The covenant - James A. Michener [34]
The inspector watched the tame baboon for some moments, then tapped Nxumalo with his staff: 'Your job will be to train him.' Chuckling at his joke, he moved along to inspect another part of the wall.
Having identified Nxumalo among the temporary sojourners who came great distances to labor at the walls before returning to their homes, this inspector formed the habit of asking him each day, 'Well, how are we progressing with the baboon?' then laughing generously. One day he asked, 'Aren't you the chieftain's son?' When Nxumalo nodded, he said, 'Old Seeker wants to see you. He says it's time,' and he ordered Nxumalo to lay down the board on which he had been carrying adobe.
The boy was about to descend when he saw a sight below which staggered him, for moving toward the marketplace came two men of astonishing appearance. They were not black! Like the cloth that Zeolani bleached in the sun, the skin of these men was not black at all, but a pale honey-tan, almost white, and they were dressed in flowing robes even whiter than their skins, with filament protection for their heads.
He was still staring when Old Seeker came up, bustling with importance. 'What's the matter, son?' he asked, and when he saw the strangers whose appearance had so shocked Nxumalo he laughed. 'Arabs. Come up from the sea.' And taking Nxumalo by the arm, he teased: 'If we follow them, you can waste the fortune you've been earning on the walls.'
Nxumalo and his mentor fell in behind the two white men as the latter proceeded regally toward the marketplace, followed by thirty black slaves who had carried their trade goods up from the seacoast. Wherever the procession appeared it was hailed with shouts, and hundreds of city residents trailed along behind to watch the strangers halt at a compound, where they were greeted effusively by a short, rotund black who dominated the market.
'What wonderful treasures I've put aside for you,' the round man cried as the Arabs moved forward to greet him. He was about to disclose more, intimating that as in the past, he had secreted a private hoard of goods to be exchanged for his personal gain, but at sight of Old Seeker his voice lost its animation, for the old man was a court official who sat in judgment on such illegal trading. Punishment was lifetime banishment, so the little merchant, much deflated, ended lamely, 'I'm sure you've brought many good things.'
'I'm sure the king will be pleased with our gifts,' the taller Arab said.
Mention of this august and mysterious figure caused Nxumalo to tremble, for in the months he'd been here, only twice had he glimpsed the king and even then not properly, for it was law that when the great lord of Zimbabwe passed, all must fall upon the ground and avert their eyes.
'It's wise of you to double your gifts,' Old Seeker told the Arabs as he watched them put aside the goods they intended to present the king. 'Last season your gifts were scarcely fit for this fat one here.' And he noticed the signs of worry that crossed the short man's face.
When the Arabs had their gifts prepared, Old Seeker surprised Nxumalo by handing him the iron staff of office: 'This day, son, you shall enter the great place with me.'
The young man who had so valiantly defied the rhinos looked as if he would faint, but the old man placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder: 'It's time for the grandeur I promised you, Nxumalo, son of Ngalo.'
There were no guards at the narrow northern entrance to the Grand Enclosure, for no mortal would dare cross that threshold unless eligible to do so. Since it was the custom for councillors to sponsor young men of promise, Old Seeker had been granted permission to introduce the able young fellow from the