MERSA NASI lOI 



to Dahlak. Now I stay here two weeks till woman find 

 another. Then go back to Massawa.' 



*To find a wife.' 



Tesfankièl smiled. The lamp illuminated his teeth. He 

 smoked seriously, inhaling slowly. You could see he was a 

 smoker. 



Gigi got up. It was his turn to do the washing-up. He 

 placed the plates carefially in the large saucepan, filled the 

 whole thing up with cutlery and glasses and went off to the 

 wash-house — which in our case was the sea. To get there 

 you had to go down a steep flight of steps between the rocks, 

 make some nasty bends and then jump with a certain agility 

 on to a small beach some two yards below, that was com- 

 pletely covered at high tide. It was a desperate job, washing 

 up with madreporic sand, but in compensation the water 

 threw up a thousand phosphorescent sparks, and you felt you 

 were rinsing the dishes with fireworks. So Gigi went off, and 

 without saying a word, Tesfankièl followed him into the 

 night, with that silent, flowing step of his. 



After half an hour they re-appeared. Tesfankièl was 

 carrying everything. We looked at Gigi and he opened his 

 arms as if to say — and what can I do? Tesfankièl had 

 requested the pleasure of washing the dishes for him, had in 

 fact insisted. We had a brief conference while Tesfankièl 

 quietly dried our things in the cubby-hole that served as a 

 kitchen. 



'He's after money,' said Cecco. 



*Well, I think he's finished his cigarettes and he's come 

 here from sheer desperation,' I rejoined. 



At that moment, Tesfankièl came in. He sat down at the 

 table obviously satisfied. He took an almost full packet of 

 Camels out of his pocket and ofifered them round. After some 

 hesitation we all took one. We had been chewing Nazionali 



