Kenny Ballalou yawned and said, "I've been in this team for three or
four years, I'm too lazy to switch now Besides, I've always wanted to
be a corrupt politician. Can I be treasurer in this El Hassan regime?"
"No," Homer said. "Bey?"
Bey-ag-Akhamouk said, "I've always wanted to be a general. I'll come
in under those circumstances."
Homer said, his voice still even. "That's out. From this point in,
you're a Field Marshal and Minister of Defense."
"Shucks," Bey said. "I'd always wanted to be a general."
Homer Crawford said dryly, "Doesn't anybody take this seriously? It's
probably going to mean all your necks before it's through, you know."
Elmer Allen said dourly, "I take it seriously. I spent the idealistic
years, the school years, working for peace, democracy, a better world.
Now, here I am, helping to attempt to establish a tyranny over half
the continent of my racial background. But I'm in."
"Right," Homer said, the side of his mouth twitching. "You can be our
Minister of Propaganda."
"Minister of Propaganda!" Elmer wailed. "You mean like Goebbels? Me!"
Homer laughed. "O.K., we'll call it Minister of Information, or Press
Secretary to El Hassan. It all means the same thing." He looked at
Jacob Armstrong and said, "How old are you, Jake?"
"That's none of your business," the white-haired Jake said
aggressively. "I'm in. El Hassan is the only answer. North Africa has
got to be united, both for internal and external purposes. If you ...
if we ... don't do the job first, somebody else will, and off hand, I
can't think of anybody else I trust. I'm in."
Homer Crawford looked at him for a long moment. "Yes," he said
finally. "Of course you are. Jake, you've just been made our combined
Foreign Minister and Plenipotentiary Extraordinary to the Reunited
Nations. You'll leave immediately, first for Geneva, to present our
demands to the Reunited Nations, then to New York."
"What do I do in New York?" Jake Armstrong said blankly, trying to
assimilate the curves that were being thrown to him.
"You raise money and support from starry eyed Negro groups and
individuals. You line up such organizations as the Africa for Africans
Association behind El Hassan. You give speeches, and ruin your liver
eating at banquets every night in the week. You send out releases to
the press. You get all the publicity for the El Hassan movement you
can. You send official protests to the governments of every country in
the world, every time they do something that doesn't fit in with our
needs. You locate recruits and send them here to Africa to take over
some of the load. I don't have to tell you what to do. You can think
on your feet as well as I can. Do what is necessary. You're our
Foreign Minister. Don't let us see your face again until El Hassan is
in control of North Africa."
Jake Armstrong blinked. "How will I prove I'm your representative?
I'll need more than just a note _To Whom It May Concern_."
Homer Crawford thought about that.
* * * * *
Bey said, "One of our first jobs is going to have to be to capture a
town where they have a broadcast station, say Zinder or In Salah. When
we do, we'll announce that you're Foreign Minister."
Crawford nodded. "That's obviously the ticket. By that time you should
be in New York, with an office opened."
Jake rubbed a black hand over his cheek as though checking his morning
shave. "It's going to take some money to get started. Once started I
can depend on contributions, perhaps, but at first...."
Homer interrupted with, "Cliff, you're Minister of the Treasury.
Raise some money."
"Eh?" Cliff Jackson said blankly. The king-size, easy-going
Californian looked more like the early Joe Louis than ever.
Everybody laughed. Elmer Allen came forth with his wallet and began
pulling out such notes as it contained. "I don't know what we'd be
doing with this in the desert," he said.
Isobel said, "I have almost three thousand dollars in a checking
account in New York. Let's see if I have my checkbook here."
The others were going through their pockets. As bank notes in British
pounds, American dollars, French francs and Common Europe marks
emerged they were tossed to the center of the small table which
wobbled on three legs in the middle of the room.
Elmer Allen said, "I have an account with the Bank of Jamaica in
Kingston. About four hundred pounds, I think. I'll have it
transferred."
Cliff took up the money and began counting it, making notations on a
notebook pad as he went.