ing inch by inch above the hills and ushering
in silence. We could hear one muezzin in Jerusalem wailing that
God is God.

"That over yonder is savage country," Grim remarked. "I think
maybe you'll like it. Time to go now."

He said nothing more until we were scooting downhill in the car
in the midst of a cloud of dust.

"You won't see me again," he said then, "until you get to El-
Kerak. There are just one or two points to bear in mind. D'you
care if I lecture?"

"I wish you would."

"When the messenger comes from ben Nasir, go to the Governorate,
just outside the Damascus Gate, phone OETA, say who you are, and
ask for the car. Travel light. The less you take with you, the
less temptation there'll be to steal and that much less danger
for your escort. I always take nothing, and get shaved by a
murderer at the nearest village. If you wash too much, or change
your shirt too often, they suspect you of putting on airs. Can't
travel too light. Use the car as far as Jericho, or thereabouts,
and send it back when the messenger says he's through with it.
After that, do whatever the leader of the escort tells you, and
you'll be all right."

"How do I cross the Dead Sea?"

"That's ben Nasir's business. There's another point I'll ask you
to bear in mind. When you see me at El-Kerak, be sure not to
make the slightest sign of recognition, unless and until you
get word from me. Act as if you'd never seen me in your
life before."

I felt like an arch-conspirator, and there is no other sensation
half so thrilling. The flattery of being let in, as it were,
through a secret door was like strong wine.

"Is your memory good?" Grim asked me. "If you make notes, be
sure you let everybody see them; you'll find more than one of
them can read English. If you should see or overhear anything
that you'd particularly like to remember because it might prove
useful to me, note it down by making faint dots under the letters
of words you've already written; or--better yet--take along a
pocket Bible; they're all religious and respect the Bible. Make
faint pencil lines underneath words or letters, and they'll think
you're more than extra devout. There's nothing special to watch
out for; just keep your ears and eyes open. Well, here's your
hotel. See you again soon. So long."

I got out of the car and went to get ready for a Christian dinner
served by Moslems, feeling like a person out of the Arabian
Nights, who