_CHAPTER TWELVE_
From the house of David, Joseph skulked down the terraces until he cameto the two long buildings and entered the smaller of these. He crossed apatio, smaller than the court of David's house; but there, too, was thefountain in the center and the cool flooring of turf. Across this, andrunning under the dimly lighted arcade, Joseph reached a door which hetore open, slammed behind him again, and with his great head fallen uponhis chest, stared at a little withered Negro who sat on a stool oppositethe door. It was rather a low bench of wood than a stool; for it stoodnot more than six inches above the level of the floor. His shoes off,and his bare feet tucked under his legs, he sat tailorwise and peered upat the giant. The sudden opening of the door had set his loose blousefluttering about the old man's skeleton body. The sleeves fell back frombony forearms with puckered skin. He was less a man than a receptacle oftime. His temples sank in like the temples of a very old horse; histoothless mouth was crushed together by the pressure of the long bonyjaw, below which the skin hung in a flap. But the fire still glimmeredin the hollows of his eyes. A cheerful spirit lived in the grasshopperbody. He was knitting with a pair of slender needles, never looking athis work, nor during the interview with Joseph did he once slacken hispace. The needles clicked with such swift precision that the work grewperceptibly, flowing slowly under his hands.
Meanwhile this death's head looked at the giant so steadily that Josephseemed to regret his unceremonious entrance. He stood back against thedoor, fumbling its knob for a moment, but then his rage mastered himonce more, and he burst into the tale of Connor's coming and the ivoryhead. He brought his story to an end by depositing the trinket beforethe ancient man and then stood back, his face still working, and waitedwith every show of confident curiosity.
As for the antique, his knitting needles continued to fly, but to viewthe little carving more closely he craned his skinny neck. At thatmoment, with his fallen features, his fleshless nose, he was a grinningmummy head. He remained gloating over the little image so long thatJoseph stirred uneasily; but finally the grotesque lifted his head. Itat once fell far back, the neck muscles apparently unable to support itsweight. He looked more at the ceiling than at Joseph. His speech was awrithing of the lips and the voice a hollow murmur.
"This," he said, "is the face of a great suhman. It is the face of thegreat suhman, Haneemar. It was many years ago that I knew him. It was atime so long ago that I do not know how to tell you. It was before yourbirth and the birth of your father. It was when I lived in a greencountry where the air is thick and sweet and the sun burns. There I knewHaneemar. He is a strong suhman. You see, his eyes are green; that isbecause he has the strength of the great snake that ties its tail arounda branch and hangs down with its head as high as the breast of a man.Those snakes kill an antelope and eat it at a mouthful. Their eyes aregreen and so are the eyes of Haneemar. And you see that Haneemar hasgolden teeth. That is because he has eaten wisdom. He knows the meat ofall things like a nut he can crack between his teeth. He is as strong asthe snake which eats monkeys, and he is as wise as the monkeys that runfrom the snake and throw sticks from the tops of the trees. That isHaneemar.
"There is no luck for the man who carries the face of Haneemar with him.That is why David used the whip. He knew Haneemar. Also, in the otherdays I remember that when a child was sick in the village they tied agoat in the forest and Haneemar came and ate the goat. If he ate thegoat like a lion and left tooth marks on the bones then the child gotwell and lived. If he ate the goat like a panther and left the guts thechild died. But if the goat was not eaten for one day then Haneemar cameand ate the child instead. I remember this. There will be no luck foryou while you carry Haneemar."
The big man had heard this speech with eyes that grew rounder androunder. Now he caught up the little image and raised his arm to throwit through the window. But the old man hissed, and Joseph turned with ashudder.
"You cannot throw Haneemar away," said the other. "Only when some onetakes him freely will you be rid of him."
"It is true," answered Joseph. "I remember the visitor would not takehim back."
"Then," said the old sage, "if the stranger will not take him back, badluck has come into the Garden, for only the stranger would carryHaneemar out again. But do not give Haneemar to one of our friends, forthen he will stay with us all. If you dig a deep hole and bury him init, Haneemar may not be able to get out."
Joseph was beginning to swell with wrath.
"The stranger has put a curse on me," he said. "Abraham, what shall I doto him? Teach me a curse to put on him!"
"Hush!" answered Abraham. "Those who pray to evil spirits are the slavesof the powers they pray to."
"Then I shall take this Benjamin in my hands!"
He made a gesture as though he were snapping a stick of dry wood.
"You are the greater fool. Is not this Benjamin, this stranger, a guestof the master?"
"I shall steal him away by night in such a manner that he shall not makeeven the noise of a mouse when the cat breaks its back. I shall stealhim away and David will never know."
The loose eyelids of the old man puckered and his glance became a ray oflight.
"The curse already works; Haneemar already is in your mind, Joseph.David will not know? Child, there is nothing that he does not know. Heuses us. We are his tools. My mind is to him as my hand is to me. Hecomes inside my eyes; he knows what I think. And if old Abraham isnothing before David, what is Joseph? Hush! Let not a whisper go out! Donot even dare to think it. You have felt the whip of David, but you havenot felt his hand when he is in anger. A wounded mountain lion is not soterrible as the rage of David; he would be to you as an ax at the rootof a sapling. These things have happened before. I remember. Did notBoram once anger John? And was not Boram as great as Joseph? And did notJohn take Boram in his hands and conquer him and break him? Yes, andDavid is a greater body and a stronger hand than John. Also, his angeris as free as the running of an untaught colt. Remember, my son!"
Joseph stretched out his enormous arms and his voice was a broken wail.
"Oh, Abraham, Abraham, what shall I do?"
"Wait," said the old man quietly. "For waiting makes the spirit strong.Look at Abraham! His body has been dead these twenty years, but stillhis spirit lives."
"But the curse of Haneemar, Abraham?"
"Haneemar is patient. Let Joseph be patient also."