was treachery somewhere, and discovered that they were caused by people in our camp who were friendly to the Arabs. On several occasions we had very narrow escapes, and eventually decided to pull down all the houses in our immediate neighbourhood. When we had left a ring of about two hundred yards wide round our headquarters the fires ceased. It was curious to notice the attitude of our men on these occasions.

When an alarm was given, I have often rushed out to find myself immediately surrounded by a voluntary guard of a dozen or more armed soldiers, who refused to allow me to approach the crowd, or indeed to move a yard in any direction unaccompanied. The other officers were, I believe, treated in the same way, as the men explained that it was easy to stick a knife even into a white man at night or in a crowd.