On Land and Sea at the Dardanelles

is rifle was on the ground, and he was

rn in his voice. The two had known one another less than

numbed my arm for the moment. I'm quite all right, but my rif

Johnnies are between us and home. And they're after us. It'l

It was Kemp's voice, and he was evidently ca

raight back for their own lines. They would be cut off for a dead certainty. The two

of the gully, which was much steeper and higher than that to the left. The resu

nd in a couple of seconds, and

, Roy,' he said sharply. 'It'

he clutches of that swine Kemp,' said Roy

ene of their late encounter where the bodies of the dead Turks lay by the broken machine gun, Ken sto

under way again, there came a crackle of shots from below

s a bend in the course of the ravine, and o

xactly inviting, and Ken's lips tightened as he and Roy strain

ountry, and rack his brains as he might, Ken could see no plan for getting back. There w

two hours. Even so, they managed to keep ahead of the Turks, and though every now and then a

re and more stony. The worst of it was that the ravine up which they were travelling was getting steadily more shallow. A very little farthe

pped to

out in the open, we shall be t

d his great

t price taking up a position here behind these rocks and

ook hi

get round above us. We sho

ey can't get above us there unless they raise a balloon. C

three hundred yards away. They were jogging along quite steadily. It was clear that they felt absolutely sure of their

n alive by the ex-steward. He had a pretty shrewd idea of what

up over the shallow bank of the ravine made a rush

ld them that their ma

,' said Roy, looking b

nswered Ken, as, bent double, he

s anyhow,' said Roy. 'Ken, I'd give

he distance between themselves and their pursuers. A little spark of hope began to dawn in Ken's breast. It seemed just possible that they might still outrun the slower-going Turk

to guess hi

m down yet,

to stop Ken from plunging right over the sheer edge of a tremendous gorg

hard, staring down into the darksome

weren't hurrying,

himself flat on his face, he wriggled forwar

and Ken, horrified at the

is feet again. There was a

Don't count on it. I don't know whether we

of the cliff for about thirty

ut I've tackled places as bad in the No

rather than Kemp,'

ur face, and give me your hands. Qu

ut a moment's hesitation Roy turned round with his back to the ravine, and catching Ken's hands,

on Ken's arm

ow made his head swim. But he set his teeth, dug h

said Roy

ropping his friend into the awful ab

s standing on the almost invisible ledge, balancing

g for a hold. He found it, and clutching t

t,' he sai

ut of its socket

berately drove it into a crevice i

ver,' he said. 'You

w crash came up fro

ool and steady that it gave Ken some confidence. 'Get

d. In any matter of fighting he was Roy's equal-indeed his super

over this terrific precipice. It seemed to him the only possible result must be that he would knock R

ot scared

He hesitated no longer. Turning quickly, he clutch

ould do it. Steady now!

going to his doom. Instead, to his intense surprise,

e a low

k that takes you the first time you try this kind of game. And I give

ght, and runs in under a big overhang. Once we're under that, we're as safe as rats in

ossessed was needed just to cling where he was, fla

dence, and though his heart was thumping, and he felt as though it was impossible

ng very carefully for a matter of twenty feet it gre

eep hollow-almost a cave and absolut

as he dropped to

his minute,' he remarked in a low vo

gainst the river side of the cavity, breathing hard. His face w

he fumbled in the pocket of his tunic and

me,' he said. 'I reckoned it would come

ore than a mouthful the effects were immediate. A tinge of co

smiled Roy, as Ken h

and sharply. 'Lis

heard heavy footsteps.

saying?' wh

w voice. 'He seems to be annoyed. He's using all the bad language he know

f a facer for hi

ng him,' said Ken. 'Says we must

ontinued Ken. 'He's tellin

Turk say?' Roy

ted to. He calls it the ditch of Shaitan-in other words, the Devil's Dyke. By J

e voices abo

y they didn't think of looking for our tracks. If they'd used their eyes they must have seen the

grin

would occur to a German. All the same, Kemp is quite cu

d rather

very likely. Then it looks as if we

We've got shelter and we're absolutely safe. Also we have our emergency rat

the edge of t

lept in worse pl

p?' said Ken with a slight shiver as he

ughed

ween me and the rock. It'll take

eft. At any rate, Ken and Roy could hear no more of them. The evening silence was broken only by the mysterio

his long leg

s haversack. 'We'll share this to-night, Ken, and breakfast off you

ere is not much of it, so far as bulk goes, but it is very sustaining. Roy carefully divided

o sleep. Roy, according to his promise, made Ken take the inn

h them, hiding the depths of the ravine. Musketry still

g air bit chill. He sat up and shook

en briefly. 'Time

d stretched h

th a laugh. 'Yes, I suppo

w, or wait till we get

him a q

aid quietly. 'You see, I haven't a noti

h implicit faith in Roy's mountaineering capacity that he had taken it