alert, bright eyes.
“That was the year of the black frost in Crimea. The poor people endured it, but it was no easier for the rich, when the hoof beats of Alim the horseback bandit rang loud on the frost-hard roads. Alim was everywhere. He was even in the house of the chief of Karasubazar. He walked inside boldly and said, ‘What reward will you give me if I betray Alim?’
“The chief didn’t recognize him. He said, ‘When I’ve Alim in my hands, I’ll put a hundred roubles in yours.’
“And Alim laughed and said, ‘Here was Alim in your hands, and still you couldn’t hold him!’ Then he jumped out of the window and rode away swifter than the wind.
“Alim rode to Kiziltash, where there was a cave to shelter him in winter. Only Batal from the village coffee house knew he was there, but Batal would sooner swallow his own tongue than betray Alim. Batal had a daughter, Shashne, and Alim loved and indulged the little girl. He sent her Turkish fezzes and embroidered slippers; he gave her gold earrings for her pretty ears.”
“Lucky Shashne,” Safi said wistfully. She wished a handsome hero would give her presents like that. She hadn’t had anything nice and new for what felt like years.
Lutfi made an impatient noise. “Go on.”
“Little Shashne boasted about her presents. She told her friend, a rich trader’s daughter, ‘When I’m grown up, I’m going to have Alim for a husband.’ The trader heard it and he rode to Karasubazar, because he was afraid of Alim, and to be afraid means to hate.
“The chief came with his guards to Kiziltash. ‘Not a hen leaves a henhouse, not a pigeon leaves a windowsill of this village, until Alim is in my hands.’ Then the Crimean Tatars understood that it was the end for Alim.
“That night a terrible storm broke the trees in the orchards and howled over the mountain. In the secret cave, Alim dreamt that circles of black snakes hung from the roof. One reached down, slippery and cool, and twined round his neck like the hangman’s rope.
“Alim awoke, and there was a rope round his neck. On his chest knelt the chief of Karasubazar, and the chief said, ‘You were in my house once as a guest, Alim. Now, see, I’ve come to visit you.’
“The day they brought Alim in, Kiziltash was a dead village. All the Tatars were trying to hide from the keen gaze of the chief of Karasubazar; hide under the ground they would, if they could. The chief looked a question at Alim, and the outlaw answered, ‘I know. Now there’ll be no more horseback heroes in Crimea.’
“Alim stood in shackles, and with him Batal from the coffee house. Only Batal’s little daughter, Shashne, was there, crying, because she had no one to look after her now.
“The chief said, ‘I was almost forgetting, there’s a debt on me. Remember I told you, when I’ve Alim in my hands, a hundred roubles in yours. Now I have Alim, the money is in your hands.’
“Alim looked at Shashne. He said, ‘Give it to her.’
“The column moved away down the long road, and now Alim has gone for ever from the mountains of Crimea.”
There was a sudden sharp clatter. It was Lutfi, throwing his piece of wood down on the table. “They betrayed him! The Tatars themselves!”
“But it was the trader,” Safi said. “Because he was rich. It wasn’t Shashne’s fault, not really.”
Lutfi scrambled out of the
chaykhana
. “It’s a stupid story.” He walked away quickly towards the bonfires and the police.
Up on the ladder, Mehmed called something out, and Papa laughed. The nails going into the roof went
tappety-tap-tap
, like the sound of hoof beats, riding away down a distant mountain road.
14
HAVE YOU COME FOR THE TREASURE?
A ndrei threw the bus round the bends with the reckless joy of a bobsleigh rider. The other passengers seemed accustomed to this, but Refat’s face was tinged green. “If I die on the way, write to Mother and tell her I did my best to get to Kermenchik,” he said to
“That was the year of the black frost in Crimea. The poor people endured it, but it was no easier for the rich, when the hoof beats of Alim the horseback bandit rang loud on the frost-hard roads. Alim was everywhere. He was even in the house of the chief of Karasubazar. He walked inside boldly and said, ‘What reward will you give me if I betray Alim?’
“The chief didn’t recognize him. He said, ‘When I’ve Alim in my hands, I’ll put a hundred roubles in yours.’
“And Alim laughed and said, ‘Here was Alim in your hands, and still you couldn’t hold him!’ Then he jumped out of the window and rode away swifter than the wind.
“Alim rode to Kiziltash, where there was a cave to shelter him in winter. Only Batal from the village coffee house knew he was there, but Batal would sooner swallow his own tongue than betray Alim. Batal had a daughter, Shashne, and Alim loved and indulged the little girl. He sent her Turkish fezzes and embroidered slippers; he gave her gold earrings for her pretty ears.”
“Lucky Shashne,” Safi said wistfully. She wished a handsome hero would give her presents like that. She hadn’t had anything nice and new for what felt like years.
Lutfi made an impatient noise. “Go on.”
“Little Shashne boasted about her presents. She told her friend, a rich trader’s daughter, ‘When I’m grown up, I’m going to have Alim for a husband.’ The trader heard it and he rode to Karasubazar, because he was afraid of Alim, and to be afraid means to hate.
“The chief came with his guards to Kiziltash. ‘Not a hen leaves a henhouse, not a pigeon leaves a windowsill of this village, until Alim is in my hands.’ Then the Crimean Tatars understood that it was the end for Alim.
“That night a terrible storm broke the trees in the orchards and howled over the mountain. In the secret cave, Alim dreamt that circles of black snakes hung from the roof. One reached down, slippery and cool, and twined round his neck like the hangman’s rope.
“Alim awoke, and there was a rope round his neck. On his chest knelt the chief of Karasubazar, and the chief said, ‘You were in my house once as a guest, Alim. Now, see, I’ve come to visit you.’
“The day they brought Alim in, Kiziltash was a dead village. All the Tatars were trying to hide from the keen gaze of the chief of Karasubazar; hide under the ground they would, if they could. The chief looked a question at Alim, and the outlaw answered, ‘I know. Now there’ll be no more horseback heroes in Crimea.’
“Alim stood in shackles, and with him Batal from the coffee house. Only Batal’s little daughter, Shashne, was there, crying, because she had no one to look after her now.
“The chief said, ‘I was almost forgetting, there’s a debt on me. Remember I told you, when I’ve Alim in my hands, a hundred roubles in yours. Now I have Alim, the money is in your hands.’
“Alim looked at Shashne. He said, ‘Give it to her.’
“The column moved away down the long road, and now Alim has gone for ever from the mountains of Crimea.”
There was a sudden sharp clatter. It was Lutfi, throwing his piece of wood down on the table. “They betrayed him! The Tatars themselves!”
“But it was the trader,” Safi said. “Because he was rich. It wasn’t Shashne’s fault, not really.”
Lutfi scrambled out of the
chaykhana
. “It’s a stupid story.” He walked away quickly towards the bonfires and the police.
Up on the ladder, Mehmed called something out, and Papa laughed. The nails going into the roof went
tappety-tap-tap
, like the sound of hoof beats, riding away down a distant mountain road.
14
HAVE YOU COME FOR THE TREASURE?
A ndrei threw the bus round the bends with the reckless joy of a bobsleigh rider. The other passengers seemed accustomed to this, but Refat’s face was tinged green. “If I die on the way, write to Mother and tell her I did my best to get to Kermenchik,” he said to
Similar Books
