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move at a moment's notice, yet the library was open to me, and the scholars
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welcomed me. Safia supplied me with money, and the fact that I was earning the
money removed my reluctance at accepting it. There were elaborate catalogues
listing the books of the library, some of which were illustrated with great
beauty, bound in aromatic woods and embossed leather inlaid with gems.
Among the books that came to the library were some written on the bark of
trees, upon palm leaves, among bamboo or the wood of trees cut in thin slices.
Others were written on animal skins, bones, thin plates of copper, bronze,
antimony, clay, linen, and silk. Papyrus, leather, and parchment were common.
Some were in tongues none of us could translate, such as those fromCrete or
Thera or Etruscan ruins.
There were scholars at the library who read in Sanskrit, in Pali, Kharoshthi,
and even the ancientKashmir script, Sarada. Day after day I buried myself in
my work, and now that I no longer was engaged in copying or translation, my
studies went further afield, for I delved into that great storehouse of
manuscripts untouched and unread.
One night Safia came to the room where I slept. "I have news."
"News?"
"Your father may yet live."
"What?" My heart was pounding.
"His galley was sunk offCrete , but he or somebody who resembled him was
taken from the sea and sold into slavery."
"Then I must go toCrete ."
"He is no longer there. He was sold to a merchant inConstantinople ."
My father wasalive!
"I must go."
Safia shook her head. "It would be foolish. Those who discovered this are
making further inquiries. When I have news, you shall have it."
Filled with impatience, I had yet to wait. Safia was right, of course. To
dash off without further knowledge would be to set myself adrift once more.
First, I must know what merchant bought him and if he was still the owner, or
if he had sold him, to whom?
I had waited this long. I could wait longer. I would have to trust that Safia
would not fail me just as I would not fail in my duty to her.
21
WHERE SAFIA PROCURED the horses I did not know, but all were of theAl Khamsat
al Rasul,the five great breeds superior to all other Arabian horses. Two
wereKuhaila,one aSaglawi,the last aHadbah.Only the third horse was a stallion,
the first two and the last were mares, preferred by the Arab.
They were handsome animals, and the groom who cared for them was a desert
Arab, a deaf mute. Obviously, the horses were his life and could be in no
better hands, but I took time to caress them and become acquainted, feeding
each a few fragments ofnaida,a confection made by soaking wheat for several
days, allowing it to dry, then pounding it into cakes.
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After visiting the horses a second time, I left by a roundabout route so that
I might not be followed, and I discovered myself in the corner of a bazaar
where there were severalkaroband wine shops. Hurrying past, I was stopped by a
cool but familiar voice.
"If you wish to know, ask Kerbouchard!"
The voice was that of Valaba.
Turning, I saw her standing in the entrance to a wine shop, two young men
beside her. She wore the Byzantine costume affected by some of the fashionable
women of Córdoba, a tunic of pale blue that reached to her ankles and a mantle
of dark blue embroidered with small Moline crosses of gold.
"Kerbouchard," she said, "knows the far regions of the world. Ask him."
One of the young men, slender and pale, merely glanced at me, taking in my
rough student's clothing. The other, a big, loose-jointed young man with
mildly amused eyes, was more interested.
"We were speaking of the earth. Is it true that some Christian theologians
believe the world to be flat?"
"Theologians," I said, "should go to sea. The roundness of the world is
proved every time a ship disappears over the horizon."
Valaba turned toward the interior of the shop. "Kerbouchard, it is good to
see you again. Will you join us? I would have you tell us of the lands
beyondThule ."
"BeyondThule ?" The tall young man put his hand on my shoulder. "Are there
such lands?"
"They are a mystery only to scholars and writers of books. Fishing boats go
there each season. I am a Celt, from Armorica, inBrittany . Fishing boats have
sailed to those far lands from our isle of Brehat since before memory. Nor
were they alone. Basque and Norman boats have been there also, and those
fromIceland ."
"Tell me of those lands."
"That I cannot. Our boat went for fish, and the land is remote, its people
savage. When we caught our fish we came home."
The fair-skinned young man was bored. He was also haughty. His look was
disdainful. "A fisherman? In a student's clothing?"
"We are all fishermen after a fashion," I said. "Some fish for one thing,
some for another." I smiled at him. "Tell me, what are you fishing for?"
He stared at me, shocked at my reply. Before he could speak, Valaba said
gently, her eyes showing her amusement, "You do not understand, Roderick.
Mathurin Kerbouchard isCountKerbouchard. In his country it is customary that
all boys learn the way of the sea."
The title, of course, was nonsense, although it had been said there were such
at some bygone time. The rest of what she had said was simply the truth. I
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wondered how she knew so much. Or had she merely surmised? Titles had never
impressed me. They were given to the servants of kings. I knew one who got his
by helping the king on with his trousers each morning, or whatever he wore. We
Kerbouchards were servants to no man. My father often said that he knew of no
king with a family half as old as his own. Not that the age of the family was
important, many an old tree bears bad fruit.
Roderick did not like me, but the other young man was interested. He ordered
wine for us, coffee for himself. "You are a scholar, yet you have been a man
of the sea. It is a rare combination."
"There is knowledge at sea to be found nowhere else. Lately, I have been
reading accounts of many voyages, but so much is left out. The sea has an
enduring knowledge passed from father to son for generations.
"It is our custom in sailing from our land to the great fishing grounds in
the west to sail to Eire, the green island beyondEngland . From there it is
but five or six days with a fair wind toIceland , and but two days, perhaps
three, to theGreenland . From there it is another five days or less to the
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