He vanished–and the sentry's tramp
Re-echoed down the line.
It was not till the morning light
The soldiers knew that in the night
Old Santa Claus had come to camp
Without the countersign.
A. B. Paterson.
But there were to be another two months of waiting yet–of waiting and tireless preparation, before any fighting was to come their way. And this delay had the best of good reasons behind it. For one thing it would not have been wise to bring the fighting men of Australia and New Zealand straight out of their own summer to face the rigours of a northern winter in England, or in France; and for another, Lord Kitchener has a habit–a very disconcerting habit for his enemies and some of his self-important critics–of looking ahead and providing for to-morrow; he foresaw that things might soon be happening in the sunny land of the Pharaohs and knew that when they did happen it would be good to have such a hefty band of warriors ready there and waiting for them.
"I am pleased to be able to announce," said Mr. Fisher in the Australian House of Representatives on the 4th December, "that the Australian and New Zealand contingents have safely arrived and have disembarked in Egypt to assist in the defence of that country and to complete their training there. They will go direct to the front to fight with other British troops in Europe when their training is complete. Acting on the strong recommendation and advice of Lord Kitchener, the Commonwealth Government agreed to the Australian Imperial Force being landed in Egypt for training instead of in England. It was pointed out that to house Australians in tents in an English mid-winter after a long voyage in troopships through the tropics and sub-tropics would be a very severe trial and impose unnecessary hardships on our men. Lord Kitchener's proposals were entirely due to his anxiety to secure the best possible conditions for the success of our forces, in which he takes a very special interest."
A similar announcement was made by New Zealand's Premier, who said that his Government also had readily acquiesced in Lord Kitchener's suggestions.