"Then don’t drink it." Sancho withdraws. Then he has an idea. "If everyone pays a shilling,5 that will make half a lira altogether."
"Okay," Kebab agrees.
We watch him, the way you watch a racehorse. Kebab has already drunk two bottles of beer on an empty stomach. And the little snack we had in Rehovot, on the way back from Daba, was not generous. The civilians are short of food. Half a bottle must be enough to get him blind drunk. We can expect an entertaining spectacle.
The liquid disappears down his throat. At first in large, quick gulps. Then gradually more slowly. The gulps get smaller and slower. He is surrounded by absolute silence. Even the air force people at the next table are staring silently at the bottle. Even after the first third Kebab threatens to give up. It doesn’t look as though he will manage even half the bottle.
With "Are you a soldier or a girl guide?" Nachshe tries to motivate him.
"Go on! Go on!" Zuzik shouts, like a spectator at some sport.
He concentrates, takes a few big gulps, reaches the half-way point, reaches two-thirds, and gives up.
"Th-th-that isn-n-n-n’t Co-co-cognac," he stutters, "th-th-that is f-f-f-fly’s p-p-piss."
We drink the rest. The bottle goes from mouth to mouth and the liquid warms our hearts. Four gulps are enough for Zuzik - the effect is the same as if he had drunk ten glasses.
"I will get you!" he threatens. "I’ll finish off the lot of you with my pistol."
"Why don’t you challenge Kebab to a duel," Nachshe suggests.
Kebab is in just the right mood. He picks up his weapon and inserts a round.
"Grab him! He is drunk!" Zuzik cries in horror. We laugh and get up. It is time to drive back.
* * *
That night Kebab keeps us all awake. First he was throwing up till ten. I have never seen anyone puke so much. We put him in one of the trenches and thought he would sleep twenty-four hours. But that was too optimistic. Since midnight he has been holding a mono-logue, like someone with a fever. But he is not talking - he is singing his text. Always with the same, monotonous melody. Like someone