Read Online The Pirate by Harold Robbins - Free Book Online Page A

driver. Other guards piled into the limousine in front of them. As the cars began to move away, Baydr saw the drivers beating the pack camels toward the plane to collect the luggage and supplies. The car left the airfield and turned onto a concrete road that led to the mountains a few miles distant. An armored Land Rover with a mounted machine gun fell into the lane behind them.
    Baydr looked at his father. “The war has been over this many years—I thought guards would no longer be necessary.”
    “There are still many bandits in the mountains,” his father said.
    “Bandits?”
    “Yes,” his father said. “Those who slip across our borders to steal, rape and kill. There are some who think they are Israeli guerrillas.”
    “But Israel has no borders near here,” Baydr said.
    “True,” the older man replied. “But they could be agents in their employ. We cannot afford to relax our vigilance.”
    “Have you ever been bothered by these bandits?” Baydr asked.
    “No. We have been fortunate. But we have heard of others who have.” Samir smiled. “But let us talk of other more pleasant matters. Have you heard that your eldest sister is expecting a child in a matter of weeks?”
    The automobiles began to climb into the mountains. After a few minutes Baydr saw the first hint of green on the sides of the road. Cacti gave way to scrub pine, then to flowers, bougainvillea and green grass. His father reached over and pressed the button to let down the windows. The fresh scented air flowed into the car, replacing the stale, cooled air of the machine.
    His father took a deep breath. “There are many inventions of man but they cannot duplicate the scent of mountain air.”
    Baydr nodded. They were climbing rapidly to the crest of the mountain. Their home was on the far side overlooking the sea. He wondered if it was as he remembered it.
    The house came into view as they turned at the top of the hill and started down. Baydr, looking from his window, saw the white roofs of the house below him. It was larger than he remembered. More buildings had been added. A large swimming pool had been built at the far end of the property, looking out toward the sea. There was something else he had never seen before. A high wall had been erected all around the complex, and stationed on top of the wall at approximately fifty-yard intervals were small booths, each manned by a guard with a machine gun.
    The house itself was hidden by trees. Baydr turned back to his father. “Are all the homes like this?”
    His father nodded. “Some have even more guards. The Prince has more than one hundred men at his summer estate.”
    Baydr didn’t comment. Something had to be wrong if men had to make prisoners of themselves in order to feel safe. The car turned off the road onto the driveway leading to the house. A moment later, they passed the trees that concealed it from the road and came to the giant iron gates in the wall. Slowly the gates, powered by silent electrical motors, began to swing open. Without stopping, the automobiles rolled through. A quarter-mile farther, they stopped in front of the huge white house. A servant ran to the doors of the car. His father got our first. Baydr followed.
    His eyes looked up the giant marble steps that led to the door. It was open. A woman, unveiled but wearing a headcloth and a long, white tob appeared in the doorway.
    “Mother!” he cried, running up the steps and taking her in his arms.
    Nabila looked up at her son, tears in the corners of her eyes. “Forgive me, my son,” she whispered. “But I could no longer wait to see you.”
    ***
    Since it was not a formal occasion and only members of the family were present, they all ate together. On formal occasions the men dined alone, and the women ate afterward or not at all.
    Baydr looked down the table at his sisters. Fatima, three years older than he, her face round and body heavy with child, was beaming as she sat proudly next to her husband. “It