“More I cannot do,” whispers Le Clerq while sitting with his head in his hands. “I will fight to the last breath but cannot do more. If they want to relieve me of my duty after this, so be it.”
He jumps in fright when he hears his orderly’s voice and looks up. “Sergeant Vermeer to see you, mon Colonel.”
mon Colonel“Let him in…”
Vermeer sketches a short salute, and Le Clerq hunts for the meaning of the visit in his eyes.
“In front of the gate are two Arabs that would like to speak to you, mon Colonel,” he says. “The one is El Dota, but the other one’s name has slipped my mind.”
mon Colonel“El Dota?” asks Le Clerq. “Lower the rope ladder over the battlement and bring them here immediately.”
As Vermeer leaves, Le Clerq jumps up, puts on his cap, smooths the creases out of his clothes, a
