CHAPTER V
News of the Enemy
When the youthful and enthusiastic, and, let us add, immaculately andsmartly dressed Daglish of the Indian Horse declared with such gusto toGeoff Keith that there was a lively time coming, and that that youngfellow was likely to hear more of the adventure that had befallen him sosoon after his landing in Mesopotamia, he attained to only a portion ofthe truth, and hinted only in some small degree at what our hero was toput up with. Like a flash the tale of his meeting with the Arab chiefwent round the camp after the return of the Indian Horse, and not eventhat exhilarating and most dashing charge could swamp the details.
"Wanted at Head-quarters, sir! Colonel ---- gave me horders to find youat once. Pressing, sir! Ve-e-ery pressing, sir!" said a British "Tommy",as he discovered Geoff in the act of leaving the horse lines, whereSultan had been picketed.
It was always a habit of Geoff's--as it is of every good horseman whopossesses a fine animal, and is fond of it--to make it a custom and ruleto see to the comforts of his mount before sitting down to eat anddrink. Thus, as Geoff came striding away from beneath the palms wherethe Indian cavalry had picketed their horses, and where the officers'mounts were made fast to a long picketing-rope close beside them, hecame face to face with this British "Tommy"; in fact, the man barred hisway to the ship still unloading at the river bank, and arrested hisfurther progress. A big, brawny chap, he was sweltering in the moistheat of Mesopotamia, with the perspiration pouring from his forehead anddown both cheeks. His thin khaki-twill jacket was sticking to his manlychest in many parts, and showed a number of moist patches. From underhis sun-helmet a pair of shrewd, sharp eyes peered at this youngofficer--the tale of whose adventures had reached the orderly'sears--while a fierce and somewhat grizzled moustache--for the man was anold soldier, who had seen many days' service in India--projected oneither side of the chin-strap which secured the helmet. In the smartestpossible manner he came to attention, and, shouldering his rifle,saluted briskly.
"Horders, very speshul, sir," he said, his eyes twinkling; and then tohimself, and almost aloud--for this gallant fellow had a way ofaddressing his remarks to no one in particular, and his thoughts to theopen: "Lor'! Bless me 'art! If he ain't no more'n a baby, just a mereshaver; and they tells me he speaks this 'ere lingo like a good 'un.Lingo, do they call it? Just a norrible mess o' words, that's what Isays, and yer can't make not one of 'em understand. Why, bless me soul!I sees an old chap with coal-black eyes, an' a beard as white as snow,a-sittin' in a doorway o' one of the things round 'ere they calls'uts--'uts, is they? My word! My uncle!--as some of these 'ere orficermen calls it--just 'oles I call 'em. 'Uts! And there was that thereman--more like a monkey he looked--and though I shouted at 'im, not aword could he understand, nor me the lingo he flung back at me. I shouldsay----"
Geoff's rather short and abrupt "Well?" brought the good fellow'sruminating to a sudden ending; he coughed loudly to clear his voice, andthose sharp eyes of his again twinkled.
"Bless my 'art! I was a-wanderin'," he told himself; and then aloud:"Horders, speshul, sir. Colonel ----, sir, said I was to find you atonce, and you was to report at Head-quarters immediately. Shall Idismiss, sir?"
"Please," Geoff told him, and stood watching the man andpondering--pondering not so much as to the reason for this order and thenature of the interview before him as to the reason which had producedwhat he was sure was a twinkling in the eyes of the man who had broughtthe message.
"Confound the fellow!" he was saying. "I'm sure he had a little joke onof his own, and was almost laughing; and I've seen him before somewhere.Now where?"
In his turn, he too was cut short abruptly, and enjoined to remember hisorders, and not to allow himself to indulge in a species of "brownstudy". For if that gallant soldier had been duly and correctlydismissed, he was still and always a soldier, a punctilious fellow, whothroughout long years had never failed to carry out the orders of asuperior, and who, now that he had conveyed such an order to an officer,considered it only his mere duty to see that that young officer acted onthe order promptly. He was standing near at hand, his rifle still athis shoulder, his head thrown back, those eyes of his watching Geoffshrewdly.
"Horders, speshul, sir," he muttered in guttural tones, which justmanaged to reach our hero. "Beg pardon, sir----"
But Geoff had already come to his senses again, and went striding off tothe Head-quarters hut, with the orderly following closely. There hefound himself confronted just outside the hut, and beneath a tope ofpalms which threw its grateful shade above some chairs placed there forthe Staff of the expedition, by one of the senior Staff Officers.
"Ha, Keith!" he said genially enough. "Sit down, my boy, and have acigarette. Now tell me all about it. By the way, that has been a verypretty little affair, that rounding up of those Arab horsemen and thecharge of the troops we sent out, a very gallant little bit of business,and I shouldn't wonder if it brought credit to the officer in command.But, as I am chiefly concerned with the Intelligence Service, I'll leavethat alone for the moment and get you to tell me of the news youobtained from your prisoner. That reminds me. Young Daglish has beentelling us a fine tale. Very well done, Keith! Very well done indeed!Though I doubt the wisdom of an officer on special service--as youhappen to be just now--making himself the open, unabashed target forTurkish bullets. Take the enemy fire like a soldier when you have to,but don't seek it out; don't look for points or for places where you canexpose yourself. In other words, don't be reckless, or, to quote ourfriend Daglish again, don't 'behave like a careless idiot!' Now then,having said my say, let us get on with our particular business."
Very quickly Geoff gave him all the information he had been able toextract from the captured chief, and then, at a suggestion from theofficer, the Arab was sent for, and presently appeared with an escort ofsowars about him.
"If I may say so, sir," said Geoff, "I think we shall do far better byshowing our trust in this prisoner and dismissing his escort. I do notassert that an Arab is to be trusted. As a general rule, speaking ofthose in Mesopotamia, he is certainly not; he will join the cause of thehighest bidder, or he will leave any sinking ship if only he candiscover the danger in which he is standing soon enough. But by makingthis man realize that we are not a sinking ship, and that his interestsare best served by serving us, we shall be able to get from him not onlyinformation which he already has, but might even employ him to obtainfurther facts of importance. For that a liberal reward, to be paid somemonths hence, should be promised."
For a little while the Staff Officer regarded the chief sternly, and yetwith interest. No Englishman could look at such man and fail to find inhim much to attract attention. For, as we have said before, this Arabchief was an exceedingly fine specimen of Arab humanity. Tall andstraight and austere-looking in his native costume, his features wererefined and handsome. There was nothing of the negroid type about him;and indeed this man, dressed in European costume, might have made hisappearance in the most exclusive parts of London, and one could guessthat his features, his delicately shaped hands, his well-kept nails, hismanners, indeed, would have rendered him by no means inferior to hisfellows. The chief returned the officer's frank gaze with one just asfrank, with one distinctly haughty, with a glance which told of courage,and pride, and also determination.
"Dismiss the escort," commanded the officer sharply, addressing theIndian officer in charge of them; "let them rest in the shade at theback of the Head-quarters hut. Now, Chief," he said, smiling at thecaptive, "sit down. Keith, ask him to make himself comfortable."
"The officer here wishes you to feel that you are a friend and not acaptive," said Geoff at once, taking upon himself the liberty ofsomewhat enlarging upon his senior's pronouncement. "He invites you tosit down with us, and, as a chief of honour, he knows that by doing soyou give your word that you will not attempt to escape, and that whatshall be spoken between us will be the truth, and the truth only."
A beaming smile broke over the face of the chief instantly
, and henodded in friendly fashion to both officers; then, pulling a chairnearer, he sat down with an easy grace which proved beyond fear ofrefutation that if indeed he were a child of the desert, yet he had someknowledge of Western customs, and unlike his fellows was accustomed to achair, and appreciated the comfort to be obtained by the use of it.
"My master," he told Geoff, "doubtless His Highness who sits there withus is a great chief in your country, and is one whose words should behonourably listened to. If he says that he desires Suliman as a friendrather than as a captive, and that at a time when he discovers this sameSuliman a mere harmless and helpless prisoner, then, indeed, is he a manof great honour and liberality. And what should I say? I, who am ahelpless, harmless captive, who am bid to sit as friend before him, andwho thereby assents to join your forces. My master, from this dayforward I am your man, sworn to your service, sworn to do my utmost forthe British. If I depart from this saying, if it should happen that inlater days I break my oath, then, indeed, may I be proclaimed to be afaithless scoundrel, one deserving of instant execution. My master, as afriend I sit before you, and I thank you for this great concession."
For more than an hour the three sat there in the shadow of the palms,Geoff acting as interpreter; and slowly, and little by little, as theIntelligence Officer asked questions which would never have occurred toGeoff, information of considerable value was extracted from the chief.Indeed, the latter was undoubtedly greatly delighted at the treatmentafforded him--for to be kept a close captive had seemed to himinevitable. And partly by the judicious offer of a handsome reward--asmall portion of which was to be paid within a month's time, so soon ashe had produced results, and the remainder when the war wasfinished--together with the promise of certain allowances whilst he waswith the British Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia, the chief was ledto give a most willing assent to aid his captors further.
"More than that, my master," he said eagerly enough, addressing Geoffwhile he looked across at the Staff Officer, "I can make even greaterpromises; for have you not honoured me much by thus making a friend ofme rather than a captive? Listen, then! And as Allah hears us, treatthis not as a promise, but as a plan to be carried out without doubt andof a certainty. You have treated me handsomely, and have made promiseswhich will give me wealth if I but live to earn it. See, these men aboutme, these Indian horsemen, these British soldiers, these native troopswhom you have brought across the water to fight the Turk and the Sultanand those white men--those unbelievers--who have joined your enemy! Youpay those soldiers of yours, doubtless, my master; your British king hasgold wherewith to fill their pockets?"
"Certainly, Chief," Geoff told him promptly. "Each man draws his regularpay and allowances. Every one of the soldiers you see here is a freeman--free to join the army or not, just as he likes. But, once he hasjoined, he is paid just as a man who may work as a servant in one ofyour camps is paid, for the British king forces service upon no man."
"Then listen further, my master. There are in my tribe perhaps athousand men, all well found with horses, all with great knowledge ofthis country, and not one of whom would fail to fight if the opportunitycame to him. Give them money, pay them the same amount that you paythese Indian soldiers, and find them in certain necessaries and inammunition. Promise this, and trust your slave still further. For thenhe will ride out to them, and if they be not willing to return with himand join forces with these soldiers, he himself will return--whetherthey wish it or not--and will render himself up again to you. Mymaster, I am a man of honour, and this thing I will do, as Allah hearsme."
The suggestion made by the captured chief was one which, naturallyenough, needed much consideration, and, also, the consent of higherauthority; yet, so excellent did the plan seem, and so clearly was Geoffable to put it before the Intelligence Officer, that by the followingmorning it was adopted, and, a good horse having been handed to thechief, and weapons also, he was allowed to ride out of the camp insearch of his followers.
"Of course we may, or we may not, see him back," said the Staff Officersomewhat sceptically. "You tell me, Keith, that Arabs are not to betrusted, and that is a tale I have heard often enough before. Yet I havelittle doubt that many of them are just as trustworthy as people in ourcountry."
"Just!" Geoff agreed with him promptly, if not warmly, for during hisshort residence in Mesopotamia, when he had been with Major Joe Douglas,he had met with, and lived with, more than one tribe of Arabs, with whomhe had become more than usually friendly. Moreover, he had known them tobe absolutely trustworthy; and though, during this coming conflict, somemight already have sided with the Turks--who were their nominalrulers--and though, as the campaign went on, it might happen that theywould leave that service and join the British--for such is a habit ofnomadic Arab tribes--yet that did not prove them to be utterly devoid oftrust or of honour.
"If I know a man at all, sir," he said respectfully, "I know this chief,whom I was instrumental in capturing. He has given us his word ofhonour, and he has called upon Allah to witness the words which he hasspoken. That will compel him to carry out his promises whether he willsit or not; and should it happen that his followers arrest him, and dotheir utmost to prevent his return, yet I feel sure that he will makeevery effort to come back to us."
As a matter of fact, some three days later, when the embarkation of theBritish Expeditionary Force was completed, and the troops had settleddown in their camps beside the river, the outposts--placed well beyondthe encampment--reported a large column of horsemen approaching. Theinformation was brought to Head-quarters, and within five minutes of itsarrival that same Intelligence Officer had sent a hurried message to ourhero.
"Get on your horse at once, Keith," he told him, "and come along withme. This force approaching may be our friend the chief bringing in hisfollowers or it may be an enemy force come to try conclusions with us.If I happened to be an officer in the Indian Horse I rather think Ishould hope for the latter, for those boys are dying for more fighting.As it is, I trust that it will be the chief, and that he'll bring withhim a lot of useful fellows. Horsemen used to the country and to thetricks of the Turks will be a valuable acquisition, and we shall be ableto make the most of them."
Quickly mounting the fretful Sultan, Geoff was ready within a fewminutes, and, together with the Intelligence Officer, made rapidprogress to the outposts. Then, fixing his glasses to his eyes, hecarefully scrutinized the force approaching across the desert. A tallfigure in flowing robes, riding at their head, was without doubt thechief who had given them his promise, and, having reported this fact tothe Intelligence Officer, the two of them rode out to meet the cavalcadeapproaching. Then they led them back into the camp, and within an hourthe Arabs had settled down as if they had never been anything else but aportion of the British Expeditionary Force destined to advance so far upthe River Tigris.
Two days later the camp broke up, and, with a naval flotilla steamingbeside them up the river, they marched on Basra, which town theyoccupied, after meeting with only small resistance. They were nowapproaching the confluence of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and were,indeed, within striking distance of that portion of the desert which, indays long gone by, was known as the Garden of Eden, where the toil ofthe inhabitants then living in those parts had converted what may havebeen a desert in their earlier days into a smiling garden the fame ofwhich has descended through the ages. Yet now it was a desert, a sandy,gravelly stretch of dried-up, waterless, and inhospitable desert,peopled but sparsely, and for the most part only along the actual banksof the river, where the moisture, finding its way into the soil oneither side, kept it fertile, and where grew a thick belt of palms,descending past Basra to the open sea. There were marshes, too, for theRiver Euphrates in particular, which traverses a flat country, haschanged its course through the ages on numerous occasions. Someparticular course may remain open for a considerable period, and havethe appearance of being the main channel, yet always there areoverflows, and often enough such a main channel is silted up with thedirt an
d debris coming from higher parts of the desert; then the water,bursting over the low banks, and particularly the southern bank, hasgouged some other channel for itself, or has widened out into broadstretches of marsh--perhaps only two feet in depth--leaving no semblanceof the river channel.
"It's there, amongst the marshes, that the Turks lie hidden," the chieftold Geoff that evening. "Of their numbers and of their exact positionsI know nothing, yet the rumour has reached me that they are there, andthat soon they will attempt to come in behind the British and attackthem. It were well, my master, if some of those ships that I seefloating upon the water, and in particular some of the smaller ones,were sent into the marshes. There are channels deep enough to take them,and if careful search were made it may be that the Turkish enemy wouldbe discovered."
Geoff was not such a young soldier that he could not at once perceivethe importance of the information just conveyed to him. With theknowledge he already had of Mesopotamia, he had been able to inform hisfriend on the Staff that, above the town of Basra, wide stretches ofmarsh would be discovered, which at certain seasons of the year weregreatly extended by the heavy rains which fell in that part of theworld. But if residence in Mesopotamia had given him some idea of thecourse of the rivers, of the towns and villages dotted here and there,and of the numerous peoples who inhabited that region, he could not,naturally enough, be expected to know where the Turks had disposed theirforces on the outbreak of this gigantic war. Some had undoubtedly beenposted towards the mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab, for had not the Indianhorse already had a lively brush with them? But where were the others?Higher up the river, preparing their defences and waiting for the onwardmarch of the British forces, or sneaking in those marshes to the west ofthem, which spread themselves along the broken and irregular course ofthe River Euphrates, from a point perhaps fifty miles away to the spotwhere the river joined with the main channel of the Tigris? And if theywere there, hidden in the swamps, perhaps camping on some piece ofground elevated sufficiently to give them a dry footing, then indeedthey would be a menace to the safety of the forces invading the country.They might march down along the edge of the swampy ground, or ifprovided with native boats, known as bellums, might steal over theshallow waters and cut off the retreat of Geoff and his comrades.
"Chief," he said suddenly, "you know this marsh land, perhaps, and youwould help us to discover these enemies?"
"My master, an Arab is a man of the desert, a man who is happiest whenfar away in the open, or when mounted upon his horse, with leagues ofsandy soil before him. We are not given to venturing upon the water, andthus it follows that I am ignorant of these marshes, and could be oflittle service. But listen, my master! There is one within this town ofBasra who could assist you. A man known to me--a native of these parts,of uncertain nationality. He is but a poor fisherman; and if HisHighness, whom I have met, cares to arrest him, he has then but tocommand and the man will carry out his bidding."
"And suppose--for I must tell you, Chief, that we of Great Britain donot force our orders upon helpless and poor people--supposing a rewardis offered to this man. What then?" asked Geoff.
"Then, indeed, you may count upon his assistance, his ready assistance,"said the chief, "and for all I know he might be willing enough to carryout the work because of his hatred of the Turks. Yes, my master, theyare hated in this part of the world. Though they molest the Arabs butlittle, and indeed fear us greatly, for we are swift to move from spotto spot, and can strike a blow and be gone in an instant, yet to thosewho live their lives on the bank of the river, where the Turks can reachthem easily because of their boats, to these they are often harsh andcruel, taxing them heavily, and treating them as slaves, or littlebetter."
Geoff gave himself a few moments in which to deliberate, and then,asking the chief to accompany him to Head-quarters, he sent in a messageto the Intelligence Officer who has already been introduced to ourreaders. To him he promptly gave full information of the marshes, and ofthe rumoured Turkish forces lying hidden in them. It was apparent atonce that this Staff Officer considered the news of the utmostimportance; for, bidding Geoff stay outside the house taken over by theGeneral, he disappeared inside, and remained there for quite aconsiderable period. When he came out again, it was clear from theexpression on his face that he had come to some decision.
"Those Turks must be found, and routed," he told Geoff. "And of coursewe shall be glad to take advantage of the services of the native whomthe chief has mentioned to you. That means that you must go along too,Keith, for otherwise there will be the language difficulty. Orders willbe given to the naval contingent. There are some motor launches withthem, and I imagine that one of them should be able to make its waythrough the marshes. In fact, the expedition will have to be a naval onealmost entirely, with you and this native guide accompanying."
Geoff coughed discreetly to attract the Staff Officer's attention, forof a sudden a brilliant thought had struck him. He was thinking of hischum Philip, who had almost "lived in his pocket" these last few days,and who eagerly waited a summons to accompany our hero.
"You are the luckiest beggar I ever came across!" he had told Geoff whenhe had heartily congratulated him upon his capture of the Arab chief."Any other fellow would have been shot down by those Turkish bullets,which Daglish says you were idiot enough to stand up and face--but I'llbe honest, though, and add that Daglish, though he said at first youwere an idiot, said afterwards that he admired your pluck, and wonderedwhether he'd have been as cool if he'd been in your place. But we're nottalking about Daglish, we're talking about you and myself, and don'tforget that I come into the discussion. What I want to impress upon youis the decided need you have of assistance. You can't go off on jauntslike that without having another fellow to look after you. Supposing oneof those Turkish bullets had hit you after all, what then?"
He stood in front of Geoff and watched him expectantly.
"What then!" repeated Geoff, smiling at the impulsiveness of his chum.
"What then!" cried Philip indignantly. "Why! Well, supposing I'd beenthere I could have carried you off and could have stood my ground, andcaptured that chief when he got out to us. But there you are, thething's over now, and what you've got to do is to look out for troublein the future. Geoff, you want a fellow alongside of you, a friend, oneyou can confide in, one ready to assist you at any moment. I'm thatfriend; and don't you forget it, my boy, or else there'll be ructions."
Geoff did not forget it, for nothing in the world would have pleased himbetter than to have his old friend along with him. It was nice, andexciting, indeed, to find himself in the company of other officers--suchas Daglish and those of the Indian troops who had attacked the Arabhorsemen--but, after all, a friend is a friend all the world over; andif Philip had been there, he told himself, Why! He would certainly haveenjoyed the whole adventure more thoroughly. And here was a newadventure proposed by this Staff Officer. He, Geoff, was to go off withsome of the naval contingent, and was to penetrate into that hugestretch of marshland lying along the course of the Euphrates. Anythingmight happen! Turks were rumoured to be there, and if they were it wasmore than likely that there would be a sort of guerrilla fighting. Whatchances the thing presented! And how jolly to have Philip along withhim. He coughed again discreetly, yet in such a way that the StaffOfficer glanced at him swiftly and inquisitively.
"Eh?" he asked, smiling. "You----"
"I rather thought, sir," said Geoff diffidently, "that if I could haveanother officer--an infantry officer, I mean, sir--along with me, itmight be some assistance. I----"
"In fact," laughed the Staff Officer, "you have one particular friend,and would be glad to have him ordered to join you with this expedition.Well, I don't know that there is any particular objection," hecontinued, to Geoff's huge relief and enjoyment. "A smart young officermight be of great assistance, and in any case he'd be very good company.What's the name, Keith?"
Geoff gave it with suspicious promptness, and the Staff Officer jottedit down in his notebook.
"Then you'd better both of you get ready," he told Geoff. "It'll takethe navy a little time to make their preparations, but they are not theboys to sit still and think too long, particularly when an expedition ison foot which promises excitement. I imagine they will work most of thenight, and by to-morrow morning early they will be ready to steam offinto the marshes. In the meanwhile you had better hunt up this nativethat the chief has mentioned, and interview him. Offer him a reasonablereward, to be paid after the successful termination of the business."
By nightfall Geoff had fully carried out the instructions given him,and, having visited the naval contingent, learned that a smallmotor-launch would be fully armed and provisioned, and ready to set offat the first streak of dawn on the following morning. Also, he hadinterviewed his chum Philip, whose delight and enthusiasm were almostoverwhelming. They were up shortly after two o'clock in the morning,and, having eaten a hearty breakfast, and armed themselves with riflesand revolvers, they stole down to the landing-place, where themotor-boat was to wait them.
"Aboard there!" Geoff hailed, for it was still quite dark, and it wasimpossible to make out even the outline of the boat.
"Ahoy!" a voice came back. "Who's that?"
"Two officers waiting to come aboard. Have you got that native thereyet?" asked Geoff, as an oar splashed in the water and the boat wasrowed in close to the bank of the river.
"Aboard this hour or more," came the hearty answer. "Easy does it, now,or you'll be capsizing us! There we are, two officers aboard, and allready!"
"Push her off, Cox; let her go!"
There was a sound of machinery and the clack of valves as the engine wasset going; then the tiny motor-boat trembled as the propeller rotated. Amoment later she was stealing out across the river, still hidden in thedarkness, and, having traversed a long stretch of water, approached theopposite bank, where the marshes empty themselves into the river. Thedaylight was just coming, and for a while they lay to, so that thenative guide could be sure of their position. Then a sharp order wasgiven, the propeller thrashed the water again, and in a little whilethey were threading their way amidst a mass of reeds and islands ofoozing mud, which formed the eastern boundary of the marshes. In lessthan five minutes they were entirely lost to view, and were launched onan expedition which was to prove as interesting as it was exciting.
On the Road to Bagdad: A Story of Townshend's Gallant Advance on the Tigris Page 5