Chapter XXXVII
That evening we discussed the plan with the sheikh, who approved it as good sense but warned us about the camels of ibn Jubair which were, he said, old and mange-ridden. He directed us to another man, a relative of his, whose camels were much better.
In the morning Harun departed in search of the other man and I waited in the house in case Charles should return. By midday I was bored with sitting inside the house and went down to the beach to talk with the fishermen who were mending their nets. One man allowed me to sit in his boat and even took me sailing towards the other side of the bay but we had only gone a short distance before the waves began to rock the boat with great violence and to splash in, threatening to sink us. I cried out with fear but he only laughed and continued to sing.
Soon, however, I had no room for fear, for my stomach began to churn and my head to turn round and round. I clutched the side of the ship for fear that I should fall into the sea and then vomited violently. At this the man turned the boat and headed back to land and as soon as I stood on the shore my sickness left me.
"It is an enchantment!" I gasped, thinking I had been bewitched and unable to understand why these men who were apparently so friendly should treat me with such cruelty.
"Bewitchment, yes," the fisherman said, "but it is the magic of the sea. Some people sail and the sea seduces them so that they are never happy again unless they are sailing; others the sea rejects and causes to suffer as you have suffered. It is what is written and who can argue with the will of Allah?"
Another man interrupted. "Nonetheless, ya Fuad, it is not the sea itself, for usually those who suffer are able to endure the sea if it is calm, but as soon as the waves come then they are sick."
"Al-hamdu-lillah," I groaned. "Who can understand the ways of Allah?"
By this time it was late in the afternoon and I returned to the house, but neither Charles nor Harun had come, so I sat and talked with my host while the women prepared food. In the evening Harun returned and reported that he had reached a satisfactory arrangement with Saleh bin Hussein, the owner of the camels, and would depart in the morning.
We had finished eating when Charles arrived, riding up to the door and insisting on caring for his horse before coming in to eat.
"How was your journey?" ibn Tahir asked him when he had eaten.
"Al-hamdu-lillah," Charles replied, bowing to our host.
"And the men of the castle?" ibn Tahir asked.
Charles scowled. "May God curse their mothers," he muttered. "First they refused to ferry me across the water because I was not of their party, then when I paid them they still refused to allow me entry to the castle because I did not bring a writing from the captain in Eilat. Still, I spoke to many of them, including the captain of the guard, and they are as ignorant as we are - perhaps even more so. They see the boats coming and going, but they only hear what news is taken to them by people from the camp here."
"There have been no boats today," ibn Tahir told us. "We also have no knowledge of what is going on down there."
"If I hear anything, I will surely send you word," Harun said to Charles. "I am leaving in the morning for Wej."
This, of course, was the first Charles had heard of the plan and we spent some time explaining and discussing it. At the end Charles sat back and picked his teeth.
"By God, I wish I could go with you! That would be the surest way to find out what is going on."
Ibn Tahir shook his head. "You have come this far in safety, but beyond here the Franks have no power and you would certainly be killed. Even in time of peace no infidel has ever gone to the Holy Cities, but now that there is war it would be impossible."
"We are three and we are armed," Charles pointed out.
"And the tribes are many hundreds and also armed," ibn Tahir replied. "If they do not kill you in al-Khuraybah they will certainly do so in ash-Sharmah, and if you escape the men of ash-Sharmah you will without doubt die in al-Muwaylih."
"Perhaps I could hire a boat and bypass all these dangers?" Charles suggested.
Ibn Tahir again shook his head. "We have no boats," he said, ignoring the boats which lined the beach below his house. "Our people are fishermen, not sailors. They could not travel such a distance and if they could, still they would refuse to carry a Nasrani to such a destination."
Charles turned to me. "Fuad, I hate to ask you to do something I cannot do myself, but would you be willing to accompany Harun and get what news you can on the way?"
I tried to keep my face calm as a man should, but I could not. "By God, Charles, to visit Mecca is my dearest wish!"
Charles grinned and then laughed out loud. "Yes, I'd forgotten you would want to do the pilgrimage. So long as you bring reliable news, I don't suppose Guy would object to you taking time off. Harun, does this man of yours have another camel?"
"Certainly," Harun replied. "I inspected his beasts myself and he has five camels, all good quality. We were going to ride two and take two as spares, but I am sure we can make do with five."
"I'll look after your horse," Charles told me, "but what about yours, Harun?"
Harun looked mysterious. "My horse will be cared for, ready for my return," he said and we forebore to question him further.
Nonetheless we discussed the matter until it was time to sleep and the conclusion was that I should travel with Harun in the morning. I was almost too excited to sleep and long before the time of the dawn prayer I was up packing my saddlebags and filling my water bottle.
By the time we had eaten Saleh bin Hussein had arrived with his four camels and while he went to fetch two more - for he had a sixth camel which was really the property of his cousin - Charles took me to one side and gave me most of the money in his purse.
"You'll need it," he said, pressing the money into my hand. "For the honour of Guy and the Franks, do not allow Harun to pay for everything. Find out what is happening down there and if there has been a battle and there are prisoners, you can promise a ransom - but do remember that Guy is not rich."
The sun was already a handsbreadth above the horizon when Harun and I mounted our camels and hooked our legs around the pommel of the saddle. Saleh bin Hussein called to the beasts and they rose as one and set off for the south. I turned and waved to Charles for as long as I could see him, and then faced to the south, towards Mecca, the holy city.
