I sent him across to tell Webster to single out the nearest standing
camel and fire at it until it fell. I called to Griffiths to fire at
the second standing camel, and chose the third myself. It was that
magnificently-caparisoned one belonging to the sheikh, standing perhaps
four hundred feet below me, entirely unconcerned, and unmistakable in
its gorgeous crimson cloth.
I fired very carefully at him. At my second shot he swung his head
round as if a fly had bitten him; at my third he lurched forward, fell
over the edge, and plunged down. Almost immediately one of those
smaller animals toppled over, and both, crashing across zigzag after
zigzag, swept more camels in front of them. The bottom was so filled
with powder smoke that we could scarcely follow the confused mass of
bodies as they hurtled downwards.
The utmost terror broke out among the unarmed Arabs. We could see them
leaving their camels and taking shelter under any projecting rock they
could reach. I fired at another wretched brute, standing with his
bundle of rifles so closely pressed against the side of the precipice
that I knew that the path must be very narrow there. Immediately below
him, on the next zigzag, was a confused group of animals clustered on a
broader path.
At my second shot he staggered, fell right among them, swept three or
four off their feet, and another avalanche swept down.
I felt almost sick at what I had done and stopped firing to see what
would happen. The others ceased firing too.
Jaffa came back and lay down near me. His one eye was better than my
two, so I gave him the glasses.
Then--all at once--bullets came whizzing our way, striking rocks below,
above, at each side of us, and screaming away out of the "coffee-cup".
The noise of this rifle fire was very different--each shot was a roar,
magnified a hundred times, and multiplied a hundred times as it
re-echoed from the walls of the chasm.
Thank goodness! At last we had compelled the sheikh to weaken his
defence by trying to save his caravan from destruction.
Griffiths and I began firing at more camels; Webster and his men
followed suit; more went hurtling down.
We had to do this, however cruel and beastly it was. Unless we kept
those fellows away from the mouth of the ravine, the _Intrepids_ might
never force their way in.