The Haj - Leon Uris [46]
Farouk was welcomed into the sheik’s small, private, two-poled tent, used to get away from the hubbub of his family in the great tents. Farouk and the sheik exchanged remembrances of the recent fight against the Mufti and of their battles won: the salt of men’s conversation. As the moment of private consultation arrived, Azziz dismissed his pair of black slaves. After long jousting Ramiza’s name was delicately dropped. The old man was caught off guard for a moment and went into a profound performance, extolling the virtues of his other daughters.
‘It is no use, Uncle,’ Farouk said, ‘Ibrahim is smitten. He saw that her eyes were emissaries of greater beauties.’
Azziz mulled mightily. He would have to make a decision on this based on many factors. The tribe had had a run of very bad fortune. Many of his best warriors had been killed during the Mufti’s uprising. An alliance with Haj Ibrahim would be of no harm. Other needs were also pressing. Money for planting seed was needed. Several of his camels had suddenly turned old, frazzled, and lame. With British military personnel running all over the Negev and Sinai deserts, it was difficult to engage in the smuggler’s art. Several of his best contraband runners had been caught and jailed. Because the war pay was high, many had deserted the tribe to work for the British Army. Most sent their wages back to the family, but several had run off to the cities. His own son had fled and had become a homosexual prostitute in Jaffa.
Could he find a better offer than what Haj Ibrahim was prepared to pay?
‘Ramiza is an unblemished jewel,’ he said, grasping his heart.
With that gesture Farouk knew that negotiations were under way.
The sheik slapped his head and waved his arms wildly. ‘Allah himself has rarely feasted his eyes on such purity. I must be completely honest with you, my nephew. There has been inquiry after inquiry for Ramiza. One poor beggar after another has insulted me with his offer. She is a gift, a treasure. She can bear many children. She is also a weaver of baskets ...’
Ramiza’s assets were passionately drawn for nearly an hour.
The first part of the bargaining was to obtain for the prospective bride a personal fortune and trousseau. Although the moneys went directly to her, they would serve as an indication of what the sheik could expect for himself in damages for his ‘great loss.’ Ramiza was entitled to a specific set of gifts and benefits. She must have a room equal in size and furnishings to that of the first wife as well as a room for her children. She must be given the deed to a piece of land of her own in the event of her husband’s death.
Haj Ibrahim had been wise enough not to send Farouk down to Gaza to barter for a sow. The bride’s trousseau he offered was many times greater than was required. Seeing such initial generosity, the sheik felt his appetite suddenly sharpen. Ramiza would be given fifty dunams of land, more than Hagar had by double. It would make her a wealthy widow and assure her of a good second marriage.
With Ramiza’s needs attended to, the time had come to compensate the father for his great loss. The bargaining raged for six hours amid breast beatings, cries of poverty, extolling of the bride’s virtues, hinting at thievery, and a creeping of insults. One by one the sheik got the range of Ibrahim’s limitations on gold and silver coins, crops, seed, numbers of animals. Farouk had managed to stay slightly below the limits his brother had placed. The scent of a deal began to permeate the tent. Farouk then played the clinching card.
With the war on and so many soldiers and military convoys passing through Tabah, the village had naturally gone into illicit arms dealing. Haj Ibrahim’s final offering was two dozen immensely precious rifles of the newest models and five thousand rounds of ammunition. Farouk watched his uncle go dull-eyed, an indication the man