homely pop, though one
bore with it in consideration of the tender reminiscences of his
childhood; but human endurance has its limits."

Those who reckoned on carrying the wells that night were over sanguine;
when the rising ground was reached the progress of the guns was very
slow; indeed, it was wonderful how the sailors managed to drag them on
at all.

The atmosphere had now for some time become perfectly clear; and when
the infantry had surmounted the first hill they saw the broad valley of
Tamai, and on the hills bounding it on the further side, corresponding
with the somewhat lower range, where they stood, the enemy's lines were
plainly discernible.

There were multitudes on foot, and others mounted, some on camels, some
on horseback. The brigades halted, and the scouts pushed to the front,
to unmask the enemy's position.

"Do you think we shall get on to-night, sir?" asked Major Elmfoot of the
colonel.

"Not a chance of it," replied the chief. "But let the men lie still and
have a good rest before they begin making the zereba."

So they did; even the youngest and most curious had learned by this time
to husband their strength and snatch forty winks whenever they got a
chance.

"They are at it!" cried Edwards presently, as crack! crack! was heard in
front; and then a couple of volleys, followed by more single shots and
more volleys again, and then, when the work seemed getting really hot,
sudden silence. Some object had been obtained, but what it was exactly
regimental officers could not know till they read all about it in the
papers afterwards. However, the question of advancing that evening,
which had before been answered practically, was now settled officially
in the negative, and the order to make the zereba was issued. Mimosa
and cactus trees, many of them seven feet high, grew thickly around, so
there was no lack of material.

A position was chosen, protected on one side by a sand-hill, which made
a natural rampart, and then parties were sent out to cut and bring in
the cactus and mimosa bushes, and these were arranged round the space
marked out, forming a prickly barrier. And at the same time the ground
was cleared of cover where an enemy might lie concealed for from fifty
to a hundred yards in every direction, and that was space sufficient to
stop any number of Arabs rushing across it with steady rifle-fire. And
it soon became evident that this was no mean advantage, for heads were
seen