Page 87 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (3)_Neat

(

10 NEGLECTED ARABIA

ill uiir dih|HiMili went lu liin lmu«c In link if lie would cumc m whether l '
should go lo sce him. The black servant very boon returned, all excited, ■«
A messenger on horseback had come from Nezwa, the city of the Imam. '
He had made this long distance in one day, and it usually took a good ']
camel two days to make the trip. He carried messages from the Imam * -]
forbidding us to go. We were to remain in Someil—no one had the 1
authority to send us away and our work was not yet finshed. This was
almost too good to believe, and we waited with some doubt as to iu
truth for the arrival of Sheikh Hilaal.
When he came after fifteen minutes, the only unusual thing was hii
large retinue. He did not in the least appear excited, but his retinue was
evidently expecting something unusual. We all sat, Arab fashion, on
the floor and talked about nothing. By and by the sheikh said a patient
had come from Nezwa, sent by the Imam. 1 replied that he could cum*
with us to Muscat. Also a request had come from the Imam for some
medicine. “Very well/' I replied, “you can send one of your^ men with
us to Muscat and we can give him the required medicine.” And jq ;
bantering back and forth we were not coming any nearer to the question
in hand. At last I told him I wished to speak to him and we both’ )
got up to go into our private room. The moment we were inside the \
whole group of retainers with the exception of the Sheikh’s brother, J
jumped up and put their ears to the door cracks and any place where
there were cracks in the walls, and these were plenty. Mr. Van Peurscm
and the brother were, however, able to make them return to their place*.
“You received a letter from the Imam today.''” I began. '?
“Yes,” and he pulled a very much folded envelope from his turban. I
;*
He read from a small scrap of paper a list of illnesses and pains for ~
which medicine was required. A second scrap of paper was fruin | s
judge, a friend uf the I mum, who also winded various kinds of lucdlcint,./-

"Is that all?" 1 asked. i
"Yes, that’s all.”
"Then the Imam does not order us away.”
“No.”
"But by asking for all this medicine and sending patients, 1 assume
that he expects us to stay, does he not. At least, so long as he has nut
ordered us away, who has the right to order us away.'”
"No one. No one has ordered you away.”
“Very well, then we remain; we stay here another fifteen days.”
At this the old man’s face fell. It took him a few moments to regai*
composure enough to speak. Then he remonstrated : But your supplies •
are all gone, your house is already overcrowded with patients, how caa
you do any more work here. And what, Oh what shall I do. People
are still coming to me from all parts of Oman, and 1 am feeding from
one hundred to two hundred every day, and now 1 11^have to do that ft*
another fifteen days. Why don't you go to Muscat?
I felt sorry for the old man, but knowing that he was wealthy euougk

J
--
--
--
--
—
O
--
--

to pay for some extra rice and fish, I did not change my decision. I {
U
|
—
«VU,
--
--
*
llJli,
*
merely stateo tnat we uiu not consider it an honor to be driven out of * .
merely stated that we did not
town and that the town had further need of us. And so far as our f
supplies were concerned, his servants who were acting as our dot** ;