an, and there makes hay of his or her internal
arrangements in a peculiarly distressing manner. All Egyptians are
bilharziotic and seem to thrive on it; but we were strictly forbidden in
our own interests to give the little beast an entree. Behind the line
were salt marshes and sand. East of the Canal were two or three palm
trees, a little mosque and a couple of Custom Houses--and that was all.
The beginning of the offensive defensive had built a road running
eastward for a mile or two with a light railway parallel to it, while a
little further to the north was the terminus of the broad gauge railway,
on which the whole scheme depended. On the plans of Kantara which were
issued on arrival this railway line was marked Kantara-Jerusalem
Railway, which caused many an amusing remark regarding the possibilities
of its ever reaching there. Little did we then think that many of us
would travel to and from Jerusalem and beyond on that very line.

[Illustration: SUEZ CANAL AT BALLAH.]

Our camp was a mile or so from the Canal, to the north of the
road--first the officers' lines, then a space for a parade ground, then
the men's lines. The sand was very heavy, but of a coarse kind which did
not blow about much. The tents were double and made a pleasant enough
home for a couple of officers with camp beds, but were less attractive
to from eight to a dozen men, lying in the sand with all their
possessions. To the eastward was the cemetery and then the ground rose
into one or two insignificant little bluffs, afterwards sinking to a
small flat area of harder ground, on which most of our parades were
held. Beyond this was the barbed wire and redoubt line of the Kantara
defences, of which more anon. To the north joining with the lakes and
marshes round Pelusium, lay patches of shallow salt water, inundated by
cuts from the Canal as part of the defensive scheme.

The strength of the Battalion on arrival was little over 300. "A"
Company remained on detachment till 23rd of March a couple of miles off
on the Canal bank, where they spent their nights in patrolling the
eastern bank and their days in watching the shipping pass, bathing and
attempting to catch fish from an ancient tub attached to the post. On
one occasion they had the mild excitement of stopping a suspected tug
which was reported from further south as steaming up at a time when it
had no business to be out and refusing to answer signals. Furious
commands to stop were disregard