Neither the Shekh nor Moullah expected me out on Sunday, which I told them was my festival. I employed that day in mounting and rectifying my quadrant, and that same evening had a clear and distinct observation of Procyon, and several other of the fixed stars, the largest and fittest for my purpose. The next day also, having a good observation of the sun in the meridian, all equations adopted from a mean, I found the latitude of Teawa, the capital of Atbara, to be 14° 2´ 4´´ north. With regard to longitude, Hor-Cacamoot is about six miles east of Teawa, which is nearly under the same meridian with Ras el Feel, so there was no occasion for any observation on that subject.
On the 13th of April arrived a naked Arab of the Jehaina, with intelligence that a caravan belonging to Atbara, which had come to Nara in Abyssinia for salt, had been all seized by Ammonios, Ayto Confu's governor of Nara, their asses and salt taken from them, and the men put in close prison. The Shekh of the Jehaina, an old man of very comely presence, with ten or twelve of his clan on camels, came over to Shekh Fidele that morning before I went out, and they found the Moullah sitting with him. The news struck all of them with a panic, but none more so than our Shekh of Atbara. The Shekh of the Jehaina said he had not heard the cause of it, but so violent a procedure had not happened even when Yasous II. invaded Sennaar, for the people of the two frontiers had all that time been friends. He begged, however, Shekh Fidele immediately to interfere, and send some person to Ras el Feel, to his friend Yasine. When they had settled thus far, a message came for me to attend the Shekh. I immediately went, leaving my servants to put up my quadrant. I had, indeed, an inclination to observe the approaching eclipse; but as I knew perfectly the situation of Teawa with regard to Ras el Feel, I thought I might spare myself this unnecessary trouble, and only make use of the eclipse to frighten Fidele as part of the punishment he so amply deserved.
There was a prodigious number of people assembled at the Shekh's door. The Jehaina had all come upon camels; two or three of the principal ones were sitting with him and the Moullah. One of these, whom I did not know, but who had seen me at Ras el Feel, upon my approaching the Shekh, got up, took me by the hand, and made a very respectful salutation. As he was a friend of Yasine, and Shekh el Nile, I never doubted from that minute that this was a contrivance of theirs in my favour.
The Moullah had alledged, that probably I had dispatched some intelligence to Yasine of my being detained, which had caused him to make this reprisal; but Shekh Fidele assured them that he knew it to be impossible, and that this seizure of the caravan must have been occasioned by some ill-usage to the people belonging to Tchelga and Nara, the frontier villages to the westward. In this the Shekh of Jehaina agreed; for he had heard Ammonios mentioned, but nothing of Yasine. The Moullah was unconvinced, but asked me, "Hakim, have you never sent a complaint to Yasine since you came to Teawa? tell me truly; no harm shall befal you from it." "If I were not to tell you truly said I, Shekh, I would not answer you at all. I am under no obligation to do it, nor am I under any fear. You are but at the beginning of this affair, and many will suffer before I do." "Truly, says the Moullah, but have you sent intelligence to Ras el Feel?" "No, no, says Fidele, he had it not in his power; nor is there a man in Teawa, that durst go on such an errand, it is some disturbance about Tchelga."
I easily perceived that the Moullah wanted me to confess, which I likewise saw the use of myself. "I sent, said I, messengers from Teawa two several times. The first, when Fidele pretended Yasine was to murder me in the desert; the second, when he said he had no camels; and I also mentioned the piastres, and his intention to murder me." "Ammonios, says black Soliman, and Yasine, Nara, and Ras el Feel, all belong to Ayto Confu, and were given to Yagoube by him, for his maintenance all the time he was at Gondar. Ayto Confu and he are brothers; they were together in the camp, slept together in the same house; they are brothers and more than brothers, for they swore to each other, when we passed Tcherkin, upon the heart of the elephant[31]. I swear by our holy faith, that Confu will be down here himself; what does he care for a journey of two days?"
All now with one voice condemned Fidele, who had not a word to say, only, that if he knew the person who carried that message, he would cut off his head, if he was his brother. "But it is impossible, says the Shekh; should I not have known of the messenger being absent? impossible!" Then turning to his servant, said, "Is Kutcho el Hybari here? I have not seen him lately."—"Sir, says he, you know you sent Kutcho to Mendera long before the Hakim arrived."—"True, says Fidele, then it is impossible." "Your messengers and mine, said I, Shekh, are not of the same sort, nor shall I ask your leave when I am to send to Ras el Feel or Sennaar, nor shall you ever cut off the head from any one of them. But why are you alarmed at these asses being taken? Should you not be afraid of something similar happening at Mecca? Am not I under the protection of the sherriffe? When Metical Aga hears this, will he not resent it? Will Yousef Kabil, the Christian, the sherriffe's vizir at Jidda, through whose hands your people pass, will he be gentler to them upon this account?"—"A curse upon him! says the sherriffe; he gentle! he is a shark." "Meloun Ibn Sheitan, says the Turk Ismael, i. e. accursed wretch, child of the devil!"—"Well then, said I, the difficulty is only to know if he is informed of this at Mecca. Friday the 17th is your festival. If the afternoon of that shall pass like those of common days, I am a worthless man and an impostor; but if on that day, before el'asser[32], a sign be seen in the heavens that shall be thought by all of you unusual and extraordinary, then am I an innocent man, and Fidele's designs against me are known to the world, at Sennaar and at Mecca, at Cairo and at Gondar, and everywhere else, and will not be pleasing either to God or man." Yarif el Hakim[33], says the sherriffe; Hakim[34]! says the Shekh of the Jehaina; Ullah Akbar[35]! says the Moullah, lifting his eyes up to heaven, and counting his beads very devoutly.
The foretelling the sign seemed not at all to please the Shekh, who appeared very much disconcerted with the supposed invisibility of messengers. I got up, having pushed my design just far enough. I then shook hands with the Shekh, saying, "I am glad to see you don't want camels, alluding to the number I saw come with the Jehaina; get your bouza made, and your provisions ready, you'll have strangers with you soon." He said only, "(Ullah Kerim!") i. e. God is merciful; which was echoed by every mouth in the room. I saluted particularly the Shekh of the Jehaina, who had seen me at Ras el Feel, and I then went out of the room, leaving them all there, and going home very chearful, began to prepare for leaving Teawa, which we were satisfied was now near at hand.
On the 14th, in the morning, the Moullah and sherriffe, with the Shekh of Beyla's servant, and the old Kaiya Soliman, came to see our clocks and watches. They sat upon benches at the door and drank coffee, not caring to enter the house, I suppose, for fear of being defiled. As the old Kaiya was there, it was almost impossible to speak concerning our affairs, all was about our religion, and the manner in which a Dervish lived. All at once, a servant behind cried out, "News from Sennaar!" and, presently after, we saw three men; one of whom was my servant, whom I sent to Sennaar with the Daveina, who delivered to me a letter from Hagi Belal, informing me, that Mahomet Abou Calec, and Shekh Adelan, were both at a distance from Sennaar, at the head of armies, and the king in the capital almost alone, under great apprehensions; but as no mischief had yet happened, and the king had no force, it was hoped things might be made up. He added, that he thought it better to wait a little, to get a servant of Adelan to accompany the king's, than to trust to that one alone. Having communicated the contents of my letter to Shekh Fidele, and received his congratulations, they all left me, and went to the Shekh to hear what further news were brought to him. What I told him was confirmed; and the Shekh having no longer any option, declared his resolution to obey without further delay, and desired us to get ready for our journey.
It was told us, however, soon after, that the king's servant who had arrived, whose name was Mahomet, was a great friend of Shekh Fidele, and the usual one sent to him at Teawa; and that he was a great drunkard, and reprobate. On the contrary, Adelan's servant, though young, was a very gentle, sober person, a slave that had been given to Adelan by the Shekh of Beyla; and he was very urgent for us to depart. We soon saw the consequence of this difference of manners; and that Shekh Fidele had not relinquished his view to the piastres. For having tutored the king's servant all night, and gained him to his interest, he had, early in the morning of the 15th, declared that he was not to stir from Teawa for a fortnight, and he was ordered to get the camels from some distance in Atbara, the place I do not remember. This displeased Adelan's servant much, who declared before the assembly, that he was determined to set out the next day, that he knew not the orders the king had given, but he knew his master's orders; and that if the Shekh did not furnish him with camels, or opposed our setting out, he would take him with him to Adelan at Aira, or, upon his refusal to go, denounce him a rebel, and his master's enemy, and leave him to what would be the consequence. Upon this bold speech, every body left the Shekh, and went away, whispering, two and two together. The king's servant joined his companion, who told me to be ready, and fear nothing, for he would see me to-morrow night at Beyla.