Let it come down Page 4
The lamp was in the next room. Kinza had picked the baby up and was holding him clumsily while she prepared to nurse him. The blood still ran down her face and was dripping slowly, regularly, from the end of her chin. It had fallen in several places on the baby’s clothing. Thami stepped nearer. As he did so, he saw a drop of blood fall square in the infant’s face, just above his lips. A cautious tongue crept out and licked it in. Thami was beside himself. «Hachouma!» he cried, seizing the baby and holding it out of her reach so that it began to scream in earnest. He laid it carefully on the floor, got an old handkerchief, stood in the doorway for a moment with his hand out in the rain, and when the cloth was soaked, he threw it to her. She had let blood drip over everything: the matting, the cushions, the floor, the brass tray on the tea table, and even, he noted with a shiver of disgust, into one of the tea glasses. He picked up the tiny glass and threw it outside, heard it smash and tinkle. Now he wanted to get out of the house. At each moment it seemed to be raining harder. So much the worse, he thought. He would go anyway. He pulled his raincoat down from the nail where it hung, put on his shoes, and without saying a word, went out the door into the street. Only when he had shut it behind him did he notice that there was a violent wind to accompany the downpour.
It was late. From time to time he met a man hurrying along, face hidden under the hood of his djellaba, head bent over, eyes on the ground. The streets of Emsallah were unpaved; the muddy water ran against him all the way to the boulevard. Here a solitary cautious car moved by under the rain’s onslaught, sounding its horn repeatedly.
He passed along the Place de France under the low overhanging branches of the liveoaks in front of the French Consulate. Neither the Café de Paris nor the Brasserie de France was open. The city was deserted, the Boulevard Pasteur reduced to two converging rows of dim lights leading off into the night. It was typical of Europeans, he thought, to lose courage and give up all their plans the minute there was a chance of getting themselves wet. They were more prudent than passionate; their fears were stronger than their desires. Most of them had no real desire, apart from that to make money, which after all is merely a habit. But once they had the money they seemed never to use it for a specific object or purpose. That was what he found difficult to understand. He knew exactly what he wanted, always, and so did his countrymen. Most of them only wanted three rams to slaughter at Aïd el Kebir and new clothing for the family at Mouloud and Aïd es Seghir. It was not much, but it was definite, and they bent all their efforts to getting it. Still, he could not think of the mass of Moroccans without contempt. He had no patience with their ignorance and backwardness; if he damned the Europeans with one breath, he was bound to damn the Moroccans with the next. No one escaped but him, and that was because he hated himself most of all. But fortunately he was unaware of that. His own dream was to have a small speedboat; it was an absolute necessity for the man who hoped to be really successful in smuggling.
Right now he wanted to get to the Café Tingis in the Zoco Chico and have a coffee with cognac in it. He turned into the Siaghines and strode rapidly downhill between the money changers’ stalls, past the Spanish church and the Galeries Lafayette. Ahead was the little square, the bright lights of the gasoline lamps in the cafés pouring into it from all four sides. It could be any hour of the day or night — the cafés would be open and crowded with men, the dull murmuring monotone of whose talking filled the entire zoco. But tonight the square was swept by the roaring wind. He climbed the steps to the deserted terrace and pushed inside, taking a seat by the window. The Tingis dominated the square; from it one could look down upon all the other cafés. Someone had left an almost full pack of Chesterfields on the table. He clapped his hands for the waiter, took off his raincoat. He was not very dry underneath it: a good deal of water had run down his neck, and below his knees he was soaked through.
The waiter arrived. Thami gave his order. Pointing at the cigarettes he said: «Yours?» The waiter looked vaguely around the café, his forehead wrinkled with confusion, and replied that he thought the table was occupied. At that moment a man came out of the washroom and walked toward Thami, who automatically started to rise in order to sit somewhere else. As the man reached the table he made several gestures indicating that Thami remain there. «That’s okay, that’s okay,» he was saying. «Stay where you are».
Thami had learned English as a boy when his father, who often had English people of rank staying at the house, had insisted he study it. Now he spoke it fairly well, if with a rather strong accent. He thanked the man, and accepted a cigarette. Then he said: «Are you English?» It was curious that the man should be in this part of the town at this hour, particularly with the weather the way it was.
«No. I’m American».
Appraisingly Thami looked at him and asked if he were from a boat: he was a little afraid the American was going to ask to be directed to a bordel, and he glanced about nervously to see if anyone he knew was in the café. One rumor he could not have circulating was that he had become a guide; in Tangier there was nothing lower.
The man laughed apologetically, saying: «Yeah, I guess you could say I’m from a boat. I just got off one, but if you mean do I work on one, no».
Thami was relieved. «You stay in a hotel?» he asked. The other said he did, looking a little bit on his guard, so that Thami did not ask him which hotel it was, as he had intended to do.
«How big is Tangier?» the man asked Thami. He did not know. «Are there many tourists now?» That he knew. «It’s very bad. No one comes any more since the war».
«Let’s have a drink,» the American said suddenly. «Hey, there!» He leaned backward, looking over his shoulder for the waiter. «You’ll have one, won’t you?» Thami assented.
He looked at Thami for the first time with a certain warmth. «No use sitting here like two bumps on a log. What’ll it be?» The waiter approached. Thami still had not decided what kind of man this was, what he could afford. «And you?» he asked.
«White Horse».
«Good,» said Thami, having no idea what this might be. «For me, too».
The two men looked at each other. It was the moment when they were ready to feel sympathy for one another, but the traditional formula of distrust made it necessary that a reason be found first.
«When have you come to Tangier?» asked Thami.
«Tonight».
«Tonight, for the first time?»
«That’s right».
Thami shook his head. «What a wonderful thing to be an American!» he said impetuously.
«Yes,» said Dyar automatically, never having given much thought to what it would be like not to be an American. It seemed somehow the natural thing to be.
The whiskey came; they drank it, Thami making a face. Dyar ordered another set-up, for which Thami halfheartedly offered to pay, quickly slipping his money back into his pocket at Dyar’s first «no».
«What a place, what a place,» said Dyar, shaking his head. Two men with black beards had just come in, their heads wrapped in large turkish towels; like all the others they were completely engrossed in unceasing and noisy conversation. «They sit here talking all night like this? What are they talking about? What is there to talk about so long?»
«What are people talking about in America?» said Thami, smiling at him.
«In a bar, usually politics. If they talk. Mostly they just drink».
«Here, everything: business, girls, politics, neighbors. Or what we are talking about now».
Dyar drained his glass. «And what are we talking about?» he demanded. «I’m damned if I know».
«About them». Thami laughed and made a wide gesture.
«You mean they’re talking about us?»
«Some, perhaps».
«Have fun, chums,» Dyar called loudly, turning his head toward the others. He looked down at his glass, had difficulty in getting it into clear focus. For a second he forgot where he was, saw only the empty glass, the same little glass that was alway
s waiting to be refilled. His toe muscles were flexing, and that meant he was drunk. «Which is the nearest subway?» he thought. Then he stretched his legs out in front of him voluptuously and laughed. «Jesus!» he cried. «I’m glad to be here!» he looked around the dingy bar, heard the meaningless chatter, and felt a wave of doubt break over him, but he held firrn. «God knows where this is, but I’d rather be here than there!» he insisted. The sound of the words being spoken aloud made him feel more sure; leaning back, he looked up at the shadows moving on the high yellow ceiling. He did not see the badly dressed youth with the sly expression who came in the door and began to walk directly toward the table. «And I mean it, too,» he said, suddenly sitting upright and glaring at Thami, who looked startled.
The first Dyar knew of his presence was when Thami grudgingly responded to his greeting in Arabic. He glanced up, saw the young man looking down at him in a vaguely predatory fashion, and immediately took a dislike to him.
«Hello, mister». The youth grinned, widely enough to show which of his teeth were of gold and which were not.
«Hello,» replied Dyar apathetically.
Thami said something in Arabic; he sounded truculent. The youth paid no attention, but seized a chair and drew it up to the table, keeping his eyes fixed on Dyar.
«Spickin anglish you like wan bleddy good soulima yah mister?» he said.
Thami looked around the bar uncomfortably, relaxing somewhat when he saw no one watching the table at the moment.
«Now,» said Dyar, «just start all over again and take your time. What was that?»
The youth glared at him, spat. «You no spickin anglish?»
«Not that kind, buddy».
«He wants you to go and see a film,» explained Thami. «But don’t go».
«What? At this hour?» cried Dyar. «He’s nuts».
«They show them late because they are forbidden by the police,» said Thami, looking as though the whole idea were highly distasteful to him.
«Why? What kind of movies are they?» Dyar was beginning to be interested.
«Very bad. You know». Since Thami had the Arab’s utter incomprehension of the meaning of pornography, he imagined that the police had placed the ban on obscene films because these infringed upon Christian doctrine at certain specific points, in which case any Christian might be expected to show interest, if only to disapprove. He found it not at all surprising that Dyar should want to know about them, although he himself was as totally indifferent as he would have expected Dyar to be had they treated of the question as to whether the pilgrim at Mecca should run around the Kaaba clockwise or counter-clockwise. At the same time, their being prohibited made them disreputable, and he was against having anything to do with them.
«They are very expensive and you see nothing,» he said.
The young man did not understand Thami’s words, but he knew the drift of his argument, and he was displeased. He spat more vehemently and carefully avoided turning his head in his direction.
«Well, you must see something, at least,» objected Dyar with logic. «Let’s get this straight,» he said to the youth. «How much?» He got no reply. The youth looked confused; he was trying to decide how far above the usual tariff he could safely go. «Ch’hal?» pursued Thami. «How much? The man says how much. Tell him».
«Miehtsain».
«Achrine duro,» said Thami sternly, as if he were correcting him. They argued a while. Presently Thami announced triumphantly: «You can go for one hundred pesetas». Then he glanced about the bar and his face darkened. «But it’s no good. I advise you, don’t go. It’s very late. Why don’t you go to bed? I will walk with you to your hotel».
Dyar looked at him and laughed lightly. «Listen, my friend. You don’t have to come anywhere. Nobody said you had to come. Don’t worry about me». Thami studied his face a second to see if he were angry, decided he was not, and said: «Oh, no!» There was no question of leaving the American to wander off into Benider with the pimp. Even though he would have liked more than anything at the moment to go home and sleep, and despite the fact that the last thing he wanted was to be seen in the street at this hour with a foreigner and this particular young man, he felt responsible for Dyar and determined not to let him out of his sight until he had got him to his hotel door. «Oh, no!» he said. «I’ll go with you».
«Suit yourself».
They rose, and the youth followed them out onto the terrace. Dyar’s clothes were still wet and he winced when the wind’s blast struck him. He asked if it were far; Thami conferred with the other and said that it was a two-minute walk. The rain had lessened. They crossed the zoco, took a few turnings through streets that were like corridors in an old hotel, and stopped in the dimness before a high grilled door. Thami peered uneasily up and down the deserted alley as the youth hammered with the knocker, but there was no one to see them.
«I’m going to quit singing I’m worried in my shoes» — sang Dyar, not very loud. But Thami gripped his arm, terrified. «No, no!» he whispered. «The police!» The song had echoed in the quiet interior of the street.
«Jesus Christ! So we’re going to see a dirty movie. So what?» But he did not sing again.
They waited. Eventually there were faint sounds within. A muffled voice spoke on the other side of the door, and the youth answered. When the grille opened there was nothing at all to see but the blackness inside. Then a figure stepped from behind the door, and at the same time there came an odor which was a combination of eau de cologne, toothpaste and perspiration. The figure turned a flashlight in their faces, ordered the young man with them, in broken Spanish, to fetch a lamp, and shut the grille behind them. For a moment they all stood without moving in complete darkness. Thami coughed nervously; the sharp sound reverberated from wall to wall. When the young man appeared carrying the lamp the figure in white retired silently into a side room, and the three started up a flight of stairs. At the top, in a doorway, stood a fat man with a grayish complexion; he wore pyjamas and held a hand that was heavy with rings in front of his mouth to cover his yawns. The air up here was stiff with the smell of stale incense; the dead smoke clogged the hall.
The fat man addressed them in Spanish. Between words he wheezed. When he discovered that Dyar spoke only English he stopped, bowed, and said: «Good night, sir. Come these Way, please». In a small room there were a few straight-backed chairs facing a blank wall where a canvas screen hung crookedly. On each side of the screen was a high potted palm. «Sit, please,» he said, and stood above them breathing heavily. To Dyar he said: «We have one off the men with ladies, one from prists-nuns, and one boys altogether, sir. Very beautiful. All not wearing the clothing. You love, sir. You can looking all three these with one combination price, yes. Sir wishing three, sir?»
«No. Let’s see the nuns».
«Yes, sir. Spanish gentleman liking nuns. Taking always the nuns. Very beautiful. Excuse».
He went out, and presently was heard talking in an adjoining room. Dyar lit a cigarette; Thami yawned widely. «You ought to have gone to bed,» said Dyar.
«Oh, no! I will go with you to your hotel».
Dyar exploded. «God damn it, I’m not going to my hotel! Can’t you get that through your head? It’s not so hard to understand. When I get through here I’ll go somewhere else, have another drink, maybe a little fun, I don’t know. I don’t know what I’ll be doing. But I won’t be going to the hotel. See?»
«It doesn’t matter,» said Thami calmly.
They were quiet for a moment, before Dyar pursued in a conciliatory tone: «You see, I’ve been on a ship for a week. I’m not sleepy. But you’re sleepy. Why don’t you go on home and call it a night?»
Thami was resolute. «Oh, no! I can’t do that. It would be very bad. I will take you to your hotel. Whenever you go». He sat as low as the chair permitted and closed his eyes, letting his head fall slowly forward. The projector and film were brought and installed by another man in pyjamas, equally fat but with a full, old-fashioned moustache.
By the time the whirring of the machine had started and the screen was lighted up, Thami’s immobility and silence had passed over into the impetuously regular breathing of the sleeper.
IV
There had been a minor volcanic eruption in the Canaries. For several days the Spanish had been talking about it; the event had been given great prominence in the newspaper España, and many of them, having relatives there, had been receiving reassuring telegrams. On the disturbance everyone blamed the sultry weather, the breathless air and the grayish yellow light which had hung above the city for the past two days.
Eunice Goode had her own maid whom she paid by the day — a slovenly Spanish girl who came in at noon and did extra work the hotel servants could not be expected to do, such as keeping her clothes pressed and in order, running errands, and cleaning the bathroom daily. The girl had been full of news of the volcano that morning and had chattered on about it, much to her annoyance, for she had decided she was in a working mood. «Silencio!» she had finally cried; she had a thin, high voice which was quite incongruous with her robust appearance. The girl stared at her and then giggled. «I’m working,» Eunice explained, looking as preoccupied as she could. The girl giggled again.
«Anyway,» she went on, «this bad weather is simply the little winter arriving». «They say it’s the volcano,» the girl insisted. There was the little winter first, thus termed only because it was shorter, and then the big winter, the long rainy season which came two months or so afterward. They both made dim days, wet feet and boredom; those who could escaped southward, but Eunice disliked movement of any kind. Now that she was in contact with what she called the inner reality, she scarcely minded whether the sun shone or not.