Adventure Magazine Cover — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

The King “To the Pan-Arab Committee in Jerusalem, by favor of Yussuf Dakmar Bey its District President, Greeting in the name of God: ‘Ye know that on former occasions the foes of our land and race were overwhelmed when, relying on the aid of the Most High, and raising the green banner of the prophet—on whom be peace, we launched our squadrons in a cause held sacred by us all. “Ve know that in that fashion, and not other- - wise, the accursed conquerors were driven forth and our sacred banner was set on high over the Damascus roofs, where by Allah’s blessing may it wave forever! “Ve know how those who claimed to be our friends have since proven themselves foes, so that the in- dependent state for which we fought is held today in ignominious subjection by aliens, who deny the truth Faith and hold their promises as nothing. “Ye know how Damascus is beset by the French, and Palestine is held by the British who, notwith- standing the oath they swore to us, are daily betray- ing us Arabs to the Jews. ‘“‘Know now, then, that the hour has struck wlien, again in the name of Allah, we must finish what we formerly began and with our true swords force these infidels to yield our country to us. Nor on this occasion shall we sheathe our swords until from end to end our land is free and united under one govern- ment of our own choosing. “Know that this time there shall be no half- measures nor any compromise. It is written, Ye shall show no quarter to the infidel. Let no Jew live to boast that he has footing in the land of our ancestors. Leave ye no root of them in the earth nor seedling that can spring into a tree! Smite, and smite swiftly in the name of Him who never sleeps, who keeps all promises, whose almighty hand is ready to preserve the Faithful! ‘WVhereunto ye are bidden to take courage. Whereunto our army of Syria stands ready. Where- unto the day has been appointed. “Know ye that the tenth day from the sending of this letter, and at dawn, is the appointed time. Therefore let all make common cause for the favor of the Most High which awaits the Faithful. “In the name of God and Mohammed the Prophet of God, on whom be blessings.” There followed the Moslem date and the numerical signature over Feisul’s indubi- table seal. Grim figured a moment and worked out the corresponding date accord- ing to our western calendar. “Leaves six days,” he said pleasantly. “It means the French intend to attack Damascus seven days from now.” “Let ’em!”’ Jeremy exploded. ‘‘Feisul’ll give ’°em ——! All they’ve got are Al- gerians.”’ “The French have poison-gas,” Grim an- swered dourly. ‘‘Feisul’s men have no masks.” ‘““Get ’em some!” That was Jeremy again. answer, but went on talking: “They’re going to get Damascus. Grim. didn’t All in Check 2I they’ve waited for was poison-gas, and now there’s no stopping ’em. They forged this letter after the gas arrived. Now if they catch Feisul in Damascus they’ll put him on trial for his life, and they probably hope to get this letter back somehow to use as evidence against him.” “Go slow, Jim!’ Mabel objected. “‘Where’s your proof that the French are jockeying this? Isn’t that Feisul’s seal?” “Yes, and it’s his paper. But not his handwriting.” “He might have dictated it, mightn’t he?” “Never in those words. Feisul don’t talk or write that way. The letter’s a manifest forgery, as I’ll prove by confronting Feisul with it. But there’s a little oversight that should convince you it’s a forgery. Have you a magnifying glass, doc?” Ticknor produced one in a minute, and Grim held the letter under the lamp. On the rather wide margin, carefully rubbed out, but not so carefully that the indenta- tion did not show, was the French word “‘magnifique’ that had been written with a rather heavy hand and one of those hard pencils supplied to colonial governments by exporters from stocks that can’t be sold at home. “That proves nothing,’ Mabel insisted. ‘All educated Arabs talk French. Some- body on Feisul’s staff was asked for an opinion on the letter before it went. My husband’s Arab orderly told me only yester- day that a sling I made for a man in the hospital was ‘magnifique.’ ”’ The objection was well enough taken, because it was the sort the forger of the letter would be likely to raise if brought to book. But Grim’s argument was not exhausted. “There are other points, Mabel. For one thing, it’s blue metallic ink. Feisul’s private letters are all written with indelible black stuff made from pellets that I gave him; they’re imported from the States.” “But if Feisul wanted to prove an alibi, he naturally wouldn’t use his special private ink,”’ objected Mabel. “Then why his seal, and his special pri- vate note-paper? However, there’s an- other point. “Feisul writes the purest kind of Arabic, and this isn’t that sort of Arabic. It was written by a foreigner—perhaps a French- man—possibly an Armenian—most likely a MICLOOOKS (C@