Part 25 (1/2)

About midday we descended on a wide plain full of the es becaroves and scarred ater furrows Fro to that charanary of Turkey, and the ho of the road we cay, battered place, with the pink plaster falling in patches fro on the road, and a flat-topped house with a big hole in its side It was a long way frouessed that soe Behind it, a few hundred yards off, a detachment of cavalry were enca lines of pickets

And by the roadside, quite alone and deserted, stood a large new motor-car

In all the road before and behind there was no man to be seen except the troops by the stream The owners, whoever they were, must be inside the caravanserai

I have said I was in the mood for soiven me the chance! I coveted that car as I have never coveted anything on earth At the moment all et to the battle-field We had to find Greenmantle at Erzerum, and once there we should have Hilda von Einem's protection It was a time of war, and a front of brass was the surest safety But, indeed, I could not figure out any plan worth speaking of I saw only one thing-a fast car which ht be ours

I said a word to the others, and we dismounted and tethered our horses at the near end of the courtyard I heard the low hum of voices from the cavalrymen by the stream, but they were three hundred yards off and could not see us Peter was sent forward to scout in the courtyard In the building itself there was but onelooking on the road, and that was in the upper floor

Meanti beside the wall to where the car stood, and had a look at it It was a splendid six-cylinder affair, brand neith the tyres little worn There were seven tins of petrol stacked behind as well as spare tyres, and, looking in, I saw lasses strewn on the seats as if the owners had only got out for a s

Peter came back and reported that the courtyard was empty

'There are men in the upper room,' he said; ' about restlessly, andout'

I reckoned that there was no time to be lost, so I told the others to slip down the road fifty yards beyond the caravanserai and be ready to cli, and there

I waited by the car till I saw theht distance I could hear voices fro up and down I was in a fever of anxiety, for anyhandle and worked like a demon

The cold made the job difficult, and my heart was in my mouth, for the noise in that quiet place ine started, and I sprang to the driving seat, released the clutch, and opened the throttle The great car shot forward, and I seemed to hear behind h my hat, and another buried itself in a cushi+on beside me

In a second I was clear of the place and the rest of the party were eot on the step and rolled himself like a sack of coals into the tonneau Peter nipped up beside me, and Hussin scrambled in froe in our pockets and had nothing to carry

Bullets dropped round us, but did no harm Then I heard a report at my ear, and out of a corner of my eye saw Peter lower his pistol Presently ere out of range, and, looking back, I saw threein the middle of the road

'May the devil fly aith this pistol,' said Peter ruefully 'I never could un Had I had my rifle'

'What did you shoot for?' I asked in aot the fellows' car, and we don't want to do them any harm'

'It would have saved trouble had I had my rifle,' said Peter, quietly 'The little man you call Rasta was there, and he knew you I heard hiry little raph'

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Trouble by The Waters of Babylon

Fro of ot all cares and difficulties of the present and future and becareat battle where men were busy at my proper trade I realized how much I had loathed the lonely days in Ger week in Constantinople Noas clear of it all, and bound for the clash of ar side of the battle line I had a sort of instinct that the darker and wilder things grew the better chance for us

'See overto co , and we'll be held up at the next townshi+p'

'He's got to get to a telegraph office first,' I answered 'That's where we have the pull on him He's welcome to the scree left behind, and if he finds an operator before the evening I' to break all the rules and bucket this car for what she's worth Don't you see that the nearer we get to Erzerum the safer we are?'

'I don't follow,' he said slowly 'At Erzeru for us with the handcuffs Why in thunder couldn't those hairy ragamuffins keep the little cuss safe? Your record's a bit too precipitous, Major, for the most innocent-minded military boss'

'Do you re open to bluff? Well, I' to put up the steepest sort of bluff Of course they'll stop us Rasta will do his damnedest But remember that he and his friends are not very popular with the Gerger the Gerot our passports and our orders, and he'll be a bold et into the Ger to hurry as fast as God will let me'