The author is a missionary who has travelled extensively in the
East, and is thoroughly familiar with the wild tribes of the
desert. In the subjoined narrative he relates the love-story of
a young Arab girl--a real life romance with the conventional
happy ending of fiction.
It was that time of the day which Orientals call _asr_, between
four o’clock and sunset--just the time when the Arab chief likes to
be on hand so that he may receive and welcome any who may seek the
hospitality and shelter afforded by his simple home, and see for
himself that sufficient food for man and beast is provided, so that
both may sup and be satisfied.
On a certain afternoon Sheikh Khaleel sat at his tent door watching the
sun slowly sink toward the west, wondering, as he pulled at the dying
embers in his pipe, if it would be his lot to entertain any guest that
night.
As his sharp eyes looked out from under his shaggy eyebrows he saw
in the distance a rider mounted on a camel, whose head was directed
straight for the camp under the chief’s control.
It was not long before both camel and rider stood at the door of the
guest-tent, and the chief, having tethered the ship of the desert to
one of the tent-pegs, invited his guest to enter, and at once set about
preparing the coffee according to Arab custom.
The new arrival, whose name was Abd-el-Thullam (the servant of cruelty)
was well known to the Arabs for scores of miles round, and a visit from
him always meant something unusual and of importance, hence the wonder
of the host and his neighbours at the coming of one with so uninviting
a name, which was obtained by deeds that gave subject for conversation
around many a camp-fire after supper. Speculations as to the coming of
this well-known chief were many, and although not audibly expressed
filled the minds of all present, and of none more so than the women,
who were separated from the menfolk only by the coarse goats’-hair
curtain that divided the tent. Little did the host’s only daughter
think that she was the cause of this unexpected visitor coming among
them, or how much his presence meant to her and others.
Arab etiquette forbids any direct asking of questions or quizzing
into the affairs of a guest, so both before and after supper the
conversation was upon subjects far away from the one that had brought
Abd-el-Thullam into the camp of Sheikh Khaleel, and the simple folk of
the wilderness closed their eyes in sleep without having the faintest
idea of the object of Abd-el-Thullam’s visit.
With the morning light the camp was astir, both men and women going
about their daily callings, each one wondering what the day would
reveal. After the matutinal cup of coffee the guest made known the
object of his coming, doing so in such forceful and measured language
as to impress upon the little company of listeners the fact that his
wishes must be complied with.
Condensed into a few words, the rather lengthy speech of the “servant
of cruelty” was somewhat as follows: “Sheikh Khaleel, may Allah grant
you a long life and build your house (grant you sons to perpetuate your
name and family). To the women of my household I desire to add another,
for has not our Prophet given us permission to have four wives? Already
I have three. Now I have come to ask for your daughter, and am ready
to give the price that you may ask for her. As I am to join a raiding
party in a few days the matter must be settled at once. May Allah give
you patience and wisdom.”
The statement was so unexpected that no one could make reply for a
minute or so. At last the silence was broken by Khaleel saying, “The
will of Allah be done! What is decreed must come to pass.”
Now, the business of a betrothal and marriage is not usually hurried
among Arabs, for much talking is necessary to settle the price of the
bride, and time is needed in which to pay the amount agreed upon, and
to arrange and comply with the wedding festivities and customs. Hence
Sheikh Khaleel and his neighbours were surprised in a two-fold way,
first by the boldness of the request, and secondly by the desire to
hasten the matter. So, reminding the impatient suitor that “God was
with the patient ones,” Khaleel bade him wait a while.
But the man desirous of many wives pressed his claim and asked the
price of the girl, again saying that he was ready to give whatever was
asked.
All the while Khaleel had been wondering if this was not his chance to
make a good bargain, although for two reasons he was loath to part with
his daughter, whose name was Lulu (the pearl). Was she not his only
daughter--in fact, the only child Allah had spared to him? Moreover,
although there had been no formal or public betrothal, he knew well
enough that Lulu’s heart and affections had already been won by a young
man of his own camp and community. But here was the opportunity to
drive a good and hard bargain. And what did it matter, after all? It
was only about a girl, who might any day be taken ill and die; also, he
might have to get her off at a small return later on if he allowed this
chance to slip by.
At last Khaleel spoke, making known the terms on which his daughter
could become the fourth wife of the unwelcome guest. They were as
follows: a mare, one hundred goats, fifty sheep, and two hundred silver
medjidiehs (each worth three and fourpence), all to be paid within
three days, with the stipulation that, should Lulu die before the time
for taking her to her new home, viz., seven days of feasting, the above
payment should become the sole property of Chief Khaleel, her father.
In addition to the above the new son-in-law was to give for five
successive years one hundred measures of new wheat and fifty of barley.
The terms were received in silence, and anyone glancing at the faces
of those assembled could gather that each thought the price high, but
all knew that the visiting chief was rich and well able to pay the fee
demanded, if he chose to do so.
Nearly the whole day was spent in arguing, persuasion, and calculation,
but Sheikh Khaleel was immovable, the more so as he saw a chance of
getting his terms.
Finding that talking was of no avail, Abd-el-Thullam finally consented
to the terms on condition that, as soon as the purchase price was paid,
the seven days of wedding festivities should commence. To this Khaleel
gave his consent, and, although the day was far spent, the prospective
bridegroom mounted a horse which had been brought for him and rode
away, leaving the camel on which he had arrived as an earnest of his
return. For three days the camel was tied before the guest-tent, and
was only redeemed just in time to save it from being forfeited.
We must now leave the guest-tent and for a time consider some other
people who were keenly interested in the happenings just related.
First, a word about Lulu. As already stated, she was the only child of
her father, and, such being the case, she was naturally better cared
for and more thought of than if there had been rivals in the shape
of brothers. Her father spared her in many ways the indignities so
commonly imposed upon females in the East, one distinction between her
and other girls of the tribe being that her face had not been tattooed.
At the time of our story her age was about fourteen. The bloom of
youth on her cheek, with the uprightness of figure so common among
Arab girls, made her queenly in appearance in spite of her oft-patched
flowing robes.
Among her own kith and kin she reigned supreme, for, having lost her
mother soon after her birth, she had claimed the nursing and attention
of most of the women in the camp; hence she was ruled by none and
spoiled by all.
[Illustration: “FOR THREE DAYS THE CAMEL WAS TIED BEFORE THE
GUEST-TENT.”
_From a Photograph._]
Some of the youths, too, had paid her attention, and, having grown up
side by side with her, were more than mere friends. One, whose name was
Abd-Salaam (the servant of peace), had even found it in his heart to
love her, which aspiration he knew was not in vain, for on more than
one occasion Lulu had assured him that when the time came for her to
become a wife none but the “servant of peace” would suffice.
Now it so happened that all that had passed and been settled in the
guest-tent between father and visitor was unknown to either Lulu or
her lover, for the former had been away all day gathering fuel on the
hill-sides in company with another girl, while Abd-Salaam had gone with
others to a distant town in charge of some sheep, the day he left the
camp being the one on which the wife-seeker arrived.
It is customary among the Arabs for the girl who is to be betrothed not
to be consulted as to any likes or dislikes on her part, and she knows
nothing about her being traded off to some stranger until informed by
having the large outer garment of the suitor thrown around her, and
hearing the announcement that she belongs to him.
The surprise of Lulu, therefore, on her return to the camp may be
imagined when the scribe of the community approached her and, all
unawares, covered her with a large camel-hair _abba_, saying, “The name
of God be with thee, O Lulu. None shall have thee but Abd-el-Thullam.”
Surprised as she was, she threw off the cloak and entered the tent,
inwardly vowing that none should have her but the constant companion of
her girlhood. With the liberty allowed her as the chief’s daughter she
went into the guest-tent, and, with hands clenched and determination
written on her face, informed her father that her home and lot should
not be among strangers, and that the hated “servant of cruelty” should
be no husband of hers. In this way warfare was declared, and the
probability of trouble in the near future announced.
That night she was sprinkled with sheep’s blood, as a sign that her
life belonged to another. Next day she was accompanied by the women to
a spring, and, according to custom, thoroughly washed and purified,
while on the day following busy fingers worked incessantly making
a wedding-robe for the supposed bride. Lulu tolerated all these
formalities in silence, but inwardly decided that, do what they would
and act as they might, she would never be the bride of the one who was
to supplant the choice of long ago.
The afternoon of the third day came round, but no suitor with the
price of the bride had appeared, and it looked as though Lulu would
be released from her probable marriage, and her father become the
possessor of a camel for little trouble. Just an hour before sunset,
however, a cloud of dust in the distance told of the coming of flocks,
and ere the golden orb disappeared altogether Abd-el-Thullam had
handed over what was demanded in return for his prospective bride. The
bleating of the sheep and the clinking of the silver pieces only made
Lulu vow afresh that no tent of a stranger should shelter her.
The price having been paid in the presence of witnesses, the wedding
festivities commenced. The firing of old flint-lock guns was the signal
that announced holiday-keeping for a week. Sheep were killed, bread
baked in abundance, and coffee-drinking went on continuously. This is a
time much appreciated by the dwellers of the wilderness, for then they
are able to satisfy the cravings of hunger and for once in a season eat
until satisfied.
Whilst the men raced on their horses or fought imaginary battles, the
women whiled away the hours in dancing, singing, or sipping coffee
between puffs at their long pipes. So the days passed, and the end of
the marriage feast approached.
Only Lulu took no part or interest in all that was going on, and as the
men or women chanted in turn the virtues, praises, and good fortune
of both bride and bridegroom, it all fell like water on a duck’s back
so far as the girl-bride was concerned. Inwardly she longed for the
return of her boy lover, so that he might in some way intervene to stop
the proceedings, and so win her for himself according to their mutual
pledge.
But the “servant of peace” did not come, for the demand in the town for
sheep was poor, and he had to wait many days ere the flock was disposed
of and he free to return to his goats’-hair home. As time and tide
wait for no man, neither did the last day of the wedding festivities
tarry, and all too soon for the greatly-distressed Lulu the seventh day
dawned, and with it no visible escape from what seemed her inevitable
fate.
With the constant attention of the women, escape by flight was
well-nigh impossible, but before noon a probable way of deliverance
presented itself which Lulu was not slow to grasp. A small company of
gipsies arrived at the camp, one of whom--an old woman--professed a
knowledge of drugs, and verified her statements by producing a small
box of mysterious-looking compounds in powder.
The arrival of the party drew away attention from Lulu, but she engaged
the attention of the vender of drugs, and elicited from her the fact
that among her wares was poison. It was only the work of a few minutes
to exchange cash for a mysterious powder, directions for the use of
which were imparted to Lulu in an undertone.
As evening drew on preparations were made for the sending away after
supper of bride and bridegroom. The camel that was to carry Lulu to her
new home was decorated and made ready, and the torches and tom-toms
seen to and handed out to those who were to accompany the procession on
its way to the camp of Abd-el-Thullam. It seemed that nothing remained
to be done save to partake of supper and start.
[Illustration: “IT WAS ONLY THE WORK OF A FEW MINUTES TO EXCHANGE CASH
FOR A MYSTERIOUS POWDER.”]
During the serving of the unusually large meal, which occupied the
attention of the women for a time, Lulu slipped out backwards under
the rear curtain of the tent and disappeared. Few missed her for a
time, for all were busy, but when the call was given, “Bring out the
bride and let her husband claim her,” great was the astonishment, for
no bride was on hand. One abused the other, and the angry bridegroom
accused his host of treachery and would have shot him but for the
interference of others, who reminded him again that Allah was with the
patient ones.
All denied that the girl was dead, for had they not seen her alive only
a short time before? She would return soon, they said, and put an end
to the confusion and mystery.
Meanwhile scouts were sent out around the camp, only to return later
without tidings of the fugitive. All that night watch was kept, but
morning dawned without the mystery being solved, and as the day wore
on speculations were indulged in as to whom the purchase price of
Lulu belonged, for, although she had now disappeared, she on her part
had not done anything within the seven days of the feast to cause her
intended master to claim the price paid for her. The sun set again
without any light being shed on the disappearance or whereabouts of the
girl-bride, and Abd-el-Thullam was furious at being balked of his prey,
swearing by every oath available that he would lose neither wife nor
purchase price, even if the regaining of one or the other made lifelong
enmity between the two tribes.
[Illustration: “AN OLD TOMB HEWN IN THE SIDE OF THE CISTERN.”
[_From a Photograph._]]
We must now leave the puzzled company in the guest-tent and see what
had become of Lulu. After slipping under the tent-cloth, she commenced
to run as fast as her bare feet would permit her. In her excitement and
joy at being free she cared little in which direction she fled, and
although the night was unusually dark, by reason of heavy storm-clouds,
she sped on over hill and valley until thoroughly tired and exhausted.
As she rested her weary little frame on the soft herbage of the
wilderness the solitude and stillness made her nervous and afraid.
Her trepidation was not lessened by a sudden movement near her--made,
probably, by a jackal more alarmed than herself.
The fright made her rise quickly and again take to flight, but after
running a few hundred yards misfortune overtook her, for, without
warning, she tripped and fell headlong into an old unused cistern quite
twenty-five feet deep. The fall made her unconscious, and as the pit
was far from the camp she was safe for that night, while a tangle of
creepers and thorns over the mouth of the cavity made her fairly secure
by day.
Here, bruised and unconscious, the poor little bride-to-be lay until
daybreak, when, with the rising sun, her senses returned to her. Having
considered her surroundings, she decided to secure herself further by
creeping into an old tomb hewn in the side of the cistern, where at
least she could die in peace rather than be the slave of one utterly
distasteful to her. So, with one last fond thought for her absent
lover, she swallowed the gipsy’s potion and crawled into the small
aperture. Here she soon fell into a stupor, caused partly by weariness,
but mainly by the powder bought from the old drug-vender.
But what had become of the boy-lover all these days that he had not
returned to the camp and become conversant with all that had happened
to his little companion?
As already stated, he was delayed by a slack market; but after some
days he was free to return, and, in charge of two camels, he set out
for his wilderness home. On the day after Lulu’s escape he was crossing
the great plain, happy at the prospect of reaching camp before evening.
Being somewhat religiously inclined, he halted at noonday to pray, and
soon after remounting was warned to seek shelter from a storm that
was announced by a sharp crack of thunder. Looking about him he saw a
cavity in the ground wide and high enough to allow his camels to enter.
By dint of pulling, coaxing, and beating he forced the beasts in, and
at last all three found themselves in the same pit into which Lulu had
fallen the night before.
[Illustration: “HE HALTED AT NOONDAY TO PRAY.”
_From a Photograph._]
[Illustration: “SUDDENLY HE WAS SEEN TO FALL HEAVILY.”]
The heavy rain dripping through the opening above made the youth seek
better shelter, so he presently crept into the old tomb, and, to his
amazement, found that it was already occupied by someone apparently
deep in slumber.
Curiosity made him try to rouse the sleeper, but it was of no use.
Crawling farther in, it was not long before the amazed camel-boy
discovered that the insensible girl was his dearly-loved Lulu. Assuring
himself that she was not dead, and, of course, ignorant of the
circumstances that had brought her to the cavern, he left her, and,
taking the best of the two camels, rode off post-haste to carry the
news of Lulu’s condition to the camp and get help.
The announcement caused a good deal of talk, stir, and excitement,
which was suddenly put a stop to by Abd-el-Thullam jumping on his mare
and making off at full speed toward the cavern, hoping to be the first
to secure his dearly-bought bride.
Others joined in the race, but it seemed as if no one would overtake
the eager chief, when suddenly he was seen to fall heavily, having been
thrown to the ground by his mare putting her foot into a hole.
He did not move, and when the others reached him they discovered to
their consternation that he had broken his neck and was quite dead.
Instead of a reluctant bride being escorted to the distant camp,
therefore, the corpse of the unfortunate chief was carried thither.
On reaching the cavern the men found Lulu still deep in the
drug-induced slumber, and, making a rough litter out of their roomy
outer garments, they carried her to their camp and laid her on her rude
bed of heather and dry grass.
Fortunately, the old gipsy-woman had not left the camp, and now, taking
in the situation, she administered a dose of some concoction that soon
had the effect of rousing the sleeper and making her able to explain
her presence in the rock-hewn tomb.
Slowly but surely Lulu regained vigour, and the old youthful spirit
came again, much to the joy of Abd-Salaam and her father. After a few
weeks another marriage feast was kept, for there was now no obstacle to
the wedding of the lovers, the price of the bride having been paid by
the ill-fated “servant of cruelty.” The affair was hurried this time,
for the feast was to have a happy ending; love, instead of custom, had
won the day.
[Illustration: THE BREAKER OF RECORDS.]