protection from flies, left breakfast worries to the others, and passed
into the deep slumber of the utterly weary.

CHAPTER XV

MAC IS SLEEPY

Mac's luck was out. He had had practically no sleep the night
previous, or, for that matter, for the two nights before that again,
and he was not going to get any chance to make it up now. A distant
echo of his name from somewhere up the sap brought a swift awakening.
It was an evil omen, portending the worst fatigue. He decided to
follow the lazy course of action, namely, to avoid it if possible.

"Mac! Where in the devil are you? Mac! Mac!"

The exhorting voice of the corporal came nearer; but the trooper
decided he was a heavy sleeper and knew, moreover, that his whole form
was well shielded by his grey blanket. As usual though, all this was
futile, and no effort of will could persuade the corporal to pass
unmolested his shrouded form. The blanket was pulled from over his
face, and, with a slap on the thigh and "Come on, Mac!" shouted down to
him, he could hardly, with decency, pretend to be asleep any longer.
He carried the thing to rather too flourishing a finish, awakened
violently with a suspicious suddenness, and blinked rapidly at the
corporal, "Oh! Rations you're after. All right. I'll dodge away down
after them. You might give a feller a chance to sleep though." He
knew well it was about his turn to wander away down the hill for
rations, but a fellow was sorely tempted to put off the evil moment to
the last, when, utterly weary, he was enjoying some rare hours of
settled sleep.

Mac trudged wearily away down the ridge, at times almost letting his
legs run away with him on the steep paths. At the depot, he persuaded
the water-guard to let him fill his water-bottle, and then, while the
Quarters calculated together, he drowsed in the shade of a bank. For
some time the Quarters chewed the ends of their pencils, studied
note-books and tapped boxes. Then they retired in the direction of a
comfortable service corps dug-out, whence issued spirals of blue smoke
and odours of rum. By and by they emerged, and all struggled into
activity again. Some of the fatigue party had disappeared though, for
they were not often so close to the beach. Still, the Quarter was not
worried, for he knew all would return anon, each to lump his load up
the track. Mac had been too sleepy to wander off for a bathe, though,
as a matter of fact, he had been endeavouri