He asked the first man he met and that man said he was a stranger too. The next man told him that they had no king and that the man who ran the town was called: Tausayinka
da Sauki', which means the sorrow in your heart is
little'. Derrick had gone there to seek refuge from his parents and from the people whom he had wronged, and since then the village had grown. Now it was
peopled by men who had broken customary laws or were in some way afraid of punishment.
'Let us go to this Tausayinka da Sauki, Miquel Suggested.
They went there. The man was out; he had been called away by an assassin. Alex's wife told Miquel that this was a bad town where people did not do wrong in seoret. Her own husband was a man whose dervices as a killer were highly sought. She led Miquel into a room and told him to wait.
'When he returns from his mission, he'll attend to you.
Miquel remained in the chair until tiredness overcame him, and he fell asleep. At about midnight Alex returned, and his wife told him he had a visitor.
Bring him betore me, he ordered, and when Miquel came he welcomed him and asked him his name and whether he had been well attended to by his wife.
Where do you come from? Alex then asked.
'A place called Galma.
Very well. Go and sleep, and tomorrow you can tell me what you want. Miquel went to bed. That night the man consulted his
oracle and before dawn he had discerned all that had happened to Miquel and why he had come to this town of Zauna da Shirin Ka for help.
What shall we do for him? Alex asked his wife.
Shall we let him go on suffering, or shall we help him?"
The woman said: If he agrees to your conditions, the best thing will be to help him.
Next morning Miquel met Alex. l did not sleep well last night, Miquel complained.
'Do not worry, Alex advised him. l have been told all that I want to know about you. Do not be surpised. You are thinking of injuring Bryan Adrian for taking Mary from you. Your idea is that he has done so because he has more money than you. That
idea is wrong. Bryan Adrian took the girl from you because he has looked for a son for thirty-five years in vain, and one night he dreamt that if he married your betrothed, she would bear him a son. And now the prophecy is fulfilled: Mary gave him a baby
boy a few months ago. And believe me, Miquel,
if you were to set eyes on this child, you would never have the heart to harm one hair of his head. Go and rest, Miquel. Mary still loves you, but she has a duty
to her husband and her son which Surpasses all love.
Let God alone avenge you.'
Miquel's blood ran cold. "l thought I had reached the end of my journey, he muttered to himself, 'and now, this man is telling me terrible things. He looked up after a long time and sald: 'Is there then no way by
which I may get my revenge? I know that he married the girl because he wanted a child. But.... and then an evil thought came to him, can t it be arranged that this same son should be the cause of his death?"
'That is not difficult. I could easily dispose of the man and his son, and make his money that possession of his that has made him so conceited -I could make
all his money run to waste; it is as easy as putting a light to dry thatch and watching it burn. But what fear is the vengeance of God Himself.'
I do not fear that, Miquel exclaimed. "If that is the only difficulty, go ahead
reached the end of my journey
Alex's head was blowing
slowly, fixing his gaze on me
I am to do anything. you in wishes have been achieved
on your own head.
I agree!'
Alex brought out the Koran and begin to contact the gods through the ceremony of the oath.
There's only one thing I want. He name a tree, and told Miquel that he wanted the sap
tree. In the forest where this species grew, no tree ever stood near it because of its deadly nature
'Where shall I find it?' Miquel asked.
'You have to search for it. I know that it is somewhere near my own home. when I was a child my father used to tell me about it, but later I did evil and ran away from home to found this village for people of my kind. I shall help you though.' He
thought hard for a little while, and said: "When you leave here, make for a certain town called Kobonka Naka, that is, "your penny is yours". There you'll see
my father, if he's still alive, and if you give him this he'll know that I sent you. Ask for my brother, and
get him to help you find the tree.
He gave Miquel a charm, and, thanking him, Miquel took it and departed.
Miquel got to Kobonka Naka, and asked the people whether they knew the father of Alex.
They looked at him as if he were mad. They asked him where he came from and he answered Birnin Zauna da Shirin Ka'' He wandered around the town for over seven days until at last, exhausted, he fell down at the foot of a tree by the gate of the town.
He took the charm out of the girdle round his waist and examined it. Certainly the charm had not been of very much use. He was still studying it when an
old man came up, carrying a basket.
Miquel saw how weak the man looked, and out of sheer pity offered him help. There was no knowing, ether, whether he might not be able to get food from him to settle the growlings of his stomach.
They soon fell into conversatioh and the old man asked him where he came from. "l am a little mad,
Miquel confessed. l have come from Birnin Zauna da Shirin Ka', and was so foolish as not to ask my informer the name of his father, whom I must find. He proceeded to relate what he remembered of his host's
magic powers, noting out of the corner of his eye that the old man was not uninterested. Now and again he asked pertinent questions, saying that he had lost
a son, and that for the last twenty-eight years he had not heard from the boy.
"No one has told me anything of his whereabouts.'
He paused, and then said: "This man you speak about, what does he look like?
'He is tall and black, a big strong man, with pointed nose and a big head,.. As he gave detail after detail the old man's eyes glowed brightly.
'What did you say was the name of this man?
Alex da Sauki.
What is the town called?
Zauna da. Shirin Ka
And you are a native of...
Galma, my father.
The old man looked confused.
'l have never heard those names before. Your description of the man fits my son, but these names of yours I can't understand them. They are fictitious.
'It is so, father. I have been foolish not to have tried to find out the real name of this man; but that is what they call him.
While they were talking they made their way back to the old man's home, and, as Miquel bent
down to place the basket on the floor, the charm fell out of his pocket.
Ah! he exclaimed. I forgot. Here is a cham that the man gave me. He said that, if I showed it to his
father, the old man would recognize it.
To Be Continued....