News of the Enemy
When the youthful and enthusiastic, and, let us add, immaculately and
smartly dressed Daglish of the Indian Horse declared with such gusto to
Geoff Keith that there was a lively time coming, and that that young
fellow was likely to hear more of the adventure that had befallen him so
soon after his landing in Mesopotamia, he attained to only a portion of
the truth, and hinted only in some small degree at what our hero was to
put up with. Like a flash the tale of his meeting with the Arab chief
went round the camp after the return of the Indian Horse, and not even
that exhilarating and most dashing charge could swamp the details.
"Wanted at Head-quarters, sir! Colonel ---- gave me horders to find you
at once. Pressing, sir! Ve-e-ery pressing, sir!" said a British "Tommy",
as he discovered Geoff in the act of leaving the horse lines, where
Sultan had been picketed.
It was always a habit of Geoff's--as it is of every good horseman who
possesses a fine animal, and is fond of it--to make it a custom and rule
to see to the comforts of his mount before sitting down to eat and
drink. Thus, as Geoff came striding away from beneath the palms where
the Indian cavalry had picketed their horses, and where the officers'
mounts were made fast to a long picketing-rope close beside them, he
came face to face with this British "Tommy"; in fact, the man barred his
way to the ship still unloading at the river bank, and arrested his
further progress. A big, brawny chap, he was sweltering in the moist
heat of Mesopotamia, with the perspiration pouring from his forehead and
down both cheeks. His thin khaki-twill jacket was sticking to his manly
chest in many parts, and showed a number of moist patches. From under
his sun-helmet a pair of shrewd, sharp eyes peered at this young
officer--the tale of whose adventures had reached the orderly's
ears--while a fierce and somewhat grizzled moustache--for the man was an
old soldier, who had seen many days' service in India--projected on
either side of the chin-strap which secured the helmet. In the smartest
possible manner he came to attention, and, shouldering his rifle,
saluted briskly.
"Horders, very speshul, sir," he said, his eyes twinkling; and then to
himself, and almost aloud--for this gallant fellow had a way of
addressing his remarks to no one in particular, and his thoughts to the
open: "Lor'! Bless me 'art! If he ain't no more'n a baby, just a mere
shaver; and they tells me he speaks this 'ere lingo like a good 'un.
Lingo, do they call it? Just a norrible mess o' words, that's what I
says, and yer can't make not one of 'em understand. Why, bless me soul!
I sees an old chap with coal-black eyes, an' a beard as white as snow,
a-sittin' in a doorway o' one of the things round 'ere they calls
'uts--'uts, is they? My word! My uncle!--as some of these 'ere orficer
men calls it--just 'oles I call 'em. 'Uts! And there was that there
man--more like a monkey he looked--and though I shouted at 'im, not a
word could he understand, nor me the lingo he flung back at me. I should
say----"
Geoff's rather short and abrupt "Well?" brought the good fellow's
ruminating to a sudden ending; he coughed loudly to clear his voice, and
those sharp eyes of his again twinkled.
"Bless my 'art! I was a-wanderin'," he told himself; and then aloud:
"Horders, speshul, sir. Colonel ----, sir, said I was to find you at
once, and you was to report at Head-quarters immediately. Shall I
dismiss, sir?"
"Please," Geoff told him, and stood watching the man and
pondering--pondering not so much as to the reason for this order and the
nature of the interview before him as to the reason which had produced
what he was sure was a twinkling in the eyes of the man who had brought
the message.
"Confound the fellow!" he was saying. "I'm sure he had a little joke on
of his own, and was almost laughing; and I've seen him before somewhere.
Now where?"
In his turn, he too was cut short abruptly, and enjoined to remember his
orders, and not to allow himself to indulge in a species of "brown
study". For if that gallant soldier had been duly and correctly
dismissed, he was still and always a soldier, a punctilious fellow, who
throughout long years had never failed to carry out the orders of a
superior, and who, now that he had conveyed such an order to an officer,
considered it only his mere duty to see that that young officer acted on
the order promptly. He was standing near at hand, his rifle still at
his shoulder, his head thrown back, those eyes of his watching Geoff
shrewdly.
"Horders, speshul, sir," he muttered in guttural tones, which just
managed to reach our hero. "Beg pardon, sir----"
But Geoff had already come to his senses again, and went striding off to
the Head-quarters hut, with the orderly following closely. There he
found himself confronted just outside the hut, and beneath a tope of
palms which threw its grateful shade above some chairs placed there for
the Staff of the expedition, by one of the senior Staff Officers.
"Ha, Keith!" he said genially enough. "Sit down, my boy, and have a
cigarette. Now tell me all about it. By the way, that has been a very
pretty little affair, that rounding up of those Arab horsemen and the
charge of the troops we sent out, a very gallant little bit of business,
and I shouldn't wonder if it brought credit to the officer in command.
But, as I am chiefly concerned with the Intelligence Service, I'll leave
that alone for the moment and get you to tell me of the news you
obtained from your prisoner. That reminds me. Young Daglish has been
telling us a fine tale. Very well done, Keith! Very well done indeed!
Though I doubt the wisdom of an officer on special service--as you
happen to be just now--making himself the open, unabashed target for
Turkish bullets. Take the enemy fire like a soldier when you have to,
but don't seek it out; don't look for points or for places where you can
expose yourself. In other words, don't be reckless, or, to quote our
friend Daglish again, don't 'behave like a careless idiot!' Now then,
having said my say, let us get on with our particular business."
Very quickly Geoff gave him all the information he had been able to
extract from the captured chief, and then, at a suggestion from the
officer, the Arab was sent for, and presently appeared with an escort of
sowars about him.
"If I may say so, sir," said Geoff, "I think we shall do far better by
showing our trust in this prisoner and dismissing his escort. I do not
assert that an Arab is to be trusted. As a general rule, speaking of
those in Mesopotamia, he is certainly not; he will join the cause of the
highest bidder, or he will leave any sinking ship if only he can
discover the danger in which he is standing soon enough. But by making
this man realize that we are not a sinking ship, and that his interests
are best served by serving us, we shall be able to get from him not only
information which he already has, but might even employ him to obtain
further facts of importance. For that a liberal reward, to be paid some
months hence, should be promised."
For a little while the Staff Officer regarded the chief sternly, and yet
with interest. No Englishman could look at such man and fail to find in
him much to attract attention. For, as we have said before, this Arab
chief was an exceedingly fine specimen of Arab humanity. Tall and
straight and austere-looking in his native costume, his features were
refined and handsome. There was nothing of the negroid type about him;
and indeed this man, dressed in European costume, might have made his
appearance in the most exclusive parts of London, and one could guess
that his features, his delicately shaped hands, his well-kept nails, his
manners, indeed, would have rendered him by no means inferior to his
fellows. The chief returned the officer's frank gaze with one just as
frank, with one distinctly haughty, with a glance which told of courage,
and pride, and also determination.
"Dismiss the escort," commanded the officer sharply, addressing the
Indian officer in charge of them; "let them rest in the shade at the
back of the Head-quarters hut. Now, Chief," he said, smiling at the
captive, "sit down. Keith, ask him to make himself comfortable."
"The officer here wishes you to feel that you are a friend and not a
captive," said Geoff at once, taking upon himself the liberty of
somewhat enlarging upon his senior's pronouncement. "He invites you to
sit down with us, and, as a chief of honour, he knows that by doing so
you give your word that you will not attempt to escape, and that what
shall be spoken between us will be the truth, and the truth only."
A beaming smile broke over the face of the chief instantly, and he
nodded in friendly fashion to both officers; then, pulling a chair
nearer, he sat down with an easy grace which proved beyond fear of
refutation that if indeed he were a child of the desert, yet he had some
knowledge of Western customs, and unlike his fellows was accustomed to a
chair, and appreciated the comfort to be obtained by the use of it.
"My master," he told Geoff, "doubtless His Highness who sits there with
us is a great chief in your country, and is one whose words should be
honourably listened to. If he says that he desires Suliman as a friend
rather than as a captive, and that at a time when he discovers this same
Suliman a mere harmless and helpless prisoner, then, indeed, is he a man
of great honour and liberality. And what should I say? I, who am a
helpless, harmless captive, who am bid to sit as friend before him, and
who thereby assents to join your forces. My master, from this day
forward I am your man, sworn to your service, sworn to do my utmost for
the British. If I depart from this saying, if it should happen that in
later days I break my oath, then, indeed, may I be proclaimed to be a
faithless scoundrel, one deserving of instant execution. My master, as a
friend I sit before you, and I thank you for this great concession."
For more than an hour the three sat there in the shadow of the palms,
Geoff acting as interpreter; and slowly, and little by little, as the
Intelligence Officer asked questions which would never have occurred to
Geoff, information of considerable value was extracted from the chief.
Indeed, the latter was undoubtedly greatly delighted at the treatment
afforded him--for to be kept a close captive had seemed to him
inevitable. And partly by the judicious offer of a handsome reward--a
small portion of which was to be paid within a month's time, so soon as
he had produced results, and the remainder when the war was
finished--together with the promise of certain allowances whilst he was
with the British Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia, the chief was led
to give a most willing assent to aid his captors further.
"More than that, my master," he said eagerly enough, addressing Geoff
while he looked across at the Staff Officer, "I can make even greater
promises; for have you not honoured me much by thus making a friend of
me rather than a captive? Listen, then! And as Allah hears us, treat
this not as a promise, but as a plan to be carried out without doubt and
of a certainty. You have treated me handsomely, and have made promises
which will give me wealth if I but live to earn it. See, these men about
me, these Indian horsemen, these British soldiers, these native troops
whom you have brought across the water to fight the Turk and the Sultan
and those white men--those unbelievers--who have joined your enemy! You
pay those soldiers of yours, doubtless, my master; your British king has
gold wherewith to fill their pockets?"
"Certainly, Chief," Geoff told him promptly. "Each man draws his regular
pay and allowances. Every one of the soldiers you see here is a free
man--free to join the army or not, just as he likes. But, once he has
joined, he is paid just as a man who may work as a servant in one of
your camps is paid, for the British king forces service upon no man."
"Then listen further, my master. There are in my tribe perhaps a
thousand men, all well found with horses, all with great knowledge of
this country, and not one of whom would fail to fight if the opportunity
came to him. Give them money, pay them the same amount that you pay
these Indian soldiers, and find them in certain necessaries and in
ammunition. Promise this, and trust your slave still further. For then
he will ride out to them, and if they be not willing to return with him
and join forces with these soldiers, he himself will return--whether
they wish it or not--and will render himself up again to you. My
master, I am a man of honour, and this thing I will do, as Allah hears
me."
The suggestion made by the captured chief was one which, naturally
enough, needed much consideration, and, also, the consent of higher
authority; yet, so excellent did the plan seem, and so clearly was Geoff
able to put it before the Intelligence Officer, that by the following
morning it was adopted, and, a good horse having been handed to the
chief, and weapons also, he was allowed to ride out of the camp in
search of his followers.
"Of course we may, or we may not, see him back," said the Staff Officer
somewhat sceptically. "You tell me, Keith, that Arabs are not to be
trusted, and that is a tale I have heard often enough before. Yet I have
little doubt that many of them are just as trustworthy as people in our
country."
"Just!" Geoff agreed with him promptly, if not warmly, for during his
short residence in Mesopotamia, when he had been with Major Joe Douglas,
he had met with, and lived with, more than one tribe of Arabs, with whom
he had become more than usually friendly. Moreover, he had known them to
be absolutely trustworthy; and though, during this coming conflict, some
might already have sided with the Turks--who were their nominal
rulers--and though, as the campaign went on, it might happen that they
would leave that service and join the British--for such is a habit of
nomadic Arab tribes--yet that did not prove them to be utterly devoid of
trust or of honour.
"If I know a man at all, sir," he said respectfully, "I know this chief,
whom I was instrumental in capturing. He has given us his word of
honour, and he has called upon Allah to witness the words which he has
spoken. That will compel him to carry out his promises whether he wills
it or not; and should it happen that his followers arrest him, and do
their utmost to prevent his return, yet I feel sure that he will make
every effort to come back to us."
As a matter of fact, some three days later, when the embarkation of the
British Expeditionary Force was completed, and the troops had settled
down in their camps beside the river, the outposts--placed well beyond
the encampment--reported a large column of horsemen approaching. The
information was brought to Head-quarters, and within five minutes of its
arrival that same Intelligence Officer had sent a hurried message to our
hero.
"Get on your horse at once, Keith," he told him, "and come along with
me. This force approaching may be our friend the chief bringing in his
followers or it may be an enemy force come to try conclusions with us.
If I happened to be an officer in the Indian Horse I rather think I
should hope for the latter, for those boys are dying for more fighting.
As it is, I trust that it will be the chief, and that he'll bring with
him a lot of useful fellows. Horsemen used to the country and to the
tricks of the Turks will be a valuable acquisition, and we shall be able
to make the most of them."
Quickly mounting the fretful Sultan, Geoff was ready within a few
minutes, and, together with the Intelligence Officer, made rapid
progress to the outposts. Then, fixing his glasses to his eyes, he
carefully scrutinized the force approaching across the desert. A tall
figure in flowing robes, riding at their head, was without doubt the
chief who had given them his promise, and, having reported this fact to
the Intelligence Officer, the two of them rode out to meet the cavalcade
approaching. Then they led them back into the camp, and within an hour
the Arabs had settled down as if they had never been anything else but a
portion of the British Expeditionary Force destined to advance so far up
the River Tigris.
Two days later the camp broke up, and, with a naval flotilla steaming
beside them up the river, they marched on Basra, which town they
occupied, after meeting with only small resistance. They were now
approaching the confluence of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and were,
indeed, within striking distance of that portion of the desert which, in
days long gone by, was known as the Garden of Eden, where the toil of
the inhabitants then living in those parts had converted what may have
been a desert in their earlier days into a smiling garden the fame of
which has descended through the ages. Yet now it was a desert, a sandy,
gravelly stretch of dried-up, waterless, and inhospitable desert,
peopled but sparsely, and for the most part only along the actual banks
of the river, where the moisture, finding its way into the soil on
either side, kept it fertile, and where grew a thick belt of palms,
descending past Basra to the open sea. There were marshes, too, for the
River Euphrates in particular, which traverses a flat country, has
changed its course through the ages on numerous occasions. Some
particular course may remain open for a considerable period, and have
the appearance of being the main channel, yet always there are
overflows, and often enough such a main channel is silted up with the
dirt and debris coming from higher parts of the desert; then the water,
bursting over the low banks, and particularly the southern bank, has
gouged some other channel for itself, or has widened out into broad
stretches of marsh--perhaps only two feet in depth--leaving no semblance
of the river channel.
"It's there, amongst the marshes, that the Turks lie hidden," the chief
told Geoff that evening. "Of their numbers and of their exact positions
I know nothing, yet the rumour has reached me that they are there, and
that soon they will attempt to come in behind the British and attack
them. It were well, my master, if some of those ships that I see
floating upon the water, and in particular some of the smaller ones,
were sent into the marshes. There are channels deep enough to take them,
and if careful search were made it may be that the Turkish enemy would
be discovered."
Geoff was not such a young soldier that he could not at once perceive
the importance of the information just conveyed to him. With the
knowledge he already had of Mesopotamia, he had been able to inform his
friend on the Staff that, above the town of Basra, wide stretches of
marsh would be discovered, which at certain seasons of the year were
greatly extended by the heavy rains which fell in that part of the
world. But if residence in Mesopotamia had given him some idea of the
course of the rivers, of the towns and villages dotted here and there,
and of the numerous peoples who inhabited that region, he could not,
naturally enough, be expected to know where the Turks had disposed their
forces on the outbreak of this gigantic war. Some had undoubtedly been
posted towards the mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab, for had not the Indian
horse already had a lively brush with them? But where were the others?
Higher up the river, preparing their defences and waiting for the onward
march of the British forces, or sneaking in those marshes to the west of
them, which spread themselves along the broken and irregular course of
the River Euphrates, from a point perhaps fifty miles away to the spot
where the river joined with the main channel of the Tigris? And if they
were there, hidden in the swamps, perhaps camping on some piece of
ground elevated sufficiently to give them a dry footing, then indeed
they would be a menace to the safety of the forces invading the country.
They might march down along the edge of the swampy ground, or if
provided with native boats, known as bellums, might steal over the
shallow waters and cut off the retreat of Geoff and his comrades.
"Chief," he said suddenly, "you know this marsh land, perhaps, and you
would help us to discover these enemies?"
"My master, an Arab is a man of the desert, a man who is happiest when
far away in the open, or when mounted upon his horse, with leagues of
sandy soil before him. We are not given to venturing upon the water, and
thus it follows that I am ignorant of these marshes, and could be of
little service. But listen, my master! There is one within this town of
Basra who could assist you. A man known to me--a native of these parts,
of uncertain nationality. He is but a poor fisherman; and if His
Highness, whom I have met, cares to arrest him, he has then but to
command and the man will carry out his bidding."
"And suppose--for I must tell you, Chief, that we of Great Britain do
not force our orders upon helpless and poor people--supposing a reward
is offered to this man. What then?" asked Geoff.
"Then, indeed, you may count upon his assistance, his ready assistance,"
said the chief, "and for all I know he might be willing enough to carry
out the work because of his hatred of the Turks. Yes, my master, they
are hated in this part of the world. Though they molest the Arabs but
little, and indeed fear us greatly, for we are swift to move from spot
to spot, and can strike a blow and be gone in an instant, yet to those
who live their lives on the bank of the river, where the Turks can reach
them easily because of their boats, to these they are often harsh and
cruel, taxing them heavily, and treating them as slaves, or little
better."
Geoff gave himself a few moments in which to deliberate, and then,
asking the chief to accompany him to Head-quarters, he sent in a message
to the Intelligence Officer who has already been introduced to our
readers. To him he promptly gave full information of the marshes, and of
the rumoured Turkish forces lying hidden in them. It was apparent at
once that this Staff Officer considered the news of the utmost
importance; for, bidding Geoff stay outside the house taken over by the
General, he disappeared inside, and remained there for quite a
considerable period. When he came out again, it was clear from the
expression on his face that he had come to some decision.
"Those Turks must be found, and routed," he told Geoff. "And of course
we shall be glad to take advantage of the services of the native whom
the chief has mentioned to you. That means that you must go along too,
Keith, for otherwise there will be the language difficulty. Orders will
be given to the naval contingent. There are some motor launches with
them, and I imagine that one of them should be able to make its way
through the marshes. In fact, the expedition will have to be a naval one
almost entirely, with you and this native guide accompanying."
Geoff coughed discreetly to attract the Staff Officer's attention, for
of a sudden a brilliant thought had struck him. He was thinking of his
chum Philip, who had almost "lived in his pocket" these last few days,
and who eagerly waited a summons to accompany our hero.
"You are the luckiest beggar I ever came across!" he had told Geoff when
he had heartily congratulated him upon his capture of the Arab chief.
"Any other fellow would have been shot down by those Turkish bullets,
which Daglish says you were idiot enough to stand up and face--but I'll
be honest, though, and add that Daglish, though he said at first you
were an idiot, said afterwards that he admired your pluck, and wondered
whether he'd have been as cool if he'd been in your place. But we're not
talking about Daglish, we're talking about you and myself, and don't
forget that I come into the discussion. What I want to impress upon you
is the decided need you have of assistance. You can't go off on jaunts
like that without having another fellow to look after you. Supposing one
of those Turkish bullets had hit you after all, what then?"
He stood in front of Geoff and watched him expectantly.
"What then!" repeated Geoff, smiling at the impulsiveness of his chum.
"What then!" cried Philip indignantly. "Why! Well, supposing I'd been
there I could have carried you off and could have stood my ground, and
captured that chief when he got out to us. But there you are, the
thing's over now, and what you've got to do is to look out for trouble
in the future. Geoff, you want a fellow alongside of you, a friend, one
you can confide in, one ready to assist you at any moment. I'm that
friend; and don't you forget it, my boy, or else there'll be ructions."
Geoff did not forget it, for nothing in the world would have pleased him
better than to have his old friend along with him. It was nice, and
exciting, indeed, to find himself in the company of other officers--such
as Daglish and those of the Indian troops who had attacked the Arab
horsemen--but, after all, a friend is a friend all the world over; and
if Philip had been there, he told himself, Why! He would certainly have
enjoyed the whole adventure more thoroughly. And here was a new
adventure proposed by this Staff Officer. He, Geoff, was to go off with
some of the naval contingent, and was to penetrate into that huge
stretch of marshland lying along the course of the Euphrates. Anything
might happen! Turks were rumoured to be there, and if they were it was
more than likely that there would be a sort of guerrilla fighting. What
chances the thing presented! And how jolly to have Philip along with
him. He coughed again discreetly, yet in such a way that the Staff
Officer glanced at him swiftly and inquisitively.
"Eh?" he asked, smiling. "You----"
"I rather thought, sir," said Geoff diffidently, "that if I could have
another officer--an infantry officer, I mean, sir--along with me, it
might be some assistance. I----"
"In fact," laughed the Staff Officer, "you have one particular friend,
and would be glad to have him ordered to join you with this expedition.
Well, I don't know that there is any particular objection," he
continued, to Geoff's huge relief and enjoyment. "A smart young officer
might be of great assistance, and in any case he'd be very good company.
What's the name, Keith?"
Geoff gave it with suspicious promptness, and the Staff Officer jotted
it down in his notebook.
"Then you'd better both of you get ready," he told Geoff. "It'll take
the navy a little time to make their preparations, but they are not the
boys to sit still and think too long, particularly when an expedition is
on foot which promises excitement. I imagine they will work most of the
night, and by to-morrow morning early they will be ready to steam off
into the marshes. In the meanwhile you had better hunt up this native
that the chief has mentioned, and interview him. Offer him a reasonable
reward, to be paid after the successful termination of the business."
By nightfall Geoff had fully carried out the instructions given him,
and, having visited the naval contingent, learned that a small
motor-launch would be fully armed and provisioned, and ready to set off
at the first streak of dawn on the following morning. Also, he had
interviewed his chum Philip, whose delight and enthusiasm were almost
overwhelming. They were up shortly after two o'clock in the morning,
and, having eaten a hearty breakfast, and armed themselves with rifles
and revolvers, they stole down to the landing-place, where the
motor-boat was to wait them.
"Aboard there!" Geoff hailed, for it was still quite dark, and it was
impossible to make out even the outline of the boat.
"Ahoy!" a voice came back. "Who's that?"
"Two officers waiting to come aboard. Have you got that native there
yet?" asked Geoff, as an oar splashed in the water and the boat was
rowed in close to the bank of the river.
"Aboard this hour or more," came the hearty answer. "Easy does it, now,
or you'll be capsizing us! There we are, two officers aboard, and all
ready!"
"Push her off, Cox; let her go!"
There was a sound of machinery and the clack of valves as the engine was
set going; then the tiny motor-boat trembled as the propeller rotated. A
moment later she was stealing out across the river, still hidden in the
darkness, and, having traversed a long stretch of water, approached the
opposite bank, where the marshes empty themselves into the river. The
daylight was just coming, and for a while they lay to, so that the
native guide could be sure of their position. Then a sharp order was
given, the propeller thrashed the water again, and in a little while
they were threading their way amidst a mass of reeds and islands of
oozing mud, which formed the eastern boundary of the marshes. In less
than five minutes they were entirely lost to view, and were launched on
an expedition which was to prove as interesting as it was exciting.