ingh. "Aye, sahib! In the name of God be good to
us! Whom else shall we follow?"

"Aye, sahib!" said the others. "Put us to the test!"

The lined-up regiment, that had been standing rigid, not at
attention, but with muscles tense, now stood easier, and it might
have been a sigh that passed among them.

"Then, until I release you for good behavior, you three-and-twenty
shall be ammunition bearers," said Ranjoor Singh. "Give over your
rifles for other men to carry. Each two men take a box of
cartridges. Swiftly now!" said he.

So they gave up their rifles, which in itself was proof enough that
they never intended harm, but were only misled by Gooja Singh and
the foolishness of their own words. And they picked up the cartridge
boxes, leaving Gooja Singh standing alone by the last one. He made a
wry face. "Who shall carry this?" said he, and Ranjoor Singh
laughed.

"My rank is havildar!" said Gooja Singh.

Ranjoor Singh laughed again. "I will hold court-martial and reduce
you to the ranks whenever I see the need!" said he. "For the
present, you shall teach a new kind of lesson to the men you have
misled. They toil with ammunition boxes. You shall stride free!"

Gooja Singh had handed his rifle to me, and I passed it to a
trooper. He stepped forward now to regain it with something of a
smirk on his fat lips.

"Nay, nay!" said Ranjoor Singh, with another laugh. "No rifle, Gooja
Singh! Be herdsman without honor! If one man is lost on the road you
shall be sent back alone to look for him! Herd them, then; drive
them, as you value peace!"

There being then one box to be provided for, he chose eight strong
men to take turns with it, each two to carry for half an hour; and
that these might know there was no disgrace attached to their task,
they were placed in front, to march as if they were the band. Nor
was Gooja Singh allowed to march last, as I expect he had hoped; he
and his twenty-two were set in the midst, where they could eat
shame, always under the eyes of half of us. Then Ranjoor Singh
raised his voice again.

"To try to reach Gallipoli," he said, "would be as wise as to try to
reach Berlin! Both shores are held by Turkish troops under German
officers. We found the one spot where it was possible to slip
through undetected. We must make the most of that. Moreover, if they
refuse to believe we were drownd last night, they will look for us
in the direction of Gallipoli, for all the German officers in
Stamboul