The Haj - Leon Uris [96]
Kabir lowered his voice to his most confidential tone, a shade above a whisper. ‘Kaukji will cross the border soon with twenty to thirty thousand men. They will be led by regular officers of the Syrian and Egyptian armies. He will have airplanes.’
‘Airplanes? But who will fly them?’
‘Moslem pilots from India. He will have tanks, artillery, heavy machine guns, flamethrowers. The Arab Army of Liberation is loaded to here,’ he said, withdrawing his hands and pointing to his teeth. ‘Kaukji wants Tabah badly. You know why.’
‘But ... but ... but I had nothing to do with the burning of the fields. I am only the poor brother.’
‘For certain you are innocent and Field Marshal Kaukji owes me many favors. He will go as hard or as softly as I tell him.’
‘I was against the burning of the fields. It was a tactic of horror—brutal, inhumane. But you must remember, I only keep the village store.’
‘The generalissimo is aware of that. I have told him so.’
‘Thank you, Effendi. Thank you. May Allah insure your every step. May you live a thousand lifetimes in paradise.’
‘Farouk, my brother. I must tell you something else of a very confidential nature. I asked your brother to come to Damascus to coordinate a plan of action with Abdul Kadar and General Kaukji. Haj Ibrahim told us that there was no way Tabah could defend itself. He demanded the right to evacuate Tabah and all the other villages around.’
‘You are destroying me with pain,’ Farouk moaned.
‘No no, my brother. Listen. I do not wish to see Tabah fall, Allah forbid, to the Jews. As I said, Kaukji will do my bidding. I have a plan in mind.’
‘Yes?’
‘I have told you I have spoken to Kaukji about you. He assures me that you will be spared. You will be given advance warning if he is to attack.’
‘But if Tabah is evacuated?’
‘That is the point I am coming to. You will remain in Tabah when the others evacuate.’
‘Me? Remain? But how can I do that? Haj Ibrahim will be very suspicious.’
‘You will convince your brother that someone must remain in Tabah in order to establish future claims to the land. When he leaves, you and ten or twenty families must stay behind.’
‘But Haj Ibrahim is the muktar. He is the leader. If anyone is to remain in Tabah, he will be the one to take that responsibility.’
‘No. He must lead the flock. You know that he will not entrust anyone else to take the people to Gaza or Syria or wherever they will go. You will volunteer to remain.’
‘All right,’ Farouk said, ‘I would be safe from Kaukji, but what, Allah help us, if the Jews capture Tabah?’
‘So the Jews enter Tabah. Put up white flags and do not fight. If someone remains in the village, the Jews will not force you out. That is their weakness. Even if the Jews, Allah forbid, do capture Tabah, they will respect your presence. But let us look beyond. The Jews have taken Tabah. Not a great tragedy because in May of next year the regular Arab armies will liberate it. And when they do....’ Kabir handed a bank deposit book to Farouk. ‘Barclay’s Bank. Barclay’s will be in Palestine, no matter who is in Tabah. I have deposited four hundred pounds in your name.’
‘Four hundred pounds! But when the Arab armies liberate Tabah, Haj Ibrahim will return.’
‘I think not,’ Kabir said ominously.
Farouk paled. The passbook shook in his hand.
‘You have barked on all fours as your brother’s dog for long enough. You are the older, the wiser, the one who reads and writes, the one who keeps the village records, the one who is the spiritual leader. Ibrahim robbed you of your rightful place as muktar and he has lived like a prince from lands that should have been yours. This is the moment you no longer have to lick his feet and call him master. All you have to do is convince your brother you should stay behind with a few families.’
Kabir then applied the clincher. ‘After the war, I am laying claim to all the lands the Jews stole from me. That includes Shemesh Kibbutz. One third of their land will be turned over to you personally.’
‘One third of Shemesh Kibbutz!’
‘One third.’
‘If Haj Ibrahim