The Haj - Leon Uris [160]
My flashlight dimmed, indicating that the batteries were wearing out. ‘There’s nothing worth anything,’ I said, disappointed. ‘We’d better get out.’
‘Wait! Back there,’ Nada said, pointing to an opening. It led to a room so low that she had to get on her hands and knees to enter it.
‘Come on, Nada. If this light goes out, we’ll be in trouble.’
I was mad because she didn’t listen to me, but I had no choice but to crawl behind her. ‘It’s too low,’ I complained. ‘No one could live here.’
‘But they could certainly hide something.’
We came to a dead end, all bunched up together, making it difficult to get turned around again. I played my light around, but all we could see was a pile of sticks.
‘Nothing here,’ I insisted.
‘Somebody must have brought these sticks in here,’ she said.
‘So what?’
‘Wait. Listen,’ she said.
‘I don’t hear anything.’
‘There, where you brushed up against the side, turning around.’
‘Just some stones sliding,’ I said. ‘I’m not turning around again.’
‘Ishmael! Point the light. What is that!’
All I could see was a small piece of basket that had slid out of a crevice with some stones. Nada picked up one of the sticks and dug at the spot. It was as though a trapdoor had suddenly opened. Things started to fall out! There were many! Six or more! It was so tight, we were almost on our bellies. We couldn’t really examine what they were. I grunted my way into position, took a stick, poked at the hole, and enlarged it so my hand could fit. I reached in and pulled out three more metal things. My flashlight dimmed again.
‘Take what you can carry. I’ll take the rest. Let’s get out!’
We got back into the main hall just in time. As we reached the light of the cave opening, the flashlight went dead. We set the objects down and stared at them. They were beautiful things made of metal, copper I think, with all sorts of twists and turns and decorations on them. One was decorated with ibex heads and another, which looked like a crown, had a ring of carved birds on it. There were two other objects made of ivory that were curved and had many holes.
‘What are they, Ishmael?’
‘I don’t know, but I think they are very important.’
‘We have nothing to carry them down in,’ she said. ‘Let’s hide them and come back with baskets.’
‘No, they might be discovered and stolen,’ I said, pulling off my shirt. I was able to wrap half of them. What to do? Allah, help me think! ‘All right, Nada, your skirt,’ I said.
She took it off without hesitation and had only her ankle-length bloomers to protect her modesty. ‘I will try not to look,’ I said gallantly, ‘and if I do by mistake, I swear I will never mention it for the rest of my life.’
‘It does not matter. You are my brother. Besides, this is more important.’
When we reached Sabri, he had gained a measure of control over himself. Our happiness would help make the trip down easier. When we were ready to leave, it occurred to me that we would have to explain all of this to Ibrahim. I realized we would have to make up a small lie and take an oath together. For the first time in my life, I was ashamed before a woman.
‘Nada, we cannot tell Father you were climbing around with Sabri and me. I could say I was up there alone, but he would know I could not have brought everything down by myself. We will have to say it was Sabri and me.’
Her big bright eyes were filled with hurt. Sabri lowered his own. He could not look at her, nor could I.
‘You know Father,’ I mumbled. ‘He might beat me and Sabri to death. He might harm you.’
We must have sat silently for a half hour. Nada took my hand and then daringly took Sabri’s as well. ‘You are right, Ishmael. You and Sabri found these things. I was not there.’
9
YOU CAN THINK OF yourself as a Bedouin, believe you are one, and try to live like one. A few of that breed known as the desert rat manage to survive for a time, but if you’re not born here,