Chapter 25 chapter eight

While the experiment was going on, Lord Kerabong took aside his friends of Van Mettaine and Nephew Ahme, and they had a conversation where the hopeless man forgot that he was no longer interested in anything. Stubborn determination, but also to impose his views and ways of doing things on others.Below is a snippet of their conversation. "Ah! my friends," said he, "I think the wizard is but a first-rate fool!" "Why?" asked the Dutchman. "Because nothing prevents sinners - like us - from pretending to caress the goat and putting our hands on its back without actually touching it! This judge should at least do so in good light to prevent All cheating! . . . and it is absurd to do so in the dark!"

"Indeed," said the Dutchman too. "I'm going to do what I want," Kerabong continued, "and I insist that you do what I do." "Oh, uncle," said Ahme, "you know that this animal does not bark any more at innocent people than at sinners, whether you pat its back or not!" "Of course, Ahme, but since Mr. Judge's work is so simple, I want to be even simpler than him. I don't touch its livestock! . . . I ask you to do like me!" "But, uncle..." "Hey! There's nothing to argue about that," replied Kerabong, who was already getting agitated.

"But..." said the Dutchman. "Van Mettain, I will not forgive you if you are so naive as to touch this goat's back!" "That's good! In order to obey you, my friend Kerabong, I won't touch it at all! ... Besides, it doesn't matter, we won't be seen in the dark!" Most of the travelers have done the experiment, and the goat hasn't accused anyone yet. "It's our turn, Bruno," said Nisib. "My God! How foolish these Orientals are to bring this wealth!" Bruno replied. They went to stroke the back of the goat one after another. It was as silent to them as it was to the passengers in front.

"But it didn't say anything, your animal!" demanded the venerable Sarabul to the judge. "Be patient!" replied the judge, shaking his head slyly. "If the goat does not bark, it is because the criminal's hand has not yet touched it." "Damn it! It's just us!" whispered Van Mettaine, feeling a vague uneasiness he didn't quite know why. "It's our turn," Ahme said. "Yes!...I'll go first!" Kerabong replied. As he passed his friend and nephew, he repeated in a low voice: "Don't touch it!" Then he put his hand on the goat, and pretended to stroke its back slowly, without actually touching a single hair.

The goat didn't bark. "That's reassuring!" Ahme said. So, following his uncle's example, his hand barely touched the goat's back. The goat didn't bark. It was the Dutchman's turn.The Dutchman was last, and he wanted to do the experiment ordered by the judge.He walked towards the animal, which seemed to be watching him from below.But he didn't want to upset his Kerabon friend either, so he let his hand run lightly over the goat's back. The goat didn't bark. The people present said "Hey!" in surprise, and then said "Oh!" in satisfaction.

"Obviously, your goat is just a beast!..." roared Yarnar in a voice like thunder. "It didn't recognize the criminal," cried the honorable Kurdish woman, "but the criminal is here, because no one can get out of this yard!" "Well!" said Kerabon, "isn't the judge, with his cunning livestock, not very ridiculous, Van Mittern?" "Indeed!" replied van Mettaine, now completely reassured by the results of the experiment. "Poor little goat," Najib said to her mistress, "it didn't say anything, is it going to be punished?"

Then everyone looked at the Judge, whose eyes shone slyly in the shadows like jewels. "And now, Mr. Judge," said Kerabong in a slightly sarcastic tone, "now that your investigation is over, I think nothing will prevent us from going back to our room..." "We can't just let it go!" The female passenger shouted angrily. "No! You can't just let it go, you committed a crime..." "Hey! Mrs. Kurd!" Kerabong retorted a little sharply. "When educated people want to go to bed, you don't want to stop them?" "What tone do you use, Mr. Turk! . . . " cried Monsieur Yanar.

"Use the right tone, Mr. Kurd!" Lord Kerabong retorted. As the culprit was not identified, Scarbunter thought his plot had failed, and now watched with considerable satisfaction the quarrel between Lord Kerabon and Lord Yarnal, from which perhaps complications would emerge in favor of his plan. The two men did quarrel more and more, and Kerabong would rather be arrested and sentenced than lose the battle.Ahme was about to step in to help his uncle when the judge spoke: "Stand up, all of you, and bring some lights!" Kidros boss heard the order and immediately carried it out.After a while, four servants from the caravansel came in with torches, and the courtyard was immediately lit up.

"Stand up, all of you, and bring some lights!" Kidros boss heard the order and immediately carried it out.After a while, four servants from the caravansel came in with torches, and the courtyard was immediately lit up. "Everyone put their right hands up!" said the judge. All right hands were raised as commanded. All the palms and fingers were black—except those of Lord Kerabon, Ahmey, and Van Mettayn. The judge immediately pointed to the three men and said: "The gangsters...that's them!" "Us? . . . " cried the Dutchman, bewildered by the unexpected certainty.

"Yes! . . . that's them!" said the judge again. "Whether they were afraid of being exposed by the goat is irrelevant. What is certain is that they knew their guilt and so did not touch the animal's back, which was coated with charcoal black, and they just hung their hands in the air. Erase it, thus exposing your crimes!" Immediately there was a murmur of approval—very appreciative of the judge's tact—and Lord Kerabon and his companions bowed their heads in dismay. "So," Lord Yanar said, "these three gangsters dared to..." "Ah! Last night," cried Ahme, "we were ten kilometers from the Rizal caravanserai!"

"Who can prove that? ..." retorted the judge. "In any case, it was only a matter of a moment, and it was you who attempted to enter the room of this distinguished female traveler!" "Well, yes," bellowed Kerabong, furious at being so foolishly fallen into this trap, "yes! . . . we got into this corridor! But only because we got it wrong . . . or not as Said a servant at the caravan inn made a mistake!" "Really!" Master Yanar said sarcastically. "Undoubtedly! The lady's room was pointed out to us as ours! . . . " "Let someone else talk about it!" "It's over, it's time to arrest," Bruno thought, "Uncle, nephew, and my master!" The fact is that no matter how firm he is usually, Lord Kerabong is also extremely embarrassed, especially when the judge turned to Van Mittain and Ahme to talk to him: "Send them to prison!" "Yes! ... go to jail!" Master Yanar repeated. Then all the travelers, including those in the caravanserai, cried out: "Go to jail! . . . to jail!" All in all, Scarbant can't help but applaud what he's done, seeing the situation take a turn for the worse.Lord Kerabon, Van Mittain, and Ahme were imprisoned, which interrupted their travels, delayed the wedding, and, above all, separated Amasia from her fiancé at once, thereby made it easier for him to act, and to resume the attempt which had been defeated by the Maltese captain. Thinking of the consequences of this incident and of being separated from Amasia, Ahme could not help but resent his uncle.Was it not Lord Kerabong's new obstinacy that had put them in such an embarrassing situation?Didn't he stop them by repeatedly forbidding them to pet the goat, thereby messing with the naive judge, not knowing that the judge is smarter than they are?Whose fault was it that they fell so recklessly into this trap that they risked at least a few days in prison? Lord Kerabong, too, was secretly furious, as he considered that there would be little time left to complete the journey if he were to reach Skuthari on time.Yet another useless and absurd obstinacy which might implicate his nephew's entire fate! As for Van Mittern, he looked to the right, to the left, swaying on his legs, embarrassed, and hardly dared to lift his eyes to look at Bruno, as if he heard Bruno again. The ominous words that Noo repeatedly said to him: "Didn't I warn you, sir, that sooner or later you will be in trouble!" He sent this simple rebuke to his friend, the well-deserved Kerabong: "Yeah, why would you stop us from putting our hands on the back of this harmless animal?" For the first time in his life, Lord Kerabong was speechless. The shouts of "Go to jail" grew louder now, and it goes without saying that Scarbunter yelled louder than the others. "Yes, go to jail, these gangsters!" repeated the vengeful Yanar, "fully prepared to assist the authorities in maintaining the law and order if necessary. Send them to prison! . . . to prison, all three !..." "Yes!...all three...unless one of them pleads guilty!" replied venerable Sarabul, who did not want two innocent people to pay for one criminal. "That's perfectly fair!" the judge went on. "Which of you, then, attempted to enter that room?" There was a moment of hesitation in the minds of the three defendants, but not for long. Lord Kerabong asked the judge to let him speak with his two companions.Having obtained permission, he took Ahmey and Van Mittain aside, and said in a tone of indisputability: "My friends, there is really only one thing left to do, and we must take responsibility for this insignificant folly!" Hearing this, the Dutch pricked up their ears as if they had a premonition. "And the choice cannot be ambiguous. Ahme must be in Skutaly soon for his wedding!" "Yes, uncle, yes!" replied Ahme. "Of course I have to go too, because I'm going to attend the wedding as a guardian!" "Huh? . . . " said Van Mettaine. "So, my friend Mytitaine," Carabon went on, "I don't think there can be any more dissent. You must make a sacrifice!" "I... made..." "You must admit your mistake! . . . What's the danger? . . . A few days in prison? . . . A trivial matter! . . . We'll get you out!" "However..." replied Van Mettaine, who seemed to have no way of controlling his person. "My dear Mr. Van Mittain," continued Ahmey, "it must be done! . . . I beg you in the name of Amasya! . And ruin the future?..." "Oh! Mr. Van Mettain!" said the girl who had heard the conversation, coming up. "What... you want..." repeated Van Mettaine. "Hmph!" thought Bruno, who knew what had happened, "They're going to make my master do a new stupid thing!" "Mr. van Mettaine! . . . " repeated Ahme. "Look... do a good deed!" Kerabong said, grabbing his hand and nearly crushing it. At this time, "Go to prison! Go to prison!" The shouts became more and more intense. The unfortunate Dutchman did not know what to do, nor whom to listen to.He nodded repeatedly in agreement, then in denial. When, at the signal of the judge, the servants of the caravanser came up to arrest the three of them, Van Mettaine said in an unconvincing voice: "Don't do it! Don't do it! . . . I think I . . . " "Good!" said Bruno, "the game is over!" "No success!" Scarbant thought, and couldn't help making a frustrated gesture suddenly. "Is that you?..." the judge asked the Dutchman. "I! ... Yes ... I!" "My dear Mr. Van Mittain!" whispered the girl in the worthy man's ear. "Oh! Yes!" Najib echoed. What is venerable Sarabul doing now?This smart woman was looking at the man who dared to attack her with interest. "So," Lord Yanar asked, "you dared to enter the room of this honorable Kurdish woman?" "Yes! . . . " replied Van Mettaine. "But you don't look like a thief!" "A thief! . . . I! . . . a wholesaler! Me! A Dutchman . Justified yelling. "Then..." Yanar said. "So . . . " said Sarabul, "then . . . are you trying to discredit me?" "Honor of a Kurdish woman!" Lord Yarnar yelled, putting his hand on the scimitar. "This Dutchman is really nice!" repeated the distinguished lady traveler, making some coquettish gestures. "Well, you don't have enough blood in your body to compensate for such an insult!" Yanar continued. "Brother... brother!" "If you refuse to correct your error..." "Hmph!" said Ahme. "You want to marry my sister, otherwise..." "In the name of Allah!" thought Kerabong, "now the matter is complicated!" "Marry? . . . Me! . . . Marry! . . . " muttered Van Mettaine, raising his hands to the sky. "You refuse?" Lord Yanar roared. "How dare I refuse! . . . How dare I refuse! . . . " said Van Metertain, terrified. "But I've already..." Van Mettain had no time to finish.Lord Kerabong had just taken him by the arm, and said: "Don't say a word! . . . Agree! . . . It must be! . . . Don't hesitate!" "I agree? I . . . a married man? . . . me," retorted Van Mettaine. "I, Bigamist!" "In Turkey... Bigamy, Triple Marriage... Quadruple Marriage! . . . It's all perfectly permissible! . . . Just say yes!" "But……" "Marry, Van Mettaine, marry! . . . and you won't have to spend an hour in prison! Let's go on traveling together! As soon as you're in Skutaly, marry her as soon as possible, and we'll Greetings to the new Mrs. Van Mettain!" "This time, friend Kerabong, you are asking me to do the impossible!" replied the Dutchman. "Must agree, or it's all over!" Then Lord Yarnar grabbed Van Mettain's right arm, and said: "Must agree!" "Must agree!" Sarab also came over and grabbed his left arm and said. "Since it is necessary to agree!" replied Van Mettaine, whose legs were no longer able to stand. "What! My master, do you still want to make any concessions in this regard?" Bruno walked over and said. "What can you do, Burino!" whispered Van Metertain, so faintly that it was almost inaudible. "Okay, stand up straight!" Lord Yarnar shouted, pulling his future brother-in-law to his feet. "Stand firm!" repeated the venerable Sarabul, making her future husband stand upright too. "This looks like a Kurdish brother-in-law..." "With a Kurdish woman's husband!" Van Mittern immediately stood up straight under the double thrust, but his head was constantly swinging, and it seemed that half of it had been separated from his shoulders. "A Kurdish woman!..." he murmured, "I...a citizen of Rotterdam...marry a Kurdish woman!" "Don't be afraid of anything!... This marriage is a joke!" Lord Kerabong whispered in his ear. "Never jerk about these things!" replied Van Mettaine in a tone so pitifully comic that his companions could hardly refrain from laughing. Najib pointed to the hostess at the radiant face of the female passenger and said in a low voice: "I'm wrong if she's not a widow chasing another husband!" "Poor Mr. Van Mettain!" replied Amasia. "I'd rather spend eight months in a cell," said Bruno, shaking his head, "than spend eight days in a marriage like this!" Then Lord Yarnar turned to those present and said loudly: "Tomorrow in Trabzon, we will hold a grand engagement ceremony between Lord Van Mittain and His Excellency Sarabul!" Hearing the word "engagement," Lord Kerabon and his companions, especially Van Mettaine, felt that the matter was not as serious as they had feared. It should be noted here, however, that, according to Kurdistan customs, it is the betrothal ceremony that makes the marriage inseparable.This ceremony can be compared with the civil marriage of some European peoples, and the ceremony that unites the couple after a religious marriage.In Kurdistan, the husband after the betrothal ceremony is indeed still only the fiancé, but a fiancé fully bound up with the woman of his choice—or, as now, with the woman who chooses him. This was the official explanation given by Monsieur Jarnall to Van Mittes, who concluded by saying: "So, be a fiancé in Trabzon!" "Being a husband in Mosul!" the respectable Kurdish woman added tenderly. As the doors of the caravan opened and Scarbunter was about to leave, he spoke menacing words for the future: "The plot failed!... Now it's time to use force!" Then he disappeared, unnoticed by either Lord Kerabong or his companions. "Poor Mr. Van Mettain!" Ahme kept saying, seeing the Dutchman's distress. "Okay!" Kerabong replied, "Should be laughing! Engagement without legal force! After 10 days this question will not exist! It doesn't count!" "Of course, Uncle, but before that, being the fiancé of this domineering Kurdish woman for 10 days will count!" Five minutes later the yard of the caravan was deserted.The guests all retired to their rooms for the night.But Van Mettain was about to be watched by the eyes of his dreadful brother-in-law, and the tragicomedy stage, which had just ended on the back of the hapless Dutchman, was at last quiet again.