ept in front, while the roar of fire from the troops on
the flanks told with terrible effect upon the Arabs.

"Thank God that is over!" the sergeant said as the fight ended. "Are you
badly hurt, lad?"

"I am not hurt at all," Edgar said.

The sergeant pointed to Edgar's left arm. The latter uttered an
exclamation of surprise. He had bayoneted an Arab in the act of striking
at him, and in the wild excitement had for the moment been unconscious
that the blow of the native had taken effect. It had missed his
shoulder, but had cut a deep gash in the arm, almost severing a strip of
flesh down to the elbow.

"I had not the least idea I had been touched," he said. "I don't think
there is any great harm done; the principal arteries are on the other
side of the arm."

"We must stop the bleeding, anyhow," the sergeant said. "I will soon
find a bandage. There are sure to be plenty about, for the surgeons were
at work when they broke in."

He was not long in finding one, and then assisting Edgar off with his
coat he bandaged up his arm.

"You have got a wound on the side, sergeant!" Edgar exclaimed suddenly.

"It is of no consequence, lad. A fellow threw a spear at me. I tried to
dodge it, but was not quite quick enough, and it has grazed my side."

"It is more than a graze--it looks like a deep cut. Just undo your
belt."

"Well, give me your handkerchief. I will roll that and mine into a pad
and shove it in, and put a bandage tightly round my waist to keep it
there. That will do for the present.

"That will do nicely," he said as Edgar fastened the bandage round him.
"Now we shall both do very well until the surgeons have time to tie us
up properly. I am afraid they will have serious cases enough to last
them all night. Now, what is the next move, I wonder? I am horribly
thirsty."

"So am I," Edgar agreed.

"Are you both wounded?" an officer asked, coming up with two men
carrying a water-skin.

"Yes, sir, but not seriously; but we are awfully thirsty."

"Then you can have a drink of water," the officer said. "There is little
enough of it, and it is kept strictly for the wounded."

Many of the men standing near looked on with envious eyes, for all were
suffering horribly from thirst. Several fainted, and the men's lips were
black and swollen, and in some cases the tongue swelled so that the
mouth could not be closed. The 19th were out searching for the wells,
but for a long while their search was in vain. The g