THE MOHAMMJ£uANS
281
THE MOHAMMEDANS
(Continued from page
219)
the money, the quiet satisfaction at a difficulty conquered, and above all
the ease and naturalness with which he, Simon, was counted upon. He
atood up briskly, frowning to hide his pleasure:
"But this is no time for me to be babbling about my little problems!
My
advice to you is to go to the board meeting and straighten the matter
out. You were, I take it, born in the Near East?"
"It doesn't matter where I was born," said Wiley Bey.
"f
was
reborn in Islam."
"0, I see," said Simon, pulling his lip. "Well, there's nothing to
do but go and explain the matter. I'm sure they'll understand, especially
since you're not fit for military service in any case. On the other hand,
if
you don't go, they can
be
quite nasty, as you've no doubt heard."
"You seem to have a very poor grasp of principle," replied Wiley
Bey,
and even as he creased his face in a curious, almost roguish smile,
he
kept his eyes on Simon's. "One of our basic doctrines is that we live
in
this country only in the flesh. Spiritually, we live in Islam. How
could I.abandon my people for a meeting of the draft board?"
"Yes, of course," said Simon, worriedly. "I see your point. Still-."
The Negro got up impatiently, grimacing as he adjusted his leg.
In
the spacious apartment, the light wa·s failing, shadows creeping out
of corners, over the ceiling. From the kitchen came a strong odor of
barley soup, and of an unidentifiable meat. For a desperate moment,
Simon felt that despite all his efforts, the feeling of communion, born in
the transfer of a rumpled dollar bill, was fading away forever. Then
he
clapped his hand to his head and cried:
"I've got it! I'll go myself!"
"You'll go yourself?" .
"Why of course! Pve nothing to do tonight, and come to think of
it,
I may very well have a friend on your draft board. In fact I expect
to
be called up sooner or later myself. I'm a man for whom the material
world exists, as Gautier said. I'll explain the whole thing. I'm sure it
will come o:ut all right."
Wiley Bey rubbed his hand over his face: it left the curious grimace
of craftiness and purity, a smile. At the same time, he was hungry, so
that half-consciously he moved toward the kitchen door as he said:
"As a matter of fact, I think you're right!"
And, in a tone of amused and paternal scorn:
"You will remind them of my leg, of course...." Then he pushed
out
his right jowl with his tongue and, fantastically, winked. "There's
ao doubt about it. Between white men, the thing could be arranged!"
Simon, slightly shocked, tilted his head to one side and pursed his
lips
ironically. Whereupon the Negro burst into an enormous peal of
laughter and slapped his back with an extraordinary air of roguishness,
~~~regenerate
vitality, an attitude of fearlessness before his own sins. For
a
moment, Simon expected that he would be invited to dinner. The
prospect intrigued and repelled him:
he would never be able to
eat
tlwt
Nt«To food!
But Wiley Bey was actually showing him out. At the door,
