AYED THE HAWK

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 62, 15 March 1938, Page 19

AYED THE HAWK

Short Story

THE train shuffled into Cairo station, spewed out from the strained interior

of its third-class coaches the grimy humanity in filthy, sweat-reeking galabeyahs that had seethed there uneasily from Israailia, from Zagazig. Spewed out Abdu Mahmoud and Loza, his wife, and Ayed the boy who trotted along the platform behind his parents.

Then the ticket collector stopped them, jerked a thumb at the eight-year-old Ayed who looked up at him with big, brown, wondering eyes. Abdu's hand swung out, caught Ayed a buffet on the side of the head that sent him spinning.

"He is not of mine," shouted Abdu. "I do not know him. He stick to me like the bug one cannot rid oneself of."

But the ticket collector had heard such stories before; he started quietly, so that he could only be heard some 50 yards away, to explain to Abdu his own main characteristics, working back with praiseworthy thoroughness through the Mahmoud genealogical tree, which seemed to have been more animal than human if the ticket collector could be believed. Meanwhile a crowd was jam-

min» up; meanwhile Ayed had unobtrusively slipped through the barrier. And presently Abdu pointed out his absence, suggesting blandly that at last the poor child must have found his father. The ticket collector expressed regret that Abdu's mother had not bitten her son as he would then surely have died from hydrophobia, cuffed Abdu on the head, and the Mahmouds were in Cairo. Ayed ioined them outside the station. on behind his mother who was ferling along behind her lord and •nasTer. °And for a while the process on continued, Loza and Ayed following without thought; but Abdu was thinkin" He had left his balad because it was such hard work to get even food enough without working. Here in Cairo there must be easy money; tourist* and inhabitants like the Inghzr who would give a tarifa or even a piastre it T ou annoved them sufficiently with a Deling whine. He could soon teach to, his wife, to do that—she was always whining, so that it would come quite naturally-and on the proceeds they could probably live quite comfortably. But Aved? Abdu thought hard; he "could not see Ayed as a eourco of he turned, stepped up to Ayed, his son. "Roh! Ana mush aarafak, he shot

out harshly. Then again Ayed looked up with those bi", brown, wondering eyes. He could not understand; his father was telling him to go away, that he did not Know him, just as he" had said at the station, only that had not been teal. "But where?" he blurted out.

"Fi dahia!" shouted Abdu. And. because Ayed did not know where hell was and still stood staring and irresolute, his father lashed at him with a powerful hand and sent him sprawling into the gutter. Turned and slouched off, and Loza, his wife, draggled on behind. In a moment Ayed raised his bead, turned his eyes to follow his fastdisappearing parents. Till they were out of sight he watched them, and, as he watched something strange happened inside him. He could not analyse it; he was just conscious that something had changed. Slowly he drew himself up and sat for a while on the kerbstone, his feet still in the gutter. And presently a ehawwish, feeling that the power of the police needed a little exercise, kicked him spitefully and deftlv on and Ayed leaped to his feet and" scuttled off. He wandered aimlessly because he had no knowledge where to go or why. He wandered heedlessly, hardly seeming to realise the huge" buildings, the electric trams, the garish neon signs that were bursting on his young eyes for the first time. Into Sharia" Kamel and across the Midan Opera—fleet foot and quick eye only saved him from the mad maze of twisting traffic that seemed to hurl itself at him from every side. Into the squalid, narrow back -alleys of Ataba, and life of a sudden had a purpose. There were bright lights there that threw a gleam over the pink and white sides of mutton with luscious, alluring kidneys peeping from their bed of suet. Golden mishmish and carrots and courgettes in baskets beside an old woman. A man with a stick ringed with khubz —and bread is so satisfying. Ayed had realised the emptiness of his stomach.

! He studied the ground carefully. A dark close debouched on the street where the old woman sat with her baskets —and old women cannot run. Ayed slipped into the close and presently a lean brown hand groped out from the darkness,, closed over a couple of carrots and withdrew. A moment later the hand crept out again, more surely this time, towards the basket of niishmish —but it never got there. A stick flailed in the darkness; Aysd had forI gotten that old women may have sons lor even grandsons. He staggered to his

feet, warded off another blow and fled, ft was all in the day; next time he must e more careful, that was all. He found i quiet corner, munched the carrots and wandered on.

By RICHARD CAROL

Later he found the stables of the mounted police, crept in when no one was looking, and snuggled down among the straw. Fell into a dreamless sleep till he was roused by tlw hard toe of an official boot crashing into his slender frame. They made him help to clean out the stables'for his night's lodging and Ayed made a mental note to avoid anything connected with the police in future. Ayed was learning his Cairo.

He learned more that forenoon. In Maghraby he saw a wallad open the doors of the cars that drew up outside Groppi's or close them when the owners came out and drove off. More important, saw that each time the wallad got a coin. So Ayed watched and waited —till the wallad was engaged in receiving one car as the owner of another came out. Rushed into the breach, opened the door, closed it, stood a moment expectant and found a whole piastre in his hand.

The car had driven off and Ayed was still contemplating the nickel piece in his open palm when a list crashed on it, the coin «shot out and in a flash was in the walhul's hand. Then Ayed heard just what would happen to him if he dared to butt in again, looked up at the superior height of the other and took himself off. It was a pity; it had seemed such an easy way to make money.

Wandered on. On. It was not easy to get food in Cairo when you had no money and he was feeling .hungry. Then he saw a man throw away a cigarette end and he flung himself at it. There were half a dozen puffs there and they would still the gnawings for a while.

He never got one for, as he straightened up the glowing end was plu.'ked from his fingers. Twice now it had happened, the spoils torn from his triumphant grasp; in a flash Ayed realised that life was a fight, tooth and claw, and he fought, silently, with a grim determination, rolling the fag-end high-jacker over and over on the pavement, into the gutter, into the street. Suddenly there was a husky whisper from the other. Shaw wish! It was enough. Ayed let him go. shot to his feet and was off. He had had experience enough of the police. But he kept on the other's heels till he slackened and drew breath. Then Ayed would have been at him again, but the wallad, even more ragged than himself, held him off and began, still panting, to speak. "You got anything to do?"' Ayed shook his head. 'T tell you better thing to do with fag-ends than smoke them. I can tell yon where you can sell them for food and a place to sleep."' The hollow pain in Ayed'a stomach made him incautious. •'Where'.'" he burst out, an over-eager gleam in his eyes. The other saw: his, eyes narrowed and a cunning look crept into his youngold face. "Forty ends a day if I tell you.'' Ayed's eyes hardened. He realised his mistake; now he could only make it as small as possible. "Twenty," he rapped. The other hesitated, looked disinterested. "Thirty-rive, then," he suggested. Ayed shook his head. "Twenty-rive, no more." The other started to walk away; turned and threw back casually: "Thirty, then, because you are my friend.'' "Tell me about it,'''said Ayed and the bargain was sealed. (To .be concluded.)