“In Dar es souq we met a young man who was very thin and looked strangely old. He had worked for three years in the Jerrada coal mine, he said, where he developed silicosis and was fired. Now he was back home in his father’s house. His father was the sheikh. We were invited to dinner, and they killed a turkey rather than a chicken, in our honour.”

The river water was owned by one of the local tribes. Each part of the tribe had the right to so many days’ water, once a week or month, each family a certain number of hours, and so on, down to individuals.

The king’s farm was nearby and he, like the French colonists before him, had the right to his ration of water. One day, the manager of the king’s farm took more than he should. He began to take more and more water each time his turn came.

One day he was found dead, in a place far away.

The king’s farm was nearby and he, like the French colonists before him, had the right to his ration of water.

The next manager understood why the first had died, and said, “lf the locals are tough, I can be tough too.” And he continued to take extra water. He moved around with bodyguards to protect him. The jemaa of the tribe gave orders to have him beaten up. Orders were not to kill him, but to teach him a lesson. If there were bodyguards, the orders were to do the same to them.

This was done. The authorities reacted by putting all the jemaa members in prison. Negotiations ensued.

“It’s not the king,” said the jemaa, “It’s the manager, trying to show off to the king.”

They were released.

They then took some sheep, their ceremonial tents, and all that was necessary for a stay of several days, and went to the palace to see the king.

Here, they were given the runaround, but they stayed put in their tents behind the mechouar. After a few days, the king received three of them and told them not to be afraid. They had decided to make a clean breast of it anyway, so they told him all: the killing, the beatings, etc.

The king said, “Tomorrow, all will be in order.”

So the three men went back to the jemaa and told them it was over, that everything would be all right. And they prepared a huge celebration and killed the sheep and made a mechoui. In the evening, the king came and spent some time with them. And the following day they went home contented, and the manager behaved himself from then on.