"
"Have you a charm against mustard gas?"
"That is our weakness. No, we have no masks."
"And the wind setting up from the sea at this time of year! Your army
is going straight into a trap, and you along with it. Half of the men
who advise you to go to the front will fight like lions against a net,
and the other half will sell you to the French! Your fifty thousand men
will melt like butter in the sun and your Arab cause will be left
without a leader!"
Feisul pondered that for about a minute, leaning back and watching
Grim's face.
"We held a council of war, Jimgrim," he said at last. "It was the
unanimous opinion of the staff that we ought to fight and the cabinet
upheld them. I couldn't cancel the order if I wished. What would you
think of a king who left his army in the lurch?"
"Nobody will ever accuse you of cowardice," Grim answered. "You're a
proven brave man if ever there was one. The point is, do you want all
your bravery and hard work for the Arab cause to go for nothing? Do you
want the prospect of Arab independence to go up in smoke on a gas-swept
battlefield?"
"It would break my heart," said Feisul, "although one heart hardly
matters.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193