Sahib, in accordance with instructions
I proceeded to Christian Street to the place you spoke
of, where I found Yussuf Dakmar drinking coffee and
smoking in company with these men and others.
They did not see me in the beginning, because I entered
by the door of a house threescore and five paces farther
down the street; and having by that means gained the
roof I descended to a gallery built of stone above
one end of the coffee-shop, and there lay concealed
among evil-smelling bags.
“They conversed in Arabic;
and presently when other men had entered, some of
whose names I overheard and wrote down on this slip
of paper, Yussuf Dakmar locked the outer door, turning
the great key twice and setting a chain in place as
well. Then he stood on a red stool having four
short legs, with his back to the door that he had locked,
and spoke in the manner of one who stirs a multitude,
gesticulating greatly.
“The argument he made was thus:
He said that Jerusalem is a holy city, and Palestine
a holy land; and that promises are all the more sacred
if given in connection with religious matters; whereat
they all applauded greatly. Nevertheless, a
little later on he mocked at all religion, and they
applauded that too. He said that the Allies,
persuaded thereto by the British, had made a promise
to the Emir Feisul on the strength of which the Arabs
made common war with the Allies against the Turks and
Germans, losing of their own a hundred thousand men
and untold money.
“So, sahib. Next he asked
them how much of that promise made by the Allies to
Emir Feisul as the leader of the Arabs had been kept,
or was likely to be kept; and they answered in one
voice, ‘None of it!’ Whereat he nodded,
as a teacher nods gravely when the pupils have their
lesson well by heart, and said presently in a voice
like that of a Guru denouncing sin: ’A
woman’s promise is a little matter; who believes
it? When it is broken all men laugh. A
promise extorted under threat or torture is not binding,
since he who made the promise was not free to govern
his own conduct; that is law. A promise made
in business,’ said he, ’is a contract
contingent on circumstances and subject to litigation.
But a promise made in wartime by a nation is a pledge
set down in letters of blood. Whoever breaks
it is guilty of blood; and whoever fails to smite
dead the breaker of that oath, commits treason against
Allah!’
“They applauded that speech
greatly, sahib, and when they grew silent he bade
them look about and judge for themselves at whose door
the breaking of that sacred promise really lay.
‘Show me,’ said he, ’one trace of
Arab government in all Palestine. Who owns the
land?’ he asked them. ‘Arabs!’
said they. ‘Yet to whom has the country
been given?’ he shouted. ‘To the
Jews!’ they answered; and he grew silent for
a while, like a teacher whose class has only given
half the answer to a question until presently one
man growled out, ’To the sword with the Jews
in the name of Allah!’ and the others echoed
that which satisfied him, for he smiled, nevertheless
not using those words himself. And presently
he continued:
“’We in this room are
men of enlightenment. We are satisfied to leave
past and future to speculations of idle dreamers.
For us the present. So we attach no value to
the fact that Feisul is descended in a straight line
from the founder of the Moslem faith; for that is
a superstition as foolish in its way as Christianity
or any other creed. But who is there like Feisul
who can unite all Arabs under one banner?’
“They answered, sahib, that
Feisul is the only living man who can accomplish that,
making many assertions in his praise, Yussuf Dakmar
nodding approval as each spoke. ‘Yet,’
said he when they had finished, ’Feisul is also
fallible. In certain ways he is a fool, and principally
in this: That he insists on keeping his own promises
to men who have broken their own promises to him.’
And like pupils in a class who recite their lesson,
they all murmured that such a course as that is madness.
“‘So,’ said he,
’we are clear on that point. We are not
altruists, nor religious fanatics, nor slaves, but
men of common sense who have a business in view.
We are not Feisul’s servants, but he ours.
We make use of him, not he of us. If he persists
in a wrong course, we must force him into the right
one, for the day of autocratic government is past
and the hour has come when those who truly represent
the people have the first right to direct all policy.
If the right is still withheld from them, they must
take it. And it is we in this room who truly
represent the Arab cause, on whom lies the responsibility
of forcing Feisul’s hand!’
“Well, sahib, these three prisoners
who sit here offered, at once to go to Damascus and
kill the men who are advising Feisul wrongly.
They said that if they were given money they could
easily hire Damascenes to do the dagger work, there
being, as the sahib doubtless knows, a common saying
in these parts about Damascus folk and sharp steel.
Whereat Yussuf Dakmar suddenly assumed a sneering
tone of voice, saying that he preferred men for his
part with spunk enough to do such work themselves,
and there was an argument, they protesting and he mocking
them, until at last this man, whose neck the glass
cut, demanded of him whether he, Yussuf Dakmar, was
not in truth an empty boaster who would flinch at
bloodshed.
“He seemed to have been waiting
for just that, sahib, for he smirked and threw a chest.
‘I am a man,’ said he, ’of example
as well as precept. I have done what I saw fit
to do! I make no boasts,’ said he, ’for
a man who talks about himself sets others talking,
and there are deeds creditable to the doer that are
best not spoken of. But I will tell you other
things, and you may draw your own conclusions.
“’Because Feisul refuses
to attack the French, having promised those promise-breakers
that he will not; and because Feisul has promised
to protect the Jews and is likely to try to keep that
promise to the promise-breaking English, certain of
his intimates in Damascus, in whose confidence I am,
have determined to force both issues, taking steps
in his name that will commit him finally. Feisul’s
army of fifty thousand men is as ready as it will
ever be. There is no money in the Damascus treasury,
and therefore every moment of delay is now a moment
lost. The time has come for action!’”
Our three prisoners were listening
to the recitation spellbound, and so were we all for
that matter. The mere memory feat was amazing
enough. Few men could listen in hiding to a stranger’s
words, and report them exactly after an interval of
more than an hour; but Narayan Singh did better than
that, for he reproduced the speaker’s gesture
and inflexion, so that we had a mental picture of
the scene that he described. Mabel offered him
stewed tannic acid in the name of tea, and Ticknor
suggested a chair, but he waved both offers aside
and continued as if the picture before his mind and
the words he was remembering might escape him if he
took things easy.
“Sahib, they were very much
excited when he spoke of action. First one man
and then another stood up and boasted of having made
all things ready; how this one had supervised the
hiding of sharp swords; how another had kept men
at work collecting cartridges on battlefields; how
this and that one had continued spreading talk against
the Jews, so that they swore that at least ten thousand
Moslems in Jerusalem are fretting to begin a massacre.
’Let Feisul only strike the first blow from
Damascus,’ said they, ‘and Palestine will
run blood instantly!’”
“And we sit here drinking tea,”
exclaimed Mabel, “while up at headquarters they’re
dancing and playing bridge! I call this awful!
We all ought to be...”
Grim smiled and shook his head for silence.
“We’ve known all this
for some time,” he said. “Don’t
worry. There’ll be no massacre; the troops
are sleeping by their arms, and every possible contingency
has been provided for. Go on, Narayan Singh.”
“Well, sahib; when they had
done babbling and boasting this Yussuf Dakmar got
back on his stool and spoke sternly, as one who gives
final judgment and intends to be obeyed. ’It
is we who must make the first move,’ said he;
’and we shall force Feisul to move after us
by moving in his name.’ Whereat this man
here, whose nose was broken on the fist of Jeremy
sahib, said that a letter bearing Feisul’s seal
would make the matter easier. ‘For the
men,’ said he, ‘who are to slit Jews’
throats will ask first for proof of our authority
to bid them begin the business.’
“And at that speech Yussuf Dakmar
laughed with great delight. ’Better late
than never!’ said he. ’Better to
think of a wise precaution now than not at all!
But oh, ye are an empty-headed crew!’ he told
them. ’I pity the conspiracy that had no
better planning than ye would make for it without
my fore thought! I thought of this long ago!
I sent a message to Damascus, begging that a date
be set and just such a letter sent to us. Feisul,
I knew, would sign no such letter; but the paper
he uses lies on an open desk, and there are men about
him who have access to his seal. And because
my appeal was well-timed it met with approval.
A letter such as I asked for was written on Feisul’s
paper, sealed with his seal, and sent!’
“‘But does it bear his signature?’
a man asked.
“‘How could it, since he never saw the
letter?’ Yussuf Dakmar answered.
“‘Then few will pay heed to it,’
said the other.
“‘Perhaps if we were all
such fools as you that might be so,’ Yussuf
Dakmar retorted. ’However, fortunately
the rest of us have readier wits! This letter
is signed with a number, and the number is that of
Feisul’s generation in descent from the Prophet
Mohammed. Let men be told that this is his secret
signature, and when they see his seal beside it, will
they not believe? Every hour in Jerusalem, and
in all the world, men believe things less credible
than that!’
“But at that, sahib, another
man asked him how they might know that the letter
really came from Damascus. ‘It well might
be,’ said that one, ’a forgery contrived
by Yussuf Dakmar himself, in which case though they
might stir many Moslems into action by showing it,
the men in Damascus would fail to follow up the massacre
by striking at the French. And if they do not
strike at the French,’ said he, ’the French
will not appeal to the British for aid; and so the
British troops will be free to protect the Jews and
butcher us, by which means we shall be worse off than
before.’
“Whereat Yussuf Dakmar laughed
again. ’If ye will go to the Sikh hospital,’
said he, ’ye will find there the man who brought
the letter. He lies in a cot in the upper storey
with a knife-wound between his shoulder-blades.
It was a mistaken accident unfortunate for him; the
letter was intended for me, but I did not know that.
What does the life of one fool matter? He gave
out that Jews stabbed him, and it may be he believes
that; yet I have the letter in my pocket here!’
And he touched with one hand the portion of his coat
beneath which was the pocket that contained the letter.
I was watching, sahib, from where I lay hidden.
“He was about, I think, to show
them the letter, when another thought occurred to
him. He wrinkled his brow, as if seeking words
in which to make his meaning clear, and they seemed
willing enough to wait for him, but not so I, for
I now knew where the letter was. So I sprang
into their midst, falling less dangerously than I
might have done by reason of a man’s shoulders
that served for a cushion. It may be that his
bones broke under my weight. I can give no accurate
report as to that, for I was in great haste.
But as he gave way under me, I pitched forward, and,
kicking Yussuf Dakmar in the belly with my boot, I
fell on him, they falling on me in turn and we all
writhing together in one mass on the floor.
So I secured the letter.”
“Good man!” Grim nodded.
“Wish I’d been there!” mourned Jeremy.
“And, having what I came for,
I broke free; and taking the red stool I hurled it
at the lamp, so that we were in total darkness, which
made it a simple matter to unlock the door, and proceed
about my business. Nevertheless, I heard them
strike matches behind me, and it seemed unwise to
take to my heels at once, it being easy to pursue a
man who runs.
“As the sahib doubtless remembers,
between that coffee shop and the next house is a stone
buttress jutting out into the street, forming on its
side farthest from the coffee-shop a dark corner, for
whose filth and stink the street cleaners ought to
be punished. Therein I lurked, while those who
pursued ran past me up the street, I counting them;
and among them I did not count Yussuf Dakmar and
three more. It happened that a man was running
up the street and the pursuers supposed him to be me.
So I was left with only four to deal with; and it
entered my head that no doubt Jimgrim sahib would
be pleased to interview Yussuf Dakmar.
“And after a few moments Yussuf
Dakmar came forth, and I heard him speak to these
three fellows.
“‘Those fools,’
said he, ’hunt like street dogs at the sound
of rubbish tossed out of a window. But I think
that Indian soldier is less foolish than they.
If I were he,’ said Yussuf Dakmar, ’I
think I wouldn’t run far, with all these shadows
to right and left and all the hours from now until
dawn in which to act the fox. I suspect he is
not far away at this minute. Nevertheless,’
said he, ’those Indians are dangerous fellows.
It is highly important that we get that letter from
him; but it is almost equally important that we stop
his mouth, which would be impossible if he should
escape alive. If we wait here,’ said he,
’we shall see him emerge from a shadow, if I
am not much mistaken.’
“So they waited, sahib.
And after a few minutes, when my breath had returned
to me, I let him have credit as a wise one by emerging
as he had said. And those four stalked me through
the streets, not daring to come close until I should
lead them to a lonely place; and I led them with
discretion to this house, where happened what the sahib
knows.
“That is all I know about this
matter, except that being absent from duty on sick-leave
there may be difficulty in the matter of my tunic,
which is badly torn.”
Having finished his story Narayan
Singh stood at attention like one of those wooden
images they used to keep on the sidewalk outside tobacco
stores.
Grim smiled at the prisoners and asked
whether they had any remarks to make - a
totally lawless proceeding, for he did not caution
them, and had no jurisdiction as a magistrate.
They were three men caught red-handed attempting
murder and burglary, and entitled accordingly to protection
that the law doesn’t always accord to honest
men. But, as I have said, a true tale in the
ears of criminals acts like a chemical reagent.
It sets them to work lying, and the lie burns off,
disclosing naked truth again. But, mother of
me, they were daring liars! The fellow who had
come out of the scrap more or less unscathed piped
up for the three, the other two nodding and prompting
him in whispers.
“What that Indian says in the
main is true. He did jump down from the gallery
and surprise a meeting summoned by Yussuf Dakmar.
And it is true that Yussuf Dakmar’s purpose
is to bring about a massacre of Jews, which is to
be simultaneous with an attack by Feisul’s forces
on the French in Syria. But we three men are
not in favour of it. We have had no part in
the preparations, although we know all details.
We are honest men, who have the public interest at
heart, and accordingly we have spied on Yussuf Dakmar,
purposing to expose all his plans to the authorities.”
Jeremy began humming to himself.
Mabel tittered, and little Doctor Ticknor swore under
his breath. But Grim looked as if he believed
them - looked pleasantly surprised - and
nodded gravely.
“But that hardly explains your
following this Indian through the streets and attacking
him on the veranda,” he suggested, as if sure
they could explain that too - as sure enough
they did.
“We did not attack him.
He attacked us. It was obvious to us from the
first that he must be an agent of the Government.
So when Yussuf Dakmar told us to follow and murder
him we decided it was time to expose Yussuf Dakmar,
and that this was our opportunity. We knew surely
that this Indian would take that letter straight to
some official of the Government; it was only necessary
to pretend to hunt him and in that manner inveigle
Yussuf Dakmar into the toils.
“But when we reached this house
Yussuf Dakmar was afraid and refused to approach nearer
than the street. He insisted on keeping watch
outside the garden gate while we should draw near
and shoot everyone who might be in the house and recover
the letter. He is a coward, and we could not
persuade him.
“So we decided to pretend to
do his bidding, and to whisper through the window
to the people within to pass out to the street by some
back way and capture him, after which we would give
all our evidence to the authorities.
“It was while we were looking
through the window, seeking to call the attention
of those within for that purpose and no other, that
we were attacked and submitted to much unnecessary
violence. That is the whole truth, as Allah is
our witness! We are honest men, who seek to uphold
the law, and we claim the protection of the Government.
We are ready to tell all we know, including the names
of those connected with this plot.”