Then followed a number of disputes that were completely without interest to Siegfried, mostly dealing with money. Arn and his Saracen judges most often reached a compromise, except for one time when they caught one of the disputants in a lie. He was taken away for whipping.
The last case of the day was, as far as Siegfried could gather from all the whispering and curious looks from the spectators, something out of the ordinary. A young Bedouin woman without a veil and a young Bedouin man in beautiful clothes stepped forward. They asked for two things: first was asylum in Gaza and protection from their vengeful parents. The second was that they might have permission to be united as man and wife before God by a kadifrom the believers of Gaza.
Arn explained at once that their first request was granted the moment it was spoken. They both had asylum in Gaza.
As to the second request he had another long, whispered discussion with Utman ibn Khattab; both of them seemed concerned, because they were frowning and shaking their heads as they talked. It was obviously not an easy question.
Finally Arn stood up and raised his right hand for quiet, and the noise subsided at once. Everyone waited with bated breath to hear his verdict.
“You, Aisha, named after the wife of the Prophet, peace be unto him, are a Banu Qays, and you, Ali, named after a holy man whom some call caliph, are a Banu Anaza. Both of you are from different tribes in Gaza, and you obey the Knights Templar and myself. But it is not that simple, since your kinsmen are enemies, and it would lead to war if I allowed you to be united before God. For that reason you cannot be granted what you asked for at this moment. But this matter is not concluded, on that you have my word. Go now in peace and enjoy Gaza’s asylum!”
When Siegfried heard the Frankish translation, which Arn delivered this time as he had all the others, he was astonished at how a brother in the divine order of the Knights Templar could sink to such depths as to take up the petty problems of these savages, such as whether or not they might marry. But he found Arn’s dignity admirable under such circumstances, and he had truly not failed to notice the respect with which both believers and infidel Saracens had accepted all the judgments.
In the next few hours he did not have much time to discuss everything that had filled his head, because they first had to go to vespers and then to the refectorium. There they ate together with all the other knights in the same part of the hall, but silence was enforced during the meal.
Between the evening meal and completoriumand the time following with wine and the giving of orders for the next day, they did have plenty of time to converse.
Because Siegfried was unsure of what he actually thought about the matters, he preferred at first to speak mostly about the authority of the judges, as if for the sake of argument he wholly accepted this form of justice, in which slaves were treated as Christian human beings. He was even more amazed when Arn explained that it was the Saracen Utman ibn Khattab who was the actual judge, because unlike Arn he had long experience in such work. This was especially true when the sharia was to be interpreted—the law of the infidels.
The fact that Arn behaved as if he were the judge was nothing but play-acting, but it was necessary, and Utman ibn Khattab had no difficulty understanding that. Gaza did belong to the Knights Templar, and they had to make clear to everyone in Gaza who held the power.
Siegfried admitted that it made a big difference if one had so many infidel subjects as Arn did here in Gaza. For instance, he knew very little about the Bedouins.
Arn asked if he would like to meet some Bedouins, because Arn was going to do exactly that the next day; it had to do with the young runaways, who had in full collusion committed a bride-robbery.
Siegfried found it unseemly that Arn as the fortress master should get involved in such a trivial argument over how the infidels paired off. But Arn assured him that it was definitely not a triviality, and this would become clear to Siegfried if he accompanied him on the next day’s visit.
Mostly out of curiosity Siegfried agreed to go along.
As they rode out the next day to visit one of the Bedouin camps, Siegfried protested that they were riding alone, without the escort of a single squadron. After all, they were two knights of fortress master rank, and many a Saracen would love to show off their severed heads on the point of a lance as he rode in among his own kinsmen.
That was assuredly true, Arn admitted. And it was not entirely unlikely that on some unfortunate day both their heads might be conveyed in that manner. The Saracens especially seemed to love seeing the heads of Templar knights on the points of lances, whether it had to do with their beards or something else. Worldly Franks were clean-shaven, after all, and their heads probably looked less amusing on the tip of a lance.
Siegfried had strict objections to this lighthearted way of thinking. The beard of a Templar knight had nothing to do with the matter; it was simply that Templar knights were justifiably the most feared enemies of the Saracens.
Arn dropped this discussion at once. But he did insist that they ride without an escort.
It took them only an hour to ride at a leisurely pace to the place north of Gaza where the Banu Anaza tribe had its camp of black tents. When they were within view, a force of about twenty men jumped into the saddle and rode toward them at full speed, wildly shouting, with their lances and swords drawn to attack.
Siegfried blanched a bit but drew his sword when he saw that Arn did so.
“Can you ride at full speed, at least for a short distance?” Arn asked with an expression on his face that seemed unreasonably cheerful in the face of storming Saracen riders of such superior numbers. Siegfried nodded grimly.
“Then follow me, brother, but for God’s sake don’t strike at any of them!” ordered Arn, spurring his horse to a full gallop and heading straight toward the Bedouin camp as if in counterattack. After hesitating briefly, Siegfried followed him, swinging his sword above his head the same way as Arn.
When they met the Bedouin warriors they wheeled around on both sides of them so that it looked as though both the Templar knights and the Bedouin defenders were now attacking the camp together. They rode up toward the biggest tent, where an elderly man with a long gray beard and black clothing awaited them. Arn pulled up his horse right in front of the old man, hopped off his mount, and greeted everyone around him with his sword, whispering to Siegfried to do the same. The Bedouin riders walked their horses around them in a big circle and greeted them with their weapons.
Then Arn slipped his sword into its scabbard, Siegfried did the same, and the Bedouin riders turned off toward the camp.
Arn now greeted the old man heartily and introduced his brother. They were invited into the tent, where they were immediately served cold water before sitting down on piles of multicolored mats and pillows.
Siegfried didn’t understand a word of the conversation that took place between Arn and the old man, who he guessed was the chief of the Bedouins. But he saw that they both spoke to each other with the greatest respect; they kept repeating each other’s words as if every polite phrase had to be turned inside out a few times before they could continue. But soon the old man grew agitated and angry, and Arn seemed almost humbly to retreat and start coaxing him to calm down. After a while the old man seemed to grow pensive, muttering and sighing as he pulled on his beard.
Suddenly Arn got up and began taking his leave; he seemed to be met with friendly but insistent protests. Siegfried got up as well in support of Arn, and the friendly protests, which seemed to be about eating before they left, gradually faded. They said farewell by taking the old man by both hands and bowing, something that Siegfried did with some reluctance. But he found it wisest when on foreign ground to do as his brother Arn did.