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One Arabian Night

Part 1

"Hey, Adam," Hoss said, nudging his brother, "look at that." The two Cartwright brothers were leaning on the fence rails of the arena in Virginia City along with many other prospective bidders, while the horses were led out and then around for the buyers to see; the auction would take place the next day.

Adam turned and saw two men, both draped in the headdresses and flowing robes of someone from the pages of "The Thousand and One Arabian Nights." One man watched the horses, carefully appraising them while the other spoke to him in lowered tones, gesturing rapidly and obviously subservient to the other man who held himself with an air of importance.

"They must have brought over those Arabian mares and that stallion that are up for bid. I tried to talk Pa into buying a few Arabian mares to up the endurance of our stock but he wouldn't listen."

"I can see why," Hoss said. "I seen dogs bigger than them mares. But they sure is pretty lookin' with them delicate legs and high-flyin' tails. They ain't been gingered have they?'

"No, that's just a trait of the breed along with the scooped head and that beautiful neck."

"The what head?" Hoss was puzzled.

"The way their skull is more concave. You know, scoops in a bit."

"Oh," Hoss replied. All he knew is that the Arabian horses were beautiful but he couldn't see them being used to corral stock or roping calves. He knew nothing about their skulls except that it was a different shape from that of their mustangs or quarter horses but probably just as hard. "Why would they help with endurance?"

"Because they're used to being run in sand and in temperatures that're a helluva lot hotter than anything we have here." Adam glanced back over at the two men in the flowing garments. "I'm going to go talk to them."

"Adam, you don't speak no Araby nor nothin' like that."

Adam grinned at Hoss who looked worried, his brows furrowed. "Maybe they speak English," Adam said. "C'mon." Adam motioned for Hoss to follow him.

Adam sauntered over to the two men who turned and looked to him questioningly. "Excuse me if I've broken some protocol by accosting you outright, but I'm Adam Cartwright and this is my brother Hoss. If you're the sellers of the Arabian horses, well, I'm interested in purchasing a mare. I hope that you aren't offended because I made the assumption that you were the seller."

"Mr. Cartwright," the dominant man replied, "I am aware that in this country, many formalities are bypassed-it is the only way to conduct business I have found, so no, no protocol has been broken. And I am not in the least offended; it is only logical. Since I am obviously Arabian, should I want to buy any of the Arabian stock, I would merely stay in my home country instead of traveling such great distance but I would travel this far in order to sell. There has been, as of late, great demand for my much-valued horses. I am Al-Basheer and this is my vizier, Abdul Hamid." Abdul Hamid made a bow to Adam who nodded his head in recognition. Neither man proffered his hand. "It is always a pleasure to find a forthright man with whom to do business. Perhaps we should talk."

"I would like that," Adam said. "I'll tell you what qualities I'm looking for in a horse and you can advise me as to which mare best serves my purpose."

Al-Basheer grinned widely. He was a man in his early fifties with deep wrinkles around his eyes. His beard was graying but it was obvious that he was a man of great wealth; he had gold rings on almost every finger and in them were set rubies, emeralds and sapphires. He had about him the scent of cloves and was obviously well-fed, probably on rich foods.

"And," Al-Basheer said, "I am looking for a mare to take back with me-I like novelty. It is the same as in choosing a wife. I have a wife who embodies each of the many traits I admire in a woman and yet each wife is special in her own way. And so it is for a horse; one to ride at ease, another to ride hard and another who nuzzles the owner with affection and is beautiful to view but not good for much else. But it is always a source of pleasure each time another mare is added to the fold, particularly if she has novel traits."

Adam laughed deeply. "So very true." He found the conversation enjoyable and was impressed by how well Al-Basheer spoke English; he spoke much better than most people with whom Adam came into daily contact. But Hoss was confused and upset by the whole conversation. He wanted to clarify some things with Adam.

"Perhaps, Mr. Cartwright, you and your brother would care to dine with me tonight at my suite. I have brought my own staff and many comforts from my home. I am certain that you will enjoy the evening as much as I will. Pleasure tonight and business tomorrow; it is better to do business with a man one knows than with a stranger."

"I would enjoy that," Adam said. "Just tell me where and when and we will be there."

"Adam, I…" Hoss interrupted but Adam waved him off dismissively.

"Perhaps at 8:00. We are at the Grand Hotel. Just ask at the desk." And then Al-Basheer bowed slightly, turned to his vizier and the two walked away, the vizier buzzing around him, obviously protesting the invitation.

"Adam," Hoss said. "You said that Pa didn't want none if them mares."

"He did. But I want one of the mares; Pa'll come around when he sees the colts she'll drop."

"Adam," Hoss said, "did that Al-Basheer say he got more'n one wife?"

Adam turned to him, smiling. "Yeah, he did. Why?"

"Well, I just-you think he's got 'em all here with 'im?"

Adam laughed. "No. I don't think so. Sometimes, depending on how rich a man is, why he could have over a hundred." Adam watched Hoss' face light up.

"Over a hundred wives, huh? All pretty, I bet." Hoss watched the two men off in the distance. "Dang, that would be somethin' else, huh?' I guess you could just go down and pick the one you wanted that night."

"I guess so."

"Maybe even more'n one."

"Could if you wanted. Now let's go home and wash up. We can't go stinkin' like horse-or in your case, a horse's ass."

"You think we'll meet a Jinn?" Hoss asked. "You know, like in them stories you read me when I was little-like Aladdin?"

"I doubt it and don't go rubbing on any of their lamps," Adam said as they walked to their horses tied a way from the arena.

"Ah, you know I ain't silly enough to go and do that. But what would you wish for, Adam, if there was a Jinn? 'Member when we was just kids and we would talk about what our three wishes would be?"

"Well, my wishes now would be different from what they were then," Adam said.

"Yeah, but I remember that you used to say that your third wish would be to have all the wishes you wanted. Would you keep that?" Hoss studied his brother; he could never tell what Adam really wanted or was thinking and Adam rarely revealed all his mind to anyone.

Adam untied his horse's reins and held them while he thought.

"I wouldn't wish for anything, anymore." Adam mounted his horse and Hoss did as well and they turned their horses' heads toward home. "Let me tell you the story of Tithonus-'The woods decay, the woods decay and fall.' "

"What's that mean?" Hoss asked.

"It's about the ravages of time from a poem by Tennyson called 'Tithonus.' Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, fell in love with Tithonus and since he was mortal, she asked Zeus, begged him, to give Tithonus immortality. Zeus granted her wish but Aurora neglected to ask for eternal youth for Tithonus so over the years, he aged and became a babbling, grasshopper-like, old man-thin and fragile-and Aurora finally locked him away from pity in a luxurious chamber where he spent all eternity becoming older and older but unable to die until pity was taken on him and he was turned into a cicada. You see the irony; Aurora was renewed every morning as the day is and Tithonus just traveled further into eternal twilight. There's always a catch, Hoss, to every wish, and like Tithonus-we'd be begging the Jinn to 'take back thy gift.' So no, I wouldn't want any wish. I'd push that Jinn back into the lamp or the bottle or well, wherever he came from and go on my way."

"I swear, Adam. I don't understand you sometimes. You think too much and thinkin' that much just makes a person unhappy in my opinion."

"And now that I think on it, you're right, Hoss. I think you're right about that too." The two brothers grinned at one another and urged their horses into a slow canter and rode out of town with Adam and Hoss contemplating dinner that night-Hoss, on what was to be served and Adam, on who would be doing the serving.

TBC