“Wait a while,” his chum advised. “I reckon that when enough of them have managed to creep up close to the trenches of the Turks there will be some sort of a signal given, at which every Territorial will leap to his feet, and be over the line like so many wolves.”
The anticipation of such a thrilling picture caused Amos to quiver with eagerness. His only regret was that he himself could not be one of the select company on whom this gallant advance was to fall; for with his reckless nature Amos would have liked nothing better.
“I wonder if the Turks look for anything like this today?” he remarked a short time later, as they found seats where they could rest comfortably.
“Oh! so far as that goes, Amos, they must be on the watch day and night, when they’re facing these Territorials. They can never tell when something is going to happen. But you remember the Colonel told us they were expecting that the enemy might be somewhat off his guard today, because this is one of their holy days, when the true Mohammedan fasts, and devotes a lot of his attention to his prayer rug, bowing toward Mecca.”
“Now that’s what I call a clever trick—planning to take the Turk by surprise when his mind’s turned on other things. We’ll soon see whether it works or not, Jack.”
“Not for some hours, I’m afraid,” the other told him. “They have a long distance to cover, and very nearly every foot of the same they must snake their way along. Then there are several gullies lying between that must be crossed. Likely there’ll be absolutely nothing doing for some time.”
“We might look up that Arturus, and pump him some, in order to learn what we can of what’s ahead of us,” Amos suggested. “The country is terribly rough all around here, and we’re apt to have a sweet time of it making our way to the other camp, especially in the pitch dark, and with hawk-eyed Turks roaming around looking for a chance to cut down the number of their foes.”
Jack thought the idea worth carrying out, and accordingly both kept watch for the Greek. It was an hour before he came along, but seeing Amos beckoning, he hastened to join them.
“We said nothing about a reward for your services, Arturus,” Jack told him, “for the Colonel gave us no chance to mention it. Would you be satisfied with twenty American dollars? We are not as well supplied with ready cash as we would like, you understand, Arturus, or we would double that amount.”
The young Greek smiled until he showed his even white teeth under his black mustache. He also shook his head vigorously in the negative.