More Tales of the Ridings | Page 6

thought that your husband laid down his life for you and me and all of
us. If the V.C. is granted, you will have to go to Buckingham Palace to
receive it, and I am sure the King would like you to take your little boy
with you.

"Yours in truest sympathy,
"Nurse Goodwin."
When Annie had finished the letter she let it fall, and, staggering to a
seat, flung her hands, still wet and bleached with the labours of the
washtub, upon the table; then, burying her face in them she sobbed her
heart out.
"I don't want no V.C.," she exclaimed at last, between her sobs. "I want
my Jim!"

A Miracle
Sam Ineson and Jerry Coggill were seasoned soldiers long before the
Palestine campaign began. They had spent two winters in the trenches
of France and Flanders, and when the news reached them that their
battalion had been chosen to reinforce General Allenby's army in Egypt,
they took it as a compliment. Pestilence, murder, and sudden death
might be in store for them, but they would at any rate escape trench
warfare, with all its attendant horrors and discomforts. Their comrades
at divisional head-quarters gave them a good send-off. "Remember us
to Pharaoh," they said, "and you can send us a few mummies for
Christmas; they'll do for mascots."
The two soldiers, who were Yorkshire farmers' sons, and knew every
inch of the Craven country, from Malham Cove to Kilnsey Crag, had
joined the Egyptian army just as it was preparing to cross the desert on
its way to the Holy Land. They had taken part in the great victory at
Beersheba, and then, driving the Turks before them over the mountains
of Judea, had finally stormed the fortifications of Hebron. Elated by
their success, their hope was that their battalion would be allowed to
press forward at once so that they might spend Christmas Day in
Jerusalem. In this they were disappointed. Other battalions were chosen
for this proud undertaking, and when General Allenby entered the Holy
City in triumph 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 pickets they climbed the steep hill-sides, penetrated through the
groves of olive, fig and pomegranate trees which clothe the successive
tiers of limestone terraces, and reached the high plateau above. But at
every step upwards the hill-mist grew thicker, and, in spite of all
attempts to keep together, the pickets of soldiers became split up. When
four o'clock arrived, Sam and Jerry found themselves alone on the hills
and completely ignorant of their bearings. The short winter day was
drawing to a close, and they were in danger of being benighted among

the Judean uplands on Christmas Eve. They determined to make a
descent to the point from which they had started in the morning, but,
after an hour's wandering in the mist, found themselves no nearer their
goal. Darkness was now creeping swiftly upon them, and they realised
the dangers of a fall over one of the terraced cliffs.
"We're fair bet," said Jerry at