Book 7: Minea
1
We succeeded in getting clear of the city unchallenged by the watch, for the river had not been closed for the night, and I crept beneath the deck to lay my weary head to rest for the King’s soldiers had woken me up already before dawn, like I have told, and the day had been so full of unrest and useless hustle and bustle that never before had I come across such a day. But still there was no peace, for Minea had unrolled herself from the mat and was washing herself clean of blood, scooping up the river water with her hands while moonlight sparkled in the drops that fell between her fingers. She looked at me unsmilingly and said in reproach:
“By your advice I have made myself filthy, and I smell of blood and shall surely never again be clean, and it’s all your fault. What’s more, when you carried me, you squeezed me much harder than was necessary so that I could not breathe.”
But I was bored of her talk and very tired. So I yawned and said, “Hold your tongue, accursed woman, for when I think of all you have made me do, my heart jumps, and I feel like throwing you into the river, where the water would clean you as you so wish. Had it not been for you, I should now be sitting on the right hand of the King of Babylon, and the priests of the Tower would impart to me all their wisdom, concealing nothing, and I should be the wisest physician in the world. For your sake I have forfeited the presents I might have earned by the practice of my curing skills, and my gold is dwindling — and I dare not present the clay tablets that entitle me to draw money in temple treasuries. All this is on your account, and I curse the day I saw you, and indeed every year on this day I shall wear sackcloth and ashes.”
She trailed her hand in the moonlit river, the water cleaving before it like molten silver, as she said in a low voice and with her face averted, “If this is so, let me jump into the river as you desire. Then you will be rid of me.” She rose and would have leaped into the river, but I seized her and held her tightly, saying, “Be done with this folly, for if you jump in, all my contriving will have been in vain, and that would be the greatest folly of them all. In the name of all the gods, let me sleep in peace, Minea, and do not bother me with these whims, for I am very tired.”
237
With this, I crawled under the mat and drew it about me, for the night was chilly although spring had come and storks were calling amongst the reeds. But she crept in beside me and said softly, “If I can do nothing else, I can at least keep you warm, since the night is cold.” I was too weary to resist her but fell asleep and slept soundly in her warmth, for she was young and her body like a little stove beside my side.
When I awoke, we had come far upstream, but the oarsmen were grumbling and said, “Our shoulders are like wood, and our backs ache. Do you seek our death for we don’t think we are racing to quench a burning house.” I hardened my heart and said to them, “Whoever slackens will feel my stick for we will take our first rest only at noon. Then you may eat and drink, and to each of you I shall give a mouthful of date wine to revive you, and you will feel as airy as birds. But if there is any murmuring, I shall invoke all the devils against you for you must know that I am a priest and a magician and know many devils who take great pleasure eating human flesh.” I said this to frighten them, but the sun was shining brightly and they did not believe me and said, “He is alone and we are ten!” And the nearest of them tried to smite me with his oar.
At that moment, noises came from the funeral jar at the bow, and it was Kaptah beating on the inside of the jar, and he started cursing and yelling with a hoarse voice so that the oarsmen turned grey from fear and one after another leaped overboard into the river and vanished out of sight along the stream. The boat started drifting and tilted, but I managed to steer it to the shore and dropped the anchor stone. Minea came up from the cabin combing her hair, and at that instant all my fear left me, for she was fair before my eyes, and the sun was shining, and the storks were calling amongst the reeds. I went forward to the funeral jar and said loudly as I broke the clay, “Stand up, man — you who lie down!”
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