Led by the Rifs, with what would no doubt be termed Chinese volunteer fighters, it could even take on the aspect of the ancient Holy Wars of Moslem and Christian, stirring up a real kettle of undreamed-of problems.
The whole thing was fantastic in every aspect, fantastically wild and fantastically dangerous.
I could see now what El Ahmid had meant by history repeating itself.
He saw himself as a modern day Moslem conqueror with the Chinese as his helpers. But all the pieces were not in place. This kind of an operation took men, lots of men. How in hell were they getting here?
I looked at Marina, standing quietly, eyes riveted on the floor and then I gazed back at El Ahmid. I sighed casually, and grinned.
“A great story,” I said. “You almost had me believing you. But you’d need men for such an operation, lots of men, and you’d first need to get them here, unseen and unobserved and that you can’t do. Your whole story goes up in smoke right there.”
El Ahmid smiled again, that self-satisfied, smug smile embroidered with contemptuous disdain.
“At this very moment,” he said, “a huge camel caravan is nearing Oujda, the eastern end of the Taza Gap. The caravan, to anyone seeing it, belongs to a very wealthy slave trader, a dealer in women. There are over five hundred women, clothed in their
“And the women inside their
“Exactly,” he said. “Cargo ships at some twenty-five ports from Le Calle to Algiers discharged the men in small groups where arrangements were made to take them to an assembly spot in Sahara. There the caravan was made up and sent on its way. Five more such caravans are being made up and they will all arrive within the week. Of course, once the initial attack is made on Spanish soil, the need for such secretive moves will end. We have dedicated men ready to assassinate the King and major cabinet officers as soon as they hear of the fighting in Spain. All Morocco will be thrown into turmoil and I shall emerge as the leader.”
I closed my ears to the rest of El Ahmid’s rhetoric.
He was convinced he was a reincarnation of the old Moslem conquerors who swept into Europe. That really was unimportant. He was being used by the Chinese. They didn’t give a damn whether this wild scheme really succeeded in the final analysis.
Regardless of its eventual outcome it would create turmoil and havoc on a disastrous scale for the western powers and it would plunge them right into the middle of the Mediterranean basin. It would have a propaganda value of astronomic proportions on the many wavering and newly emerging nations.
The Russians, I knew, would be just as unhappy to see the Chinese Reds pop up smack in the middle of the North African-Southern European area. They had long ago decided that if there were to be Communist uprisings in any region they wanted it to be their brand, not that of the Chinese Reds.
I thought of what a shot-in-the-arm this stunt would give to the Red groups in Spain, Portugal and even France. The more I looked at this scheme, the more I realized that it could trigger repercussions all over the world.
El Ahmid had shut up, and I brought my attention back to him. He had gone over to Marina and reached put to touch one breast.
She shrank back and ran over to me.
“Such rare beauty,” El Ahmid murmured as he gazed at Marina who tried to hide her naked breasts against me.
I pulled away from her.
“You’re backing a loser,” I said to her. “I can’t help you now, baby. He can. He holds all the cards.”
“An attack of rare common sense,” El Ahmid said.
I callously ignored the shocked disbelief I saw in Marina’s eyes and let my glance move casually to the Berber girl, standing to one side.
Her jaw was set grimly though she put on a seductive smile as she went over to El Ahmid and whispered something to him.
He spoke sharply to her in
I saw anger flash in her eyes, and she snapped something back at him.
His answer was a sudden, whirling backhand blow that sent her sprawling on the floor. Before she could rise he was beside her and I saw his foot slam into her belly.
She gasped and lay on the floor.
“You do not tell El Ahmid what to do,” he snarled at her.
The girl kept her head down as she fought to get her breath but I saw her eyes find Marina and there was hatred in them. She was reacting perfectly.
I could almost see the thoughts whirling around in her head. I’d give her one more push. I turned to Marina.
“Better be nice to him, baby,” I said.
I put my hand on the small of her back and gave her a little push in Ahmid’s direction.
“Get smart,” I continued. “Play your cards right, and you’ll come out all right.”
Marina’s eyes were deep pools of angry pain.
