In the Eye of the Storm

23. Bizarre Bazaar

I was aching to ask, to squeeze out of him what information I could get about his mysterious past. Normally, he was as tightly closed as an oyster suffering from lockjaw, and I should have used this rare opportunity. But something else struck me that was of more immediate importance.

'You gave your men long lists of things to buy.'

'Yes.'

'But...' I hesitated for a moment. 'There was one thing that wasn't on your lists.'

'Oh, and what was that?'

'Weapons.' Glancing around at the rifles and knives visible at many of the booths, I lowered my voice in an unusual bout of caution. 'You told none of them to buy a single weapon.'

'That's right.'

I waited for more. Naturally, nothing came but blasted silence!

'Well, what about it?' I hissed.

'What about what?'

'Weapons! Shouldn't you have bought some, at least, if we're going after dangerous bandits?'

'No.'

'Oh, really? Do you intend to fight the bandits with your bare hands, then?'

'Certainly not. I intend them to fight them with the weapons we already have.'

I blinked. 'Excuse me?'

He nodded magnanimously. 'You are excused. You may leave and join Youssef over there, if you wish.'

'That's not what I meant by "excuse me", blast you!' I growled. 'I want to know what you mean, the weapons we already have. What weapons do you have, except your revolver?'

'Several hundred rifles, a hundred pistols, a wagonload of knives and daggers, and various... surprises.'

I stared at him, as if trying to find all of the above items hidden somewhere under his tailcoat. 'Where, in God's name?'

He cocked his head, giving me a look so full of cool arrogance it made me envy the camels' excellent aim with spit. 'I told you we had to stop by the ship before we embarked on our expedition, didn't I?'

Of course!

'Why bring the weapons from England?' I demanded, stepping closer and lowering my voice even farther. A man to my right was eyeing me in a speculative way I didn't much like. 'Why not just buy them here?'

He shrugged. 'People would get suspicious.'

'Of someone who wants to buy enough weaponry to outfit a small army? I'll say! But why didn't the people who provided you with these weapons back in England get suspicious?'

'When the owner of the weapons factory you work for asks for samples, most people don't suspect he wants to use them to shoot people.'

'Oh.' I threw him a look. 'Weapons, eh? Is there anything you don't own a factory for?'

He nodded. 'Yes.'

I waited. Nothing came. I wasn't going to be content with that! For once, he was semi-talking about himself. That was a chance that had to be exploited!

'Well?' I demanded.

'Well what?'

I glared at him. 'Well, what is it? What do you not own a factory for?'

He considered this for a moment. 'Potatoes,' he decided, finally.

'Potatoes are vegetables! They aren't produced in factories!'