AFFAIR IN ARABY

by Talbot Mundy



CHAPTER I

"I'll make one to give this Feisul boy a hoist"


Whoever invented chess understood the world's works as some men know
clocks and watches. He recognized a fact and based a game on it, with
the result that his game endures. And what he clearly recognized was
this: That no king matters much as long as your side is playing a
winning game. You can leave your king in his corner then to amuse
himself in dignified unimportance. But the minute you begin to lose,
your king becomes a source of anxiety.

In what is called real life (which is only a great game, although a
mighty good one) it makes no difference what you call your king. Call
him Pope if you want to, or President, or Chairman. He grows in
importance in proportion as the other side develops the attack. You've
got to keep your symbol of authority protected or you lose.

Nevertheless, your game is not lost as long as your king can move.
That's why the men who want to hurry up and start a new political era
imprison kings and cut their heads off. With no head on his shoulders
your king can only move in the direction of the cemetery, which is over
the line and doesn't count.