st us; pursuers and pursued having
alike disappeared in the bush surrounding the native town or lost to
sight amid the smoking ruins, where some little desultory skirmishing
was still going on.

Presently, however, a grand hurrah went up on the left, where the
Somalis had made their last stand.

It was a cheer such as British bluejackets alone can give; and then we
saw the Union Jack run up on the top of a big bungalow in the centre of
the town, the only hut or building that had escaped destruction in the
general conflagration.

"It's all over, my lads," said Captain Sackville on hearing and seeing
this. "I think we had better see about joining the main column, and
pick up any stragglers we may see in want of assistance by the way."

But we came across none in any need of help, save such offices as the
dead require, along our route to the front; for, wherever we noticed any
groups of bodies together, all alike, whether bluejacket or Arab, were
stone dead.

Bullet and knife and sword had each and all had a busy day of it!

After burying the dead with all the honours of war, the corpse of the
Arab chief I had killed with Captain Sackville's sword being identified
formally as that of the notorious Abdalah, as I had thought, our columns
returned to the coast in triumph with the proud consciousness of having
cleared the country of all the invading Somalis.

The bluejackets and marines belonging to the admiral's division then
rejoined their ships at Mombassa; while our contingent, led still by
`old Hankey Pankey,' who was none the worse for the fray, retraced their
steps through Teita and the `baboon valley'--where, I may add, I met no
second mishap--to Malindi.

We again went on board the _Mermaid_; and, to cut a long story short,
the captain, who was very pleased with what he had seen of me during the
campaign, besides my having a good word put in by Captain Sackville,
promoted me to `leading seaman' the very next day.

Naturally, I was very sorry to part company with Mick so soon after our
long separation; but, as I have said before, a sailor's life is made up
of partings.

Here besides, as things turned out, no great period elapsed ere we hove
in sight of each other again; aye, under circumstances, too, that have
caused us to become closer companions than ever, as indeed we are now.

I will tell you how this was.

Not many months after our smashing up the Arabs and driving the Somalis
out of the British pr