What appalling notions! How impudent and thoroughly irritating he was! Just then, Isa remembered a totally unconnected event that had happened a long time ago. He had gone to visit Ali Bey Sulaiman’s house with his father and found himself alone in the dining room, where he’d noticed a piece of chocolate in a half-opened drawer. He had slipped in his hand and taken it. That had happened almost a quarter of a century ago. What a memory! As always, Hasan kept up his attack—damn him!

“What is it you want?” Isa asked listlessly.

“Fresh clean blood.”

“Where from?”

Hasan’s pearly teeth gleamed as he laughed with health and well-being. “The country’s not dead yet,” he said.

“Show me a group of people apart from our party that deserves any confidence!” Isa demanded angrily.

Hasan glared back at him without saying a word. Outside, the old lady’s voice could be heard in a flow of prayers.

“What’s to be done then?” Isa resumed.

“We’ll support the devil himself if he volunteers to save the ship.”

“But the devil won’t volunteer to save anything.” Isa glared away, looking unconcernedly up at the pitch-black sky, trying to avoid Hasan’s gaze for a while.

“The English, the King, and the parties, they’ll all have to go,” Hasan said. “Then we must start afresh.”

Isa laughed bitterly. “The burning of Cairo has made it clear that treason is more powerful than the government and the people put together,” he said.

His mother came back into the room. “Isn’t there something else you can talk about?” she asked. Her cheeks looked flushed and puffy as she sat down in her old seat. “When are you going to get married?” she asked Hasan.

At that point Isa was reminded of Hasan’s bold attempt to get engaged to Salwa and that made him even more annoyed. Hasan was poor but brash. It was obvious he was after her money, as a final way of getting himself out of his difficulties.

“Momentous events are happening so suddenly,” Hasan replied with a laugh, “and without the slightest warning.”

“When will you be seeing your mother to give her our greetings?”

“Your house is a long way from Rod al-Farag, but she’ll definitely be coming to visit you.” Hasan was on the point of standing up to leave. “Where are you going this evening?” he asked Isa.

“To the club,” Isa replied defiantly but calmly.

Hasan got up. “Goodbye,” he said, “till we meet again!”

FOUR