The Baroque Cycle - The Confusion Part 16

"But as I recall from your your narrations-which were not devoid of a certain repet.i.tive quality, by the way-" Dappa said, "she objected on narrations-which were not devoid of a certain repet.i.tive quality, by the way-" Dappa said, "she objected on moral moral grounds-not because it led to monotonous storytelling." grounds-not because it led to monotonous storytelling."

"I, too, could probably dream up some highfalutin grounds grounds if all I had to pa.s.s the time was embroidery and bathing." if all I had to pa.s.s the time was embroidery and bathing."

"I did not realize that pulling on an oar posed such a challenge to your intellect," Dappa returned.

"Until la suette anglaise la suette anglaise delivered me from the French Pox, I had no intellect at all. When I'm rich and free, I'll come up with a hundred and one reasons why slavery is bad." delivered me from the French Pox, I had no intellect at all. When I'm rich and free, I'll come up with a hundred and one reasons why slavery is bad."

"A single good one would suffice," Dappa said.

Feeling the need for a change of subject, Jack turned towards Vrej Esphahnian, who had been squatting on his haunches smoking a twist of Spanish tobacco and watching the exchange.

"Oh, mine is ba.n.a.l compared with everyone else's," he said. "As you may recall, my brother Artan sent out letters to diverse places, inquiring about the market for ostrich plumes. What came back convinced him that our family's humble estate might be bettered if we established a trading-circuit to Northern Africa. I was dispatched to Ma.r.s.eille to make it so. From there, by buying pa.s.sage on small coastal vessels, I tried to work my way down the Balearic coast of Spain towards Gibraltar, which I supposed would be a good jumping-off place. But I did not appreciate that the Spanish coast from Valencia downwards is infested with Moorish pirates, whose forefathers once were the lords of al-Andalus. These Corsairs knew the hidden coves and shallows of that coastline as well as-"

"All right, all right, you have said enough to convince me that it is, as you said, the usual galley-slave tale," Jack said, strolling over to the rail and stretching-very carefully. He picked up a bulging skin and squirted a stream of stale water into his mouth, then stood up on the bench to contemplate the rock of Malta, which was drifting by them a few miles to starboard. He had just realized that it was a very small island and that he'd better look at it while he had the chance. "What I meant was: How did you end up on my oar?"

"The ineffable currents of the slave-market drove me to Algiers. My owner learned that I had some skills beyond oar-pulling, and put me to work as a bookkeeper in a market where Corsairs sell and trade their swag. The winter before last, I made the acquaintance of Moseh, who was asking many questions about the market in tutsaklar tutsaklar ransom futures. We had several conversations and I began to perceive the general shape of his Plan." ransom futures. We had several conversations and I began to perceive the general shape of his Plan."

"He told you about Jeronimo, and the Viceroy?"

"No, I learned of that on the same night as you."

"Then what do you mean when you say you understood his plan?"

"I understood his basic principle: that a group of slaves who, taken one by one, were a.s.signed a very low value by the market, might yet be worth much when grouped together cleverly..." Vrej rolled up to his feet and grimaced into the sun. "The wording does not come naturally in this b.a.s.t.a.r.d language of Sabir, but Moseh's plan was to synergistically leverage the value-added of diverse core competencies into a virtual ent.i.ty whose whole was more than the sum of its parts..."

Jack stared at him blankly.

"It sounds brilliant in Armenian." Vrej sighed.

"How came you you to be at the bottom of the slave-market?" Jack asked. "I know your family was not the wealthiest, but I should've thought they'd pay anything to ransom you from Algiers." to be at the bottom of the slave-market?" Jack asked. "I know your family was not the wealthiest, but I should've thought they'd pay anything to ransom you from Algiers."

Vrej's face stopped moving, as if he had spied a Gorgon atop one of Malta's cliffs. Jack gathered that the question was an impolite one, by Armenian standards.

"Never mind," Jack said, "you are right, it makes no difference why why your family would not, or could not, pay your ransom." Then, after there'd been no word from Vrej in quite a while: "I'll not ask again." your family would not, or could not, pay your ransom." Then, after there'd been no word from Vrej in quite a while: "I'll not ask again."

"Thank you," said Vrej, as if forcing the words past a clenched garrotte.

"Nonetheless, it is remarkable that we ended up on the same oar," Jack continued.

"Algiers in wintertime is lousy with wretched slaves, trying to dream their way to freedom," Vrej admitted, in a voice still tight and uneven. But as he continued talking, the anger, or sadness, that had possessed him for a few minutes slowly drained away. "I reckoned Moseh for another one of these at first. As one conversation led to the next, I perceived he was a man of intelligence, and began to think that I should throw in my lot with him. But when I learned that he had acquired a new bench-mate named Jack Shaftoe, I looked on it as a sign from G.o.d. For I owe you, Jack."

"You owe owe me!?" me!?"

"And have, ever since the night you fled Paris. On that night my family and I incurred a debt to you, and if necessary we will travel to the end of the world, and sell our souls, to make good on it."

"You can't be thinking of those d.a.m.ned ostrich plumes?"

"You left them in our trust, Jack, and made us your commission-agents in the matter."

"They were trash-the amount of money is trivial. Please do not consider yourself under any obligation..."

"It is a matter of principle," Vrej said. "So I hatched a Plan of my own, every bit as complex as the Plan of Moseh, but not nearly so interesting. I'll spare you the details, and tell you only the result: I was traded to your oar, Jack, and chained to you in fact fact-though chains of iron are nothing compared to the chains of debt and obligation that have fettered us since that night in Paris in 1685."

"That is extremely civil of you," Jack said. "But the only thing in all the world that makes me feel more ill at ease than being obliged, is some other man's feeling obliged to me-so when we reach Cairo I'll accept a few extra pounds of coffee, or something, to cover the proceeds from the sale of those ostrich-plumes, and then you and I can go our separate ways."

AFTER RIDING THE front of a storm through the Strait of Gibraltar, they had spent a couple of days riding out the gale in the Alboran Sea, the anteroom of the Mediterranean. When the weather had settled down they had sailed southeast, steering toward the peaks of the Atlas Mountains, until they'd picked up the Barbary Coast not far from the Corsair-port of Mostaganem. They had not put in there-partly because they had no anchors, and partly because Nasr al-Ghurab seemed to be under strict instructions not to make contact with the world until they had reached their destination. But a few miles up the coast from Mostaganem, where a river came down off the north slopes of the Atlas and spilled into the sea, al-Ghurab had caused a certain flag to be run up the mast. Not much later a bergantine had come rowing out of a hidden cove and had drawn alongside them, carefully remaining a bow-shot away. There had been some shouting back and forth in Turkish, and the galleot's skiff had been sent over, carrying two corsairs and Dappa, and collected kegs of fresh water and some other victuals. This bergantine had then shadowed them on the slow progress along the coast to the harbor of Algiers. Slow because they had almost never laid hands on the oars; no one wanted to, most were not fit to, and the front of a storm through the Strait of Gibraltar, they had spent a couple of days riding out the gale in the Alboran Sea, the anteroom of the Mediterranean. When the weather had settled down they had sailed southeast, steering toward the peaks of the Atlas Mountains, until they'd picked up the Barbary Coast not far from the Corsair-port of Mostaganem. They had not put in there-partly because they had no anchors, and partly because Nasr al-Ghurab seemed to be under strict instructions not to make contact with the world until they had reached their destination. But a few miles up the coast from Mostaganem, where a river came down off the north slopes of the Atlas and spilled into the sea, al-Ghurab had caused a certain flag to be run up the mast. Not much later a bergantine had come rowing out of a hidden cove and had drawn alongside them, carefully remaining a bow-shot away. There had been some shouting back and forth in Turkish, and the galleot's skiff had been sent over, carrying two corsairs and Dappa, and collected kegs of fresh water and some other victuals. This bergantine had then shadowed them on the slow progress along the coast to the harbor of Algiers. Slow because they had almost never laid hands on the oars; no one wanted to, most were not fit to, and the rais rais had not asked them to. had not asked them to.

At Algiers most of the regular oar-slaves had been transferred into the Penon, the squat Spanish fortress in the middle of the harbor, and locked up, for the time being, in places where they could not tell the tale of what they had seen. Empty wooden crates had come back, and the Cabal had busied itself packing the gold bars into them and stuffing straw in between so that they would not clank. Only after the crates had been nailed securely shut had fresh-and ignorant-oar-slaves been brought aboard.

They had also acquired a new drum. For on the day following their deliverance from Spaniard and storm, Jack Shaftoe had made a great ceremony of tossing the old one overboard. It had been a large wooden barrel-half with a cowhide stretched over the top, the hair still on it except where it had been worn away from being pounded. It was mottled white and brown like an unlabelled map, and it had bobbed stubbornly alongside them for a while, a little world loose in the sea, until Jack had stove it in with an oar. Meanwhile, Jeronimo had solemnized it in his own way: looking about at the gore that lined the hull, and the exhausted and half-flayed rowers, he had said, "We are all blood brothers now." Which he had probably intended as some sort of sacrament-like benediction. For his part, Jack could see any number of grave drawbacks to being part of the same family as Jeronimo. But he had kept these misgivings to himself so as not to mar the occasion. Jeronimo had included, among his new brothers, all of the galley-slaves who were not members of the Cabal, and promised that he would use his share of the proceeds to ransom them. This had produced only eye-rolling from those slaves who could understand what he was saying. As days had gone by, his promises had flourished like mushrooms after an autumn rain, until he had laid out a scheme for constructing or buying an actual three-masted s.h.i.+p, manning it with freed slaves, and setting out to found a new country somewhere. But as they had inched across the map towards Algiers, a depression had settled over him, and he'd gone back to predictions of a bloodbath in Egypt-or possibly even Malta.

Accompanied by another, more heavily armed galleot, they had left Algiers behind-they hoped forever. They had rowed briskly eastwards, pa.s.sing by one small Corsair-port after another until they had traversed the mouth of the Gulf of Tunis and reached the Ras el Tib, a rocky scimitar-tip pointed directly at Sicily, a hundred miles to the northeast. Here they had offloaded all but a dozen of their oar-slaves and then used their sails to take them out into deep water-the first time they'd lost sight of land since the night of their escape from Bonanza. The rais rais had immediately ordered the galleot's Turkish colors struck, and had raised French ones in their stead. had immediately ordered the galleot's Turkish colors struck, and had raised French ones in their stead.

THUS DISGUISED-if a new flag could be considered a disguise-they now sailed under the guns of various medieval-looking fortresses that had been built, by various occult sects of Papist knights, on crags and ridges looking north across the strait. No cannonb.a.l.l.s were fired in their direction, and after a few hours, when they rounded a point and gazed into the Grand Harbor of Malta, they understood why: for a whole French fleet was riding at anchor there beneath the white terraces and flowered walls of Valletta. Not just merchant s.h.i.+ps-though there were at least a dozen of those-but men-of-war, too. Three frigates to serve as gun-platforms, and a swarm of tactical galleys.

And-as van Hoek was first to notice-there was also Meteore. Meteore. Evidently she had pa.s.sed through the Strait of Gibraltar behind them and then made directly for Malta, to join up with the fleet, and await the galleot. Jack borrowed a spygla.s.s to have a look at the Evidently she had pa.s.sed through the Strait of Gibraltar behind them and then made directly for Malta, to join up with the fleet, and await the galleot. Jack borrowed a spygla.s.s to have a look at the jacht, jacht, and was rewarded by a view of a new flag that had been run up her mizzen-mast. It was a banner emblazoned with a coat of arms that he'd last seen carved in bas-relief on the onrus.h.i.+ng lintel of a door in the Hotel Arcachon in Paris. "I would know that arrangement of fleurs-de-lis and Neeger-heads anywhere," he announced. "The Investor is here in person." and was rewarded by a view of a new flag that had been run up her mizzen-mast. It was a banner emblazoned with a coat of arms that he'd last seen carved in bas-relief on the onrus.h.i.+ng lintel of a door in the Hotel Arcachon in Paris. "I would know that arrangement of fleurs-de-lis and Neeger-heads anywhere," he announced. "The Investor is here in person."

"He must have come down via Ma.r.s.eille," van Hoek remarked.

"I thought thought I smelled a fish gone bad," Jack said. I smelled a fish gone bad," Jack said.

Likewise, their galleot was noticed and identified immediately. Within a few minutes a longboat had been sent out from Meteore, Meteore, rowed by half a dozen seamen and carrying a French officer. This fellow clambered aboard the galleot and made a quick inspection-just enough to verify that the crew was orderly and the vessel seaworthy. He handed the rowed by half a dozen seamen and carrying a French officer. This fellow clambered aboard the galleot and made a quick inspection-just enough to verify that the crew was orderly and the vessel seaworthy. He handed the rais rais a sealed letter and then departed. a sealed letter and then departed.

"I wonder why he just doesn't take take us," Yevgeny muttered, leaning on the rigging and gazing at all those wars.h.i.+ps. us," Yevgeny muttered, leaning on the rigging and gazing at all those wars.h.i.+ps.

"For the same reason that the Pasha did not do so when we were in the harbor of Algiers," Moseh said.

"The Duke's interests in that Corsair-city are deep," Jack added. "He dares not queer his relations with the Pasha by violating the terms of the Plan."

"I would have antic.i.p.ated a more thorough inspection," said Mr. Foot, arms crossed over his caftan as if he were feeling a chill, and glancing uneasily at a gold-crate.

"He knows we got something something out of the Viceroy's brig-and that it was valuable enough to make us risk our lives by tarrying in front of Sanlucar de Barrameda for several hours, transs.h.i.+pping it to the galleot. If we'd found out of the Viceroy's brig-and that it was valuable enough to make us risk our lives by tarrying in front of Sanlucar de Barrameda for several hours, transs.h.i.+pping it to the galleot. If we'd found nothing nothing we'd have fled without delay," Jack said. "And that is as good as an inspection." we'd have fled without delay," Jack said. "And that is as good as an inspection."

"But does he know what what it is?" Mr. Foot asked. They were within earshot of their skeleton crew of oar-slaves and so he had to speak obliquely. it is?" Mr. Foot asked. They were within earshot of their skeleton crew of oar-slaves and so he had to speak obliquely.

"There is no way he could, could," said Jack. "The only communication he's had from this boat is a bugle call, which was a pre-arranged signal, and I doubt that they had a signal meaning thirteen. thirteen." Thirteen Thirteen was a sort of code meaning was a sort of code meaning twelve or thirteen times as much money as we expected. twelve or thirteen times as much money as we expected.

"Still, we know that the Pasha of Algiers sent out messages on faster boats than ours, to all the ports of the Levant, telling the masters of all harbors to deny us entry."

"All except for one, one," Yevgeny corrected him.

"Might he not have sent a message here to Malta, telling about the thirteen?"

Dappa now came strolling along. "You are forgetting to ask a very interesting question, namely: Does the Pasha know?"

Mr. Foot appeared to be scandalized; Yevgeny, profoundly impressed. "I should imagine imagine so!" said Mr. Foot. so!" said Mr. Foot.

Dappa said, "But have you noticed that, on every occasion when the rais rais has parleyed with someone who does not know about the thirteen, he has been at pains to make sure I am present?" has parleyed with someone who does not know about the thirteen, he has been at pains to make sure I am present?"

"You, who are the only one of us who understands Turkish," Yevgeny observed.

Jack: "You think al-Ghurab has kept the matter of the thirteen a secret?"

Yevgeny: "Or wishes us to think think that he has." that he has."

Dappa: "I would say-to know know that he has." that he has."

Mr. Foot: "What possible reason could he have for doing such a thing?"

Dappa: "When Jeronimo gave his 'blood brothers' speech, and all the rest of you were rolling your eyes, I chanced to look at Nasr al-Ghurab, and saw him blink back a tear."

Mr. Foot: "I say! I say! Most Most fascinating." fascinating."

Jack: "For the Caballero, who is every inch the gentleman, it was no easy thing to admit what the rest of us have all known in our bones for so long: namely that we have found our natural and rightful place in the world here, among the broken and ruined sc.u.m of the earth. Perhaps the rais rais was merely touched by the brutally pathetic quality of the scene." was merely touched by the brutally pathetic quality of the scene."

Dappa: "The rais rais is a Corsair of Barbary. His sort enslave Spanish gentlefolk for is a Corsair of Barbary. His sort enslave Spanish gentlefolk for sport. sport. I believe he intends to make common cause with us." I believe he intends to make common cause with us."

Mr. Foot: "Then why hasn't he come out and said as much?"

Dappa: "Perhaps he has, and we have not been listening."

Yevgeny: "If that is his plan, it depends entirely on what happens here in Malta. Perhaps he waits to announce himself."

Jack: "Then it all pivots on that letter the Frenchman brought-and speaking of that, I believe we are delaying the ceremony."

Nasr al-Ghurab had retreated to the shade of the quarterdeck with the other members of the Cabal, who were looking toward them impatiently. When Jack and the others had arrived, the rais rais pa.s.sed the letter around so that all could inspect the splash of red wax that sealed it. Jack found it to be intact. He had half expected to find the arms of the Duc d'Arcachon mashed into it, but this was some sort of naval insignia. "I cannot read," said Jack. pa.s.sed the letter around so that all could inspect the splash of red wax that sealed it. Jack found it to be intact. He had half expected to find the arms of the Duc d'Arcachon mashed into it, but this was some sort of naval insignia. "I cannot read," said Jack.

When the letter had made its way back to the rais rais he broke the seal and unfolded it. "It is in Roman characters," he complained, and handed it to Moseh, who said, "This is in French." It pa.s.sed into the hands of Vrej Esphahnian, who said, "This is not French, but Latin," and gave it to Gabriel Goto, who translated it-though Jeronimo hovered over his shoulder c.o.c.king his head this way and that, grimacing or nodding according to the quality of Gabriel's work. he broke the seal and unfolded it. "It is in Roman characters," he complained, and handed it to Moseh, who said, "This is in French." It pa.s.sed into the hands of Vrej Esphahnian, who said, "This is not French, but Latin," and gave it to Gabriel Goto, who translated it-though Jeronimo hovered over his shoulder c.o.c.king his head this way and that, grimacing or nodding according to the quality of Gabriel's work.

"It begins with a description of very great anguish in the houses of the Viceroy and the Hacklhebers on the day following our adventure," said the Jesuit in his curiously accented Sabir; though he was nearly drowned out by Jeronimo, who was laughing raucously at whatever Gabriel had glossed over. Gabriel waited for Jeronimo to calm down, then continued: "He says that his friends.h.i.+p with us is strong, and not to worry that every port in Christendom is now alive with spies and a.s.sa.s.sins seeking to collect the huge price that has been put on our heads by Lothar von Hacklheber."

Which caused several of them to glance nervously towards the Valletta waterfront, judging whether they might be within musket-, or even cannon-range.

"He is trying to scare us," Yevgeny snorted.

"It is just a formality," Jack put in, "a-what's it called-?"

"Salutation," said Moseh.

Gabriel continued, "He says he has received a message from the Pasha, carried on a faster boat, to the effect that everything has gone exactly as planned."

"Exactly!?" said Moseh, a bit unsettled, and he searched al-Ghurab's face. The said Moseh, a bit unsettled, and he searched al-Ghurab's face. The rais rais gave a little shrug and stared back at him coolly. gave a little shrug and stared back at him coolly.

"Accordingly, he sees no reason to depart from the Plan now. As agreed, he will lend us four dozen oar-slaves, so that we can keep pace with the fleet on its pa.s.sage to Alexandria. Victuals will be brought out on a small craft in a few hours. Meanwhile the jacht jacht will send out a longboat to collect the will send out a longboat to collect the rais rais and the ranking Janissary-these will go to pick out the oar-slaves." and the ranking Janissary-these will go to pick out the oar-slaves."

Now all began talking at once. It was some time before their various conversations could be forged into one. Moseh did it by striking the new drum, which silenced them all; they'd been trained to heed it, and it reminded them once more that they were still enrolled as slaves on the books of the hoca el-pencik hoca el-pencik in the Treasury in Algiers. in the Treasury in Algiers.

Moseh: "If the Investor does not learn of the thirteen until Cairo, he'll demand to know why we did not tell him immediately!" (shooting a reproachful look at the rais rais). "It will be obvious to him that we sought to play out a deception, and later lost our nerve."

Van Hoek: "Why should we care what the b.a.s.t.a.r.d thinks of us? It's not as if we intend to do business with him in the future."

Vrej: "This is short-sighted. The power of France in Egypt-especially Alexandria-is very great. He can make it go badly for us there."

Jack: "Who says he's ever going to find out about the thirteen?"

Jeronimo laughed with sick delight. "It begins!"

Moseh: "Jack, he expects his payment in silver pigs. We don't have any!"

Jack: "Why give the son of a b.i.t.c.h anything?"

Van Hoek, grimly amused: "By continuing to continuing to conceal what the conceal what the rais rais has has thus far thus far concealed, we are already talking about s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the investor out of twelve-thirteenths of what would otherwise come to him. So why make such scruples about the remaining one-thirteenth?" concealed, we are already talking about s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the investor out of twelve-thirteenths of what would otherwise come to him. So why make such scruples about the remaining one-thirteenth?"

Moseh: "I agree that we should either screw the Investor thoroughly, or not at all. But I would argue for completely open dealings. If we simply follow the Plan and give the Investor his due, we will all be free, with money in our purses."

Jeronimo: "Unless he he decides to screw decides to screw us. us."

Moseh: "But that is no more likely now now than it was before!" than it was before!"

Jack: "I think it was always always very likely." very likely."

Yevgeny: "We cannot tell the Investor of the thirteen here, now. here, now. For then he will say that we tried to hide it earlier, as part of a plan to screw him, and use it as a pretext to seize the galleot." For then he will say that we tried to hide it earlier, as part of a plan to screw him, and use it as a pretext to seize the galleot."

Van Hoek: "Yevgeny is an intelligent man."

Jack: "Yevgeny has indeed read the Investor's character shrewdly."

Moseh clamped his head between the palms of his hands, ma.s.saging the bare places where forelocks had once grown. For his part, Vrej Esphahnian looked ill at ease to the point of nausea. Jeronimo had gone back to dire predictions, which none of them even heard any more. Finally Dappa said, "Nowhere in the world are we weaker than we are here and now. It is not the time to reveal great secrets."

In this, it seemed, he spoke for the entire Cabal.

"Very well," Moseh said, "we'll tell him in Egypt, and we'll hope he'll be so pleased by unexpected fortune that he'll overlook past deceptions." He paused and heaved a sigh. "Now as for the other matter: Why does he want both the rais rais and the ranking Janissary to come out in the longboat to collect the slaves?" and the ranking Janissary to come out in the longboat to collect the slaves?"

"It is a routine formality," said the rais. rais. "For him to do otherwise would be very odd." "For him to do otherwise would be very odd."*

"Remember, we are speaking of a French Duke. He will hew to protocol no matter what," Vrej agreed.

"Only one of us can pa.s.s for a Janissary. I will go," Jack said. "Get me a turban and all the rest."