come down, the dangerous turn now being lighted by a
hurricane-lamp, held by an officer mounted on a boulder. By the disastrous
delay, however, the column was riven into two parts and there was grave
danger of one losing touch with the other. For some miles the pace of those
in the rear was accelerated in the hope of catching up, but the country was
so rough that real speed was impossible.

Moreover, during the long wait men had fallen into a stupor of sleep so
profound that even the incessant jogging failed to rouse them. Occasionally
we encountered a level stretch of ground, and the horses were urged into a
trot which set the drooping figures on them bobbing in their saddles like
marionettes on strings. For some seconds the absurd motion continued until
the riders, becoming unbalanced, instinctively clutched the pommel of their
saddles to save themselves or dug their heels into their horses' sides.
Whereupon the startled animals broke into a shambling canter for a few
yards till for very weariness they dropped again into a walk. So it went on
for hours--walk march--trot--halt, till the gaps were closed; then: walk
march--trot--halt again. Even the wheels beat out the words with damnable
iteration and made of them a maddening refrain. We seemed to be marching
to the ends of the earth. During a brief moment of wakefulness I found
myself wondering, in a detached kind of way, if we should ever stop. It did
not appear to matter much anyway, for we could only go on till we dropped,
and then perhaps should be able to sleep.

At last we caught up with a long line of camels softly plodding along,
which seemed to be at the rear of the leading column. Shortly afterwards we
reached the Wadi Ghuzzee and attempted the crossing, which was the worst we
had yet encountered by reason of its precipitous nature. Indeed, seen
afterwards by daylight, it was difficult to understand how the horses
managed even to keep their feet, so steep was the path.

At the foot of the farther slope, lying in the bed of the wadi, was an
overturned ammunition-waggon by the side of which was a dead horse--a
silent warning of the danger of the ascent. There was no room here for a
final gallop to help the waggons up the hill; it was simply sheer, steady
tugging all the way. If the strain were relaxed for a moment the waggons
began to slide down the slope, and the gunners had hurriedly to scotch the
wheels till the horses were ready to take hold and pull agai