or Ali Gherbi.

* * * * *

B.

_Sunday_, January 2, 1916.

TO HIS FATHER.

As I shan't be able to mention places in connection with our
movements, I shall call the station we left on December 31st A., this
place B. and so on; and I think you ought to be able to follow, as I
will make the lettering consistent.

We left A. at 2 p.m. on Friday. The men were on barges slung on either
side of the river-boat, on which various details, our officers and the
General and his staff were.

I brought my gun and 150 cartridges, and was unexpectedly soon
rewarded: for one of the A.C.C's staff came along after lunch and
asked for someone to come with him in the motor-boat and shoot
partridges. As I was the only one with a gun handy I went. We raced
ahead in the motor-boat for half-an-hour and then landed on the right
bank and walked up the river for two-and-a-half hours, not deviating
even to follow up coveys. There were a lot of birds, but it was windy
and they were wild and difficult. Also with only two guns and three
sepoys we walked over as many as we put up. Craik (the A.D.C's name,
he is an Australian parson in peace-time) was a poor performer and
only accounted for three. I got thirteen, a quail, a plover and a
hare. I missed three or four sitters and lost two runners, but on the
whole shot quite decently, as the extreme roughness of the hard-baked
ploughed (or rather mattocked) land is almost more of an obstacle to
good shooting than the behaviour of the birds. Craik was a stayer, and
as the wind dropped at sunset and the birds grew tamer he persevered
till it was dark. Then we had to walk three-quarters-of-a-mile before
we could find a place where the boat could get in near the bank: so we
had a longer and colder chase to catch up the ship than I had
bargained for, especially as I had foolishly forgotten to bring a
coat. However, when I got too cold I snuggled up against the engine
and so kept parts of me warm. Luckily the ship had to halt at the camp
of a marching column, so we caught her up in one-and-a-quarter hours.

I pitched my bed on deck up against the boiler, and so was as warm as
toast all night.

Yesterday morning we steamed steadily along through absolutely bare
country. The chief feature was the extraordinary abundance of
sand-grouse. I told Mamma of the astonishing clouds of them which
passed over A. Here they were in small parties or in flocks up to 200:
but the whol