Finally they towed us from Estaque to Marseilles, and then, as the authorities had made us lie around for nearly a week without doing a thing, we must take on board three thousand tons of cargo right off, at one go. The country would be in danger if the _Pamir_ hadn’t slung her hook in forty-eight hours! They made us roll down into our hold the contents of thirty trains, which came in solemn procession, night and day, without stopping. The _Pamir_ was away off to “Hell and gone” in the basin of Arenc and all the stuff was for Mudros--carriages, provisions, shells, guns, shoes--everything, I tell you. They were tumbled in as they came and I had to stow them. You can imagine how easy it was. Fourgues never ceased cursing, saying that if we had bad weather the cargo would shift to blazes. But they told him to shut his mouth, and they didn’t pick their words. There was one train which came with cases from Milo. There had been a mistake, and they turned out not to be for the _Pamir_, but for another boat. They arrived about midnight of the second night, and I said to the military officer in charge that it must be a mistake. I didn’t half catch it. He fairly wiped his feet on me, saying that Mudros, Milo, and the whole caboodle, they were all in the East, and that he was ordered to pack into the _Pamir_ all the trains that came and that I was not going to send that one back when they were already late. That Johnny wouldn’t get through a geography exam. So I shipped the things because the Army bloke ordered me to, but when I informed Fourgues in the morning, he told the Navy bloke, who had come to give us our sailing orders. And the Navy bloke was furious, and said that we were idiotic to load on stuff for Milo when the rest of the material was for Mudros. The military bloke had gone to breakfast. The Navy bloke went after him and they said a few pleasant things to each other. At last it was agreed that the _Pamir_ should stop at Milo and unload the cases and then go on to Mudros. We closed the holds and battened down the hatches and were ready to leave our moorings when another train with a dozen cases of aeroplanes pulled in and came alongside. The non-commissioned officer in charge jumped on board and asked for the skipper: “Are you the _Pamir_?” “Looks like it,” said Fourgues. “All right; here are twelve aeroplanes for you to take.” “Well, old fellow, we can tow them if you wish, but as for taking twelve aeroplanes on board, it’s now too late, our hold is full.” “Not at all! I’ve been waiting at Miramar for two days and I just got the order to-night to send them by the _Pamir_. The matter is one of the utmost urgency.” “Oh, yes. And how long ago did your utmostly urgent train leave Paris?” “Twenty-three days ago!”