left to
work alone. I immediately splashed for a small boat that formed the
end of one of the gangways, and into this I hauled myself. On looking
at my watch I found it was just midnight, and that I had thus been at
work for three and a half hours.

Midnight had evidently been chosen by the Turk as the hour at which to
attack, and also by us to make another attempt to land men. At this
moment a body of our men were coming along the gangway, the first of
them being close to this boat which was on a slightly lower level than
the barges that formed the bulk of the gangway. The five foremost
threw themselves into my boat and we lay stretched across the seats,
the men on the barges lying down at once where they were. Here none
of us had any protection, and it was a miracle any one of us escaped,
the fire from machine-guns and rifles was so terrific. Each bullet as
it struck the "Clyde" drove sparks, while the old ship was ringing
like a great bell. Two of our six were hit, the man stretched
alongside me fatally. A seventh man in the water hauled himself in
beside us, and as he was getting over the gunwale shouted, "Oh! I am
hit". Hit or not hit we could not pay the slightest attention to each
other now, all we could do was to lie low.

All this time I was expecting a rush for the "Clyde" by the Turks, and
the boat I was in would be the first part of the gangway they would
reach, and I could not help wondering what it would be like to get a
bayonet through my stomach, but the feeling that this would certainly
happen was not half so terrible as I should have expected. I had my
revolver in my hand all the time, and it was a comfort to think that I
would almost certainly account for two or three Turks before I
experienced this new sensation.

The fire was kept up for about four hours, mainly on the side of the
ship. As soon as there was a lull an officer in my boat shouted out.
"This won't do, we must now land, follow me." He got up and splashed
ashore, but the men, thinking he had been too hasty, preferred to wait
a little longer after the Turks had ceased fire, but soon they began
to move and dash singly for the land. I wished to get on the ship, and
not half liking to get into an upright position either, I crept
through and over those still on the barges, amidst much cursing from
my paining the wounded, who must have been numerous.

I had had a strenuous and exciting day and night, and I must say I
felt it a relief when