, a certain time must elapse before we
should hear the shriek of the shell as it raced towards us. It
seemed an extraordinary time. We knew the shell was coming with its
destiny, involving our life or death, irrevocably determined, and
yet we heard nothing. The men, under such cover as they could find,
were silent in their suspense. Then the shell roared over our heads,
seeming so low that we cowered to avoid it. It exploded a score of
yards away. A shower of earth rained upon us, but no splinter
touched anyone. The men whistled in their relief and laughed.

"Does this happen often?" I asked Monty, when I found I was still
alive.

"Every few minutes. It's ten o'clock. We embark at midnight."

"I'm moving my men, then. Asiatic Annie has the range of this spot
too well."

I marched my company down to the beach, and told them to take
shelter under the lee of the cliff. We had scarcely got there before
Annie's wicked eye sparkled from Asia, the warning whistles blew,
and, after crying "There she is!" we waited spellbound for the
imminent shriek. The shell burst in the surf, scattering shingle and
spray over every one of us.

"You'd think they'd seen us move," I said, listening for the groans
of any wounded. None came, but I heard instead the sound of muffled
voices and marching feet, and saw men moving through the darkness
along the brink of the sea like a column of Stygian shades. It was
the battalion arriving, with other units of the East Cheshire
Brigade.

"I know what'll happen, Rupert," said Monty, when these men had
crowded the beach and the hill-slope. "Some drunken Turk will lean
against that old gun in Asia, and just push it far enough to perfect
its aim."

And he looked round upon the mass of men and shuddered.

It was getting cold, and we huddled ourselves up on the beach. Some
of us were indifferent in our fatalism to the shells of Asiatic
Annie; if our time had come--well, Kismet. Others, like myself,
waited fascinated. I know I had almost hungered for that meaning
flash in Asia, the terrible delight of suspense, the rush of
thrills, and the sudden arresting of the heart as the shell
exploded.

Sec.4

Then, about one o'clock, the moon broke the clouds and lit the
operations with a white light. It should have filled us with dismay,
but instead it seemed the beginning of brighter things. The men
groaned merrily and burst into a drawling song:

"Oh, the moon shines bright on Mrs. Porte