"They're competitors of ours. I'm flattered that you should come all this way to see me," I said. "But I'm sure you have some more compelling reason than the wish to talk over old times."
He grinned. 'To tell the truth, I have. Have you still that little bronze of the god Ganesha which you used to wear around your neck?"
"Yes."
"Well, you promised that, if I came to Kyzikos to ask for it, you'd give it to me."
I looked hard at him. I did not want to give up my grotesque little elephant-headed god, my only keepsake from the Indian voyage. On the other hand, a promise is a promise, even to a knave like Hippalos. Noting my hesitation, he said:
"I'm not asking for this for nothing, even though you promised it free. When they stripped and searched me, I managed to save a couple of Indian pearls by hiding them under my tongue. Since these are the entire profit from our voyage, it's only right that you should get half. Here it is."
Into my hand he put a big, handsome pearl. It looked too large for a man to hide a pair of them in his mouth. But then, this was only Hippalos' story; he might have obtained the pearl in some even less legitimate way. However, that was not my business. I thanked him for the pearl and got the statuette of Ganesha out of the chest where I kept such souvenirs. I said:
"You're welcome to the statue. But why should you go to such trouble and cost to get it? The pearl is worth a hundred times as much."
"Still suspicious, aren't you? But I need something to change my luck. Perhaps the statue's mystic powers will bring this to pass. I know you don't take much stock in such ideas. But who knows? The cosmos is full of unknown powers and forces. This amulet may be the focal point of some of them, as old Sisonaga preached.
"Besides, living by one's wits is all very exciting, but I'm nearly forty. It's time I settled down to some solid, respectable occupation. You wouldn't have an opening in your shipping firm, would you? You know I can do almost anything I set my hand to."
"Not just now, best one. Perhaps in a year or two, when a couple of our oldest employees die off ..."
Since Hippalos had come so far, it was only natural to invite him to dinner and to have my kinsmen in to meet him. Since he had not taken lodgings and we had plenty of room, it also seemed natural to put him up while his ship was loading. During these three days, although Astra kept to the women's quarters like a proper Greek housewife, it was en-evitable that she should meet Hippalos. He was formal and respectful, exchanging bows with her and complimenting her on the efficient house she kept. She was polite but cool, confiding to me afterwards that she would be glad when Hippalos—of whose raffish character I had told her—had gone his way. He also played with my son Theon and quite won the lad's heart.
Just before he left, he said: "Old boy, keep your ears cocked to southward. I hear Physkon's health is failing."
"You mean there may soon be a chance for another Indian voyage?"
"That's as the stars shall decide. But bear it in mind. And don't be too surprised if you see me back here. Ask around among your friends in Kyzikos to see if any might have a good job for me. I'm serious about settling down."
And off he went, with the little Ganesha dangling from its chain around his neck.
BOOK VII — Eldagon the Gaditanian
For the rest of the summer to take my mind off my shameful infirmity, I threw myself into the work of the firm. Towards the end of the sailing season, Hippalos again appeared in Kyzikos, as the mate of a ship of our competitors, Ariston and Pytheas.
"It's that statue of Ganesha," said he with his satyrlike grin. "Didn't that Indian king say the possessor could convince anybody of anything? Naturally, my bosses couldn't refuse me promotion. By this time next year, I'll wager I shall be one of their captains."
"You had that gift before you had the statue, old boy," I said. I was pleased to see that the hostility that Astra had shown to Hippalos on his first visit was no longer evident. In fact, she seemed to have fallen under the spell of his charm like everyone else.
After a pleasant visit, Hippalos sailed off to his home port of Miletos, and winter closed down. One of our ships failed to return to Kyzikos on schedule. My kinsmen and I went around with knotted brows, fearing another wreck. Then, when snowflakes had already begun to fly, the missing ship appeared. We were ready to eat Captain Phaidon alive for taking such a risk, but his exceptional profits softened our wrath. He had seen a chance for a quick gain on a shipment of timber from Rhodes to Alexandria.
"Why did the Alexandrines need this timber so sorely?" I asked.
"They wanted scaffolding to build a grand tomb for the king," said Phaidon.
"What! Do you mean the old Sausage is dead?"
"Why, yes. He died a couple of months ago. Hadn't you heard?"
We had not, since news travels no faster than men can carry it. In winter, with the cessation of travel, the spread of news slows to a snail's pace.
"Zeus, Apollon, and Hera!" I said, my mind in a whirl. "That means another chance to make a killing from an Indian voyage, if I can reach Alexandria ahead of Hippalos. To go by sea now were out of the question; but I could go by land . .
"Calm down, Eudoxos, calm down," said my brother-in-law. "It would take you over twice as long to get to Egypt by land. And suppose you did? When could you leave for India at the earliest?"
I thought. "If I remember rightly, the southwest wind begins to blow across the Arabian Sea five or six months from now."
"And when could you start back, at the earliest?"
"It's another six months before it begins to blow the other way."
"You see? There's no rush. You would only have to idle around Alexandria for months and then do the same in India. Besides, you'd have to cross the highlands of Bithynia and Pontus in the dead of winter. If robbers didn't get you, you'd probably freeze to death in a snowdrift."
"Oh, rubbish!" I said. "I've ridden the Scythian steppe in worse weather than that."
"Ah, but we were all a bit younger then."
"But Hippalos will have heard of Physkon's death, too, and he'll hasten thither to drum up royal backing for another voyage!"
"Let him. The winds won't blow any sooner for him than for you, and there's enough trade in India for both. If he gets the Sister to send him off in one ship, you can get the Wife to send you in another."
The other kinsmen—my two brothers and my cousin— joined in and talked me round. I was pleased that they seemed to value me as the head of the family and the firm, but a little hurt that they looked upon me as such a fragile oldster that I could no longer risk a strenuous overland journey.
It was early Skirophorion when I again saw the marble and gold of the palaces on Point Lochias. This time I came to Alexandria, not as a herald and ambassador, but as a mere sea captain in one of Theon's Sons' ships. So there was no special welcome.
Gnouros had complained of rheumatic pains, so I had left him at home to help with the house. Instead, for a personal attendant, I hired an orphaned cousin of fourteen, named Pronax, whom one of my brothers was bringing up.
When I asked at the palace for Ananias, the colonel himself came out to greet me. "I wondered how soon you would arrive, best one," he said. "Did that rascal Hippalos come with you?"