The great heat below decks had far less effect upon the horses than would
be supposed. Of course, they were well cared for, and many were seasoned
veterans that had taken more than one long sea voyage. If I am not
mistaken, only one was lost on the trip.

Most of the time I lay back in my rhoorkhee chair and read whatever I
could find in the ship's library. The wireless broke down a few days
after we left Busra, so we got no news whatever of the outer world, and
soon ceased to speculate on what might be happening in France.

At length, on the morning of June 4, we dropped anchor in Suez harbor. We
had hoped that the _Torrilla_ would run through the canal to Port Said,
but the disembarkation officer told us that we were all to be unloaded at
Suez and proceed by rail. When I reached Alexandria I learned that a
convoy had just sailed and there would not be another for two weeks at
earliest. Sir Reginald Wingate, who had long been a family friend, was the
British High Commissioner. Lady Wingate and he with the utmost hospitality
insisted on my moving out to the residency to wait for my sailing.

When I left for Mesopotamia Lord Derby had given me a letter to General
Allenby which I had never had an opportunity to present. Sir Reginald
suggested that I could not do better than make use of this enforced delay
by going up to Palestine. The railway was already running to Jerusalem and
you could go straight through from Cairo with but one change. At Kantara
you crossed the canal and entered the military zone. Leaving there at
half past eleven in the evening the train reached Ludd, which was general
headquarters, at seven the following morning.

Every one that I had ever met who knew General Allenby was wildly
enthusiastic about him, and you had only to be with him a few minutes to