Adventure, February 20, 1922 — page 33: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

=. The Seventeen Thieves of El-Kalil by that time, for nothing takes hold of the mind of a crowd so quickly as a string of platitudes, especially when they sting. Flattery is the weapon for the demagogue _who seeks to stir a crowd to action; if he _-.would rather hold them and win delay, 4 ' angry. the man in the pulpit snarled; for he was are thieves, a dozen acid generalities about their.sins work wonders. But those-are rules that all the mob-leaders understand. — “While ye looked for wisdom.-in the cess- pools,’’ he went on scornfully, “TI turned to the Book. And while I read and prayed there came an angel and I saw a vision— here-in this place where the footstep of the Prophet is imprinted in the stone on which he stood. Here above the tomb of Abra- ham I saw a true vision!” There was silence for a moment in which you could hear one man cracking the joints of his toes nervously. Then a voice cried out that Allah is all-powerful, and one after another repeated it until they were all chanting the first principles of Moslem faith, whose repetition seems to prepare them to believe anything—do anything— submit to anything. ““God is God. There is no God but God. Mahommed is his prophet.” The great roof hummed with the chant for about two minutes, until it suddenly occurred to them that they had not heard the details of the vision yet, and they ceased as suddenly as the frogs cease piping when a stone is thrown into the pond. “The angel who appeared to me was I was afraid and my bones shook,” one of those who take religion without sugar and grow nasal as they. speak of sacred things. ‘“‘He told me that the fire that came forth from the tomb of Abraham is in the hands of thieves, who took it in order to stir strife against the Jews. Because they ” said he, “they are unfit to return it; yet unless it be returned there will be a judgment on El-Kalil. So I laid my forehead on the floor and prayed to know by whose hand that fire may be returned, that the city may be saved from judgment, And he said, ‘Lo: against the Jews it was taken. Therefore let the Jews return it and they shall save themselves. For a day and a night let them have time given them; and if they return it, well, they have saved themselves and are reprieved. For a day and a night let not a Jew in El- Kalil be slain. But if they do not return 31 it, then shall their blood be on their own heads.’ “Then the angel left me and my strength returned so that the bones of my legs no longer shook; but for a little while my eyes were still dazed by the brightness, so that I could neither see nor grope my way. After certain minutes my sight came again and then I lost no time, but came hither; and now ye know the vision I have seen. I have not kept it secret from you. As for him who chooses not to listen, let his blood be on his head. My hands are henceforth clean in this matter.” “For -a leader he’s easily led,’ Grim whispered. “But for a liar he’s not half bad. Now if Ali Baba ben Hamza has only done his end of the talking too, we : ought to manage nicely. Drat him! Is he going to read. to them? This session’ll last all night if we don’t look out.” THE Sheikh had opened a great = illuminated copy of the: Koran and was turning over the pages in search of some passage that would suit the occa- sion. But just as he began to roll his tongue around the opening syllables the south door opened and a man called into the mosque that the fire-gift was about beginning. That was too much for the congregation. It was like announcing to a Sunday school that the circus was outside. Perhaps they would have sat still if the vision he had told of had not been related to the fire-gift. As it was they rose like one man and surged through the door to see this thing again that caused so much concern among the angels. We followed at the tail of the procession. But it was hopeless to try to see from the — steps. The men in front had been forced forward by those behind, who now blocked the door and stood jammed like herrings, while the men below tried to regain the vantage of the steps for a better view. ‘Follow me!” said Grim suddenly and led us at a run back into the mosque, where we overtook the Sheikh at the north end and were just im time to get out through a side’ ~ seemed to know the way perfectly, for he — did not hesitate but led across a small . door after him before he locked it. court, and making use of a buttress in a corner climbed up on a wall built of. It was. gigantic blocks of dressed stone. three feet wide on top, and at the end of thirty yards or so it gave us a perfect view » . eee | at (-) <S) Gomichboo é > 5 I he (E(0) © iy 2 Ge = Ne