from Lemnos, too, which was the only cheap thing to be had there.
COFFEE.
WINES.
French wine,
A bottle of whisky,
And one of champagne.
That bottle of champagne had been provided by Charlie. To get it, he had had to swim a quarter of a mile, in order to reach a certain ship—to swim with a sovereign in his mouth. There were still some such things as sovereigns in the world when this affair took place. The sovereign was put in a basket which had been lowered with a rope, the basket pulled on deck and lowered again with half a crown change and the bottle of champagne. On his way back Charlie did not know whether to spit his half crown out or to swallow it, whether to let go the bottle or not. For there was a heavy sea. But somehow he reached the shore and landed the bottle, the half crown and himself quite safely.
Well, the dinner party in Charlie's dugout went splendidly. But just at the moment when we were about to open the bottle of champagne, there was a surprise attack from the Turks, a regular alarm, a call to arms, (which I need not explain, as "alarm" is only a perverted form of à l'arme!—to arms!).
"Never mind," cried Charlie, "We'll drink the champagne another time, when I get my commission. I swear I'll keep this bottle till then."
Since that day he has fulfilled his promise. The bottle is the only thing he took with him when we evacuated the Peninsula.