24 
LAND & WATER 
October 12, 1916 
(Continued from paqe 22.) 
^md I guess it's important or he wouldn't have been so mighty 
set on steeple-chasing over those roofs. 1 haven't done such 
a thing since 1 broke into neighbour Brown's woodshed to 
steal his tame 'possum, and I guess that's forty years back. 
It's the first piece of genooine amusement I've struck in this 
game, and 1 haven't laughed so much since old Jim Hooker 
told the tale of ' Cousin Sally Dillard,' when we were hunting 
ducks in .Michigan and his wife's brother had an apoplexy 
m the night and died of it." 
To the accompaniment of Blenkiron's chuckles I did what 
Peter had done in the lirst minute, and foU asleep. 
When I woke it was still dark. The wagon had stopped in 
a courtyard wiiich seemed to be shaded by great trees. The 
snow lay deeper here, and by the feel of the air we had left 
the city and climbed to higher ground. There were big 
buildings on one side, and on the other what looked like the 
lift of a hill. No lights were shown, the place was in pro- 
found gloom, but I felt the presence near me of others besides 
Hussin and the driver. "■ 
We were hurried, Blenkiron only half awake, into an out- 
building, and then down some steps to a roomy cellar. There 
Hussin lit a lantern, which showed what had once been a 
storehouse for fruit. Old husks still strewed the floor and 
the place smelt of apples. Straw had been piled in corners 
for beds, and there was a rude table and a divan of boards 
covered with sheepskins. 
" Where are we ? " I asked Hussm. 
" In the house of the Master," he said. " You wll be 
safe here, but you must keep still till the Master comes." 
" Is the Prankish lady here ? " I asked. 
Hussin nodded, and from a wallet brought out some food 
— raisins and cold meat and a loaf of bread. We fell on it 
like vultures, and as we ate Hussin disappeared. I noticed 
that he locked the door behind him. 
As soon as the meal was ended the others returned to their 
interrupted sleep. But I was wakeful now and my mind 
was sharp-set on many things. I got Blenkiron's electric 
» torch and lay down on the divan to study Stumm's map. 
The first glance showed me that I had lit on a treasure. 
It was the staff map of the Erzcrum defences, showing the 
forts and the field trenches, with Httle notes scribbled in 
Stumm's neat small handwriting. I got out the big map 
which I had taken from Blenkiron, and made out the general 
lie of the land. I saw the horseshoe of Deve Boyun to the 
east which the Russian guns were battering. It was just 
like the kind of squared artillery map we used in France, 
I in 10,000, with spidery red lines showing the trenches, 
but with the difference that it was the Turkish trenches that 
were shown in detail and the Russian only roughly indicated. 
The thing was really a confidential plan of the whole Erzerum 
enceinte, and would be worth untold gold to the enemy. 
The Deve Boyun lines seemed to me monstrously strong, 
and I remembered the merits of the Turk as a fighter behind 
strong defences. It looked as if Russia were up against a 
second Plevna or a new Gallipoli. 
Then I took to studying the flanks. South lay the 
Palantuken range of mountain, with forts defending the 
passes, where ran the roads to Mush and Lake Van. That 
side, too, looked pretty strong. North in the valley of the 
Euphrates I made out two big forts, Tafta and Kara Gubek, 
defending the road from Olti. On this part of the map 
Stumm's notes were plentiful, and I gave them all my atten- 
tion. I remembered Blenkiron's news about the Russians 
advancing on a broad front, for it was clear that Stumm was 
taking pains about the flank of the fortress. 
Kara Gubek was the point of interest. It stood on a rib 
of land between two peaks, which from the contour lines rose 
very steep. So long as it was held it was clear that no in- 
vader could move down the Euphrates glen. Stumm had 
appended a note to the peaks — " not fortified." ; and about 
two miles to the north-east there was a red cross and the 
name " Prjevahky." I assumed that to be the farthest 
point yet reached by the right wing of the Russian attack. 
Then I turned to 'the paper from which Stumm had copied 
the jottings on to his map. It was typewritten, and consisted 
of notes on different points. One was headed " Kara Gubek " 
and read : " No time to fortify adjacent peaks. Difficult for 
enemy to get batteries there, but not impossible. This the real 
point of danger, for if Prjevalsky uins the peaks Kara Gubek 
and Tafta must fall, and enemy will be on left rear of Deve 
Boyun main position." 
i was soldier enough to see the tremendous importance of 
this note. On Kara Gubek depended the defence of Erzerum, 
and it was a broken reed if one knew where the weakness 
lay. Yet, searching the map again, I could not believe that 
any mortal commander would see any chance in the adjacent 
peaks, even if he thought them unfortified. That was infor- 
mation confined to the Turkish and German staff. But if 
It could be conveyed to the Grand Duke he would have 
Erzerum in his power in a day. Otiierwise he would go on 
battering at the Deve Boyun ridge for weeks, and long ere 
he won it the Galhpoli divisions would arrive, he would be 
outnumbered by two to one. 
My discovery set me pacing up and down that cellar in a 
perfect fever of excitement. I longed for wireless, a carrier 
pigeon, an aeroplane — anything to bridge over that space 
of half a dozen miles between me and the Russian lines. It 
was maddening to have stumbled on vital news and to be 
wholly unable to use it. How could three fugitives in a 
cellar, with the whf)le hornet's nest of Turkey and Germany 
stirred up against them, hope to send this message of lite 
and death ? 
I went back to the map and examined the nearest Russian 
pKjsitions. They were carefully marked. Prjevalsky in the 
north, the main force beyond Deve Boyun, and the southern 
columns up to the passes of the Palantuken but not yet 
across them. I could not know which was nearest to us till 
I discovered where we were. And as 1 thought of this I 
began to see the rudiments of a desperate plan. It depended 
on Peter, now slumbering like a tired dog on a couch of straw, 
Hussin had locked the door and I must wait for information 
till he came back. But suddenly I noticed a trap in the roof, 
which had evidently been used for raising and lowering the 
cellar's stores. It looked ill-fitting and might be unbarred, 
so I pulled the table below it, and found that with a httle 
effort I could raise the flap. I knew I was taking immense 
risks, but I was so keen on my plan that I disregarded them. 
After some trouble I got the thing prised open, and catching 
the edges of the hole with my fingers raised my body and got 
my knees on the edge. 
It was the outbuilding of which our refuge was the cellar, 
and it was half filled with light. Not a soul was there, and 
I hunted about till I found what I wanted. This was a ladder 
leading to a sort of loft, which in turn gave access to the roof. 
Here I had to be very careful, for I might be ovei looked 
from the high buildings. But by good luck there was a 
trellis for grape vines across the place, which gave a kind of 
shelter. Lying flat on my face I stared over a great expanse 
of country. 
Looking north I saw the city in a haze of morning smoke, 
and, beyond, the plain of the Euphrates and the opening 
of the glen where the river left the hills. Up there, among 
the snowy heights, were Tafta and Kara Gubek. To the east 
was the ridge of Deve Boyun, where the mist was breaking 
before the winter's sun. On the roads up to it I saw transport 
moving, I saw the circle of the inner forts, but for a moment 
the guns were silent. South rose a great wall of white moun- 
tain, which I took to be the Palantuken. I could see the 
roads running to the passes, and the smoke of camps and 
horse-lines right under the cliffs. 
I had learned what I needed. We were in the outbuildings 
of a big country house two or three miles south of the city. 
The nearest point of the Russian front was somewhere in the 
foothills of the Palantuken. 
As I descended I heard, thin and faint and beautiful, like 
the cry of a wild bird, the muezzin from the minarets of 
Erzerum. When I dropped through the trap the others were 
awake. Hussin was setting food on the table, and viewing 
my desceht with anxious disapproval. 
" It's all right," I said ; " I won't do it again, for I've 
found out all I wanted. Peter, old man, the biggest job of 
your life is before you ! " 
(To be continued) 
The West Indian Contingent Committee has drawn out 
this design for the cap badges which they are presenting to 
the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the British 
West Indian Regiment, 
comprising the contin- 
gents for active service 
from Barbados, British 
Guiana, British Hon- 
duras, Jamaica, Trinidad 
and Tobago, the Lee- 
ward Islands, and the 
Windward Islands and 
the Bahamas. The King 
lias sanctioned the use of 
the Imperial Crown in the 
design, which has been 
approved by the Army 
Council. The badge is 
described heraldically as 
" an oval bordered medal- 
Uon surmounted by the 
Tudor crown. On ^ the 
border the inscription 
• The British West Indies Regiment." Wrthin, the ship of 
Christopher Columbus in full sail proper. Smtont.ding the 
oval dexter a v/ieath of laurel, sinister a wreath of palni. 
