hands of the surgeon. Geoff shuddered, and then looked again; looked and admired the calmness and unconcern of the officers attending to that wounded man, their dexterity, the swiftness and silence of the orderlies who assisted; and then, catching the eye of the wounded man himself--one of the Dorsets--he returned with a grin the wink with which that incorrigible individual greeted him. Geoff turned away, and, dropping from his saddle, hunted up his friend of the Head-quarters Staff, to whom he presented his message. "Hum! Douglas Pasha! Glad to know that he is alive. But in prison; eh, Keith! And he's your guardian!" For a while the officer looked at the message, and from the message to Keith, studying his every expression, and then back again to the message, pursing up his lips and wrinkling his brows thoughtfully. "Of course," he said, "if this expedition fights its way to the neighbourhood of Bagdad it might give us an opportunity of relieving the Major; but then Bagdad happens to be far away." "Yes, sir," agreed Geoff, vainly attempting to make his voice sound jubilant and hopeful. "A long way," repeated the officer, "and we may never cover the distance; in that case----But of course," he added thoughtfully, looking again at Geoff, "of course, seeing that you know the country and can speak the language, you might--eh?--you might make the attempt yourself, if you could get permission. But such permission is out of the question now, and you must leave it to the future." And leave it to the future Geoff had to be content to do, though by night and by day he still remembered that message, and indeed discussed it and a prospective journey to Bagdad threadbare with his chum, Philip, and with Esbul. "Of course I shall go the first moment I get the opportunity," he told them both. "And, with you, Esbul," the Armenian answered him immediately. "And what about me?" asked Philip. "Ain't I good enough for such a job? Don't I begin to know Mesopotamia by heart by this time?" "We'll see," rejoined Geoff enigmatically. "If there's a chance though--well, you may be sure that I'll go, and take anyone I can with me." CHAPTER XIII An Amphibious Expedition "Garden of Eden, indeed!" growled Philip, some few weeks after that fine combat in which the Indian Expeditionary Force had proved so successful, and had cleared the road to Kurnah. "Where's the garden?"