"Three more than he promised. Ben Hamza is the most honest thief
and dependable liar in Palestine--a cheerful murderer who sticks
closer than a brother. I saved him once from being hung, because
he smiles so nicely. Any more news?"

"I expect none that you don't know. There's a sheikh named Abdul
Ali from Damascus, preaching a raid into Palestine."

Grim nodded.

"I'm here to bag that bird."

"Where do I come in?" I asked.

"You are the plausible excuse, that's all. Thanks to you old
Anazeh got into El-Kerak with twenty men. Two might not have
been enough, even with ben Hamza and his nine."

"Then our host ben Nazir is in on your game?"

"Not he! Up at headquarters in Jerusalem we knew all about this
coming conference. These folk are ready to explode. The only
way to stop it is to pull the plug--The plug is Abdul Ali. We
knew we could count on old Anazeh. But the puzzle was how to get
him and his men into El-Kerak. When you told me ben Nazir had
invited you, I saw the way to do it. There wasn't anybody else
except Anazeh that ben Nazir could have sent to fetch you, and
the old boy is a dependable friend of ours."

"That did not stop him from raiding two villages on the British