Adventure Magazine Cover — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

22 Turk—certainly one of the outer ring of politicians who have access to Feisul and seek to control him, but are not really in his confidence. Damascus is simply a network of spies of that kind—men who attached themselves to the Arab cause when it looked like winning and are now busy transferring their allegiance. “I think I could name the man who wrote this; I think I know the man who wrote that ‘magnifique. If I’m right, Yussuf Dakmar will notify the French tonight through their agents in Jerusalem. The man who wrote that ‘magnifique’ will know before morning that the letter’s missing; and it doesn’t matter how careful I may be, itll be known as soon as [I start for_ Damascus. “‘They’ll dope out that our obvious course would be to confront Feisul with this letter. The only way to travel is by train; the roads are rotten—in fact, no auto could get through; they’d tip off the Bedouins, who’d murder everybody. “So they’ll watch the trains and espe- cially Haifa, where every one going north has to spend the night; and they’ll stop at nothing to get the letter back, for two reasons; as long as it’s in our hands it can be used to establish proof of the plot against Feisul; once it’s back in theirs, they can keep it in their secret dossier to use against Feisul if they ever catch him and bring him to trail. You remember the Dreyfus case? “T shall start for Damascus by the early train—probably take an auto as far as Ludd. If I want to live until I reach Damascus I shall have to prove conclusively that I haven’t that letter with me. Any one known to be in British service is going to be sus- pected and, if not murdered, robbed. Ramsden has been seen about too much with me. Jeremy might juggle by but he’s already notorious, and these people are shrewd. Better hold Jeremy in reserve, and the same with Narayan Singh. A woman’s best. How about you, Mabel?” “What d’you mean, Jim?” “Do you know a woman in Haifa?” “Of course I do.” “Well enough to expect a bed for the night at a moment’s notice?” “Certainly.” Mabel’s eyes were growing very bright indeed. It was her husband who looked alarmed. = ‘Well now, here’s the point.” Adventure Grim leaned back in his chair and lit a cigaret, not looking at anybody, stating his case impersonally, as it were, which is much the shrewdest way of being personal. “Feisul’s up against it, and he’s the best man in all this land, bar none. They’ve dealt to him from a cold deck, and he’s bound to lose this hand whichever way he plays it. To put it differently, he’s in check, but not checkmated. He'll be checkmated, though, if the French ever lay hands on him, and then good-by to the Arabs’ chance for twenty years. “T propose to save him for another effort, and the only way to do that is to convince him. The best way to convince him is to show him that letter, which can’t be done if Feisul’s enemies discover who carries it. If’ Ramsden, Jeremy, Narayan Singh and I start for Damascus, pretending that one or other of us has the letter concealed on his person, and if a woman really carries it, we'll manage. Is Mabel Ticknor going to be the woman? That’s the point.” “Too dangerous, Jim! Too dangerous!” Ticknor put in nervously. ‘“‘Pardon me, old man. The danger is for us four, who pretend we’ve got the thing.” ‘‘There are lots of other women, and I’ve only got one wife!” objected Ticknor. ‘“‘We’re pressed for time,” Grim answered. “You see, Ticknor old man, you’re a Corn- stalk and therefore an outsider—just a medico, who saws bones for a living, satisfied to keep your body out of the poorhouse, your soul out of hell, and your name out of the newspapers. Your wife is presumably more so. There are several officials’ wives who would jump at the chance to be useful; but a sudden trip toward Damascus just now would cause any one of them to be suspected, whereas Mabel wouldn’t be.” “T don’t know why not!” Ticknor re- torted. ‘‘Wasn’t she in here when those three murderers came to finish the lot of us? If Yussuf Dakmar makes any report at all he'll surely say he braces the letter to this house.” “Vussuf Dakmar came no nearer than the street,’ Grim answered. ‘‘He has no notion who is in here. His three friends are in jail under lock and key, where he can’t get at them. How long have you had this house? Since yesterday, isn’t it? D’you kid yourself that Yussuf Dakmar knows who lives here?”’ “I can get leave of absence. Suppose I COMmMiCoooks Cc C©