silence, but the Pilot's confi- orders at once for food to dence never failed him again. be prepared, and we all sat Night fell, and it grew cold down to await its arrival. on the camels, so we got down Presently our Turkish officer and walked the last three arrived and joined us in his hours. After & very long deliberate, ox-like way. It time a light appeared on the took over two hours to produce horizon, and, like all lights at a meal, but the time passed night, seemed to recede as we pleasantly enough. Our flabby approached. However, even host was a regular young man night-farers do eventually make about Bitlis, very ready to talk progress, and at long-last we about himself and his achievedrew up at the gate of the ments. Possibly he was someramshackle, mud-walled square what flattered by this, his of a miserable khan. The door first meeting with British was barred and bolted, but officers, and the condescension our escort parleyed with the of his position in regard to keeper, and we soon found our- them in spite of their superior selves in a filthy courtyard rank. At any rate, he was littered with sleeping Tartars graciously pleased to expound and drooping ponies, the only to us the immediate strategy of available cover the four filthy the War in Europe, its future little rooms of the gate-house. course, and the date and results In one of these a smoky wick of its conclusion. He threw an was burning in a tin of oil, and entirely new light on the latter two men were poring over part of the Mesopotamian Camaccount books. We demanded paign as influenced by his own to see the Commandant. One achievements, the finale of of the pair, a meek-looking which was an account of his bearded man, rose and answered escape from the last Thermoin good English: "Well, sir, pylæan stand at Ramadie by I was the Commandant until swimming the river at the head yesterday. The present Com- of his men. mandant is asleep upstairs." He was an Armenian, of course, and, like all the Armenians we met, а most kindly and obliging fellow, but broken. We were tired and hungry, and insisted on seeing the Commandant. He turned out to be a well-nourished young man, his hair smooth as his manners, his podgy hands beringed, scented, silky, and resplendent in a frogged, furlined coat, which he wore over his night-shirt. He gave At last the long-looked-for food appeared: black bread and a big bowl of barley-broth, into which we all dipped. Excellent stuff. Date-syrup and more black bread followed. By this time our host was in great fettle, and, to top up with, suddenly dived his hand behind a box in the corner and triumphantly produced a small bottle with the magic words "Eau de Vie." This was his last drop, and we did justice to it, share and share alike all round. Fair do's. The stuff was a pretty vile sort of arrack, but warming enough, and had a great effect on the Commandant. He was full of protestations of friendship, meetings after the War, exploits of gallantry in a fairer field. Then he waxed confidential and gave us a great deal of professional advice, saying that when we had soldiered as long as he had we would recognise the soundness of it. (Ballast had, as а matter of plain fact, just six times his service.) Then he grew rather quarrelsome, and finally reached the sleepy stage, and was taken off to bed. It was now 2 A.M., and we rejoiced that we were pretty certain of considerable delay and a late start next morning, especially as we had been promised a good meat-meal before leaving. We were thoroughly ready for sleep ourselves, as we had not had a night's rest since we were captured. The earthen floor of the room was very filthy, and there was only one bench. But in a corner was a small, raised, brick dais, and the Armenian officer was most helpful. He not only got this brushed and cleaned, but insisted on lending us each a blanket of his own. The room had no windows and only one door, which was locked and had a double sentry just outside it. No chance of escape here. So we were off to sleep at once, and knew nothing more till nine o'clock in the morning. The dope of the night before had evidently had its effect on our Mohamedan friends, for no attempt was made to worry us before then. We dallied over our toilets as much as possible; and, what with that and the right royal breakfast that was served, it was halfpast ten before we got under way. Our hosts had been as good as their word of the night before, and gave us a breakfast of roast lamb, chupatties, and another generous bowl of barley-broth. A good whack of the two former articles was transferred to the growing store in our emergency bag. We found the courtyard of the post full of Tartars and Arabs; and a good number of seattered individuals were visible moving steadily along the road, all in a westerly direction. Just outside the gate we stumbled on a small party of Germans. This gave us another chance of delay. They told us they were wireless section, and obligingly furnished us with the latest details of the German advance in France. A little more time was taken up in persuading them to accept a message for British Headquarters which the Pilot wrote down, stating that we were unwounded and asking that our kit might be dropped. They demurred at this, but eventually took the message without making any promises: probably in order to get rid of us without further trouble, They refused to give us any news of the operations in progress. But we knew that the only wireless station thereabouts had been at the town we left at midday yesterday. We decided to walk the first part of the march in order to keep our feet hard, although it meant having four extremely smelly Tartars in very close proximity, one on each side and two just behind, all always unpleasantly casual about handling their rifles. When riding the camels one was at least out of nose-shot of them, Half a mile on we came on a small mixed unit laagered by the side of the road, among them about twenty white men of various ranks. Three officers were standing together inspecting the outspanned animals. One, a cheerful lathy individual with a red goatee, after our first salutation, opened the ball with, "Well, have you heard the news from France? You're being properly smashed there." Next to him was a tall bearded man with thick spectacles and three ribbons Gallipoli, Iron Cross, and a yellow and white which we did not know. There is something to be said for the systematic similarity in the general design of German medal ribbons, with their two white stripes on backgrounds of various colours; at least, it prevents the noisy polychromatic squabbles that are visible on the chests of many British officers to-day. They told us they were a Telegraph Detachment; but as they were busy and uncommunicative we were unable to waste much time here, so passed on. And at that time two magpies flew up on to the rocks. Magpies are not common in Mesopotamia. A clatter of hoofs behind made us look round. It was a comio figure that was overtaking us, the complete German tourist of caricature: a monstrous cloth sunshade flapping wildly from the back of his flat cap, green spectacles, water-bottle, haversacks, mapease, revolver, strapped on all round him gear of all kinds which banged up and down on his flanks as he bumped perspiringly along. The whole outfit was insecurely balanced on top of a pair of bloated saddle-bags astride of a big grey mule, the latter being most inadequately controlled by a picketing chain secured to its headstall. We called out "Good morning," and were promptly swept away by the blast ofnautical-language that followed. He had evidently learned his English in America, not in a Sunday-school. There was something particularly incongruous in the man's pink-and-white baby complexion and the blaspheny which poured forth as he leaned back to take in, hand over hand, his steering chain. In a mist of profanity he navigated his oraft round in diminishing circles till he brought it to a standstill alongside of us, its head pulled round hard against his starboard knee. It was an entertaining half hour that followed. Our breezy mariner was full of grievances, and far past the stage when he could refrain from the relief of unburdening himself. He had been set upon by the Arabs last night as the Germans were evacuating the town, and only just escaped with his life and what he had on him. After three years in the place! Three years! And he hadn't been given a single decoration. Not a single one. Jealousy of superiors. And these ungrateful Arabs-after three years' experience of Germans to take the first opportunity of looting their quarters. Yes, and after three years' acquaintance to try to murder him. If he hadn't been so nippy he'd have been shot. haze of violent invective, rocking precariously on his high perch as he heaved furiously at his steering - chain, whilst the mule trotted diagonally, in bored indifference, towards the hills. And for all we know, he may still be thus occupied. At least, it is certain that he is swearing— swearing endlessly. Two magpies flew across the road, and then another pair. A little farther on we passed through a big caravan of Arabs resting in the riverYes, he reckoned he spoke plain. They were a striking English pretty slick. He had crowd, and all seemed to have been skipper of a big Hamburg- new clothes on; all their Boston boat four years, until camel gear also and saddlethe war; had been navigating bags looked fresh and clean. match boxes on this paltry It gave them an unreal sort trickle (modesty, (modesty, unfortun- of theatrical appearance; and, ately, prevents reproduction most improbable of all, in the of the extremely forcible middle, three or four stately metaphor he used here) of a river ever since. And now just when, at last, they had given him three motor-boats, and he had got two big guns safely down-stream, and landed below all correot, beggared if the whole lascivious lot hadn't been collared by the English Army. His language was lurid; it was of a saltiness impossible to convey. But his cigarettes were unexceptionable. Aneodote, abuse, reminiscence poured forth to a continuous accompaniment of the most original and devastating blasphemy. The mule, however, was quite untroubled thereby, and continued to display that alert aloof air so oharacteristic of these animals. We left the Master-Mariner eventually in a VOL. CCIV.NO, MCCXXXIII. old Beda win were walking about shading themselves under pink parasols ! All these strange omens, which would have struck the most ignorant Roman Legionary as sure presages of some impending act of the gods, passed before our sophisticated eyes merely in jestingwise. Indeed, when one o'clock came, and we halted for fifteen minutes' rest on the river's edge, we had begun to feel our escape would now depend entirely on our own exertions. We were here well over a hundred miles from the British front line we had left. The only things that could possibly reach us now were aeroplanes. And it would soon be getting a bit far for them. Moreover, no really practicable G plan of action for them was apparent, even if they should succeed in recognising us. At this point the rocky hillside came steeply down to within a hundred yards of the river, and the narrow strip of plain between was covered with scattered bushes. Our escort had been getting more and more jumpy and truculent as the day progressed. Various causes had contributed to this. Their conversations with the people we had passed; the passage overhead of five of the abhorred "Tyara" half an hour previously; and, above all, a large party of mounted Tartars who had just hurried past us and galloped on ahead without stopping, only pausing to shout a few short sentences. So when the time for the halt came, it was with difficulty that we persuaded them to let us go down to the river's edge to wash our feet. They did eventually let us go under close escort of two men, one of whom amused himself by letting off his rifle into the water alongside of us. As we sat there, our covey of planes came back, high up; and one of them playfully loosed off a drum in the direction of our party before they all sailed away homewards. That was the last we should see of any of our own folk for many a long day. It about put the lid on the state of our feelings. The camels, which we had decided to ride now, as it was getting hot, were grazing about twenty yards apart, and the usual tamasha took place in getting them to sit down. They got up as savagely as ever directly we were on. Most of the Tartars were collecting themselves and their kit after their "easy," when crack-or-or- or - orack - crackcrack! went machine-gun fire at close quarters. There was just one moment of confusion amongst the escort bolting for the cover of the rocks a few yards away. That was enough for us. We were off the camels and racing through the scrub towards the river at Ballast was looking up for the aeroplane, when Pilot gripped his arm and turned him. There-on the road, only a hundred yards back, was a Lamb car. That hundred yards must have been covered in pretty near record time. Whilst the machine-gun was busy with our Tartar friends we tumbled into the leading car-free. III. The train of events had guns. The Dolphins had got been as follows. The British right across their line of reoperations had met with com- treat. The surrender had plete success. taken place, and the whole Turkish Division had been show was over by dawn of rounded up staff, foot, and the day before. The Dolphins whole |