THE WONDER WAR in -t&e HOLT LAND FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT The Wonder of War in the Holy Land BOOKS BY FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER m. S Service Series Illustrations from Photographs taken for U. S. Government. Large I2mo. Cloth. Price $1.50 each. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. SURVEY THE BOY WITH THE U. S. FORESTERS THE BOY WITH THE U. S. CENSUS THE BOY WITH THE U. S. FISHERIES THE BOY WITH THE U. S. INDIANS THE BOY WITH THE U. S. EXPLORERS THE BOY WITH THE U. S. LIFE-SAVERS THE BOY WITH THE U. S. MAIL THE BOY WITH THE U. S. WEATHER MEN THE BOY WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS THE BOY WITH THE U. S. TRAPPERS flDuseum Series Illustrations from Photographs loaned by American Museum of Natural History. Large lamo. Cloth. Price $1.50 each. THE MONSTER-HUNTERS THE POLAR HUNTERS THE AZTEC-HUNTERS THE WONDER OF WAR IN THE AIR THE WONDER OF WAR ON LAND THE WONDER OF WAR AT SEA THE WONDER OF WAR IN THE HOLY LAND With Illustrations from unusual War Photographs and Sketches. Large lamo. Cloth. Price $1.50 each. LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON Copyright by " Illustrated London News." WHERE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS BY NIGHT. Few things have been stranger than the grim business of war in the Holy Land, amid places full of sacred associations. THE WONDER OF WAR IN THE HOLY LAND BY FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER Author of "The Wonder of War in the Air," "The Wonder of 'War on Land," " The Wonder of War at Sea," and the "U. S. Service Series" With Forty-seven Illustrations from War Photographs and Sketches BOSTON LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. Published, August, 1919 Copyright, 1919 BY LOTHBOP, LEE & SHEPABD Co. All Rights Reserved THE WOKDER OF WAR IN THE HOLY LAND florwooO press BERWICK & SMITH CO NORWOOD, MASS. U. S. A. j 1 FOREWORD THE Author desires to express his acknowl- edgment of the courtesy of certain officers at- tached to the British Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia, who have given some interesting sidelights on the campaign. Acknowledgment also is made of the assistance received from three books on Mesopotamia and Palestine: " British Campaigns in the East, 1914-1918," by Edmund Dane; "The War in the Cradle of the World" by Eleanor Franklin Egan; and "By Desert Ways to Badgad " by Louise Jebb. Acknowledgment is made to Blackwood's Magazine, for quotations from many articles of the highest importance and authority on the Eastern question published dur- ing the war. For illustrations the author is mainly indebted to the Sketch and the Illustrated London News, both of London, which had special artists in the East during the arduous campaigns of the Great War. PREFACE WAR is never more terrible than when it lays a destructive hand on those things which are of incalculable value either for historic or sacred reasons; it is never nobler than when reverence and fair dealing rise superior to the lurid ex- igencies of strife. During the campaigns in the two Holy Lands of the World, the Holy Land of the Old Testament and of the New, Palestine and Mesopotamia, bat- tle-grounds took on a curious glamor. The Gar- den of Eden, Noah's Ark, the journeys of Abra- ham, Moses and Pharaoh, Joshua at Jericho, Samson, the campaigns of David, the prophecies of Isaiah and the conflicts of Judas Maccaba&us, the deserts beyond Jordan where John the Baptist lived, the sacred places associated with Jesus of Nazareth, all these became familiar words. Old campaigns between the Children of Israel and the Philistine were studied by generals as guides to modern strategy, and soldiers suddenly found the Bible as real a book to them as though it dealt with their native towns. PREFACE Three great faiths have been born in these lands, each of which holds millions of worshipers. No intelligent boy can ignore the fact that these three Faiths have changed the character of the world. Their history is full of interest and sur- prise, and the peoples who believe them have been molded by them. These campaigns have been full of romance and picturesqueness. Long lines of camels pace black-pebbled deserts, Bedouin Arabs on their pure-bred steeds appear and disappear; modern aeroplanes fly over distant lands, unconscious that they are fulfilling prophecy, great engineering works make the apparently impossible come true. To give the boys of the United States a clearer perception of that wonderful part of this Earth the East, to show how the western nations nobly and kindly fulfilled their obligations of honor, to give an immediate and applicable meaning to great lives of sacred and secular history, and, above all, to show how closely akin courage may be to reverence, is the aim and purpose of THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS CHAPTER I THE LAYING OF THE CURSE ...... . 1 CHAPTER II BLACK TREACHERY . . . ....... 46 CHAPTER III A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE ....... 76 CHAPTER IV CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP ..... . . 112 CHAPTER V THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS ...... . . 145 CHAPTER VI THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE ....... 192 CHAPTER VII THE BLACKEST DAY .......... 227 CHAPTER VIII THE DAWN OF REVENGE ........ 274 CHAPTER IX THE UNCONQUERED SANDS ........ 311 CHAPTER X THE WINGS OF THE MORNING ....... 337 ILLUSTRATIONS "Where Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night . . Frontispiece TACINQ PAQK Death-Dealing Tanks in "The Gardens of the Morn- ing" . . V 10 Native River Craft on the Persian Gulf .... 20 Bird-Man and Bedouin 30 Boys of the Desert 40 The Holy Carpet, which drapes Mohammed's Tomb at Mecca 56 The Sacred Mahmal Camel, presented by the British Army 56 The Imperial Camel Corps in a Sand-Storm ... 64 Indian Cavalry to the Rescue 80 Imperial Camel Corps on the Move 80 Desert Travel: The Ancient Way ..... 90 Desert Travel : The Mediaeval Way ..... 90 Desert Travel : The Modern Way ..... 90 The Proclamation of Religious Liberty, read at the Base of the Tower of David, in Jerusalem . . 100 Four Hundred Miles of Desert Sentinels . . . .110 Shells and Cartridges in place of Gems and Per- fumes of Araby 122 Under a Sky Like Molten Brass, and the Sand Hot Under-Foot 136 The Coolness and Shade of an Oasis makes ''Shadow" a Word of Blessing in the Orient . 136 The British Flag over the Home of Sindbad the Sailor . 144 ILLUSTRATIONS . TACINQ PAGE Where Eve Gave Adam the Apple ..... 152 When Turk was Master 164 When Turk was Defeated 164 Typical Arab Hut on the Banks of the Tigris . . 180 Forbidden to the Mussulman ! 190 Forbidden to the Christian! 190 Telegraph and Telephone across the Desert . . . 202 Viaduct before Explosions 226 Viaduct after Explosions 226 The First Charge 226 The Second Charge 226 The Third Charge 226 The Fourth Charge 226 The Victorious Troops in Bagdad 246 From Railhead to Fighting Line 274 Kut-El-Amara, where the British Flag was Hauled Down . . . . ,... ;.". . . . ... 298 Australian Camp among the Pyramids of Egypt . 312 Miles upon Miles of Sandbags 326 The Commissariat Camels that Fed the Armies . . 332 The Flood Plains of Mesopotamia, Hot and Wet . 332 Transport Camels in Wady Guzzee, Aeroplanes Overhead 332 A New Trick for Sand-Marching . / .. . . .336 Victory over the Fiercest Enemy Thirst . . . 340 Turkish Cavalry near Beersheba 348 Australian Light Horse at the Walls of Jerusalem . 352 Anzac Cavalry Watering Their Horses beneath the OliVe-Trees on Mount Zion 352 "Reverently, and on Foot, the Victor Entered" . 354 The End of the Last Crusade . . 366 THE WONDER OF WAR IN THE HOLY LAND CHAPTER I THE LAYING OF THE CUESE THE discordant laugh of a striped hyena split the silence of the waste, and echoed among the shapeless dust-mounds and choked high-banked canals which are all that now remain of Babylon the Golden City, Babylon, once the mistress of the world. An eager-eyed boy scrambled to a kneeling po- sition and reached out his hand for his rifle. " Father, shall I shoot?" he cried. "No, David, no," the archaeologist answered, rising on one elbow to look at the flitting gray shape that howled maniacally as it fled in the dusk. The three men, the archsBologist, his son and the Arab headman, all members of the exploring party, were seated or lying on the ground; the 2 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND day spent in the excavation of the ruins under the direct rays of a Mesopotamian sun, had been ex- cessively fatiguing, and a brief rest had been or- dered before the return to camp. The lad fingered his modern rifle longingly. "I could get him, sure!" he asserted. "Perhaps," his father agreed, "but the hyena has more right here than we. He is the true pos- sessor of the land. It is we who are the intrud- ers." And Ibrahim-el-Thiab, the old Bedouin Arab of the party, added gravely : "To every life there is a purpose. Even the bone-crushing jaws of Abu Madba' (the hyena) are a gift from Allah. ' ' "So are the poison fangs of the deaf adder," retorted the lad, "but that does not prevent your killing it." "The Daboia viper is deaf to wisdom," an- swered the Arab, "and it is written that he who will not hear wisdom may be smitten to death with a staff. Yet, deaf though the viper may be, he can be made the minister of justice if Allah wills it. So happened it once to Mohammed-el- Easchid." Now Ibrahim was -a famed story-teller even in THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 3 that land of the remote East where story-telling takes the place of music, of art and of the theater. The marvelous tales of the Arabian Nights En- tertainments were born at caravan halts. David at once scented a story behind this allusion to the deaf adder and shifted his position to face the Arab. "Tell me the story, Ibrahim!" he pleaded. The Bedouin turned to the archaeologist. "It is a, tale of blood, Man of Peace," he said. 1 'Is it your wish that a boy should hear such tales?" "There is no place more fitting than the ruins of Babylon to hear a tale of the death that strikes in the dark," was the reply. "Neither is there any time better than the dusk for tales of blood. It injures no one, young or old, to hear a true tale well told." The Bedouin made acknowledgment of the com- pliment with a grave inclination of the head. Then, drawing his cloak more closely about him, he began his recital with the assured ease of one who had spent many a hundred desert evenings telling tales under the stars. "It was many years ago," he began, "when the father of my father was still young, that fifty 4 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND Bedouin warriors of the Baschid tribe left their tents on a ghazu (raid) . Their tents, at that time, were on the further side of the Jordan, which, as you know, is a river that may not be trusted. The time was in late summer when the water was low and they crossed the hot jungle-valley of El Ghor in safety. "There were but fifty of the Easchid warriors, but the steel of their spears was sharp, the bar- rels of their guns were straight. The hand and the heart of the Bedouin," the Arab continued, "are always true." "It is a proverb, Ibrahim-el-Thiab, " de- clared the archaeologist. "Do not your people say: 'As straight as the sunbeam to the sand, so is the blow of the Bedouin to its mark ' ? " "It is indeed so said," the Arab replied, again acknowledging the courteous compliment. Then he continued: "Though the band numbered but fifty, the Raschids had horses of the best, steeds which came from the Abeyan, Saklawy, Julfa, Khalawy, and Marghub breeds, the only true breeds of horses in the world, steeds as wonderful as those of whom the Prophet tells that the great King Solomon forgot his prayers the first day that he THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 5 saw them. With such horses it was but a day's ride for the Easchids to a camp of the Adouan Bedouin. They rode up with the speed of a des- ert wind and surprised their enemies in their sleep. " Since, the Adouans were too few to fight, they offered no resistance, but nursed revenge. What says the Prophet: 'Accept reproof from a friend but not injury from a foe. ' One of the Adouans, however, on seeing that the Easchids had not only taken away his horses but also many of the crooked-necked ones (camels), became ill-content. Forgetting that 'Time comes from Allah, but hurry is the child of the Evil One', he pursued the victors of the successful ghazu. His haste outran his judgment and he fired at Mohammed- el-Easchid. It was not written that the Easchid should die that day, so the bullet sped wide of its mark. Mohammed, turning in his saddle, fired in response and the Adouan Bedouin fell. This made the Easchids blood-debtors to the Adouans. Is it not written that a life shall be given for a life?" "Yet, Ibrahim," interposed the archaeologist, " sometimes a money payment may be made." "It is true," the Aran admitted, "the Prophet 6 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND so allows, but among the Bedouins it is rare that money is offered, save when the killing has been by accident. For the slaying of the Adouan by Mohammed, the Easchids would never offer a money payment, since the slaying had been only after the Adouan had opened the attack. Many years passed before the Baschids and the Adou- ans chanced again to meet, wherefore the blood- feud was not settled, nor the debt paid. "A true Moslem never forgives, for it is written that if it is ordained that a certain thing shall be done, Time will bring the opportunity. On a certain day, many years after, Mohammed-el- Raschid, planning a necessary visit towards Beisan, traveled northwards on the western bank of the Jordan, beyond Jericho. 1 'He did not cross the river into the district of the Adouans. Yet, as he was alone and far from his own kinsmen, he deemed it wiser to be pru- dent. When dawn came, therefore, he crept into a cave in a wady (dry stream) and went to sleep, with the intention of reaching the tents of his friends by dawn of the following day, traveling only by night. "When the lids of his eyes were unsealed, the concealing dusk was at hand, even such a light as THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 7 that in which we are sitting now, and Mohammed- el-Raschid came out of his cave to continue his night journey. But, just as he descended into the bed of the wady, he suddenly found himself face to face with an- Adouan, mounted and with spear upraised. " Taken by surprise and his spirit still heavy with unshed sleep, Mohammed-el-Raschid fell to the ground and sent up a sudden cry : 11 'I claim protection!' "The Adouan checked his horse with a power- ful hand and deflected the point of his spear, look- ing down with a stern anger at the man kneeling in the wady bed a few feet in front of his horse's hoofs. In the heart of the Adouan a fierce strife was waging. "Here was his foe, delivered into his hand, and the blood-feud was still unpaid. Yet here, too, the Adouan, as a pure Bedouin, could not stoop to slay a man who had begged for his protection. His eyes and his heart and his weapons were alike hungry for vengeance. Yet honor forbade and pride restrained. "Then, as the Adouan sat in his saddle, glaring down at the blood-debtor of his family, in the dim light his quick eye caught sight of a Daboia viper 8 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND as it retreated to its hole in the rock not far from the spot where the E-aschid suppliant was crouched. " 'Mohammed-el-Raschid,' declared the Adou- an, 'no man can set his feet on any path save that one on which it is written that he must tread. Arise and take that path.' " 'Swear first,' Mohammed answered, 'that you give the protection I have claimed. ' " 'An Adouan is a true Bedouin,' declared the horseman imperiously, 'and I swear to you by Allah and by Abraham the friend of Allah, that I will not seek your life by any action of hand or weapon of mine and that I will not speak to any of my kinsfolk as to your whereabouts. " ' So far, and no farther, you are safe from me. Your death I shall leave to the will of Allah, that it may be when and where He will. ' ' ' But, that you may rightly claim this protec- tion, Mohammed-el-Raschid, I shall require an oath from you in return. Swear by Allah and by Abraham the friend of Allah, that you will never plan, attempt or do any evil against me, my fam- ily, my people or their belongings, and, that your oath may bind you, for a mu'hrab (praying-niche) THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 9 place your hand firmly within that hole in the rock yonder and deliver you of your oath. ' "Whereupon, on hearing that the Adouan would spare his life, Mohammed-el-Raschid rose gladly and put his hand into the hole in the rock to swear the oath which had been demanded of him. "No sooner, however, had his hand entered the niche in the rock, than the Daboia viper, which the Adouan had seen coiled there, struck that stroke which never needs to be repeated. "The Adouan leaned down from his horse and watched the death torments of his ghareem (feud- enemy). " 'I said that your death should be left to the will of Allah,' he mocked. 'Allah is all-merciful, but He is also just. ' " 'It is written,' answered the dying man calmly, 'that no man can cheat his last day,' and so died. 1 "The Adouan rode back to his people to tell them that the blood-debt was paid, and the Daboia viper crawled out of his hole in the rock, perhaps i "The Immovable East," by Philip J. Baldensperger ( Small, Maynard & Co. ) . io WAR IN THE HOLY LAND conscious, perhaps unconscious who knows? that Allah had chosen him for a messenger.*' "You think that an animal can understand the decrees of Allah?" queried the old professor. "If one of the four-footed," returned the Arab, ' ' can be taught to understand the will of a human master, who is not all powerful, why cannot he understand the will of Allah, who is all-power- ful?" "Even a hyena?" queried the boy, incredu- lously. Ibrahim turned slightly in the boy's direction and said gravely, "Daoud, forget not the old saying: 'The words of a wise man are as water, which the sun may carry away to a far place, but which will some time surely fall again to bless the earth.' "The wise man Isaiah, whose wisdom is revered by Moslems as well as by Jews and Christians alike, hundreds, yes, thousands of years ago, laid a Dark Curse upon Babylon, and Abu Madba' who laughs yonder in the dark, is one of the crea- tures upon whom it has been laid by Allah to make true the Curse." And, in sonorous Arabic, he chanted the de- struction of Babylon in the old prophet's words, THE LAYING OF THE CURSE n his version not differing greatly from that which is written in the Old Testament: "Babylon, the glory of the kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation, neither shall the Arab pitch tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. "But the wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses and dragons in their pleasant palaces." Silence, a silence deeper than that of the desert, the heavy silence of things long dead, followed the words of the ancient prophecy which carried the doom and menace of the Dark Curse. The Arab made a slight gesture toward the scene before their eyes. Aye, the Curse had come true! Dust, desolation and waste ! Hillocks and great mounds, some of them as high as small hills, stretched on every side, bare, dreary and unsightly. Stretching on either hand 12 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND could be dimly traced the enveloping network of high-banked canals, wherein aforetime the water flowed at a level higher than the land, canals which had spread water over all that thirsty land and made the desert to blossom like a rose. These now were but dust-filled ditches like monstrous mole-burrows 'On a blasted plain. A few marshy pools in the distance caught the reflections of the sinking sun and threw into high relief the sparse, rough tussocks of coarse grass which here and there caught the blown sand. Naked, lonely, forgotten, forsaken by all save the beasts of the desert this was Babylon. Closer at hand, less than a hundred feet away, still distinguishable in the fading light, could be seen the site of the recent excavations. David could trace the Ishtar Gate of Nebuchadnezzar's Palace, almost whole. The few remaining tiles of bright enamel glinted clearly against the ruins of the pale yellow wall of sun-baked brick, each brick of which, as the boy knew well, was stamped in cuneiform letters, with the name of Nebuchad- nezzar. A jackal slouched swiftly by with a shrill bark, answered by a score of unseen companions. An owl flew out of a dark corner. A bat flittered THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 13 overhead. The wind seemed to whistle eerily: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen " "Yet I have heard, Ibrahim," said the profes- sor slowly and musingly, "that there is an old tradition that the curse should be lifted some time. ' ' "It is true," the Arab answered, "but the prophecy is one that can never come to pass. It runs thus, Man of Peace : " 'When the wings of the morning fly from the west to the east, then shall the Two Eivers bow to the will of men and the fields of Babylon be green again.' " David, who had been restless under the old Arab's reverie, burst out impatiently: "Curses and prophecies and that sort of thing don't mean anything nowadays," he declared. "Why, it's like witchcraft or magic, I'd never have thought you were so superstitious as to be- lieve .all that stuff, Ibrahim. ' ' His father answered him quietly. "It is easy to see, David," he said, "that you have been spending the last few years in an American school, instead of being out here with me. Don't make the mistake of thinking your- self too clever to believe certain things which hun- 14 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND dreds of thousands of people do believe fully and sincerely. They can't all be fools, you know. Be- ware of hasty judgment, my boy. To declare, without evidence, that a thing is not true shows just as much ignorance as to affirm, also without evidence, that it is true. Disbelief is not higher than belief, but lower." "But you surely don't believe there could be such a thing as a Curse, Father!" protested the boy. "When you have been out here a little longer and get back again into the spirit of Eastern life, David," the old scholar replied, "perhaps you will come to believe in a great many things that your schoolmates in America would laugh at. As for the Curse " He broke off and looked down at Babylon, in all the world the most utter example of ruin and the ravages of Time. "Strange stories are told on these deserts, David," he said, "stories to which you listen with your whole heart in your ears, stories of battle, stories of mystery, stories of hate and revenge, stories of heroism and noble deeds. But of all the tales the desert holds, there is no story stranger than that of Babylon, none more full of THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 15 battle and of blood, of mystery and of magic, of adventure and of wonder. It is the story of a Curse, my boy, a dark and dire Curse, perhaps the greatest curse that was ever written in letters of doom upon the pages of the world's history, and the almost unbelievable story of its dark fulfill- ment. "Look before you, David, look on these crumb- ling heaps, and then think of Babylon in all her glory, Babylon the Golden City, Babylon, the Mistress of the World. Picture to yourself the great metropolis with her sixty miles of walls, her streets teeming with people, her palaces served by troops of slaves, her market-places filled with trade, her two noble rivers covered with shipping, and the plains on every side, as far as the eye could reach, covered with fields of waving grain, fed by the great irrigation canals and ditches raised by the engineers of olden time. "Yet, even before the days of her fullest glory, the Curse was already written and declared. "Think of her also, David, as the city of learn- ing. The wisdom and knowledge of Babylon was unsurpassed in the ancient world. Not only was she the richest city of the world, but she was held to be the wisest. The Chaldeans were the sages, 16 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND the lawyers, the historians, the priests. In all the arts she was foremost and her schools were the glory of the kingdom. "But the Curse lay heavy on her, even in her pride. " 'Thy wisdom and thy knowledge,' run the words of Isaiah's prophetic curse, 'it has per- verted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart I am, and there is none besides me! Therefore shall evil come upon thee and thou shalt not know from whence it ariseth, and mischief shall come upon thee and thou shalt not be able to put it off, and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly which thou shalt not know. . . . Let now the as- trologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosti- cators, stand up and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee. Behold they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them, they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire, to sit before it. ' " The boy shivered in the graying evening light. "Only the jackal can sit there now," he said. "Yet it was a great city of homes once," the old scholar continued. "Yonder, David, as you can still trace by the course of the mounds, ran THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 17 the great wall. The city was built in the form of a square, each of the four sides fifteen miles in length. The trench from which the clay was dug for the bricks of the wall formed a great moat, wide and deep, filled with flowing water from the Euphrates River. "So thick was that wall, my boy, that a drive- way was made on the top of it, so wide that four chariots might drive abreast. Its height is said to have been three hundred and fifty feet, though probably it was not quite so high. One hundred gates of brass, says Herodotus, the great histor- ian, opened to as many streets, all of them wide and paved with brick. Guarding these gates and situated at other vantage points on the wall, were two hundred and fifty turrets, each ten feet higher than the main structure, and sentinels were posted in every turret." " There wasn't much chance to catch them nap- ping," declared David, admiringly. "Yet the Curse fell, for all their watching," re- turned the professor. And he continued, "Marvelous, too, was the royal palace, all built of sun-baked brick and faced with hard colored enamels, but the Great King boasted less of his palace than of the fact that even the poorest 1 8 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND houses in the city were well built and had access to ample water, brought into the city by canals from the Euphrates Eiver. The city was divided into six hundred and seventy-six squares, and in the center of every square was a garden with a flowing fountain." "Fountains! In this desert!" the boy ejacu- lated. "Not only fountains in the gardens," the archae- ologist continued, "but one of the greatest won- ders of the ancient world was the Hanging Gar- dens of Babylon, an edifice of four tiers, built upon arches seventy-five feet high, the garden itself a quarter of a mile in circumference. This was built by the Great King for his favorite queen, Amytis, who had been a Median princess and who pined for the hills and forests of her homeland, amid the flat plains of Babylon. Water was raised from the Euphrates by means of a revolv- ing screw. Built on great pillars of brick, its hundred of thousands of loads of earth carried up on the backs of slaves, the erection of the Hanging Gardens was a labor of terrible proportions, and, like all such work, could only be maintained by constant attention and never-ceasing repair. "High above all, higher even than the royal THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 19 palace or the Hanging Gardens, glittered the Temple of Bel, or Tower of Babel, as it was some- times misnamed, built in seven great stages, the five lower covered with colored tiles of the hues sacred to the planets, the sixth plated with sheets of silver and the uppermost with plates of gold. "The statue of Bel, made of solid gold, was en- shrined there. "But, higher than all, hung loweringly the shadow of the Curse. "Nor did the Curse hang over the city only, but over the whole adjacent country. The highways of the desert ran through the streets of Babylon, crossing the great bridge that spanned the river, a bridge five hundred feet long and thirty feet wide. The desert highways were safe in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. The military power of Assyria had subjugated the world, and caravans moved regularly under armed guards. Each oasis was a fortified post. All the known wells were developed and many more were dug. ' ' Camel-trains paced the hot sands from Egypt, from Idumea, from Syria and from Sardis. Mule-trains came in from the north. Bafts of in- flated skins floated down the Tigris and the Euphrates from Armenia and Kurdistan. Up 20 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND the Persian Gulf by oar and sail came ships and barges loaded with gems, ivory, spices, and silks from Asia. "The threads of the world's life ran to Baby- lon. Yet the shears of the Curse were already sharpened to cut those threads. "You knew the story once, David, when we lived out here before, but perhaps you have for- gotten. Here, looking down on the shapeless heaps which once were Babylon, it is well that you should know how such a desolation came to pass. Do you remember how it was that Babylon came to be the chief city of the ancient world ? ' ' "I have forgotten a good bit," the boy admit- ted; "they didn't teach any Ancient History in school. Babylon began as a province of Assyria, didn't it?" "Babylon began long before Assyria," the archaeologist corrected him. "Though even Babylon is young compared with some cities of Mesopotamia, not even a mound rests where Nip- pur stood, only a little hovel that still carries the name Nippur." "Was that the first city, Father?" "It is the first of which we have definite his- torical evidence," the archasologist replied. "It THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 21 was the capital of a Sumerian Empire under En- sag-ana." " How long ago?" "Almost eight thousand years. His temple was built about 6,000 B. c. At that time, Eridhu, near the modern Zurnah and by the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, was the center of a Semitic Empire. Now the two Sumerian cities of Nippur and Kis were rivals. ' ' 11 Where is Kis, Father?" asked the boy. "Either on the very site of Babylon or close to it," was the reply. ' ' Luggal-zaggi-si, King of Kis, conquered all the adjacent lands and enlarged the Sumerian Empire to cover most of western Asia. His capital was at Erech. In 4,000 B. o. the Chaldean city of Ur, where Abraham was born, became the capital. Two centuries later the great Sargon built Babylon in 3,800 B. c. Then came an invasion of the Elamites and there were battles between Kudur-Lagamar (Chedor- laomer) and Khammurabi, in which battles Abra- ham took a part. Khammurabi became Lord of Western Asia and the power of Babylon was assured ; this was about 2,300 B. c. The northern military power of Assyria conquered Babylon during the time of Moses, a thousand years later, 22 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND and the Chaldeans established a priestly rule over the land during the period when Saul and David were kings of Israel, about 1,000 B. c. It passed into Assyrian hands during the lifetime of Isaiah about 700 B. c. The city of Nineveh, then, was the center of the world. "But, while Babylon was only a province of Assyria at this time, it had not lost its power or its prestige. It was, indeed, only at the beginning of its greatness. That came a few years later, when Nabopolassar, who was a vassal King of Babylon, under the Assyrians, joined the allied armies of Media to the northwest and Persia to the northeast, to throw off the yoke of Assyria. The Babylonians, Medes and Persians combined their forces, attacking Nineveh from three sides at the same time, and succeeded in overthrowing the Assyrian Empire. Nabopolassar, as his share of the spoil, received Nineveh, Babylon and the whole valley of the Euphrates. Thus the Second Babylonian Empire was born. "Nabopolassar was a powerful monarch, but he was a better soldier than an organizer of the arts of peace. You'll find throughout history, David, that the founder of a dynasty is always a soldier, but if the empire is to last, his successor must be THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 23 a builder. It was thus that the warrior David was the conqueror of Palestine, but Solomon was the builder; it was thus that the Napoleonic em- pire fell, for the great general was not given the time to consolidate his conquests. "When Nabopolassar died, after a long and powerful reign, he was succeeded by Nebuchad- nezzar, one of the greatest kings of olden times. He it was who besieged Jerusalem and took the tribes of the Jews into captivity. He it was who took Daniel, a Jewish prince, and made him one of his chief counselors. He it was who set up a great golden image and bade every one in the kingdom at a certain hour bow down and worship it, and those who refused to do so should be cast into a fiery furnace ; he it was who cast the three Hebrews, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, into the furnace ; and he it was who saw that the men walked in the fire and were not consumed; and, yet again, he it was who, convinced by this mira- cle, freed the convicted men from the furnace and promoted them to even higher posts in the gov- ernment of Babylon. "That mound, David, which you see far off to the left, surmounted by a small mosque, is the site of that fiery furnace, and in it have been found 24 bricks which have been subjected to an intense heat, quite different from the sun-baked bricks of the buildings around it. "It was Nebuchadnezzar, again, who forgot this warning when he looked from his royal pal- ace upon the Golden City, who gazed on the Hang- ing Gardens, who saw the Temple of Bel rising to the stars and who boasted in his pride: 'Is not this Great Babylon that I have built for the house of my kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty!' ' ' Then the Curse laid its finger on the king. "It was Nebuchadnezzar, who, within that same hour, heard a voice warning him that his glory was gone from him, and that he should be ex- pelled from the homes of men in disgust. It was Nebuchadnezzar who, in that same hour, fell ill with that fearful illness which doctors now call lycanthropy, wherein the fevered brain of a man conceives itself to be that of an animal. It was Nebuchadnezzar, the Great King, who 'was driven from men and did eat grass as oxen and his body was wet with the dews of heaven till his hairs were grown as eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.' But he became the Great King again when the crisis of his malady passed, and, THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 25 after his cure, he never again boasted of his power nor regarded himself as greater than other men. " Great was Nebuchadnezzar and greater still was Babylon, yet, greater than either was the shadow of the Curse of Isaiah that hung over it, blacker and blacker. "When Nebuchadnezzar died, his son, Evil- Merodach, took the throne and reigned for two short years. He soon found, as many a son of a great monarch has done, that there is nothing in the world more difficult than to continue another's greatness. An implicit obedience to royal orders which had been secured by the personal renown of the Great King could only be purchased by his successor. Nebuchadnezzar's greatness had cost his country untold millions of treasure, and, like a ball started rolling down-hill, the expense of maintaining these costly palaces and temples, of repairing the immense and complicated irrigation projects, commenced to swamp the nation. Evil- Merodach knew no way to stem the tide save by increasing the taxes of the people and enlarging the tribute upon the surrounding nations. This policy gave rise to civil conspiracies at home and revolts abroad. Upon the death of Evil-Mero- dach several usurpers sought the throne of Baby- 26 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND Ion. Political misrule wrenched the city in sun- der. Civil war emptied the treasuries which should have been devoted to holding the empire together. "It had been the Medes and the Persians who had aided Nabopolassar to free Babylon from the tyranny of Assyria. Now the peoples who were subject to Babylon called on the aid of Media and Persia to free them from their new taskmasters. "The Curse still held, of which part ran : 'Make bright the arrows, gather the shields; the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, for His device is against Babylon to de- stroy it. ' "By this time Belshazzar, son of the usurper Nabu-nahid, was on the throne, but Belshazzar, brought up in luxury as one of the nobles of Baby- lon, had neither had the diplomatic training for a king nor yet the camp life and stern administra- tion needed for a military leader, such as that un- der which Nebuchadnezzar had spent his early life. Caught in the vicious belief which demands extravagance lest economy be regarded as a sign of weakness, Belshazzar not only made the mis- take of raising the taxes still higher, not only added to that the error of levying higher tributes THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 27 from the surrounding tribes, but he also made an enemy of Cyrus the Great, King of Persia. " Either Belshazzar ignored or he had forgotten that the Curse named Cyrus as one of the prin- cipal agents for the destruction of Babylon: 'To Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut.' ' ' Then, David, came that night, one of the most dramatic in history, one of the strangest in the history of war, the night when Babylon was taken. That night, in the midst of her pomp and glory, the finger of the Curse touched the empire of Babylon and blasted it. There, David, ' ' and the old archas- ologist pointed with his finger, "is the mound be- neath the dust of which lie the scattered bricks and ruined walls of Belshazzar 's Palace. On the very spot where that jackal is now howling dis- mally, the famous feast was held on the night which turned into that night of terror." And, taking from his pocket a small edition of the Old Testament, the old scholar read the story of a night before which even St. Bartholomew's Eve pales in horror : "Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a 28 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded that there be brought the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Temple which was in Jerusalem, and the king and his princes drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. "In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man's hand and wrote over against the candle- stick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. "Then the king's countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against the other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the sooth- sayers. And the king spake and said unto the wise men of Babylon: " * Whoever shall read this writing and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet and have a chain of gold about his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. ' "Then came in all the king's wise men, but they could not read the writing, nor show to the THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 29 king the interpretation thereof. Then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled and his countenance was changed in him. His lords, also, were aston- ished. "Now the queen, by reason of the word of the king and of his lords, came into the banquet house, and the queen spake and said: " '0 King, live forever! Let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let they countenance be changed. There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and, in the days of thy father (predecessor), light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and the soothsayers . . . now let Daniel be called and he will show the interpretation. ' "Then was Daniel brought in before the king. "And the king spake and said unto Daniel: " 'Art thou that Daniel, which art of the chil- dren of the captivity of Judah, which the king, my father (predecessor) brought out of Jewry? I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been 30 brought in before me that they should read this writing and make known unto me the interpreta- tion thereof, but they could not show the interpre- tation of the thing. And I have heard of thee that thou canst make interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now, if thou canst read the writing and make known unto me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothec with scarlet and have a chain of gold about thy neck and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. ' ' ' Then Daniel answered and said unto the king : " 'Let thy gifts be to thyself and give thy re- wards to another ! ' ' * Yet I will read the writing unto the king and make known unto him the interpretation. "<0 thou King! The Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor. And, for the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations and languages trembled and feared before him; whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive ; whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down. " 'But when his heart was lifted up and his mind hardened with pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from From "Sphere": U. S. Copyright, N. Y. Herald Co. 0r BIRD-MAN AND BEDOUIN. The "ship of the desert" has no chance against the ship of the sky, while musket or scimitar is powerless against bomb and machine-gun. THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 31 him. He was driven from the sons of men and his heart was made like the wild beasts and his dwelling was with the wild asses; they fed him with grass like oxen and his body was wet with the dews of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God mleth in the kingdom of men and that He appointeth over it whomsoever He will. " 'But thou, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this, but hast lifted thyself against the Lord of Heaven, and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee. Thou and thy lords have drunk wine in them and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know. . . . Then was the part of the hand sent by Him and this writing was written. " 'And this is the writing that was written Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. " 'This is the interpretation of the thing: " 'Mene God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it ! ' ' ' Tekel Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting! " 'Peres (Upharsin) Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians ! ' 32 ''And, David," the old scholar continued, ''even at the very time that the bold Hebrew prince was standing before the king announcing the destruc- tion of his kingdom, by secret tunnels and pass- ages under the palace and throughout the city, the soldiers of Cyrus were creeping in. By strat- agem and treachery, the waters of the Euphrates had been diverted from their main channels, and up the oozy bottoms, into the water-gates the in- vaders came. 1 "True to his oath, Belshazzar called for the robe of scarlet and the chain of gold, but, before the conclusion of the feast, the Persian soldiers rushed in. Grim and great was the slaughter in that banquet-hall, and in that night was Belshaz- zar slain. The Persians commenced an indis- criminate massacre which lasted all the next day, and so great was the rage of the Persian soldiery that Cyrus issued an edict to the inhabitants that they should keep to their houses and bade his cavalry slay only those who were found out on the streets. Just eighty-eight years of glory and of pride had been permitted to Babylon. The Golden City was fallen and her people slain by the i The author is aware that the Annals-Cylinder gives a different version, but he does not consider that it contradicts the version in the Book of Daniel. THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 33 sword. Thrown from her high estate, Babylon became a Persian province. 1 'The Curse was falling! "But a great and populous city, my boy, favor- ably situated for trade and commerce, which, for nearly a century, had been the center of the an- cient world, could not become an utter desolation in a day, merely because it had been conquered. Babylon had changed rulers many times before. There was much of the Curse still to be fulfilled. "The Babylonians, proud of their ancient fame, and with military leaders among the nobles who belonged to the old fighting Assyrian stock, re- fused to remain supine under the heel of Cyrus. They revolted against the Persian dominion, drove out the invaders and secured their inde- pendence anew. A pretender, calling himself Nebuchadnezzar II, took the throne. Darius, the ninth Achemenian king of Persia, and son of Hytaspes, set out to retake the city. "Darius was a famous warrior, but thanks to the strength of its massive walls, Babylon resisted the siege for twenty months before the Persians were victorious. Then, in order that the Baby- lonians might not be tempted to revolt again, Darius ordered his army to destroy the famous 34 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND walls which had been the city's pride. Just as Cyrus nad robbed Babylon of her strength as a royal center, so Darius took away her renown as a fortified place. He was eager to plunder the city, but was afraid of provoking the people. "The Curse was thus twice fallen, but Babylon still remained a powerful city, with enormous wealth and treasure in her temples. The great Temple of Bel or Tower of Babel remained un- touched, together with its great golden statue, the value of which was said to be equal to fifty years of tribute from one of the richest provinces. "But empires come and go, and victory never rests long in the hands of an autocratic power. Cyrus had made Persia the mistress of the world. Yet on the isles and the mainland of Greece there was developing a power which should give the world a new civilization, a power which dared even to defy the hosts of Persia. "True, Greece was far outside the boundaries of Persia, but Xerxes, son of Darius, whose capi- tal was at Persepolis, deemed himself King of Kings, and could not endure that any people should defy him. This was the same Xerxes (Ahasuerus) who married the Jewish maiden Esther, and made her his queen. Twenty-nine THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 35 years after the destruction of the wall of Babylon by Darius, the Persians, under Xerxes, marched against the Greeks. The campaign was disas- trous and the Persians retreated to their own country, vanquished and impoverished. In order to replenish his exhausted coffers, Xerxes sent a powerful force to Babylon, plundered the city, de- molished the Temple of Bel, carried off the gods of gold and the treasures of that marvelous structure. "Thus came about the words of the Curse which said: 'Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are con- founded, her images are broken in pieces.' "The royal glory of Babylon was gone, her great walls were thrown down, her gods disgraced and her wealth taken away, yet the Curse was not all fulfilled. "The Persian Empire had been great, greater even than the Babylonian. The conquest of Lydia had placed all the wealth of CKBSUS in Persian hands, the conquests in India had given them control of Asia's vast resources. Yet the Persians had failed to defeat the Greeks and it was from north of Greece that there came upon the scene one of the most extraordinary generals 36 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND of history, the Napoleon of the ancient world. " Alexander the Great of Macedon, with a wave of conquest that was like a living fire, swept the known world from north to south, from east to west. He it was who wept 'that there were no worlds left to conquer.' He carried his victories from the Balkan States to India, and Babylon came within his grasp. "As great a strategist as he was a warrior, Alexander saw at once the importance of Babylon, situated upon what had once been a fertile plain, upon the main highway between the east and west. He realized that it was ideally placed for the capital of a great empire, and he determined to make Babylon even greater than it had been in the famous days of Nebuchadnezzar. Ke- membering that the strength of the city had lain in its walls for being a city of the plains there was no natural strength in its position he set thou- sands of his soldiers and tens of thousands of prisoners and slaves to the task of clearing away the ruins of the walls which Darius had thrown down. "But there are things so vast as almost to be beyond human power. Though Alexander has- tened his return from India in order personally to THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 37 supervise the work of rebuilding Babylon, he was compelled to admit that a whole summer's work produced so little impression upon the ruins that the project of rebuilding the wall had to be aban- doned. Babylon's riches and power had been due largely to her irrigation canals, but Alexander the Great, with all his power, could not restore what Time had commenced to efface. He fought harder to rebuild Babylon than he had done to conquer the world, but he stayed in Babylon not to conquer, but to die. The waters of the Eu- phrates, no longer controlled, had spread into malaria-breeding marshes. "The Curse still hung over Babylon. On the scene of his triumph, in the midst of his labors, before ever a section of the wall was built or a new palace erected, Alexander was smitten with a fever and died in his thirty-second year. "Thus dying young, he founded no dynasty. . There was no one to consolidate by the arts of peace the empire which had been gained by the sword. Upon the conqueror's death, his vast possessions fell to pieces. His generals quar- reled among themselves for the partition of the empire and Mesopotamia was seized by Seleucus Nicator. That rude soldier and captain of war had little longing for the luxury of Babylon, and was wise enough to see that he could not hope to succeed where his great master had failed. The immensity of the task of rebuilding Babylon had staggered Alexander, it frightened Seleucus. He abandoned Babylon and built a new city at Se- leucia, a day's march away. "Heavier and heavier grew the Curse. With the royal capital entirely removed, the court, the nobles, and the merchant princes followed the king to the new capital, and Babylon fell still further from her high estate. All the leading citizens of Babylon were gone. She was no longer even the capital of a province, but a half -ruined, half-abandoned city, which even the caravans shunned in favor of the capital. Trade ebbed away, the streets grew more and more deserted, until only a few Babylonian patriots and the un- changing priests made their homes in the empty and echoing houses, falling into dust on every side. " Built as they were of sun-baked bricks, the mighty works of Nebuchadezzar needed constant repair. The throwing down of the walls had choked the great moat which was an integral part of the complicated system of irrigation canals that THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 39 watered the plain. The dams by which the great reservoirs were made to hold the spring floods, broke down under neglect. Lacking the royal power to order hundreds of slaves to the task, the few remaining people of Babylon could not re- build the dams nor clear away the ditches which had been choked up. The torrential rains of the spring and the parching winds of the desert at one time broke down the banks and at another time filled up the channels. The fields that had been covered with waving grain now became parched and dry, the low-lands, which had been drained with ditches, now became reedy marsh. "Under the Curse, Babylon was beginning to become but 'desolate heaps.' "The descendants of Seleucus, finding that the Mediterranean coasts were more important than the Euphrates, owing to the westward movement of civilization, moved their capital from Seleucia to Antioch, and Babylon was left still farther from the hum of the world's affairs. But the Seleucidse, like those who had gone before them, were doomed to fall. Arsaces, the founder, and Mithridates, the first king, founded the Parthian Empire, and a new capital was built at Ecbatana. "Yet, distant though Babylon was from the 40 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND march of the world 's events, it could never be forgotten. The Parthian kings, who lived in al- ternate vassalage and hostility to Eome, deter- mined to show their hold over Mesopotamia, and as a symbol of their power, they turned the en- closure of Babylon into a hunting park, and spent large sums for the gathering in of wild animals from all parts of the world with which to stock their royal game preserve. "As the Curse had foretold, 'wild beasts of the deserts' and 'wild beasts of the islands' began to make their home there. "Then came the power of Rome. Though her wars with Parthia lasted for centuries and though Antony once suffered a terrible defeat, sooner or later the Roman legions were bound to conquer. The Emperor Trajan assumed the added title of King of Parthia, and a Roman army under Cassius razed Seleucia to the ground. What is Seleucia now? It is but a mound, my boy, a mere heap of dust, as yet unexcavated, un- explored. Nothing is to be seen but an undu- lating heap of sand. It may contain great treasure, it may hold secrets that will unlock many of the mysteries of history. What lies under that sand? No one knows. From "Sphere": U. S. Copyright, tf. Y. Herald Co. BOYS OF THE DESERT. THE LAYING OF THE CURSE 41 4 'During the Koman and Parthian wars, the desert city of Palmyra secured a short but bril- liant fame. A purely Arab city, proud of her merchant princes, she controlled nearly all the trade of the northern deserts. All caravans passed through her gates and this deflected still further the world's attention from the once Golden City on the Euphrates. But, when Queen Zenobia felt herself strong enough to defy Rome, Palmyra met with the same fate as many cities of the East, and now a forest of columns in the sand is all that tells of the rich, fierce life that once flourished there. " 'Centuries passed,' " the old scholar con- tinued, reading a passage copied into one of his note-books, 1 " 'Borne rose to preeminence and de- clined, while the fires that the prophet Zoroaster had kindled in the hearts of the Persian peoples, kept alive in them a consciousness of race and a will to live. It was in the third century of the Chrisitian era that the family of Sassanid arose to the east of the Mesopotamian Eivers, and, by an inspired revival among the Persian tribes, suc- ceeded in establishing the Sassanian Empire. i "The War in the Cradle of the World," by Eleanor Franklin Egan ( Harper & Bros. ) . 42 11 'For a capital, the Sassanian kings built the city of Ctesiphon on the forever strategically valuable shortest highway between the two rivers, immediately opposite the fallen city of Seleucia. The Arch of Ctesiphon is all that is left of the great audience-hall of the emperor Khusrau (Chosroes). It dates from about the sixth cen- tury. It is one of the largest and most extraor- dinary ruins in the world and is so massively and amazingly built that one looks around and about over the naked desert in the midst of which it stands and wonders how a city whose builders were so great could possibly disappear from the face of the earth. . . . The Sassanian Empire was overthrown in the middle of the seventh century by the irresistible cohorts of the Caliphs, and Bagdad, in its turn, came to be founded as a great capital in the Cradle of the World. ' "Yet, each in their turn, Persepolis, Seleucia, Ecbatana, Eome, Ctesiphon and Bagdad, each in their turn, carried on from place to place and from century to century, the treasures that had been amassed by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, the Golden City. And, century by century, the floods beat upon the ruins of Babylon, and the sand of the desert blew upon Babylon, aid the Arab who had brought the news. * i In-sha-Allah, as Allah wills ! ' ' answered the archaeologist, and the soft-footed camels broke into the racing trot. Babylon was soon left be- hind. Came night, the stars, the silence of the desert, and the 'two camels speeding with their noiseless stride. In the distance, a prowling jackal. Over the rim of the horizon, invisible to the 8o WAR IN THE HOLY LAND pursued, rode the pursuers, Turks and Arabs of the tribe of Muntafik, Sunis all, loyal to the Sultan of Turkey. The archaeologist, unused to the racking, joint- wrenching motion of a racing camel, which moves the fore and hind legs together first of one side and then of the other, like the gait of a rocking- horse, suffered intolerable pain all night through. Not until nearly morning did he allow an im- patient exclamation to escape him. " Allah may have created the camel because of his love for his people that dwell on the desert," he said, "but to ride him for many hours turns the heart to water. ' ' But Ibrahim, on the other camel, hastening for- wards, only replied. "When a fire is to be extinguished one does not ask whether the water thrown on it be salt or fresh. ' ' Twelve hours of riding had brought the old scholar almost to the point of exhaustion, but Ibraham had no intention of being overtaken in the act of helping an infidel to escape from the edict of the Commander of the Faithful. After a very brief halt, and a meal consisting of a handful of meal, a few dates and a drink of A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 81 water, the Bedouin led the way across the desert at a steady pace. Towards evening the fugitives drew near to Haman, a small village on the main caravan route for the Mecca pilgrims from Persia. 1 ' Will it not be dangerous to stop here t ' ' asked the archaeologist. "It is a danger we must face/' the Arab an- swered. "We shall not reach the khan (walled camping-ground) until nearly dark, and, as you know, at dark the gates are closed. Even if those who are pursuing are close behind, they cannot reach here before the gates are shut." "But might they not camp outside and cut us off in the morning!" "If they are Turks," the Arab answered, "they will not wish to sleep in the open ; if they are Be- douins, unless a very strong party they would not risk a ghazu." Lower and lower sank the sun; the fierce heat which had been parching the lips and searing the eyes began to die down. With evening all things seemed to grow more aloof from the American. The desert stretched out interminably and the mind seemed to grope in vain for something hu- man, something less pitiless. The ruins of Baby- 82 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND Ion had been desolate with the melancholy re- minders of what had once been, but, in Babylon, there was something definite upon which the mind could fasten. The desert is desolate with a crushing emptiness, sand and sun and sky seem to mock at human effort. Although he had lived for years in the East, this was the first time that the archaeologist had been on the desert alone, with a solitary Arab. Better than ever before he understood the thought of the Bast. Resist the silence of the desert, and it is terrify- ing with the inert weight of its monotony and im- palpable horizons; yield to the desert, and some inner well of silence in man responds to that vast hush. One becomes a part of the great silence. Horizons and time matter no longer, speech is unimportant. The air vibrates with unsaid words, with unthought thoughts. And the archa&- ologist understood how the fatalistic doctrines of Islam were born of the desert and flourish there. There is no measure of space in the desert save the length of a caravan march from rise to set of sun, there is no measure of time but the passage of the sun across the sky. To the western mind, Nature is something that A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 83 may be tamed. Rocks may be blasted away to build great roads, bridges may be flung across rivers and chasms, forests may be turned into gardens, prairies into cultivated fields, even water- falls harnessed to drive the wheels of industry. But, to the eastern mind, Nature is no ready slave. Sand and sun and sky are all-powerful. They may not be conquered or controlled, and the Bed- ouin lives on the fringes of the desert in full un- derstanding that it is only in so far as he yields to Nature that he will be permitted to live, by grace of that savage trio, the sand, the sun, and the sky. At last came the khan. Though one of the pil- grimage stations, Haman is also a point where the commercial caravans stop, and the khan was full. It was one of such stopping-places of the simplest variety, merely a high wall with a num- ber of covered arches, two stories high, on one side of the great open court yard, or corral. Bells from the animals tinkled on all sides. Every- where were kneeling camels, waiting patiently for their loads to be removed; mules munched the straw out of each other's bursting saddles; yellow dogs slouched about. Two muleteers were quar- reling violently. An Armenian merchant was speaking to a caravan leader with the obsequious, 84 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND cringing manner of the Armenian trader in the East. The Arabs remained aloof. And the sun came to the rim of the horizon, shooting out the warning of his departure in flames of orange and gold. The confusion of the khan ceased. The quar- rels came to an end. Even the animals sensed the moment of repose, as Ibrahim and nearly all the others present threw their praying-carpets on the bare ground, placed their hands on their knees and chanted : "Allah is great!" They bowed the head. "I give praise to Allah!" And fell upon their knees. "Allah Akhbar!" (Allah is great.) And bowed forward until their foreheads touched the earth. "Subhana 'llah!" (I give praise to Allah) they then repeated three times, as they sank back on their heels, followed by another prostration and a repetition of the same words. 1 And, at the moment of sunrise and sunset, and at other times, all over the world, Mohammedans i The full evening prayer is much longer and in parts is poetic and beautiful. A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 85 never forget the morning and evening cry to Allah. The crimson and golden tints died out. The clear sharp starlight of the desert filled the sky. At once the tumult and confusion of the khan were resumed. Small fires of dried camel-dung smoked here and there for the simple cooking of lumps of mutton in melted butter. In the center of the court yard, a larger general fire was lighted of brushwood and dry grass-roots, and on this was a common pot out of which many took the pieces of meat with their fingers. Those who had dined took turns at the bubbling nargile or water- pipe. In the corner several men drew water from a deep well with a squeaky wheel, and chanted in chorus as they pulled. The savage bubble-scream of an angry camel rose above the babel of the braying of donkeys and the neighing of horses. Then the swift dark of the desert rushed over, as though Night had no time to wait for the departure of evening. The animals fell silent, save for the occasional tinkle of a bell as one or another moved. The voices of the men died out. In the distance a jackal cried. The khan went to sleep. 86 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND The desert does not sleep. The stars inarch over it during the night as the sun did in the day, and the sand, the stars and the sky keep up their perpetual watoh and their perpetual hush. There was not much sleep for the archaeologist that night, for it was impossible to say whether the pursuing party might not have received or- ders to follow night and day, in which case, by commandeering horses at certain posting-stations, they could soon overtake the camels. The night passed quietly, however, and an early start was made, the American and Ibrahim leaving the khan at the first rays of sunrise. Indeed they were well on their way before the sun appeared above the horizon. At once rose the cry from Ibrahim, as he stroked his beard like every devout Moslem believer : "I witness that there is no God but God and that Mohammed is his prophet!" In spite of the haste of the journey, Ibrahim stopped the camel, set his praying-carpet on the ground and commenced his morning orisons, facing Mecca. In a measure, he was not afraid of his pursuers overtaking him during this ex- ercise, for it was absolutely certain that they, wherever they were, were repeating the same long A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 87 ritual, with exactly the same gestures and in ex- actly the same words. No matter where he happens to be or what he may be doing, the Mohammedan never forgets to pray when the hour of devotion has arrived. The laborer in the fields will let fall his tools, the merchant bargaining in the bazaar will set down the cloth he is seeking to sell, donkey-drivers will drop down by the roadside, courts of law will suspend business, even on a traveling railway- train many will carry out the worship. When two hours' travel away from the khan Ibrahim stopped suddenly. "0 Man of Peace," he said, "from here you must go alone. The camels will not aid you, and I cannot. See, here is a pilgrim's dress. Put it on. You must lie by the roadside as though hurt or ill, and when the caravan we left behind at the khan overtakes you, appeal for help. Say that you were with the former caravan which passed here yesterday, but fell ill and were left behind. You are old. You speak Arabic well. You un- derstand Islam." The archaeologist looked at Ibrahim in astonish- ment. He could not understand this sudden de- sertion. ''And you?" he asked. The Bedouin looked out over the desert. ' 'I go on with the two camels," he said. "It is sure that those who follow will have trackers, who can tell the print of one camel's foot from 'among a thousand, and as long as the tracks continue across the desert, they are not likely to suspect that one of the camels is riderless." "You mean to draw the whole pursuit after yourself?" ' ' Even as you say. ' ' "But if they catch you?" "That is as Allah wills," the Bedouin replied. The camels knelt down and the old archaeologist put on the pilgrim dress. "Be bold," said Ibrahim. "You have gold. When the caravan comes, beg for help and offer to buy a mule. Some one will arrange for you, by shifting the pack from one of the baggage-animals. This is important, for you do not walk like an Arab. Those who follow are not likely to look closely at the band of pilgrims if the eyes of the trackers can follow the tracks of the two racing camels continuing in front of them. ' ' "And if the caravan people are suspicious and A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 89 turn me over to the soldiers or Arabs, or what- ever they are ? ' ' queried the archaeologist. "All paths are drawn by Allah," the Arab an- swered, "but the pilgrims will be even more afraid of the soldiers than you. Allah with you ! ' ' "The peace of Allah with you a thousand times," returned the archaeologist, after a few sentences of gratitude, at the same time giving Ibrahim, as a parting gift, an old Egyptian talis- man ring, adding, "it is true what they say of the Sons of the Desert: 'the honor and the horse of a Bedouin can never be outstripped/ When this war is over I shall come to see you again." "As Allah wills," the Bedouin replied. He mounted the saddle of the foremost camel and set off along the desert track. In a few minutes the shapes were merging against the horizon. The archaeologist dropped upon the ground be- side the way, ready to simulate weakness when the caravan of pilgrims should pass by. Within an hour the head of the pilgrim caravan had approached. Some of the pilgrims were trudging on foot, but others were on mules. One, evidently a Pasha, rode a splendid horse and was 90 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND followed by several servants. There were sev- eral women in the caravan, seated in covered wicker cradles suspended on either side of mules. "In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful and the Compassionate!" cried the archaeologist, as the Pasha's train came near. The Pasha reined up his horse, and the Ameri- can, feigning great weakness, staggered toward him, and told the tale which had been agreed upon with Ibrahim, adding, to give color to the story, that he had been a dealer in antiques and had lived in many countries, but that now he was old he was determined to make the pilgrimage to Mecca before his death, but that his strength was failing. The Pasha listened, then motioned to one of his servants. "Give him your mule," he said; "it is written that 'the strong man shall make place for the weak, the well for the weary.' " The American was profuse in thanks and offered to pay the Pasha. " 'To a pilgrim, prayer is of more value than gold,' the Pasha answered. "You may recom- pense the servant who will have to walk. And, as you have been a traveler and lived in strange DESERT TRAVEL: THE ANCIENT WAY. DESERT TRAVEL: THE MEDIAEVAL WAY. DESERT TRAVEL : THE MODERN WAY. A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 91 countries, you will have seen many things un- known to my eyes. Ride beside me for a space, that we may lighten the length of the way. 'Learning is wise,' says the Prophet, 'if it lead not out of the path.' " The archaeologist accepted gratefully, and find- ing out that the Pasha was from Arabistan, turned the conversation to a praise of the glories of the Persian race, and recounted old legends of the country which the Pasha himself only knew in part. As a result, the leader of the pilgrims was delighted with his new companion. An hour later, there came dashing up a troop of Turkish horsemen, with a considerable body of Muntafik Arabs. The archaeologist's heart began to beat more quickly, for he knew for whom they were seeking. The officer in charge greeted the Pasha, and after the customary ceremonial salutations, asked, "Were there two travelers on racing camels in the khan where you rested last night?" "Yes," the Pasha answered, "I saw them this morning. They left early, before our animals were saddled." "Then they cannot be far away," declared the officer eagerly. 92 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND One of the Pasha's servants, desert-born, spoke, * ' They are still in sight ! ' ' and pointed with his finger. The Arabs, who were with the Turkish soldiers, caught sight of the two specks on the horizon, and with wild cries urged their horses on. The Turks caught 'the infection and followed. No one for a moment thought of questioning the pilgrim who rode on the right hand of the Pasha. The day passed, the archaeologist hard put to it several times to keep from betraying his igno- rance of many of the simpler matters of the pil- grimage which 'any true Mohammedan would have known. As the Pasha did not seem to be of a suspicious character, however, the make-be- lieve pilgrim was able to explain these lapses by his statement that he had lived many years in the cities of the infidels, carrying on his trade in antiques and gems. In the middle of the afternoon, a cloud of dust on the horizon gave rise to active fears on the part of the pilgrims. The dangers of an Arab raid were always present, and though the pilgrims had little reason to fear for their lives for no Bedouin would slay a true believer on his way to Mecca still, several of the travelers, and espe- A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 93 cially the Pasha, were traveling comfortably and had personal belongings of value which might be seized. As the cloud of dust grew nearer, however, it became evident that it was created by the Arab and Turkish horsemen who had passed them that morning in pursuit of the two racing camels. "If their mission was just, may Allah have granted them success," exclaimed the archaBolo- gist to the Pasha. The Persian, a true Shiah, answered bitterly, "Allah knows best why he allows the Turk to prosper. ' ' There is no love lost between the Persians and the Turks. There is less between the Turks and the Arabs. As the party approached, the archaeologist asked himself how that extraordinary Oriental empire, the Turkish empire, can have endured so many years, when greater and better empires have vanished into dust. For, of all the empires that the world has known, not only is the Ottoman em- pire one of the weakest, but it is also one of the most scattered. Only a very small proportion of the Turkish empire is populated by Turks. In Europe, a 94 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND large part of the population is Bulgarian, Al- banian, and Greek; in Asia Minor, Kurd, Laz, Circassian, Georgian, and Anatolian, to say noth- ing of lesser tribes; Syria possesses another hotchpotch of races and all the deserts from the foothills of Asia Minor clear to the south of Arabia are inhabited by Arabs. Through most of this country, the Turkish au- thority exists only in name. Heavy taxes are levied, but are not always collected; large sec- tions of the country can only be kept from revolt by periodic indiscriminate massacres; tribute is often nothing more or less than plunder secured by a Turkish military force ; and the Turkish writ does not run in Arabia. Nothing holds or has held the Turkish empire together save the re- ligious belief that the Sultan is the mouthpiece of Islam when the dignitaries of the church are in agreement with him. By now, the party was near enough for the archaeologist to examine the riders carefully and he could tell by their aspect that Ibrahim had not been taken. The Pasha reined up courteously. "May the Curse of Eblis rest on them!" re- plied the Turkish officer. "Half a day's march A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 95 from here, there is a wide stretch of soft and shifting sand, poor footing even for camels but impossible for horses. My Arabs tell me that this belt of fine sand runs for two days' marches to the south, and that before I could return to Hillah and secure camels, the two men I am seeking would be so far ahead that we could not overtake them before they reached the harder sand beyond. Truly, Pasha, the deserts are only fit for the children of Jan. ' ' "Was their crime so great?" asked the Pasha. The archaeologist leaned forward interestedly. He would learn, at least, for what official reason the Turkish government was seeking his head. ""Well," he said apologetically, "it is a Jehad." The Arabistan Pasha made a slight deprecatory gesture with his hand. "I have heard of it," he said, "but do not rightly understand. The Sultan is the servant of the Prophet, and cannot be at the same time the servant of the infidel Kaiser. Is it the serv- ant of the Prophet who has called for war or the servant of the Kaiser?" "It is the true believer against the Franji," re- torted the Turkish officer. The Persian spat on the ground in approved 96 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND fashion to show his hatred of the infidel, but he replied none the less honestly. "The friend of Allah is he who fulfills the words of Allah, and not he who says of himself, 'I am of Allah.' The Franji on whom be the curse of Eblis are careful of sacred places and the true believers live in peace under their rule. I have been in Beluchistan and India, and I know. * ' ' ' The sword of the believer is not stained when it takes the blood of an infidel," the Turk rejoined. "It came to the ears of the Bey that a Franji was digging in the ghost-haunted walls of the cities of the giants, unearthing ancient curses against the children of Allah." The Pasha turned to the archaeologist by his side. "You, Merchant," he said, "have known much of such ancient things. Could there be found such curses?" The old scholar's heart leapt into his throat. Here he was set face to face with the man who was seeking him. He realized at once that to give an answer seeming to excuse the Franji would be the likeliest thing to arouse suspicion, so answered promptly : A CAMEL-FLIGHT FOR LIFE 97 " Truly, there are snch curses. Once, in Aleppo, there was brought to me a talisman with a curse engraved thereon. I am but a merchant and do not know much about such things, so re- ferred the matter to the Cadi. He gave judgment in my favor, but kept the gem." This was so thoroughly in the character of a possible happening, and so fully the possible ex- perience of a merchant that it drew no suspicion. Salutations were exchanged 'and the Turkish sol- diery returned, empty-handed. For the moment, the archaeologist was safe, though it had been a narrow escape. Moreover, he had learned one of the most im- portant points in the threat of war which was now blazing into the Eastern world, and that was that the Mohammedan peoples who, far from be- ing fools are usually very keen observers of po- litical affairs had immediately grasped the fact that no edict issued by a Sultan at the behest of an infidel Kaiser could cause a Holy War. A few days later, ambling slowly on the pil- grims' way, the archaeologist was startled nearly out of his wits when the Pasha remarked to him, in a quiet, conversational tone, "0 Merchant, I would give you some advice. 98 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND Your disguise is good, but it will not serve you in Mecca." The old scholar, for the moment, could do noth- ing but gasp. The Pasha smiled at him kindly. "When the Turkish captain told of the Franji who had been digging for sorceries in -the ancient cities, and who had escaped the day before, I knew well that it must be you. Arab merchants are ignorant; they disdain to learn anything save to haggle over prices. An Armenian merchant would pretend knowledge. A Jewish merchant would know all that was to be known. You are neither Arab, Armenian, nor Jew. You appear suddenly on the roadside the very morning that they are searching for a Franji who knows just those things you know. Truly, Merchant, one does not have to possess great wisdom to guess who you may be. ' ' The archaeologist saw that he would lose the favor of the Pasha by any disclaimer. "Truly, Pasha," he replied, "the Persians have eyes like a hawk. I am that Franji, but I need not t Basra. The Mesopotamian country is strangely sit- uated. It is nothing more or less than a deep marsh valley lying between the high plateau of the Syrian and Arabian deserts to the west and the mountains of Asia Minor and Persia to the north and west. As the mountain slopes are high, with heavy snows in winter, the two rivers of that double valley, the Tigris and the Eu- phrates, come down in terrible floods in the Spring. As the banks are of a dusty character continually blown over with fine sand from the desert, they have no permanent channel and are very -shallow, so that the flood waters makes mil- lions of acres of marshes during January, Feb- ruary and March, which, during the rest of the year, become plains of a fine, impalpable, chok- ing dust. At the stretch where the great ruins were built, Babylon, Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Bagdad, the rivers approach as close to each other as eighteen miles and the whole valley is less than forty miles across. At the widest point, near Amara, the valley reaches two hundred miles across. Much of this, however, is permanent swamp. It was the fifth of November, 1914. Reports, hardly more than rumors, had reached the expedi- tion camp with regard to the progress of the war. It was known that Germany's first advance had failed, it was known that the Russians had thor- oughly demoralized the Austrians. It was known that a Jehad had been proclaimed, but David did not know whether Turkey was actually in the war. As a matter of fact, war had been declared on November 1, Turkey having been compelled to assist Germany, because the Kaiser had aided the Sultan to defy the Powers of Europe when Abdul u8 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND Ilamid was about to be made to suffer for the un- speakable atrocities committed by the Turks on Armenians and other Christians. In utter confusion as to the best means of reach- ing Basra, David bethought himself of his new- made friend, Abd-el-Imhammad, the Arab he had encountered at the mosque. He knew Bedouin life well enough to be sure that if he went boldly to his tent and claimed protection and hospitality, it would be given him without stint. He under- stood sufficiently the intense fanatic spirit of Mo- harpmedanism to realize that his action in trying to save a mosque from desecration would secure him the fiery friendship of every Moslem who knew of the occurrence. David decided, as he stood by the Mound of Bel that night, that he would try to reach Basra and find Ferguson as his father had suggested, but first he would try to secure aid, or, at least, information from Abd-el-Imhammad. First, however, he took out the tablet that he had dug up, pried out a couple of the gems and put them in an inner pocket for safe-keeping, then hid the tablet in his game-bag. It was not too late to reach the tents of his Arab friends that evening, so David, feeling somewhat CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 119 lonely and deserted in spite of his father's promise that the separation would not be for long, sturdily mounted his little horse and set out for the encampment. It was night when he arrived. The spear standing upright at the door of a tent guided David to the tent of the Sheik. At fourteen years of age, a Bedouin is almost grown up, and David knew that he would receive greater respect if he assumed equality. Like many boys who speak two languages per- fectly, David was as courteous and correct in Arabic as he was slangy and neglectful in his own tongue, thus reflecting the customs of each country. So, having dismounted at the opening of the Sheik's tent, he proceeded through the lengthy forms of ceremonial politeness, finally being bidden to sit down on a reed mat, which he knew was for a guest of honor. Arab hospitality would preclude the asking of any questions until the coffee had been drunk. In the center of the hut glowed a dying fire, and beside it, silently watching the pot on the ashes, sat the coffee-maker. Now and then he scraped the ashes around the pot. A thin veil of smoke rose up slowly and dispersed itself under the low 120 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND roof of the tent. The silence was almost reli- gious, the darkness suggested witchcraft rather than night ; a hobgoblin might have sprung out of the coffee-maker's pot and not been out of keeping with the scene. All at once, at the back of the tent, a hand was raised and a bundle of fine dry grass-roots came down on to the fire; in sudden blaze it momen- tarily lit up the dark faces, flared an instant, flickered, then as rapidly died away. David silently watched the coffee-maker and his host, who being nearest to the fire was dimly visible in its remaining light. The attention of the one was concentrated on his pot, that of the other on the boy. The coffee-maker reached out his hand without turning and one amongst the crowd at his back for, as a matter of course, the other members of the tribe had crowded into the Sheik's tent handed him a massive iron spoon to which was chained a copper ladle. The Sheik's younger son, obeying a nod from his father, pulled a bag out of a dark recess be- hind him; another bundle of brushwood was thrown upon the fire and by the light of its sudden, almost startling blaze, the lad untied the bag and CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 121 carefully counted out the allotted number of ber- ries. The coffee-maker dropped them into the spoon, for which he had raked out a hole in the ashes. The slight stir caused by these proceedings sub- sided, the blaze died away and the attention of all was again riveted on David save that only of the coffee-maker, who sitting close up to the embers, now scraped the white ashes round the pot, now turned the roasting berries over with the ladle chained to the spoon. The silence was so intense and so prolonged, that the ticking of the lad's watch in his pocket sounded like an intrusive violation of the western world into the comparatively slow movement of life in the East. Little by little the berries browned until they were almost black, and the coffee-maker emptied them into a copper mortar. As he pounded them, he caused the pestle to ring in tune against the sides of the bowl, a difficult art, for there are many songs of coffee-making in which the words are rarely chanted, but which all those present re- peat silently to themselves in rhythm with the ringing of the pestle against the copper bowl. Yet, though David knew that every Arab pres- 122 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND ent was following the unsung words of the song, not a soul moved. Yonder in the night a goat scratched himself against a tent-peg. Darkness outside, darkness inside, save when a spark from the fire suddenly revealed the setting of the eyes that watched, the eyes of sedate, intent Arab faces. A splutter on the fire as the pot boiled over put an end alike to the tune and to the meditations called up by it. The coffee-maker transferred the ground berries to a copper jug and, pouring the boiling water on them, placed this second pot on the hot ashes. All this had taken fully an hour, but now two tiny cups were produced, and another man moved nearer the fire, to rinse them out, one by one, with hot water, with a care and absorption in the process which David felt to be in strange contrast to the simplicity of the task. In the three years that he had been away at school, the boy had forgotten to a great extent the Oriental slowness and intensity of -mind. Now, as he sat still, controlling himself with not a little difficulty, he felt himself slipping back into the ideas of his childhood, when he had been more Arab than American. Or, as he vaguely ex- pressed it to himself, he was beco-ming hypnotized Ilritish Official Photo. SHELLS AND CARTRIDGES IN PLACE OF GEMS AND PERFUMES OF ARABY. The modern caravan across the Tigris carries a different freight from that of the time of the "Arabian Nights". CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 123 by the slow intensity of the actions of the coffee- maker. The coffee on the fire came to the boil, the coffee-maker poured it back to the original pot, which he again set on the ashes. He then handed the empty jug to the cup-washer, who rinsed each cup out carefully with a few drops of the coffee, left in the pot for that purpose. Very quietly, very precisely, he placed each cup on the ground within easy reach of the coffee-maker, then re- tired into the background. Not a word had been spoken. The coffee on the fire boiled up. The coffee- maker reached out his hand. David straightened up in expectation that the long rite was over, but the coffee-maker emptied the boiling liquid back into the original pot and replaced it on the ashes. The fire now burned very dimly. Even the man's form bending over the glowing ashes was discernible only as a black shadow. The stillness for a few moments was so great and the con- centration of all present centered so profoundly on the bubbling coffee-pot, that vague remembrances of the Arabian Nights Entertainments occurred to the boy. He felt as if all the meaning of life, the past, present and future, were being distilled 124 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND in the black liquid, and that any moment a genie might arise out of the pot and become visible in the mysterious darkness. Again the coffee boiled up. Again the man emptied the boiling liquid into the other pot and replaced it on the fire. The stillness and the concentration became more intense. Outside, a lamb's sudden cry and the mother's answering bleat rang out sharply on the night, a distant reminder of a far-off world. There were no echoes, and when the sound died away, the tent became the center of that heavy and impelling silence. 1 The coffee boiled up for the last time. The coffee-maker though David could only think of him as some dim sort of a magician carefully decanted a few drops into each of the two little cups. One was handed to David and one to the Sheik. 1 'In the name of Allah !" said David, remi- niscences of his childhood returning. A second cup, or rather a few drops in the bottom of the tiny cup, was handed to the boy, and a second time he drank. i "By Desert Ways to Bagdad," by Louisa Jebb ( Dana Estes & Co.) CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 125 The third time the cup was given its few drops and David, knowing the ceremony, declined the third cup. The drops of thick and bitter liquid were then handed on to the next in importance in the tribe, and so on, until the very last drop had been taken. The mixture was thick and bitter. When the last drop had been drunk, the Sheik turned hospitably to his guest, ''There is no act that man can do, save those which Allah has appointed. Perhaps you may be able to tell us in what way we can help you. I have already heard that you have shown dis- cretion at the mosque, even though not one of the true believers. " Whereupon David, thus encouraged, told the entire story of the day, the warning of Ibrahim, the threat of the dervish, his father's surmises concerning the war, the attempt of the German excavators to embroil the Americans in Arab hatred, and, finally, his return to the site of the expedition camp and his father's advice to try to reach Basra. When the boy had finished there was a long silence, and then one of the Arabs spoke out of the darkness. "One of the family of Agaid," he said, refer- i 2 6 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND ring to a tribe of Arabs, "told me this morning that there were many Turkish soldiers going from Bagdad to Basra by rafts. ' ' , This was disconcerting news. "Why are they going down to Basra?" asked David, in the hope of finding further information. The same Arab replied. "The Turks at Fao have been beaten back by the Franji," came the startling information. David stared moodily at the dim red spot on the floor which was all that showed of the remains of the fire. He wondered if the Arab's information were correct. As a matter of fact, it was exact. The War in the East had already begun and the bitter fight for Mesopotamia was just at hand. Though no one knew it, that very place on which the tents were pitched, that very plain between the rivers, was to be drenched again with blood, and, though wars had been fought between the Tigris and Eu- phrates rivers many a thousand years before, the bitterest and bloodiest war was that which was yet to come. While waiting for the Sheik or some other of the Arabs to speak, David harked back in his mind for the explanations his father had given him CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 127 from time to time as to the causes of the British influence in the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. Below Basra, as the archaeologist had explained, there are two great divisions of the Arab peoples. They are themselves divided into tribes and tribal groups, but are allied in strong confederations. On the Mesopotamian side of the Shatt-el-Arab which is the name given to the combined Tigris and Euphrates rivers after they join at Qurnah this confederation is for the purpose of resisting Turkish aggression, and is under the direction of the Sheik of Kuweit. The other confederation is formed for the purpose of resisting Persian aggression and lies on the Arabistan side of the river, under the rule of the Sheik of Muhammerah. For generations the favorite occupations of the coast Arabs in these regions have been piracy and slave-trading. Now piracy has been a very serious menace to the Sheik of Kuweit, for just off his territories lie the two islands, Bahrein and Mubarak in the Persian Gulf, noted for fine pearls. As the yield of pearls was worth over two million dollars a year, and the Sheik levied a substantial tribute on this, piracy was a sore point with him. He could not arm himself against pirates. Turkey had no navy. It fell to the lot 128 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND of England, therefore, to police these waters as she has taken care of nearly all the otherwise un- policed waters of the earth. It followed, nat- urally, that the Sheik of Kuweit became a staunch ally of England. Then David, doing his best to remember things his father had told him, and to which he wished, now, he had paid more attention, tried to recall the relation of the oil question to the Sheik of Mu- hammerah. In 1901 an Englishman without much money, but with an unlimited faith in his own powers, se- cured a concession from the Shah of Persia for working petroleum, in all its forms, in southern Persia. He was successful in interesting British capitalists in his project and he spent large sums in prospecting. Day in, day out, for seven long years, he wandered and journeyed into every hole and corner of southern Persia, his search only made possible by that ready support which Eng- lish capital gives to the exploration of the ends of the earth. At last he tapped an immense and practically inexhaustible oil-field in Arabistan, within the -territories over which the Sheik of Muhammerah exercises control. In the way of expense, Persia had done nothing, 129 but, no sooner were the oil-fields found, than both the Shah and the Sheik of Muhammerah found themselves in receipt of a fat sum of royalty an- nually. In four years, between 1908 and 1912, the oil-fields were developed with a swiftness that seemed like magic, and by 1912 all the neces- sary refineries were built, a double pipe line 150 miles long was laid down to bring the product down to the coast, and the little desert island of Abadan, in the estuary of the Shatt-el-Arab, de- veloped as though by miracle into an oil-shipping port of good size. Early in 1914, the British Admiralty, disturbed by the evidences of German aggression in the Orient, bought a controlling interest in the Anglo- Persian Oil company, as many of the newer and heavier battleships of the navy burned oil, rather than coal, and Abadan became an important naval fuel-base. It was small wonder that the Sheik of Muhammerah was also an ally of England. If he could get into their territories, therefore, David thought, especially if he could make his way down to the teritory of the Sheik of Kuweit, he could thence reach Abadan and be safe. The boy realized that his father did not know, when he advised him to go to Basra, that the Turkish 130 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND garrison there was being reenforced by troops from Bagdad. It remained to be seen whether it would be wise for him to try to reach Basra. Abadan or Tao, however, seemed certainly in British hands and the boy knew that once England grips a seaport, she rarely lets go. But, if he could not go down by river, how should he go? The dark tent and the silent Arabs were not comforting. David felt as though the darkness were encompassing his future and the silence his fate. Then the Sheik spoke. 1 'Last season," he said, "there came to our tents a Franji Pasha who wished to put a halter on the two rivers. He was a powerful Pasha. The Turks had a party of soldiers to do him honor, and his gifts were worthy the acceptance of a Sheik." By which David judged that an Englishman of some importance had been engaged in diplomatic work along the upper Euphrates. "In what way would he bridle the river, Sheik?' 'asked David. "As did the ancients," the Arab replied; "when the floods came down he desired -to lead CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 131 them into great lakes, from which small streams should lead the water to the fields when the sum- mer sun shines hotly." "Is the Franji Pasha there this season?" asked the boy. "That we shall soon know," answered the Sheik. He raised his voice. "The sons of Harran will ride to-morrow," he said. This was a characteristic Arab speech. The Sheik of a tribe is only a chief by dignity. Only in tribal wars does the authority of the chief actually become that of a commander, otherwise, it is rather a position of dignity and precedence. Yet the wish of a Sheik is usually regarded and the boy knew that the information would be obtained. "My father would wish that the Sheik of the tribe of Harran should have a talisman from the cities of the Ancient Past," interjected David after a pause. "It is not well that a Turkish usurper should possess that which has been found in the land of the Arabs." For a youngster, this was a tactful speech. The Sheik could not, with dignity, accept a gift save from an equal, and a lad of fourteen years, 132 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND even though the son of a Franji Pasha, could not be his equal. So, by placing the gift as though it came from his father, David avoided this pitfall. Moreover, a Sheik could not accept "baksheesh" or alms. Nor could he accept pay for hospitality. A talisman, however, was a permissible gift. Furthermore, by declaring it to be something which ought not to fall into the hands of the Turks, he was pleasing the pride of the Arabs. A slight murmur ran round the silence of the tent. To the Bedouin, a gift to the Sheik of a tribe is a gift to every man in the tribe. David had no need to ask whether the Arabs would go. Such things arrange themselves. Soon after sun- rise, he knew, the horsemen would be on their way. The Sheik replied with a stately expression of thanks and another small bundle of brushwood was thrown on the embers of the fire. The tiny gem was shown and passed around. Then, with- out a word or sign, the crowd melted away. An- other skin was spread on the bags of grain which occupied the rear of the tent, and, without the formality of undressing, in a few minutes the Sheik, his son, and David were fast asleep. The boy was awakened by the devotions of the CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 133 Sheik. As a youngster he had known all the Arabic prayers and wondered whether he ought to recite them now. The little son of the Sheik was also on his praying carpet, following his father, word for word. David waited until they had finished and then rolled up his bed on the top of the sack-mouths, and turning, repeated quietly some of the opening verses of the Koran. Answering the expression of surprise in the Sheik's eyes, David explained, "My father always taught me that there is Truth in all religions, and to do honor tp all teachers of all faiths." The Sheik's eyes lighted. " 'Who teaches a wise thing, sows a good seed,' " he answered. David spent the morning with the young son of the Sheik, the smaller boy being especially proud of a huge dog which had been given him for a pet when quite a puppy. Lake most Arab dogs he was fierce, fully carrying out the words of the old proverb which says, "Better eat clay than risk a battle with the dogs of the Arab ! ' ' Yet, since the dog was playful and affectionate, David bent down to pat him on the back. 134 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND All cried out in dismay. " 'Though the dog's wool is soft, it is un- clean!' " he cried, and David, for the first time, understood why it is that while the Arab may treasure his dog, he never touches it, nor does an Arab dog fawn upon his master. "The only dog," explained Ali, repeating an old Arab tradition, " which will be admitted to Paradise is the dog which watched over the cave of the Seven Sleepers. ' ' This was new to David. "Tell me, Ali," he said, "what other animals are to be admitted I ' ' The younger lad was proud of the opportunity of showing off his knowledge to an older one, the son, too, of a Franji Pasha, and he rattled along eagerly. "Besides the bees," said Ali, "there are ten animals which will be admitted to Paradise. There is the ram which was sacrificed by Abra- ham, -the lamb of Ishmael, the cow which Moses gave to the Israelites, the whale which swallowed Jonah, the ant which Solomon showed as an ex- ample of industry, the hoopoe which was in the Temple at Jerusalem, the horse which carried Elijah to heaven and which El Khadr (St. CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 135 George) used in his fight with the dragon, the dog which watched at the entrance of the cave of the Seven Sleepers, the ass on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the day when the people greeted Him with palm branches and the camel which carried Mohammed in the departure from Mecca. ' ' "And no other animal will ever get in I" queried David, who was really interested, and sur- prised at the knowledge of his young friend. "No," answered Ali, "not unless Allah sends it to help one of his prophets. What animals are there in the Christian heaven f ' ' And David, trying to remember, was bound to confess that he did not know. The morning passed quickly, and shortly after noon the horsemen returned. They reported that the "Franji Pasha who sought to bridle the river" was still there, but was making plans to leave be- cause of the news of the outbreak of war. The Arabs had spoken to him about David, and the English engineer, as the boy recognized him to be from the descriptions, had given them a message that instead of riding south, David should mount horse with the utmost dispatch and ride north to his camp, as he would not leave until the following day. 136 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND One of the Arabs offered to accompany the lad, so David hurried to where his horse was picketed and set out with his guide for the upper stretch of the Euphrates, near Hit, where the engineer's camp was located. They rode steadily to the northward for an hour, and then a cloud of dust on the horizon caused the Arab to rein his horse back suddenly on his haunches. David followed suit. "When the sun was high in the heavens," the Arab said, "I came down over this way, where we may still see in the sand the tracks of the feet of my horses and the horses of my companions. Who can these be?" The two riders whirled their horses eastward and rode toward the direction of the river Tigris, but the cloud of dust grew thicker and nearer. "We -seem to be in a trap!" declared David. "Maybe we had better go back to the Sheik." But the Arab was reluctant to do this. He had been entrusted with the task of guiding the Sheik's guest. Besides, he knew that the Turks were seeking to incense the Muntafik Arabs to a Holy War, and since his own tribe was known to be hostile to the Muntafik, the latter would seize upon the excuse of the presence of a Franji boy UNDER A SKY LIKE MOLTEN BRASS, AND THE SAND HOT UNDER-FOOT. Conrtesy of" Illustrated London News." THE COOLNESS AND SHADE OF AN OASIS MAKE "SHADOW" A WORD OF BLESSING IN THE ORIENT. CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 137 who was already a fugitive to wreak their vengeance on the tribe. So he whirled his horse to the westward and the two rode at topmost speed till they came again to the bank of .the Euphrates and then turned northward to see if there would be a space be- tween the cloud of dust and the river. But, as they rode, there rose upon their ears the long, low hum of a host. Nothing was visible, not even the cloud of dust, for at that time they were riding just in the shelter of the low bank, which, outside the line of date palms, marks the high water of the river in the time of the spring floods. At a check on the bridle, the Arab's horse came to a sudden halt, and listening intently, the Bed- ouin said, "It is the noise of a host." "Turks?" queried David succinctly. "How can I tell when I have not seen them?" protested the Arab, "and if I ride to the bank, they may see me and come after me with twenty men. ' ' "Creep up on the ground and see," suggested the boy. "Allah, the All- wise," replied the Bedouin, 138 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND proudly, "gave the Sons of the Desert feet on which to walk and only the lower creatures have bellies on which to crawl. ' ' David's curiosity, however, was greater than any such scruple and, handing the bridle of his horse to the Arab, he crawled along the ground until he came to the edge of the bank. Then, carefully, he put his head above the edge and looked. This was no band of raiding Arabs, no move- ment of a Bedouin encampment. The whole plain was studded with groups and companies of men in military formation. In the distance wagons could be seen, and a small black object which sped across the desert to David 's right he assumed to be a motor-car. Although too far away to dis- tinguish clearly and lacking a field glass, still David was convinced that he could distinguish cavalry, infantry, and artillery units. It was the Turkish Army from Bagdad, moving south to reenforce the garrison at Basra. For a moment David was staggered. As he had feared, they were in a trap. Behind them was the Turkish garrison at Amara, which un- doubtedly would have thrown out flanking parties on either side to hold the valley of the Two 139 Elvers from the Persian mountains to the edge of the desert plateau; on either side of them was a river, the Euphrates to the left and the Tigris to the right; and in front was the Turkish Army. What was the way out? He crept back down the bank and walked thoughtfully to where the Arab was holding both horses. "We're in a tight fix," he announced, then, translating the phrase, told his comrade just what he had seen. The Arab turned his eyes across the river. "If we were upon the other side," he said, "we might go north without being seen." "Let us go on the other side, then," suggested David hopefully. "There is but the bridge of boats below Hillah and the dam at Museyia," the Arab answered, "and it is sure that there will be soldiers ai both places." "We might swim across!" suggested the American boy. The Arab looked at his companion with sur- prise. 1 1 Are you one of those to whom Allah has given the fins of a fish?" he said. 1 40 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND ' ' I have no fins, but I can swim, ' ' said David. "I have heard of such things," the Arab re- plied, not wholly convinced. "Have you never seen any one swim?" queried the lad, in surprise. Then, remembering, he cor- rected himself, "No, I don't suppose you would. The Harran are a desert tribe." He went to the edge of the river and looked across. 1 ' There 's quite a bit of a current, ' ' he said, aloud to himself, "but if I started out here, even without swimming very hard, the current would take me to the other side a couple of hundred yards down. ' ' "But I have not the fins of a fish," the Arab protested. "Tell me," returned the lad, "in which direc- tion is the camp? I can swim across. Then you can return to the Sheik and tell him that you have seen me on my way. ' ' The Arab shook his head. "It is for me to take you 'to the Franji camp," he said, and David knew that with characteristic Arab persistence, his companion would never turn back until he had either got through or been killed in trying. "It will eat time to take you over ae well," da- CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 141 clared the boy. "And we haven't much time to waste, if the camp is still fifteen miles away ! ' ' But the Bedouin remained insistent. So David stripped and tied his clothes and shot- gun on the saddle. Then, leading his horse by the bridle, he started to wade through the river. The Arab horse, unaccustomed to the water and not liking it, jerked back, but, well-trained, on feeling the hand on his bridle and seeing his master before him, advanced gingerly foot by foot until the stream took him off his feet. Then David, who had kept on the upper side of the stream from the horse, struck out boldly. The river was about two hundred yards in width at this point, but the deep water was not more than fifty or sixty yards at most and the boy managed without difficulty, though, as he had expected, the current took him downstream to the next bend. He tied the horse to a camel-thorn and walked up the river to a point higher than where he had crossed, to allow for the set of the current, then swam back. By this time David was tired. Although he knew how to swim, he was in no sense a good swimmer. He had learned nothing but the breast stroke and had none of the long, even glide which distinguishes the expert swimmer. When he got 142 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND back to the eastern shore of the river, after having crossed it twice, he was blowing like a grampus. "You have spoken truth," commented the Bed- ouin, ''when you admitted that Allah had not given you the fins of a fish. Yet he hath given you skill to beat the water like the oars of a boat, and I will beat the water likewise, and go over also." "No," said the boy, "that, Hassan, you can- not do. Swimming is an art not to be arrived at without some practice. But tie your rifle on the saddle, even as I did, and walk into the water be- side your horse, keeping your hand on the saddle. Do not try to hold yourself high out of water, or you will drag the horse down. Let yourself sink as deep as possible, so that only your nose is out of the water. Breathe through your nostrils. So shall you put no weight on the horse, and the slight lift you give on the saddle will keep your head above water. As for advancing through the stream, it is not wide, and the little forward swim- ming I can do will encourage the horse to do like- wise and so we shall get over." This crossing, however, was much more difficult than the first. As soon as the Arab got beyond CAUGHT IN A TURKISH TRAP 143 his depth, he grew frightened, and in a half -panic tried to lift himself half out of the water by the saddle. The weight dragged the horse down, and the fright of the rider communicated itself to the horse. David, puffing hard and unused to the exertion, found that the rhythm of his legs and arms was not uniform. He strove his hardest, but all his efforts were in vain to reach the point where he had landed before, and though he tried until his muscles cracked, the current swept him by. The panic which was in the Arab and in the horse com- municated itself to him and he began to thresh out wildly, as he saw the bank receding. He looked down. The next bend was almost a quarter of a mile away. Could he keep afloat so long? Black circles danced before his eyes, but he kept his muscles to their task and floundered on. Then, suddenly, his feet touched ground. The river, always full of shoals and bars, was shallow here. He stood upright to get his breath. The Arab did likewise. A wave of confidence swept back over the boy. "Come on," he cried, "we're almost there!" 144 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND and putting all his force into the task, he towed the horse and rider over the narrow intervening chan- nel to the shoal beyond. He could afford to scorn the Turkish Army now. The Euphrates was crossed, and he was on the other side. CHAPTEE V THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS "So you're Professor Surch's son, eh?" said a tall and rugged man, shaking David 's hand heart- ily. "I'm glad to have the chance of helping you. Didn't have any trouble getting here, did you? You're late." "Why, yes, sir," the boy answered, "we did have some trouble, ' ' and he described his crossing of the Euphrates. The big Englishman laughed heartily, and turned to the Arab. "By the graven seal of Solomon!" he said, using a common Arabic adjuration, "but you are worthy of your tribe, Son of the Sons of Har- ran, for it takes courage to meet a danger all un- known. You have done a worthier deed in facing an angry river than facing an angry foe. ' ' And David, who had plucked out another of the small gems from the tablet in his game bag, gave it to the Arab, saying, "Take this gem as a remembrance of how 145 146 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND horse and rider faced the current to guide a friend." The Arab took the gift and salaamed solemnly. "By the Verse of the Throne, and the Chapter of Sincerity, and the Two Preventives," he assured them solemnly, "I have done only that which any Son of the Desert will do to one who has come to his tent and eaten bread and salt. Allah forbid that a true Bedouin or the horse of a Bedouin should be slow upon the path of right doing. ' ' David and the English engineer walked with the Arab to where his horse was standing. "But how will you cross the river again?" asked the boy. "There are tents of Bedouins not far away," the Arab answered, "and when the sun rises to- morrow by the light of whom Allah send you prosperity and peace I will ride back. I can cross the river at Hillah. None will suspect my crossing, for my brethren are near. ' ' And with a salutation of dignified farewell, the Arab disappeared into the gathering dusk of the evening. After a substantial supper of a European char- acter for the engineer had many servants and THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 147 had evidently been encamped for several months at the place the conversation naturally turned to the question of the war. "It's a confounded nuisance," the engineer de- clared, "because I was just getting my work here nicely started and the Arabs had full confidence in me. Now the Germans are going to spoil it all." "But I don't see, sir," said the boy, "what this part of the world has got to do with Germany at all? I asked Father about that, but he didn't seem to know, either. Father hated politics, that is unless it was politics a couple of thousand years old." The Englishman smiled as he leaned back and lit a cigar. "It's easy enough io see where Germany's in- terests are involved," he answered. "To begin with, David, Germany was the latest of all em- pires to be organized. When she defeated France in 1871 and started on a world conquest idea, all the habitable parts of the globe were already colonized. As Germ-any became richer, she became more populous. Her densely popu- lated sections made Germany greedy for colonies to people; her commercial success made her 148 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND greedy for colonies to exploit ; and her militaristic system made her greedy for colonies to conquer and to rule. Since all the known lands in the world which were worth colonizing were already colonized, nothing was left for Germany but to develop a larger army than any other power in order to gain territory by conquest. That's clear. ' ' "Why couldn't Germany be content with what she'd got?" queried David. ' ' Greed, ' ' came the answer, ' * and forty years of success had made her arrogant. She thought she could conquer all the world. Even more than that, she was jealous of England, her commercial rival. England, as a naval empire, depends on the loyalty and unity of her colonies across the seas. India is not only a source of income, but it would be a .terrible blow to England's pride if an attack could be made on India. Therefore, for many years, Germany has been trying to under- mine England's interests in the East." "I remember," put in David, "Father told me that was why the Kaiser made an alliance with the Sultan of Turkey, and protected him when- ever he undertook the massacres of Christians." "Exactly," the engineer answered, "but the THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 149 Kaiser wanted practical gains at once. In return for this alliance, Germans were granted many commercial concessions in Turkey. One of these was the building of a railway to connect Con- stantinople with Bagdad. There was already a railway from Berlin to Constantinople, so the new line was known as the Berlin to Bagdad railway." The engineer paused significantly. "It is not finished yet!" he added. Then he continued, "At the same time, as a result of this alliance, military and naval schools with German instruct- ors were established in Constantinople. The Turkish artillery was of German and Austrian manufacture, and the artillery chiefs were Ger- man. The equipment of the infantry was Ger- man and there were German drillmasters. At the present moment, David, the Turkish Army is as thoroughly a part of the German Army as the Indian Army is of the British. "Soon after the war began," the engineer went on, "the Turks, acting under instructions from Germany, attacked two Eussian ports. The Allies promptly demanded an immediate with- drawal of the ships, an apology, and an indemnity. Turkey evaded the point. The Allies then in- 150 sisted that all German naval and military in- structors in the Turkish service must leave Con- stantinople. This would leave the Turkish Army leaderless. Turkey could not accept with- out offending Germany, could not refuse without defying the Allies. It meant war, on one side or the other, and Turkey could do nothing else but declare herself on the side of Germany. ' ' "When did all this happen, sir?" asked David. 1 i Only a few days ago, ' ' the engineer answered, "on November 1st. Now, David, since you are in the middle of this war and not likely to be able to escape from the theater of operations unless the war comes to an end quickly which seems un- likely now that Germany has been stopped in France, and Austria has been invaded by Eussia I think perhaps I ought to explain to you what Turkey is trying to do. "The German-Turk plan of campaign, as I see it, is threefold. First of all, there is a strong movement planned against the Eussians in the Caucasus, with the intention of securing the Baku oil-fields. Second, there is to be an expedition against Egypt in the hope of capturing the Suez Canal and thus preventing the shipment of troops and supplies from India and Australia to the THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 151 western theaters of war. The third campaign, in which we are personally more directly inter- ested, will start south from Bagdad to seize the works and pipe-line of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company at Abadan. That, if successful, would menace the west coast of India and seriously cripple England's naval movements in the East." "That one has begun already," remarked David; " there must have been just thousands of men in that army we saw this afternoon. But do you think, sir, that Germany can make it go T " "They have announced a Holy War," the Eng- lishman commented gravely. "Father didn't seem to think that would amount to much," the boy answered, recalling the archae- ologist's conversation. The engineer looked interested. "I should greatly like to hear what he said, if you can remember," he urged. "Professor Surch has lived a great many years in this coun- try, he is a close student of the Arabs and of Islam and his opinion would be valuable." So David searched his memory and repeated all that he could remember concerning the difference between the Shiahs and the Sunis, and repeated the professor's disbelief that Mohammedans all 152 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND over the world would rise in fanatic revolt on so flimsy a pretext as the instigation of an f l infidel ' ' Kaiser. The engineer nodded his head in satisfaction at this pronouncement. "That's just about what I think," he agreed, and added, "There appears to me to be always one curious weakness in Germans. The Teutonic mind doesn't seem able to understand any point of view but its own. Germans try to rule, not to lead, and seem to think that they can force other peoples to think as they do. After all, common sense ought to teach them that you can't change the century-old ideas of the East in a year or two. "True, a Holy War is a very ugly business, and if ever the whole Mohammedan world thought the faith was in danger, no single European nation could put the revolt down. But the Mussulman is not a fool. Far from it! He is a shrewd and careful thinker. If Germany is counting on a Jehad for her success, I agree with Professor Surch that she is going to be badly mistaken, and will find it out mighty soon. " "I had a little experience with Germans, right here in the Garden of Eden," he continued, lean- ing back in his chair. "You know this place here THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 153 is the original Garden of Eden, don't you?" he queried. "No, sir," said David, "I didn't. I thought it was farther down the river." "It is here," the engineer asserted, "or at least, I believe it is. 1 There's not the slightest doubt that the Garden of Eden was at some point along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Every tradi- tion and every piece of evidence shows this. To my mind, it is just as sure that any fertile and luxuriant stretch in this part of the world must have had plenty of water, or, as we engineers would put it, it must have been a free-flow irri- gation, as contrasted with irrigation by machinery or human labor. "When human beings first appeared on the earth, and for a long time afterwards, they must have spent much of their energies in defense against wild animals. To those whose dwelling- places were near forests and jungles the struggle must have been fierce and left time for little else. But in the oases, and fertile strips of country sur- rounded by deserts, once man began to get the upper hand, he was able to exterminate the i The author here follows the most modern and scientific au- thority, that of Sir W. Willcocks, for thirty-one years an irriga- tion engineer in Egypt and Mesopotamia. 154 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND dangers from wild beasts, as they could not be re- cruited from the deserts around. "Everything, science and tradition alike, says that the early Semites, the ancestors of the Chil- dren of Israel, moved down from the northern hills to the Euphrates Valley. Now the first great oasis they met, their first home, was this country here, between Anah and Hit. Even yet, David, in this region, garden succeeds garden, orchards and date-palm groves lie between fields of corn and cotton, for the Euphrates falls over a succession of shallow cataracts, the country sloping down- wards. One can see, to-day, a score of places where the water formerly ran along numberless channels and irrigated gardens down stream and out of reach of the floods. Here grew naturally the date-palm and the wild vine, which the Arabs regard as having been the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. "Probably you haven't studied the geography of the early account of the Garden of Eden, David, but, having lived here, you know the geography of this section. The old account in Genesis said that a river watered the garden and from thence it parted into four branches. One of these was called the Pison ; it is now the marshland that you THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 155 circled when coming northwards here this after- noon. The second, the Gihon, is the modern Hindia. The third was Hiddekel, which is a chan- nel flowing from the Euphrates into the Tigris and which formerly was one of the upper tribu- taries of the Tigris. The fourth was the river Euphrates itself. The more you live in this country, David, the more you will find the old Bible stories have a real historical value. But they must be read intelligently, as Oriental ac- counts written by and for an Oriental people. "Speaking as an engineer, it seems to me that the Flood of Noah bears a close resemblance to the terrible floods that come down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. As you know, the land near these rivers does not come down like banks but actually falls away from it at a slope of five feet to a mile. Noah 's Ark, built on the threat of the flood, floated southwards with the current until it came to the swirl and backwash where the Tigris and Euphrates meet. There it stranded on one of the desert mounds which border the Shatt-el- Arab marshes, just as the Babylonian cuneiform account of the Deluge states, and the mounds there are called by the Arabs 'the landing-place of Noah' to this day. 156 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "There, in the fertile marshland, the descend- ants of Noah spread and developed, and the first cities mentioned in the Bible, Babel, Erech, Nine- veh, and the rest, were all in this land of Meso- potamia, between the rivers. 1 Near where the Ark stranded, arose the city Ur of the Chaldees where Abraham was born, and from whence he went with his whole tribe northward and west- ward until they came to the land of Palestine and laid the foundation of the Jewish nation. "I have spent thirty years in Egypt and Baby- lonia," the Englishman continued, "and I don't hesitate to say that with the carrying out of a few improvements, controlling the floods of the two rivers, and creating an enormous natural reser- voir, the Grarden of Eden could be restored. I have surveyed every foot of the ground accu- rately, and by modern workings we can secure a head of water forty feet higher than the ancient Babylonians possessed. Thus the whole valley of the Tigris and the Euphrates from Hit clear down to the mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab could be- come even more luxuriant than before. ' ' "Do you suppose Germany knows that?" asked i The Garden of Eden according to Sumerian tradition was in this section, but it is a later tradition than that of Genesis. THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 157 David, beginning to see the purpose that lay be- hind the Mesopotamian campaign. The engineer smiled. "You can be perfectly sure she does," he an- swered. "If the Berlin to Bagdad railway is finished with German capital, and if Germany gets from Turkey the concessions to construct the irrigation works along these two rivers, she can have a tremendous colony here, in one of the richest valleys of the world, easily able to support a population of ten million people, and a perma- nent granary for the extension of her Eastern schemes." "They might even rebuild Babylon !" suggested the boy. "Never by that name," the engineer answered. ' ' But it is sure that a modern city would be built near there, or near Seleucia or Ctesiphon. That narrow neck of land between the rivers is an all- important strategical point. "But," he continued, stretching his arms with a mighty yawn, "Germany's never going to have the chance to do that, now. By bringing on this war, she's given England a chance to step in. Germany won't win the war, that's sure, for Eng- land has never lost any war that she has begun, 158 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND unless, perhaps, as an American boy, you like to consider the revolt of the American colonies a real war. In any case, Germany 's way of making war is one in which, if she doesn't win in the first few weeks, her chances get steadily less. Meso- potamia will become the Garden of Eden again, but, unless I am mistaken, the overlordship will be in English hands, for England thoroughly un- derstands how to handle Mohammedan peoples and is trusted by them. 1 'Now, David," he concluded, "I think you had better turn in and sleep, for we 're breaking camp in the morning, as I want to get down and get in touch with the British at Basra. ' ' "At Basra!" exclaimed David, in surprise. "Why, the Turks are there!" "I know they are," the engineer replied cheer- fully. "But, by the time we get down there, I shouldn't be surprised if the Tommies had already taken it." "But how will you get through?" queried David, remembering the Turkish Army that lay between them and Basra. "I haven't the ghost of an idea," came the astonishing reply, "but we'll manage to keep our skins whole, never fear. I always have, so far." THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 159 Willingly David went into the little house that the engineer had built and slept soundly in a small room thoroughly appointed after the Eng- lish fashion. But, when a servant awakened him the following morning, the boy's mind ran back to the predicament in which they were placed and he racked his brain to try to imagine some possible way whereby they could escape the Turkish Army that lay between them and the sea. At breakfast, David could hardly keep from questioning his hast, but the big Englishman seemed perfectly tranquil, and gave orders to his servants and the headmen of his Arabs with re- gard to the dispositions of the day. Not until the horses were actually brought up to the door, and both he and the boy were in the saddles would he say a word about his plans. Then, riding to the front of the party, he began to explain. "In an Oriental country, David, " he said, "never speak of secrets in a house. No vig- ilance will ensure that you will not be overheard. Not that Arabs are untrustworthy, but that their ways of thought are different from ours. I take this precaution although most of the men would follow me blindly anywhere. Most of them are 160 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND men whose freedom I have purchased from Turk- ish jails, in which they were illegally committed, and others are their friends and relatives. All are well-armed and there is no reason to fear a raid." "Are you going to make a long sweep west- ward through the desert, then?" asked David. ' ' No, ' ' answered the engineer. * * I am going to Bagdad." The simple statement took David's breath away. ' ' But Bagdad is full of Turks ! " he ejaculated. The engineer nodded. 1 i But not of Germans, ' ' he answered. * * One of my headmen went to Bagdad the day before yes- terday to spy out the land. He can be trusted. He was a mail-carrier, who was robbed and half- murdered on the road by Arabs, and whom the Turks put in prison to starve to death because some of the mail of which he was robbed con- tained government money. It wasn't his fault that he was robbed, but he had to take all the blame. When I paid the sum of money that had been lost, they freed him. "He says that all the German officers have gone THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 161 forward with the army that is advancing to the support of Basra. There are only a few German officials left in the city, and they are of lesser rank. The Turk, alone, is not difficult to handle." ''You mean he can be bribed?" queried David. "That, sometimes, but not always," the Eng- lishman replied. "The Turk is a curious mix- ture. As a political measure he will order and carry out massacres and wholesale atrocities in a way that makes the whole world shrink with horror, and yet, individually, he is courteous, chivalrous, and a gentleman. I think I can man- age to make my way through, peacefully. ' ' "And if not?" asked the boy. There was a slight tightening of the eyes, and the English engineer, though by no means a young man, tightened his lips grimly. "Then," he said quietly, "we might be com- pelled to remember that we are at war with Turkey." David wriggled in his saddle, delighted but half frightened. There were not many people, he thought, who would cheerfully ride into a large and populous city of enemies, heavily garrisoned, and announce his intention of fighting his way out 1 62 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND if his orders were not obeyed. But the English- man in the East is the Master. And he knows it. And the East knows it, too. From Hit to Bagdad is two and a half days' ride and the sun shone high when they rode into the city of the Caliphs, the home of Haroun-al- Rasohid, made immortal in the " Arabian Nights." They crossed on the famous pontoon bridge, a bridge of boats which has been there for a thou- sand years. On the way across the bridge the engineer pointed to a cluster of new buildings some dis- tance upstream. "There's the terminus of the Berlin-to-Bagdad railway," he said. "There's a good deal of it built, you know, but the middle bit is mountain- ous and tricky engineering, and, before Fritz finishes the construction of that middle bit, the western terminus will be Paris, not Berlin. ' ' The gilded minarets and domes of the mosques shone with a fierce glare as David rode into Bag- dad with the engineer, but the boy who had been looking forward all the morning to seeing the city, suddenly forgot the wonder of the past in the anxiety of the present. The importance of the past had diminished. THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 163 The importance of the moment had become por- tentous. It is one thing to read about going into a city of enemies. It is another thing to do it. Gold chills crept along the boy's back. The streets were filled with 'soldiers. Crowds jostled each other in the incredibly narrow streets. They pressed closer. Many faces were threatening. The trotting horses were slowed down to a walk. The engineer was well known in Bagdad and one word began to simmer through the crowd. "Inglezy!" The engineer spoke to the boy in an aside. "Don't hold back your horse, David. What- ever you do, don't let him stop. If you have to ride through the crowd, ride through. If you have to ride over it, ride over. Keep your seat and your head and just ride on. ' ' A fanatic threw up his arms and shrieked, in high-pitched Turkish. "Ugly!" said the engineer, in an undertone. "Watch out, boy!" The crowd surged forward. One man threw himself directly in the path of the engineer's horse. 1 64 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND A touch of the spur, a lift on the bridle and the good horse reared. The descending hoofs fell and one struck full on the man's shoulder, hurling him to the street. The engineer looked neither to the right nor to the left. He rode on over. Angry cries rang behind, and once there was a clash of knives. 11 Don't look back, David," came the warning, "ride straight on." They rode on, amid Turks and Persians and Jews, past Kurd porters staggering along with great burdens on their backs, callously pushing to one side droves of coolie women all but lost to view under enormous loose bundles of twigs and desert grass roots that are used for fuel, hordes of slaves from East Africa, and blue-eyed Christians of old Chaldean stock. A motley crowd, but David dared only glance at it through the corners of his eyes. There were a few wonderful mosaics on some of the walls, a few enameled mosque entrances, a few massive old gates, but very few. Bagdad holds little of the ancient glamor. At one place, through the streets, David could see the bazaars in which the Caliph 'Haroun-al-Kaschid strolled, WHEN TURK WAS MASTER. Infantry marching to their billets, between the garden walls of Bagdad. -^^HMKJMMkl 1.IMVMW JHWI^MMfttMl^^' . . JBHB_ - " Sphere": U. S. Copyright, N. Y. Herald Co. WHEN TURK WAS DEFEATED A contingent of prisoners marching through Bagdad, under British guard, to their detention camp. THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 165 and where happened all the marvels of the Porter and the Ladies of Bagdad. Great walls of olden time loomed up on every side, while barred and latticed windows told of a harem within. David realized little of all this. Though it had been one of his great desires to visit Bagdad, the exaltation of daring and the dark pressure of ter- ror combined to hold him in an iron grip, and he rode on through the city whose threat seemed to suffocate him even as much as the smells and vapors of the crowded streets stifled him. Suddenly a skinny hand shot out and seized the bridle of his horse. For a second, just for a second, the boy hesi- tated, and then, like a thunderbolt, the lead- weighted butt end of the engineer's whip fell on the aggressor's arm. The bones, just above the wrist, broke with a sharp crack. There was a sharp cry of pain, echoed by a rising roar of anger from the crowd around. But the engineer's face was set like flint and the two rode on. The tumult shrilled behind them, but the imperturbable ignoring of the crowd's presence saved the situation. They came to the gate of the Governor's palace. "Inform His Excellency the Governor that His 166 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND Excellency the Administrator of Waters for the Sultan desires to see him," came the astonishing order. A puzzled Turkish sentry took the message. The crowd, now fallen silent, waited to see what reception the Englishman should receive. In a moment the soldier returned, "His Excellency says, * Enter,' " he an- nounced. The engineer sat stock still. "His Excellency says, ' Enter/ " the soldier repeated. "Where is the guard?" demanded the engineer, sharply. "Is so little honor paid to the Com- mander of the Faithful in his city of Bagdad that one of his chosen servants should enter alone, like a suppliant I ' ' The soldier, looking frightened, salaamed. He returned a moment later with the captain of the guard, and half a dozen men. Gravely the engineer dismounted, followed by David, who was watching every move. The bridles of the horses were taken by two of the soldiers. Thereupon, preceded and followed by the suddenly summoned Guard of Honor, the THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 167 Englishman and the American boy entered the luxurious chamber of the governor, its walls, crude and bare, but the floor covered with old Persian rugs of incredible softness and beauty. The governor was utterly bewildered, but re- ceived his guests with stately ceremony. He knew that he had given no order for the guard to turn out, and consequently supposed that the captain of the guard knew some details regarding his visitors concerning which he, himself, was not aware. He knew, vaguely, that the Sultan and the Germans had been planning the irrigation works on the Euphrates. He had heard, also, that the engineer had always been described as an Englishman. What he did not know was that the Englishman was a famous engineer in Egypt and had been summoned by the Sultan during peace-time, to make a complete survey of the irrigation works. What Turkey and Germany did not know was that this survey was being done in the expectation that English diplomacy would yet secure the concession and thus a powerful British post might be established not far from one of the most important and inaccessible points of the Berlin-to-Bagdad Railway. 1 68 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND After salutations and the customory lapse of time for ceremonial, the engineer came directly to the point of his visit. "I need an escort of fifty men," he said, curtly. " Also, I need a river-boat as far as Amara." The governor protested in dismay. There was no boat. There was no river transportation left in Bagdad. The Turkish force that had gone down to Basra had taken absolutely everything left in the city. Even the governor's pleasure- launch, he complained, had been commandeered. And, while he thus talked glibly, the governor's mind worked fast. This Englishman, he decided, must be a German who had been posing as an Englishman for the better pursuit of the crooked intrigues of diplomacy. Thus satisfied within himself that he had found the clew, and knowing that German agents were the most powerful friends possible in Turkey at the time, the Governor bethought him of a power- launch belonging to one of his assistants which had been laid up for some minor repairs. He had reason to remember it, for he had been sharply taken to task about it by the German commandant in Bagdad, a few days before, on the ground that he lacked energy in pushing the Holy War, know- THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 169 ing that every river craft, no matter how small, was in urgent demand. "It can be ready in two days, Your Excellency," the Governor explained, at the same time deciding that he would send a message by relay to the Commanding Officer of the army that had started south, to inform him as to the visit of this stranger Englishman. Thus, if the engineer were a German, he would get credit for as- sisting him; if there were anything dubious, he would get credit for having put the Germans on their guard. "That will be soon enough," replied^ the en- gineer, and David wondered, for he knew that every minute was valuable. "Where is this boat to be found?" he asked. The governor, delighted that the matter had been arranged so simply, sent for the captain of the guard and ordered him to escort the engineer and David to a little yard by the river-side. The engineer touched David on the shoulder. "Our luck is holding," he said, in a low voice. 1 1 This yard is below the bridge of boats. ' ' David wondered what this could imply, but there had been so many surprises since their en- trance to Bagdad, that he did not even ask for an 170 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND explanation. He could not resist remarking, however, 1 ' It '11 be a tight fit for an escort of fifty soldiers in that boat. It would be small for half-a-dozen." "We won't need the escort," the engineer re- marked. Which set David wondering more than ever, for he had thought that the engineer's principal pur- pose in risking exposure and imprisonment in Bagdad was the securing of an armed escort. "Where are we going to stay while we are in Bagdad!" David asked. "That will be the Governor's affair," the en- gineer replied. "If I have duly impressed him, as I believe, quarters will have been provided for us." So it proved. Not far from the house of the Governor, which was situated close to the Citadel, the Captain of the Guard led the two travelers. Their Arab servants had already been installed, and, in the simple fashion of the East, all that would be needed was already provided. After the evening meal, the engineer said loudly, "Come, David, we may find something in the bazaars to please us." THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 171 A lift of the eyebrows told the lad that behind this suggestion there was a plan. He rose and got ready to go out. Before leaving the room the engineer, unobserved, slipped David a revolver. One of the minor officers of the guard, who had been posted with four of his men outside the house, ostensibly as a guard of honor, but, as David well realized, far more as a measure of suspicion, called two of his men and they fell into line behind. "Three against two," remarked the engineer significantly. He led the way to the bazaar by which they had passed that morning, and went from one little cubby-hole to another. Like many eastern ba- zaars, that of Bagdad was of the ancient type, a street of small square rooms, or cubicles, without windows, open to the street. Few of them were more than ten feet square. Some were so small that they held only the figure of the merchant or workman, as the case might be, who carried on his trade under the eyes of the passers-by. Suddenly the Englishman stopped at the stall of an iron-worker and asked the price of a large and heavy pot of hammered metal. The customary haggling followed, but the purchase was finally 172 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND effected. A porter was then called and ordered to take the great jar to the house where the en- gineer was staying. Then, without a moment's warning, the en- gineer wheeled round on one of the soldiers, 1 'Follow him to the house. Direct him there. See that he does not steal it!" Unconsciously the Turk saluted, German fash- ion, and then hesitated. He had received no or- ders from his officer. The latter, being of minor rank, had neither the wit nor the quickness to assume responsibility, nor, even if he had, would he have dared countermand an order given by any one as authoritative as seemed the English en- gineer, who, moreover, he knew, had been received by the Governor only that afternoon. He gave an affirmative nod, and the soldier followed after the porter. "Two against two!" declared the engineer, in English. It was clear that a project was in the air, and David observed that the engineer now turned away from the bazaars and began to walk toward the lower part of the city. The minor officer now edged closer. THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 173 "If His Excellency will permit," he said, "the way is not yonder, but hither." "My way is yonder," was the curt reply, and the engineer walked on, David finding trouble to keep pace with him. Being the time of evening prayer the streets were almost empty, and the small party advanced swiftly. This put the minor officer in a frenzy. He real- ized that some plot was in the wind, he had no means of communicating with his senior officer, and he was afraid that the Inglezy was trying to escape. Calling the other soldier, therefore, he bade him go as quickly as possible to the bridge of boats, which they were now approaching, but to go by a shorter way, and to tell the keeper of the bridge to say that he had received orders to let no one pass that evening. The soldier went, as directed, and was lost to view in the tangle of small streets. "One against two," declared tLe Englishman grimly, when he saw him go. Then, swerving sharply to the left, as though he knew the streets of Bagdad thoroughly, the en- gineer made his way through some narrow alleys and lanes, coming to the edge of the riverside, 174 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND close by where the power-launch was being re- paired. Wheeling swiftly, the engineer then drew his re- volver and pointed it full at the chest of the Turk. "If you move," he said, "or cry out, you can bid farewell to the sun ! ' ' The soldier, a true Mohammedan, saw at once that he had no chance for defense. "All things happen by the will of Allah," he answered quietly, surrendering at once. "Take away his weapons, David," said the Englishman, still covering him with the revolver. So David took away his rifle and ammunition and his trench-knife for he was equipped in all points in the fashion of the German Army and placed them in the power-launch, as the engineer directed. "Now, lad," he continued, "take out your re- volver and keep him covered. If he tries to es- cape or cries out, shoot him on the spot. ' ' With a show of bravery David drew his revol- ver, but in his heart of hearts he wondered if he would have the courage to shoot in cold blood. The soldier saw this, and rolling a cigarette, he said, 175 "Youth, do not think that I am in any fear of your gun, for I see in your eye that you would not shoot. Still, be not troubled, for the Inglezy is a man of war and I have no weapons. ' ' The engineer overheard, and turning around, declared : "You are right, Soldier, better submission to Fate than an early death." Then, swiftly working with a few tools, though making as little noise as possible, the engineer set together the parts which had been taken apart by the Turkish mechanics. Within half an hour, a sharp rattle from the exhaust pipe told that the engine was working. The engineer took out his revolver again. "Jump in, David," he said, "while I keep him covered, ' ' and, as soon as the boy was in the boat, the engineer boarded it, still keeping the Turkish soldier covered with his gun. "Shove off, boy," came the next command and the launch shot out into the stream. The "chug-chug-chug" of the engines rang out against the silence of the night, but the launch made no advance. She floated out on the surface of the river, leaving the Turkish soldier seated on 176 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND the freeboard of a river canoe, laid up for repair in the boat-builders' shop. ' * She isn 't going ahead ! ' ' cried David in alarm. "I know it," said the engineer calmly, "she's in pretty poor shape, and, what's more, I think that wily rogue of a governor knew it, too. I doubt if there's a Turkish mechanic who could repair this boat. We would not have been let go in two days, nor yet in twenty-two. But you see, David, I ran the engine for a few minutes so as to make the soldier believe that the boat was in good order. He will report that to the Governor and we shall be safe." "How?" said the boy. "If the launch doesn't work, they'll be able to catch us in half an hour with a belum" (river canoe). "They could," the engineer agreed, "but they won't. The sergeant, or whatever he is, back there, will return and report that he saw and heard us start off with the full noise of the engine. I imagine this has been a tophole launch in her day and they'll think we've got a good start." * ' That wouldn 't prevent them chasing us, ' ' said the boy. "But every boat which could move under her own power has already gone downstream with THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 177 the German and Turkish force," came the retort. ' * That's right," said David, "I'd forgotten that. Then all that fleet is down on the river in front of us, a little way below. ' ' 1 1 It 's there, ' ' the Englishman said cheerfully. "Between us and Basra?" "Exactly." "Then I don't see," replied David, "where we've gained much by leaving our horses behind and taking to a boat. ' ' "If I can get this pesky engine tuned up by daylight," the engineer replied, "you'll see why. The Tigris twists and turns so that you have to go two or maybe three miles to one on land. On the other hand, by the shore route, you have to make long and time-wasting detours to get away from the swamp lands and the marshes. Taking it all in all, a horseman can go only twice as fast as the current of the river. "If then, the Governor should send a horseman down the river to warn the troops that we are in this launch, the news would reach them before we could float down so far, supposing that we depend only on the drift of the current. If, however, I can get the engine to work, we can go twice as fast by water as a horseman can travel by land. 178 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND I can't do much by night, however, for I haven't a light. We'd better try to get as much sleep as we can and I'll start working on the engine with the first glimpse of dawn." Worn out by the day's excitement, David lay down on the bench of the launch and, soothed by the gentle rocking of the boat on the Tigris cur- rent, he sank into a deep sleep from which he did not waken until he heard the tap-tapping cf metal on metal. Opening his eyes sleepily, he saw the engineer busily at work on the machinery of the motor-boat, and sunrise over the distant hills of Persia and the lowlands of the Tigris Valley. Rested and refreshed by his sleep, the lad called out, "Can you fix it, sir?" "I hope so, my boy," the engineer replied, "though some half -mechanic has been trying to repair it and has made the break ten times worse than it originally was. But I know quite a bit about engines." The tinkering went on as the sun rose. They passed many goofas, queer round boats that look like floating bubbles of tar that progress with a spinning motion, black boats pitched within and THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 179 without like the Ark built by Noah on the same river thousands of years ago. * * There 's a bit of a village over there, ' ' the en- gineer remarked presently. "You might try to get some grub. I'll risk running her in as far as the bank with a temporary adjustment." The "chug-chug" rose with its insistent clamor on the stream, until the boat grounded a hundred yards from the shore. Obedient to the order, David had just put one leg over the side of the boat to wade ashore when the engineer stopped him, on seeing the villagers crowd to the waterside. " Never mind, lad," he said, "they're going to come out to us. Be ready to shove off if they mean to be ugly. ' ' The river Arabs looked ugly enough and David noticed that every one was armed with a rifle. "We want to buy some food," the Englishman shouted in Arabic. The villagers came closer. "Shove off," said the engineer in a low voice, * ' and the second she 's afloat get your head behind the bulwarks. Arabs always fire too high." David put his will back of the push that he gave 180 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND to the pole and the little launch shot out into the stream. The engine chug-chugged contentedly as half a dozen bullets came whistling through the air. "We won't eat breakfast at the ' first table,' " remarked the engineer with a laugh, stopping the engine as soon as the boat was out of gunshot. The boat drifted idly but steadily down the river, the three mile current taking them steadily but slowly past the monotonous mud banks of the Tigris. A single hut, of the river-Arab type, merely a brushwood shelter large enough to hold the family canoe and the family, offered a better chance of breakfast. Some dates, a handful of meal, and a freshly caught fish changed hands for some Turkish gold. The morning was well advanced when the en- gineer straightened up and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. The sun was cruelly hot. "There," he said, "I think she'll do now. We're short of gasoline, though, and I don't know where to get any more. However, we can't afford to delay, for if a messenger has been sent, he'll have been riding all night. The little craft will have to do the best she can. I'll take her at easy speed though. You'd better take the wheel, THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 181 David, as I '11 have to keep my eye on this rickety engine. ' ' Again the silence of the Tigris was broken by the sharp exhaust from an over-engined motor- boat. Once or twice the craft grated over the top of a shoal in the river, for the Tigris is incredibly shallow. Once she actually stuck and could not be floated until both the Englishman and the boy had jumped overboard to lighten her. But she went on, just the same. All that day they ran the engine, they drifted during the night, the engineer steering between naps. Twice he roused the boy to help him off a shoal on which the boat had grounded. On the morning of the next day, Kut came in sight. The bridge of boats just above Kut-el-Amara was open, or, to speak more correctly, broken, as a result of the passage of the river craft which had accompanied the main body of the Turkish advance force. Kut, being occupied by a gar- rison, was a point of danger. David stared with all his eyes. He had ex- pected the engineer to stop the engines. Then, both lying down so that they would be hidden by the bulwarks of the boat, he expected to float slowly by Kut, hoping that with Oriental disin- 1 82 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND terest, no one would be sufficiently concerned to go and capture a drifting boat. Not at all. Almost at full speed and making all the noise of which she was capable, the motor launch puffed up importantly to a dilapidated dispatch-boat, with a Turkish officer smoking in the stern. "Von Behrein Pasha has gone farther down river, I suppose?" the engineer asked, in fluent Turkish. The officer nodded, indolently. "And where is the petrol station?" "There is none here," was the reply, "but a barge with some tanks was towed down from Bag- dad. It is moored half a mile downstream. ' ' The engineer thanked him politely and, in the interchange of salutations learned the officer's name, and that of the local commandant. The motor-boat then sped off to the gasoline barge. On arriving, the Englishman rapped out a sharp order to the sleepy attendant and tossed him a piece of money. The man hurried at the sight of the silver; a pipe was run from the barge to the boat and the small tank filled. And, as the gasoline gurgled into the tank, the engineer said to David, in Eng- THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 183 lish, but in a low tone so that the attendant could not hear that a foreign language was being spoken : "See that horseman coming into town at full speed? In all probability, that is the courier from Bagdad, telling of our flight." "What shall we do now?" queried David. "Run for it," the engineer answered laconi- cally, and, shoving off from the barge, he set the head of the launch down river. High-hulled and tall-masted mahaylas with their brown sails slightly bellied by the wind, were passed as though they were anchored in the slightly rippling brown river. Little reed-hut villages appeared on the banks, for in this section there was no sign of the black tents of the desert dwellers. In this stretch the Tigris passes through and over sand-drifts, and stretches of powdered dust, which every little eddy of wind whirls up into a choking horror. The speed made by the motor-boat, however, not only created a pleasant breeze, but speedily left behind the sleepy and mud-built Kut-el-Amara with its rim of dust-covered date-palms, Kut-el- Amara, a little later to go down to history as one of the world's great battle-fields. 1 84 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND From Kut-el-Amara to Amara is 180 miles by river, but the little motor-boat reached Amara during the night. There, as at Kut, a bridge of boats spanned the way. Ordinarily toll is to be paid, and the rafts do not come down the river at night. The bridge-keeper was not present, how- ever, so the engineer quietly shut off the power half a mile out of the town and floated down with the current until the motor-boat was tap-tapping softly against the bridge of boats. Then he clambered on the pontoons, opened the bridge and floated through. A near-by motor-boat fastened to a wharf offered an opportunity of abstracting some gasoline. Again a half-mile of drift and then the echoes of the night were stirred by the throbbing of the motor-boat as she sped down the river. Amara was safely passed. Eejoicing came a little too soon, however, for scarcely had the launch gone a mile down-stream, when with a suddenness that woke David with a sudden start from the half -sleep in which he was holding the wheel, the bright, white glare of an electric searchlight swept up and down the river. With one quick turn the Englishman silenced the engines and said in a hoarse loud whisper, THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 185 * ' Hard over to the left bank, boy ! Quick ! ' ' It was too late. The searchlight wavered, searched up and down with quick insistent jerks, then caught the motor- boat full in its glare. A sharp command in Turkish rang out across the water. "Cut loose!" cried the engineer. "We're safe only if we can keep to the channel ! ' ' He threw on full power. The exhaust of the boat cracked out sharply, as the launch darted like an arrow out of the path of the searchlight. For a second David hoped that they had es- caped, but the searchlight picked them out again in a moment. They could hear a trampling of feet on the deck of the ship, whose form could not be discerned because of the blinding glare. The engineer chuckled. "If that were a British gunboat," he said, "every gun would have been in action by now. These Turks are slow!" But they were not too slow. The words were hardly out of his lips, when a sudden heavy bark told of the firing of a gun. "Funny!" exclaimed the Englishman, "that 1 86 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND sounds like a four-pounder. The machine-guns ought to have been ready first. ' ' The shot went far over their heads, and, running at racing speed, though all too slowly, the motor- boat began to draw away. Seconds passed, though they seemed like hours, and then came the crackle of a machine-gun. A splash of water fifty yards to the rear of the boat, showed where the bullets struck. The engineer set up a sharp yell, as though in agony. David's heart sank. 1 'Hit hard?' 'he asked. The engineer grinned. 1 'Not a bit of it," he said. " That's an old trick. If the other chap thinks you're hit, it's human nature to hold fire for a few seconds. Every second means a better chance. They'll fire again, in a little bit. Keep your head down." The surmise proved correct. Almost simultaneously the four-pounder and the machine-gun fired together. None of the shots came even close. "Kotten shooting!" remarked the engineer, "but we needn't complain of that." David made no answer. THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 187 Alarmed, the engineer stepped to the stern and looked at the lad, fearing a stray shot might have killed him. The boy was fast asleep. Even while the shots had been flying overhead, exhausted nature could stand no more. For two days and well into the third night he had been in the boat, much of the time at the wheel. Even the nights he had slept, he had been awakened several times. Now, with- out a word, without being conscious of it, exhaus- tion had taken him, and he slept. "Poor youngster," said the engineer, taking off his coat and covering the lad with it, "he's worn right out." He did not stop to think that he, himself, had been awake almost continuously, working over the engine of the boat. The motor-boat was racketing down past Ezra's tomb, one of the sacred spots of the world to the Jews, and a spot like a great green-and- yellow jewel on the ruddy muddiness of the river and the waste of desert and marsh beyond. The drum is decorated with slender spirals of yellow and blue and red tiles, which end in a broad band of deep primrose yellow; from this springs the dome in perfect curves, a blend of every shade 1 88 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND from sea-green, through lilac, mauve, and blue, to a deep purple-green. Beside the Tomb is a large khan, in a half -ruined state, constructed of yellow brick, with many arches and balconies. A number of palms shade the place. Thousands of Jews make an annual pilgrimage to the tomb of this prophet, who is honored second only to Moses. He was born in Babylon and was the author of the Chronicles, of Ezra, of Nehe- miah, and of Esther. It was by reason of his in- fluence that Xerxes allowed the Jews to return from their captivity. Traveling at full speed, Ezra's Tomb was soon left behind. "Can't you take a nap now, sir?" David asked, when he had stripped and taken a plunge over the side for a morning wash and dressed again. The engineer, red-eyed, but clean-shaven and chirpy as ever, shook his head. "I can't take my eye off the engines," he said. "They're running all right now, but they broke down twice during the night and I've had to patch them up. If I can just scoot by Qurnah and Basra, now, as we have through Kut and Am- ara, we'll dine in the officers' mess to-morrow night." THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 189 1 'Have we gasoline enough for that?" "No," the engineer said, "we haven't. But I'm going to try a little piracy." "How? Piracy?" the boy queried. "You '11 see." A few hours more brought Qurnah in sight. Going at full speed, the launch passed some of the houses at the brink of the river, but to none of these was there a motor-boat fastened. "I'm simply going to commandeer the first boat I see," he said, "but it looks as though we'd have to pass the usual barrier of a bridge of boats first." A bend of the river brought them in full sight of the pontoon bridge of boats. The motor-boat reduced speed. "What on earth is the matter?" queried the en- gineer, shading his eyes with his hand. "Are we going to run right into a passage of troops? That might be awkward ! ' ' He slowed down further, but the figures on the bridge of boats did not move. They seemed to be halted. "Why not wait?" queried David. "I don't dare," was the brief reply. "It's dead sure that the Turks at Amara will have sent 190 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND that boat that fired at us down the river after us, and I don't know how close she may be behind, owing to our two breakdowns during the night. They may be round a bend of the river and almost on us, for all that we can tell. No, there 's nothing to do but go on." The motor-boat approached the bridge of boats. "That's a company of soldiers," the English- man said. "What's up?" The motor-boat slowed down at the pontoons. An officer stepped forward. "His Excellency, the Administrator of Waters'?" he inquired politely. Immovable as a mask, the expression of the Englishman did not change. "The same," he replied. "And to whom have I the honor of speaking?" "I have the unworthy distinction of being a member of General von Behrein Pasha's staff," he said. "We are in receipt of a telegram from His Excellency, the Governor of Bagdad, regretting your hasty departure without an escort." "A telegram?" queried the engineer. "This is a mistake, sir. There is no telegraph line be- tween Bagdad and Qurnah." FORBIDDEN TO THE MUSSULMAN! A Bagdad centre of Western power. The wireless station in communi- cation with Berlin destroyed by the Germans upon the British capture of the city. ' Courtesy of" Illustrated London News." FORBIDDEN TO THE CHRISTIAN! A Bagdad centre of Eastern power. The golden-domed mosque of the prophet Kazimain, said to have been poisoned by Haroun-al-llaschid.. THE CHASE ON THE TIGRIS 191 The Turkish officer smiled. "A courier brought the message to Amara," was the reply, "and a German Field Telegraph unit, attached to this army, ran a military line yes- terday for communication between General ai.d Brigade Headquarters." "Take me to your commander at once," said the engineer stiffly. "I will inquire into the mean- ing of this detention." "I am sorry, Your Excellency," replied the officer, "but I have orders to take you to a place where you will be kept under guard." "You mean we are prisoners?" "We hope to have the pleasure of your company until the end of the war," was the courteous re- piy- The Englishman looked at the soldiers, at the bridge of boats and at the river. David could see that he was still meditating chances of es- cape. There were none. "At your service, then," he said, and he and David marched off into Turkish captivity. CHAPTER VI THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE THE English engineer's dash for liberty had not succeeded, owing to unforeseen difficulty of a Ger- man Field Telegraph Unit having run a line south from Amara, which had always been an important garrison point, but, on the other hand, its very boldness had resulted in a very profound respect for the fugitives. No one was quite sure as to the real importance of the engineer. The Bagdad Governor's con- fused message threw an element of mystery over the whole affair. The very fact that the engineer declared himself to be an Englishman, when England was at war with Turkey, and such a statement would be self -condemnatory, was, to the Oriental mind, a sure sign that he was not Eng- lish. Yet his flight down the river was more than suspicious, it was convicting. When brought before the Turkish commander of the forces, the engineer conducted himself with so much dignity and so much authority that the 192 THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 193 Pasha was puzzled. Moreover, the German ar- tillery commander, who was the Pasha's chief counselor, was utterly taken aback by some allusions made by the engineer which seemed to imply that he was within the secrets of the Ger- man High Command. Purposely, the English- man claimed not to know German, and then, as though absent-mindedly, snapped out a sonorous German phrase. Accordingly, one of the better houses of Qurnah was set aside for the fugitives, and though they were kept rigorously under guard and not allowed to leave the house under any pretext, the imprison- ment was not wearing. In one way, it was an ex- cellent thing for the boy, for the engineer, having much time on his hands and finding that David, like most American boys, knew very little of any mathematics except commercial arithmetic, spent several hours a day teaching him mathematics and the rudiments of irrigation engineering. Greatly to his pleasure, he found David a sin- gularly quick and apt pupil, and the first few weeks of imprisonment passed pleasantly enough. Being November, it was almost the only time in the year when life in Mesopotamia can be made even moderately comfortable. 194 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND On December 4, while David and the engineer were working over their mathematics, the sharp click of advancing feet was heard outside, the rug which served as a door was lifted and a British officer entered, his head bandaged, his arm in a sling, and his uniform torn and dust-covered. But his air was almost jaunty. "They told me I should find a compatriot here," he said. "Let me introduce myself Captain Pomeroy of the 2nd Norfolks. ' ' "And my name is Testahen," said the engineer, rising and shaking hands. "Not Sir James Testahen, of the Assouan dam?" The engineer nodded. "Why, this is tophole!" the officer declared. "I'm ever so glad to meet you, Sir James. I knew you were somewhere in the country, but I didn't know just where." "I'm just here," the engineer declared, with emphasis, "for a time at least." Then turning to the lad, he added, "and this is Professor Surch's son, David." They shook hands also. "David joined me in an attempt to run the gauntlet down to Abadan, or at least as far as THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 195 Basra," the engineer explained, "but the Ger- mans had run a field telegraph line down from Amara, and so they nabbed us here." "Sorry on your account, but I can't say I am on my own," the captain answered. "It's much pleasanter to be together. Not that I think we'll be here very long," he added. "Why not?" "Our chaps will take Qurnah in a week." "You think so?" "Sure of it. If Colonel Frazier hadn't thought it wiser not to take too risky a chance, we might have got in here yesterday." "Just what has been happening?" the engineer asked. "You see, Captain Pomeroy, I've been up at Hit all this time and very little news filtered through. I know nothing later than that the Sul- tan had declared a Jehad. I see you're wounded, so there has already been some fighting." "Yes," the captain replied, "there's been a little trouble, but I think we've done fairly well so far. You heard, I suppose, that in October, an advance force consisting of a couple of Eng- lish and some Indian regiments were sent from India to stand guard at the mouth of the Shatt- el-Arab." 196 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "That I knew," the engineer answered, "and that, quite naturally, they anchored in the pearl- fishing harbor of Bahrein under the Sheik of Koweit." David nodded. He, too, knew all about Eng- land's alliance with the Sheik of Koweit because of the pearl fishery and piracy and felt quite proud of himself that he was able to follow the allusion. "We stayed there until November 2, when we g"ot official word that war had been declared be- tween England and Turkey and that our first move was to collar Fao. We didn 't waste a great deal of time, but, without waiting for reenforce- ments, just got right at it. The gunboat Odin opened the ball with a quick but altogether satis- factory bombardment. Then, while the lead was still being pumped over, our fellows went in under the cover of it. We sent three landing-parties ashore, each of them wildly envious of the other. In fact, not a few wagers were laid as to which should get into Fao first." "Was that where you got hurt, sir?" queried David, who was anxious to hear some details of real fighting. "No, my boy," answered the captain, "I'll tell THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 197 you about that when I come to it, that's if you want to hear the yarn?" And, without waiting for a reply he turned to the engineer and continued: "I don't think the Turks were jolly well ex- pecting us so quickly, because they set about the defense in quite a leisurely fashion. The Indian troops rushed ahead like furies, and the enemy seemed disconcerted. The Turks hadn't got used to the idea that fighting had really begun and this was the first brush. They gave way almost at once and our chaps took the town. "As a matter of fact, the enemy got away in such a hurry that some of the guns were left loaded and ready for firing, none of them were dismantled and all sorts of valuables that could have been packed up in an hour were left. Friendly Arabs, however, told us that the Turks had not retreated in panic, but had merely hurried to join the Basra garrison already on its way down the river to attack Abadan. ' ' "That's the oil center, isn't it?" queried the boy. The captain nodded and went on, "This meant that hours were precious and we started up the river to Abadan. We got there the evening of the next day, just a few hours 198 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND ahead of the Turks. Of course we pushed a line ahead of the island, to keep the Turks from shell- ing it. There's nothing much at Abadan except the oil tanks, and a few incendiary fires there would have blown or burnt the place up. "As a matter of fact, one shell did land in Abadan, but it fell where it couldn't do any par- ticular harm. It was a narrow shave, though. If the enemy had only hustled a little from Basra, or started a day earlier, they could easily have taken Abadan, and even if they couldn't have held it, half an hour would have been enough for them to set fire to the refineries, to blow up the oil tanks and to destroy the pipe-line into Arabistan. But that few hours by which we beat them to it, saved the loss of thousands of pounds ' worth of fuel and maybe some scores of lives, for we should have had to take the island, anyway, and it would have been quite a job if the Turks had posted guns on it." "Of course," the engineer agreed, "but it would be hard to hold Abadan by itself. You'll have to take Basra, before any kind of a foothold is sure." "Basra!" explained the officer in surprise. THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 199 " Didn't you know! Why, we took Basra ten days ago!" "Then if we had just passed this one bridge of boats at Qurnah, we'd have run right down to you?" "Bather! You wouldn't have had to go more than two miles downstream to run right into the hands of English outposts." "And we had enough gasoline for that!" ex- claimed the engineer. "But I couldn't send the launch against that bridge of boats like a batter- ing ram!" "And if we had," remarked David, "we'd have been filled full of holes. Those soldiers on the bridge had modern rifles, every one of them. I noticed it, because I supposed the Turks wouldn't amount to anything as soldiers." The captain shook his head. "Don't think that, my boy," he said, "the Turk is one of the best fighting men in the world when he 's roused. That 's why we want to win as much of these river banks as quickly as we can, before he does get waked up." "Yes," said the engineer, "you're right, there. It 's easy enough to talk about Turkey, politically, 200 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND as the 'Sick Man of Europe,' but we oughtn't to forget that Turkey has been master of a big em- pire and has held it in control for a good many centuries. It takes military ability to do that, look at it how you will. But you must have had some trouble taking Basra, I should think. The garrison there was nearly ten thousand, wasn't it?" "Fifteen thousand, easy," was the reply, "counting in the reinforcements that were sent down. But it wasn't such a difficult bit o' work, not nearly so hard as we expected. That is the actual fighting wasn't, but the way it had to be done was hard enough. ' ' "Do you mind telling us about it?" the en- gineer asked. "All right," the captain answered. "Don't mind if I give just a straight-ahead story of it. I'm not like one of these newspaper chaps, you know, all I can tell is just what I saw and what the other fellows told me. "As soon as we had taken Abadan, and set a garrison there, General Delamain sent a strong force ashore at Saniyeh, on the Turkish side of the river, and we dug in. We didn 't see any very special need for hurry, for that country all around THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 201 there just looks like the jumping-off spot to no- where, but we were glad of the trenches next day. One of the Koweit Arabs came down and told us that a force had been on the way from Bagdad for over a month and had almost reached Basra. "You see, the Germans had known in advance that they were going to force Turkey's hand to declare war, and so they started that force from Bagdad at the end of September." "Why do you suppose they sent them so late, sir?" David asked. "Didn't -the war start in August?" "You'll have to ask Sir James about that, my boy," said the captain, "we military men don't know much about the political end of things. But I did wonder about that myself. What do you think it was ? " he queried, turning to the en- gineer. The latter lit a cigar which he had gratefully accepted from Captain Pomeroy. "I don't think there's much difficulty in seeing that move," he answered. "I don't think Germany wanted to draw Turkey into the war at all." "Why not?" interrupted the captain. "I should have thought she wanted all the allies she could get." 202 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "No," the engineer replied, "on the contrary, Germany wanted to win with the fewest alliances possible. There were a great many reasons why a German victory without the aid of Turkey would have been better for her than a victory with the aid of the Ottoman Empire. "The first, and most important result of a vic- torious Germany would have been prestige. Sec- ondly, if she had conquered in France and Russia without Turkish aid, she would not have to con- sider the necessity of handing over part of the spoils of war to a Turkish ally. Then the still untapped resources of Turkey would have been available for an assault on the British positions in Egypt and India, and the Holy War might have become a real thing. Therefore to have em- broiled Turkey at the beginning of the war would have been an unwise move." "What changed that idea, then!" queried the captain. "The opening of the war," was the reply. "When the gallant defense of the Belgians at Liege stopped the German impetus; when the French at Charleroi and the English at Mons held back more than five times their number by sheer bravery; when the heroic French at the Battle of THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 203 the Marne won such a splendid victory that they made all humanity their eternal debtor, and when the English Navy held the Seven Seas, then Ger- many realized that she must abandon all her hopes of winning a victory by herself. "She realized, then, that she must not only call on her allies to help in her plans of victory, but even to help save her from defeat. It was be- cause of that, I think, that the Bagdad garrison did not begin to move south until the end of Sep- tember, and to move a marching force from Bag- dad to Bas:a, over five hundred miles by river, and probably four hundred by land, is at least a month's task, especially with the wretched water transportation they possessed on the Tigris." "That seems reasonable," the captain agreed. "Moreover," the engineer continued, "there was the question of munitions. Turkey had pur- chased from Germany and Austria eight million marks' worth of equipment. Her artillery was in perfect condition. But the first weeks of the war in France had shown that all former estimates as to the number of shells required per gun were far too low. No one had dreamed that modern guns would require such an appalling quantity of shell. Therefore, in order to make the Turkish 204 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND artillery effective, Germany had to send muni- tions and shells which she could ill spare from the western front. "The second question was that of transport. The German drive for Paris had created a tre- mendously long line of communications, and Ger- many was hard put to it to keep her troops on the Russian front and on the French front sup- plied with all the necessaries of war. To devote locomotives and rolling-stock to the long haul to Constantinople and thence by the Anatolian Kail- way was not only costly but delaying. Even with perfect service, to send a car of munitions from Skoda to Bagdad is a long, long travel. ' ' The third most serious problem was that if the Turkish Army had to be taken to the battle-front in full strength it would weaken the garrisons, and the Turkish empire is not held together by any inner bond but solely by Turkish military domi- nation. The mobilization of the army, therefore, meant Kurdish revolts, Armenian revolts, and Arab revolts. Moreover, since the Turkish em- pire is almost exclusively agricultural, every added soldier meant more land uncultivated or more herds untended, and the German need for food was great. When Germany forced Turkey THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 205 into the war, it was a confession of weakness far more definite than most of us have yet realized." "I hope so," the captain replied, " though I think we '11 have trouble enough yet. And, as you say, Sir James, the fact that the force sent to re- enforce Basra did not start until late in September just gave us time to establish the entrenched camp at Saniyeh before the Turks reached us. "On November 11, the Turks sent out a re- connoissance party to test our strength. Natu- rally, we didn't want them to know too much, so we sent out a couple of Indian regiments, and beat them back in a short, sharp skirmish with small losses on both sides. "This was an indecisive sort of affair, not big enough to let either side know the other's strength. Two days later, though, two more brigades sailed up the Shatt-el-Arab, completing the Sixth Division. "During these two days the advance force of the Turks had dug in at Sahain, just about ten miles up river from our camp rt Saniyeh. We had no aeroplanes at all, not one, so there was no way for us to find out the strength of the enemy. In this pancake-flat country, you can't send out cavalry unperceived. There's nothing but the old wasteful tactics of sending your men forward to feel the strength of the enemy in a fight." "Please, I don't understand," put in David. 1 ' Does that mean that you have to have men killed off just as a sort of scout and to judge by the quickness with which they are killed off, how strong the enemy is?" "That's rather a crude way of putting it, David," the captain answered, "but you're not far out. Aeroplane reconnoissance now, how- ever, saves all these lives." And he continued, "Since reinforcements had arrived, the Poona Brigade, which was the first one that had landed, could be sent forward at once. The men were tired, of course, but they might as well take the first blow and, if they had to fall back, the other two fresh brigades would be ready to support. So, without waiting for the reinforcements to dis- embark, the Poona Brigade was sent forward. "Now, you know, when you look on the lower part of the Shatt-el-Arab from the decks of a river-boat, the scenery looks most attractive. On both shores, right down to the water's edge, are graceful date-palms, vines trailing from tree to tree, scarlet pomegranate in the undergrowth and white clusters of oleander over the water's edge. THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 207 Then behind, here and there, can be seen fields of grain. ' ' "Yes," the engineer remarked, "that's the part that used to be thought the Garden of Eden. That's where the Sumerians located it, you know, and that has always mixed people's ideas up. The Garden of Eden of the Bible is above Hit; the Garden of Eden of the Babylonian tablets is down where you were on the Shatt-el-Arab. But go on with your story. ' ' "As I was saying," the captain continued, "from the river side, the shore looks like the Garden of Eden. But once you're ashore, it's a lot different. The palms and the pomegranate blossoms are there sure enough, but the belt of them doesn't average half a mile wide, and be- yond it is the desert, while every now and then a very slight dip of a few feet reduces the appar- ently dry frontage to a .swamp covered with green scum and festering vegetation, with a variety of smells not to be matched in any part of the world I've been in, so far." "And this is November," remarked the en- gineer, "the one lovely month in the Mesopo- tamian year. Captain Pomeroy, wait until you Ve seen the seasons round ! But I interrupt. 5 5 208 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "It was bad enough taking Sahain," the captain resumed, " because the footing wasn't so bad. We drove the Turks back without much loss, rather wondering, indeed, that they gave way so easily. As a matter of fact, they had only re- tire'd upon Sahil, where the main strength of the advance force had entrenched. "This meant a real fight, and the whole divi- sion moved forward to attack. It was nasty fight- ing, regular guerrilla warfare. The Turks fought from behind the boles of palm-trees, from the banks of canals and from specially prepared dug- outs, patterned after the German fashion. One of the things which hurt us most was that the German officers had told the Turks that we tortured the wounded, and so many of our poor fellows were shot when they were going to help the enemy wounded into ambulances. 1 'After we had broken back all the advance guard, we came to the main camp. The Turks had entrenched in front of an open plain, their left on the river, their right covered by groves of date-palm. As we were working with naval and military forces combined, it was decided to attack the enemy's left, near the river, rather than to try to flank his right, which would have been a less costly maneuver. As it was, we had to dash across that open plain, without enough shelter to make a match-box of, while, at the same time, our gunboats went up the river, in spite of artillery fire, and enfiladed the hostile trenches from the stream. "Our chaps were just splendid. The two or three days of guerrilla fighting had put their blood up, and now that they .had a chance for open fighting, they just ate it up ! The way those In- dian troops went over that plain was a caution! The Turks didn't even wait for the shock. Al- though they were in superior numbers, on finding that their artillery could not stop the advancing wave of men, they broke and fled. If they had held their ground long enough to get actually into the fighting, we wouldn't have found it easy, for the Turk is a gamy fighter once he begins, though apt to give way before a battle. Our losses would have been heavy then, but, as it was, we lost only thirty-eight men. The Turks suffered heavily, for we had a couple of field-gun batteries that did good work in the pursuit, and thoroughly disor- ganized the fleeing army. "This was too good a start to lose and we pushed on as hard as we could. Part of the 210 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND troops were transported on a couple of river steamers and others proceeded by forced marches up the river, the gunboats leading the way, and shelling the fugitives in a way that must have tried their nerves sorely. "A few miles below Basra, three steamers had been blown up in the channel in order to prevent our boats going up. A battery of Turkish guns was posted so as to cover the obstruction and the Turks seemed to think that would hold us back a week or more. 1 'Time was more important than caution just then, so we slapped right ahead, the Indian troops just enjoying themselves. We sent a couple of detachments ashore to rush the guns, while our gunboats sent some four-inch shrapnel among the gunners. Nasty stuff, that four-inch shrap- nel, especially on these flat plains where it's as easy to hit a hostile battery in action as it is to register bull's-eyes on a target in gun-practice, and, as the Arabs put it, the Turks speedily be- took themselves Ho the midst of the Heavens,' or, in other words, they bolted. ' ' "Not that I blame them much," commented the engineer, in a low voice so as not to interrupt the narration. \ THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 211 "Then the gunboats edged up and poked at the outermost of the three sunken ships with their noses, gently shoving her stern around until she lay lengthwise in the stream. The Tigris did the rest. Within a couple of hours the current, sweeping around the sunken ship, made a new channel and the gunboats and steamers edged carefully by. "It all seemed rather queer to me. We were working in an abominable country, a long way from any base of supplies, against forces about four times our own in number, and yet we went ahead with hardly any trouble. The last twenty- eight miles to Basra we did in a day I grumbled at that myself, for it was killing to the men but we got in there absolutely without hearing a single shot fired. The Turks had got out the day before and the Arabs, of course, were looting the city for all it was worth. We jolly soon stopped that sort of thing, though. So that's how we got into Basra. "Rotten sort of a place, Basra," he continued. "Ever been there, Sir James?" "No," the engineer replied, "I came into Meso- potamia from the Damascus side. What 's Basra like?" 212 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "A hole!" was the frank reply. "The real town, the Arab town, that is, lies about two miles from the river, in a palm grove, bordered by the desert. There's a sort of half -river, half-ditch, the Ashar, which runs up from the Shatt-el-Arab to the town. From it a couple of hundred irriga- tion ditches spread off to right and left and wander among the date-palms. When the ten- foot tide comes up the Shatt-el-Arab from the Persian Gulf, it fills the Ashar and all the ditches, and then the creeks, or streets, whichever you like to call them, are gay with little belums. When the tide goes out, the main creek and all the ditches are nothing but fetid mud. The town is a typical Arab town, mud-built, with here and there a shabby, cheaply-decorated mosque. The larger streets and bazaars are roofed over with date-leaf matting and the sun's rays only trickle through. It's hotter than an oven and I never knew that there could be so many smells at a time in one place." "And this is November," reminded the en- gineer, "wait until summer comes, Captain! How about it, David ? ' ' "Yes, sir," the boy agreed, "it feels about forty times hotter than now. ' ' THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 213 ' 'Let's hope the war's over by then," the of- ficer replied. "It won't be," the engineer answered, "but don't let's get into prophecy. You haven't told us, yet, how you came to be taken prisoner. ' ' "Oh, that!" David noted -the characteristic English distaste for talking about oneself, but the engineer pressed for the story. "You see, Captain," he said, "after all, it's quite important that I should be informed on what's been going on and your telling me will save General Barrett some trouble." Which simple remark gave David an inkling of the importance of his comrade, though he little guessed what a dominant personality in the East was this same irrigation engineer. "Well, Sir James," the captain continued, re- suming his story, "after we got to Basra, we thought we were through. The wharf that the Germans had built for use in the continuation of the Berlin-to-Bagdad Railway was quite useful, but we supposed that our principal work was done. I really don't think any of us imagined that England intended to do any more than hold the Shatt-el-Arab from Basra down, so as to pro- 214 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND tect the mouth of the Zarun River, down which the pipe-line comes from Persia, and to make sure against th^ possibility of any raids on the oil center of Abadan. "But no sooner had we settled at Basra, begun to build a permanent camp on the river edge, and make a solid two-mile road to Old Basra than we learned that the Turks, under German direction, were contemplating a combined attack on us. Their army, we learned, was in three sections. The largest is here at Qurnah, under Subhi Bey, and our information states that this force con- tains about 40,000 men. Then there is a less well organized but even larger army now being formed under Suleiman Askeri, preparing for a descent on Basra by the route of the old fortress of Shaiba on the Euphrates. The third group is over on the river Qarun, threatening the pipe-line and acting as a flank attack to Abadan. Including hostile Arabs, there are about 140,000 men gath- ered for the attack. We've got about 60,000. "We didn't know of any more reinforcements actually on their way to us, although informed that more would be sent later, but General Barrett decided that we should take the initiative just the same. We already had a small force at Shaiba. THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 215 So, being afraid that they might be attacked in force and defeated a thing which would be very dangerous, for the Turks would exaggerate the skirmish into an immense victory and the result- ing loss of prestige would make things all the harder for us among the Arabs the first move we made was to send reinforcements to Shaiba. "At that time we supposed that the enemy op- posing our little garrison was only a small body. We hadn 't the faintest idea that it was the largest of the three Turkish armies. That's where we needed aeroplane reconnoissance in the worst way. 1 ' Just four days ago, the Turks came down and launched a surprise attack on the little garrison holding Shaiba. Although we had no knowledge that this was the day the enemy had set for the attack, it chanced that on that very day we had started a small body of reinforcements. They were but a few miles on their way when there came the sound of firing, sure evidence of a sur- prise attack. The reenforcing column advanced at the double, and an aide galloped back with news to the Commanding Officer. "The shortest way to the attacked garrison was across a great area to the westward of Basra, held 2i6 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND back by the Shaiba Bund embankment. This was flooded waist-deep. " While a mad rush was made for every belum and every kind of boat that would hold water, in order to cross this flooded area, most of the men plunged through it, holding their rifles over their heads and exposed to a distant but galling fire. Many a wounded man dropped in the water and was drowned. At one place the water was so high that it came to the armpits of the men. But they plunged through, notwithstanding, and came to the scene of battle. "The first relieving force, which had marched round on the desert, had been pinned back by a larger force of the enemy. They had not been able to reach the garrison at Shaiba, which, itself, was surrounded by a force of Turks at least ten times as great in number. The pressure on the garrison was relieved by the arrival of the men who had been plunging across the shallow lake. "The battle lasted for several hours. I hate to say it, Sir James, but our men were beaten. In that open flat land, with no chance to dig trenches at all, rule and machine-gun fire worked terrible havoc and men fell heavily on both sides. In a costly figjit such as this, numbers become the de- THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 217 ciding factor, and, even after the reinforcements arrived, we were outnumbered at least seven to one. "The Commanding Officer was just about to give the order to retire he told me, afterwards, that the order had been trembling on his lips for ten minutes or more when to the absolute and unbounded amazement of us all, the Turks, at the very second of their victory, turned tail and ran. 1 'It was inexplicable. It was disconcerting. Nothing ever looked more like a trick. But the effect of machine-guns on a retreating enemy is well known and our chaps dashed in pursuit. We were still wondering what was the cause of it, when one of the officers of an Indian regiment solved the problem. 1 ' ' Mirage ! ' he cried, pointing behind us. ' * There, to our rear, were vast billowing clouds of dust. Through the dust, clearly, as clearly as I can see you both now, could be distinguished great columns and bodies of men, supply wagons and even pieces of artillery, or so it seemed. Eank beyond rank, serried line behind serried line, these columns advanced. Yet we know that no such army existed in Mesopotamia. "It was our pitifully small supply-train, which 218 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND had driven round by the edge of the desert, since the wheels would sink in the sand and mud of the flooded area, and which, by a queer freak of mirage, had been repeated in strata after strata of air until it looked like an army of a million men advancing to the front." "No wonder they ran !" said David. "No," agreed the captain, "yet I should think the Turkish officers ought to have known natural phenomena better. After all, it's their country." The engineer shook his head. "It isn't," he said. "This is the country of the Arab, not the Turk. The Turk is primarily a mountain dweller and pays little heed to the lands under his dominion except as a means of squeez- ing taxes out of them. Our men, trained in India, know far more about it. But," he continued, "you couldn't afford to pursue the Turks very far up the Euphrates Valley." "No," agreed the captain, "we couldn't, be- cause that would give the enemy a chance to cut us off from the main body. Besides, Basra was much too rich a prize to risk. You see, Sir James, Basra boasts 20,000 inhabitants and there are 11,000,000 date-palms in its plantations. It was a rich haul and the Turks would naturally be THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 219 anxious to take it back. That was one reason why we can't be satisfied with holding it as an ad- vance post. We have got to take Qurnah, in order to be safe to develop Basra as a military base. But it'll have to be done quickly, if at all. I'm confident, though, that we '11 take this place within a week." "I hope we do," agreed the engineer, " though, even if the troops do take it, the Turks are likely to send us back up the river. ' ' " Perhaps the governor of Bagdad might like to see you again, sir, ' ' suggested David, laughing. "What was that?" asked the captain, scenting a story. "We'll tell you afterwards," the engineer re- plied. "G-o on with your story first. What happened after the mirage had worked a miracle atShaiba?" "The next thing," the captain answered, "was to send a good strong force to the Qarun River to patrol the pipe-line and to hold back the Arabs. There are 10,000 hostile Arabs, under Turkish officers, ready to raise the deuce with that whole Qarun section, but our political leaders have worked the trick on the Sheik of Muhammerah so smoothly that the Turkish force has never yet dared to come to an actual clash. They may, on Persian territory, yet, but they haven't risked it so far. If they do, that will bring 20,000 well- armed Arabs to our standard, a thing which would checkmate the Turk on the Qarun. "We heard that Suleiman Askeri committed suicide, as soon as he learned that he had ordered the retreat of his troops because of a mirage, and thereby had missed his country's best chance of a victory. Of course it put the Bedouins on our side. When the Turks broke at Shaiba, great bands of nomad Arabs, who had no love for either side, Arabs who hated their Turkish overlord, and who equally resented the coming of the for- eigners, desert warriors who had been hanging on the flanks of the battle with the intention of plundering whichever army was vanquished, fell on the fleeing Turks, harrying them and taking spoil of the stragglers as far as Khamisseyeh, ninety miles away. "We already had the support of the Arabs on both sides of the lower reaches of the Shatt-el- Arab, and the victory at Shaiba decided the hostile desert tribe that their better chance of plunder lay in spoiling the Turks instead of us. The THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 221 mirage, therefore, had not only gained a battle, but had turned the tide of nomad Arab hostility against our enemies. "The biggest part of the work was in front of us, however. Subhi Bey was solidly encamped at Qurnah, with a very considerable force, officered by Germans, as you know." "Yes," put in the engineer, "Von Behrein is in charge of the artillery end, here. That much I found out." "He is, eh?" The captain looked grave. "Maybe Qurnah will be a tougher nut to crack than I think, then. I hope not, though. Our little affair of yesterday was just to feel out Subhi Bey. Colonel Frazier came up quite close to the town yesterday, with the Norf oiks and some of the Indian troops, led by three gunboats, two armed launches, and an armed yacht. "We were put ashore about three miles down and marched, or floundered, up the river bank. There had been some rain the day before and the mud down here is horrible. Our men were sliding and stumbling forward when quite a snug little party of Turks rushed us from a hidden redoubt in a palm-grove. We beat them back without much 222 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND difficulty and charged forward to take the redoubt, only to find ourselves in the middle of a strong Turkish position. * * I gave the order to retire and we were getting away in good order when two bullets struck me at the same time, one on the head and one in the arm. I dropped, I suppose, for the first thing I knew, I was in a dressing-station behind the Turk- ish lines and a German doctor was working on my shoulder. Mos-t unpleasant sort of chap he was, but a good surgeon. He seemed quite resentful of our troops having come at all, and I gathered that the Germans had expected a walk-away. They had figured on fortifying Abadan and Saniyeh and so having an advanced base threaten- ing India. "I got one evidence of German feeling. While bending over my dressing he murmured in Ger- man: " 'What foolishness to take care of one's own enemy!' " "How was it," asked the engineer, "that you got off with nothing but a shoulder wound if you were also struck in the head?" "I puzzled over that," the captain said, "but as I got nothing but a thundering big bruise there THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 223 I suppose I was hit by a spent bullet which must either have ricoohetted from the slimy mud or else been deflected from the trunk of a palm- tree. " "Narrow shave," the engineer remarked. * ' Right-o ! ' ' agreed the captain. ' ' And my arm isn't so badly hurt either. I'll be able to get right back into harness the minute our men march in here. ' ' " Always supposing we- aren't sent to Amara or Bagdad before that happens," put in the en- gineer. "We'll hope for better luck than that," the officer replied. Then he continued: "Now, I think, it's my turn. Suppose you tell your story. How did you get down here, Sir James f Qurnah is a long way from Hit ! ' ' "We've had some adventures, too!" the en- gineer admitted, and told in detail the story of the motor-boat race down the Tigris. That evening, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the guard notified the prisoners that the Commandant was no longer able to arrange for their food and so forth in their present quarters. Every facility would be given them to purchase supplies, if they wished to do so, otherwise they 224 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND would have to go to the common prison camp, with other prisoners of war. "Jolly awkward," said the captain. "One doesn't take a pocket full of sovereigns on a re- connoissance. ' ' "And I got rid of most of mine," added the engineer, "impressing those beggars in Bagdad with plenty of baksheesh." Whereupon David spoke up promptly, glad that he had the chance of being of service. ' * When Father had to go away in such a hurry, ' ' he said, "he told me to use a cuneiform tablet that he had found in Babylon, which is bordered with gems. I've given away a couple. I'm sure Father would like me to give it to you sir," he said, handing the tablet to the engineer, "if it could help you and Captain Pomeroy. Only," he added, "I'd like the tablet back afterwards, be- cause Father entrusted it to me. He said the in- scription was very important as a historical record. ' ' "That's jolly decent of you, David," said the engineer, taking the tablet and examining it with a great deal of interest. "I don't know a great deal about stones," he continued, "but some of THE BATTLE OF THE MIRAGE 225 these are rubies, I'm pretty sure. This will help us along a few days in any case." Calling for the soldier, the engineer bade him send for a jewel merchant in the town, and after lengthy chaffering a gem changed hands. The Turkish Commandant paid a visit to the prisoners later in the evening, spent a friendly half-hour, proved himself a most courteous gentleman as well as a gallant soldier and begged his English captives to accept a gift of tobacco. Six days later, while David was busy working over his mathematics and the two men were dis- cussing political probabilities in Mesopotamia, a distant rattling of shots was heard, and, not more than an hour later, a British officer suddenly en- tered. "Hello, Pomeroy," he said, as quietly as though he had seen him that morning. ' ' I heard you were in here. ' ' ' ' Confound it, Somers, ' ' said the captain, jump- ing up and shaking his brother officer's hand, "when did you get taken?" "I get taken, man !" exclaimed the other, laugh- ing, "I'm not taken. Qurnah is! The old flag's flying over Turkish headquarters now. We col- 226 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND lared Mezerah first thing this morning, sent the sappers six miles to the north, crossed the river there where no one was expecting us and came down on the other bank, surrounding the town on every side. The Turks didn't even have a chance to fight. They laid down their arms. They had to ! Unconditional surrender ! ' ' "I was sure we'd do it !" exclaimed the captain. Then, turning to his companions, he introduced them, and David noticed the instant surprise and respect which the mention of his comrade 's name created. "The General will be delighted to hear of your safety, Sir James," said their rescuer. "I will send him word at once. " Then, turning to the lad, he said, hospitably, ' ' Come along, David. Young America will dine to-night in the officers ' mess ! ' ' VIADUCT BEFORE EXPLOSIONS. VIADUCT AFTER EXPLOSIONS. 4K. ~ THE FIRST CHARGE. . - tr>-H- -*r-- , Srf^. * - ~- ArfK THE SECOND CHARGE. THE THIRD CHARGE. THE FOURTH CHARGE. Auttralian Official Photo. BLOWING UP THE BEERSHEBA RAILROAD. Demolition of the Aslus Viaduct, built by Germans and Turks during the war Upon the capture of Palestine, it was rebuilt by the British. THE BLACKEST DAY QURNAH being held purely as a military position, there was no place for David in the British camp. Having no knowledge whether his father had suc- ceeded in escaping, yet unwilling to leave the country, David found himself obliged to decline a kindly invitation from Sir James Testahen, whose duties called him to England now that the irri- gation survey was enforcedly abandoned. He offered to take the lad with him and place him in care of friends until the war was over. "You see, sir," the boy answered, "Father told me to try to find a Mr. Ferguson, in Basra. He is an old friend of Father's. Since the Eng- lish are there, it ought to be safe for me to stay, and Father will expect to find me there." "Very good," the engineer replied, "perhaps you had better do so. But if you don't find this American in Basra, let me know. I am going down to Abadan to stay a few days. If you find your friend, telegraph me to that effect; if not, 227 228 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND telegraph that you are coming, and meet me down there. In any case, you ought not to stay in Mesopotamia alone." With the engineer's aid and the friendship of the British officers, David had no difficulty in find- ing a vessel to take him down the river. Craft of all sorts were plying between Basra and Qurnah, bringing supplies and munitions up to the ad- vanced base and taking wounded men back to the base hospital at Qurnah, for skirmishes of a minor order were going on continually. With characteristic English spirit, the first thing that the incoming victors had done had been to commence permanent local improvements. Drifting, or rather sailing down the river in a high-hulled mahayla, David was surprised to find, at his journey's end, the vessel being moored to a substantial wharf. There are few things which have done more to make the British Empire the power that it is than the English system of bettering the conditions of the natives wherever the Union Jack flies. The English had been in Basra but a little more than a month, yet quays had been constructed on the river-bank and a two-mile road had been built from the quays to Old Basra. Turkish tax ex- THE BLACKEST DAY 229 actions were at an end. Arab looting and robbery by violence had been quickly stopped. Even- handed and impartial justice had been established, and sanitary measures were in force, a thing un- known in Mesopotamia during the entire four centuries of Turkish rule. It was on the very first day that David was in Basra that he saw a little incident which ex- plained to him, more than a thousand statements could have done, the manner in which England makes friends of Eastern peoples. It chanced, that a couple of days before David's arrival, some soldiers had been chaffing each other about their respective merits as crack shots. One of them, who was very proud of his skill, purely as a matter of showing off, raised his rifle and fired at a stork on her nest, the bird being a long dis- tance away. It was an excellent shot and the mother stork fell off her high-perched nest, dead. Now the soldier either did not know or had forgotten that the stork is regarded with peculiar veneration by the Arabs, because they have a tra- dition that he clacks his beak and tries to say "Allah! Allah!" at the morning and evening prayers when the muezzin proclaims the hour from the minarets. Consequently, a strong local 230 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND resentment arose which came to the ears of the Commanding Officer, and the soldier was put un- der arrest. Now the real cause of arrest was disobedience of orders, because reckless and unnecessary shoot- ing is at all times forbidden, but at the same time, the Commanding Officer thought it would be a good lesson for the rest of the men if he should make an example of this one. He therefore or- dered a somewhat curious sentence. The body of the stork was placed in a coffin, hung with crape, and set in the middle of the market-place, and the offender was ordered to do sentry-go over it eight hours a day for a week, two hours on and two hours off, beginning at six o'clock in the morning. The Arabs regarded the situation gravely and seriously, and decided among themselves that the English must indeed be a just race, since they would punish their own people for outraging the customs of a conquered city. David had no difficulty in finding Ferguson. Acting upon the engineer's suggestion, he ap- pealed to the Director of Local Resources, a post entailing the organization of the Arabs as allies in providing supplies for the troops. He knew THE BLACKEST DAY 231 Ferguson's name at once and gave the boy ex- plicit directions how to find his house. Ferguson, a quick, affable, jerky sort of man, grasped the situation in an instant. He greeted the boy as if he had known him all his life. "David Suroh," he said, "son of old Dead- Bones Surch don't take offense, that is what we used to call him at college come right in! Hungry? Of course!" He shouted for a serv- ant. "Make yourself at home. So long!" and he was off. It was while David was staying in Basra that the news came in of the first attempt to take the Suez Canal. Some official accounts had been re- ceived, but the first definite description came in the form of a letter from the archaeologist to Fergu- son, asking for news of David. The boy, of course, had written to his father from Qurnah immedi- ately upon his rescue, but he had addressed his letter to Jerusalem, in care of the Palestine Ex- ploration Fund, to which place he supposed his father to have gone. From there, undoubtedly, his letter would not have been forwarded, in any event, even supposing it had reached there, which was highly improbable, since all postal communi- 232 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND cation with enemy countries was at a standstill. The archaeologist *s letter, or rather that portion of it which dealt with the attack on Egypt, was explicative and to the point. "You see, Ferguson," he wrote, "the Egyptian campaign is a necessity to Turkey. Every alli- ance in war is based on a selfish reason, and Egypt is the only bribe that Germany can offer to Turkey. Now the invasion and conquest of Egypt is a sea-power matter, and as long as the Allies hold the sea, there's not much danger. "Bight at the beginning of the war, as you re- member, the German warships Goeben and Bres- lau escaped the Allied Mediterranean fleet l and steamed into the Golden Horn. This escape was taken by Turkey as an evidence that German war- ships could patrol the sea when and where they wished. "Again, also at the beginning of the war, the Khedive of Egypt, Abbas Hilmi, was entirely in the power and in the pay of the German-Turkish ring, by which, under the guise of 'nationalist' movements, the Young Turks at Constantinople were to win their reforms and the Cairo National- ists were to be freed from English restriction. The Imperial German Bank financed both these movements. "Germany, however clever she may be in mili- tary matters, is Weak in diplomacy. Almost in- variably she makes a mistake in judging the char- i For the significance of the Goeben incident and the dramatic way in which it was carried out, the reader is referred to the author's companion volume, "The Wonder of War at Sea." THE BLACKEST DAY 233 acters of peoples. Vain of her Secret Service system, she relies upon the reports of her agents, who, naturally, like to present their work as im- portant. " German agents in Cairo told Berlin that the Cairo Nationalists were strong, when as a matter of fact, they seem to have been very weak. Ber- lin was informed that Egypt was ready to revolt and that the Egyptian Army would turn on its English superiors. Berlin also put a great deal of faith in the Sultan's proclamation of a Holy War. Each and every one of these ideas were wrong. * * I don 't pretend to be a diplomat, and being an American, I've never bothered with European politics, but I could have told them better than that. The point lies in this : there are more Mo- hammedans in the world under English rule than under Turkish rule and they are better satisfied. That's no ground for starting a Holy War. "The natural result was that, as soon as war was declared with Turkey, the Khedive, instead of leading his Cairo Nationalists in revolt, promptly ran away. He went first to Italy which was then neutral, thence to Vienna and Constanti- nople. Egypt was made a British protectorate with Prince Huessein Kamel as Sultan. "I've just come across the Sinai desert, and I realize that Egypt is as well defended by that desert as if she had an army of a million men there. No wonder Pharaoh didn't pursue the Children of Israel. His army would have died of thirst, if he had tried it. "Think of it, Ferguson, a hundred and more miles of stony and waterless desert divided from 234 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND an equally arid mass of mountains by a tract of waterless sand. The region is rainless. Not a cloud is ever seen in the burning sky. With the exception of the dry and stunted scrub in the hol- lows of the southern mountains, Sinai is dead; cursed by an everlasting thirst; silent with the curse of eternal death. "To transport a modern army over this ' stretch, with men, transport animals, artillery, and the rest seemed impossible. The Turks would never have dreamed of trying it. But their child- like faith in the Germans was touching. Full confidence was placed in the German chief of staff, General von Kressenstein, who directed Djemal Pasha's army. "It must be admitted that the Germans and Turks together did very well. They did succeed in crossing the desert, though nearly all the heavy artillery had to be left behind, and they crossed it with over 30,000 men. A light railway was built to carry the supplies. But, though I don't pretend to understand military matters very well, it seems clear to me that their principal weakness lay in the fact that the whole transport force was consumed in merely getting the army there. No provision was possible for keeping the army, once it was there. Success required that the Suez Ca- nal must be taken by storm. It was the old Ger- man trick of believing that everything could be se- cured at the first smash. "The British officers here say that the actual campaign was well handled. The Germans and Turks had anticipated a sharp defense at El Arish where the British had always kept an advance post, but there they met no check at all. The El THE BLACKEST DAY 235 Arish post had been withdrawn as too costly to defend. That left open to the Turks the three caravan routes to Suez, the only possible lines of advance. Contrary to general expectation, the British did not try to defend these routes, though the two southern could easily have been con- trolled by forts. England was taking the ground that she was only defending the interests of Egypt, and decided to fight from the Suez Canal, rather than to treat it as a military campaign. "Now the Suez Canal is 90 miles long, and at least 40 miles of its length consists of stretches of lakes, especially Ballah, Timsah, Great Bitter and Little Bitter Lakes. As an actual matter of fact, the only points where a land army would have any chance at all of forcing the passage of the Suez by pontoon bridge, constructed under fire, or by rafts, would be between El Kantara and Toussoum, a distance of about thirty miles. Yet those thirty miles are among the most im- portant thirty miles in the world. They are ab- solutely necessary to civilization. "As I look back on the last few days," the letter continued, "it seems to me that the French aviators and aeroplanes deserved a lot of praise. Desert flying is quite a trick, so I'm told, but the Frenchmen were in the air all the time. As an attack, like that on Suez, should be of the char- acter of a surprise, the aviators utterly crippled the Turkish plans. On the flat sands, through the defiles, along the wadys, we knew exactly what forces were coming and in what direction. "The British had never a moment's anxiety. All the officers expressed themselves as sorry for the Turks, driven on by Germany to a hopeless 236 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND task, for to attack the Suez by land was hopeless. The British had a fresh-water canal along the whole length of the ship canal. They had a rail- way line, not a temporary military affair, but a good solid construction, with plenty of rolling- stock, running along the Egyptian bank. In the lakes were ships of war, French and British, in the wider stretches were torpedo boats and de- stroyers, in the narrow stretches armed navy launches covered every foot of water with their buzzing activity. All along the line of the bank were carefully dug trenches, protected with sand- bags and faced with barbed wire. Every section of the front was in telegraphic communication with headquarters. Guns were plenty, ammuni- tion not scarce, and bases of supply were close at hand. The soldiers were unwearied and eager. "What chance did the Turks have? They had toiled for weeks over the terrible desert, much of the time on short rations, all the time on the smallest possible amount of water. They had been unable to bring along heavy artillery. With vast exertion and much pluck they had dragged pontoons for the crossing of the canal. They had no opportunity for secrecy, the aeroplanes roared overhead and reported their every move. "Then, when at last they reached the shore of the Gulf, they could not wait to dig permanent trenches, they could not affort to rest the men and prepare them for battle. Why not? Because of the supply of water. One of the greatest stimuli to the Turkish Army was the knowledge of the fresh-water canal on the other side of the ship canal. If they could rush the wider stream, the thirst-quenching liquid lay beyond. THE BLACKEST DAY 237 1 'To do the Turks justice, in the face of an utterly impossible task, they charged gallantly. At Toussoum they almost succeeded in getting a bridge across; at Kantara, several pontoons reached the Egyptian bank. "But the odds were too terribly heavy. With warships hurling a ponderous mass of metal, every Turkish battery was speedily silenced ; with machine-guns dominating every inch of the shore, every Turk who crossed was instantly swept down; with a trench system that would have re- sisted a German massed attack, the fury of the travel-worn Turk could do nothing. A few hours sufficed to show the attack an utter failure. The British did not even pursue the enemy into the desert. There was no need. They knew a more relentless foe, thirst, would finish their task. "The three routes by which the Turks advanced are now white with the bleaching bones of the re- mains of the army which straggled back, water- less and exhausted, to the headquarters at Beer- sheba and Gaza whence the advance was made. It would have been the same story had the Turk- ish force been ten times as great. "I am convinced that the Suez Canal is abso- lutely invulnerable from the Sinaitic side. Of course, what is a barrier to the Turk is also a barrier to the British and if England retorts by a counter-charge on Palestine, which is more than possible, that desert of Sinai will have to be ne- gotiated by Allied troops. I've done so much ex- ploring in Southern Palestine that I shall stay in touch with the British here, as I may be useful here and could not be of much use on the Tigris, even if I could find a way of getting there. ' ' 238 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND The old archaeologist then proceeded with a long series of instructions as to the best measures that should be pursued of finding the whereabouts of David, if so be that he had not yet reached Basra. "I don't say I'm exactly worried about him," the letter closed, "but, naturally, I'm a bit anxious. Wire me, if you have any news. ' ' Ferguson was an American, shrewd and re- sourceful. By profession he was a promoter. He had originally gone to the East with the idea of forming a company which should secure a mo- nopoly of the oriental rug output of the Persian and Turkish countries, knowing that if this could be formed, such a company could force down the prices paid to the rug-makers for they would have no other market for their wares and force up the prices asked from the buyer for there would be no other source of supply. In this pro- ject, however, he reckoned without the Armenian merchants, who stick together very closely and are building up a similar monopoly on their own account. Being wise enough to realize that it would be a long and complicated business to undermine the Armenian hold on oriental trade, Ferguson looked around to see what was the principal need of the THE BLACKEST DAY 239 region in which he had practically marooned him- self. At last he found it. "You see, David," he explained to the boy, "when I found I was stuck out here, I knew that the only thing to be done was to discover some place where people spent money to do something which I could find a way to do for them cheaper. That's the first principle of business, my boy. Do something for somebody cheaper than he can get it done anywhere else, and make a profit on it yourself at the same time. Then you've got a sure thing. An Arab's human, after all, and I've noticed that a Mohammedan knows how to reckon in dollars and cents just as well as a Christian or a Jew. "I thought of running a line of steamboats on the Tigris. I knew I could bring down merchan- dise from above Bagdad, slip round the Persian Gulf to the Bed Sea, and unload at Port Said on the Mediterranean, landing goods there at a cheaper rate than the caravan route to Damascus and the Anatolian Railway to Constantinople or the Syrian Eailway to a port. There would be real money in that. ' ' "Why didn't you do it?" asked the boy. "Couldn't get the boats," Ferguson answered. 240 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "The Tigris is so infernally shallow that nothing but river steamers can navigate it, vessels with three or four feet draught, at the very outside, and a steamer with three-foot draught can't cross the open sea. The Indian Ocean is pretty rough, and if I had to transship goods to an ocean steamer at Fao, I'd increase my cost terribly, as there aren't any port facilities there and Arab labor isn't worth shucks." "So that plan went up in smoke," commented David. "Yes, I saw that was no go. Just the same, I knew that the key to the Tigris market lay in transport. You know how goods are transported here?" "You mean the rafts? I never saw one made, but we passed a few in that wild motor-boat rush down the river." David had told his part of his adventures in company with Sir James Testahen, and the Ameri- can, far too shrewd to miss the opportunity of getting in touch with a big man, had taken the boy down to Abadan for a final chat, just before the engineer left for England. "Never saw a raft made?" laughed Ferguson. "Well, it isn't what you'd call modern ship-build- THE BLACKEST DAY 241 ing. They take seventy-two poplar poles brought down from the upper reaches of the river and lash them together, thirty-six one way and thirty- six the other, crossways. Then they take the skins of goats and blow them full of air, tying the necks and legs tightly, and fasten those under the raft and all round the edges. An ordinary raft, eighteen feet square, will use from 250 to 300 of these skins. Then the front end is piled with merchandise and a hut for the boatman and sometimes for passengers is built with poles and strips of felt. Then that floats down the river, day and night, until it arrives at Bagdad or Amara, or even as far as Basra. The merchan- dise is unloaded. The poles are cut up and sold as firewood they bring a good price in the desert where there is no fuel but twigs of brushwood, the roots of grass and camel-dung to burn and the skins are deflated and carried north again on the backs of asses. ' 'Now," here Ferguson pointed his finger thoughtfully, ' ' as soon as I grasped that system, I saw that there was a big loss of energy. If you can float a raft downstream, but have to tote the skins north again, you have an empty journey, which means loss. Moreover, in order to have 242 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND the mules to transport north, they have to come south. How would it be to work out a scheme to use the river both ways? "Pretty soon I hit it off. I wouldn't need to build any river craft, there were the mahaylas, and some o' them hardly draw any water at all. Easy! I sent for a few auxiliary engines, put them in the lightest-draught mahaylas that I could find and started trading up-river. On my trips now I carry the goatskins for the raftsmen for less than mule-transport cost, and I give them the ride for nothing. Besides that, I'm always mighty careful to bring nothing down river except stuff that would be injured by the dampness of being close to the water on a raft, or too big for the rafts to carry easily, or for which the shippers are willing to pay extra for quicker handling. "By not trying to compete too closely on the down-river trade and by charging very little to carry the goatskins up, I've got the friendship of the raftsmen and most of the traders on the river. It all came natural enough because I lived in a little town on the Mississippi when I was a boy. 1 i Then I went to work and made a chart for my- self of the channel of the river; I guess the only one there is. That way I can keep from running THE BLACKEST DAY 243 aground too often. Besides that, I guess, one way and another, I've towed off a couple of hundred rafts and mahaylas that have got stuck in the mud, so I'm pretty well known from the old Ro- man bridge that still spans the river above the black walls of Diarbekr clear down to Fao, a thou- sand miles and more. The Tigris is no slouch of a river! You're all right with me, son, but now that the war's on, you might as well be useful. I need pilots badly, and I can't teach the Arabs to understand the chart, even though I've made a sort of translation of it. You know English, you picked up a smattering of river knowledge from Sir James Testahen and you could read that chart right off like a book. ' ' "I'd like that!" exclaimed David. " Any- thing 's better than hanging around doing noth- ing. Besides I'd like to do my bit in the war, too." " Just the way I felt," Ferguson agreed. "All right, then, I'm running up to Qurnah to-morrow. Suppose you come along, and learn that stretch of the river, anyhow." This was the beginning of David's experiences as a pilot on the Tigris, experiences which a little later were to lead him into a very ticklish posi- 244 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND tion. The advance post at Qurnah was relin- quished some weeks afterward, as the British did not have a large enough force to be able to patrol the pipe-line on the Qarun Kiver, to hold Basra and Qurnah on the Tigris, as well as sustain an advanced post at Shaiba on the Euphrates. As a result, the Turks advanced again to Bar- jisiyeh, only a few miles north of Basra. But a change was coming. This was forced upon British policy by the failure of the naval attack on Gallipoli in March, a failure which was a very severe blow to England's pride, one of the few cases, indeed, when a heavy bombardment by some of the most powerful vessels in the greatest navy in the world was productive of no result. Failure in the Orient is far more dangerous than elsewhere, for it injures prestige, and over wide stretches of semi-hostile territory, control is only held by prestige. In order to maintain England's grip on India, it was imperative that there should be a victory in the Orient. For this reason, rather than because of the es- sential value of Mesopotamia in the World War, Sir John Nixon was sent with a whole army corps to Basra, to extend the British conquests and to report on the possibility of an advance to THE BLACKEST DAY 245 Bagdad. Could Bagdad be captured, it would effectually put an end to Germany's most am- bitious schemes for eastern conquest, and at the same time it would convince the Orient that British power was not only as strong as ever, but stronger. Bagdad, as the old capital of the Caliphs and the most important city of Western Asia, historically considered, was a prize worth seeking. Sir John Nixon arrived in Basra on April 9, and David acted as pilot on one of the vessels which went down to the mouth of the Shatt-el- Arab to come up as a flotilla of honor. The Brit- ish commander did not delay operations. On April 14, five days after his arrival, he sent Gen- eral Melliss against the Turks at Barjisiyeh and General Gorringe against the strong Turkish po- sition at Ahwaz on the Qarun River. Both blows were successful. On the Tigris, the Turks fled back to Amara, again deserting Qurnah, and on the Qarun, the combined Turkish and Arab forces were decisively defeated at Ahwaz and driven clear away to Bisaitin. When General Townshend arrived on April 22, the question of the capture of Amara was the next thing to be considered. Lying 200 miles up 246 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND the river from Basra, it was the most important town, after Bagdad, in the whole of Mesopotamia. It was a modern town, built less than fifty years ago, and was one of the branch centers of the German Imperial Bank. As Ferguson had pointed out to David, the essential question was not so much a question of troops as of transport, a fact which he cogently put before the British Commander-in-Chief, and which the latter promptly referred to London. 1 'The principal urgency," wrote Sir John Nixon, "is for six paddle steamers, three stern- wheel steamers, eight tugs and forty-three barges. A properly equipped river fleet would double and treble the value of the army of occupation.. ' ' Fateful words ! But there was no time to wait for official action from England. The Turks had been driven away from Ahwaz and scattered over the country, but, if they should have a chance to re-form at Amara, it would be much more difficult to take the place. This led to the formation of what was known as "Townshend's Begatta." After a conference, to which Ferguson had been invited, because of his thorough knowledge of transportation, the American came back and sent THE BLACKEST DAY 247 for David, who was now, to all intents and pur- poses, acting as his assistant, a position he was able to fulfill very well because of his thorough knowledge of Arabs and Arabic. His childhood training stood him in good stead. The boy found his chief standing with his hands in his pockets and a mixture of frown and grin upon his face. He spoke with a hesitation that was rare in him. 1 1 David, my boy," he said, "you and I have really got to take our part in this war seriously. General Townshend said to me this morning that he would have to commandeer my boats, but that, naturally, since I was not in the army, and not even a British subject, he couldn't ask me to risk my life in a forward movement. At the same time, he let me see pretty clearly that I could be useful." "I think I can guess what you answered," haz- arded David. He had come to know his chief well by that time, and Ferguson was happy with the boy, glad to relapse into his natural Ameri- canism, always so out of place in Oriental sur- roundings. "What do you suppose I said?" * * That you 'd go, anyway. ' ' 248 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND " That's exactly what I did say," Ferguson re- plied, "but I said more than that." "Something about me?" The other grunted an affirmation. "What did you say about me?" asked David, anxiously. "What would you have wanted me to say?" The lad thought for a moment. "I think," he said, "I'd have wanted you to say that, being an American, you knew just about how an American boy would feel, and that while the United States wasn't in the war, we were on the Allies' side and that I'd be only too glad to jump in and help in this campaign wherever they thought I could be the most use." Ferguson reached out his hand and gripped the lad's firmly. "I said," he commented, "that you were game and could be counted on, same as me. ' ' "Fine!" ejaculated David. "So," Ferguson continued, "we're going to take a hand in getting the troops up-stream. Everything that floats is going to be used. I'm going to pilot the leading gunboat, and you'd better take our biggest tow and pull up some transport barges." THE BLACKEST DAY 249 "I'd like to take one of the other gunboats!" pleaded the lad. "Of course you would. You'd probably like to be the General in Command of the whole cam- paign. You can't, though. You're lucky to have a chance to do so much. ' ' Ferguson smiled. "Even so," he added, "you will be piloting a gunboat, so far as the Turks are aware. I've set all my men at work making dummy guns and funnels and so forth, so as to give the Turks an idea of a powerful fleet on its way up river." "And when do we start?" asked the boy. "To-morrow night," was the reply. "We can't afford to take more time, because news of our camouflaged 'navy' might leak to the Turks, and our biggest ally, right now, is surprise." "Bully," the boy exclaimed, "count me in!" The evening of the following day a motley col- lection of craft left Qurnah. There were gun- boats, real and camouflaged, mahaylas, belums, and barges. On either shore scouting parties advanced in support. This fleet was the last thing the Turks had ex- pected. Well aware of the transport difficulties that the British faced, when they saw in the dis- 250 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND tance this big array of vessels, they were sure that naval reinforcements had arrived up the Shatt- el-Arab. Then General Townshend did a daring thing. Instead of sailing this whole motley collection right up to the walls of Amara where the pre- tense might have been discovered he sent a party ahead, twenty-two men in all, to announce the arrival of the " fleet" and to demand surrender. The garrison at Amara was 700 strong, and not badly placed for defense, but rumors of the Turk- ish retreat at Ahwaz had already reached Amara. Moreover, the non-appearance of even any rem- nants of that army convinced the Turkish gar- rison that the whole eastern force had been cut to pieces. In that case, Amara would soon be surrounded. Accordingly, the garrison surren- dered, and the following day the British troops marched in without resistance, and David's barges, among others, landed the soldiers in the very heart of Amara. Two days later the fragments of the missing Turkish division staggered into Amara, without any knowledge that the town had changed mas- ters. The vanguard which approached the town was surrounded and compelled to surrender, THE BLACKEST DAY 251 while the main body broke and scattered, fleeing up the river towards Kut. In spite of the terrific heat, six weeks later the " regatta" David still holding his place as an unofficial pilot on a transformed mahayla was sent up the Euphrates against the Turkish force at Nazariyeh. The boy saw none of that battle, but General Gorringe secured an important vic- tory, capturing the garrison with seventeen guns and a large quantity of war material. Then came the summer. From March to September, the Mesopotamian sun sets a record of heat and seldom, if ever, lets a day go by without raising the temperature to 110. In the middle of the summer, there will be fifty or sixty days on end where the noon tem- perature is over 120 in the shade and between 130 and 140 under canvas. David, though inured in childhood to the heat of the desert, was all but prostrated by the greater heat of the valley; the British soldiers died by hundreds from sunstroke and heat-exhaustion. Ice was a prime necessity, but in the first Meso- potamian campaign of 1915, there were no ice- manufacturing plants attached to the Medical Service. Not until November is the soldier 252 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND allowed to leave off the detested sun-helmet and spine-jpad, and then only during certain hours. If Mesopotamian Horror Number One is the sun, certainly Horror Number Two is Insects. Every town on the two rivers is surrounded with date-palms, and there are groves scattered in be- tween. Along the Shatt-el-Arab, the groves ex- tend for a mile depth on either side. These groves, or date-gardens, are intersected by small creeks and irrigation ditches which, though dry for months at a time, contain numerous stagnant pools where the mosquito loves to breed. And the mosquito, in Mesopotamia, carries not only malaria, but a variety of other fever-giving dis- eases. That first summer, there was no Sani- tation Service to fight the mosquitoes. Yet the sand-fly is by far a worse pest than the mosquito. It was the worst enemy the soldiers encountered. "Next to Germany," writes Egan, 1 "it is Turkey's most venomous ally and it has incapacitated thousands of men. It is so small as almost to be invisible and it mobilizes in the great deserts in armies of quintillions. There are times when every inch of air-space seems to be filled with sand-flies. No net was ever made that i"War in the Cradle of the World," by E. F. Egan (Harper & Bros.)- THE BLACKEST DAY 253 is fine enough to keep them out, and they can get through anything but armor-plate. When they get a chance to settle on a man they proceed to dig in and eat him up, producing a variety of tortures that nothing else can equal. Then, in too many cases, comes a slow, wasting, prostrating fever, which nearly always necessitates a stretcher trip down to a hospital ship. ' ' Naturally, David knew nothing about war, but, by the middle of the summer, he had become in- dignant over the wretched handling of the sick and wounded by the British hospital service. "It's a disgrace, Mr. Ferguson," he broke out one day. "I've seen fifty men, sick and half- dying, waiting for medical attention in the open sun, because there were no hospital accommoda- tions for them. What's England about?" And he repeated, "It's a positive disgrace and a rotten shame!" "I'm afraid you're dead right," the transport expert replied, "although you're not half as much worked up about it as the army chiefs themselves. And as for the doctors, why, the hospital serv- ice, such of it as there is here, is working about twenty hours a day." "But why?" asked David. "I always under- 254 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND stood that it was in the medical end that modern war had come to be so up-to-date. It isn't here. What's the reason?" Ferguson tilted his battered sun-helmet on the back of his head. "I asked the Commanding Medical Officer about that one day, ' ' he said, ' ' and he laid all the blame on India. You see, David, the first detachment of troops that was sent to Mesopotamia came from India, but it wasn't sent until after India had been drawn on for troops for Gallipoli, troops for Egypt and troops for German East Africa. Their Medical Service was all right. We got the leavings. Moreover, a few years ago, India started on a system of rigid economy, and while the supplies on hand were ample for all ordinary contingencies, no one ever expected that the whole Eastern world would burst into flame. " Besides that, the original intention, as you know, was only to take Basra and hold the Shatt- el-Arab so as to make sure and control the oil- pipe line and to keep the Turks and Germans from getting control of the Persian Gulf. The Medical Service was all right for that, since all serious cases would be shipped back to hospitals in the hill country of India. But, with every Brit- THE BLACKEST DAY 255 ish success, the big chiefs in England and India got eager for more successes and pushed the troops farther and farther up the river. It's a piece of dog-gone foolishness " this was an old grudge of Ferguson's "for if they stretch the transport much farther it's going to be like a piece of elastic that's yanked too far. It'll snap, and " he paused significantly, "it'll be the deuce an' all to mend!" "It's too bad " David began, but the other continued. "No one has any idea of this climate," he said. "You can write about it all you like, and cuss all you know how, and the authorities can send it medical reports. That doesn't do any good. There isn't anybody who has enough gift of language to describe it. Take the worst bit of the battle-field in Europe, and this campaign here requires twice as much hospital attention as that even without any fighting. War is war, of course, but in common humanity to both sides, a truce ought to be declared during the summer months. Killing thousands of men from heat and exhaustion doesn't do either side any good, so far as I can see. I call it murder!" In spite of the execrable transport and hospital 256 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND situation, the British government was unable to resist the temptation of pushing on. As before, the principal reason for this urgency was the utter failure of the Gallipoli campaign and the weakness shown in England's half-hearted at- tempt -to aid Serbia from the Salonica base. A third reason was Germany's counter-advance into Russia. These three things combined were cal- culated -to make Turkey feel that the British were but a feeble foe and that victory would ultimately follow the German standards. In Mesopotamia, on the other hand, with a piti- fully small force, success had been continuous. The Turks had not had one victory to their credit, not even the smallest skirmish. Therefore, the British figured, it would be wise to press on to Bagdad in order to restore the waning prestige of England in the East. In any case, the move to Kut-el-Amara, generally known simply as Kut, was decided upon. The original occupation of Kut happened in a very curious way. General Townshend, still sup- ported by his * ' regatta ' ' or flotilla of absurd river craft, though now somewhat strengthened by river steamers from the Indian rivers, pushed up from Amara. He stormed and took not with- THE BLACKEST DAY 257 out a sharp fight the fortified post of Abu Ram- maneh and found the Turks strongly fortified half a mile below Kut. There the Turks settled down to battle and defended the place obstinately. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when the first gun was fired. The heat was in- tense. The men were exhausted, thirsty and pestered with sand-flies. Townshend, however, took comfort in the thought that the sun was just as hot for the Turks and the sand-flies equally annoying. He opened fire from the gunboats, while batteries, hastily set ashore, took up their share. The attack looked more threatening than it was. The British general was painfully aware of the fact that he had no reserves to support him in case of a check, no means of covering a retreat. His lines of communication behind him had been thinned beyond the danger point. He did not dare to be too liberal with his ammunition, for Amara was 180 miles away. As the sun slowly began to approach the western horizon, the shell- ing died down. In the meantime, a British column, which had been fighting on the outer flank and which had been marching since noon through desert country, 258 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND without any water save that which they had taken in their canteens, began 'to close in toward the river, to get in touch with the main body. Sud- denly, and quite unexpectedly, they found them- selves closing in upon a large force of Turkish infantry. Their commanding officer knew the military value of surprise and shock. Almost without hesitation, he wheeled his men full at the foe, with bayonets fixed. The Turks took cover in a dry, deep water-cut and opened a devastating fire. The British suffered horribly. The ranks were cut down by a third. Yet the remaining two- thirds never slackened speed and plunged down into the natural trench. Convinced that such a daring attack could only imply that this column was but a first line and that a second line was following on the heels of it, the Turkish officers gave the order to retreat. Part of the Turks set off at a tangent, and ran into some British machine-gun companies who were getting ready for supper. The Tommies dropped their mugs and, jumping to the guns, started the murderous tattoo which means an array of mouths of belching death. Darting off from this, the Turks came within THE BLACKEST DAY 259 line of the few shells still dropping from the gun- boats. Convinced that the British were round them and on every side, the retreat became a flight and then a rout. Late though it was, Townshend seized the opportunity, renewed the attack, pursued the Turks far into the night with relentless vigor, and an advance guard occupied Kut. And David, still adding to his knowledge as a pilot, and now feeling himself almost a part of the advancing army, steered his camouflaged steamer up to Kut. Appetite grows by feeding. The capture of Kut made the British Government hungry for more, and it called for an advance on Bagdad. General Townshend saw the danger and replied, "Unless great risk is to be run, it is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary that the advance from Kut should be carried out methodically by two divisions or one army corps, exclusive of the garrisons of the important places of Nazariyeh, Ahwaz and Amara. " England urged the advantage of advance and promised troops. Sir John Nixon, on receipt of news that another division was on its way from France, wired : 2 6o WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "Am strong enough to open road to Bagdad and with this intention propose to concentrate at Aziziyeh. ' ' Townshend had already pushed cavalry to the latter place to protect his advance at Kut. England then asked Nixon if he could capture Bagdad. The Commander-in-Chief replied that he would need at least an additional division and an extra regiment of cavalry. This was over and above the division from France. As Nixon saw, it is one thing to open the road to a powerfully garrisoned stronghold, and another to take it, espe- cially with so many natural obstacles to overcome. Then came the Gallipoli tragedy of Suvla Bay, when mismanagement and a reckless disregard of life cost the British tens of thousands of the most gallant soldiers that ever appeared on the field of battle. The General commanding was recalled in disgrace and the Gallipoli campaign, shortly after- wards, was abandoned. Suvla Bay had one striking effect on the Mesopotamian campaign, for the Secretary of State for India wired to the Viceroy : "Owing to prospects in Gallipoli, we have great need of a striking success in the East." The Viceroy replied that, in that case, it was THE BLACKEST DAY 261 his judgment that the risk of the Bagdad cam- paign should be taken. On October 31, the Secretary of State for India cabled : "If Nixon is satisfied that the force he has is sufficient, he may march on Bagdad." Sir John Nixon was by no means satisfied. He had asked for three divisions and had received less than one; he had demanded river transport and had not got it; he had insisted on hospital supplies, and these, too, were lacking. General Townshend was still less satisfied. He wrote to the Viceroy : "These troops of mine are tired and their tails are not up, but slightly down ; the Mohammedans are not pleased at approaching the sacred pre- cincts of Suliman Pak at Ctesiphon the troops are not confident and have had enough; as it is now, the British soldier and the Sepoy, as the Roman soldier did under Belisarius, look over their shoulders and are fearful of the distance from the sea, and go down, in consequence, with every imaginable disease. ' ' Every one on the ground knew the danger, but the political urgency was allowed to take prece- dence over the military risk. From Kut to Bagdad it is 212 miles by river 262 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND though only 112 by land, a sufficient testimony to the crookedness of that malignant stream. Two hundred miles of added transport on a river of uncertain temper, over the very section of it which is most filled with shallows, was a terrific menace to the success of the campaign. "If it wasn't just at the very minute of the lowest water in the year," Ferguson declared with disgust, "it wouldn't be so bad. Why can't those John Bull politicians wait a month, anyhow ? The rains '11 have come by then and the river '11 have some water in it. A beetle wouldn 't find room for his legs if he wanted to swim across it now ! ' ' Which was somewhat of an exaggeration, though true that there were many places above Kut where two and a half feet was the maximum depth in the main channel. Townshend had done the most that a good sol- dier could do. He had protested. He could not do more without refusing and being recalled for disobedience to orders. His only hope lay in such speed as could be managed. Since he had no re- serves, no transport worthy of the name, no depth of water in the river even if he had the boats, and no supply base, he must get to Bagdad before the THE BLACKEST DAY 263 Turkish reinforcements from Mosul reached the place. David was pining to go along, for this would be the first advance in which he had not taken part, a minor part, indeed, but still a part. But, for this advance, even Ferguson was left behind. "A pilot isn't any use in a puddle where a mud- turtle would strand," was Ferguson's aggrieved manner of stating to David the official order that they would not be needed to accompany the ex- pedition. After a weary march from Aziziyeh, Towns- hend's troops reached the first Turkish defenses at Laj, a short distance below Ctesiphon, where the old Parthian capital was built, twelve cen- turies ago, and where the Great Arch still stands, one of the most grimly isolated ruins of Western Asia. On November 21, the enemy position was attacked and the enemy was dislodged, the Turks falling back in good order on Ctesiphon. The British halted. It had been a victory, but a costly one, too costly for safety with no reserves behind. Townshend was only twenty-two miles from Bagdad. 264 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "That evening," wrote an officer, who was wounded in the great battle next day, "there was a particularly red sunset, and for the first time we saw the Arch of Ctesiphon standing up against the glow. It was about seven miles away, and behind some of the positions which we knew to be occu- pied by the Turks. The whole country was lit up. What portent would the Komans have made of such a blood-red sky before a battle ! Then dark- ness fell with the swiftness of the East and the great Arch was blotted out. "At about eight o'clock we fell in for our night march across the desert to the dry water-channel, which was to be our post in the battle, almost the only form of natural cover in these surroundings. A November night in Mesopotamia is a chilly business, and khaki, however comfortable under the rays of the midday sun, is a poor protection against cold. "We started in three long columns about 300 yards apart. It was a cloudless night and a bright moon lighted us on our way. We marched, of course, in silence a silence that was only broken by the squeaking of cart or gun wheels and the occasional clink of a tin mug or a bayonet. . . . By four o 'clock we had reached the dry wady THE BLACKEST DAY 265 which was our destination. It was still dark when we arrived and I climbed on the top of the canal bank, about twenty feet high, to have a look at the country round. In the direction of the Turk- ish lines I could see six or seven big bonfires burning ; what they were for, I never heard. "The bank of the water-channel, while provid- ing excellent cover from view, would not have pro- tected us properly from shell-fire, so we started to dig ourselves in. By daybreak we were safely entrenched and could hear a good deal of gun and rifle fire going on to south of us. ... "At last, at nine o'clock, the order came for us to come out of our water-channel and form up. "From the top of the bank we had a wonderful view of the whole position. To the southwest, and now no more than four miles away, was the Arch of Ctesiphon. Around it, the whole plain, as far as eye could see, was dotted with troops in various formations. To the north we could ob- serve squadrons of Turkish cavalry. "We moved off in artillery formation, but after about a quarter of an hour, a few bullets began to flick up the dust around us. So we extended in long line and in a few minutes the ball opened with the unwelcome attention of some Turkish 266 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND shrapnel. ... On the plains were a number of still forms lying about, showing the tracks of the Brigade. "Our objective, the Vital Point, was now dis- tinctly visible, a sandy mound about thirty feet high, surrounded by a maze of wire entangle- ments. As we advanced to within about six hun- dred yards of the trenches it became clear that the firing line had reached its final fire position. A concentrated gun fire was turned on the mound, and a rain of shells fell on it, churning up the sand and giving it the appearance of a boiling cauldron. There was a rush and a roar of cheer- ing and the Brigade bundled the Turks out of their trenches. . . . "We advanced in short rushes. When we had got half-way to the enemy guns, we spotted a trench full of Turks. ... So we fixed our bayon- ets and on arriving within 200 yards got the signal to charge. Luckily they had not put any wire out, and after a breathless run I found myself standing on the parapet. Inside the trench were a fair number of Turks . . . who surrendered. . . . We then pushed on towards the guns which had been abandoned by the enemy. "No sooner had we reached them than the THE BLACKEST DAY 267 Turks began to plaster the place with shrapnel from other guns, placed farther back. So un- healthy did the position become that we pushed on beyond our captures to upset the Turkish ranging. Our advance, however, threw our left flank in the air, so there was nothing for it but to halt. "We lay down, of course, and opened fire on some Turks whom we could see running about in a desultory way to our front. In about a quarter of an hour we were greatly surprised' to see them coming towards us over a slight ri3e only about eight hundred yards away. "Evidently this was the counter-attack. A tre- mendous fire duel opened on both sides and must have lasted an hour and a half. Our rifles got so heated that the grease began to bubble out of the woodwork and the sights became too hot to touch. The enemy brought up two machine-guns and con- centrated their attention on our exposed left flank, so that we had to pivot our line round half left to meet them. "Things were getting serious, as our ammuni- tion was running short. All our mules had been killed by shrapnel fire and all fresh supplies had to be brought up to us on men's shoulders, no 268 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND light job when the distance is considered. Moreover, our exposed left flank was in continual danger and it looked very much as if we would be cut off. "It was a bitter moment when we were ordered to retire and to leave the guns we had captured; left, however, they had to be, as we had no means of taking them away. " Having got back a bit we halted, formed a fresh line, and began again to advance. . . . "We were approaching the Turkish guns once more. Again, however, the enemy brought up a heavy counter-attack against our flank, and we had no alternative but to go back 500 yards and re-form for a fresh advance. The time was about 3 :30 p. M V and this was our third attempt to make good this part of the line. It was also, so far as I was concerned, the last. ... I felt a sudden shock like an explosion. . . . My right arm had collapsed across my face. ..." The writer had a horrible time getting back to a dressing-station, and his wounds took long to heal. This officer 's story of a portion of the battle of Ctesiphon was typical of the whole terrible con- flict. The British and Indian troops, compelled to advance over a flat tract giving little or no cover, THE BLACKEST DAY 269 in the approach to the first Turkish line, lost heavily. That, however, did not shake them, it added fuel to their fury. After a sharp struggle in the trenches with the bayonet, the Turks broke. The remnant bolted for their second line, a mile to the rear, the attackers close at their heels. The wreck of the flying Turks and the van of the attacking column entered the second line together. The second line also was broken and the attack swooped on to the batteries behind it. Eight of the Turkish guns speedily fell into the assailants' hands. It looked as though, after all, the battle would end in a victory. Then the Turkish reinforcements came, in the nick of time for the enemy. Townshend now faced two to one, and his troops were utterly wearied. Against the newcomers, they could not hold the breach in the Turks' second line. The struggle was obstinate and bitter, but finally, weight of numbers told. Little by little the Brit- ish were pushed out and they retired sullenly upon the Turks' first line. The night was spent in deepening and " turning round" the trench sys- tem against the enemy. But Townshend was in a terrible trap. The number of wounded was appalling. The losses, 270 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND due to the battle being in the open, had been heavy. Shrapnel had been freely employed and the char- acter of the wounds was ghastly. The chill of the November night and the burning glare of next morning's sun bred fever and delirium even in the slightly wounded. The transport system, practically impossible because of the shallow water in the river, became utterly choked by the evacuation of the wounded. Supplies could not be brought up and the wounded taken care of at the same time. The losses even of Townshend 's meager force had been 3,500 men. And, even in Kut, there were but 900 beds, many of them already filled ! " Townshend 's little army," says Dane, 1 "set out on its retreat from Ctesiphon in the night, on November 25. The Turks at once closed in. The retreating column set a pace which the Turkish troops found it hard to keep up. "On scanty and insufficient food snatched in hasfe, with nothing more than brief intervals of sleep, unwashed, footsore, the retiring column tramped on, the boom of guns where the rear- i "British Campaigns in the Near East, 1914-1918," by Ed- mund Dane (Hodder A Stoughton). THE BLACKEST DAY 271 guard was in action perpetually in each man's ears. "One toilsome day across the monotonous soli- tude followed another. "Night fell and dog-tired men threw themselves down beside their bivouac fires to rise almost more weary than before. But marvelously few fell out. "The camp fires flickered upon faces set and grimy, but they were those of men who, knowing that they had done great deeds of arms, were con- fident of themselves, and, despite adversity, con- fident in their commander." In the retreat, moreover, the flotilla, loaded down with wounded, became entangled in the shallows of the river. Light gunboats were sent up to try and tow the barges, but the gunboats stranded. The Firefly was disabled by a shell. The Comet grounded and had to be abandoned. The retreating column marched on. Halts had to be lengthened, stages shortened. The men staggered rather than walked. No one spoke to his neighbor. The shortened panting breaths rose higher than the clink of accouterments. Al- most comatose with exhaustion, the men re- 272 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND sponded jerkily, like automata, to orders of com- mand. At length, on the eighth day, the slender minaret of the solitary mosque of Kut rose above the distant horizon. David, sitting down to breakfast on the 2nd of December, heard, borne on the north wind, a dis- tant, ' 'Boom! Boom! Boom!" Guns! All the tales and burdens of disaster which had come down on the few barges which had drifted down, bearing wounded, found voice in the distant menace. It needed no imagination to picture what a retreat that must have been for sixty miles, if still pressed with a mile or two of Kut. "Boom!" David ran out, his breakfast all untasted. Then, out of the dusty distance he saw a body of men retreating. A mounted officer galloped on in advance, stammering the woeful tidings and begging that food might be ready. Food! Every one in Kut set out what victuals were ready. The mess kitchens were driven to utmost speed, and as the men rolled in, many too tired to reach their allotted places, they swallowed a THE BLACKEST DAY 273 morsel of meat or a plate of soup and sank down on the ground in stuporous sleep. The Turk came closer, closer. To north, to west, to east, and finally to south, the encircling ring gripped nearer and nearer. The desert ways were shut. Along the marshes there was left no way. The river rolled by silently, with barriers up stream and down, lit by rows of camp-fires, where unsleeping Turkish sentries watched. Caught ! Trapped ! Besieged ! The terrific ordeal of Kut-el-Amara had begun and David was in the midst of it. CHAPTER VIH THE DAWN OP BBVENGB So began the siege of Kut, practically the only siege of the Great War. So soon as the men recovered from their grind- ing fatigue, measures were taken for the defense of Kut. The little town of 5,000 inhabitants con- sisted of an extended water-front, half a mile in length. At right angles to the river were a series of streets, parallel connecting streets being few and far between. There were only two large buildings, the Turk- ish " Serai" with its roomy barrack square, head- quarters officers and flagstaff, and the mosque with lofty minaret, topped by its turquoise dome. There were two bazaars, both covered in by matting spread over wooded rafters, shady ar- cades in summer, though full of a thousand smells and a-reek from perspiration, but in winter, dirty, muddy, squalid, and foul. The town contained about twenty well-built two- Australian Official Photo. FROM RAILHEAD TO FIGHTING LINK. The camel transports had to travel over naked sand, absolutely without cover, often under direct shell-fire. THE DAWN OF REVENGE 275 story brick houses, all built four-square around an inner court, upon which opened rooms with bal- conies, and in one corner tne winding stairway to the roof. In the middle of each courtyard was the drain and cesspool. All the rooms, therefore, faced the smell. The poorer houses were but mud hovels, several built around a single courtyard en- closed by an encircling wall. In the center was the cesspool for all the hovels with a mud oven beside it, common to the community. Just beyond the streets, but still within the horseshoe curve of the river, was Kut's rubbish heap, covered with refuse and dead and living dogs all mixed up. Beyond this was the grave- yard. Beyond this, again, came the brick kilns, and these were used as the inner line of defense by the British. The outer line was a deep trench system, well protected by barbed wire, across the neck of the bend, or the points of the horse- shoe. On December 9 the Turks made a determined attack on Kut, attacking the river front rather than the land defenses. A vigorous rush was made to carry the bridge of boats which spanned the river from Kut to the little mud village of Woolpress, across the stream. The attempt was 276 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND gallantly beaten off, but seeing that it was certain to be renewed and tha : the post at the Woolpress end had been driven in, Townshend decided to blow the shore attachments of the structure at the farther end, so that the bridge might be swung by the current to the Kut side of the river. It was urgent to prevent the enemy seizing the boats and other material. Two British officers volunteered. It would have been easy to cross the bridge on foot, but, even in the dark of night, the Turkish sentries were watching closely. Therefore the river had to be swum, no easy matter, for the river is 250 yards wide at this point and the current was over four miles an hour. There could be no landing on the other side, for every foot was occupied by the Turks. The two officers must stay in the water until the charge of explosives was laid and then fire it. David was on the rough wharf, near the bridge, watching, for Ferguson had told him of the ven- ture. It was an exciting wait, after the two men had slipped into the water. Ten good minutes passed. Then the dark was split apart with a vivid flash, followed by a sullen roar, and in the moment of flash the bridge could be seen to heave. THE DAWN OF REVENGE 277 Then darkness came again, but not for more than half a minute, when, from the other side of the bank, first a score and then a hundred little spurts of flame, followed by a sharp crackling, told that the Turks were firing blindly in all directions in the hope of hitting the daring heroes. David ducked behind a trench, glad that there was one handy. The two officers, both of whom were accomplished swimmers, had swum most of the way back under water, just coming up for air. Both returned safely. The bridge swung back to the Kut side, free from enemy attack. Angered by the success of this exploit, on the next day the Turks set themselves desperately to take the town. All day long they strove. Though beaten back with heavy loss, they made no less than five desperate assaults. It was well that General Townshend had set every man who could be spared to make trenches and dug-outs. Also, at that time, there had been no question of saving ammunition, and a week of good feeding had put back heart into the men. The strength of a trench does not lie in the sand- bags only, but, especially when there is a charge, its strength lies in the spirit of the men who hold it. The Turks had guns, but they did not have 278 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND the heavy guns of the western front. Shelling did not destroy the trenches, and charges were too costly. The Turkish assaults slackened. "Christmas approached," says Dane, "and out- side headquarters nothing more definite was to be gleaned than rumors. The enemy's bursts of fire in his opinion evidently had not had the de- sired effect of causing the besieged to waste their ammunition. Acting on the counsel of their Gen- eral, they 'husbanded it like gold.' Realizing that the blockade was likely to be prolonged; anxious to push in force down the river before the British could finally and firmly establish their footing in the country, and fearing, that, if held, Kut would finally be relieved, the enemy, having brought up another division of reinforcements, once more essayed a storming enterprise. "It was preceded on December 23 by a great bombardment. Every gun of the Turkish forces on both sides of the river was put into action. This general shelling, of course, was intended to mask the point of the attack on December 24, which it was known would be the sequel. The point of attack proved to be the fort (an old Turkish fort, which the British had included in their line of defense). By a concentration of 279 guns upon it, the bastion had been breached, and though to a certain extent the breach had been offset by wiring in, the enemy threw forward what he no doubt judged to be an overwhelming column of some 6,000 infantry. "They pressed onward in the face of a most withering fire, and, although the losses were most severe, and hundreds perished upon the wire, the others swarmed through the breach and into the bastion, carried by the impetus of numbers. "The British batteries, however, were in turn focussed on the work and its mud walls crumbled into ruins. In the gap beyond it was found that the defenders had built up an inner breastwork. "The Turks tried to rush it. They tried again and again. Time and again it came to a struggle at close quarters, only, however, yet again to prove that the Turk was no match for the veterans of the Indian Army with the bayonet. "Meanwhile, efforts had been made to scale the walls of the main fort, men climbing on each other's shoulders, or using short ladders. No- where could a footing be established. * * In the midst of this deadly conflict the guns on both sides were busy and squalls of shrapnel lashed assailants and defenders alike. 280 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "The defense, which was magnificent, finally triumphed. So magnificent was it, indeed, and so severe this time had been the lesson that this was the last endeavor to take Kut by assault. In and around the ruins of the bastion and the walls of the main fort, the enemy's dead lay everywhere. The Turkish losses in this, for them a disastrous affair, were some 2,000 men. ' ' David had been anxious to take part in the battle and on one occasion, indeed, had snatched up a rifle from a soldier who was staggering back through the city to a dressing-station. Ferguson, however, saw this action and called him back with a stentorian hail. "You'd be more nuisance than you're worth," he said emphatically. "Modern war is a matter of discipline, not of individual action. If you're pining to do something, get down to the base hos- pital, and help the orderlies. The work will be mucky and nasty, but it's the most useful thing you can do." David's gorge rather rose at the idea. It was the heroic end of fighting as a gallant defender that had appealed to him. However, he had let himself in for it, and there was no way out. Very soberly he made his way to the base hospital THE DAWN OF REVENGE 281 and asked a much overworked doctor if he could help. "Bather!" was the prompt reply. "Don't know anything about surgery, I suppose?" he added. He had not even looked up from his work to see who was addressing him. "No, Doctor," said the boy. "Too bad. Well" he looked up. "But you're just a youngster! No place for you. Better go home." "But I want to help! Isn't there anything I can do, orderly work or such ? ' ' "Oh, if you're really willing to work!" The doctor looked round. "Suppose you just wash these wounded as they come in, and lay pieces of linen over the places to keep the flies out. That '11 save me time." Thus David began his work as a hospital at- tendant. Though clumsy he was willing, and dur- ing the rush of the first few days he made himself useful to the medical side. He hated it, at the be- ginning, but Ferguson kept him at it. Later he grew to like the work. During the rainy months of December and January, there were few waking hours when he was not at some work in the hos- pital. It was all highly irregular, but the medical 282 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND service was terribly short-handed, and David was of value with the Arab patients, not only by reason of his knowledge of the tongue, but also because his childhood experience had taught him some- what of Arab character. Meanwhile, Sir John Nixon resigned as Com- mander-in-Chief and Sir Percy Lake succeeded him. Nixon was blamed for the Kut failure, though it was not his fault. It was first, last and all the time, a question of transport. "If they'd sent half the men and twice the steamers," Ferguson was apt to declare, "Pd have taken them into Bagdad last summer. " Which was absolutely true. General Aylmer came with Sir Percy Lake in command of the troops, two more divisions being sent as reinforcements, these being Indian troops sent from the north of France because they were unable to endure the wet and chilling winters of that latitude, and from Gallipoli by reason of the abandonment of that futile and costly operation. Knowing how urgent was the need at Kut, Gen- eral Aylmer set out at once with a column hastily gotten together, and, as always, with insufficient transport. He reached as far as Ali-el-Gharbi on Christmas Day, a point only forty miles below THE DAWN OF REVENGE 283 Kut. The wireless operator of the garrison at Kut reported the arrival of a message saying that the advance of the Belief Force from that point would be made on January 6. This was cheering news, and men in the Kut garrison began to talk cheerfully again about joining in the occupation of Bagdad. But Khalil Pasha, the Turkish Commander, was not the sort of man to await a Belief Force without making preparation. Aware of the dan- ger of leaving his rear open to a sortie from the Kut garrison, he established his main lines ten miles down stream. On the eastern side, at a point where an impassable marsh comes close to the river, he entrenched a deep double system of eight earthworks, at Hanna and Sanna-i-yat re- spectively. On the western side of the river, from a point five miles inland, known as the Dujalah Bedoubt, he ran three powerful blockade lines, to Beit-Aiessa, Es Sinn and Megasisti Fort respect- ively. Then, to guard against a turning by flank, he ran another blockade line far away to where the Shatt-el-Hai, an ancient Babylonian canal, joins the Tigris and the Euphrates. The de- fenses were modern, complete, and well held by artillery. 284 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND On January 6, according to schedule, Aylmer advanced from Ali-el-Gharbi and attacked an ad- vance force of the Turks at Sheik Saad, twenty miles up stream. The enemy was defeated with heavy loss, but the British loss was not small. Transport again interfered with the disposition of the wounded. The enemy fell back upon a wady three miles away, and defended this with considerable vigor. It was a naturally strong place, but Aylmer 's column forced its way through, though again with considerable casual- ties. In all these British operations, the fighting value of the enemy had been underestimated. Gallipoli should have taught England the mettle of the Turks, but the lesson was ignored. Gen- eral Aylmer had indeed thrown Khalil Pasha back to his main defense line, the outer girdle at Hanna, but it had cost him 6,000 men. Moreover, the winter rains had set in, and the marshes on either side of the river, passable in places in October, had become shallow lakes. The universal hub-deep dust of October, a dust which covers up the palm-groves so that they are no longer green, a dust which fills the mouth as though one were continually munching a gritty THE DAWN OF REVENGE 285 tooth-paste, which gets into the corners of the eyes and inflames them, causing temporary blind- ness, which works into the flesh so that the place where belt or collar touches becomes raw, all this dust, the winter rains turned into a slippery, glut- inous mud that clung to everything it touched. Mesopotamian mud in December and January is a sticky mire, in which even artillery bullocks sink and the guns can only be moved with ex- cessive difficulty. And there was no river transport. Owing to the fact that the incoming troops would know little about the shoals and currents of the river, Ferguson had grown too restless to stay in Kut, he wanted to help the Relieving Column. He had asked Townshend for permission to try to make the trip down to Sheik Saad, when it was known that Aylmer had reached so far. Towns- hend had declined. The next morning Ferguson had disappeared. Then came silence. He never reached Sheik Saad. David was now tenfold more alone, but he was kept busy by the medical service. The Relief Column was now in a difficult posi- tion. With heavy losses, shortage of munitions, 286 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND lack of supplies and defective transport, General Aylmer had either to wait where he was for Sir Percy Lake to try to send up supplies and re- enforcements not knowing when they would get there or else he must push on with tired men and scant munitions to try to take a powerful Turk- ish position. One thing outweighed all others. Aylmer had been sent forward to relieve Kut. He could not afford to fall back without at least one desperate attempt to reach the beleaguered city. Moreover, if he fell back, there was a grave danger that the Turks would repeat the move they had made at Otesiphon, and perhaps he himself would be trapped wherever he tried to make a stand. On January 21 Aylmer attacked Hanna, which was a trench system consisting of five separated defenses situated between a flooded swamp and the river, all these trenches being connected with saps. The ground was soft, and, had the British been able to afford a heavy artillery preparation, enough to blow up the trenches, the assault might have been successful. Owing to lack of transport, there was little food for the guns. The men had to make a frontal attack on almost uninjured trenches. It was THE DAWN OF REVENGE 287 brilliant, it was daring, it was heroic, it was des- perate. But not even undaunted courage can overcome weight of numbers and advantage of position. The attack on Hanna failed. The British and Indian losses were 2,741 men on that one day. The troops had to be withdrawn. In Kut, the besieged had heard clearly the sound of the rescuers ' guns. But, that night, the pitiless wireless told the truth. Another British disaster! In Kut the food allowed to each man had al- ready been cut by one-third. On the news of the Hanna repulse, it was cut. to one-half. Hunger began to stare the besieged in the face. There was no fuel in Kut. Doors, balconies, stairs, tables, chairs, everything which would burn was drawn on, but sparingly, not for heating though the nights were chill, the streets were mucky rivers and the skies overhead rained pitilessly, but for the mess-kitchens. Some coal- dust and sand found in an abandoned yard was mixed with crude oil. Then poles and matting which covered the bazaar streets was torn down and burned. Flour was a prime difficulty. In response to frequent appeals from Townshend, the British 288 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND aviators succeeded in flying over and dropping into the city two millstones, and a mill was im- provised by the engineers. Bread was now made of one-third flour, one-third barley meal and one- third bean-dust. By this time, General von der Goltz had reached Bagdad and taken up headquarters there, a fact which the garrison at Kut soon found out by the increased activity in the bombardment. Aero- planes came over daily and dropped bombs, across the river trench mortars were erected and threw "windy-Lizzies," high mud walls were erected whence snipers fired all day long at anything or anybody seen passing in the streets of Kut. The Indian troops, being Mohammedans, would not eat the freshly killed meat of the artillery bullocks, which now were being sacrificed. There were no fresh vegetables, no lime juice. Scurvy broke out in the camp. A special cablegram was sent for and received from the religious leaders in India informing the Mohammedan troops that there was no law of their Faith against the eating of horseflesh, and the horses were sacrificed. Even so, few of the Indians were willing to eat meat, and the scurvy spread. Without fuel, during the period of the rains THE DAWN OF REVENGE 289 when the trenches were half filled with water, pneumonia became common. Little by little the supply of barley-meal diminished, and the bread became a nauseous compound. Towards the last, no one ever asked what went on in the baking kitchens. It was known, however, that one mess was eating a considera/ble portion of mud mixed with the bread, to keep the other ingredients from causing too violent griping pains inside. There was but one horror they were spared. A large consignment of poison gas shells arrived at the front from Germany and Von der Goltz rubbed his hands in delight. He could bury Kut in the foul fumes and not a soul would emerge alive. To his utter amazement Khalil Pasha refused not only to use the bombs, but to allow his men to continue the campaign if the Germans used them. "It is sufficiently a disgrace to the true believer to be compelled to ally himself with infidels," de- clared the Turkish nobleman this to Von der Goltz 's face "but we will not ally ourselves with the children of Jan (devils). The first gas-shell that is fired will be a signal for me to be compelled to express regret that your duties require your return to Germany." This galled Von der Goltz, but the Turkish 290 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND Alliance was too important for the German com- mander to risk it by an imprudent reply. On March 8, Aylmer's column having been re- enforced, it marched again against Es Sinn. The sound of the rescuers' guns was heard once more in Kut. Over three months had passed. The garrison was on its last legs. It knew how much the second attempt at relief meant. It felt how hopeless would be the situation in case of a reverse. This time, Aylmer attacked both on the Es Sinn side and at Dujailah. The river was still rising, a record flood. The Turks had fortified every place that stuck out above the muddy and swirling water. The main point was the Dujailah redoubt, for the British Commander felt that if he could carry this, he could flank the Turkish position, and, even if he did not succeed in ousting him, he could, at all events, force an advance storming party into Kut with provisions. The plan of attack was excellent, provided that it could have been carried out. A force of 20,000 men were to strike across country to the Es Sinn line, arriving just before daybreak. A force of 15,000 men, with the Cavalry Brigade, was sent by a detour around the marsh or through it to THE DAWN OF REVENGE 291 reach the redoubt at daybreak. But the men were too tired, and the going was too heavy. Endur- ance has its limits. The Es Sinn force did not arrive until long after daylight, the force intended to attack the redoubt not until two and a half hours later. The men were ready to drop from fatigue when the order was given to charge. None the less they fought and fought well. At the redoubt, even, a foothold was gained. Hope sprung high in the British ranks. On nearly every occasion before, once the British had actually breached a line and started with the bay- onet, the Turks had turned, and then a few minutes of vigorous work had turned the retreat into a rout. But, at the redoubt, the artillery and machine-gun companies were officered by Ger- mans, who held the men close to their work. "Are they retreating?" was the agonized query sent up to the scouting aeroplanes. * * No sign of retreat ! ' ' came back the disturbing answer. Had there been a suitable camping-ground and drinkable water, perhaps a second day's assault might have won the redoubt, and turned the Turk- ish line. But there was none and the men were done. There is a point of exhaustion and loss be- 292 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND yond which the soul of an army cracks. More had been asked than human endeavor could attain. The men were done. Aylmer ordered a retreat. Yet another disaster was added to British mili- tary history in Mesopotamia. It was followed a few hours later by the visit to Kut of a Turkish officer under a white flag of truce, expressing a willingness to receive terms of surrender. Through his interpreter he was lavish in praise of the gallantry of the garrison. Towns- hend was equally courteous, but declined. The following day ihe British Commander is- sued one of his famous communiques. It read in part: "As on a former occasion, I take the troops of all ranks into my confidence again. . . . "We have now stood a three months' siege in a manner which has called upon you the praise of our beloved King and our fellow-countrymen in England, Scotland, Ireland and India, and all this after your brilliant battles of Kut-el-Amara and Ctesiphon and your retirement to Kut, all of which feats of arms are now famous. Since 5th December, 1915, you have spent three months of cruel uncertainty, and to all men and all people, uncertainty is intolerable. As I say, on the top of all this, comes the second failure to relieve us. "And I ask you also to give a little sympathy to me who have commanded you in these battles referred to, and who, having come to you as THE DAWN OF REVENGE 293 a stranger, now love my command with a depth of feeling I have never known in my heart be- fore. . . . ' ' I am speaking to you as I did before, straight from the heart, and, as I say, I ask your sympathy for my feelings, having promised you relief on certain dates on the promise of those ordered to relieve us. Not their fault, no doubt. Do not think I blame them; they are giving their lives freely and deserve our gratitude and admira- tion. ' ' But I want you to help me again, as before. I have asked General Aylmer for the next attempt to bring down such numbers as will break down all resistance and leave no doubt as to the issue. "In order, then, to hold out, I am killing a large number of horses, so as to reduce the quantity of grain eaten every day, and I have had to reduce your ration. It is necessary to do this in order to keep our flag flying. I am determined to hold out, and I know you are with me, heart and soul." Not only the horses went. All the cats and dogs disappeared. With the beginning of April, the rains ceased and grass and weeds began to grow. Volunteer parties went out at night to cut anything green, grass, herbs, weeds. The mess was boiled. Noisome and bitter, it had one good effect, it stopped the scurvy. Flocks of starlings arrived and crack shots helped to fill the pots. A few starlings for an army! On April 4, the roar of guns was heard again. 294, WAR IN THE HOLY LAND The third attempt at relief had begun. Sir Stanley Maude had arrived with a division from Egypt. The first attack was a brilliant success. The British took both sides of the enemy's posi- tion. The Turks attempted a midnight stand and were whipped severely. A reenforcing British di- vision came up and carried on the fight next morn- ing. It looked as though Kut would be reached. But a crest of water, evidently from some heavy rainstorm in the distant hills, suddenly raised the Tigris half a foot and swamped the trenches. The guns could not be moved. There followed two days' delay, which the Turks used to full ad- vantage. Townshend had already announced that April 15 was the latest date to which food could be made to hold out. On learning that the Relief Force was so near, though compelled to dig in, he wire- lessed that 'he would try to hold out a week longer. The rations were cut down to five ounces of meal daily to a man. Said the communique: ' ' On 26th January I told you that our duty was plain and simple: it was to stand here and hold up the Turkish advance on the Tigris, working heart and soul together, and I expressed the hope that we would make this defense to be remem- THE DAWN OF REVENGE 295 bered in history as a glorious one, and I asked you to remember in this connection the defense of Plevna, which was longer even than that of Ladysmith. "Well, you have nobly carried out your mis- sion; you have nobly answered the trust and ap- peal I put to you. The whole British Empire, let me tell you, is ringing now with our defense of Kut. You will all be proud to say, one day, 'I was one of the garrison at Kut!' And as for Plevna and Ladysmith, we have outlasted them also. Whatever happens now, we have all done our duty." With the arrival of more aeroplanes came the attempt to reprovision Kut by dropping sacks of flour. It was moderately successful. Had the machines been available, and had the provisioning been begun weeks earlier, Kut might have held out. But, ever and always, it was expected that the Relief Force would break through. Yet the Turkish cordon was unbreakable. At last April 21 came, the day that Townshend had said was the limit of endurance. By the aid of a few sacks of flour dropped by aeroplanes he announced that he could hold out two or possibly three days longer. The last attempt was to be made by the Navy. To run the Turkish blockade was an apparently impossible task. It could not be done at night 296 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND for the current was too tricky. By day, the banks were lined with guns heavier than anything a river gunboat could carry. Yet a Navy crew, Lieutenant-Commander Cow- ley in command and Lieutenant Firman as en- gineer, started on the Julnar, the lightest draught and fastest boat in the transport. With her boil- ers at top pressure she darted into the swirls of the swollen river. The Turks were not to be caught napping. The guns of the forts and of the banks roared out in a crescendo of fury. The water around the Julnar boiled with the shells. The captain fell at the wheel, dead in a pool of his own blood. The en- gineer died an instant later. Baked by shrapnel, pierced by shell, afire and racing blindly, the Julnar plunged into a mudbank and stuck, her 270 tons of supplies on board within easy sight of the garrison at Kut, but as out of reach as though they were a thousand miles away. On April 25 was begun the last half of the emergency ration and two days later, General Townshend, with a heavy heart went out to treat with Khalil Pasha, the Turkish Commander. He had hoped for favorable terms, but Khalil Pasha, while courteous, was adamant. He had offered to THE DAWN OF REVENGE 297 receive terms of surrender before and Townshend had refused. He would accept nothing now but unconditional surrender. So, after 147 days, the longest and most bitter siege in modern history, the British flag was hauled down and the Turkish standard raised in its place. Townshend and all the gallant defend- ers went into captivity. Two hours after the Turks entered Kut, there sauntered into the hospital, where David was working, a familiar figure. The boy rubbed his eyes. "Ferguson!" he cried. "I thought you were dead!" The American was as imperturbable as ever. "Very much alive, my lad," he replied. "But how did you get here?" "You mean in Kut? I came in with the Turks. Or do you mean in the hospital? I came here be- cause one of our prisoners told me that he 'd seen you working in a hospital. That's how I knew that you were safe. ' ' "And what have you been doing all these long months?" queried the boy. "Improving my knowledge of Turkish, mainly," the American replied, with a queer smile. 298 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND 11 Prisoner?" "In a way. Pleasantly enough, though. When the Germans found that I was an American, they didn't quite know what to do. I'd been helping the English, they knew that, but I told them I was being paid for it, which was true. So they asked me to act as a pilot for them. I said I was quite willing, but I didn't know anything about the river above Kut. ' ' "But you do !" protested David, who had a deep disdain for anything untrue. "Of course, but I had to answer something, didn't I? And as long as the Turks didn't have control of the river below Kut, I was able to show willingness without ever having to carry it out. They put me on parole not to leave the camp and not to send any messages. That's why I wasn't able to let you know that I was here, though it would have been easy enough for one of the Ger- man aviators to have dropped a letter for me into Kut." "And you're here, then, still on parole?" "Still," the American nodded. "I'm pretty good friends with Khalil Pasha, too. Fine chap. Not a bit like a Turk. Quick, alert, progressive and all that, and a mighty good soldier, too. I Ve THE DAWN OF REVENGE 299 talked to him about you. It'll be all right. They '11 put you on parole, too. * * The only thing you '11 have to be careful about is that you cut all your friends among the Briti^. If they see you talking to any of them, they'll be suspicious. But it's a lot easier to learn to hold your tongue than to go into a Turkish prison camp. I know. I've seen them! "The Turks themselves aren't so bad, but the Germans have a way of suggesting ugly things that a Turk wouldn't think of, but which he carries out with delight. No, my boy, keep out of a Turk- ish prison camp, if you can." "I surely will," the boy agreed, "though it looks as though keeping me out of it were going to be your job." "I'll fix it all right," said Ferguson. "Be on the job here, bright and early to-morrow, and make it a point to be busy over some of the Turk- ish wounded patients you have here, not the Eng- lish. Tip off the English doctor. Then, when the Chief Medical Officer of the Turkish Staff comes through here, to take control of affairs from the British medical officers, I'll come with him and point you out. If we can arrange the thing smoothly, you can go along quietly with this 300 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND work. Bit by bit, if you can -get the Turkish doctors to trust you, they'll make you useful with English patients, where your knowledge of the language will help." The following morning brought about the events exactly in the way that Ferguson had stated. Sauntering through the wards in the wake of the Turkish Chief Medical Officer, the American pointed out the lad. The Turk ran a keen eye over him and motioned him forward. "Do you speak Turkish?" he asked, in that language. "A little," David answered, "but I speak Arabic better.'* The doctor turned the conversation into that tongue. He hurled a dozen questions at the boy, and David found himself answering in a way that showed he had picked up a great deal of rough military nursing during his three months in hos- pital service. "You will give your parole, as an American, that you will nat try to escape, that you will not assist any one who is trying to escape and that you will not speak about military matters to any Turkish, Arab or British soldier?" the new- comer asked curtly. 301 ' 'Yes," answered David quietly, "I promise and give my parole. ' ' "We have been able to trust your friend," commented the Turkish doctor; "I hope we shall find that we have not been unwise in trusting you." And he continued his rounds. The change of control made little difference to David's position, except that it threw more re- sponsibility on him. The Turkish doctors, con- trary to the boy's expectations, were well-trained and absolutely modern. They did not care to work hard, however, and were largely indifferent to the results of their treatment. They knew what to do, and did it. But there was none of that des- perate struggle against death for a patient's life, none of that battle to "pull a man through" to which the boy had grown accustomed during the past three months. If a man died after he had received the treatment which ought to cure him, it was the will of Allah, and that was all. Owing to his parole, David spoke on the ques- tions of the war with no one but Ferguson, with whom he was living in the same little house as be- fore, though it was a wrecked remnant of the house, with every splinter of glass out of the 302 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND windows, one corner chopped off by a shell and bullet-marks everywhere. "When do you suppose the British will come up again and take Kut?" asked David. "Not for a long time," answered Ferguson, shaking his head. "At least, I reck on not. If the British have any sense, they'll finally begin where they ought to have begun at first. * ' "You mean transport?" queried the boy. Ferguson nodded. "I told 'em the first time they came," he said, alluding to the British Expeditionary Force, "that they'd better stay at Basra till they got boats, not a few boats, but a lot. I told 'em that boats wouldn't be any good till they got wharves. There's just one way to win Mesopotamia. That's by river, but by a river tamed and con- trolled. Once get the river so that the Navy can use it, and so that the Army transport service can do its work, and the soldiers won't have any trouble. ' ' Fortunately for final British success, the second Commander-in-Chief, Sir Percy Lake, had seen this. General Lake's talents lay rather in the line of organization and detail than in military strategy. He had given Generals Aylmer and THE DAWN OF REVENGE 303 Gorringe a free hand in the efforts to relieve Kut, but he himself had turned his attention mainly to making Basra a permanent military force and base. Wharves of permanent character had been built. Eailways had been laid down in all im- portant directions. Reservoirs and dams had been constructed to check and control the spring floods on the Shatt-el-Arab. Lake had secured experienced civil engineers. His staff organ- ization at Basra was superb. During the spring, while Aylmer was trying to reach Kut and during the summer after Kut had fallen, Basra was turned into a modern river port and the trans- port question was reorganized. In Augusit the chief command was transferred to Sir Stanley Maude, who had shown himself a commander of genius. The change was made just at the right time. Lake's work was done. Maude undertook the same thorough reorgan- ization of the army, which his predecessor had given to Basra and the system of supply. It was % Maude who realized the need of a much stronger cavalry end. He built up a complete Veterinary and Remounts service. It was Maude also who, in a somewhat abrupt note, declared that ' * British feeling could not condone an inadequate hospital 304 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND service on a difficult and unhealthy battle-front." The three and a half months that elapsed after Maude took command until the time that he "went north," to use a phrase that became famous in Mesopotamia, was a period of incessant ac- tivity. The general was determined that the transport mismanagement should not continue. Though few people knew it, at the very moment that Aylmer was driving forward with all his power to relieve Kut, and hampered by lack of reinforcements, there were 12,000 fresh troops at Basra, more than enough to have turned the scale, who could not be got up to their comrades because of transport conditions. When Maude "went north," he was prepared to march indefinitely. He could have gone to Constantinople, if need be. Supplies were ample, munitions were abundant, river steamers plenti- ful, and there were baggage and draught animals enough to keep pace with the river transport all along the line. The worst places on the roads had been bridged, swampy places drained. The mosquito pest had been abolished by drainage and sanitation at the main camps. The sand-fly was the only unconquered pest. On the other hand, in the six months between THE DAWN OF REVENGE 305 the fall of Kut and the beginning of Maude's ad- vance, the Germans and Turks had made of the Es Sinn defenses a barrier which they believed to be as impregnable as Gallipoli. A maze of trenches and breastworks fifteen miles deep had been constructed, and to the rear of this maze were two other almost equally formidable posi- tions. Heavy artillery had been floated down on rafts to dominate the whole. From impassable marsh on the one hand to impassable desert on the other, there was not an unprotected inch. Yet, though the position seemed so secure, the German general did not trust to the defenses alone, but had a heavy army in position, with tre- mendous reinforcements gathered at Bagdad. To take 'Such a strong position meant terrific fighting, but Maude saw that there was one strategical advantage, at least. Since the entire valley was occupied by defenses, an attacking force could not be flanked or surrounded. Per- sistent frontal hammering, if savage enough and heavy enough, must result in the taking of those defenses one by one. It meant heavy loss of life, it meant night and day bombardment, it meant huge hospital accommodations and perfect liaison in every branch. Maude had the men, he had the 306 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND guns, he had the munition, he had made the liaison. The series of battles began on December 13, 1916. It took five days of absolutely continuous fighting to break through one end of the outer de- fenses. Had the attacking column been an is- olated force, like that of Townshend, or of Aylmer, another British disaster would have been re- corded. But Maude was ready for this very con- tingency. He threw another column of fresh and unwearied men at the opposite end of the defenses, this attack being accomplished by a terrific bom- bardment. The Turkish commander at once shifted his troops to meet this attack, but the bombardment went on and on and on. So heavy was the shell-fire that the defenses began to crumble and a breach was made. It looked like the ideal moment for an attack. But to the astonishment of the Turks, the breach was left unused and a triple attack was made at the other end of the line. The outer column of this attack had marched through an absolutely waterless country and it pinched in back of the outer fort. The Turks believed that no troops could maneuver through such country, but Maude's extraordinary land transport system THE DAWN OF REVENGE 307 and his heavy cavalry achieved the almost im- possible, and the western end crumpled. This was by no means a decisive defeat, for the Turks consolidated, but it enabled the British to dig in higher up the river, and to annoy the Turks at a point between their first and second main lines of defense. Day after day, night after night, for long weeks, Turks and British fought hand to hand. The Indian troops were like tigers. The Turks would not weaken. The loss of life on both sides was terrible. But, day after day, here a trench and there a breastwork fell into British hands, and what was once gained was not lost afterwards. By February 3, after sixty-four days of continu- ous effort and unceasing combat only those who know modern war can imagine what the transport service was called upon to do to sustain a huge army during such a protracted battle the main outer salient was driven in. By the 10th, the Turks were driven back to the second series of defenses, around Kut. On the 13th, the Liquorice Factory a prominent defense of the British gar- rison when it was in Kut had been taken. On the 15th and 16th the assault rose to unparalleled ferocity. The British and Indians crept on. To 308 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND hold his second position, the Turkish commander moved men up from the third. Maude, receiving this report from his airmen, ordered a redoubled bombardment on the front and sent a heavy force to flank the third line, through the crumpled western end. There was a bitter fight, but the engineers succeeded in throw- ing a pontoon bridge across, and the infantry of one division passed over. The Turks were now taken in the rear. As they struck, with a precision timed to a second, the assault was made in front. For two hours the Turks held stubbornly and then aero- plane reconnoissances showed that the rear was giving way. A cry rang through the British ranks, " The last push, men!" Like a great tidal wave the British and Indians swept on and through, and, as they broke, the gun- boats, which had been active in the bombardment night and day, stormed through to Kut. Much of this battle David had seen from a dis- tance, but not all. Eealizing toward the end of February that the British would probably get through, Ferguson and David decided to make themselves scarce. The wily American had long THE DAWN OF REVENGE 309 ago prepared for the complications' which might follow a change of masters in Kut b> appropriat- ing one of the bomb-proof shelters which had been built by the British during the siege. This he had stored with ample provision of food and water in hermetically sealed bottles. On the evening of February 24, looking out cautiously from the bomb-proof, the two fugitives saw British soldiers in khaki marching through the streets. Scant time was lost in leaving the shelter. Master of the situation as always, Ferguson hunted up one of the officers he had known at Basra, and reestablished friendly communica- tions. No one could have been more welcome, for while the gunboats were navigating the river ad- mirably, by the aid of the lead, and had already charted and buoyed the stream below Kut, a Tigris pilot was always useful, especially for the unknown upper stretch of the river, and David's services were of almost equal value in spite of his youth and inexperience. 4 'We have over five hundred craft, of one kind and another, on the river now," declared one of the transport officers, chatting the situation over with Ferguson and his boy assistant. 310 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND "How on earth did you do it?" asked the American. "We did it!" the other answered grimly. He pointed through a hole in the wall few buildings were left sufficiently whole in Kut to possess a window to a flat-bottomed, high-fun- neled, double-decked, paddle-wheel craft, churning up stream with a barge in tow. "That's a Thames penny steamer!" he said. "But how in the world did she get here?" asked Ferguson. ' ' Under her own steam ! ' ' was the answer. Both men fell silent. Even the American looked with awe at the craft. "Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean, Suez, Bed Sea, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf!" he muttered. "It isn't possible." "It wasn't possible," the officer answered, "but it was done. Eleven started, but only five reached here." "The others?" "Their crews are added to the heroes of the war, ' ' the officer said solemnly. It was as pilot of that Thames penny steamboat that David, some weeks later, once more entered Bagdad in the rear of Maude 's victorious army. CHAPTER IX THE UNCONQUERED SANDS A LONG line of camels silhouetted against the sky, moving with shuffling tread over ancient sands, billowy like a stormy sea. A river, slow and old, flooding the land in spring and sinking to its own bed for the rest of the year, a historic river, upon which the Sphinx and Pyramids look down. A busy, active population, prosperous and con- tented, growing the finest cotton on earth. A line of thriving cities, in which East and West are blended in tawdry splendor. Such is Modern Egypt. Having, after the lapse of many months, heard from David that he was safely at Basra with his friend Ferguson, though all unknowing of his later adventures, the old archaeologist settled him- self down in Egypt to fulfill a dream he had had for years a thorough examination of the an- tiquities of Egypt at his leisure. But the Great War had its influence even over 311 3 i2 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND so persistent a dreamer of old-world times as was Professor Surch. The conquests of Rameses, the Religious War in the time of the Shepherd Kings and the Roman Antony's thralldom to Cleopatra began to seem less important than the Allied Con- quests under Foch, the Religious War between Civilization and Hun vandalism and the German Kaiser 's enthrallment with the phantom of the Berlin-to-Bagdad Railway. Modern issues began to engross him, more and more. Especially, try as he would, the archaeologist could not understand the British position in Egypt. He read everything that he could get on the subject, becoming more and more confused the more he read. At last, his brain whirling, he dropped into a well-known club at Cairo and set himself to question one of his fellow-members whom he knew to be one of the best-informed men in Egyptian affairs. The latter held up his hands in dismay. ".Explain to you the inner politics of Egypt!" he exclaimed. "Why, Professor Surch, that would take a week of steady talking ! ' ' "You know what I mean," the archaeologist re- plied. "I've read nearly all the books I could find on the subject, but I can 't seem to get a clear THE UNCONQUERED SANDS 313 general outline. If you can give me that, I can fit in all the rest. ' ' The young vice-consul smoked in silence. " First of all," he said, "I suppose I ought to admit that you '11 find the story puzzling, being an American, especially. You see, England does all sorts of things in very queer ways. We gener- ally manage to come out all right at the end, but the processes are a good deal mixed up. Take Egypt, for instance. No one ever could do as much good as we've done in this country, but we've done it absolutely illegally, and by the smashing of treaties right and left." The old archaeologist was horrified. "And you made such a noise about Bethmann- Hollweg calling the Belgian Treaty a 'scrap of paper,' " he said. * * Yes, I know, ' ' the vice-consul answered. ' ' He shouldn't have said that. It was an undiplomatic phrase." "You mean," said the American, now really shocked, "that you feel it was worse for him to say so than to act the way the Germans did?" "Well," said the younger man, "I wouldn't go so far as to say that. But if Germany had simply paid no attention to the treaty and said nothing WAR IN THE HOLY LAND about it, she could have excused herself after- wards and wriggled out of it. Anyway, that's what we've done in Egypt." 1 'Tell me about it, if you don't mind," asked the archaeologist. So the other, leaning back in his chair, began the story. "I'm afraid I'll have to begin away back in 1517, when the Turks conquered the Egyptians and made Egypt a Turkish province. As a result of that conquest, Egypt was pledged to send 12,000 troops to the Sultan of Turkey in case of war ; she was required to pay a large tribute, and she was to be governed by native chieftains or mamelukes, under a Turkish viceroy. "Quite early in the nineteenth century Moham- med Ali, the Turkish viceroy of Egypt, started a war against the Sultan and the latter probably would have been dethroned if the Powers hadn't broken in to preserve the balance of Europe. England got into that little deal and worked so as to gain the friendship of both sides. She pleased the Sultan by arranging the treaty so that the tribute of two million dollars should still be paid, and that Egypt's army of 18,000 men should be at the disposal of the Sultan in war time, while the THE UNCONQUERED SANDS 315 Egyptians should be regarded as Turkish sub- jects. At the same time, she pleased Mohammed Ali by making the succession of the viceroyship hereditary, thus forming a dynasty, and by mak- ing the Egyptian Army independent and able to pursue its own schemes save only when Turkey had declared a war. "In 1867, the grandson of Mohammed Ali made a new treaty with the Sultan, whereby he received the title of Khedive and was given more local im- portance. In return for this the tribute was raised to three million dollars in your money. The building of the Suez Canal by the French had greatly increased the importance of Egypt, but, by a little financial juggling, we got control of the Suez Canal from France." "The less said about that the better," remarked the archaeologist. "I don't think England's ac- tions in that affair would bear investigation." "They worked," the British official declared unblushingly, "and in diplomacy, if a plan works one is supposed to forget how it was brought about. We had to control the Suez, you know, it 's our main highway to India. "Then in 1882 the revolution by Arabi Pasha came up. We invaded Egypt France not wish- 316 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND ing to interfere with the avowed object of main- taining the Khedive on his throne and to restore order, but, as a matter of fact, to strengthen our grip on the Canal. "Ten years later, in 1892, a treaty was signed stating again that the Khedive was subject to the Sultan, that the Egyptians were Turkish subjects, that annual tribute must be paid, and that the Khedive was not allowed to make treaties. The Egyptian Army was at the disposal of the Sultan, the Turkish flag and not the Egyptian was to be used and all appointments above the rank of colonel were to be made by the Sultan. England agreed to all this. As late as 1910 England re- stated it, and affirmed that the Army of Occupa- tion was only for the purpose of maintaining order and that we would evacuate the country some time. When, we would not say. "All this was good for Turkey. As long as we were there, the country was prosperous. The tri- bute was paid regularly. Turkey did not have to trouble about keeping order in one of its turbu- lent provinces. British capital was developing the resources of the country. Once or twice complications came up, as in the Turco-Italian and Turco-Balkan wars, because of the right that THE UNCONQUERED SANDS 317 the Sultan undoubtedly possessed to summon an Egyptian Army to his aid. We threatened to withdraw our aid, if he did so, and both times Egypt remained unofficially neutral. "Then came the Great War. The Germans at once sent agents to Egypt urging them to throw us out of the country. But we, in defiance of every treaty, urged the Egyptian government to consider itself at war with Germany and Austria, and gave all Germans and Austrians forty-eight hours to get out of the country. ' ' "But this, sir," declared the American, "was a high-handed injustice. You had not the slightest right in the world to do such a thing. ' ' "Not the slightest!" agreed the Englishman, cheerfully. "It was utterly illegal in every way. We forced a Turkish province to rebel against the Sultan, when we ourselves had signed a treaty stating that we would do all we could to keep that province loyal to the Sultan. Moreover, we forced Egypt to declare war, when the treaty we had signed definitely stated that Egypt, being a Turkish province, had not the right to declare war. "Our violation of treaty rights got worse and worse. When Turkey undertook to send an army 3 i8 WAR IN THE HOLY LAND against a rebellious province, a thing which she not only had a right to do, but in which we were bound by treaty to help her, we sent an army against her and told the Egyptians that they did not even need 'to fight for themselves but that we would undertake to fight their dishonorable battle. "Regarded as diplomacy it was a nightmare. Sir Edward Grey demanded of the Sultan whether he intended to invade Egypt. "The Sultan quite naturally replied that 'since Egypt was one of his own provinces, how could he invade it?' "Finally war was declared between England and Turkey and then our position became even more like a situation in a comic opera. If we were at war with Turkey, then legally we were also at war with Egypt, for Egypt was still a Turkish province. English officers in the Egyp- tian Army were thus technically at war with Eng- land and at the same time were fighting England's battles. They were actually in the pay of their enemy, or, to put the matter another way, the enemy was paying them for fighting against him. "Like characters in 'Alice in Wonderland,' we now stated that we were making war on the Turk- THE UNCONQUERED SANDS 319 ish Empire on behalf of Egypt, which, at the same time, we admitted was a part of the Turkish Em- pire ; and we further declared that we were fight- ing in defense of a treaty which we broke by fight- ing in defense of it. Mad though it sounds, we were presumably fighting to uphold the Sultan's right to fight us for allowing the Egyptians to allow us to fight the Sultan on the Sultan's own teritory! Moreover, although we already knew that the Khedive had sided against England, W3 still recognized that the Suitan was his Overlord, and we therefore technically supported his posi- tion in attacking us. " * "But, in the name of common sense, how did you ever get out of such a muddle!" asked the archaeologist. "It was a pickle, wasn't it?" the official agreed. "First of all, we had a good large army of Aus- tralians and New Zealanders here just to main- tain order, of course, we said. We used Egypt for a training and drilling ground, so that there were plenty of soldiers here all the time. Then some heavy battleships were always handy. Be- sides that, the cotton crop having been poor and i "The New Egypt," by A. E. P. B. Weigall, Blackwood's Mag Large 12mo Cloth $1.50 each, net "There are no better books for boys than iTancis Rolt- Wheeler's *U. S. Service Series.' " Chicago Rtford-Herald. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. SURVEY HPHIS story describes the thrilling aovent- * ures of members of the U S. Geological Survey, graphically woven into a stirring narrative that both pleases and instructs. The author enjoys an intimate acquaintance with the chiefs of the various bureaus in Washing- ton, and is able to obtain at first Hand the material for his books. "There is abundant charm and vigor in the narrative which it sure to please the boy readers and will do much toward stimulating their patriot- ism by making them alive to the neeos of conser- vation of the vast resources of their country." Chicago AVa>. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. FORESTERS THE life of a typical boy is followed in all its adventurous detail the mighty representative of our country's government, though young in years a youthful monarch in a vast domain of forest. Replete with information, alive with adventure, and inciting patriotism at every step, this handsome book is one to be instantly appreciated. " It Is a fascinating romance of real life in oar country, and will provr a great pleasure and inspiration to the boys who read it." The Continent, Chicago, THE BOY WITH THE U. S. CENSUS THROUGH the experiences of a bright American be" the author shows how the necessary infoimation is gathered. The securing of this of- ten involves hardship and peril, requiring journeys by dog-team in the frozen North and by launch in the alligator-filled Everglades of Florida, while the enumerator whose work lies among the dangerous criminal classes of the greater cities must take his life in his own hands. " Every yonng man should read this story from cover to cover, thereby petting a clear conception of conditions as they exist to-day, for such know ledge 'will have a clean, invigorating and healthy influence on f he young growing aa; thinking mind." Boston Globe. For Male by all book filler* or stint postpaid on nee tot of price by the publisher* IQTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., 60STOff THE BOY WITH THE U.S.SURVEY U. S. SERVICE SERIES By FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER Many Illustrations from photographs taken in work for U.S. Government Large 12mo Cloth Net $1.50 per volume " There are no better books for boys than Francis Rolt- Wheeler's * U. S. Service Series.'" Chicago Record- Herald. THEfBOY WITH THE U. S. FISHERIES WITH a bright, active American youth as a hero, is tcid the story of the Fisheries, which in their actual importance dwarf every other human industry. The book does not lack thrilling scenes. The far Aleutian Islands have witnessed more desperate sea -fighting than has occurred elsewhere since the days of the Spanish buccaneers, and pirate craft, which the U. S. Fisheries must watch, rifle in hand, are prowling in the Behring Sea to-day. The fish-farms of the United States are as inter- esting as they are immense in their scope. "One of the best books for boys of all ages, so attractively written and illustrated as to fascinate the reader into staying up until all hours to finish \\." Philadelphia Despatch. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. INDIANS THIS book tells all about the Indian as he really was nnd is; the Menominee in his birch-bark canoe; the Iroquois in his wigwam in the forest; the Jioux of the plains upon his war- pony j the Apache, cruel and unyielding as his arid desert; the Pueblo Indians, with remains of ancient Spanish civilization lurking in the fast- nesses of their massed communal dwellings; the Tlingit of the Pacific Coast, with his totem-poles. With a typical bright American youth as a centra! figure, a good idea of a great field of national activity is given, and made thrilling in Us human idebythe heroism demanded by the litt 1 "-known adventures of those who do the work 01 >k Uncle Sam." " An exceedingly Interesting Indian story, because it U true, and not mere'.y a dramatic and picturesque incident ot Indian fife." N. Y. Times. " it tells the Indian's story in * way that will fascinate the yonngster,**- Rofhesier Her a! it. ^ ^_ fto tale by ail booksellers or seat postpaid oa receipt of price by the publhhen LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.. BOSTON THE BOY WITH THE U.S. FISHERIES THE BOY WITH THE U.S.INDIANS U. S. SERVICE SERIES By FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER Many illustrations from photographs taken in work for U. S. Government Large 12mo Cloth Net, $1.50 each " There are no better books for boys than Francis Rolt-Wheeler's 'U. S. Service Series."' Chicago Record-Herald. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. EXPLORERS THE hero saves the farm in Kansas, which his father is not able to keep up, through a visit to Washington which results in making the place a kind of temporary experiment station. Wonderful facts of plant and animal life are brought out, and the boy wins a trip around the world with his friend, the agent. This involves many adventures, while exploring the Chinese country for the Bureau of Agriculture. "Boys will be delig-hted with this story, which is one that inspires the readers with the ideals of industry, thrift and uprightness of conduct." Argus. Leader, Portland, Me. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. LIFE SAVERS T""HE billows surge and thunder through * this book, heroism and the gallant facing of peril are wrought into its very fabric, and the Coast Guard has endorsed its accuracy. The stories of the rescue of the engineer trapped on a burning ship, and the pluck of the men who built the Smith's Point Light- house are told so vividly that it is hard to keep from cheering aloud. "This is an ideal book for boys because it ii natural, inspiring, and of unfailing interest from cover to cover." Marine Journal. THE BOY WITH THE U. S. MAIL HOW much do you know of the working of the vast and wonderful Post Office Department? The officials of this department have, as in the case of all other Departments covered in this series, extended their courtesy to Dr. Rolt-Wheeler to enable him to tell us about one of the most interesting forms of Uncle Sam's care for us. "Stamp collecting:, carrier pigeons, aeroplanes, detectives, hold-ups, tales of the Overland trail KM toe Pony Express, Indians, Buffalo Bill what boy would not be delighted with a oook in which all these fascinating things are to be found?" Universal ist Leader. For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON THE BOY WITH THE U.S. LIFE SAVERS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. FEB 18 1975 Form L9-32m-8,'57 (,C8680s4)444 !n Hi UTHERN REGI NAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000483872 8