He lay flat under a huge rock. I left the stretcher-squads, and,
crawling behind a bush, looked through the glasses. It certainly was a
Turk, and his position was one of hiding. He kept perfectly motionless
on his stomach and his rifle lay by his side.
I sent a message to pass the word up to the leading squads for Hawk.
Quickly he came down to me and took the glasses. He had wonderful sight.
After looking for a few seconds he agreed that it looked like a Turkish
sniper lying in wait.
“Let's go and see, anyway,” said I.
“Chance it?”
“Yes.”
“Righto.”
Hawk led the way down into the thorn-bushes and dried-up plants. I
followed close at his heels. We crouched as we went and kept well
under cover. Hawk took a semicircular route, which I could see would
ultimately bring us out by the side of the rock under which the sniper
hid.
Now we caught a glimpse of the little dark figure--then we plunged
deeper into the rank willow-growth and bore round to the right.
Hawk unslung the great jack-knife which hung round his waist and
silently opened the gleaming blade. I did the same.
“I'll surprise him; you can leave it to me to get in a good slash,” said
Hawk, and I saw the great muscles of his miner's arms tighten. “But if
he gets one in on me,” he whispered, “be ready with your knife at the
back of his neck.”
A few steps farther brought us suddenly upon the rock and the sniper.
Hawk was immediately in front of me, and his arm was held back ready
for a mighty blow. He stood perfectly still looking at the rock, and I
watched his muscles relax.
“See it?” he said.
“What?”
“Dead.”
There was the Turk--a great heat-swollen figure stinking in the
sunshine. As I moved forward a swarm of green and black flies, which
had been feeding on his face and crawling up his nostrils, went up in a
humming, buzzing cloud.
A bit of wood lying near had looked like his rifle from a distance; and
now we saw that, instead of lying on his stomach, he was lying on his
back, and looked as if he had been killed by shrapnel.
“Putrid stink,” said I; “come on--let's clear out.”
And so our sniper-hunt led to nothing but a dead Turk stewing in the
glaring sunshine. We rejoined the squads. No one had missed us. This
first day was destined to be one of many adventures.