Lawrence Of Arabia Page #3

to fight a modern, mechanized army.

In the...

Yes, lieutenant?

What do you think about Yenbo?

I think it is far

from Damascus.

We'll have you in Damascus, sir.

Never fear.

Have you been in Damascus,

Mr. Lawrence?

Yes, my lord.

It is beautiful, is it not?

-Very.

-That will do, Lawrence.

Dreaming won't get you to Damascus,

sir, but discipline will.

Look, sir, Great Britain is a small

country, it's much smaller than yours.

Small population

compared with some.

It's small, but it's great.

And why?

-Because it has guns.

-Because it has discipline.

Because it has a navy. Because of this,

the English go where they please

and strike where they please.

And this makes them great.

-Right.

-Mr. Lawrence, that will do!

Lieutenant Lawrence, sir,

is not your military adviser.

But I would like to hear

his opinion.

Damn it, Lawrence!

Who do you take your orders from?

From Lord Feisal,

in Feisal's tent.

Old fool! Why turn

from him to him?

They are master and man.

My lord, I think...

I think your book is right.

The desert is an ocean

in which no oar is dipped.

And on this ocean, the Bedu go where

they please and strike where they please.

This is the way

the Bedu has always fought.

You're famed throughout the world

for fighting in this way.

And this is the way

you should fight now.

I don't know.

I'm sorry, sir,

but you're wrong.

Fall back on Yenbo, sir, and

the Arab Rising becomes one

poor unit in the British army.

What is this to you?

Lawrence, do you know

you're a traitor?

No, no, colonel.

He is a young man,

and young men are passionate.

They must say their say.

But wiser people must decide.

I know you are right.

Very well, sir. When shall we move?

The sooner the better.

You'll lose another

You tread heavily...

but you speak the truth.

I will give you my answer tomorrow.

And now...

it is late.

Colonel Brighton means to put my men

under European officers, does he not?

In effect,

my lord, yes.

And I must do it,

because the Turks

have European guns.

But I fear to do it...

upon my soul I do.

The English have a great

hunger for desolate places.

I fear they hunger

for Arabia.

Then you must

deny it to them.

You are an Englishman.

Are you not loyal to England?

To England and

to other things.

To England and

Arabia both?

And is that possible?

I think you are another of these

desert-loving English.

Doughty, Stanhope,

Gordon of Khartoum.

No Arab loves the desert.

We love water and green trees.

There is nothing in the desert.

And no man needs nothing.

Or is it that you think we are

something you can play with,

because we are a little people,

a silly people,

greedy, barbarous

and cruel?

Or do you know, lieutenant,

in the Arab city of Cordoba

were two miles of public

lighting in the streets

when London was a village?

Yes, you were great.

Nine centuries ago.

Time to be great again,

my lord.

Which is why my father made

this war upon the Turks.

My father, Mr. Lawrence,

not the English.

But my father is old...

and I...

I long for the vanished

gardens of Cordoba.

However, before the gardens

must come the fighting.

To be great again, it seems

that we need the English,

or...

Or?

What no man can

provide, Mr. Lawrence.

We need a miracle.

Aqaba.

Aqaba.

From the land.

You are mad.

To come to Aqaba by land we should

have to cross the Nefud Desert.

That's right.

The Nefud cannot be crossed.

I'll cross it if you will.

You? It takes more than a compass,

Englishman.

The Nefud is the worst place

God created.

I can't answer for the place.

Only for myself.

Fifty men?

Fifty? Against Aqaba?

If 50 men came

out of the Nefud

they would be 50 men

other men might join.

The Howeitat

are there, I hear.

The Howeitat are brigands.

They'll sell themselves to anyone.

-Good fighters, though.

-Good...

Yes. There are

guns at Aqaba.

They face the sea, Sherif Ali,

and cannot be turned around.

From the landward side,

there are no guns at Aqaba.

With good reason. It cannot be

approached from the landward side.

Certainly the Turks

don't dream of it.

Aqaba's over there.

It's only a matter of going.

You are mad.

And where are you

going, lieutenant?

With 50 of my men.

To work your miracle.

Blasphemy is a bad beginning

for such a journey.

-Who told you?

-Ali did.

Why not you?

You are falling back

on Yenbo, sir?

Yes. Yes, I must.

But I will spare these to you.

Did Ali break

confidence to tell me?

Sherif Ali owes you

his allegiance, my lord.

Yet you did not tell

Colonel Brighton.

No.

Since you do know,

we can claim to ride

in the name of Feisal of Mecca.

Yes, Lieutenant Lawrence,

you may claim it.

But in whose name

do you ride?

Sherif, I caught them.

They have tracked us.

They were here.

I caught them.

Why are you here? Boy!

To serve Lord Aurens, sherif.

This is true, Aurens.

They do wish it.

You have been tracking us.

-You were told to stay.

-No, sherif.

Our camel strayed.

We followed her.

She led us here

to be Lord Aurens' servants.

-It is the will of Allah.

-Blasphemy.

Don't do that.

No, Aurens, these are not servants.

These are outcasts, parent-less.

Be warned.

They are not suitable.

They sound very suitable.

You can ride with the baggage.

These are not servants.

These are worshippers.

Aurens.

One shilling,

every week.

That is fair.

-Each.

-No.

-That is too much.

-All right.

They will be lucky for you.

Allah favours the compassionate.

There is the railway.

And that is the desert.

From here until the other side,

no water but what we carry.

For the camels, no water at all.

If the camels die...

we die.

And in 20 days

they will start to die.

There's no time to waste, then,

is there?

Hut!

I was thinking.

You were drifting.

Yes. It will not

happen again.

Be warned,

you were drifting.

It will not

happen again.

That water is wasted.

From now on,

we must travel by night

and rest while it is

too hot to travel.

A few hours each day.

Why don't we start now?

No. We will rest now.

Three hours.

Fine.

I'll wake you.

Do we rest here?

There is no rest now

short of water, Aurens.

The other side of that.

And how much

of that is there?

I'm not sure.

But however much, it must be crossed

before tomorrow's sun gets up.

This is the sun's anvil.

Have we done it?

No, but we're off the anvil.

Thank God for that anyway.

Yes, thank him.

Aurens, I do not think you know

how you have tempted him.

I know.

We've done it.

God willing.

When do we

reach the wells?

God willing,

midday.

-Then we've done it.

-Thank him, Aurens. Thank him.

Aurens.

Gasim's.

What's happened to him?

God knows.

Why don't you stop?

For what?

He will be dead by midday.

We must go back.

What for,

to die with Gasim?

In one hour

comes the sun.

In God's name, understand!

We cannot go back!

I can.

Take the boys.

If you go back, you

kill yourself, is all.

Gasim you have

killed already.

Get out of my way.

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