But all that I could say was very far short of the violent expostulation from the Gindi that immediately followed. He gave Hagi Belal many not obscure hints, "that he looked upon this injury as done to himself, and would repay him; that though he had done this to please the king, the time might not be far off when that favour would be of very little use to him; on the contrary, might be a reason for stripping him of all he had in the world." The force of these arguments seemed to strike Hagi Belal's imagination very powerfully. He even offered to advance 50 sequins, and to see if he could raise any more among his friends. The Gindi (a rare instance in that country) offered to lend him fifty. But the dye was now cast, the chain had been produced and seen, and it was become exceedingly dangerous to carry such a quantity of gold in any shape along with me. I therefore consented to sell it to Hagi Belal in presence of the Gindi, and we immediately set about the purchase of necessaries, with this proviso, that if Adelan, upon my going to Shaddly, did furnish me with camels and necessaries, so much of the chain should be returned.
It was the 5th of September that we were all prepared to leave this capital of Nubia, an inhospitable country from the beginning, and which, every day we continued in it, had engaged us in greater difficulties and dangers. We flattered ourselves, that, once disengaged from this bad step, the greatest part of our sufferings was over; for we apprehended nothing but from men, and, with very great reason, thought we had seen the worst of them.
In the evening I received a message from the king to come directly to the palace. I accordingly obeyed, taking two servants along with me, and found him sitting in a little, low chamber, very neatly fitted up with chintz, or printed callico curtains, of a very gay and glaring pattern. He was smoaking with a very long Persian pipe through water, was alone, and seemed rather grave than in ill-humour. He gave me his hand to kiss as usual, and, after pausing a moment without speaking, (during which I was standing before him) a slave brought me a little stool and set it down just opposite to him; upon which he said, in a low voice, so that I could scarcely hear him, "Fudda, sit down," pointing to the stool. I sat down accordingly. "You are going, I hear, says he, to Adelan." I answered, "Yes." "Did he send for you?" I said, "No; but, as I wanted to return to Egypt, I expected letters from him in answer to those I brought from Cairo." He told me, Ali Bey that wrote these letters was dead; and asked me if I knew Mahomet Abou Dahab? Yagoube. "Perfectly; I was well acquainted with him and the other members of government, all of whom treated me well, and respected my nation." King. "You are not so gay as when you first arrived here." Ya. "I have had no very great reason." Our conversation was now taking a very laconic and serious turn, but he did not seem to understand the meaning of what I said last. K. "Adelan has sent for you by my desire; Wed Abroff and all the Jehaina Arabs have rebelled, and will pay no tribute. They say you have a quantity of powerful fire-arms with you that will kill twenty or thirty men at a shot." Ya. "Say fifty or sixty, if it hits them." K. "He is therefore to employ you with your guns to punish those Arabs, and spoil them of their camels, part of which he will give to you." I presently understood what he meant, and only answered, "I am a stranger here, and desire to hurt no man. My arms are for my own defence against robbery and violence." At this instant the Turk, Hagi Ismael, cried from without the door, in broken Arabic, "Why did not you tell those black Kafrs, you sent to rob and murder us the other night, to stay a little longer, and you would have been better able to judge what our fire-arms can do, without sending for us either to Abroff or Adelan. By the head of the prophet! let them come in the day-time, and I will fight ten of the best you have in Sennaar."
K. "The man is mad, but he brings me to speak of what was in my head when I desired to see you. Adelan has been informed that Mahomet, my servant, who brought you from Teawa, has been guilty of a drunken frolic at the door of his house, and has sent soldiers to take him to-day, with two or three others of his companions." Ya. "I know nothing about Mahomet, nor do I drink with him, or give him drink. About half a score of people broke into Adelan's house in the night, with a view to rob and murder us, but I was not at the pains to fire at such wretches as these. Two or three servants with sticks were all that were needful. I understand, indeed, that Shekh Adelan is exceedingly displeased that I did not fire at them, and has sent to the Gindi, ordering him to deliver two of them to him to-morrow to be executed publicly before the door of his house on the market-day. But this, you know, is among yourselves. I am very well pleased none of them are dead, as they might have been, by my hands or those of my people." K. "True; but Adelan is not king, and I charge you when you see him to ask for Mahomet's life, or a considerable deal of blame will fall upon you. When you return back, I will send him to conduct you to the frontiers of Egypt." Upon this I bowed, and took my leave. I went home perfectly determined what I was to do. I had now obtained from the king an involuntary safe-guard till I should arrive at Adelan's, that is, I was sure that, in hopes I might procure a reprieve for Mahomet, no trap would be laid for me on the road. I determined therefore to make the best use of my time; and every thing being ready, we loaded the camels, and sent them forward that night to a small village called Soliman, three or four miles from Sennaar; and having settled my accounts with Hagi Belal, I received back six links, the miserable remains of one hundred and eighty-four, of which my noble chain once consisted.
This traitor kept me the few last minutes to write a letter to the English at Jidda, to recommend him for the service he had done me at Sennaar; and this I complied with, that I might inform the broker Ibrahim that I had received no money from his correspondent, and give him a caution never again to trust Hagi Belal in similar circumstances.
CHAP. X.
Journey from Sennaar to Chendi.
After leaving Sennaar I was overtaken on the road by a black slave, who at first gave me some apprehension, as I was alone with only one Barbarian, a Nubian servant, by the side of my camel, and was going slowly. Upon inquiry I found him to be sent from Hagi Belal, with a basket containing some green tea and sugar, and four bottles of rack, in return for my letter. I sent back the messenger, and gave the care of the basket to my own servant; and, about ten o'clock in the evening of the 5th of September, we all met together joyfully at Soliman.
Before my departure from Sennaar I had prevailed on a Fakir, or Mahometan monk, servant to Adelan, to write a letter to his master, unknown to any other person whatever, to let him know my apprehensions of the king, and that, in the uncertainty how far his occupations might oblige him to move from Shaddly, my way was directly for Herbagi, and requesting that he would give me such recommendations to Wed Ageeb as should put me in safety from the king's persecution, and insure me protection and good reception in Atbara. I begged him, in the most serious manner, to consider, however slightly he had thought of the king of Abyssinia's recommendatory letters, he would not treat those of the regency of Cairo, and of the sherriffe of Mecca, in the same manner; that my nation was highly respected in both places; and that it was known, by letters written from Sennaar, that I actually was arrived there; that they should take care therefore, and not by ill-usage of me expose their merchants, either at Mecca or Cairo, to a severe retaliation that would immediately follow the receiving bad news of me, or no news at all. My faithful Soliman, who was now to leave me, was charged to carry the answers they should choose to return to the letters I brought from Abyssinia, and I sent him that very night, together with the Fakir, to Adelan at Shaddly, fully instructed with every particular of ill-usage I had received from the king, of which he had been an eye-witness.