Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1903-03-26
WOODBURY., N J, THURSDAY, MARCH 26 1903

ract and while the man lay in bliss on
the floor possessed himself of some la
boriously acquired exclusive informa-
ton forwarded by a confding corre-
spondent of an opposition syndicate,
made a careful duplicate of the mat
ter and brought the result to Torpen-
how, who said that all was fair In
love or war correspondence and built
an excellent descriptive article from
his rivals riotous waste of words. It
was Torpenhow who-but the tale of
their adventures, together and apart,
from Phile to the waste wilderness Of
Herawi and Muella, would fill many
books.
They had been penned into a square
side by side in deathly fear Of being
shot by overexcited soldiers, they had
fought with baggage camels in the chill
dawn, they had logged along in silence
under binding sun on indefatigable
little Egyptian horses, and they had
fioundered on the shadows Of the Nile
when the whaleboat in which they had
found berth chose to smite hidden
rock and rip out half her bottom planks.
Now they were sitting on the sand
bank, and the whaleboats were bring
ing up the remainder of the column.
eyes," said Torpenhow as he put the
last rude stitches into his overlong neg
lected gear; sit has been a beautiful
business"
"The patch or the campaign" said
Heldar. "Don't think much of either
myself"
'sYou want the Euryalus brought up
above the Third cataract, don't you,
and eighty guns at Jakdul?
Now, I'm quite satisfied with my
breeches." He turned round gravely
to exhibit himself after the manner Of
clown.
'It's very pretty. Specially the let
tering on the sack, G. B. T. Govern
ment Bullock Train. That's a sack
from India
s'Its my initials Gilbert Belling Tor
penhow. | stole the cloth on purpose.
What the mischief are the camel corps
doing yonderY Torpenhow shaded his
eyes and looked across the scrub
strewn gravel.
A bugle blew furiously, and the men
on the bank hurried to their arms and
accouterments.
"tPisan soldiery surprised while
bathing" remarked Dick calmly. do
you remember the picture? It's by
Michael Angelo. All beginners copy it.
That scrubs alive with enemy"
The camel corps on the bank yelled
to the infantry to come to them, and q
hoarse shouting down the river showed
that the remainder of the column had
wind of the trouble and was Fastening
to take share in it. AS swiftly as a
reach OF still water is crisped by the
wind the rock strewn ridges and scrub
topped hills were troubled and alive
with armed men. Mercifully it oc-
Cured to these to stand far off for a
time, to shout and gesticulate joyously.
One man even delivered himself of a
long story. The camel corps did not
fire. They were only too glad for a
little breathing space until some sort
of square could be formed. The men
on the sand bank ran to their side, and
the whaleboats, as they toiled up with
in shouting distance, were thrust into
the nearest bank and emptied of all
save the sick and a few men to guard
them. The Arab orator ceased his out
cries, and his friends howled.
"They look like mahdi's men," said
Torpenhow, elbowing himself into the
crush of the square, ''but what thou
sands of 'em there are! The tribes
hereabout aren't against us, know"
"Then the mahdi's taken another
town." said Dick. "and set all these
yelping devils free to chaw US up. Lend
us your glass"
"Our scouts should have told US of
this. We've been trapped" said sub
altern. AREN'T the camel guns ever
going to begin? Hurry up, you men!"
There was no need for any order.
The men flung themselves, painting,
against the sides of the square, for
they had good reason to know that
whose was left outside when the fight
ing began would very probably die in
an extremely unpleasant fashion. The
little $50 pound camel guns posted at
one corner of the square opened the
ball as the square mc-ed forward by
its right to get possession of knoll OF
rising ground.
All had fought In this manner many
times before, and there was no novelty
in the entertainment, always the same
hot and sitting formation, the smell of
dust and leather, the same boltlike
rush of the enemy, the same pressure
on the weakest side of the square, q
few minutes of desperate hand to hand
scuffie and then the silence of the des-
ert, broken only by the yells of those
whom the handful of cavalry attempt
ed to pursue. They had grown careless
the square slouched forward amid the
protests of the camels Then came the
attack of 1900 men, who had not
learned from books that 1t is impossible
for troops in close order to attack
against breechloading fire.
"A Lew utOpp1uS SuOtS ucIdlucu LAC1A
approach, and few horsemen led, bui
the bulk of the force was naked hui
manity mad with rage and armed with
the spear and the sword The instinct
of the desert, where there is always
much war, told them that the right
flank of the square was the weakest
for they swung clear of the front. The
camel guns shelled them as they passed
and opened for an instant lanes
through their midst most like those
quick closing vistas in Kentish hop
garden seen when the train races by al
full speed, and the infantry fire, held
till the opportune moment, dropped
them in close packed hundreds.
No civilized troops in the world could
have endured the hell through which
they came, the living Ieaping high to
avoid the dead clutching at their heels,
the wounded cursing and staggering
forward till they fell-a torrent black
as the sliding water above milldam-
full on the right flank of the square.
Then the line of the dusty troops and