Sam and Jerry were still in the neighbourhood of Hebron, engaged in
repairing the fortifications and restoring order.

At last the command came to advance. They were, however, to proceed in
small parties, and to share in an enveloping movement among the hills.
Small detachments of Turkish soldiers were known to be lurking among the
limestone terraces between Hebron and Jerusalem, and their duty was to
break these up by means of guerrilla warfare, and prevent surprise
attacks descending at night from the hills on to the army's
communication lines.

The two Yorkshiremen, accustomed all their lives to the shepherding of
Swaledale ewes among their native moors, were well qualified for this
task. The limestone hills of Judea bear a striking resemblance to the
Craven highlands, and Sam and Jerry had a practised eye for
hiding-places among the rocks, as well as for the narrow sheep-tracks
which lead from one limestone terrace to another. In the course of the
next fortnight they rounded up many bands of ragged Turkish soldiers,
and were steadily driving the rest before them in a northerly direction.
By 24th December they were within five miles of Jerusalem, and the hope
that they might yet reach their goal on Christmas Day came back once
more to their minds.

But it was not to be. The morning of the 24th found them near the source
of one of the many wadies which, after the rains of November and
December, rush in torrents through the boulder-strewn valleys, and empty
themselves into the Dead Sea. The morning broke clear, but, as the day
advanced, a thick mist descended from the hills and made progress
difficult. But the ardour of the men, now that the goal was almost in
sight, was such that it was impossible to hold them back. In small