Adventure, February 20, 1922 — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

— - peering over the roof. 44 the Jews on the outskirts shrilled rejoinders. You couldn’t make head or tail of it, except ‘that they’ were threatening de. Crespigny. And as everybody talked at once he couldn’t understand them either. “Touch and go!” said Grim to me. “Crep’s got the wind up! Lord send he keeps his head!’ De Crespigny watched his chance and then picked out the noisiest, most violent man to do the talking—a very wise move that, for it let off steam. “Now,” he demanded, “‘what is it?” “This cursed: Jew is a thing they call a Rabbi. He is their leader. He should die. He has defied us and says you will protect him. The Sheikh of the Mosque of Er- Rahman had a vision concerning the fire- gift. It was stolen by thieves for use against the Jews, so the Jews are to return it or be ‘slain! We went to this Rabbi to tell him what he must do tonight, and to make arrangements; but the father of lies swore he knew nothing about it and, what is more, would do nothing!” “Nothing! I know nothing, nothing! What do I know of any fire-gift?”’ said the Rabbi. ‘Perhaps he doesn’t!’’ said de Crespigny. “He lies! He does! One was released from the jail this morning, who says he knows the thieves no longer have the fire- gift. So the Jews must have it! Who else?” ‘*Kill the liar! Kill him!” yelled the rear ranks that were close enough to hear. De Crespigny looked up, for inspiration probably, and caught sight of Grim’s face Grim nodded violent- ly, that being the only available signal for “go ahead.” De Crespigny seemed to un- - derstand, and smiled at last. said. “T know a way to persuade the Jews,” he “They no doubt have the fire-gift and they shall return it tonight.‘ Leave the Rabbi and his friends here. I'll see justice done!” “Good boy!” Grim muttered. “That young Crep has gall and guts. Couldn’t be better! Now we’ve got the Rabbi with the wind up where he can’t talk back and can’t refuse! Oh, good!” CHAPTER IX “T am Rabbi, not governort’? . CROWDS in those latitudes gather and disperse as suddenly as storms and like the storms, leave a change of atmosphere - behind them. In a sense they resemble .¢ 2 jet ; ’ — 4 - - ; ot ee ; - ~ NX, 0 < ee ay e- ~<a t =< : , Nees ey So ee > a tp es ee a f —_— = ae ee r= *.. a ~ Adventure waterspouts, destructive ‘as the very devil if allowed to boil along unchecked—always fooli~g themselves that they are doing good, and hiding their real motive from them- selves under a noisy pretense of moral purpose. And they can be handled in much the same way as a waterspout, with pretty much the same_ result. connecting link between a mob and its desire—all’s calm again; or, if not calm, then at any rate much safer. There are typhoons, too, that have .to be ridden out. The nexus in this instance was the Jews and the underlying motive, loot. Ever since the heel of the Turk had been 4ifted the Moslems of Hebron had been aching to loot somebody. Turkish governor after governor had wrung from them in fines and taxes every plastre that he could and given nothing at all in return for it. So they were poor; and if the Jews weren’t rich, they were supposed to be. Not even the Hebron crowd that prides itself on thieving, will lay plans to loot a whole quarter of the town and cut three thousand throats without establishing a moral issue first to stalk behind. All humans act that way in the mass and if. Hebron is not. thoroughly human it is nothing. So old Ali Baba and his fire-gift had come, like many another apparent miracle, in the nick of time to salve the public conscience. I never found out just to what extent Ali Baba had been opportunist. He may have planned the whole thing with a view to looting; but I think not. I think he only boasted of having planned it, after receiving Instruction inthe cave from that Egyptian devil; for Ali Baba and all his sixteen sens and grandsons were too childish and direct to have thought the thing out in the first instance. It takes Egypt to invent such a dark scheme. But whoever invented it,. through it. He knew Hebron too intimate- ly not to be sure that the Jews would be in deadly danger whenever any sort of up- rising occurred anywhere in southern Pales- tine. Given loyal troops enough, any one can suppress a mob; but the trouble had come at a moment when all the troops were occupied elsewhere, so the solution de- manded genius. And genius is always If you can sever the nexus, as it were, between. the clouds and the sea—remove the © Grim saw comichbook