Chapter 1: The Sport Of Emirs

For his eighteenth birthday, as he was now growing up, his father arranged for Ramzy El-Najjar to go hunting with the Emir, may he live for ever; this was no holds barred full scale traditional English hunting, but in Kobekistan. An outfit of hunting pink was made for him and he was instructed in the etiquette of the chase. He was not yet a man, in Kobekistan that would not be until he attained his majority on his twenty-third birthday, and so must not be in the forefront of the hunt, but should trail a decent distance behind the Emir. He was not yet a man, so he should not participate in the 'kill', though he might watch his elders and betters take their turns with the 'quarry'.

An Englishman transported to Kobekistan and not forewarned might be forgiven for being confused by this hunt meet. The men, to be sure, were mostly of Arab appearance but that was to be expected in this country. They were mounted on superb horses, but that too was to be expected, since their forebears had been nomadic and were experts in breeding fine horseflesh. The costumes were perfect fitting, absolutely correct pink, but Kobekistan was a rich country and the outfits were mostly made in Saville Row.

The first surprise was the hounds. They were hounds, it is true, but not foxhounds; the Emir's kennels contained the largest pack of pure-bred Irish Wolfhounds anywhere in the world. The chances of a fox against these pursuers would be slim indeed, but there were no foxes in Kobekistan. If our hypothetical Englishman were to follow the hunt until he caught a glimpse of the quarry, he would be even more surprised to see that it was some five feet at the shoulder, had little or no fur, except the great mane on its head, and used only two legs. It would be difficult to discern any other details against the rough country through which they hunted as its markings were an almost perfect camouflage. The dogs, of course, hunted more by scent than by sight, but men do not have that privilege.

If our man actually arrived in time to see the 'kill' he would discover that it could take two hours to deal with the quarry, once it was cornered. The protective camouflage would first be torn off, by the hunters not by the dogs. This would reveal a naked more-or-less beautiful young woman, usually a concubine of whom the Emir had tired, but occasionally a slave bought specifically for the purpose. The 'kill' consisted of any hunter who felt so inclined making use of any orifice he fancied for as long as he chose. When all had been satisfied in order of arrival at the kill, then the woman was returned to the harem from which she had come, sometimes to be brought back to fitness for another hunt, but usually to be prepared for sale.

The contest between hunters and quarry was not entirely one-sided, however. The woman was given an hour's start, a map of the hunting enclosure, and was tutored beforehand in the arts of evading capture. Any quarry not caught two hours after the hunt moved off had won the unbelievably valuable prize of her freedom and an annuity to live quietly in Europe or America for the rest of her natural life. Perhaps only one or two percent succeeded in escaping capture, but the Emir was a man of honour and observed the prize rules scrupulously, with the result that there were nine such women alive at the time Ramzy El-Najjar attended his first hunt.

Of course, the down side of being hunted by a pack of dogs was that sometimes the quarry was injured, though rarely by the dogs. The usual injuries were broken arms or legs during the chase; such an injury did not exempt the quarry from the 'kill' of course, and very occasionally a woman died during or after the hunt. The dogs were well schooled and although they were very frightening, as they stood slavering and snarling round a fallen quarry, they never bit a human. Any dog which did so would have been destroyed forthwith.