a shower of bombs, but they turned out to be
cranes--fifty-five of them in solid formation. They were an
interesting and beautiful sight. They hovered over us for a
considerable time, and two of our men stupidly fired several shots at
them which got us into trouble with the powers that be. They had never
taken into consideration the danger from dropping bullets where there
was such a congestion of humanity.

The day has been fiery hot as usual, with the usual glorious sunset
behind the mountains of Imbros. Yesterday Stephen and I studied the
Plain of Troy, the monument of Ajax, and the town of Troy itself--the
old and the new--all of which are visible from the rising ground
behind Sedd-el-Bahr.

_May 18th._--Black Marias paid their visit earlier than usual, three
bidding us good morning at 6 o'clock. All got into our clothes at
once, so that now at 7 p.m. we have had a long day. Curiously these
"coal boxes" have not been seen since, and they never trouble us after
this time of night.

About an hour ago I was watching one of our ships shelling a gully I
once visited on a memorable night, and got into a shallow trench and
watched from there. I was out in the middle of the valley where I
could easily be seen from Achi Baba and a shell came singing straight
at me. All the time shells had been passing high over my head but my
ear at once detected the change of flight and that a low one was
certainly coming my way. I had just time to throw myself flat in the
trench, which was about eighteen inches deep when the shell burst in a
straight line for me. I raised myself intending to bolt when I heard
the song of another at its heels. I again fell flat, but as soon as it
burst still nearer than the last I sprang and was just on my feet when
a third burst three or four yards to my right. The concussion and
shower of earth and stones sent me flying, and I peeled the palms of
both hands and sprained my right wrist. Then I made a sprint for my
funk hole at record speed, arriving quite out of breath after covering
about three-quarters of a mile. I felt that turning a big gun on a
solitary individual was not playing the game. I was wearing a
waterproof cover to my cap which had got bleached almost white, and I
may have been taken for some "big pot," as I sat on the edge of the
trench with this unusual head dress, peering through my glasses.

_May 19th._--Am feeling very tired, the result of my bad tumble, and
my wrist feels stif