Hashish: A Smuggler's Tale by Henry de Monfreid

Author:Henry de Monfreid [Monfreid, Henry de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, Travel Writing, v.5, Amazon.com, Travelogue, Retail, Memoir, Biography
ISBN: 9780141442105
Google: 1Rs0Jf4ElRsC
Amazon: 0141442107
Barnesnoble: 0141442107
Goodreads: 1159031
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Published: 1973-01-01T15:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

The Hiding-Place

At dawn the white lights of Suez faded before the golden glory of the sun, and the town suddenly appeared out of the desert in dazzling clearness. The mountains of Ataqa to the north-west of the bay turned to a vivid rose, and the gulf, smooth as a mirror in the calm of the transparent air, gleamed with delicate mother-of-pearl reflections under the fairy-like delicacy of the sunrise hues. Gradually sky and sea became blue, the land merely ochre, and the north wind began to blow.

At this moment I noticed a small white sail leaving the coast of Asia. A fishing-boat, I thought, which had been waiting for the wind. I was still more than thirty miles from Suez, and could see nothing clearly yet. The crew took it in turns to climb to the mast-head, each one wanting to be the first to have a good view of this town of which we had been speaking so long, the goal of our voyage, reached after so many struggles. I had decided long before that I would not go into the harbour with my cargo. Though I had passed through the customs at Kosseir, that was no guarantee against a visit from the customs at Suez. In all countries which have only a venéer of civilization, the officials imagine that they establish their prestige in making themselves as much of a nuisance as possible. So I thought I would imitate the turtles, find a deserted beach, and deposit my riches in the sand. The sail I had seen upset my plans; but for it I should have been near the coast already. The best thing to do was to let it pass; after that I should see. I hugged the wind in order to advance as slowly as possible until these tiresome fishermen should have disappeared.

But, alas, my boutre appeared to interest them, for they came nearer and nearer until they were only two cables’ length off. It was a simple bark with a lateen sail such as I had seen round the liners when we had called in at Suez. I could see the men squatting on the after-deck, their eyes fixed on us. There were six of them, all dressed in blue guellabias, with tight little white turbans on their heads. Then the bark continued towards the north-west, while I let my boutre bear away to get as far as possible in the opposite direction. When she was out of sight I steered for the coast of Asia. The wind was favourable, so I reckoned we should have time to deposit my cases somewhere before darkness fell.

Already the big petroleum tanks at Port Tewfik could be seen above the horizon, and soon the tops of the masts of the ships in the roads were outlined against the sky. Finally, the white town itself came into view. We had gone as far as was prudent. I steered due east. The coast of Asia was barely ten miles away; we should reach it in an hour and a half.

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