’Ihavenochance，’saidtheGreek’Sheistherewiththatwoman。’
’IseeIt’sabadthingtobedividedbetweenloveofwomanandthechanceoflootIsympathisewithyou，George。’
Theywenttothetelegraph-officeunquestioned，foralltheworldwasdesperatelybusyandhadscarcelytimetoturnitshead，andSuakinwasthelastplaceunderskythatwouldbechosenforholiday-ground。
OntheirreturnthevoiceofanEnglishsubalternaskedDickwhathewasdoingThebluegoggleswereoverhiseyesandhewalkedwithhishandonGeorge’selbowashereplied——
’EgyptianGovernment——mulesMyordersaretogivethemovertotheA。
CGatTanai-el-HassanAnyoccasiontoshowmypapers？’
’Oh，certainlynotIbegyourpardonI’dnorighttoask，butnotseeingyourfacebeforeI——’
’Igooutinthetrainto-night，Isuppose，’saidDick，boldly’Therewillbenodifficultyinloadingupthemules，willthere？’
’Youcanseethehorse-platformsfromhereYoumusthavethemloadedupearly。’Theyoungmanwentawaywonderingwhatsortofbroken-downwaifthismightbewhotalkedlikeagentlemanandconsortedwithGreekmuleteersDickfeltunhappyTooutfaceanEnglishofficerisnosmallthing，buttheblufflosesrelishwhenoneplaysitfromtheutterdark，andstumblesupanddownroughways，thinkingandeternallythinkingofwhatmighthavebeenifthingshadfallenoutotherwise，andallhadbeenasitwasnot。
GeorgesharedhismealwithDickandwentofftothemule-lines。
HischargesataloneinashedwithhisfaceinhishandsBeforehistight-shuteyesdancedthefaceofMaisie，laughing，withpartedlipsTherewasagreatbustleandclamourabouthimHegrewafraidandalmostcalledforGeorge。
’Isay，haveyougotyourmulesready？’Itwasthevoiceofthesubalternoverhisshoulder。
’Myman’slookingafterthemThe——thefactisI’veatouchofophthalmiaandcan’tseeverywell。
’ByJove！that’sbadYououghttolieupinhospitalforawhileI’vehadaturnofitmyselfIt’sasbadasbeingblind。’
’SoIfinditWhendoesthisarmouredtraingo？’
’Atsixo’clockIttakesanhourtocoverthesevenmiles。’
’AretheFuzziesontherampage——eh？’
’AboutthreenightsaweekFactisI’minactingcommandofthenight-trainItgenerallyrunsbackemptytoTanaiforthenight。’
’BigcampatTanai，Isuppose？’
’PrettybigIthastofeedourdesert-columnsomehow。’
’Isthatfaroff？’
’Betweenthirtyandfortymiles——inaninfernalthirstycountry。’
’IsthecountryquietbetweenTanaiandourmen？’
’MoreorlessIshouldn’tcaretocrossitalone，orwithasubaltern’scommandforthematterofthat，butthescoutsgetthroughitinsomeextraordinaryfashion。’
’Theyalwaysdid。’
’Haveyoubeenherebefore，then？’
’Iwasthroughmostofthetroublewhenitfirstbrokeout。’
’Intheserviceandcashiered，’wasthesubaltern’sfirstthought，soherefrainedfromputtinganyquestions。
’There’syoumancomingupwiththemulesItseemsratherqueer——’
’ThatIshouldbemule-leading？’saidDick。
’Ididn’tmeantosayso，butitisForgiveme——it’sbeastlyimpertinenceI
know，butyouspeaklikeamanwhohasbeenatapublicschool。
There’snomistakingthetone。’
’Iamapublicschoolman。’
’IthoughtsoIsay，Idon’twanttohurtyourfeelings，butyou’realittledownonyourluck，aren’tyou？Isawyousittingwithyourheadinyourhands，andthat’swhyIspoke。’
’ThanksIamaboutasthoroughlyandcompletelybrokeasamanneedbe。’
’Suppose——ImeanI’mapublicschoolmanmyselfCouldn’tI
perhaps——takeitasaloany’knowand——’
’You’remuchtoogood，butonmyhonourI’veasmuchmoneyasI
want。
Itellyouwhatyoucoulddoforme，though，andputmeunderaneverlastingobligationLetmecomeintothebogietruckofthetrain。
Thereisafore-truck，isn’tthere？’
’YesHowd’youknow？’
’I’vebeeninanarmouredtrainbeforeOnlyletmesee——hearsomeofthefunImean，andI’llbegratefulIgoatmyownriskasanon-combatant。’
Theyoungmanthoughtforaminute’Allright，’hesaid’We’resupposedtobeanemptytrain，andthere’snoonetoblowmeupattheotherend。’
Georgeandahordeofyellingamateurassistantshadloadedupthemules，andthenarrow-gaugearmouredtrain，platedwiththree-eighthsinchboiler-platetillitlookedlikeonelongcoffin，stoodreadytostart。
Twobogietrucksrunningbeforethelocomotivewerecompletelycoveredinwithplating，exceptthattheleadingonewaspiercedinfrontforthemuzzleofamachine-gun，andthesecondateithersideforlateralfire。
Thetruckstogethermadeonelongiron-vaultedchamberinwhichascoreofartillerymenwererioting。
’Whitechapel——lasttrain！Ah，Iseeyerkissin’inthefirstclassthere！’
somebodyshouted，justasDickwasclamouringintotheforwardtruck。
’Lordy！’Ere’sareallivepassengerfortheKew，Tanai，Acton，andEalin’trainEcho，sirSpeshuledition！Star，sir。’——’ShallIgetyouafoot-warmer？’saidanother。
’ThanksI’llpaymyfooting，’saidDick，andrelationsofthemostamiablewereestablishederesilencecamewiththearrivalofthesubaltern，andthetrainjoltedoutovertheroughtrack。
’ThisisanimmenseimprovementonshootingtheunimpressionableFuzzyintheopen，’saidDick，fromhisplaceinthecorner。
’Oh，buthe’sstillunimpressedTherehegoes！’saidthesubaltern，asabulletstrucktheoutsideofthetruck’Wealwayshaveatleastonedemonstrationagainstthenight-trainGenerallytheyattacktherear-truck，wheremyjuniorcommandsHegetsallthefunofthefair。’
’Notto-nightthough！Listen！’saidDickAflightofheavy-handedbulletswassucceededbyyellingandshoutsThechildrenofthedesertvaluedtheirnightlyamusement，andthetrainwasanexcellentmark。
’Isitworthgivingthemhalfahopperfull？’thesubalternaskedoftheengine，whichwasdrivenbyaLieutenantofSappers。
’Ishouldthinkso！ThisismysectionofthelineThey’llbeplayingoldHarrywithmypermanentwayifwedon’tstop’em。’
’RightO！’
’Hrrmph！’saidthemachinegunthroughallitsfivenosesasthesubalterndrewtheleverhomeTheemptycartridgesclashedonthefloorandthesmokeblewbackthroughthetruckTherewasindiscriminatefiringattherearofthetrain，andreturnfirefromthedarknesswithoutandunlimitedhowlingDickstretchedhimselfonthefloor，wildwithdelightatthesoundsandthesmells。
’Godisverygood——IneverthoughtI’dhearthisagainGive’emhell，menOh，give’emhell！’hecried。
Thetrainstoppedforsomeobstructiononthelineaheadandapartywentouttoreconnoitre，butcameback，cursing，forspadesThechildrenofthedeserthadpiledsandandgravelontherails，andtwentyminuteswerelostinclearingitawayThentheslowprogressrecommenced，tobevariedwithmoreshots，moreshoutings，thesteadyclackandkickofthemachineguns，andafinaldifficultywithahalf-liftedrailerethetraincameundertheprotectionoftheroaringcampatTanai-el-Hassan。
’Now，youseewhyittakesanhourandahalftofetchherthrough，’
saidthesubaltern，unshippingthecartridge-hopperabovehispetgun。
’Itwasalark，thoughIonlywishithadlastedtwiceaslongHowsuperbitmusthavelookedfromoutside！’saidDick，sighingregretfully。
’ItpallsafterthefirstfewnightsBytheway，whenyou’vesettledaboutyourmules，comeandseewhatwecanfindtoeatinmytentI’mBenniloftheGunners——intheartillerylines——andmindyoudon’tfallovermytent-ropesinthedark。’
ButitwasalldarktoDickHecouldonlysmellthecamels，thehay-bales，thecooking，thesmokyfires，andthetannedcanvasofthetentsashestood，wherehehaddroppedfromthetrain，shoutingforGeorge。
Therewasasoundoflight-heartedkickingontheironskinofthereartrucks，withsquealingandgruntingGeorgewasunloadingthemules。
TheenginewasblowingoffsteamnearlyinDick’sear；acoldwindofthedesertdancedbetweenhislegs；hewashungry，andfelttiredanddirty——sodirtythathetriedtobrushhiscoatwithhishandsThatwasahopelessjob；hethrusthishandsintohispocketsandbegantocountoverthemanytimesthathehadwaitedinstrangeorremoteplacesfortrainsorcamels，mulesorhorses，tocarryhimtohisbusinessInthosedayshecouldsee——fewmenmoreclearly——andthespectacleofanarmedcampatdinnerunderthestarewasaneverfreshpleasuretotheeyeTherewascolour，light，andmotion，withoutwhichnomanhasmuchpleasureinlivingThisnightthereremainedforhimonlyonemorejourneythroughthedarknessthatneverliftstotellamanhowfarhehastravelled。
ThenhewouldgripTorpenhow’shandagain——Torpenhow，whowasaliveandstrong，andlivedinthemidstoftheactionthathadoncemadethereputationofamancalledDickHeldar：notintheleasttobeconfusedwiththeblind，bewilderedvagabondwhoseemedtoanswertothesamenameYes，hewouldfindTorpenhow，andcomeasneartotheoldlifeasmightbeAfterwardshewouldforgeteverything：Bessie，whohadwreckedtheMelancoliaandsonearlywreckedhislife；Beeton，wholivedinastrangeunrealcityfulloftin-tacksandgas-plugsandmattersthatnomenneeded；thatirrationalbeingwhohadofferedhimloveandloyaltyfornothing，buthadnotsignedhername；andmostofallMaisie，who，fromherownpointofview，wasundeniablyrightinallshedid，butoh，atthisdistance，sotantalisinglyfair。
George’shandonhisarmpulledhimbacktothesituation。
’Andwhatnow？’saidGeorge。
’OhyesofcourseWhatnow？Takemetothecamel-menTakemetowherethescoutssitwhentheycomeinfromthedesertTheysitbytheircamels，andthecamelseatgrainoutofablackblanketheldupatthecorners，andthemeneatbytheirsidejustlikecamelsTakemethere！’
Thecampwasroughandrutty，andDickstumbledmanytimesoverthestumpsofscrubThescoutsweresittingbytheirbeasts，asDickknewtheywouldThelightofthedung-firesflickeredontheirbeardedfaces，andthecamelsbubbledandmumbledbesidethematrestItwasnopartofDick’spolicytogointothedesertwithaconvoyofsupplies。
Thatwouldleadtoimpertinentquestions，andsinceablindnon-combatantisnotneededatthefront，hewouldprobablybeforcedtoreturntoSuakin。
Hemustgoupalone，andgoimmediately。
’Nowforonelastbluff——thebiggestofall，’hesaid’Peacebewithyou，brethren！’ThewatchfulGeorgesteeredhimtothecircleofthenearestfireTheheadsofthecamel-sheiksbowedgravely，andthecamels，scentingaEuropean，lookedsidewayscuriouslylikebroodinghens，halfreadytogettotheirfeet。
’Abeastandadrivertogotothefightinglineto-night，’saidDick。
’AMulaid？’saidavoice，scornfullynamingthebestbaggage-breedthatheknew。
’ABisharin，’returnedDick，withperfectgravity’ABisharinwithoutsaddle-gallsThereforenochargeofthine，shock-head。’
TwoorthreeminutespassedThen——
’Webeknee-halteredforthenightThereisnogoingoutfromthecamp。’
’Notformoney？’
’H’m！Ah！Englishmoney？’
Anotherdepressingintervalofsilence。
’Howmuch？’
’Twenty-fivepoundsEnglishpaidintothehandofthedriveratmyjourney’send，andasmuchmoreintothehandofthecamel-sheikhere，tobepaidwhenthedriverreturns。’
Thiswasroyalpayment，andthesheik，whoknewthathewouldgethiscommissiononthisdeposit，stirredinDick’sbehalf。
’Forscarcelyonenight’sjourney——fiftypoundsLandandwellsandgoodtreesandwivestomakeamancontentfortherestofhisdays。
Whospeaks？’saidDick。