Do you want them to pretend to ?" "Allah forbid!" "Then take a friend's advice, O Ali Higg, and keep the peace here rather than make war." "That is good advice; but will the British make a treaty with me ?" "No," Grim answered, smiling.

"By that they would recognize you as a ruler, which they will not do until they surely know you rule." _"Mashallah!_ How shall men know that I am a ruler unless I make war and enforce my will ?" "Have I made war on you ?" asked Grim.

"Have I disarmed you, or killed one man?
Yet I enforce my will, as you shall see." "By a trick! You played a trick on me, or otherwise--" "There is a trick to ruling," answered Grim.
"By the beard of the Prophet, that is true! But show me a trick that can defeat eight hundred men.

The Sheikh of Abu Lissan plans to come against me.

Those El-Mann dogs had heard of it, and so had the Beni Aroun; therefore I planned to crush them first before dealing with Abu Lissan.