Daughter Of The Sea.

Chapter 6

The Overseer spent the rest of the day showing Ahab and his entourage the intricacies of the dye-making process. Though very interesting, the overwhelming stench which permeated the air, had Ahab and his men holding their cloaks over their noses for most of the tour. Most of the men refused the snack of cooked snails, the meat of the Murex snail after the dye glands had been removed, which they were offered. A few running off to the side to empty their stomachs. Even Ahab had to swallow constantly to prevent himself from joining his men in their emetic state.

The tour ended in the fields where the empty shells were heaped up in large mounds. The afternoon land-breeze was doing a good job of blowing the nauseating smell of the dye process out to sea. Ahab, and most of his men were feeling a lot better. Some of his bodyguard were chewing on some dried meat which they had purchased from passing vendors. This was at least a taste they were used to.

Ahab slowly forced himself to listen to what Ahumm was saying. He didn't know which was worse, the boring drone of the Overseer's voice or the stench they had just endured. Looking around he noticed the high mounds, tombstones to the millions of Murex snails that gave their lives to support the Phoenician's 'Royal Purple' industry. He remembered seeing these mounds when they entered the city and now posed a question to Ahuum.

"It seems a waste that the byproduct of your purple dye industry accumulates in such great quantities to spoil your beautiful countryside."

Ahuum bowed low with a sorrowful face. "You have stabbed us in the weakest point of our armour." Slowly he rose to his full height and with a sly smile he answered. "For years we were at our wits end. We had no solution to the problem. The mounds grew and everyone became dissatisfied. We tried throwing the crushed shells back into the sea, but the divers soon complained that where the shell debris covered the rocks and seabed, nothing grew and without food the sea creatures, including the Murex snail, began to die off or move away.

Luckily, our learned chemists and men of science worked day and night and finally came up with solutions to the problem. So now I am happy to report that within a few years, these hills of shells will be no more. "

One of the King's men piped up and exclaimed." Come, come my esteemed Overseer, you cannot end your story there. We are hanging on every word you speak. What is this solution you hinted about, or is it a state secret? "

The Overseer showed great delight at these complimentary words and answered. "Not at all my good friend, it is no secret. I merely cut my address short for fear of tiring you with my words."

This was the case with Ahab, who stood to one side, lost in thought after his initial inquiry. The vision of a Certain Princess completely filling his thoughts. Some of his men however, looked sufficiently interested to encourage the Overseer to continue his explanation.

"We have put three processes in place whereby we can use the crushed shells to good effect. Firstly we bake the shells in huge furnaces at a very high temperature. This makes the shells brittle and easy to grind into a powder which is used in making a very high quality lime. This is used in our own building industry but slowly we are starting to ship the lime to many other shores. This solution has helped to fill our coffers as an added bonus.

Secondly, we manufacture fertiliser from the shells, especially for areas with acidic soils. I would think that should interest you O King and all that acidic desert soil? "

Ahuum had directed this last remark to Ahab but when he saw the Israelite King deep in thought, he tactfully turned back to the men who were actually interested. He continued.
" Lastly we introduce the alkaline shell dust into our dye manufacturing process and thereby save money not having to buy soda ash."

The men were genuinely impressed, which led to further questions.
One of the young men sheepishly put up his hand and inquired.
"The glands which were removed from the snails were white. Unfortunately the smell drove me from the building. When I returned, you had moved on and were explaining how the purple colour was fixed in the dark away from sunlight. What I missed was the process of how the secretion changed from white to purple? Would it be too much to ask you to explain it to me?"

Ahuum was ecstatic to find such interest in the subject so dear to his heart, not to mention the chance to continue speaking.
Some of the group of Israelite bodyguards poked the young soldier in his back, another kicked him, unseen, on his heel while muttering under his breath... "Why get him started again? I could have told you that!"
Clearly, Ahab wasn't the only one who had enough of the Overseer's voice.

Unperturbed by the rumblings in the party of men, Ahuum proceeded to answer the question.
"Well you see my young man, the process you inquired about is caused by oxidation. The glands of the snail are covered with salt and immediately turn a yellow colour. The whole colour change process takes less than an hour. The yellow changes to green, then to blue and then to purple. The glands are taken from the salt and sunlight when the purple stage is reached, to preserve the colour. If the oxidation is allowed to continue, the secretion would turn black. I hope that answers your question."

"Yes, yes," the young man answered and then started to ask another question. A kick from his fellow soldier standing next to him, shut his mouth pronto.

The Overseer stood on his toes and peered over the heads of the group of men. He had heard something that they hadn't noticed. Raising his hands he proclaimed.
"This tour, I'm afraid, must come to an end. Our King and his carriages are coming this way as we speak. Thank you for your company and interest. Till we meet again."
The Overseer bowed and walked to one side.

When the carriages stopped by the men, the Tyrian king stuck his head out the window.
" Do forgive me! I know I promised you some food and drink but the hour is late and the road is far. There is also much to prepare for tomorrow's talks. So indulge a busy King, please board the carriages and let's be on our way."

In the carriage in which the kings travelled, the trip back to Tyre was a mixture of long silences, inquiries into the events of the day and some superficial questions relating to the talks on the morrow. Both Kings were preparing mentally for the business discussions that had brought about Ahab's visit.