nd given with the
air of knowing all about it right from the beginning.

"There's nothing here that really matters outside the Zionist-
Arab problem. But that's a big one. People don't realize it--
even on the spot--but it's a world movement with ramifications
everywhere. All the other politics of the Near East hinge on it,
even when it doesn't appear so on the surface. You see, the Jews
have international affiliations through banks and commerce. They
have blood-relations everywhere. A ripple here may mean there's
a wave in Russia, or London, or New York. I've known at least
one Arab blood-feud over here that began with a quarrel between a
Jew and a Christian in Chicago."

"Are the Zionists as dangerous as the Arabs seem to think?" I asked.

"Yes and no. Depends what you call danger. They're like an
incoming tide. All you can do is accept the fact and ride on top
of it, move away in front of it, or go under. The Arabs want to
push it back with sword-blades. Can't be done!"

"Speaking as a mere onlooker, I feel sorry for the Arabs," I
said. "It has been their country for several hundred years.
They didn't even drive the Jews out of it; the Romans attended
to that, after the Assyrians and Babylonians had cleaned up
nine-tenths of the population. And at that, the Jews were
invaders themselves."

"Sure," Grim answered. "But you can't argue with tides. The
Arabs are sore, and nobody has any right to blame them. The
English betrayed the Arabs--I don't mean the fellows out here,
but the gang at the Foreign Office."

I glanced at his uniform. That was a strange statement coming
from a man who wore it. He understood, and laughed.

"Oh, the men out here all admit it. They're as sore as the Arabs
are themselves."

"Then you're on the wrong side, and you know it?" I suggested.

"The meat," he said, "is in the middle of the sandwich. In a
small way you might say I'm a doctor, staying on after a riot to
stitch up cuts. The quarrel was none of my making, although I
was in it and did what I could to help against the Turks. Like
everybody else who knows them, I admire the Turks and hate what
they stand for--hate their cruelty. I was with Lawrence across
the Jordan--went all the way to Damascus with him--saw the war
through to a finish--in case you choose to call it finished."

Vainly I tried to pin him down to personal reminiscences. He was
not interested in his own story.

"The British promised