Lawrence Of Arabia Page #5

arrived in Cairo and said:

"We've taken Aqaba,"

the generals would laugh.

I see.

In Cairo you will put off

these funny clothes.

You will wear trousers and tell stories

of our quaintness and barbarity

and then they will

believe you.

You're an ignorant man.

Paper.

Paper!

There is no gold in Aqaba.

No gold.

No great box!

Did Auda come to

Aqaba for gold?

For my pleasure,

as you said.

But gold is honourable...

and Aurens promised gold.

Aurens lied.

See, Auda.

"The Crown of England...

promises to pay...

to Auda Abu Tayi."

Signed in

His Majesty's absence

by...

me.

In 10 days...

I'll be back with the gold.

With gold, with guns,

with everything.

Ten days.

You'll cross Sinai?

Why not?

Moses did.

And you will take

the children?

Moses did.

Moses was a prophet,

and beloved of God.

He said there was gold here.

He lied.

He is not perfect.

Lord, can we not rest?

I told you, no rest till they know

that I have Aqaba.

Have you two

slept in beds?

Farraj?

Daud?

With sheets?

Tomorrow the finest sheets in the finest

room in the finest hotel in Cairo.

I promise.

Then it shall

be so, lord.

Look!

Pillar of fire.

No, lord. Dust.

My compass.

No matter.

If we ride west,

we must strike the canal.

Due west.

Come on!

Aurens!

Aurens!

Farraj!

Farraj!

Farraj, don't! Don't!

Don't!

Aurens.

Why do you walk?

But why, lord?

Aurens.

But why, lord?

There is room for both.

It serves no purpose.

Aurens, look!

Aurens.

Aurens. Aurens.

Aurens.

It's all right, Farraj.

It's all right.

Hey-ey-ey-ey! Hey-ey-ey-ey!

Hey-ey-ey-ey! Hey-ey-ey-ey!

Who are you?

Who are you?

-Daud!

-We're here, sir.

You taking him

in there, sir?

Yes.

Here!

Here. You!

And where the hell do you think

you're going to, Mustapha?

We are thirsty.

-Mr. Lawrence, is it?

-Yes.

-Are you going to the officers' bar, sir?

-Yes.

You can't take him in there, sir.

What do you think

you look like?

No, no.

You must go.

No, no. Go,

effendi, go!

Get out! You must

get out! Get out!

We want two large

glasses of lemonade.

This is a bar

for British officers.

That's all right.

We are not particular.

Lawrence!

Are you off your head?

No. Oddly enough I'm not.

Now look here, Lawrence.

Just clear out of here, will you?

Get that boy out of here.

Corporal, we'll have

this one out anyway.

-Get that wog out of here.

-Yes, clear off.

What's going on?

-It's Lawrence, sir.

-Lemonade with ice.

Well?

Explain yourself.

We've taken Aqaba.

-Taken Aqaba? Who has?

-We have.

Our side in this war has.

The wogs have.

We have.

He likes your lemonade.

You mean

the Turks have gone?

No, they're still there,

but they've no boots.

Prisoners, sir. We took them

prisoners. The entire garrison.

No, that's not true.

We killed some.

Too many, really.

I'll manage it better next time.

There's been a lot of killing

one way or another.

Cross my heart and hope to die,

it's all perfectly true.

-It isn't possible.

-Yes, it is.

I did it.

You'd better

talk to Allenby.

General Allenby?

Yes, he's in command now.

Murray's gone.

Well, that's a step

in the right direction.

First, I want a room.

With a bed, with sheets.

-Yes, of course.

-It's for him.

Right. You want a bed

yourself, don't you?

See Allenby

first, though.

Will he see me?

I think so.

Do that, then.

-I'd better shave.

-Yes, you had.

You'd better get into

some trousers too.

"Undisciplined.

Unpunctual.

Untidy.

Several languages.

Knowledge of music...

literature.

Knowledge of...

Knowledge of..."

You're an interesting man,

there's no doubt about it.

-Who told you to take Aqaba?

-Nobody.

-Sir.

-Sir.

Then why did you?

-Aqaba's important.

-Why is it important?

-It's the Turkish route to the canal.

-Not anymore.

They're coming

through Beersheba.

I know, but we've gone

forward to Gaza.

-So?

-So that left Aqaba behind your right.

True.

And it will be further behind your

right when you go for Jerusalem.

Am I going

for Jerusalem?

Yes.

Very well.

Aqaba behind

my right.

It threatened

El' Arsh and Gaza.

Anything else?

Yes.

Aqaba's linked

with Medina.

Do you think we should

shift them out of Medina now?

No. I think you should

leave them there.

You acted without

orders, you know.

Shouldn't officers use

their initiative at all times?

Not really. It's awfully

dangerous, Lawrence.

Yes, I know.

Already?

Yes.

I'm promoting you major.

I don't think

that's a very good idea.

I didn't ask you.

I want you to go back

and carry on

the good work.

No.

Thank you, sir.

-Why not?

-Well, I, it's...

Let me see now...

I killed two people.

I mean, two Arabs.

One was a boy.

That was...

yesterday.

I led him into a quicksand.

The other was a man.

That was...

before Aqaba, anyway.

I had to execute him

with my pistol.

There was something

about it I didn't like.

-Well, naturally.

-No. Something else.

I see. Well, that's all right.

Let it be a warning.

No. Something else.

What, then?

I enjoyed it.

Rubbish. Rubbish and nerves.

You're tired.

What do you mean by coming here dressed

like that? Amateur theatricals?

Oh, yes. Entirely.

Let me see that hat thing,

or whatever it is.

Fascinating gear

they wear.

How do you think I would

look in this, Harry?

-Damn ridiculous, sir.

-Here, you keep it.

What I'm trying to say is,

I don't think I'm fit for it.

Really? What do you

think, Dryden?

Before he did it, sir,

I'd have said it couldn't be done.

-Brighton?

-I know what he thinks.

I think you should recommend

a decoration, sir.

I don't think it matters

what his motives were.

It was a brilliant

bit of soldiering.

-Mr. Perkins!

-Sir!

Let's have a drink, gentlemen.

-You've heard about this, Mr. Perkins?

-Yes, sir.

-What do you think about it?

-Bloody marvellous, sir. Well done, sir.

-Thank you, Mr. Perkins.

-Sir!

Come on, then.

You're a clever man, sir.

No, but I know a good

thing when I see one.

That's fair, surely.

Look here, now. If I am going

to break through to Jerusalem,

I must concentrate, not dissipate.

-Clausewitz.

-You know better?

I fight like Clausewitz,

then you fight like Saxe.

We should do very well

indeed, shouldn't we?

Easy, gentlemen, please.

-Will you give us something to drink?

-Of course, sir.

I'm here at the invitation

of Major Lawrence.

Tracy.

Shall we go outside?

So you hold bound

the Turkish desert army?

Yes.

With 1000 Arabs?

Delivered anywhere,

day or night.

It means 1000 camels.

That means 1000 packs of high

explosives and 1000 crack rifles.

We can cross Arabia while Johnny Turk

is still turning round.

I'll smash his railways.

And while he's mending them,

I'll smash them somewhere else.

In 13 weeks I can

have Arabia in chaos.

You are going back, then?

Yes.

Of course

I'm going back.

Hm. Well, if we can

see it, so can the Turk.

If he finds he's using four divisions

to fend off a handful of bandits,

he'll withdraw.

He daren't withdraw.

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