The following morning, in fact, at an early hour, found the two young officers aboard a small steam-launch, which at once set out for Kut-el-Amara. Arriving at that place on the River Tigris some three days later, they transhipped to a larger vessel, a paddle-steamer--as rusty and dilapidated as any of those which had come to the Shatt-el-Arab from India for service with the British. Then they were carried up the winding Tigris, and in due course, after days of twisting and turning along the numerous bends of the river, after running aground on sand-banks on many occasions, they reached at last the city of Bagdad--the Mecca of the Turks of Eastern Turkey and of the Arabs of Mesopotamia--and there, having been interrogated again by a Turkish officer, they were sent to a prison--a fort outside the city--the clanging gates of which shut on them with a force and a jar which, in spite of their buoyant spirits, sent a chill of despair through them. "Nasty strong sort of a place," Philip whispered to his chum, as they passed under a low flat roof and along a stone passage. "No picking a hole through these walls with a penknife, my boy. It will have to be a case of strategy." Geoff looked round him, for the bright sunlight outside sent slanting rays into the passage and lit up their surroundings. "Beastly strong place," he agreed with Philip; "built of stone, and every piece set close to the other. But we'll see, Phil; the cage that's to hold the two of us will have to be a pretty strong one, for I'll tell you this, I've made up my mind that I'll break out of this place, and carry on that little business." "Douglas Pasha, eh?" asked Phil. "Of course. Ah! The fellow's opening a door, and in we go! A cell big enough for the two of us! My word! Breaking out will take a lot of doing." CHAPTER XV Von Hildemaller's Intervention A silence settled down upon the prison and the cell in which Geoff and Philip had been thrust, once the clanging of the iron door which closed it had subsided--a silence which told rather on their nerves, and helped to rob them of their spirits. They sat just within the door, staring about them, noticing with concern, almost with dismay, the solid masonry built up above them, the two narrow windows which gave air and light, and the absence of any sort of opening which might give them a means of making their escape. Then Philip sat down on the edge of a low platform built against one of the walls and burst into loud whistling. "No use being down-hearted! No use crying before we're hurt! In other words, it ain't no use giving up before we've tried, eh?" he blurted out when he had accomplished a few shrill bars of an air popular amongst his fellows. "In fact, keep on hoping!" said Geoff, laughing now, though he had felt singularly depressed but a few moments earlier. "And, besides, Philip, I've an idea!" "Let's hear it; something new, eh? An idea! Well, you astonish me!"