A layman cannot tell from the reports which of the duties demanded the
most work--whether the continuous clearing out of transports, dhows,
and sailing ships, generally found close to the well-gunned and
attentive beach, or the equally continuous attacks on armed vessels of
every kind. Whatever else might be going on, there was always the
problem how to arrange for the crews of sunk ships. If a dhow has no
small boats, and you cannot find one handy, you have to take the crew
aboard, where they are horribly in the way, and add to the
oppressiveness of the atmosphere--like "the nine people, including two
very old men," whom E14 made honorary members of her mess for several
hours till she could put them ashore after dark. Oddly enough she
"could not get anything out of them." Imagine nine bewildered Moslems
suddenly decanted into the reeking clamorous bowels of a fabric
obviously built by Shaitan himself, and surrounded by--but our people
are people of the Book and not dog-eating Kaffirs, and I will wager a
great deal that that little company went ashore in better heart and
stomach than when they were passed down the conning-tower hatch.
Then there were queer amphibious battles with troops who had to be
shelled as they marched towards Gallipoli along the coast roads. E14
went out with E11 on this job, early one morning, each boat taking her
chosen section of landscape. Thrice E14 rose to fire, thinking she
saw the dust of feet, but "each time it turned out to be bullocks."
When the shelling was ended "I think the troops marching along that
road must have been delayed and a good many killed." The Turks got up
a field-gun in the course of the afternoon--your true believer never
hurries--which out-ranged both boats, and they left accordingly.
The next day she changed billets with E11, who had the luck to pick up
and put down a battleship close to Gallipoli. It turned out to be the
_Barbarossa_. Meantime E14 got a 5000-ton supply ship, and later had
to burn a sailing ship loaded with 200 bales of leaf and cut
tobacco--Turkish tobacco! Small wonder that E11 "came alongside that
afternoon and remained for an hour"--probably making cigarettes.