Adventure, February 20, 1922 — page 49: 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 —. 47 something like a gladiator fitting on his mail—a muscled, beefy man, perfectly able to carry out his threat. The Rabbi looked imploringly at de Crespigny for any sign of weakness, but was met by a smile whose enigmatic corners suggested anything but that. He tried to consult with his friends, but they thrust back the responsibility on him with shrug- ging shoulders and something vague about “making complaint to Jerusalem later on. “Thirty seconds more!’”’ announced Grim and Cohen started for the door to open it. “Tt is a scandal; but you compel me!” said the Rabbi, throwing up both hands, palms upward. “Compel nothing!” Cohen retorted hotly. ““You choose!” “T have no choice. Iam in the hands of determined men; what can I do?” “Do you agree to the proposal?” asked de Crespigny. “T must!” “No side-stepping!” said Grim. “We want a definite affirmative. Will you or won’t you?” “Very well, I will. But there should be a writing—something in writing to prove _afterwards that Iam not responsible. This is none of my doing. I must not interfere with Moslem prejudices. I can not accept the blame for it. You must absolve me.” Grim’s eyes met de Crespigny’s curiously. across the table. “How about it, Crep? If the old bird wants to be nasty afterward they. may have to make an official goat of some one.” “Oh, what’s the odds? I'll sign it.” “Don’t you!”’ broke in Cohen. “I’m the guy that forced him. Let me sign it! No reason why you should lose your job for this. The worst they can do to me is fire me out of the country. Come on, write him out a paper and I'll sign it.”’ , “You're a good scout, Aaron,’ Grim answered, “‘but we won’t let you do it all. Rabbi, you write your own acquittal and Pll put my name on it. I’m responsible for this.”’ CHAPTER X “We must score the last trick with the deuce of spades!’’ GESHEN took charge of the training of the Rabbi and his men; not that they would not have preferred almost any one else, for their scorn of him was marrow- deep. He had a certain amount of kindly Eg 7 ~~ - Praae ow . * ~ 4 - ~ — _ t. ei St, Saye 4 (+ ad —-. = . Pg en” gO Tap — gh a Oe me > me feeling for them; they none for him what- ever. Those timid old last-ditch conserva- tives had clung to their orthodoxy in the face of worse calamity than Cohen had ever dreamed of; and the pride that accom- panies all conservatism had fossilized their™ humanity to a point where almost nothing mattered except form and ritual. Most of them traced descent to ancestors who had been driven from Spain by Fer- — dinand and Isabella and so added to a natural pride of race and creed an un- natural, exotic arrogance copied from the Dons. But Cohen was for that very reason exactly the man to handle them. He had just enough sympathy to understand them - and know what verbal shafts would surest _ He knew — sting them into obedience. enough to threaten—too much to strike; to mock their pride and yet play up to it. And his business brain was working; he had grasped the extent of the possibilities and was keener now on making the most of _ the situation than on saving his own and ours. I suspect that at the back of that bull. necked head of his he already had a scheme. for making money out of the adventure somehow; if so, I am equally sure he aban- doned it afterward, because, although a man of his parts might build up a business with the Hebron suk, the same amount of energy and intrigue expended elsewhere would bring at least ten-fold return But he went at the training of those “Orthodoxies,” as he called them, with the zeal of a man who sees money at the other end. That left Grim free for equally important things and he took them in proper order. “Crep,” he said, “will you be a good fellow and go to the Mosque—don’t send, go yourself—and bring the Sheikh here. I’m going to curl up and sleep until he comes.” “All right. In a hurry to see him?” “No. My guess is that the more parading about the city you do the better. You and Jonesy and the Sheikh might do worse than interview the notables. Get the crowd so keen on tonight’s show that - they’ll have no time to think of much else. Time’s the main thing, remember. We must gain time. Every minute of delay brings the arrival of the Sikhs a minute nearer. Better time the affair for ten o’clock. That may mean that some of ’em’ll GRC TS ATE f 44 “ot #itw ‘a dla S My : i 4 ,2 t tea dl § rot eT) PASO Yess ee sib AA Eat ‘ pall \ ¥ a" : if =» a y her 4 +. ee ' . Ww \ ar): Pl! > "2 a\ 10 ties ‘ e ’ yd JR TS ss ij : Yih ; ON Te eae ae comi CRUE s.com_ . A yo ae » Or