CHAPTER II
CONCERNING A CARPET
Frank Forester was the son of the owner of a large oriental carpetbusiness, whose headquarters was in Constantinople, with branches inseveral parts of Asia Minor and Persia. Except for his school years inEngland, Frank had lived all his life in the East. He spoke Turkishlike a native, and could make himself understood in Arabic and in thevarious local dialects in which Turkish, Arabic, and Persian all havecomponent parts.
For some months he had been in charge of the small branch house atErzerum, where he conducted the business with the aid of Joseph, hisArmenian clerk. A few days before the incident just related, a bazarrumour had come to his ears which suggested a promising stroke ofbusiness. It was to the effect that an important Kurdish chief, livingabout two days' journey to the south, had been so heavily squeezed bythe Turkish governor of the province that he felt himself forced toraise money by parting with a very valuable old Persian carpet that hadlong been an heirloom in his family. Tradition said that it was part ofthe loot obtained by an ancestor of the chief at the sack of Shirazduring one of the civil wars that ravaged Persia in the seventeenthcentury. It held among his hereditary possessions the same place as aprecious jewel or an Old Master among the treasures of a western house.The rumour that it was coming into the market caused as much excitementamong carpet dealers as the announcement of the approaching sale of aCorreggio or a Rembrandt would cause among the connoisseurs of New York.
Frank Forester was thrown into a flutter when the first whispers reachedhim. He had not hitherto taken an important part in his father'sbusiness, and it was only recently that he had been placed in charge ofa branch. The chance of signalizing his stewardship by securing thecarpet appealed to his imagination as well as his business instincts.But the problem was, how to bring off a deal with the chief. The oldKurd was not likely to condescend to travel to the town. On the otherhand there would be some risk in making a journey to his mountainfastness. The country in which it lay bore the worst of reputations.Even the Turkish authorities never ventured into it without a strongmilitary escort, amounting in fact to an expedition. The peaceful,timid Armenian traders would have ventured into a den of lions as soonas into the hill country where for centuries no Armenian had everpenetrated except as a captive.
Frank's interest in the matter was complicated and heightened bybusiness rivalry. A year or two before, a German named Hermann Wonckhaushad come to Erzerum and set up in business as a carpet dealer next doorto Mr. Forester. The Englishman, who had been established there formany years, felt too sure of his position to regard the arrival of hiscompetitor with any alarm. He met him, indeed, in the friendliestspirit, and at first did him some small services in a business and asocial way. But it soon became clear that Wonckhaus was a snake in thegrass. There were signs that his object in settling next door to Mr.Forester was to keep a watch on him, with a view to discovering withwhom he traded and endeavouring to cut into his connection. Once ortwice Mr. Forester found himself forestalled in business transactions bythe German, and as soon as he became aware of his rival's crookedmethods he put himself on his guard and maintained only the coolest ofrelations with him. Still, he was not greatly troubled. The Armenian,shifty as he may be himself in business, respects rectitude in others,and Mr. Forester knew that if it ever came to a straight pull betweenhimself and the German the result would be in his favour. He lived verysimply, without parade; Wonckhaus, on the other hand, kept up aconsiderable style, and aimed at a kind of leadership in the smallEuropean colony. He was a man of good presence, great ability andcertain social gifts, by means of which he became a personage; butthough he had pushed himself into a position of influence he was alwaysregarded with some distrust by the Europeans other than his owncountrymen; and the natives, very shrewd in their silent estimate ofwestern strangers, had taken his measure pretty thoroughly.
Knowing that the bazar rumour would certainly have reached Wonckhaus'sears, Frank was anxious to lose no time in opening negotiations with theKurdish chief for the purchase of the carpet. It was obvious that hisbest course was to make a personal visit to the owner. He sent for aKurd whom his father had sometimes employed and found trustworthy, andenlisted his services as guide to the distant stronghold. Ali confessedthat the journey would entail some risk, but he promised that he woulddo his utmost to ensure the safety of the party, and in fact they hadcome without adventure within a mile or two of their destination whenthe appearance of Wonckhaus on the track showed that he had againforestalled his rival. The only question now was, had he managed tostrike a bargain with the chief and brought away the carpet among hispacks?
When Frank resumed his journey, he discussed the chances ratheranxiously with Ali. The Kurd took a pessimistic view.
"Abdi is a nephew of the chief Mirza Aga," he said. "Does he not alwaysboast of his relationship in the bazar? He is a liar by nature, but inthat he speaks the truth. Therefore it is that the German has taken himas guide. Without doubt Abdi said to him: 'I am in high favour with myuncle, Allah be good to him, and when I say to him, this is theexcellency that will give a good price for the carpet, he will bless me,and perhaps bestow upon me some poor fraction of the money.' Withoutdoubt we have eaten the dust of our journey for nothing."
"Well, we'll go on and prove it. Having come so far I won't go backwithout knowing the truth."
A march of a little over an hour brought the party to a narrow sidetrack that wound up into the hills. It was some time before a turn inthe toilsome ascent opened a view of the chief's stronghold. Perchedhigh up on the mountain side, it resembled in the distance a child'sbuilding of wooden bricks; but its massive proportions and structurebecame impressive as the travellers gradually mounted towards it. Inthis country of mean hovels its appearance was palatial. The lower partconsisted of solid masonry broken by one large gate and two or threesmall square windows, unglazed and shutterless. Upon this stout pillarssupported a number of arches surrounding an open chamber or arcaderectangular in shape and covered with a flat roof. To the left of thearches was a second storey whose walls were as solid as those of thelower; within these, as Frank knew, were the women's apartments. Thewhole place was silent; to all appearance it might have beenuninhabited.
Ali went forward to the great gate and shouted for admittance. After awhile a peep-hole was exposed by the sliding of a small wooden hatch,and a man inquired his errand, then slid the hatch to, and departed.Frank had become accustomed to oriental sluggishness and the need forpatience. Presently the gate-keeper returned and held a lengthyconversation with Ali, after which he retired again.
"What are we waiting for?" asked Frank: remaining in the background hehad not heard the colloquy.
"Wallahy! Mirza Aga will not show the light of his countenance to aGerman, and required me to swear by the beard of the Prophet that yournobility is not German but English."
"That's promising," said Frank cheerfully. "It looks as if nephew Abdiis not quite such a favourite as he pretends."
"Allah is wise!" said Ali.
In a few minutes the massive gate swung open, giving admission to alarge courtyard. Here a handsome youth, the chief's grandson, cameforward with a smile of welcome. Frank dismounted, gave his horse intothe care of an attendant, and followed the youth up a stately stonestaircase, ornamented on either side with richly-carved oak balusters,into the salamlik or presence chamber of the old chief. It was a loftyand spacious apartment, the walls and ceiling composed of curiouslycarved cedar wood. The floor was covered with thick Persian rugs; thewalls were embellished with texts from the Koran, and blunderbusses,scimitars, curved daggers and other weapons arranged in tastefulpatterns. At the further end a fire of logs roared in a huge fireplace,the wall above being decorated with arabesques and scrolls.
Near the fireplace, reclining among an exuberance of silk pillows andcushions, was the old, white-bearded, turbaned chief, smoking a longchibouque. At the entra
nce of his visitor he rose, bowed several times,murmured "Salam aleikam," and clapped his hands. An attendantimmediately came in, bearing a number of rugs and pillows which hespread on the floor near the chief. Luxurious as they appeared, Frankknew that they were probably swarming with vermin, for Kurdishmagnificence takes no note of such trifles, and he racked his brains foran excuse to avoid the use of them. Explaining that in his country suchsoft seats were only proper to the ladies, which seemed to amuse thechief, he squatted cross-legged on the floor, and spent some minutes inexchanging the flowery salutations usual in oriental society. Then thechief, who had already learnt the object of his visit from Ali throughthe gate-keeper, invited him to partake of supper, declaring that theremust be no talk of business that night. Without waiting for anacceptance, he clapped his hands again, and servants brought in aprofusion of dishes--meat, fish, poultry, and various fruits--a pleasantmeal after the long day's journey, even though Frank had to use hisfingers instead of a knife and fork. The meal was prolonged; fatigueand the heat of the room made Frank sleepy; and he was glad when the oldman's grandson came to conduct him to the guest chamber.
"He has honesty and benevolence written all over him," thought Frank, ashe stretched himself, rolled in his greatcoat, on the bare floor, afterbundling the doubtful mattresses and cushions provided for him into acorner. "I rather think I may score off Wonckhaus this time after all."
Next morning came the business interview.
"You must know, O welcome guest," said the old man, "that yesterdaythere came to me one from Erzerum, under the guidance of a gracelessnephew of mine, a man in whom there is no truth or virtue at all. Thestranger, a man of the German race, they told me, wished to buy mycarpet, and offered me a sum that would scarcely have purchased theclothes on my back. Wallahy! Did he wish to pull my beard? I answeredhim shortly that I was no bazar merchant to haggle and chaffer;whereupon he made excuses, and perceiving that it was truth I said, heoffered a price that was fair, and one that I was fain to accept. Butlo! when I asked him to pay over the money, the infidel spoke of awritten paper, for which, he told me, they would pay me money inStamboul. Wallahy! His tongue was smooth, but his eye was deceitful.I said forthright that I would not trust him. Little I know of theGerman race; they are a new kind of Giaour to me; but so much as I haveheard of them did not tempt me to part with my carpet against a Germanpromise. Whereupon our words waxed hot, and Abdi my worthless nephewmust needs take part with the German--verily he hoped to fill his pouchat my expense; and my wrath was kindled, and I bade the German depart.And Abdi my nephew flouted me to my beard, and I spoke my mind freely tohim, a dog that slinks about the houses of better men, snapping up whatfalls, and licking what is cast out. And they departed, he and theGerman.
"Now therefore come and look upon the carpet."
He conducted Frank through the open arcade into a lofty room on theother side of the house. On the way Frank throbbed with mingled hopeand fear. Orientals were prone to exaggeration: the much-talked-ofcarpet might turn out to be a very ordinary specimen, even a modernfabric cunningly "faked," for he was aware of the tricks practised bydishonest dealers to delude the unwary. Once, indeed, he had himselfdetected by the sense of smell the use of coffee to give a new rug themellow tones of age. But hope was stronger within him than fear. The oldchief looked honest: he had refrained from boasts and the flowery puffsof the huckster, and Frank felt that the carpet was probably genuine,though possibly not quite so valuable as rumour declared.
The old man opened the door, and stood back with a courteous inclinationof the head to allow his visitor to pass in before him. He did notspeak a word. Frank halted in the doorway, transfixed with wonder anddelight. Hanging on the wall opposite was a beautiful rug, abouteighteen feet by twelve, in which his expert eye discerned at once anantique product of the looms of Khorassan. He had lived among carpetsfrom childhood, and knew the characteristic features of all the manykinds of eastern fabrics. On a deep blue ground were woven floralpatterns in magenta, red, and blue, with spots of ivory here and there;and on the wide border was the unmistakeable palm-leaf design ofKhorassan, with details that proved it to be the workmanship of aparticular family of weavers, renowned for its artistic ornament andharmonious colouring. Age had mellowed the tints, but their brilliancewas little diminished, for the ancient dyers had secrets which are thedespair of the chemists of to-day.
He crossed the room and touched the surface of the rug. It was soft asvelvet. He examined the knots and the stitches, felt the thickness ofthe pile, then turned round.
"It is magnificent, chief," he said.
"It is good work, effendim," replied the chief. "My family haspossessed it for two hundred years."
"Well now, let me tell you my method of business. We are not huckstersof the bazar, you and I. Their custom is to ask more than they expectto get, or to offer less than they are prepared to pay. That is not myway. I offer at once the sum which I am ready to give, and I never makea second offer. If it is acceptable, well and good; if not, we partfriends."
"That is well, effendim. My ears are open."
"I will pay you L500 Turkish for the carpet."
The old Kurd reflected a moment or two. Then he said:
"That is a fair price, effendim. The carpet is yours."
"Thank you. I have not brought the money with me; it is dangerouscountry, chief," he added with a smile. "But I will either send it youwhen I return to Erzerum, or----"
"It is enough, effendim," interrupted the chief. "You are anEnglishman: your word is good. Your countrymen, it is true, are not thegood friends of mine that they used to be. It is told me, indeed, thatthe German Emperor, and not your King, is willing to help us to regainthe lands we lost in the late disastrous war. But I trust the word ofan Englishman. The Germans I do not know: that one who came to me camewith my nephew Abdi, the master of lies! Take the carpet: it is yours.You may send the money when you will."
"I thank you for your confidence, chief; but such an arrangement wouldnot be fair to you. Something might happen to me; you would have nosecurity. I will ask you to take a draft on the Ottoman Bank."
He took out his cheque-book and fountain pen, and wrote the draft, whichthe chief accepted with a deprecating bow. Orders were given for thecarpet to be rolled up, covered with sacking, and placed on the back ofone of the mules. The business having been thus satisfactorilyconcluded, the chief invited Frank to share his morning meal, afterwhich he accompanied him with a small escort of horsemen for a few mileson his return journey.