Suez Page #3

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a young woman.

I'll take you home tomorrow.

This is no discipline.

Hey, where are you going?

Hello.

Well, what are you doing here?

I followed you all the way

from Alexandria.

Are you glad I came?

Oh, look.

Let's race the storm to the ruins.

See? Now we can both keep warm.

Maybe it could rain for hours.

No, it's just a squall.

It'll be over in a few minutes.

I can ride better than she can.

She, who?

That girl in the picture.

Yes, you do ride very well.

That's from being in the army.

And she isn't as pretty as I am.

Is she?

Well, she's considered

the most beautiful woman in Europe.

She is not.

You think so because you are

in love with her.

Oh, I hate her.

For heaven's sake, come on, Toni,

sit up.

Sit up.

I'm sorry.

I couldn't help it.

It always happens.

What do you mean.

When a woman falls in love with a man.

Listen to me.

You mind if I give you a little

friendly advice?

No.

Forget about this falling-in-love business.

But I don't want to forget it.

Don't you like me?

Come on. The storm's passed.

Look, a rainbow.

Grandfather says there is a pot of gold

at the end.

One in the Mediterranean

and the other in the Red Sea.

What a pot of gold for the world

if they could be joined,

the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

Look, Toni.

Water in the old gulf.

Just as it was centuries ago

when the Phoenicians sailed through.

Can you imagine ships sailing

right through here where we're standing?

Ships?

Yes. Not ancient galleys, modern ships.

Steamers sailing

a short trade route to the East.

It could be done.

No elevations, no rock formations.

Just a simple sand d...

ditch.

And I was told

I was going to dig ditches.

There's fate in this, Toni.

Something sent me here to Egypt

when I didn't want to come...

kept me here when I wanted to leave.

I thought it was a dead end.

It has been up to now.

But I could make this...

I could make this spot that we're standing

on the crossroads of the Earth.

Why, think of it, Toni. A canal stretching

through from the Mediterranean.

Open to the ships of all nations.

It could be done.

And I can do it.

I was looking for a way to serve France.

And I think...

I think I found a way to serve the world.

My plan is to form a stock company in Paris.

To finance the construction of the canal.

But before I can go ahead,

I must have Your Highness' assurance

that Egypt will lease to us the necessary

strip of territory.

I regret that I cannot give you

that assurance.

What can Your Highness lose?

We take all the risk.

You are young, my friend.

The wisdom of age will teach you

the folly

of tampering with the work of Allah.

What man can accomplish is also

the work of Allah.

Since we are his creatures,

obeying his wishes.

Unfortunately one must also consider

the wishes of the Turkish government.

Does this objection come from

Constantinople?

Or from London?

From London.

Do you mean your government would oppose

the construction of the canal?

I do.

But why?

Can't they see that England would be the first

to benefit by a canal through the isthmus?

Think how it would shorten

the sailing time to India.

To England's possessions in the East.

No doubt.

But my government

wants no short pathway to the East.

There's always Napoleon sitting on the gate.

But it's absurd to think that any one nation

would dominate the canal.

It would be open to the world.

Your Highness, if you allow

these selfish political considerations

to sway you, Egypt, not France,

will be the greater loser.

I'm sorry.

I'd like to help you.

But my hands are tied.

How did you get in here?

I'm your secretary.

Since when?

From now on.

Look, Toni, can't you find some place

else to play?

I'm not in a very good humor.

Good humor or bad humor,

you must have a secretary to help you.

Well, you can take those books on the

trade routes of the ancient Phoenicians

back to the library.

Which books?

The trade routes of the ancient Phoenicians.

What's the matter, can't you read?

Didn't you go to school?

Oh, yes.

For how long?

About two days.

It was so dull, I ran away.

His Highness Prince Said.

I'm sorry, my friend.

If I were the Viceroy...

Thanks.

Thanks, Said.

Toni, does this sun out here in Egypt

ever do strange things to people?

Sometimes it makes them see things.

That explains it.

I must've been having hallucinations.

Delusions of grandeur thinking that I could

change the map of the world.

Who knoes, my friend?

Inch'Allah.

And I thought I was going to Paris

with you to be your secretary.

Secretary and you can't even read?

I could go to school in Paris.

In a few days I learn to read.

And then I could be your secretary.

We won't have to worry

about that now.

Because we won't be going to Paris.

His Highness the Viceroy.

This is a great honor, Your Highness.

Won't you come in.

I've been thinking about your project,

monsieur.

And the advantages it would bring to Egypt.

Yes, Your Highness?

As you know, I cannot officially give you

permission to proceed.

But I owe you much.

I repeat. I cannot officially

give you permission,

but if you wish to go ahead

with your preparations

you have my personal promise

that when the time comes

my son and I will do our utmost

to find a way to help you.

May Allah bless you, my boy.

What did I tell you, huh?

Pellerin.

Yes, sir.

Sargeant, you have your orders.

Take Toni to the boarding school,

then report to my father's office.

Yes, sir.

I don't suppose I could start

school tomorrow?

You start today.

But you will come to see me.

Of course I will.

No, no, I won't leave you.

Take me with you.

No, Toni, no.

Sargeant, don't just stand there,

do something.

Attention, Toni, what's all this?

Thank you.

You better take her away before

she causes a riot.

I hope I'm not interrupting anything.

Ren, good to see you.

You know, that's just Toni.

She's the old Sargeant's granddaughter

and a perpetual nuisance.

Oh, no, no!

Come here. What are you doing?

In a way, that little Toni was the inspiration

for the greatest project ever concieved

by the mind of man.

I suppose I'm in for one of

your orations.

Eugenie. Did you give her my message?

Well, no. You see...

I couldn't.

The dispatch was rather late

in arriving and...

when I called on her she was out.

Oh.

Fire away, my friend. I'm all ears

for news of this canal of yours.

Good heavens!

All I need to start operations

is the necessary money.

I see. And how do you expect to raise it?

Simple.

The Bank of France will

float a loan to raise part of it

and the rest will be raised

by the sale of shares to the public.

In fact, you will be one of the first buyers.

Who me? Oh, no.

I'm just a poor politician.

I've been told there's no such thing

as a poor politician.

Well, it's the first time in my life that

I've ever known a fortune teller to be right.

And you would try and dig the biggest

ditch in all history.

It's been kept out of the papers.

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