A RAID
Burnet had only just reached his former observation post on the _tell_
when, looking to the north, he saw two mounted men in khaki about two
miles away riding slowly in his direction. A few minutes later there
came into view the horses of the gun teams and the muzzles of the guns.
Through the haze of dust cast up by the heavy vehicles it was
impossible to see the escort, which was no doubt following.
It was clear that he had arrived only just in time. Half an hour later
he would certainly have found the _tell_ occupied. The day was already
so far advanced that the Turks would probably camp on the _tell_ for
the night. He instantly decided on his course of action. The
underground chamber was unknown to Burckhardt, the only man among the
enemy who had previously visited the _tell_. Burnet resolved to take
refuge there with his three Arabs, trusting to the chapter of accidents
to give him later the opportunity he was seeking.
The Arabs were surprised when he lifted the slab and disclosed the
cellar below, and their excitement was almost boyish as he climbed up
into the colossal figure with his brush of reeds. Watching him smooth
the sand over the slab they yielded to a burst of amusement: Burnet had
never seen the customary gravity of the Arab so much impaired.
From his spy hole at the mouth of the animal Burnet kept watch for the
coming of the enemy. Within ten minutes the two troopers came into
sight. Immediately behind them now were two officers, in one of whom
he recognised Major Burckhardt. And he could now see, not far in the
rear of the two guns, a half squadron of cavalry, together with a
number of men on foot, driving mules laden with boxes and large
bundles, which contained no doubt ammunition and the impedimenta of a
camp.
Burnet watched the approach of this force with some anxiety. Would
they halt at the _tell_, or, late as the hour was, continue their march
to Rejeb's stronghold? He had only a limited range of vision from
inside the colossus, and as the head of the column passed out of sight
he feared that there was no intention of bivouacking, and his only
chance of interfering with the guns would be lost.
Presently, however, he heard voices very near, and round the angle of
the wall came Major Burckhardt, toddling along on foot, accompanied by
a Turkish officer whom Burnet surmised to be the commander of the
gunners. They came to a stand on the open space in front of the
colossus, and Burckhardt, lifting his hand with the gesture of a
showman, said:
"It was here that I had the adventure with the Englishman that I
described to you as we came along. An ignorant fellow from Cambridge,
whose books are the laughing-stock of every good German scholar. When
I arrived I found him----"
"But you said, I think, that you were here first."
"First in the neighbourhood. The Englishman was constantly dogging me.
As I told you, I had made the world-shaking discovery that here
Tukulti-Ninip----"
"Yes, major, I remember; but it is getting late, and we have much to do
before dark. I will have our tents pitched here. The guns had better
remain at the foot of the _tell_, and the men must shift for themselves
in the ruins."
"At a reasonable distance from our tents."
"Certainly."
"And the wind is south. We must not be disturbed by smoke from
camp-fires."
"Nothing shall disturb you, major. General Eisenstein gave me
particular orders to pay you every consideration."
The Turkish colonel went away to give orders, and Burckhardt,
exchanging the spectacles he wore for another pair, entered between the
two figures and began to stroll about the ruins.
From below the mound came words of command, the rattle of
accoutrements, the clanging of chains, and other sounds indicating the
bustle of pitching camp. Presently one of the mules climbed the slope
and was led through the porch. From its back a group of Turkish
soldiers lifted the light shelter tents intended for their colonel and
Major Burckhardt, and proceeded to pitch them. Watching these
operations from the rear mouth of the colossus, Burnet had a momentary
alarm when it seemed that Burckhardt's tent was to be placed exactly
over the slab that covered the underground chamber; but the major
himself came up as the men were spreading out the canvas, and ordered
them to carry it a little higher up the _tell_, where the air was
fresher and he could get a good view of the rising sun.
The tent pitching was completed. Orderlies came up with the officers'
baggage. As the sky darkened, the glow of camp-fires rose from the
lower ground on the northern side of the _tell_. The colonel returned;
he was shortly followed by men carrying his evening meal, and he
invited Burckhardt to share it with him in his tent. Burnet could see
them in the interior, illuminated by a couple of candles, sitting on
camp-stools at a small folding table, eating and drinking with the
heartiness of men who have had a long day in the open. They lit
cigars, smoked them through in drowsy silence; then Burckhardt yawned,
stretched himself, and declaring that he was very sleepy, entered his
own tent a few yards away, and let down the flap. Through the canvas
Burnet saw the kindling of a candle and the German's bulky figure
undressing. Then the candle was extinguished: the colonel's tent was
already dark. A sentry began to pace up and down between the two tents.
It had been a tedious period of waiting, especially for the Arabs in
the stuffy underground chamber. Nothing could be attempted until the
camp had settled down. Sounds still came from below the _tell_. Even
when all should be silent, there was much risk to be run. The surface
of the _tell_ was very dark; but the moon would rise in two or three
hours. What was to be done must be done before then. The sentry was
only about thirty yards from the slab; it must be removed in absolute
silence. Other sentries, no doubt, were patrolling the camp. Would it
be possible to elude them?
At last all was quiet, except for the slight sounds made by the horses.
Burnet had arranged his plan. He would take one of the Arabs with him,
leaving the other two in hiding. If he failed to return and release
them, they were to wait until the camp was broken up and then to make
the best of their way back to the island.
It was a nerve-trying moment when the slab was gently raised from
below, and Burnet, with his head just above the hole, looked towards
the officers' tents. He could barely see the figure of the sentry
pacing slowly to and fro. With the silence of moles Burnet and his
Arab companion crept out of the hole, and, crawling on all fours, stole
along a few yards to the shelter of the ruined wall. Burnet had his
revolver, the Arab only a knife.
They peered over the wall. Three campfires burned dully below the
mound, some distance apart. Their light was insufficient to reveal the
disposition of the bivouac. Moving stealthily round the corner of the
wall, and sinking to the ground again, they crawled a few yards down
the slope. A little to the right, at the foot of the mound, was a pile
of objects which had certainly not been there before. Burnet guessed
that it consisted of the stores which had been removed from the mules'
backs. The two men threaded their way between boxes and bales, and
continuing in the same direction, towards one of the camp-fires,
discovered the guns close under the mound on the north-east side. Just
above them, shadowing them from the little light that flickered from
the stars, was another stack of boxes.
Burnet had expected to find a special guard set over the guns. The
camp, however, was so small--the total number of men seemed to be about
a hundred and fifty--that the two sentries whose figures could be dimly
descried moving up and down along the outer border of the bivouac had
been deemed sufficient. There was a tent, however, near one of the
camp-fires about a hundred yards away: it was clear that this was being
used as a guard-house, for while Burnet, lying flat, was peering into
the darkness four men came from the tent and marched northward. The
sentries were being relieved. In a few minutes four men returned, and
marched up the slope within twenty yards of the two figures lying there
like logs. The officers' sentry was relieved; the sergeant came back
with the three men released from duty, and re-entered the tent.
Near another camp-fire, farther away, was a larger tent, presumably
devoted to the subaltern officers. The men lay here and there on the
open ground. From the sounds that reached his ears Burnet guessed that
the horses and mules were hobbled near a patch of swamp still farther
to his right.
Burnet congratulated himself on his luck in having no special guard
over the guns to deal with. He had the average Briton's dislike of
attacking a man in the dark and at a disadvantage, and the possible
necessity of disposing of an unsuspicious sentry had been disagreeable
to contemplate. In the absence of such a guard, everything depended on
whether he could move about without attracting the attention of the men
in the guard-tent, of the distant sentries, or of any of the soldiers
who might chance to be wakeful.
Bidding the Arab remain where he was, Burnet crawled to the foot of the
slope, and in the deep shadow there stole along to the guns. He
discovered just beyond them, and also beneath the limbers, various
packages which from their shape evidently did not contain ammunition.
This was disappointing. But going on a little farther, he found the
ammunition boxes stacked close under the tell, about thirty yards from
the guns.
His aim was to destroy the guns, or at least render them useless. How
was he to achieve it? The shells were not of much use for the purpose
by themselves: he needed combustibles. No doubt there was plenty of
combustible material among the stores; but it would not be easy to find
it in the darkness, while the removal of it, necessitating movement to
and fro, would increase the danger of detection. The only course
possible was to make a rapid tour of all the stacks of stores, and
finally to choose such material as seemed most suitable and most easily
carried to the spot where it was needed.
He crept first to the stores placed above the guns: these latter would
screen him from observation from the camp. A few moments'
investigation showed that there was nothing to hope for here: the boxes
evidently held nothing but food-stuffs. From this point he skirted the
slope, passing his Arab companion on the way, until he reached a widely
spread pile which had escaped his notice before, owing to the fact that
it rose only a foot or two from the ground and was covered with a
tarpaulin. Lying flat, and raising a corner of the cover, he was
instantly aware of a smell of petrol, and his groping hand touched a
can. For what purpose did the Turks require petrol? He groped still
farther, and felt a long curved sheet of metal, in which there were
holes at equal intervals apart. Further search discovered more metal
sheets, a number of bolts, planks of wood, other objects whose nature
he could not determine, and finally a small engine. The explanation
flashed upon him: the Turks had brought up the sections of a
motor-boat, no doubt intended for patrol work on the marshes about the
island.
This discovery gave him a thrill of delight. No better combustibles
could be required: here he had all he needed--if the enemy gave him
time to use it. Taking two of the cans of petrol, he crept back to his
companion under the shadow of the _tell_. A whispered instruction sent
the Arab to the pile to bring two more cans. They conveyed these with
the same stealth to the guns. While the Arab returned for more petrol,
Burnet went on to the piles of ammunition, and brought back a shell in
its case. By the time he had completed three such journeys the Arab,
who moved more quickly, had increased the number of petrol cans placed
beneath the guns to ten.
Returning to the tarpaulin-covered pile for wood, they were alarmed by
sounds of talking somewhere in the camp. They flung themselves flat
and lay breathless, fearing that any further movement would be
detected. The talking continued for some time, and Burnet grew more
and more anxious. He could not tell how long the task had occupied him
hitherto; if it were not finished before the rising of the moon all was
over. After a trying period of suspense, however, the voices ceased.
He stole on again with the Arab, removed some of the wooden sections of
the motor-boat, and carried them back to the guns without further
disturbance.
While the Arab laid the wood over and around the three shells under the
guns and in the space between them, Burnet set about opening one of the
petrol cans. It was stopped with a waxed cork, and the necessity of
working quietly required that he should cut the cork out bit by bit
with his knife. This being done at last, he emptied the contents of
the can upon the heap, and laid the other cans on the top. At this
spot all was now ready. Determined to do as much damage as possible,
he resolved to wreck the motor-boat also beyond repair, and sent the
Arab to open another can beneath the tarpaulin, giving him a few
matches out of the single box he had with him. The Arab was to kindle
a fire as soon as he saw the glow of Burnet's match. Then they would
both hurry along the base of the mound and conceal themselves among the
ruins until the officers had left their tents, as they would no doubt
do when the explosion was heard. During their absence there would be
time to release the two Arabs from the underground chamber and escape
to the south. There was a risk of being seen in the light of the
conflagration before they gained the shelter of the ruins, but Burnet
trusted that in the excitement and confusion they would not be noticed.
Tense with anticipation, Burnet waited for the Arab's signal that he
was ready. It came at last: so perfect an imitation of a horse's
whinny that the Turks, if they heard it, would think it came from one
of their own beasts. Burnet struck a match, flung it into the
petrol-soaked heap, and dashed away as he had arranged. Seeing no
answering fire at the spot where the Arab was, he was about to risk
everything and swerve in that direction when a flame sprang up, and he
saw the Arab running half bent towards him. He learnt afterwards that
the man's first match had gone out. Together they sprinted up the
slope towards the shelter of the ruined wall.
The camp was already roused. Wild cries were heard: in the brilliant
glare men were seen streaming from all parts towards the two fires. If
any of them noticed the two figures rising up the mound they were too
much startled, bemused with sleep as they were, to draw any inferences.
Burnet and the Arab had just reached the wall when the air shook and
the earth trembled with a tremendous explosion. A few moments later
the Turkish officer, bare-headed and without his tunic, came rushing
from his tent, and ran down the slope, closely followed by the sentry.
They passed the two lurking figures within a few feet. Burckhardt had
not yet appeared, and a sudden idea flashed into Burnet's mind. There
was no need of further hiding. He went quickly forward, passed between
the two colossal figures, and in the lurid glare saw the burly major
hurrying down from his tent beyond. He was without his spectacles, and
Burnet's figure, dark against the glowing sky, might well have been
mistaken for that of a Turkish officer.
[Illustration: MAJOR BURCKHARDT IS DISTURBED]
"What--what is happening?" panted the major, in Arabic.
Burnet felt that the enemy was delivered into his hands.
"You are my prisoner, Major Burckhardt," said Burnet in English.
Utterly bewildered, the German dropped his hands to his sides, and
stood speechless, staring with his short-sighted eyes at the young
officer before him. He was incapable of resistance; started a little
when Burnet addressed his companion in Arabic, but accompanied the Arab
meekly when the man bade him march. Burnet lifted the slab, called the
two Arabs from below, and with them in a few minutes overtook the
prisoner and his escort. Hurrying Burckhardt along, they crossed the
_tell_, descended the slope on the south-west side, and almost ran into
a picket of Turks who were dashing towards the conflagration. The
whole countryside was now lit up, and the non-commissioned officer in
the rear of the group, catching sight of Burnet's uniform, shouted to
his men. They paid no heed to his cry, and seeing himself deserted,
the sergeant redoubled his pace and followed them up.
Burnet had no doubt that, as soon as the man made himself understood in
the confusion, a party of the enemy would be dispatched in pursuit, but
he trusted that the Turks would be for a time too busily occupied to
heed the incredible report. Still, there was need for haste. The rim
of the moon was just thrusting itself above the horizon. If the horses
were not reached before the pursuit began there was great danger of
being run down.
Burckhardt had now recovered the use of his tongue, and was complaining
bitterly at being compelled to trot across damp ground in his slippers
and pyjamas.
"It is contrary to the usages of war," he declared. "There shall be an
indemnity."
"All in good time, major," said Burnet consolingly. "You shall be
fitted out in Arab dress before long: that will be no novelty to you."
"What? You know me, and my work, and you treat me with such indignity!"
"Well, you know, you once bundled my father, according to your own
account, ignominiously from the _tell_ of Tukulti-Ninip. This is only
a mild reprisal."
"Who then are you?"
"I am the son of Mr. Burnet."
The German was silent. The pace caused him to breathe heavily; but it
was his secret thoughts that provoked the sigh which presently escaped
him.
It was only about a quarter of an hour after they had left the _tell_
that they heard the thudding of galloping horses behind them. Burnet
plunged into the nearest clump of reeds, and held his pistol to
Burckhardt's head until the pursuers had ridden past. Then, winding
their way under the guidance of one of the Arabs through the swamp,
they continued their march until they arrived at the spot where they
had left the horses. Mounting Burckhardt behind him, Burnet ordered
his Arab guide to lead straight for home. They rode on in the growing
moonlight, following the route by which they had come; and as dawn was
breaking, regained the island, tired out, but well satisfied with their
night's work.