Lawrence Of Arabia Page #4

Gasim's time is come,

Aurens. It is written.

Nothing is written!

Go back, then!

What did you bring us here for

with your blasphemous conceit?

Eh? English blasphemer!

Aqaba?

Was it Aqaba?

You will not be

at Aqaba, English!

Go back, blasphemer,

but you will not

be at Aqaba.

I shall be at Aqaba.

That is written.

In here.

English!

English!

Aurens!

Aye-aye-aye-aye-aye-aye!

Daud!

Aurens! Daud!

Daud! Daud!

Farraj!

Daud.

Aurens.

Nothing is written.

Aurens.

Aurens.

El Aurens.

Farraj.

Wash.

Farraj.

El Aurens.

Truly, for some men nothing is

written unless they write it.

Not El Aurens.

Just Lawrence.

-El Aurens is better.

-True.

Your father too,

just Mr. Lawrence?

My father is Sir

Thomas Chapman.

-Is that a lord?

-A kind of lord.

Then when he dies,

you too will be a lord.

No.

Ah.

You have an elder brother.

No.

But then, I do not

understand this.

-Your father's name is Chapman.

-Ali.

He didn't marry my mother.

I see.

I'm sorry.

It seems to me that you are free

to choose your own name, then.

Yes, I suppose I am.

El Aurens is best.

All right, I'll settle

for El Aurens.

They are the robes of a

sherif of the Beni Wejh.

Very fine.

-Great honour.

-The honour is to us. Salaam, sherif.

-Is it permitted?

-Surely.

-Salaam.

-Salaam.

He for whom nothing is written may

write himself a clan. Salaam.

-Salaam.

-Salaam.

They are good

for riding. Try.

What are you doing,

Englishman?

As you see.

Are you alone?

Almost.

Are you with that party of dogs

who are drinking at my well?

Yours?

I am Auda Abu Tayi.

I've heard of another

man of that name.

Other? What other?

The Auda I'd heard of wouldn't need

to summon help to look after his wells.

He must be a great hero.

He is.

He wouldn't refuse water to men coming

out of the great Nefud Desert.

Now, would he not?

Hm.

No, that must be some other man.

Here is my help.

Son, what

fashion is this?

-Harith, Father.

-What manner of Harith?

A Beni Wejh sherif.

And is he Harith?

No, Father, English.

Son,

they are stealing

our water.

Tell them we are coming.

-Tell them.

-Ha!

-Empty that!

-Do not!

It is Auda of the Howeitat

who speaks.

It is Ali of the Harith

who answers.

Harith.

Ali.

Does your father

still steal?

No.

Does Auda take me

for one of his own bastards?

No. There is no

resemblance.

Alas, you resemble

your father.

-Auda flatters me.

-You are easily flattered.

I knew your father well.

Did you know your own?

Auda!

We are 50, you are two.

How if we shot you down?

Why, then you have a blood

feud with the Howeitat.

-Do you desire it?

-Not the generals in Cairo,

nor the sultan

himself desire that.

Call off your men.

No, no, boy.

This honours

the unworthy.

I've only just begun

to teach him.

And what are you teaching him

today? Howeitat hospitality?

Be not clever

with me, English.

-Who is he?

-A friend of Prince Feisal's.

Oh.

-So you desire my hospitality?

-Yes.

Is he your tongue?

We do desire it.

Then it is given,

if you will take it.

I'm at my summer camp,

a poor place.

Well, to me it seems a poor place.

Some men find it marvellous.

Tomorrow, maybe I will allow the Turks

to buy you, friends of Feisal.

But,

dine with me.

Dine with Auda, English.

Dine with the Howeitat, Harith.

It is my pleasure that you dine

with me in Wadi Rumm!

This thing you work

against Aqaba,

what profit do you

hope from it?

We work it for

Feisal of Mecca.

The Harith do not

work for profit.

Well, if it is in a man to be

a servant, Sherif Ali,

he could find worse

masters than Feisal.

But I...

I cannot serve.

You permit the Turks

to stay in Aqaba.

Yes, it is my pleasure.

We do not work this thing

for Feisal.

No?

-For the English, then?

-For the Arabs.

The Arabs?

The Howeitat, Ageyil, Ruala,

Beni Sahkr, these I know.

I have even heard

of the Harith.

But the Arabs?

What tribe is that?

They're a tribe of slaves.

They serve the Turks.

Well, they are

nothing to me.

My tribe is

the Howeitat.

Who work only

for profit.

Who work at

Auda's pleasure.

And Auda's pleasure

is to serve the Turks.

Serve?

I serve?

It is the servant

who takes money.

I am Auda Abu Tayi.

-Does Auda serve?

-No!

-Does Auda Abu Tayi serve?

-No!

I carry 23 great wounds,

all got in battle.

Seventy-five men have I killed

with my own hands, in battle.

I scatter, I burn my enemies' tents.

I take away their flocks and herds.

The Turks pay me a golden

treasure, yet I am poor!

Because I am a

river to my people.

Is that service?

No.

And yet now it seems

Auda has grown old.

And lost his taste

for fighting.

It is well you say it in

my tent, thou old tulip.

Yet this is a tulip that

the Turks could not buy.

Why should they wish to?

Now...

I will tell you what they pay me,

and you will tell me if this is

a servant's wages.

They pay me,

month by month,

-Who told you that?

-I have long ears.

And a long tongue

between them.

It's a trifle.

A trifle which they take

from a great box they have.

In Aqaba.

-In Aqaba?

-Where else?

You trouble me

like women.

Friends, we've been foolish.

Auda will not come to Aqaba.

-No.

-For money?

-No.

-For Feisal?

-No.

-Nor to drive away the Turks.

He will come...

because it is his pleasure.

Thy mother mated

with a scorpion.

Make God your agent!

Aqaba!

Aqaba!

God be with you.

God be with you.

God be with you.

God be with you.

Yes.

Aqaba.

Tomorrow we will

go and get it.

-Do you think we shall?

-Yes.

If you are right

about the guns.

He killed.

He dies.

This is the end

of Aqaba.

-One of our men murdered one of Auda's man.

-Why?

Theft? Blood feud?

It makes no matter why.

Ali!

It is an ancient wound.

I didn't come here to

watch a tribal bloodbath.

It is the law, Aurens.

The law says

the man must die.

If he dies, will that

content the Howeitat?

Yes.

Sherif Ali!

If none of Lord Auda's men

harms any of yours,

-will that content the Harith?

-Yes.

Then I will execute the law.

I have no tribe.

And no one is offended.

Gasim.

Did you do it?

Well, Aurens...

What ails the

Englishman?

That that he killed was the man

he brought out of the Nefud.

It was written, then.

Better to have left him.

It was execution, Aurens.

No shame in that.

Besides, it was necessary.

You gave life

and you took it.

The writing

is still yours.

Auda Abu Tayi!

The miracle is

accomplished.

Garlands for

the conqueror.

Tribute for the prince.

Flowers for the man.

I'm none of those

things, Ali.

-What, then?

-Don't know.

Thanks.

My God, I love this country.

What?

No gold in Aqaba!

No great box!

Auda, I found it!

That's a pity.

Ali, you get a message

down the coast to Yenbo.

Tell Feisal to find

boats, any boats,

and bring the Arab army

here to Aqaba, quickly.

And you?

I'm going to tell

the generals

in Cairo.

Yes, cross Sinai.

Come on!

Sinai?

Yes.

-With these?

-They'll be all right with me.

Look, Ali. If any of your Bedouin

Rate this script:4.5 / 4 votes