The Haj - Leon Uris [158]
‘I am humiliated,’ I whispered.
‘I knew of Sabri from the first minute,’ Ibrahim said. ‘Do you really believe that he was forced to sleep with an Iraqi officer, to live with him day and night?’
‘He was starving!’
‘A boy in Nablus with the skill of an auto mechanic starving? Or perhaps, after looking over a situation of hardships, the comforts the Iraqi Army had to offer were too great.’
‘Why did he come with us?’ I asked.
Ibrahim shrugged. ‘Maybe he was tiring of his Iraqi friend, maybe his Iraqi was tiring of him. Perhaps they had a lover’s quarrel. Perhaps Sabri had helped himself to too many things around the Iraqi warehouse and was about to be caught. Who knows? He deals in opportunities. Perhaps he thought the opportunity to come with us was the best chance to escape some trouble or another in Nablus.’
Was it all that baffling? How many times each day did Sabri make me momentarily uncomfortable by an overextended embrace, a passing touch, a long squeeze of the hand, a woeful expression. How many nights did I awaken to find Sabri ‘accidentally’ askew in his sleep, with his body all up against mine so I could get an instant feel of his hard prick, and him waiting cleverly for me to make the first advance?
What was going on between him and Nada!
I was ashamed of my stupidity. Of course Sabri was playing a game. He could manipulate anyone with his charm and lull them into believing he was their friend. At the same moment, he would violate a friend’s sister. I must get to know people better.
Haj Ibrahim continued to stare out at the desert. How wise he was. How naïve and foolish I had been.
‘We must watch him with extreme care. The best traitors are the ones like Sabri who can gain your trust. If he lays a hand on your sister, I shall condemn him to death. You, Ishmael, who aspire to lead, shall have your first practical lesson. You will do away with Sabri—in close—with a stroke of the dagger.’
8
SOMETHING TAUNTED ME CONSTANTLY above my ledge. Several hundred feet up was an opening to another cave. Of course, there were many caves around Qumran. Those that were easily accessible we explored from time to time. Others simply could not be reached, except by expert climbers with proper equipment.
This opening above was up a steep wall, but I had learned that there could be many routes to the same objective. One learns of little foot- and handholds, small leaps, the use of ropes.
For many hours and days, I watched the movements of the mountain goats through binoculars. It became the utmost challenge. Nothing of value had been found in any of the other caves, so I fantasized that this one was filled with treasure. It was becoming an obsession,
One morning I was sitting on my ledge with Nada, lolling the time away, when Sabri joined us. Despite my father’s sharp words, I felt quite comfortable with them together there. Besides, we would be doing nothing wrong, only talking.
Soon the three of us were looking up to the high cave and speculating about the possibility of reaching it.
‘I think I have figured out a way,’ I said.
‘It would be no problem,’ Sabri concurred.
‘Then let’s do it!’ Nada said excitedly.
Sabri shrugged. ‘I don’t feel like it today. It is too hot.’
Truthfully, I was glad he said it first because, well, it wasn’t that I was scared ... too much. ... However, it was a sheer wall.
‘Perhaps tomorrow,’ I said.
‘Yes, perhaps tomorrow,’ Sabri agreed.
‘Oh wait,’ I said, ‘I can’t do it tomorrow. I must stand guard. How about the day after tomorrow?’
‘I can’t the day after tomorrow,’ Sabri said, ‘I have to go to the springs.’
‘And I am busy the day after that,’ I said.
‘Next week.’
‘Yes, next week.’
Nada jumped to her feet and laughed at us. ‘You’re afraid!’ she cried. ‘Both of you are afraid.’
‘No such thing!’ we protested in unison.
‘Then let’s go!’ With that she scampered up into the rocks like a mountain goat. ‘Come on,’ she called back tauntingly.
Naturally, neither