, and handed it to me.

"Hide it. You've two separate and quite distinct tasks, each
more important and, in a way, dangerous than the other. The
principal danger is to me, not you. If they spot you, my
number's as good as hoisted from that minute. You mustn't kid
yourself you're safe for one second until the last card has
been played."

"Who are 'they'?"

"I'm coming to that. Your first job is to make it possible for
me to get the confidence of one or two of these conspirators.
You're a deaf-and-dumb man--stone deaf--with a message for staff-
captain Ali Mirza, which you will only deliver to him in person.
Suliman does the talking. You say nothing. You simply refuse to
hand your message over to any one but me. They'll appreciate why
a deaf and dumb man should be chosen for treasonable business.
But perhaps you're scared--maybe you'd rather reconsider it?
It's not too late."

I snorted.

"All right. These conspirators meet at Djemal's coffee shop on
David Street. They talk to one another in French, because the
proprietor and the other frequenters of the place only know
Arabic. You know French and Arabic enough to understand a
sentence here and there, so keep your ears wide open. I shan't
show up until a Sikh named Narayan Singh tells me that a certain
Noureddin Ali is in there. He's the bird I'm after. He's a
dirty little murderer, and I'm going to be right pleasant to him.

"You may have to sit in the place all day waiting for me; but
wait until after midnight if you must. Sooner or later Noureddin
Ali is bound to show up. I shall be hard after him. If they
offer you food, take it. Eat with your fingers. Eat like a pig.
Lick the plate, if you like. The nearer mad you seem to be, the
safer you are. After I get there, hang around until I give you
money. Then beat it."

"Where to? I can't go to my room at the hotel in this disguise."

"I've thought of that. You know Cosmopolitan Oil Davey, of
course? He lives at the hotel. I'll get word to him that he may
expect a messenger from me after dark tonight. He'll leave word
with the porter downstairs, who'll take you to Davey's room. You
can tell Davey absolutely anything. He's white."

"Well, I think I can execute that maneuver. What's task
number two?"

"To sit on the TNT! But one thing at a time is enough. Let's
attend to this one first. Ah! Here comes Templeton!"

"Damn you, Grim!" said a calm voice in the doorway. A tall,