The sun., 1919-07-27
COL aSgILNWREMGE.n y02UHS SEE3RPe, Sc 4Sa
ARABIAN KINGDOM.
Story of Theodore" a Born Con-
spirator Who Aided British Pris-
oners and Barely Escaped Hang
ing, Rivals Melodrama

vice of their leader, then charged the
citadel that stood outside the walls.
The Turks had several guns within
the citadel and these poured out a
raking fire. The Bedouins. who had
never before experienced artillery fire,
swerved aside and took refuge in the
gardens. Thereupon the Turkish
leader despatched an enveloping force
to destroy them.
F'eisul saw their grave danger and
brought the rest of his Arabs to the
rescue. He halted his horse on the
fringe of an area which the Turks
were spraying with shrapnel and called
to the Bedouins in the gardens to come
across and join him. They refused.
protesting that It was death to ride
over the shellswept plain. Feisul
laughed, and forced his horse at
walk through the shrapnel until, un-
hurt and still laughing. he reached
the gardens. Turning round, he waved
to the Arabs behind him; and at wild
gallop they followed him back across
the plain. reaching safety with loss
Of only twenty men.
Feisul and ALI had insufficient food
and ammunition to continue the hos
ehitAcS at htullld, 50 lIldt IOT the mo-
ment they were forced to be content
with raids on the Turkish lines Of CON-
munication. Medina, indeed, remained
uncaptured and cut Off from the world
until weeks after the armistice, be-
cause the Arabs fear of injuring the
Tom bof Mohammed made them re-
fratn from a direct attack on the city
The British, through their fleet in
the Red Sea, began to supply the
HedJaz Arabs with arms and NUM-
tons and food. Their most vital help,
however, was in the person of young
officer named Lieut.. Lawrence Gas he
then was) loaned to the Grand Shereef
OF Mecca as political adviser. His re-
lations with the Arabs already ex-
tended over several years to the time
when, as an undergraduate, he wan
dered alone over the widest parts of
Syria and Arabia, was nearly killed
on several occasions, but ended by be-
coming an intimate friend of various
Arab sheikhs. Now, speaking four or
five Arabic dialects fluently and with
an unrivalled knowledge of Arab men,
tality, he was the ideal man for the.
task given him.
Arabs Organize an Army.
Under Lawrence's guidance the
Shereef of Mecca and his sons collected
recruits and raised a regular army
under the Arab flag. Volunteer re-
cruits made their way to the Hedjaz
through many dangers and hardships
from all parts of Syria, Palestine and
Mesopotamia. They included many
deserters from the Turkish forces.
Officer material was provided by the
educated Arabs from Damascus
Aleppo. Jerusalem and other towns
lawyers, newspaper editors and stu
dents-who, seeing in Hussein's revolt
the fulfilment of their dream OF free
dom from Turkish tyranny, fiocked to
the standard of the Prophets descend
ant.
The Turks sent into Arabia a force
which threatened to overwhelm the
Arabs, still insuf1ciently organized to
offer scientific resistance. Feisul and
his brothers, therefore, adopted the plan
of making the Turkish avance impos-
sible by constant marrying of the lines,
of communication. Small bands of
Bedouins would dash in from the desert
to the railway or the main road, kill
every Turkish soldier they found, cap
ture supplies and escape on their
camels before the block house garri-
sons could turn out in defence. Be
cause OF water difficulties these raidine
bands never numbered more than
fifteen men, condition of whose en-
rolment was that they must leap into
the camel saddle at trot with o1e
hand while carrying a rifle with tha
other.
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