It was obvious that if reserves were needed anywhere it would be over on that left flank by the fordable Jihun.  Ephraim saw that, and proceeded to preach it like gospel to the men before consulting me.  Then, arrogant in the consciousness of majority approval, he came and advised me.

“Those—­ah—­hamidieh not coming this—­ah—­way.  We cross over to—­ah —­other side.  Then Kagig is being pleased with us.  I give orders—­yes?”

He did not propose to wait for my consent, but I detained him with a hand on his shoulder.  It would have taken us two hours to get into position by the river-bank.

“Find out how many of the men can ride,” I ordered.

Taken by surprise he called out the inquiry without stopping to discover my purpose first.  It transpired there were seventeen men who had been accustomed to horseback riding since their youth.  That would leave nine men for another purpose.  I separated sheep from goats, and made over the nine to Ephraim.

“You and these nine stay here,” I ordered, “and hold this flank until Kagig makes a move.”  I did not doubt Kagig would fall back on Zeitoon as soon as he could do that with advantage.  Neither did I doubt Ephraim’s ability to spoil my whole plan if be should see fit.  Yet I had to depend on his powers as interpreter.

There are two ways of relieving a weak wing, and the obvious one of reenforcing it is not of necessity the best.  I could see through the glasses a bowl of hollow grazing ground in which the dismounted Kurds had left their horses; and I could count only five men guarding them.  Most of the horses seemed to be tied head to head by the reins, but some were hobbled and grazing close together.

“Tell these seventeen men I have chosen that I propose to creep up to the enemy’s horses and steal or else stampede them,” I ordered.

Ephraim hesitated.  Glittering eyes betrayed fear to be left out of an adventure, disgust to see his own advice ignored, and yet that he was alert to the advantage of being left with a lone command.

“But we should—­ah—­cross to the—­ah—­other side and—­ah—­help Kagig,” he objected.  Perhaps he hoped to build political influence on the basis of his own account to Kagig afterward of how be had argued for the saner course.

“Please explain what I have said—­exactly!”

He continued to hesitate.  I could see the Kurdish riflemen responding to orders from their rear and beginning to concentrate in the direction of our left wing.  Our center, where Gloria and Will were probably concealed by rocks and foliage, poured a galling fire on them, and they had to reform, and detach a considerable company to deal with that; but two-thirds of their number surged toward our left, and if my plan was to succeed almost the chief element was time.

“But Kagig will—­”

One of the men had a hide rope, very likely looted from the village we had burned.  I took it from him and tied a running noose in the end.  Then I made the other end fast to the roots of a tree that had been rain-washed until they projected naked over fifty feet of sheer rock.