GUNS!
There was no bugle note, no cheer, but at a whistle the men swarmed out of
their trench and went uphill as hard as every they could go.
Their appearance was the signal for a tremendous outburst of firing on the
part of the Turkish snipers, and a moment later the two 77-millimetre
German guns which had been brought from Gaba Tepe changed the direction of
their fire from the beach to the advancing troops.
As the Australians went bursting through the scrub, snipers who had crept
in close during the night and hidden in the bushes and behind rocks broke
like rabbits out of gorse when the terriers are put in.
They were hunted down remorselessly, and not one of them escaped. Those
who were not killed outright were taken prisoners.
It was very fine while it lasted, and the men would have given anything to
go on. But Colonel Conway knew the risk too well, and as soon as they had
gained the summit of the cliff whistle signals from the sergeants stopped
them, and the order came to dig themselves in with all speed.
It is one thing to occupy a trench already made, quite another to dig one
under fire. There is no question of standing up and wielding the shovel as
if one were digging a garden. Men must lie down and scratch and scrape
until they get head cover, then gradually open up a narrow ditch into
which they sink slowly.
'I didn't enlist as a blooming navvy,' grunted Roy Horan, who had stuck by
Ken and Dave. 'Phew, but it's hot as a North Island beach on Christmas
Day!'
As he spoke came an earth-shaking thud, and Ken, who was next to Roy,
grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down flat on the ground.
Just in time, too, for next instant the earth three yards away in front
burst upwards in a fountain of stones and pieces of broken steel. Ken felt
a blast of heat and stinging sand across the back of his neck, while the
concussion made his head ring.
'What the blazes?' muttered Roy, as he lifted his head and looked round
dazedly.
'It was blazes all right,' answered Ken dryly. 'A high explosive shell, my
lad. Lucky that it went pretty deep before it burst.'
'And lucky for me that you pulled my head down in time,' answered Roy
soberly. 'Thanks, old man. I shan't forget that.'
The next shell burst behind the line, and the third still farther back.
Fortunately for the Australians, the German gunners had not got the exact
range, or the losses would have been fearful. High explosive of the kind
the Germans use will pulverise the parapet of a trench and kill every one
within reach.
The ground was hard, the sun hot, but the men dug like beavers, and within
an hour had made themselves pretty safe. But there was no letting up.
Colonel Conway insisted upon a regular trench of the latest pattern with
proper traverses, and deep enough to give plenty of head room. The men
grumbled, but some, like Ken, realised that the game was well worth the
candle.
'He's looking for an attack in force later on,' Ken told Dave and Roy
Horan. 'You may be jolly sure that the Turks are bringing up
reinforcements.'
'There are quite enough of the beggars already,' said Dave. 'Just listen
to the bullets coming over. That scrub in front of us fairly hums with
snipers.'
By the time that the trench was finished it was nearly midday. The men
were given a rest, and dinner was served out. In spite of the enemy's fire
the Army Service men had managed to bring their stores right up to the
trench, and there was fresh bread, butter, cheese, and jam for the hungry
fighters.
Down below, engineers were at work, making a path up the cliff, while
boats travelled up and down with a dogged and admirable persistence.
The enemy fire in front of the new position grew steadily heavier. If a
cap was put up on a cleaning rod over the parapet, it was sometimes struck
by two or three bullets at once. It seemed clear that the Germans who led
the Turks were concentrating their forces in front of the trench, but
whether they were new men or not it was impossible to say. The broken
nature of the ground and the heavy scrub hid all that was going on a very
little way inland.
'This is getting a bit thick,' said Roy Horan, as a fresh crackle of rifle
fire burst from a wooded height about a quarter of a mile inland. A maxim
carefully emplaced behind sandbags in the trench replied with a storm of
bullets, but it was a poor job, firing at an enemy who were quite
invisible, and a feeling of slight depression had begun to settle on the
occupants of the trench.
'The colonel's having a pow-wow with the other officers,' said Dave.
'Something's going to happen before long.'
Something did happen. Presently the whistles trilled, and a sigh of relief
went up.
'Cold steel, bhoys,' said Sergeant O'Brien. 'Don't any of ye wait to
shoot. And open order, mind ye!'
Eagerly the men scrambled out of their trench and plunged into the scrub.
In a long yet level line they went charging through it.
The snipers had not expected another advance. That was clear enough. By
twos and threes and dozens, they sprang up out of their hiding-places, and
bolted like rabbits. With exulting shouts the Colonials charged after
them, ran them down and bayoneted them.
The slaughter was fearful. As the khaki-clad line swept onwards they left
the ground behind them thick with dead bodies. They themselves lost, of
course, but only slightly. Their attack was such a complete surprise, and
they moved so quickly, that for a time they had matters all their own way.
The Turks had no relish for bayonet fighting, and the few who did turn to
bay soon paid the penalty.
For a quarter of a mile or more the Colonials continued their career,
clearing the whole of the scrub of the plague of snipers. Then, just in
the moment of victory, came such a blast of firing that the whole line
reeled and swayed, and men fell by the dozen.
'Down with you!' shouted Ken to Dave, who was on his left. 'Down with
you!'
As he spoke, he himself dropped behind a boulder which thrust its
weather-stained head out of the thin grass. He glanced round and saw that
his companions had followed his example.
A bullet struck the stone just above his head and spattered off in a
shower of shrieking fragments. The whole air was thick with lead. It was
clear that they had run into a very strong enemy force, no doubt the
reinforcements which had been brought up from the east.
'Where are they?' sang out Dave, who was lying in a little hollow with Roy
Horan, a few yards to their left.
'There's a ravine ahead. That's where they are. Look out! Here they come!'
The hill-side opposite seemed suddenly to vomit men. They came sweeping
out in masses, hundreds strong.
'Rapid fire!' sang out Ken to his squad.
There was no need for his advice. Every man of the Colonials let loose at
once, and few fired less than fifteen aimed rounds to the minute. The
execution was awful. The attacking force reeled and writhed like a monster
in agony.
But the officers behind, in their ugly greenish-gray German uniforms,
drove them forward, and though the leading files fell by scores the rest
swept onwards. To his dismay, Ken saw more pouring out behind in support.
The odds were at least ten to one. It was impossible to withstand such an
attack in the open.
Colonel Conway knew it too. Next moment the whistles shrilled again,
giving the order to retire.
Slowly the men began to fall back. Their steadiness was wonderful. Raw
troops can be trusted to charge, but, as a rule, it takes veterans to
retire successfully. These Australians, hardly one of whom had ever been
under fire before the previous night, retreated in such magnificent order
as made their officers' hearts thrill with admiration.
Every bit of cover was made full use of, the men dropping and firing, then
rising again, and gliding back to the next stone or bush. They lost, of
course--lost heavily--but for each Australian who fell, four Turks went
down.
Ken, dodging and shooting with the best, still managed to keep an eye on
his two friends, and saw with relief that neither was hit. Slowly they
worked back until they were within fifty yards of their trench.
Here was open ground with practically no cover at all.
'Come on!' shouted Ken. 'A last sprint.'
He saw Dave spring to his feet and make a dash. Then suddenly he stumbled,
flung out his arms and fell flat on his face. At the same moment two
Turks, big, black-bearded fellows, came leaping out of a patch of scrub,
barely twenty yards behind Dave.
Ken spun round, and taking quick aim at the nearest, pulled the trigger.
There was no report. He had finished the last cartridge in his magazine.
There was no time to reload. Dave, hurt but not killed, was trying to
crawl away on hands and knees, but it was clear that in another moment he
would be a prisoner.
Without an instant's hesitation, Ken charged straight at the two Turks.
They, intent on their prisoner, failed to see him until he was almost on
them. Then one, uttering a hoarse cry, sprang forward, stabbing at him
with his bayonet.
Ken's blade clashed against the other's as he parried, then side-stepping
like a flash, he drove his bayonet into the man's ribs, and with a choking
sob he fell dead.
Something whizzed past Ken's head, and a heavy blow on the left shoulder
brought him to his knees. The second Turk had struck at him with his rifle
butt, and missing his head, caught him on the shoulder. He saw a savage
grin on the man's face as he raised his rifle again to finish the job and
avenge his comrade. It looked all odds on Ken's brains being scattered the
next instant.
Before the rifle could descend a shadow flashed across, and something
crashed upon the Turk's head with such fearful force as cracked his skull
like an egg-shell. For a moment his body remained upright, then it swayed
and fell sideways like a log to the ground.
'Gosh, but I thought I was too late!' panted Roy Horan. 'And confound it
all, I've cracked the stock of my rifle.'
'You saved my head from being cracked anyhow,' answered Ken. 'But Dave's
hit. Give us a hand back with him.'
'I'll carry him,' said Roy quickly, and dropping his useless rifle, he
quickly hoisted Burney on his broad back, and set off at a run for the
trench. Ken, whose shoulder felt quite numb, followed, and a moment later
all three tumbled safely back into the trench.
Roy laid Dave down gently on the ground.
'Afraid he's got it bad,' he whispered, as he pointed to an ugly stain on
the back of Dave's tunic. 'We must get the doctor as soon as we can.'
'Let's see if we can't stop that bleeding. The doctor's full up with
work.' As Ken spoke, he bent down and began stripping off Dave's uniform,
so as to get at the wound.
Tunic and shirt were both sodden with blood. Ken's heart sank. It looked
as if his chum must have been shot clean through the body.
'He's bleeding like a pig,' muttered Roy, as he unwound a bandage.
By this time Ken had bared Dave's back, and with a handkerchief mopped
away the blood.
'Well, I'm blessed!' he exclaimed. 'Look at that!'
The two stared, for instead of the blue-edged puncture which a bullet
makes as it enters, there was nothing but a shallow cut about three inches
long.
'I see,' said Ken suddenly. 'The bullet struck the leather of his braces,
and glanced. I say, Dave, old chap, you may thank your stars for those
bullock-hide braces of yours. They've saved you this time, and no mistake.
It's only a flesh wound which a strip of plaster will put right in a day
or two.'
'Thanks be for that, anyhow,' said Dave earnestly. 'It would have broken
me all up to lose the rest of the fun. But,' he added thoughtfully, 'I'm
sorry my braces are gone up. I'll never get another pair like 'em.'
Roy burst out laughing.
'You ungrateful beggar. Here, I've got a bit of string, and we'll soon put
'em to rights. Now Carrington, let's have a squint at your shoulder.'
Ken's shoulder was badly bruised, but nothing worse, and he and Dave soon
forgot their injuries in the excitement of a big frontal attack by the
Turks. For ten minutes they loaded and fired until their rifle barrels
were almost red hot; then the survivors of the attacking party took to
their heels and ran.
After that there was peace for a little except for shell fire. This,
however, grew heavier. Fresh guns had been brought up, and at least three
were devoting their whole attention to the trench. They had got the range,
too, and the shrapnel was bursting right over the gallant Colonials.
Casualties became very heavy, and the doctor and stretcher-bearers were
kept busy the whole time.
To make matters worse, another machine gun had been mounted on rising
ground to the north and its fire was enfilading the trench. If it had not
been for the traverses on which the colonel had insisted, the position
would have become untenable.
Ken, flattened against the clay face of the trench, began to feel very
uneasy. They had no more reinforcements, and if the Turks got more guns,
it began to look as though the whole business would end in failure.
'About time we did another sally to look for that machine gun,' said big
Roy Horan in his ear.
'Not in the daylight,' answered Ken, shaking his head. 'We shouldn't have
a dog's chance of reaching it.'
'Well, something's got to happen pretty soon,' answered Roy, ducking, as a
shell burst almost overhead. 'Something's got to happen, or there won't be
enough of us left to hold this blessed dug-out.'
'Things don't look healthy, and that's a fact,' allowed Ken. 'Our only
chance is to get some guns to work. And that's just what we haven't got.'
'And can't get, either, until that path up the cliff is finished.'
At that moment a shell pitched full into the next traverse, blowing its
two occupants to fragments, and scattering their torn remains far and
wide.
'That's poor old Carroll,' growled Roy. 'The swine! How I'd like to get
back on 'em!'
Ken did not reply. The horror of it had made him feel quite sick.
At that moment the firing burst out more hotly than ever. It seemed as if
every gun and rifle in the enemy's hands spoke at once.
'What's up now?' muttered Roy.
Ken gave a sharp exclamation, and pointed upwards. Looking up, Roy saw a
big bi-plane soaring high overhead. It looked like a silver bird as it
skimmed across the rich blue of the afternoon sky.
'Hurrah, a plane at last!' said Ken joyfully. 'That means business. She's
spotting for the ships,' he explained. 'You'll see something pretty soon,
you chaps, or hear it anyhow.'
All around the plane, the air was full of the white puffs of bursting
shrapnel, but the dainty man-bird flirted through them unscathed. The
eager Australians, all staring skywards, saw her bank steeply, and at the
same time a long white streak shot downwards from her, like a ribbon
unrolling in mid air. Then she had turned and was going seawards again at
a terrific speed.
'Now look out!' cried Ken, and almost as the words left his lips the
battleships outside let loose.
A score of 6-inch guns spoke out at once with a ringing clamour which
absolutely drowned all other sounds, and their great 100-pound shells came
hurtling inland with a series of long-drawn shrieks.
'Look! Look!' cried Ken again, as great fountains of earth and gravel
spurted from the side of a hill a mile and a half away to the left. That's
plastering them. Now we're getting a little of our own back.'
There was no doubt about it. The German guns shut up like a knife, but
whether they were actually hit or merely silenced, it was, of course,
impossible to say.
For twenty solid minutes the grim battleships and cruisers poured forth
their storm of shells, until the whole hill-side where the German guns had
been posted gaped with brown craters. Then they ceased, and the saucy
aeroplane came buzzing inland again to observe and report upon the damage
done.
What its extent was the Colonials could not, of course, know, but at any
rate the enfilading guns remained silent and the worst danger was at an
end.
'That's saved our bacon,' said Ken, with a sigh of relief. 'We'll get a
little rest now, perhaps.'
'Maybe ye will, and maybe ye won't,' said Sergeant O'Brien, who came past
at that moment and overheard Ken's words. 'But if ye want forty winks,
bhoys, now's your time to snatch 'em. There'll be mighty little slape this
night for any of us.'
'Why so, sergeant?' asked Dave.
[Illustration: '"Hurrah, a plane at last!" said Ken.']
'Because so soon as ever it's dark we'll have the Turks buzzing round us
like bees. And the ships can't help us then, remember,' he added
significantly.