THE TERRACE
685
laws. They are laws for coolies who speak with an
Oxf~rd
accent.
That's incongruent."
It was still midnight. By Matilda's watch it was three in the
afternoon and yet it was midnight, just as in the Philippines. ..
They flew to Karachi and then on to Cairo. In Karachi
Matilda saw Americans dressed in shorts like the English wear.
Matilda observed: "In this country they used to cremate the
widow along with the body of her husband." In her remark
about cremation a great respect for the country was apparent.
Back in the plane Bob returned- he seemed to be sleepy- to his
short-phrased dialogues:
"Shall we wait for the dawn here?" he asked. "Or do you
still mean to kill yourself?"
"Yes. Before sun-up."
"All right. Then the sun will never come up."
"And who are you to keep the sun from rising?" she asked,
offended.
Bob turned his head, burst out laughing- just a little chortle
-and kissed her. Then he became taciturn again.
When they reached Cairo it was twelve five. The night was
broad and stretchable, still. They had been flying for thirteen
hours and always it was midnight. The dawn did not appear.
Bob's airplane pulled the night and spread it over the planet. In
Cairo the police also questioned Matilda. She refused to answer
without the presence of her lawyer. Or so she said. They left her
alone on realizing that the plane was about to take off for the
Sahara. Matilda continued as fresh as a rose of Alexandria, a
city over which they flew.
In Tunis only Bob left the plane, because Matilda was
sleepy and distrusted the Arabs who, according to her, were
treacherous and sanguinary. She called them "Tuaregs," acting
as
if
she knew everything there was to be known on the subject.
Bob gave Matilda a long
kiss,
but she pushed him away saying
s~e
had .the impression that her husband was peering through
the windows in the cabin roof and making remarks.
