_That_ I shall fight for, even if
lions come out of the desert to help the Arabs."
Mr. Dodge had many more objections, some of which he urged openly, and
more of which he felt in his inmost spirit. But for the unfortunate dive
into the water, he certainly would have pleaded his immunities as a
passenger, and plumply refused to be put forward on such an occasion; but
he felt that he was a disgraced man, and that some decided act of spirit
was necessary to redeem his character. The neutrality observed by the
Arabs, moreover, greatly encouraged him; for he leaned to an opinion
Captain Truck had expressed, that so long as a strong-armed party remained
in the wreck, the sheik, if a man of any moderation and policy, would not
proceed to violence.
"You may tell him, gentlemen," continued Mr. Truck, "that as soon as I
have whipped the foremast out of the Dane, I will evacuate, and leave him
the wreck, and all it contains. The stick can do him no good, and I want
it in my heart's core. Put this matter before him plainly, and there is no
doubt we shall part the best friends in the world. Remember one thing,
however, we shall set about lifting the spar the moment you quit us, and
should there be any signs of an attack, give us notice in season, that we
may take to our arms.
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