Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 59).djvu/267

 "THE UNCROWNED could handle "Lawrence's devils," as they were called. On one occasion he returned from Egypt anxious to start immediately on a secret expedition into the "blue." As usual, he found his men in the lock-up, and among them two of his most daring followers, Ferraj and Daoud. When he sent for Sheikh Yussef, the civil governor of Akaba, and asked what had happened, Yussef laughed and then he cursed and then he laughed again. 565645 PRZ I had a beautiful white camel," said he, "and one night she strayed away. The next morning, hearing a great commotion. in the street, I rushed out and found every- one in the Bazaar district laughing uproar- iously at a camel whose legs had been dyed blue with indigo and whose head had been coloured red with henna. I recognized it as mine. Your varlets, Ferraj and Daoud, were found at the beach washing red and blue dye from their arms. Of course, they denied all knowledge of the affair." It took nearly three months for the dye to wear off, before Yussef could use this camel again.. Occasionally Lawrence would take some of the members of his bodyguard to Cairo or to Allenby's headquarters in Palestine. They invariably paraded around bristling with pistols and daggers, causing much excitement and uneasiness wherever they went. On one occasion Abdullah visited General Headquarters near Ramleh with his master. While Lawrence was in con- ference with Allenby, Abdullal "went off on his own" to have a look round. Six hours passed and he failed to return. Then LAWRENCE'S ARABS ON THE MARCH. EVERY SOLDIER IN THE ARABIAN ARMY WAS PAID WITH BRITISH GOLD. THIS THEY SPENT ON BEAUTIFUL CLOTHING AND ON SCENT, WHICH THEY POURED OVER THEMSELVES BY THE BOTTLEFUL. ON THE TREK THEY BOUNCED ALONG BEHIND LAWRENCE LIKE AN ORIENTAL FLOWER GARDEN. Digitized by KING OF ARABIA." Lawrence received a telephone message from the A.P.M. stating that he had arrested the fiery little Arab because he looked as though he might be prowling around waiting for a chance to take a pot-shot at the "C.-in-C." The A.P.M. said that Abdullah had explained through an interpreter that he was one of "Sidi" Lawrence's "sons," and had demanded an apology for having been arrested. He declined to accept any ordinary apology, and insisted that it must be made in a special ceremonial way. "In the meantime," added Google 259 the A.P.M., with a wail, "he sits here eating up all our oranges! We wish you would call him off!" Eventually Lawrence had to make special arrangements with General Allenby so that his gorgeously-robed brigands could carry their weapons in Cairo and Jerusalem without fear of arrest or bloodshed. They were, indeed, a comic-opera crew, and nearly all of them used a kohl (antimony) stick under their eyes to darken them and rouge on their, lips. I also noticed that they were very fond of scent. They poured whole bottles of it on their clothing, and were as fragrant as the ladies of a harem. Cairo they spent most of their time flirting with the veiled Egyptian beauties and buying richly-brocaded robes. In It was a familiar saying among the mem- bers of Lawrence's bodyguard that they might as well spend their gold on clothes and having a good time, because they-were likely to be killed any day. Their blond English leader was constantly sending them on dangerous missions, and there were far more casualties among them than among the other organizations of the Arab army. Original from CORNELL UNIVERSITY