none too bright anywhere. The troops released
from Gallipoli wanted a lot of refitment, and would be slow in reaching
the Transcaucasian frontier, where the Russians were threatening. The
Army of Syria was pretty nearly a rabble under the lunatic Djemal.
There wasn't the foggiest chance of a serious invasion of Egypt being
undertaken. Only in Mesopotamia did things look fairly cheerful, owing
to the blunders of British strategy. 'And you may take it from me,' he
said, 'that if the old Turk mobilized a total of a million men, he has
lost 40 per cent of them already. And if I'm anything of a prophet
he's going pretty soon to lose more.'

He tore up the papers and enlarged on politics. 'I reckon I've got the
measure of the Young Turks and their precious Committee. Those boys
aren't any good. Enver's bright enough, and for sure he's got sand.
He'll stick out a fight like a Vermont game-chicken, but he lacks the
larger vision, Sir. He doesn't understand the intricacies of the job
no more than a sucking-child, so the Germans play with him, till his
temper goes and he bucks like a mule. Talaat is a sulky dog who wants
to batter mankind with a club. Both these boys would have made good
cow-punchers in the old days, and they might have got a living out West
as the gun-men of a Labour Union. They're about the class of Jesse
James or Bill the Kid, excepting that they're college-reared and can
patter languages. But they haven't the organizing power to manage the
Irish vote in a ward election. Their one notion is to get busy with
their firearms, and people are getting tired of the Black Hand stunt.
Their hold on the country is just the hold that a man with a Browning
has over a crowd with walking-sticks. The cooler heads in the
Committee are growing shy of them, and an old fox like David is lying
low till his time comes. Now it doesn't want arguing that a gang of
that kind has got to hang close together or they may hang separately.
They've got no grip on the ordinary Turk, barring the fact that they
are active and he is sleepy, and that they've got their guns loaded.'

'What about the Germans here?' I asked.

Blenkiron laughed. 'It is no sort of a happy family. But the Young
Turks know that without the German boost they'll be strung up like
Haman, and the Germans can't afford to neglect an ally. Consider what
would happen if Turkey got sick of the game and made a separate peace.
The road would be open for Russia t