"What did I tell you this evening? Said he was a spy for the French,
didn't I? I tell you, I'm a dependable man. What I say you can bet on
till you've lost all your money. Here he is, spying to beat the
promised-landers--just had tea with Feisul and learned all the inside
facts--offered me a pound to come and find you, but I charged him two
and got the money in advance.
"You ought to pay me a commission, too, and then I'll get married if
there's an honest woman left in Damascus. If either of you want my
advice, you won't believe a word the other says, but I expect you're
both too wilful to be guided. Anyhow, you'll have to talk in front of
me, because my master is afraid of being murdered; he isn't afraid of
ghosts or bad smells, but the sight of a long knife turns his heart to
water and sets him to praying so loud that you can't get a word in
edgewise. Go on, both of you--yalla! Talk!"
Does it begin to be obvious why kings used to employ court jesters? The
modern cabinets should have them--men like Jeremy (though they'd be hard
to find) to break the crust of situations. Suspicion weakens in the
presence of incongruity.
"This fellow seems less than half-witted," I said, "but he's shrewd, and
I've found him useful.
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