Khaled · Chapter
The Bedouin's Plot explained
A Bedouin visits the Sheikh of the Beggars and proposes a plan to capture Abdullah ibn Mohammed el Herir to save Khaled from destruction.
What happens
A Bedouin visits the Sheikh of the Beggars and proposes a plan to capture Abdullah ibn Mohammed el Herir to save Khaled from destruction. The Sheikh agrees and organizes his beggars to watch for Abdullah, who soon arrives in Riad with Almasta. They prepare to ambush him in a narrow street.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Rumor
The Bedouin and the Sheikh of the beggars conspire to secretly capture Abdullah, using deception to avoid detection.
Power and Legitimacy
The plot aims to remove Abdullah to prevent his usurpation of power, highlighting the struggle for legitimate rule.
Honor and Reputation
The Bedouin's oath to defend Khaled and the beggars' loyalty to Khaled underscore the importance of honor and reputation.
Characters to notice
- The Bedouin
Proposes the plan to capture Abdullah to save Khaled, motivated by a past debt.
- The Blind Man
Sheikh of the beggars, agrees to the plot and organizes his followers.
- Khaled
The target of the conspiracy; the Bedouin and beggars seek to protect him.
- Abdullah ibn Mohammed el Herir
The intended victim of the plot; arrives in Riad with Almasta.
- Almasta
Rides into Riad with Abdullah on a camel.
- Abdul Kerim
His son is mentioned as the rightful sheikh of the tribe.
Key passages
“But I will save Khaled. For in the battle of the pass before we came to Haïl last summer when I had an arrow in my right arm and a spear thrust in my side, certain dogs of Shammars encompassed me, and darkness was already descending upon my eyes when Khaled rode in like a whirlwind of scythes, and sent four of them to hell, where they are now drinking molten brass like thirsty camels.”
The Bedouin explains his debt to Khaled, who saved him in battle against the Shammars.
Motivation for the Bedouin's loyalty to Khaled.
“Dry up the spring, therefore, let the chief camel fall into a pit suddenly, extinguish the coal, strike off the head. Let them ask in the morning: ‘Where is he?’ And let him not be found anywhere.”
The Bedouin urges the Sheikh to eliminate Abdullah, the leader of the conspiracy.
Metaphorical call to remove Abdullah.
“Go to the beggars therefore and tell them what I have told you, and be not afraid, for they will not betray you. And when Abdullah walks about the city alone lie in wait for him, for you will easily catch him in a narrow street, and two or three score of you can run after him begging for alms, until he is surrounded on all sides.”
The Bedouin instructs the Sheikh to use beggars to ambush Abdullah in a narrow street.
The plan to capture Abdullah.