girl sat together motionless. A mile along the level two Arabs
were rhythmically swinging water up from a cutting by means of a shallow
vessel with ropes attached to the side. The flash of it caught the eye,
and there was a patch of vivid emerald where the water fell. To the
north it was possible to make out the arms of a semaphore lying idle.
There was no sound in the place. The river itself flowed silently. Only
the occasional deep drone of a hornet or the note of a mosquito came to
the ear. The sun seemed to be drawing the land together, sucking up all
the sap it contained.

As we sat and gazed at these bending and twisting Narrows the idea arose
that it might be possible, by a little cutting, to do away with the
worst bits and open up a straight channel. For there were two main
places of obstruction, called the Devil's Elbow and Pear Drop Reach.
But it is necessary to say this with caution, for tampering with great
rivers like the Tigris may cause unthought-of trouble. It upsets the
natural balance of the waters.

Gradually the other convoys drew near and dropped anchor above and below
the obstructing vessel. Some native troops in one of them got out on the
bank and began to bathe, or wandered about looking for fuel to cook
their evening meal, and towards evening a string of Arab women and
children, from some remote village, came along with eggs and melons and
pumpkins. In the meanwhile a kind of activity prevailed in the region of
the obstruction. A tug boat appeared and ropes were stretched out to
posts on the land and the water was being churned to foam by the
paddles. It was said that General Y was on a convoy ahead, and General
X, who was going up to replace him, was in a convoy behind us. It was
possible to count seven convoys in all, and smoke columns were still
rising in the south. It was not until darkness fell that the ship was
pulled off, and it was too late to move on that night. So we ate our
bully beef and settled down for the night. Once more our sensations were
indescribable. The sand-flies were like a million little red-hot wires.
There was not a breath of air and the mules screamed and fought and
gasped alongside. One hundred and fifty people packed on a small deck,
round a funnel that is still burning hot, make a poor job of sleeping in
such a climate.

It was the devout prayer of everyone that we might reach our destination
next day and get off the ship and away from those mules. That was not t