where else in the saps. In one place the
lower leg and boot of a dead Turk stuck out from the corner of a
trench, and at another a bony hand protruded. Grim humorists shook it
as they passed.

The warm nights dragged drowsily by. In these trenches the troops were
not supposed to sleep because of the bombs thrown so frequently by the
Turks. If one were awake, they could be easily dodged, but, if a bomb
caught a man asleep, there was little chance of escape. Every second
twenty-four hours were passed in the main firing line, a few yards
farther back than the saps, or close up in reserve. Sometimes, during
these second days, it was possible to get a bathe when on a journey for
rations or water, and a little cooking could be attempted on a ledge in
the side of a communication trench. But altogether everything was most
uncomfortable, and with the cramped life Mac's rheumatism was
returning. There was little sleep too, rarely exceeding two hours a
day as the fortnight passed. Strong enemy reinforcements had been
reported by aerial reconnaissance within easy march of Anzac, and an
attack was expected any night. The Regiments were very much under
strength from disease, and the burden of watching fell heavily on the
remaining men. Mac was disappointed too that, in their present limited
quarters, they could make no use of the provisions he had brought from
Lemnos.

Relief came at last, without the enemy having made an attack, and the
Mounted Rifles again handed Russell's Top over to the Australian Light
Horse. They thankfully trundled away down the hill with all their gear
to a pleasant bivouac near the sea, and proceeded without delay to make
themselves as clean and as comfortable as could be. Mac went off for
the provisions, and soon the section had a small awninged dug-out in
excellent domestic order. Here, terminated by a stone wall, the main
Anzac left flank met the sea. The trench line here was but thinly
held, as it did not directly oppose Turkish trenches. Beyond it, at
the seaward end of the sharp ridges which ran up to the main broken
mass of Sari Bair, Chanak Bair and Battleship Hill, were No. 1 and No.
2 Outposts, faced by the formidable Turkish outposts on the forbidding
crags above. So, separated by some distance from the enemy, the
regiment proceeded to enjoy itself.

It was the pleasantest possie Mac had ever found it his privilege to
occupy. The bivvies were roomy and comfortable, the ground