When I turn, Mr. Skelton is nowhere to be seen.
I thought then of Master Kwai Chang... “It is better, Long Boy, to plant the Worm of Doubt into an enemy’s brain, for then you may not have to put an ax into it.”
So, Jacky . . . to America.
Jaimy
Chapter 52
We have left Cartagena and all of its charms behind us and we now camp in the pleasant little riverside town of Almería. We will spend a few days here and then the Roma will head west for Granada, and I will go south to Gibraltar.
I spend a lot of time with Medca, who seems accepting of her fate as future bride of Milosh. Hey, sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, I say to myself, but not to her. I offer Jan what money I have toward the bride price, but he will not take it. Stupid male honor—same the whole world over, I swear . . .
Today, I seek out Marko, for he always brings me cheer, with his wide-open guileless grin and happy playful puppy ways. We join hands and walk along through the circled wagons. As we stroll, I see Medca and Tsura walking down to the river, water jugs on their hips.
Marko is trying, as he always does, to get me to slip under the nearby bushes with him for a bit of the old slap-and-tickle, but I fend off his advances and he takes it in good grace, and—
Then there is a great outcry in the camp. Tsura has burst in crying, “The gadzsos! Many of them! They have taken Medca! Down by the river! They are hurting her!”
God, no!
Jan, his face a mask of shock and outrage, rushes by me as I run to our wagon and pull open the door. Marko, too, is gone from my side. I leap upon my seabag and rip it open. I thrust my hands in and find my pistols and yank them out. Damn! I must put in the caps! Hurry!
I have kept the percussion caps in my pocket and I fumble for them. Stupid, clumsy fingers! Yes! There they are! I jam them on the pistols, pull the hammers back to full cock, and charge out of the camp, pounding down the path to the river. Lord, I hope we are not too late!
Cresting a small hill, I see Medca down below. She is on her knees on the riverbank, wailing, the front of her dress ripped open. Six gadzsos are upon her, dragging her to a waiting rowboat. She kicks and struggles, but to no avail. If they get her into it, she will be lost!
I am too far away for a good shot, so I close the distance as fast as I can run, the breath tearing into my chest, pistols held to my sides. But Jan gets to them before I do. He is on them like a demon. He takes his stand in front of Medca, swinging his fists and smashing them into any gadzso’s face they can find.
“Let her go, bastard gadzsos!” he shouts, flailing his arms about him like a man possessed, as indeed he is. “Get gone or I will kill each one of you pigs with my bare hands!”
But bare hands ain’t gonna do it, I can see that. One of the pigs has drawn a knife and brought it down on Jan’s shoulder. It tears through shirt and flesh, and blood begins to pour down his arm. More knives are drawn as I burst upon them.
“Back, scum!” I shout, leveling my pistols at them. “Get back in your boat and go back to your pigsty!”
They all turn to look at me.
The one with the knife sneers at me. “She is bluffing. If a gypsy hurts a Spaniard, that gypsy will die in the garrote.” He spits on the ground. “Dirty gypsies, they all should die.”
“That is probably true, bastardo,” I say between clenched teeth. “But, you see, I am not a gypsy.”
I pull the trigger and crraack! The pistol bucks and I put a bullet into his upper chest. He staggers and falls back, no longer sneering.
“I have another bullet,” I say, pointing the barrel from one to another. “Who wants it?”
It is plain, no one does. From behind me I hear the sound of the Roma men and women coming to our aid, no doubt with knives flashing.
The gadzsos see them pouring down the bank and think better of their ill-planned adventure.
“Vamos!” says one, and heads for the water. Two of his comrades pick up the wounded one and toss him howling into the boat. Then all climb in and push off.
The Romani are on us, shouting curses at the would-be ravisher of one of their own. Gentle hands are put on Medca, to lead her off, but she will have none of it and instead wraps her arms around Jan, crying, “Jan, Jan! They have hurt you! Oh, my dear sweet Jan!”
Jan is not hurt so badly that he cannot walk. He puts his good arm around Medca’s shaking shoulders and they begin to stagger off, back to the wagons.
Zoltan is there, looking grim. “We must prepare to move. There might be trouble,” he says. He looks to his daughter and her young man. “And Jan... you have paid the Bride Price.”
We get Jan back to the camp and patch him up in one of the tents. I have seen much worse wounds than his—the gadzso’s blade hit mainly hard shoulder bone, not deep flesh. He is brave during the sewing up, and well he should be, for his bride-to-be stands by his side, holding his hand tightly and looking at him with big, brimming, loving eyes. I wish I had some of my faithful Tincture of Opium handy, but I don’t. And I don’t think he really needs it, anyway.
When I step back out into the light, I am surprised to see the Romani in a bit of an uproar.
What’s going on? I wonder. We have just survived a vicious attack, so why is everybody laughing and smiling?
I slowly realize that they are smiling at me in particular. Girls look at me and blush and giggle. Boys and men wink and laugh and shake their fingers at me.
What?
I find out just what is going on when I go to put my pistols back in my seabag and... uh-oh . . . the bag is lying open, its contents in disarray.
Nuri, I am going to kill you!
Steam is coming out of my ears as Fifika comes to the doorway of our wagon and says, “Buba Nadya wants to see you, Ja-elle. Now.” Then she is overcome with a fit of barely stifled snickers and can say no more.
I go to Buba’s wagon and knock.
“Come in, Ja-elle,” she says. She does not sound pleased.
I climb in, and sure enough, lying on the bed is The Virgin Maja, glowing in the soft light. Buba sits in a small chair to the right and is gazing at the painting.
“Everybody has seen it, Buba?” I ask.
“Yes. Nuri took it all around the camp, showing it off.”
Grrrrrr . . .
I see she has her cane next to her.
“Will I be beaten?”
She shakes her head, eyes still on the painting. “No, but it is perhaps best that you are leaving us. Not so much for this, but you did just put a bullet in a gadzo. There might be trouble. If they come, we will tell them that we threw you out and you were headed north.”
“May I stay for Medca’s wedding?”
“Yes, it will be tomorrow. You may stay till then.”
“Very well, Buba. Will that be all?”
She says nothing for a while. Then she smiles and again looks to the picture and sighs...
“Oh, to be so young and so foolish... and so full of life. Goodbye, Ja-elle.”
Goodbye, Buba Nadya Vadoma . . . and thank you.
Chapter 53
The Romani are gathered for the wedding.
Zoltan and Marta lead their daughter Medca to the center, the space between the wagons, where we usually entertain the townspeople. Medca is a lovely bride, of course, radiant under her crown of flowers, her hair braided with bright ribbons.
Jan, dressed in his best, is led to his bride’s side by his parents. At Zoltan’s signal, both bride and groom sit on chairs set side by side. Words are said and a piece of bread is placed on the bride’s knee, and a similar piece is laid on the knee of the groom. A dish of salt is placed on the ground between them.
Medca reaches down and takes a pinch of salt and sprinkles it on her bread. Jan does the same to his. Then she gives her bread to him and he takes it and eats it, and passes his to her. She eats it.
A cup of wine is given to Medca and she drinks from it and passes it to Jan. He takes a drink and that is it. They are now man and wife, and the celebration begins.
The bridesmaids surround Medca to unravel the braids from her hair and to place the headscarf, the diklo, on her head to show that she is now a married woman. She will wear that, when in public, for the rest of her life.
The Romani now turn to some serious feasting—kegs of wine are set out and meat is put on spits to roast over open fires. Guitars are brought out, fiddles, too, and songs are sung.
The wedding gifts consist mostly of money—some in packets and some in coins that have been made into necklaces that are then placed around the neck of the bride.
Me? I give them money, too, in my own way.
At the height of the festivities, I go up to Medca and Jan and ask them to follow me to Zoltan’s wagon, to which I have tied Gabriella’s reins. She is saddled and ready to go.
“You will need a horse to pull your wagon, and she is a good horse. Please treat her well. May you roam the hills and valleys of your beautiful country to the end of your days.”
I untie the reins and place them in Jan’s hands.
“Goodbye, Jan. Goodbye, Medca,” I say, embracing them both. “May you prosper.”
With that, I turn, sling my seabag over my shoulder, and leave the world of the Roma.
Chapter 54
It did not take me all that long to get from Almería to Gibraltar, it being only a couple hundred miles.
Yes, I could have used my good mare Gabriella, but I feel she is better off with Jan and Medca and, true, I did not have much money. I left a good deal of what I had earned while with the Roma in Gabriella’s saddlebag—a leather purse with gold coins and a small watercolor of what I thought one of the Roma dwellings in Granada would look like, in hopes that the two of them would someday have one of their own. I drew it with flowers all about, and some chickens... and kids... in the yard. I’m sure they’ll get the idea.
I had left in the midst of the festivities, not being very good at goodbyes, and hit the road. I didn’t have much money left, but, hey, I had my fiddle and my wits. What more did I need?
I did, however, say a private goodbye to Marko. He, of course, professed undying love, and he offered me half of what he owned for The Virgin Maja. But I said no, I would keep that, and sent him off with a good and lusty kiss.
And there was one other who watched me go—a solitary figure clad all in black, who stood at the edge of the camp. I raised my hand to her, and she did the same to me. I turned and headed down the dusty road, and I have the feeling she watched me till I went out of sight.
The way down was pleasant. I traveled as a boy, of course, and hitched many a ride on wagons, and some in coastal boats, so, by and large it was good. Yes, the ground was hard at night, but the sun was warm in the day, and all was right with my world.
When I slipped into Gibraltar, I went right to the harbormaster’s shack. The harbor was bristling with the masts of ships, but most of them bore the Union Jack, and I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to get back into that life, not just yet.
“What’s shippin’ out, guv’nor?” I asked of him. “Who’s taking on crew?” I have absolutely no money left after my journey here.
He checked his ledger. “Most all to England, but not hiring. Hmmm . . . There’s one, lad, that’s taking on men—the Margaret Todd. She’s going to America... Charleston... New York... then Boston. You might try her. She’s right down there, in that slip—the four-masted schooner.”