e had been
ordered to leave our kits behind, and to carry, in addition to the
water-bottles, a skin holding about a gallon. In our hut we found eight
porous jars, each of which would hold about a couple of gallons. Six of
them were full. The empty ones we filled up from our skins, for these
jars keep the water wonderfully cool. In none of the other huts had they
found so good a supply as ours, but all had more or less water; and, on
totalling them up, it was found that there was an average of four jars
in each hut, without, of course, counting that which we had brought. As
there were a hundred and ten of us, this gave a total supply of a
hundred and eighty-two gallons; rather better than a gallon and a half a
man.

"The major ordered that the allowance was to be a pint night and morning
for the first four days. If help did not come at the end of that time,
it was to be reduced by half. We could see where the water came from.
There was a well-worn path from the village to a hollow about three
hundred yards away, and we could see that there was a great hole, and it
was down this that the women went to fill their water-jars. It was a
consolation to us that it was so close, for, if the worst came to the
worst, half of us could go down at night and refill the jars. No doubt
they would have to fight their way, but, as the rest could cover them by
their fire, we felt that we should be able to manage it. For the next
four days we held the place. We slept during the day. The Arabs did not
come near us then; but as soon as it got dusk they began to crawl up,
and flashes of fire would break out all round us.

"Unfortunately, there was no moon, and as they came up pretty nearly
naked, their bodies were so much the colour of the sand that they could
not be made out twenty yards away. They were plucky enough, for they
would come right in among the houses and fire through the doors, and
sometimes a number of them would make a rush against one; but nothing
short of bursting the doors into splinters would have given them an
entry, so firmly did the piles of earth hold them in their places. In
the middle of the fifth day a cloud of dust was seen across the plain
from the direction in which we came. No one had a doubt that it was a
party sent to our relief, and every man sprang to his feet and swarmed
up on to the roof, as soon as the man on watch above told us the news;
directly afterwards the major shouted, 'Each man can have a ration