“How many shells?” he continued, making notes upon the paper before him.

“Three hundred, Saadat.”

“How many hundredweight of dourha?”

“Eighty—about.”

“And how many mouths to feed?”

“Five thousand.”

“How many fighters go with the mouths?”

“Nine hundred and eighty-of a kind.”

“And of the best?’

“Well, say, five hundred.”