Chapter 7 Summary

Thick fog blankets the river as Phlegethon and the rocket-praus approach a huge log-boom and screaming warriors. Rockets turn the narrow river into an inferno. Spy-boats move in on the boom and after ferocious hand-to-hand combat, open a gap for the Jolly Bachelor. and into the fray and through the new gap in the boom. Gunfire is intense and casualties heavy, but J.B. keeps up morale by leading his men in spirited song.

Flashy huddles in full panic when J.B. orders him to storm the fort. The "Old Flash" of Afghanistan emerges and he springs ashore, shouting, but he gradually blends into the relative safety of the middle of the pack. The blue-jackets advance as a solid wedge, stamping-slashing-thrusting. While sailors loot Sharif Sahib's "personal bamboo palace," Flashy seeks a safe bolt-hole. To his amazement, he wanders into the harem. His...