t sufficient for the purpose, but
forgot it, small boy fashion, ten minutes later, when he fell
asleep on the floor in a corner of Davey's room.

Davey did not look exactly pleased to see us, although he seemed
to like Grim personally, and was the first that day to see
through Grim's disguise at the first glance. Mrs. Davey, on the
other hand, was radiant with smiles--thrilled at the prospect of
learning secrets. She produced drinks and pushed the armchairs
up. When she learned who I was, her husband could hardly keep
her from putting on a costume too, to make a party of it.

Davey was reserved. He asked no questions. A gray-headed, gray-
eyed, stocky, sturdy-looking man, who had made impossibilities
come true on three continents, he waited for trouble to come to
him instead of seeking it. There was silence for several minutes
over the cigars and whiskey before Grim opened fire at last. He
talked straight out in front of Mrs. Davey, for she had mothered
Cosmopolitan Oil men in a hundred out-of-the-way places. She
knew more sacred secrets than the Sphinx.

"Any news about your oil concessions, Davey?"

"No. Not a word. We've got every prospect in the country marked
out. Nothing to do now but wait for the mandate, while the
Zionists go behind our backs to the Foreign Office and scheme for
the concessions. It's my belief the British mean to favor the
Zionists and put us in the ditch. The fact that we were first on
the ground, and lodged our applications with the Turks before the
war seems to make no difference in their lives."

"Well, old man, I've arranged for you to change your policy,"
said Grim.

"What in thunder do you mean?"

Mrs. Davey giggled with delight, but her husband
frowned ominously.

"I'm supposed to be Staff-Captain Ali Mirza of the
Shereefian army."

"I've heard of him. He's a bad one, Jim. He is one of those
Syrian Arabs who will accept any one's money, but who never stays
bought. Why masquerade as a scoundrel?"

"I was in a place just now with a bunch of murderers, who'd have
made short work of me if I couldn't give them a sound reason for
being in Jerusalem just now."

"Why not have 'em all arrested?"

"For the same reason, Davey, that your Oil Company isn't piping
ten thousand barrels a day from Jericho. The time is not yet.
Things haven't reached that stage. I told them your Oil Company
gave up hope long ago of getting a concession from the British,
and has decide