businesslike outlines of the armored car ahead of me. Captain Carr of the
Thirteenth L.A.M.B.'s[1] was in command of the expedition. Unless we were
in action or in a locality where we momentarily expected to be under fire
from rifle or machine-gun, the officer commanding the car and his N.C.O.
stood in the well behind the turret, steadying themselves with leather
loops riveted to its sides. On long runs the tool-boxes on either side of
the well formed convenient seats. When the car became engaged the crew
would get inside, pulling the steel doors shut. The slits through which
the driver and the man next him looked could be made still smaller when
the firing was heavy, and the peep-holes at either side and in the rear
had slides which could be closed. The largest aperture was that around the
tube of the gun. Splinters of lead came in continuously, and sometimes
chance directed a bullet to an opening. One of our drivers was shot
straight through the head near Ramadie. The bottom of the car was of wood,
and bullets would ricochet up through it, but to have had it made of steel
would have added too much weight. The large gasolene-tank behind was
usually protected by plating, but even so was fairly vulnerable. A
reserve-tank holding ten gallons was built inside the turret. We almost
invariably had trouble with the feed-pipes leading from it. During the
great heat of the summer the inside of the turret was a veritable fiery
furnace, with the pedals so hot that they scorched the feet.

[Footnote 1: Light Armored Motor Battery.]

Forty miles above Ana we came upon a large khan. These road-houses are
built at intervals along the main caravan routes. Their plan is simple:
four walls with two tiers of rooms or booths built into them, enclosing an
open court in which the camels and horses are tethered during the night.
The whole is strongly made to resist the inroads of the desert tribesmen.
As we drove to the heavy gate, a wild clamor met our ears from a confused