Well, that is just." The Frank nodded slowly. "Very well, but it must be done cleanly. Thou must allow me to guide thy sword."

We dragged the two men over into the meagre shade of the wadi wall and lay them down several paces apart. I squatted down in the shade but the Frank, who was encumbered by a heavy coat of mail, sat on a nearby rock and gave himself up to cleaning his sword and repairing the damage done to it by the recent battle, using a whetstone he drew from his girdle.