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That day Cairenes read their papers with a sort of dazed resignation, and it looked as though the R.C.C. had gotten away with sacking Egypt's idol. Weary and unhappy, his duty done, Gamal Abdel Nasser stretched his six feet on an army cot at R.C.C. headquarters and dozed off.
Cavalry Protest. But across the street from army GHQ, a group of cavalry officers, who consider themselves an elite in the army, fell to arguing. They were distressed and took up the subject with one of their fellow cavalry officers, a mercurial, fellow-traveling 33-year-old named Khaled Moheddine, who was a member of the twelve-man R.C.C.
Nasser was summoned. When he left the cavalrymen five hours later, his face was stern: they had insisted that he must recall Naguib as President and must resign as Premier in favor of Moheddine. Nasser scented a coup. Back at his GHQ he snapped out orders.
Next dawn, as the cavalry officers woke, they saw field guns unmuzzled and zeroed in on their barracks, antitank guns commanding the approaches and machine-gunners atop Army GHQ across the street. The cavalrymen called out their own soldiers. Soon the rooftops along the Sharia el Geish (Street of the Army) swarmed with troops glaring at each other and nervously fingering triggers. From Radio Cairo poured a nervous refrain: "Disturbances will be severely crushed."
Street Cry. In the midst of this gathering struggle, an outside force threatened, so menacing that the army closed ranks. As though by magic, crowds began to appear on Cairo streets, chanting, "No revolution without Naguib," and "Down with Salem." Nasser called the R.C.C. into session. As the council debated, the street outside spoke louder and louder until it could not be denied. At 1 p.m. an officer passed through the armed cordon in Helmieh, saluted Naguib, who was still in his pajamas and smoking his pipe. The courier bore an offer from the R.C.C.: Would Naguib come back to work as President and let Nasser stay on as Premier? The leathery-faced man smiled and said Yes.
Cairo turned itself into a carnival. Drivers honked their horns, tore past GHQ and yelled to no one in particular, "Mabrouk, Mabrouk," (Congratulations). Children and men, acting like children, dashed through cafés and streets, clapping their hands, dancing and shouting. They swept up to his isolated house by the thousands, held up his picture and cried: "We all apologize to you. President Naguib." Naguib, the ever-moderate, called in news men and said : "These things happen in all revolutions. Just a family quarrel. Thank Allah it has all been settled."
Together once more, Naguib and the R.C.C. seemed overjoyed. United they had been irresistible; 48 hours without each other had been a terrifying experience. Naguib and Nasser fell on each other's neck, wept and hugged. Naguib went into a Cabinet meeting and shook hands all around. "There is no grudge in my heart," he said. "These things are petty matters." He turned to Salah Salem, who had said the harshest words about him. He growled heartily : "Get ready to go with me to the Sudan tomorrow." Salem smiled.