Atlantic Narratives: Modern Short StoriesNesbit, E. (Edith)
General
Atlantic Narratives: Modern Short Stories
Nesbit, E. (Edith)
Short stories
'Very well,' said the Pasha at length, more kindly. He even found it in
him at that moment to be amused at the picture the black man made, in
his sedate frock coat, with his two weapons. And Zuembuel Agha found no
less to look at, in the appearance of his master's clothes. 'But now
there is no need for you to watch any longer,' added the latter. 'If you
want to watch, do it at the bottom of the hill. Don't let any one come
up here.'
'On my head,' said the eunuch.
He saw that Shaban, as usual, was trusted more than he. But it was not
for him to protest against the ingratitude of masters. He salaamed and
backed out of the room.
When he was gone the Pasha turned to Shaban.
'This box, Shaban--you see this box? It has become a trouble to us, and
I am going to take it out there.'
The Albanian nodded gravely. He took hold of one of the handles, to
judge the weight of the chest. He lifted his eyebrows.
'Can you help me put it on my back?' he asked.
'Don't try to do that, Shaban. We will carry it together.'
The Pasha took hold of the other handle. When they got as far as the
outer door he let down his end. It was not light.
'Wait a minute, Shaban. Let us shut up the kiosque, so that no one will
notice anything.'
He went back to blow out the candles. Then he thought of the fountain.
He caught a last play of broken images in the pool as he turned off the
water. When he had put out the lights and groped his way to the door,
he found that Shaban was already gone with the chest. A drop of water
made a strange echo behind him in the kiosque. He locked the door and
hurried after Shaban, who had succeeded in getting the chest on his
back. Nor would Shaban let the Pasha help him till they came to the edge
of the wood. There, carrying the chest between them, they stumbled
through the trees to the place that was ready.
'Now we must be careful,' said the Pasha. 'It might slip or get stuck.'
'But are you going to bury the box too?' demanded Shaban, for the first
time showing surprise.
'Yes,' answered the Pasha. And he added, 'It is the box I want to get
rid of.'
'It is a pity,' remarked Shaban regretfully. 'It is a very good box.
However, you know. Now then!'
There was a scraping and a muffled thud, followed by a fall of earth and
small stones on wood. The Pasha wondered if he would hear anything else.
But first one and then another nightingale began to fill the night with
their April madness.
'Ah, there are two of them,' remarked Shaban. 'She will take the one
that says the sweetest things to her.'
The Pasha's reply was to throw a spadeful of earth on the chest. Shaban
joined him with such vigor that the hole was soon very full.
'We are old, my Pasha, but we are good for something yet,' said Shaban.
'I will hide the shovels here in the bushes,' he added, 'and early in
the morning I will come again, before any of those lazy gardeners are
up, and fix it so that no one will ever know.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account