Swords of Arabia: Betrayal (27 page)

Nasir
nodded,
his
handsome
features
turning
grim
as
he
recalled
the
chaos
and
indiscipline
of
that
night.
One
of
the
few
who
had
borne
themselves
with
both
discipline
and
courage
was
the
young
officer
standing
by
his
side.
After
a
moment,
he
said
unexpectedly.
“I
would
not
be
offended
if
we
did
talk
with
honesty,
Kerim.
You
have
an
entire
empire
in
which
to
bury
any
mistakes
of
policy.
We
in
Narash
have
very
little
such
space,
so
it
is
a
decision
we
must
take
with
great
care!”

Kerim
nodded,
relieved
that
they
could
talk,
and
talk
openly.
“So
there
is
a
decision
to
be
made?
You
may
actually
leave
your
alliance
with
us
and
be
neutral
or
indeed,
join
the
British
side?”
he
asked,
hiding
his
surprise,
which
in
truth
was
very
little.
Many
of
their
once
solid
alliances
were
now
crumbling,
and
often,
as
now,
with
the
fault
lying
with
his
own
country.

“It
is
certainly
being
considered,”
acknowledged
Nasir.
“Badr
is
still
very
strong
in
wanting
our
alliance
to
be
renewed,
even
extended.
Others
are
less
so.”

“And
you,
yourself?”
Kerim
asked
after
a
moment.

“I
do
not
know,
to
be
honest.
And
yes,
al
Hofuf
and
your
force’s
rout
there
is
very
much
in
my
mind,
as
I
ponder
what
we
should
do
next.”

“As
it
should
be,”
the
young
officer
conceded.
“But,
as
was
made
clear
yesterday,
you
are
also
aware
that
we
are
now
revenging
our
years
of
weakness
not
too
far
to
the
north
of
here,”
Kerim
replied
quietly.

Nasir
nodded,
smiling
slightly
as
he
recalled
the
surprise
on
the
faces
of
the
delegation
when
Badr
had
shown
how
up-to-date
their
own
knowledge
was
of
how
affairs
were
going
in
the
region.
“One
thing
which
will
influence
our
decision,”
he
replied
seriously,
“is
how
sure
we
can
be
of
receiving
Ottoman
support.
The
waters
of
the
Gulf
are
all
but
closed
to
you,
the
British
warships
make
certain
of
that.
If
your
lines
of
communications
across
the
deserts
are
broken,
we
could
end
up
isolated
and
fighting
both
the
British
and
ibn
Saud.
Not
something
that
we
would
welcome!”

“The
Rashid
are
still
strongly
with
us
and
should
our
own
sphere
of
direct
influence
cease
or
come
under
threat,
any
support
you
need
would
be
safely
channelled
via
Hail,
their
capital.”
Kerim
responded.
“Such
a
situation
doesn’t
seem
likely
at
present,
however.
Besides
heavily
defeating
the
Allies
at
Gallipoli,
we
shall
soon
force
the
surrender
of
one
of
their
armies
at
Kut
al
Amara,
as
has
long
been
expected.
They’re
surrounded
and
useless
militarily,
and
it’s
clear
that
they
have
no
real
choice
but
to
throw
down
their
weapons
and
concede
defeat.”

“Yes,”
Nasir
responded.
“And
their
surrender
will
be
a
great
coup
for
your
forces,
but
it
will
be
one
that
gives
us
another
problem,”
he
added.
Seeing
the
enquiring
look
on
his
friend’s
face,
Nasir
looked
directly
at
him
as
he
continued.
“It
will
give
you
many
spare
troops
to
ride
against
us,
should
we
choose
the
British,”
he
added
bluntly.

Kerim,
appreciating
Nasir’s
unusual
frankness,
responded
in
kind.
“Indeed,
and
if
not
us,
we
could
launch
the
Rashid
against
you.
Your
friends
they
may
be
at
the
moment,
but
give
them
the
chance
to
extend
their
lands
and
gain
access
to
the
Gulf
waters,
I
doubt
they
would
need
much
encouragement
or,
indeed,
gold,
to
attack
you!”

Nasir
nodded
grimly.
“As
they
attacked
Kuwait
a
dozen
or
more
years
ago.
Believe
me,
we
are
well
aware
of
the
possible
limits
to
our
friendship
with
them!
And,
of
course,
should
the
British
feel
aggrieved
enough,
or
decide
that
we
have
sufficient
importance
to
them,
they
could
even
more
easily
attack
us
either
from
the
Gulf
or
overland
from
Kuwait.
We
would
be
hard-pressed
to
fight
them
off
on
our
own,”
he
added,
again
frankly.
“And
if
the
Rashid
were
in
one
of
their
seemingly
never-ending
internal
disputes,
that
is
what
we
would
be.”