THE FLAG FALLS.
At last the long-deferred day had dawned--the cause rather of relief
than excitement to our party, after their planning and scheming for
eleven long months and active preparations for as many weeks. Our only
prayer now was that we should at least have a run for our money, and be
spared the ignominy of being led back into the camp at Yozgad without
the taste of even a few days freedom.
The 7th August being a Wednesday, at 11 A.M. the usual picnic
party set off for the pine woods. The majority never dreamt for a
moment of the intention of twenty-five officers--a quarter of all the
officers in the camp--to escape that night. Their departure was the
signal for feverish activity in completing preparations which, by
their nature, had to be left until the last day. Such, in the house
then occupied by the present writers, called Hospital House, was the
screwing together of the ladders required in case an alternative
scheme for getting out of the camp should prove necessary. Then there
were rucksacks and haversacks to be finally made up, and the whole
"Christmas Tree" to be tried on to ensure that there was no rattling.
For reasons which will appear, it was necessary too for the Old Man
and Looney to convey their kits across the alley into the fowl-house
and there leave them concealed, the one in a blanket and the other
in a box. Meanwhile, Grunt and Perce put the finishing touches to
the hole commenced, as previously described, in the fowl-house wall,
until daylight could be seen through every joint in the outer skin of
masonry, and until it was as certain as such things could be that the
remaining stones would come away easily. Watches had to be synchronised
to ensure that all six parties should start simultaneously; the
fresh meat for the first two days to be issued, and so on almost _ad
infinitum_. It was at this stage that we discovered the maggots in the
"pastomar" or "biltong," to which reference has already been made.
That evening, before the hour when intercommunication between houses
was supposed to cease, there were many visits from well-wishers living
in other houses who knew of our intentions, and last arrangements were
made with our British orderlies to play their part. Doubtless they did
it well. One can imagine the delight with which they would put some of
our dummies to bed after our departure, and as we left we heard their
efforts in the house to cover our exit with the noise of a sing-song.
If no alarm occurred before daylight, they were to remove the dummies
after these had served their purpose at the 4 A.M. "rounds."
One orderly had also volunteered to build up the hole in the wall as
soon as the house and kitchen doors were unlocked next morning.
At last all was ready, and we sat down to what, we hoped, would be
our last full meal for many a day. Twenty minutes to eight came and
went, the time when the _onbashi_, or Turkish corporal, usually took
roll-call; but it was not till eight o'clock that evening that the six
of the party in our house, who, with a Major A---- and the "King of
Oireland," another escaper, formed the mess on the top floor, heard his
footsteps on the stairs. We returned his good-night with rather more
than usual gusto, and waited till he had disappeared, as his custom
was, into the next room. Now was the moment. Old Man and Looney slipped
out of the room and downstairs into the kitchen, the door of which,
with the side-door of the house, was allowed to remain open every night
until our orderlies had "washed up." These two were to go across in
their shirt sleeves and carrying plates, so that, if he noticed them
at all, the sentry posted over the alley separating the main building
from the outhouse would naturally mistake them for orderlies. In the
excitement of the moment, however, Old Man had forgotten to bring down
his coat; and Looney, now safely ensconced in the fowl-house, wondered
why he had not followed him across. Next minute there was a tremendous
crash and a tinkle of broken crockery. The Old Man, discovering his
loss, had turned back and slipped on the stairs. Nothing could have
exceeded in realism this unintentional imitation of an orderly. As
he picked himself up, he saw the feet of the _onbashi_ descending
the stairs above him, with the result that he lost no further time
in crossing to the kitchen. Orderly M---- was sent back to fetch the
missing article, which arrived in due course.
Now followed an anxious few minutes. Sometimes it happened that the
_onbashi_ would miscount an officer or man, or count one twice over,
and the check would then be repeated throughout the house. We realised
that if this occurred on the present night it would be necessary for
Old Man and Looney to reappear from the kitchen, and for scheme No. 2
to come into operation. Incidentally their kits, then in the outhouse,
would have to be brought back in the blanket and box by our orderlies.
Scheme No. 2 was to leave the house, carrying ladders, through a window
on the eastern side; after which would follow a ticklish crawl between
two sentries forty yards apart to the garden wall nine feet in height.
The bars of the window in question had been loosened and cracked by
Looney, with Old Man watching the sentries' movements, during some
amateur theatricals held in the house on the previous night. To our
relief, however, this plan had not to be put into execution.
As was his custom, when the orderlies had finished their work, the
_onbashi_ locked the house and kitchen doors. No sooner had his
footsteps died away than the advance-guard of our party set to work to
complete the opening of the wall. It was now about 8.15 P.M.
The work went on quickly but quietly. A few minutes only and the clear
starlit sky was visible through the rapidly enlarging aperture.
Then came another anxious moment. As the two were relieving one another
at the work, there suddenly appeared at the half-completed task the
head of a mongrel dog. One growl or bark would suffice to draw the
attention of the watchmen over the vegetable gardens outside, who did
not hesitate to fire off their ancient rifles on the slightest alarm;
but the dog after one look in at the hole strolled on, and the good
work was resumed.
There was one large stone which seemed likely to give trouble; indeed
it had almost been decided to let it remain, when it suddenly came away
and crashed noisily to the ground. But the sound, if heard at all, fell
on deaf ears--although it must have been at about this very time that
some of the party, still in the house and overlooking the wall, saw a
man standing within a score of yards from the hole.
Their work completed, Old Man and Looney proceeded to screen it from
any one passing casually along, by affixing a square of canvas over
the outside with "blobs" of beeswax. It now only remained to arrange
for the easy withdrawal of the staple of the kitchen door, so that the
latter could be opened from the outside, although padlocked; then,
having donned haversack, water-bottle, and pack, to await the arrival
of the remaining six from this house, four of our own and two of
another party.
When Old Man and Looney had stepped off to the kitchen the other six
of the second-floor mess had remained at table, talking and smoking as
usual. The Turkish corporal taking roll-call reappeared from the room
beyond the dining-room, and was told not to forget the "yourt" for the
next day. "Yourt," a kind of junket, is a staple diet of the Turk, and
most of the prisoners became very partial to it. As it was hard to
come by except through the medium of a sentry, it was their custom to
remind him each evening, so that he might have some faint chance of
remembering about it next morning.
A few minutes later they heard the kitchen door being locked, and
heaved a sigh of relief. The advance-party had had enough time to get
across to the kitchen, and roll had been correctly called the first
time. Major A---- in our mess, who was not escaping, had offered to
watch the Upper House for the alarm-signal, and he was left sitting in
the mess-room while the others set to work on various jobs. Grunt and
Perce removed all obstructions to exit from the carpenter's shop door,
while Nobby and Johnny took the four ladders from their hiding-place
in a wood-store and tied bits of felt round the ends to deaden the
sound when they should be placed against the wall. After this the
ladders were taken into the cellar, whence scheme No. 2 might have
to be worked. They then went upstairs to the bedroom, where their
escape paraphernalia was stored. Here they hung towels and blankets
over the windows, and started to dress by the light of a candle.
It was a queer sight indeed. They were, at this point, joined by
Sheridan, who belonged to a downstair mess, and one Pat. The latter was
dresser-in-chief, and helped them on with their equipment. He was very
miserable that he was not going himself, but he had a crocked knee and
it would have been madness for him to think of marching over broken
country by night.
He now employed spare moments repeating certain sentences that he
had learnt in order to call away the sentry over the alley: on this
depended the best scheme of getting out of the house. The bedroom was
the one in which Old Man, Grunt, and Johnny slept, and those in the
room now set to work to make up the dummies in the three beds. The
heads had already been fashioned, and, with a few clothes stuffed under
the blankets and the heads placed in position, the beds were soon
occupied by three graceful figures in attitudes of deep repose. The
small piece of towel forehead that could be seen over the edge of the
blanket looked perhaps a trifle pale, but, apart from that, the beds
seemed quite natural. They could not resist the temptation of calling
the Major away from the mess window for a moment, just to have a look
at the sleeping beauties, and he returned chuckling to his post.
Water-bottles were then partially filled with a thick paste of cocoa.
Although water was not to be carried at the start, on account of the
impossibility of preventing a gurgle in the water-bottle, the cocoa
paste was permissible, for, being only just liquid enough to pour,
it made no noise. It had been decided that morning that it would be
best to leave the bedroom before 9 P.M., at which time the
sentries changed. A few minutes before this hour, therefore, the six
officers gave their feet a gouty appearance by tying felt padding on
to their boots, and then started down to the ground-floor. On the
way, Johnny turned into the orderlies' room to say good-bye, thanking
them hurriedly for their help, without which the preparations for the
escape would have been almost impossible. A few days later he found
in the pocket of his jersey, which had been mended by an orderly
belonging to the Norfolk regiment, a small piece of paper on which was
written, "Good-bye, and good luck, sir.--B.," and he still has it in
his possession. Going downstairs they met an officer prisoner, who, not
having been admitted to the secret, nearly had a fit at the sight of
six such extraordinary objects.
Grunt looked in at another orderlies' room above the exit, and asked
them to blow out their lamp and make a noise. The six then crept
quietly into the prearranged room, and waited breathlessly by the door.
Sentries were changed, and once again all became still. One lived every
second of that waiting.
Their plan now depended on the aid of Pat. Although debarred from
escaping himself, he was willing to help others to liberty at
considerable risk to himself. Punctually at 9.15, the hour at which
the parties in the different houses were allowed to start, Pat's clear
tones could be heard calling to the sentry on the alley-way--
"Nebuchi, nebuchi, jigara dushdu." ("Sentry, sentry, I've dropped my
cigarettes.")
And indeed he had: a hundred scattered about a cabbage-bed should keep
the sentry busy for some time. But the wretched man nearly upset all
calculations. Wearied with a quarter of an hour's duty, he was already
almost asleep.
It was a moment of terrible suspense for the six officers waiting,
ready loaded up with their kits, in the ground-floor room opposite to
the kitchen. The door of this led on to the alley-way; normally it was
disused and kept locked, but the lock had now been picked and the door
could be opened in a moment.
Would the sentry hear Pat calling? And would he desert his post even if
he did hear?
They had heard Pat's first sentence. No reply.
It was repeated, then again and again.
After they had heard him shouting for many hours (perhaps thirty
seconds, as time is reckoned by a watch), the sentry answered.
His form was just visible as he passed by a small iron-barred window,
and now was the opportunity. They could cross unobserved to the
kitchen. An open door, three steps across the alley-way, a fumble
with the kitchen door staple; another open door, a turn to the left,
bend down or you'll knock your head off getting into the fowl-house,
starlight showing in a black wall, through head first and almost on
your face into long grass, and there you are--a free man.
Meanwhile Pat was no doubt explaining to the delighted old sentry from
the upper window how he could have a few cigarettes himself and return
the remainder next morning. We sometimes wonder whether the sentry was
foolish enough to mention to his relief about the cigarettes he had
been given. At the time of writing we are still ignorant how long it
was before our departure was discovered.[9]
Looney and Old Man, being already on the spot, had been granted the
privilege of leading through the hole, the remainder following in an
order arranged by lot, since ours was not the only party represented.
It so happened that the two of the other party were sandwiched between
the other four of ours. This caused a temporary separation; for at the
best it took an appreciable time to crawl through the wall and pick
oneself up on the other side, but these two were especially slow. Grunt
too had lost time when it came to his turn. Impatiently waiting to see
the starry sky once more when the then broad form of Johnny should have
ceased to obscure the hole, he eventually discovered that the cause of
the darkness was not that Johnny had jammed, but that the canvas flap
had fallen, and was covering the hole all too effectively.
Our main object at this stage was to avoid disturbing the garden
chowkidars, and therefore each as he emerged lost no time in creeping
along the high garden wall, and dropping down into the friendly shelter
of the river bed. For all its "hundred springs"--the meaning of the
name "Yozgad"--the river for the greater part of the year consisted
merely of a shallow and dirty stream, not more than ten feet broad,
although its banks were as many yards apart, and from five to eight
feet in height. It was along this that we all turned down-stream,
Johnny now taking the lead. A few days previously he had suddenly
developed a passionate interest in natural history. A polite letter, in
which the word "ornithological" played a great part, was written to the
commandant, and Johnny was permitted to join two real naturalists in an
expedition starting at 4 A.M. on our last Sunday morning at
Yozgad.
These two had been at Changri with us, and knew we had intentions of
escaping, so Johnny told them in which direction his party wished to
start off, and this direction was now taken. Johnny counted his steps,
noted landmarks which would be visible by starlight, and was able
to draw a rough map of the country. All three dug at intervals for
imaginary field-mice, until the sentry with them thought they were
more insane than even the average Englishman, and said so. In the end,
however, the strain of this great thought overpowered him and he fell
asleep, giving Johnny the opportunity he required. He climbed a hill,
took bearings, and was able to see our future route to within half
a mile of a rugged piece of country known to the local hunt club as
"Hades." On the return journey the three came back along the edge of
the stream which ran past the bottom of our garden wall, and in which
we have just left the six of our party.
[Illustration:
_From a sketch by Capt. E. B. Burns, E. Kent Regt._
YOZGAD CAMP FROM N.W.
A = Hospital House. C----D = Course followed to river bed.
B = Upper House. E = Market gardens.
C = Position of hole made in fowl-house wall.]
In accordance with the plan then settled we follow the river-bed
until almost clear of the most westerly houses of the town, then turn
right-handed up a stony track, passing between two high walls till
the track ends. A few more paces to the west and we shall be safe in
the open country. These few paces, however, will be along a main road
directly in front of two or three houses on the outskirts of the town,
but the alternative of following the river-bed farther and then turning
up would necessitate passing through vegetable gardens, which, as
already mentioned, are jealously guarded.
In the event, the original plan was justified by success, although the
six of us, at this time unintentionally split up into parties of four
and two, passed fully in view of a man sitting on one of the verandahs
overlooking the road. It was probably thanks to our fezes that we
escaped detection, for other disguise we had none. It was lucky that
we had taken the precaution to cover our boots with felt pads, for the
ring of an Englishman's boots on a metalled road would, we know, have
aroused the envy and suspicion of any Turk who heard it, accustomed as
he is to the soft footfall of the country sandal or "chariq."
Once comfortably clear of the town, the leading four could afford to
wait for the other two to come up, and with their arrival we began to
enjoy our first taste of freedom from Turkish toils. The only question
to disturb us now was whether Cochrane and Ellis had got out safely
from their house. So far, at any rate, there had been no sounds of an
alarm. We therefore lost no time in setting off to the rendezvous,
where we hoped to join up as a complete party of eight. This was to be
at the bottom of the "Hades" ravine, at the point where it was crossed
by the telegraph line to Angora. The distance from our houses, as the
crow flies, was perhaps two miles. For this, taking into consideration
the darkness of the night and the difficulty of the country, we had
allowed two and a quarter hours. At 11.30 P.M., any one who
had failed to appear was to be considered recaptured or lost, and those
who had arrived were to go on. An absurdly liberal allowance of time
you may say; but even the six whose movements we have followed, and
who had the advantage of Johnny's guidance over a route reconnoitred
by day, took till 11 P.M. to cover these two miles. We were
experiencing, some of us for the first time, the difficulties of a
night march. In addition, it was our first trial of carrying our loads,
weighing nearly fifty pounds, anywhere outside a cupboard. No wonder
then that our progress was slow, and at one time we began to think that
we must have already crossed the line of telegraph which was to lead us
down into "Hades" itself. But there it was at last, and we were soon
slipping down--only too literally--into the ravine.
Our first act, after quenching our thirst, was to fill up our
water-bottles. As 11.30 approached, with still no sign of Cochrane and
Ellis, we began to wonder whether, perhaps, they might not have gone
on to another ravine in "Hades," and be awaiting the rest of us there;
so some commenced scouting around, while others remained to show their
position by periodical flashes with a cigarette lighter. This was so
desolate a bit of country that the flashes entailed no appreciable risk.
At 11.30 we decided to give them another quarter of an hour; to delay
after that would be to jeopardise the remainder of the party, for it
was already only four hours to dawn. Great, therefore, was our relief
when, at the last moment of this time of grace, we saw two forms appear
on the skyline, and presently heard the rattle of loose shale as they
picked their way towards our flashes. So far so good; and we were
soon exchanging mutual congratulations on joining up, and saying that
even this one night's breath of freedom, after two and a half years'
captivity, would be worth all the trouble of our preparations.
But we must go back for a moment and narrate the experiences of the
late-comers in leaving their house.
This was called the Upper House, and to the east overlooked the main
street below, but was separated from it by three shallow terraces,
which boasted some treasured vegetables and a few fruit trees. To the
north the ground fell steeply by three higher terraces to a small
patch of ground enclosed by walls. It was here that we used to play
the four-a-side hockey. The upper terrace on this northern face was
visible to a sentry at the main gate of the Hospital House, which was
on the other side of a road running along the hockey ground wall. The
two remaining sides of the house abutted on tumble-down cottages, from
which they were separated by a narrow alley. At the north-western and
south-western corners sentries were posted.
The number of officers escaping from this house was five. The bars
of a window on the side facing the main street had been cut with the
aid of a steel saw, and at 9.15 P.M. the five climbed down a
rope-ladder to the ground. Skirting the edge of the house at intervals
of two minutes they crept quietly through the garden and reached the
second of the three terraces on the north side, keeping well under the
high bank. Here they passed within three yards of the sentry's box, on
the top of the bank above them. Absolute silence was necessary, and
this was the reason that the two had been so late in arriving at the
rendezvous, for each step had to be taken with extreme care.
[Illustration:
_From a sketch by Capt. K. F. Freeland, R.A._
UPPER HOUSE, YOZGAD, FROM N.N.E.
(WINTER TIME.)
A = Sentry's box.
B----C = Track followed by Cochrane and Ellis.
D = Hockey ground.]
The terrace a few yards beyond the sentry's box sloped down into the
large market-garden to the west of the Hospital House. On the south
side of this was a wall, along which they picked their way. Here, too,
great caution was required. Look-out huts had to be passed within a few
yards, but finally they were across the garden. A high wall had now
to be climbed, but fortunately it was in bad repair and afforded good
footholds.
Here Cochrane and Ellis heard voices. An old woman had seen Stockley
and Rich and was wanting to know what they were doing. Our two did not
wait to hear much more. Turning right, they were on the same stony
track up which the first party had turned from the river-bed, and now
they followed Johnny's route till they finally struck the telegraph
post and arrived at "Hades."
Ellis had arrived puffing and blowing, but there was no time to be lost
if we were to be at anything like a safe distance from Yozgad before
dawn broke.
Five minutes before midnight, then, we started off a complete party,
and were soon scrambling up the northern side of "Hades" on to the
plateau above. Having left the line of telegraph poles for the sake of
an easier ascent, we were unable at once to find it again. Although it
had been our original intention to follow the telegraph wires as likely
to lead over a passable line of country, it was decided to waste no
further time in a search for them. Instead we would set off by compass
and stars in a due westerly direction, and hope to pick them up again
later on. The ground proved favourable: our course took us over fairly
level country, a considerable portion of which was under cultivation,
and for some time we were walking over stubble. Although there was no
moon, our eyes rapidly accustomed themselves to the bright starlight,
and hopeful progress was made, but not without occasional alarms.
The first occurred within an hour of leaving "Hades." Looney was
temporarily relieving Cochrane of his task of guiding the party, when
the leading six suddenly found that the other two had disappeared, and
inwardly cursed them for straggling. In reality, what had happened
was this: the party, moving in no regular formation, had got a little
separated, when suddenly the two in the rear had seen the glowing
tip of a cigarette moving obliquely towards them, and immediately
afterwards descried the shadowy forms of three mounted men. Quick as
thought they lay down and waited till the horsemen had passed; the rest
moved on in blissful ignorance of their danger, until, on turning for
the others, they too saw the cigarette and realised what had happened.
Those three men were almost certainly gendarmes. Apart from this, we
occasionally found ourselves coming upon little groups of huts and
villages, and these entailed wasteful detours. We had, in addition, an
uncomfortable feeling that we were leaving behind us a rather obvious
track through the crops where yet uncut.
About 2 A.M. we once more picked up the line of telegraph
poles. We were all the more glad to follow them as we saw difficult
country ahead, and they were likely to lie along a practicable route.
Practicable it was, but then it is practicable to reach the bottom of
most slopes if you are prepared to sit down and slide; for that is what
we had to do for the latter part of the descent into the steep-sided
ravine, across which our telegraph line now led us. At least, however,
we had the satisfaction of a much-needed drink from the crystal-clear
water of a mountain stream.
Here indeed would have been an ideal hiding-place for the coming day;
we could have bathed and drunk to our hearts' content, shielded both
from sun and view by enormous rocks which towered above us, almost on
the water's edge. But we were only seven or eight miles from Yozgad,
and an hour lost now meant one to be made up later on. After a drink,
then, we clambered up the farther slope, to find as we struggled on
that we were once more coming into open country, with less and less
prospect of a suitable hiding-place. To turn back was out of the
question. The first light of dawn caught us still moving forward, and
within sight of a village. The sun had not risen before men and women
were on every side of us, going out to work in their fields. We came
to a stream running through a grove of trees, but it was too near the
village to remain there. Our freedom was to be short-lived, we thought,
as we took a hurried drink and proceeded across more open country.
Eventually, at 4.50, we dropped down into a tiny nullah on the open
hillside. The only merit of this spot was that it was not directly
visible from the village.
It was obvious that we could not hope still further to escape
observation from the fields if we continued to lie there all day, so
Looney went off to scout around for something better. A more hopeful
nullah, with banks in places five feet high, was reported half a
mile beyond the next low crest. To that therefore we moved in broad
daylight, glad to find that we should at least have some water, for a
muddy trickle flowed down the nullah bed. Without this the heat would
have been intolerable, for, until late in the day, the banks proved too
shelving to provide shade from the sun. Even with water, Turkish-bath
conditions are conducive neither to sleep nor appetite. Not one of us
slept a wink that day. As to the day's ration, it was with difficulty
that we forced ourselves to eat a quarter of a pound of salted meat and
nine ounces of home-made biscuit--not an excessive amount, even when
you add to it one and a half ounces a head of chocolate, which Grunt
produced from the store of extras he was voluntarily carrying.
We reckoned that we were perhaps ten miles' distance from Yozgad. After
the events of the morning we entertained little hope of our whereabouts
not having been reported, but we were to learn that we flattered
ourselves as to the interest we aroused among the country people. The
fact at least remained, that we were left undisturbed in our somewhat
obvious hiding-place: the only signs of life that we saw during the day
were a shepherd with his flock of sheep grazing a quarter of a mile
away, and a Turkish soldier who, in the early evening, came down to our
nullah a little below us, and was probably himself a deserter and so a
fugitive like ourselves. Towards dusk we stood up and watched a stream
of men and carts returning to their villages after the day's work in
the fields.
By 7.30 all was clear, and we lost no time in making our way to the
line of telegraph poles which we could see disappearing over the crest
of the next rise. Alongside we found a splendid track, which we were
able to follow over undulating country for several miles. Nobby was
in trouble with his "chariqs"; in spite of experiments carried out
for weeks beforehand he had not succeeded in getting a pair which did
not now gall him in one place or another. This was serious, as he was
relying on these country sandals to carry him down to the coast; strong
English boots were hard to come by. On this night, after several delays
as one after another of his spares was tried and rejected, he was
eventually able to wear a pair lent him by Cochrane.
Twilight had now faded, and we were dependent once more on the light
of the stars. The track, easily distinguishable while it kept to the
telegraph poles, had begun to wind about as the country became more
undulating. In a little while it could no longer be followed with any
certainty. We therefore ceased to worry about the track and trusted to
the telegraph to lead us towards Angora, until this too failed us, for
it went too much to the north of west. We thereupon proceeded on our
proper course by compass.
We had started in the evening feeling unexpectedly fresh, and it says
much for our training that the first night's march had left none of us
in the least bit stiff. Nevertheless the day in the hot sun and the
lack of all sleep had tried us more severely than we thought, and we
were now beginning to feel the effects. The idea had been to have the
regulation five minutes' halt at the end of every hour's marching, but
we soon found that we were taking ten minutes' rest every half-hour.
We were, moreover, consumed with an appalling thirst; even at night the
heat off the ground in this arid track of land was stifling, while the
parched and cracked surface held out little hope of there being water
in the vicinity. At 11.30 we decided we must have a long halt, in the
hopes of a little sleep; two volunteers shared the watch. Shortly after
midnight we marched on again considerably refreshed, the main anxiety
now being for water. Two hours later we saw looming ahead a low ridge
of hills, and decided to go and wait there until dawn should reveal
the most likely direction for a drink. A little searching round then
showed us a fair-sized stream in the next valley to the south-west:
in Asia Minor, however, where there is a perennial stream, there is
fairly certain to be a village or two, and so it proved in this case;
but water we must have; besides, on the hillside, where we had rested
till daylight, there now appeared a shepherd with his flock. Hastily
gathering up our kit, we dodged up dry and rocky nullahs and over the
next ridge. Once more it was broad daylight before we settled down for
the day in our hiding-place, in rocky ground intersected with crevices
just wide enough for a man to lie in. On the way we had to descend a
steep slope covered with loose shale, and this proved a sore test for
important portions of our clothing, for it was impossible to keep to
one's feet.
When four of the party went to the stream below us to fill up the
water-bottles, they found they were within a few hundred yards of
another village, so that one visit to water had to suffice for the rest
of the day. They had been seen by at least one boy who was looking
after a flock of sheep near the stream.
We were lucky, however, to discover, close above our hiding-place, a
tiny spring. From this, thanks to a couple of water-holes dug with the
adze by Perce, it was possible to collect about a mugful of water in
an hour. Cochrane now told off the party into watches by pairs; but,
on watch or off, there was little or no sleep to be had. During the
morning we made a fire and "brewed" some arrowroot and cocoa, and had
three ounces of chocolate apiece. All of these Grunt and Ellis had
carried in addition to their ordinary share of rations, and, try as we
would, we found that, owing to the heat, we could not eat more than one
and a half out of the ration of three biscuits allowed for that day.
Of course this saved food, but it also meant the gradual exhaustion of
one's strength, and no reduction in the weight to be carried next day.
Our progress on the first two nights had not been up to expectation: we
reckoned that we were still within eighteen miles of Yozgad, whereas
we had hoped to cover something over twelve miles a day. If we were
unable to maintain our average when we were fresh and not yet pinched
for food, we could hardly hope to do better after days of marching and
semi-starvation. Our advance on the third night was to provide little
encouragement, for we barely made good another eight miles.
Having waited until 8 P.M. before we dared to descend to the
stream, we halted there in the dark for a deep drink and the refilling
of our water-vessels. Half an hour later we left the valley and found
ourselves in a network of hills. From these we only emerged into open
country shortly before eleven o'clock, passing but one small channel
of very bad water on the down-stream side of a village. Our course
now lay across an arid plain, featureless except for a few village
tracks and low cone-shaped hills; and we began to wonder whether dawn
would not find us without water or cover, when at 2 A.M. we
dropped into a patch of broken country, and decided we would rest there
till daylight. As a look round then disclosed no better hiding-place,
we settled down where we were for the day. The remains of an old
spring were found, but it was dry. Thanks to the chargals, most of
our water-bottles were still three-quarters full; but this was little
enough with which to start a day in the almost tropical sun. Most of
us rigged ourselves partial shelters with our towels and spare shirts,
supported on khud-sticks. These, however, provided little protection
against the fierce rays. But all things come to an end--even this
seemingly interminable day; yet it was to be nothing compared to the
night which followed.
FOOTNOTE:
[9] Since writing the above, we have learnt that the officers escaping
from one of the other houses were unable to leave it until after 11
P.M., and even then were at once seen, but took to their heels
and got clear. For some unaccountable reason the Turks only proceeded
to check the officers of that particular house. At dawn, the _chaouse_
taking rounds in the Hospital House was completely deceived by the
dummies; not so, however, an interpreter, who had seen the same game
played when Keeling's party escaped. We thus enjoyed about 6½ hours'
start.
The Turks were completely at a loss to know how the eight from Hospital
House had got out of the garden. The only possible means seemed to them
to be that we had got _over_ the wall by means of nets flung out from
a top window of the main building right over the outhouse. The hole in
the wall they took to be merely a blind! The nets were simply goal nets
made while at Changri, and of course used for none but their original
purpose.