Meg's story to Binky when he rescued her
from the slave pen
Well it was a bit of a laugh to start with, really.
There we were chatting about our experiences over afternoon tea and the
president of the Cairo Ladies Antiquarian Society invited us to view some
artefacts in the vaults.
So down we went into the vaults and, my, what a lot of
exhibits there are in there. There
were statues, sarcophagi, scrolls, canopic jars and heaps and heaps of other
stuff all waiting cataloguing, identification and study. There was even a chariot!
Gerald and Hassan would spend years in there!
We were going over to where the assistants were working
when a group of people arrived with a delivery, the curator went over to see
what they wanted and started to talk to a tall one-eyed man that seemed to be in
charge. Then suddenly the lights
went out. There was a very pleasant
scent in the air and I took a fit of the vapours – most unlike me I know – I
just cannot explain it.
Well I must have been unconscious for ages for when I
awoke I was in a ship’s cabin. I
was a prisoner! I was not allowed
on deck except after dark but from what I could see from my porthole we were
making good speed down the Red Sea. I
was on the port side and so could not see much at all.
Except the water, that is!
What’s that? No
I did not ever see Cynthia after the lights went out. Was she taken as well? Goodness
me. I wonder where she is?
Well my captors were led by a tall fellow – it turns
out that the patch on his eye was part of a disguise he had two perfectly good
blue eyes. He is about 30 and quite
well built – a strapping sort of chap. Very
much a cavalry officer and minor nobility, I’d say. He has a scar on his left cheek – from a duel no doubt.
You know what these Austrians are like!
Austrian? I think so –
definitely not a Prussian, a Bavarian or a Saxon – I know those accents.
A Ruritanian you say? Well
maybe, but I’ve never met one. I’ve
met a Bulgar and a Rumanian and he did not sound like any of those – more like
a Serb I met in New York a year or so ago.
Now I think of it.
I was questioned about all of you and about the finds
that we made at the Temple. I did
not tell him anything that was not in the Cairo papers but regaled them with
tales of derring-do and of my famous trip around the world – did I ever tell
you about the cannibal king of Monteria? No…
all right some other time then.
He had a few others with him who all called him
“sir”. Although I think that
was a put on, they were used to calling him something else.
I saw about six white men and two white women. No they never used names
at all except once they called the thin woman Madeleine.
The tall blond woman did not speak at all but her eyes were watching
everything I did and I’m sure she listened to every word I said.
I’m fairly sure that she could read lips because she watched me
intently even at a distance when I was talking to others.
She whispered to the leader without ever taking her eyes off me.
Most uncomfortable, indeed.
At dawn a few days down the Red Sea we saw some red
sails approaching from ahead and astern. The
crew of the steamer were very agitated.
Quite rightly too, as it turned out.
They were Mustapha Ginnis’ slave ships.
The steamer made a run for it and we thought we’d escaped when we ran
onto a sand bank. The devils were
all over us and within half an hour we were sailing on the dhows for this place.
The steamer was emptied of its cargo and the poor blacks were taken as
slaves.
We three white women were kept in one dhow the men were
taken on the others. No I do not
know if they were all together. Well,
the Captain of our dhow took a fancy to “Madeleine” (I don’t think that
was her real name) and she was taken away – I saw her in Arab clothes when we
landed here. The mute one, I called
her “Silencia”, was taken away some time later and I never saw her again.
When I was on the quay, Mutapha Ginnis, a terrible red
bearded Irish Mussulman decided that he was going to keep me for his own.
He tried to take liberties with me so I struck out at him.
He was in a lot of pain afterwards and he ordered me sold at the next
market. I’ve spent most of the
time in here except for about an hour outside a day to get water.
There have been a few black chiefs from south of here
– Morvalistan I heard the merchant say. They
were looking for another golden haired white woman for the Kasser – whoever or
whatever that is. It seems three
are needed and Silencia made two. I
was really glad that I’ve brown hair – though it’s a bit unkempt just now.
My nails are all split and broken and … Fine!
Don’t take an interest in me!
While I’ve been here I’ve found out that Mustapha Ginnis really controls this place with his pirates and bunch of hooligans dressed in light blue “uniforms”. More like burlesque Arab characters! They are a mix of renegades from all over the east coast. The Sultan is only a figurehead and his own guards and vizier are in thrall with Mustapha Ginnis. The Baluchis of the town guard are tough fighters and you should not cross them unless you have to. Oh you’ve found that out already? Pity. Their captain quite fancies me. He’s been round every day with fresh fruit and he brought some clean clothes for me. European ones at that. I’m sure he was going to bid for me! Nice to be wanted … Only kidding Dear Binkers!
The Captain was always chatting away and he said that the kidnappers had been taken to the palace and then had bought their way out with information and treasure that arrived in a small steamer before dawn today. They departed by midday overland for Morvalistan. What’s that? Where? Mophir he said. You know the place that Gerald is always going on about. Anyway, they set off with a trade caravan along the cooler hill route and on to Snikkabar. I suppose they will be looking for help from the Sultan there.
There are some other white men here. They are not popular at all. They had a load of Egyptian artefacts and were caught robbing a tomb not far from the town. More likely they are the Germans that were at the temple before us and they have been taken prisoner and robbed of their treasures.
He mentioned a Russian Trophy Party passed through last month (I think that is what he said). Whatever that might be.