Beryl
Markham
Arab Ruta calls contact and swings the propeller
Arab Ruta is a Nandi, anthropologically a member of a Nilotic tribe, humanly a member of a smaller tribe, a more elect tribe, the tribe cmposed of those too few, precisely sensitive, but altogether indomitable individuals contributed sparingly by each race, exclusively by none.
He is of the tribe that observes with equal respect the soft voice and the hardened hand, the fullness of a flower, the quick finality of death. His is the laughter of a free man happy at his work, a strong man with a lust for living. He is not black. His skin holds the sheen and warmth of used copper. His eyes are dark and wide-spaced, his nose full-boned and capable of arrogance.
West With The Night