e whole business took three
hours. Then _we_ had some tea. It was the only bright spot in what was for
us a very uninspiring day.

Meanwhile the raiders elsewhere had successfully reached their objectives.
Then the demolition parties put in some deadly work, and about eighteen
miles of Turkish railway scattered itself over the surrounding country.
This ended the menace of enemy reinforcements from the south, though Maan
itself hung out stubbornly for a long time against the repeated onslaughts
of the Arabs.

The journey back will not easily be forgotten by some of those who took
part in the raid. The Australians, having completed their work, started
back just before sunset. Moving more rapidly than we they were soon well
ahead; but their dust lingered and most of it settled on us. Later, other
parties, also ahead of us, came from other directions and added their
quantum. Ultimately we must have taken the dust spurned by the whole
division. It was indescribable in the wadi, where we arrived towards
midnight. The battery was cut in two by the last brigade of cavalry to
cross. One section crossed over safely, advanced a short distance and
waited for the other to make the journey. This, too, was accomplished,
after which the two sections tried to find each other in the clouds of
dust. For nearly two hours we rode round and round each other, hardly ever
out of earshot but unable to meet! This may sound incredible, but it is the
plain fact. Those who have tried even to cross the road in a London fog of
the old pea-soup variety will best appreciate our predicament.

In the end a driver from one section rode into a gun belonging to the
other, and the situation was saved. Another driver briefly expressed our
unanimous view when he said: "If this is blooming Palestine, give me two
yards of Piccadilly and you can have all of it!" Finally, as it never rains
but it pours, we had the cheering news that we were not returning to El
Chauth, that we were to have a couple of hours' sleep, the first since
starting out, after which we had a further twenty miles to go!

The last five miles of those twenty were the hardest I ever remember. The
horses had not had the saddles off their backs for over two days and were
almost dropping with fatigue; nor were their riders in much better state.
The heat was terrific, and the greater part of the journey was over country
on which scarcely a vestige of green remained; indeed, the last few miles
wer