uickly.

'He's got off cheaply,' he said. 'Nothing broken--nothing the matter, so
far as I can see, except bruises and a cut on the head. Give him a drop of
your brandy, Roy.'

As Roy unscrewed the stopper, the Turk's eyes opened, and he stared up at
his rescuers in blank amazement.

'Englishmen!' he muttered.

Roy put the flask to his lips, but he shook his head.

'Water,' he said in Turkish.

'It's against his religion to drink wine or spirits,' Ken explained to
Roy, and put his own water-bottle to the man's lips.

'I thank you,' said the Turk with grave courtesy. He sat up and looked
round at the ruin on the road.

'We did not know that your guns were near enough to drop shell upon us,'
he said. 'Nor had we any notion that your troops had advanced so far
inland.

'Well, it is Allah's will,' he continued resignedly. 'And our fate for
being driven into an unjust war. I am your prisoner.'

'We don't want any prisoners,' Ken answered with a smile, and at his
fluent Turkish the man's dark eyes opened in evident surprise. 'You are
free.'

The Turk stared.

'Then you are separated from your own regiment,' he said keenly, and by
his accent and language, Ken realised that he was a man of some education.

Ken did not answer.

'Your pardon, effendi,' said the Turk. 'I did not mean to ask idle
questions. I thank you for your kindness, and I wish you happiness.'

'Come on, Ken,' broke in Roy, who was scanning the country uneasily. 'We
are right out in the open here. That chap will be all right. Let's get
into that wood as sharp as we can.'

'One moment,' said Roy, and turned to the Turk.

'If you care to do us a good turn, tell us the nearest way back to Gaba
Tepe.'

The Turk pointed up the road.

'That is the nearest way, but, I need not tell you, the most dangerous.
Our lines lie between here and the British. You must wait for the darkness
of the night or you will for a certainty be captured. My advice to you is
to conceal yourselves among the trees in the wood, and wait until the sun
shall have set.'

'I thank you,' said Ken courteously. 'Is there anything else in which we
can assist you?'

'There is nothing, I thank you. I will rest a while, then move onwards. In
the name of the Prophet, I wish you a safe journey.'

'What tale was he pitching you?' said Roy impatiently, as he set off at a
great rate for the wood opposite.

'He advised us to lie up for the rest of the day, and try to slip through