school in England, and he knows the area through which you will be
travelling, as he has often hunted the lion there as a guest of a chief
in French territory.' He spoke to one of the advisers in Amharic, and
the man nodded and left the cabin. 'I have sent for him now. His name
is Gregorius Maryam.' When he came, Gregorius was a young man probably
in his early twenties. However, he was almost as tall as his uncle
with the warrior's fierce dark eyes and eagle features but his skin was
smooth and hairless as a girl's, the colour of pale honey. He also was
dressed in Western European fashion, and his expression was intense and
intelligent.
His uncle spoke to him quietly in Amharic and he nodded, then turned to
meet Jake and Gareth.
'My uncle has explained what is required of me and I am honoured to be
of service.' Gregorius's voice was clear and eager.
'Can you drive a motor car?' Jake asked unexpectedly, and
Gregorius smiled and nodded.
'Indeed, sir. I have my own Morgan sports car in Addis Ababa.'
'That's great.' Jake returned the smile. 'But you'll find an armoured
car a rougher ride.'
'Gregorius will pack what he needs for the journey, and join you
immediately. As you know, this ship sails at noon,' observed the
Prince, and the young Ethiopian nobleman bowed to his uncle and left
the cabin.
'You now owe me a favour, Major Swales, and I request repayment
immediately.' Lij Mikhael turned back to Gareth, whose complacency
evaporated immediately, to be replaced by an expression of mild
alarm.
Gareth had developed a healthy respect for the Prince's ability to
drive a bargain.
'Now listen here, old chap-' he began to protest, but the Prince went
on as though there had been no interruption.
'One of the few weapons that my country has to exploit is the
conscience of the civilized world-'
'I wouldn't give you much change for that,' observed Jake.
'No,' agreed the Prince sadly. 'Not a very effective weapon as yet.
But if we can only inform the world of the injustices and unprovoked
aggression which we suffer then we can force the democratic nations to
come to our support.
We need popular support we must reach the people. If the common
peoples are informed of our lot, they will force their own governments
to take action.'
'It's a pretty thought,' Gareth agreed.
'Travelling with me now is one of the most highly thought of and
influential journalists in America. Someone who has the ear of
hundreds of thousands of readers across the United States of America,
and the rest of the English-speaking world as well. A person of
liberal conscience, a champion of the oppressed.' The Prince paused.
'However,
this person's reputation has preceded us. The Italians realize that
their case might be damaged if the truth is written by a journalist of