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Updated: June 13, 2025
Then we came down to the plains for a little vengeance, leaving the Arabs for our wives to guard. They are women of spirit, the Zeitoonli wives! "Word reached Zeitoon presently that we were being hard pressed on the plains. It was told to the Zeitoonli wives that they might arrange to have pursuit called off from us by surrendering those Arab prisoners. They answered that Zeitoon-fashion. How?
"Probably Kagig 'ud skin them if they turned up without us," remarked Will. There was something in that theory, for we learned later what Kagig's ferocity could be when driven hard enough. But from first to last those men of Zeitoon never showed a symptom of treachery, although their resentment at having to turn their backs toward home appeared to deepen hourly.
Then you dance then I dance to-night you understan'? If I sing better as you sing an' if I dance better as you dance then I throw you over Zeitoon bridge, an' no one interfere! But if you sing better as I sing an' if you dance better as I dance then you shall make a servant of me; for I know you will be too big fool an' too chicken 'earted to keel me, as I would keel you! You understan'?"
Through the glasses I could see artillery and supply wagons. They were coming to make a thorough job of "rescuing" Zeitoon this time! After a while I was able to make out the dark irregular line of Kagig's men, and here and there the lighter color of freshly dug entrenchments.
"What else?" demanded Will, purposely incredulous. "Beyond Zeitoon to north and west are cave-dwellers. Mountains so hollowed out that only a shell remains, a sponge a honeycomb! No man knows how far those tunnels run! The Turks have attempted now and then to smoke out the inhabitants. They were laughed at! One mountain is connected with another, and the tunnels run for miles and miles!"
A Turk of the guide class would likely have knelt and placed a foot of each of us on his neck in turn as soon as he knew we had engaged him. This Armenian seemed made of other stuff. "Then be on hand to-morrow morning," ordered Monty. But the Eye of Zeitoon had another surprise for us. "I shall meet you on the road," he announced with an air of a social equal.
But there were numbers of both men and women unexpectedly capable of extremes of heroism, who took the burden of misery upon themselves and exhibited high spirits based on no evident excuse. Nothing could overwhelm those, nothing discourage them. "To Zeitoon!" somebody shouted, as if that were the very war-cry of the saints of God.
Our Armenian servants ran to the door, and in a minute returned to say that fifty mounted men from Zeitoon were drawn up outside. Kagig gave a curt laugh and strode across to us. "I said you Eenglis sportmen should see good sport." Monty nodded, with a hand held out behind him to warn us to keep still. "I said you shall shoot many pigs!" "Lead on, then." "Turks are pigs!" Monty dd not answer.
"I know that. But how should they know it?" I knew that be nodded again by the motion of the glowing tobacco in his pipe. It glowed suddenly bright, as a new idea dawned on him. He was an honest fellow, and did not conceal the thought. "Kagig would not send me back to you," he said. "He is short of men at Zeitoon."
I could see now that he was deathly tired. "He is in Zeitoon," he answered. Noises from outside began then to assert themselves in demonstration that the village was awake at last also that the population had swollen while we slept. I could hear the restless movement of more than twice the number of horses we had had with us.
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