was left of the
rope. Fortunately we obtained chains at railhead, and as these were
uneatable they turned their attention to the horse-blankets and ate them!
Soon it was impossible to "rug-up" at night, for there was not enough rug
left. We used as pillows the nose-bags containing the following day's
grain, and many a time were awakened by a half-famished mule poking an
inquisitive muzzle under our heads.

Our own personal worries mainly concerned washing and shaving. Water was
much too precious to be used for such purposes, so the problem was easily
solved; we did neither. And in any case we had little time. We were up and
away before dawn, we trekked anything from twenty-five to thirty-five miles
a day, and when we had attended to the needs of the animals and had
something to eat and drink ourselves, we were too tired to do anything but
roll into the blankets and sleep until a disgruntled picket roused us for
another day. Occasionally some sybarite would be seen using the remains of
his evening tea as shaving-water and laboriously scraping a three days'
growth of hair from his face; but he was the exception. We were a ragged,
unwashed, unshaven crew--yet mighty cheery withal.

And so we came to Alexandria, where baths, new clothes and boots, and, best
of all, a mail awaited us.

CHAPTER II

"SOMEWHERE EAST OF SUEZ..."

If you look at the map of Egypt and follow the line of the Suez Canal to
its southernmost point, then continue a little down the Eastern shores of
the Gulf of Suez, you will see--if the map be a good one--the words "Ayun
Musa," which being interpreted mean: "The Wells of Moses."

Now let your finger continue its journey due east, pausing not for
mountains nor yet rivers, and it will inevitably arrive at a spot the name
of which is variously spelt Nekhl, Nakhl or Nukul.

Concentrate on this for a moment and you will see that in enemy hands it
formed a very effective jumping-off place for an attack on the southern
terminus of the most important commercial waterway in the world and a vital
artery of the British Empire. Moreover, it was very difficult of attack,
for it was defended by a range of exceedingly unpleasant and precipitous
hills, the passes through which were held by the Turks. Hence the agitation
of the authorities and the sudden importance of Ayun Musa as a defensive
barrier to Suez.

It was to this lonely spot that we were ordered to proceed with the least
possible delay. Havi