My armoured car, with Junor attendant inhis Ford,
would guard that side against hostile advance. However our troops hadnatural shelter
and the advantage of the afternoon sun behind theirbacks.
After the telegraph we blew in the points, and
planted tulips: not verymany, but enough to annoy. Yet more were strewn in wreckage
on the ground.
Fortunately everythingwent well, and after an hour
Nuri gave me my signal.
We rode down the ridge to its furthest edge, to
have a closelook at the bridge. If we held it another weekwe should strangle the
Turkish armies, however little Allenby did. Obviouslythe problem was harder than we
had believed, if his tale was true. An aeroplane came over, andcircled round to help
the gunners.
Men, women and children fought likedogs over every
object. The demolition of that night was a fantastic muddle. Doors and windows,
door-frames and window-frames,even steps of the stairs, were carried
off.
We passed down the lines,whispering to each man to
lead back in silence.
My camel swung to a spatter of machine-gun bullets.
We sent him off to bring his Turk, tellingour waiting men to lie down for another
brief rest.
Theyfired back raggedly, but as they did so the big
car suddenly sneezedand stood still. This new condition made impossible my plan of
getting under the bridge.
Yet the passing of so many camels over the track
must take tediouslylong.
We doubled our speed, and broke into a
raggedprocession of very open order.
One hopeful blew inthe safe and found postage
stamps inside.
Hedescribed the position; the large guard; how it
was placed. This sounded in the proper descent from books of adventure, and weagreed
enthusiastically. We extended in line across its neck, and waited five minutes,
tenminutes. Ghurkas and Egyptians I turned back to rejoin thearmy, for new
demolitions in the north.
Time became spacious to those who flew: we were in
Azrak thirty hoursafter leaving it.