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looking wheels, eighteen to every Wednesday: Tuesday, twenty-four feet in diameter, to-day. The Post-Command. made of branches and logs all ant, a meagre, saturnine sort in the rough. Along the oir- of youth, buttoned up to the cumference of this is bound a chin in a magnificent grey series of earthen pots, and on German officer's overcoat reachthe spokes are fastened paddles. ing to his ankles, which made Against these the force of the him look more than ever like current is directed by stone a Jesuit in a cassock. The weirs, which slope diagonally Supply Officer-round and comout into the stream. As the fortable, as was befitting. And wheel turns slowly, groaning the Mayor-in dress and apand travailing, the pots dip pearance a seedy north-country under the water at the bottom farmer. None knew English of the circle, fill, and travel on or more than a few words of up till, at the top, they empty French, and as we had taken their burden with a pleasant up a firm position on the only splashing into the stone runnel. bench, happily they melted Why the whole contraption away before long. This gave doesn't fall to bits forthwith is us a chance of examining our one of those mysteries of Ori- quarters. Ballast very soon ental mechanism, like the Ekka found in an old box full of and the Dhobi's donkey, to papers an excellent German which sojourn in the East map, and got busy measuring gradually hardens one. scales and bearings which might be useful to us.

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The water wheels became more frequent; frequent; the palms thickened to a grove; houses began to occur at intervals. We passed a couple of big caves, wherein ammunitionboxes were dimly visible, guarded by sprawling Tartars, and crossed a field to the village on the river's edge.

At the entrance to the khan -a closed square of sheds with a two-storied building at each end-we were received by the Commandant, and conducted to his office above the gateway. Here coffee was provided, and the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood quickly gathered to meet us. All the officers were lieutenants. There was he Commandant himself, a weak-looking, middle-aged Arab, who perhaps shaved

Accompanied by the sentry normally stationed at the door of our room, we were permitted to take exercise up and down on the flat roof of the singlestoried shed which ran round three sides of the courtyard. We thus obtained a fair idea of the lie of the land and the dispositions of the enemy. The office had two small unglazed windows looking across thirty yards of foreshore to the river. Pulled up on the foreshore for several hundred yards were rows and rows of those heavy square-ended, flat-bottomed boats which the Turks build higher up and send down river loaded with stores. Opposite us, across a couple of hundred yards of the olean, swiftly. running river, was a palm

covered island, on which the main village seemed to be built. One of the big boats was being used regularly as a ferry to the island, worked with difficulty by four men. The drop from the office windows to the ground was about 12 feet, but the room was thoughtlessly situated directly over the main entrance aroh, where a sentry was posted. By manipulating the table and bench, it might be possible, though not easy, to get out of the window and up on to the roof. This roof was the highest part of the whole building, and extended over the five rooms which formed the upper storey of the khan along its front face. There was also an upper storey, where the garrison lived, along its rear face. One long side of the courtyard was formed by a wall 12 feet high; the other side by the line of flat-roofed sheds, on which we were permitted to take exercise. The drop from this roof to the lane alongside was only about 12 feet, and the lane was only 50 yards long, but there was a sentry stationed at the end where it gave on to the fields. Beyond him, a couple of hundred yards across the open, and one would be at the foot of the hill, rather uncomfortably close to the sentry at the ammunition cave, but with only three or four hundred yards' climb up the open slope to the crest. Not till one was over the crest would one be out of sight of the village in this time of full moon.

transferred from the office to the room next door. The windows of this were somewhat less practicable; on the other hand, it was four yards farther from the sentry in the archway. We were just off to sleep when we received a visit from the local medical officer, an Armenian, who spoke fairly good English, learned in the Medical College at Beirut. He seemed to think we should stay where we were for a couple of days whilst a better conveyance was being provided. He offered to send us up some bedding pending the arrival of our own kit, and interested himself in arranging for the provision of an evening meal for us.

When we returned from our promenade, we found ourselves

He invited us to visit his hospital on the island in the afternoon, saying he would make the necessary arrangements with the Commandant. Accordingly about 2.30 P.M. we were ferried across with one officer and four Tartars as escort. The current was swift, and it was only after much invocation of Allah that the rough clumsy boat just managed to make the landing without being swept downstream. We were met on the bank by the doctor and the pharmacist, another Armenian, and shown with great pride over the hospital. This consisted of four or five miserable Arab houses, with tiny rooms and mud walls, stuffy, flyblown, and hot. The patients lay crowded on the floors of the rooms, at times, it was said, to the number of a hundred or even more. It was a most depressing sight, yet we

were assured it was by far the best hospital within a hundred miles of the firing line; and until the present doctor's arrival, three months' previously, there had been nothing at all. Indeed it was only within the last few weeks, by dint of repeated applications, that he had been able to get any drugs or dressings. He was immensely proud of his pharmacy, though to us it seemed a very poor affair: three small shelves of drugs and a box of dressings. This was the only Clearing Hospital for a whole Infantry Division, and the next nearest hospital was a hundred miles back from the front, over a very rough road, with practically no means of conveyance available for a serious case.

Tea, with sugar-both rather precious commodities was served to us, our escort, and various other personages who had drifted into the doctor's bedroom. Here he showed us his photographs and certificates, his few books-he had an English Materia Medica' amongst his most treasured possessions and his watercolour sketches. Yes, he was an artist. But appreciation of Armenian art is evidently not acquired spontaneously by Europeans. Our Turkish confrères became gradually so so bored by the English conversation that they eventually left us alone, with only the four Tartars to guard us. The island was a very pretty little place, a happy combination of clear green water, grey rock, mud walls, and palm-trees.

There seemed to be a great many remains of ancient stone buildings. The island lies about mid-stream, 250 yards from the right bank, whence we had come, and rather farther from the left.

One incident in our wanderings round the island gave us some momentary anxiety. We were passing under a twostoried house, Pilot with the doctor somewhat ahead, deep in conversation, when Ballast, who was behind, looked up and saw three or four Germans in an upper window. Pilot's conversation could not be stopped quite at once, and if any of the Huns happened to understand English we were afraid we might get into trouble.

Before we left the island we had an opportunity of seeing the village carpenter at work on the construction of a new water-wheel, and the miracle of its holding together at all became more wonderful than ever. Eventually about four o'clock we returned to the right bank, the richer for a good deal of useful information, and a very precious glass bottle of one imperial quart capacity.

During the day the Pilot had once or twice heard what he thought was the sound of guns to the south-east, and after consultation we decided that if the moon should be hidden at all, or if any chance should occur of evading or downing the sentry stationed under our window, we would make a dash for the desert that night. The river was beyond our powers of swim

ming without assistance, and would mean leaving our boots, thus rendering us practically immobile if we did reach the far bank. We had a quart of water, and in the emergency bag we had brought from the aeroplane enough rations for forty-eight hours at a pineh. We had been promised a meal that evening, and were beginning indeed to feel that we needed it. We knew the directions and distances approximately from the German map, and we felt confident that once given a fair start, in that limestone wilderness full of holes and caverns, we had a very good chanee of avoiding our pursuers. The whole difficulty lay in getting the fair start, and the most insuperable part of this, under the existing conditions of full moon and great quiet, was the evasion of the sentries in the first few hundred yards. For this we must depend on opportunity.

So much settled, Pilot promptly fell asleep. Ballast went out to stalk up and down the roof, and that is how he happened to witness the arrival of the messenger. The sun was within half an hour of setting when there was a clatter of hoofs on the road, and an Arab came gallop. ing, loose rein, down the lane. The pale ascetic, always buttoned to chin in his strait overcoat, happened to slowly pacing the foreshore. The Arab threw himself off his mount, dashed up to the officer and commenced an excited harangue. At once the

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whole demeanour of the latter changed. A few more words and both were running wards the khan, jabbering hard. Ballast turned on his heel, entered the room, shook the Pilot, and said: "Wake up, old bird, things have started happening; Bob the Thruster is getting a move on." The khan was already resounding with shouting, running, and bustle. Very soon the wildeyed Commandant burst into the

room with peremptory orders that the prisoners were to start off at once. The greatest astonishment was feigned: every form of pretext to delay matters was tried. We were both bundled out unceremoniously into the same old vehicle as before. Whack! whack! went the whip, and off we started at full gallop, with our mounted escort tearing along behind. A regular sauve qui peut from the village was in progress. As far as could be seen westwards the whole strip of the plain between the hills and the river was dotted with flying figures. Men on ponies, men on donkeys, men running-all with faces towards the sunset, and apprehensive glances over their shoulders. No one seemed to have waited to collect any kit. Perhaps they had none. Anyway, they were rushing along with nothing but rifles and bandoliers, a hunk of bread and a water-bottle, with perhaps a hastily snatched up coat or blanket.

The waggon jumped and bounded, the drivers lashed the horses, the Tartars beat

their mounts, throwing jerky broken sentences at one another. This frenzied compliment to the British Army continued till dusk, when the pace moderated and eventually slowed down to a walk, all that the poor tired out beasts were capable of. We were exultant. It is pleasant to see a horse you've backed win. Far pleasanter when it's a man; and in this case we both had known and had steadily backed the winner for a long time.

Our joy, however, was somewhat tempered by personal considerations. We could not help wishing he had put it off for one night! Every yard back we went was making our escape more difficult. Various possibilities were discussed, the probabilities of what had been happening were conjectured, and a line of action for the morrow decided on. Eventually we composed ourselves to the effort of dosing between the jolts of the very long and chilly night's journey; to obtain any rest in that vehicle was a matter of considerable and continuous effort.

Dawn found the ponies deadbeat. No brutality on the part of the Tartars could rouse them. Ourselves, we were glad enough to walk again. The road had been considerably improved by the Turks or Ger

it had been well graded and was now fit for motor transport, except for one big nala, the bridge over which was incomplete.

It was a jolly morning, full of larks and breeze and sunshine.

In the distance were the palmgroves of our destination, the highest point up the river that the palm flourishes. All the country we passed through was deserted and barren, but the whole river plain bore traces of former continous cultivation. Everywhere ruined aqueducts, wheel-pillars, and weirs, and the enduring traces of ancient ploughs. Desolation, the trail of the Turk.

About 9 o'clock, as we neared the outskirts of the town, four of our planes came over quite low. The Tartars were greatly perturbed. "Tyara, Tyara," they babbled, snatched off our hats and hustled us hither and thither in search of a place of concealment, the remainder sourrying behind the nearest rocks and walls and opening fire. By this time every rifle in the town appeared to be engaged, frantically yapping. We were wishing the planes would go on, nervous lest a lucky shot might bring down one of them. But with their customary magnificent indifference the planes took no notice; they circled slowly round over the town, emptied a few Lewis gun maga. zines, one of them in our direction, and then buzzed carelessly off. It wasn't a very easy incident for the Pilot.

At 9.30 A.M. we reached the Military Headquarters on the river bank in the middle of the town. We were received by a number of junior officers, and on inquiring for the Commandant, were told he was unfortunately away on duty. Of the nature of this duty we had a shrewd suspicion. But the fact was

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