wandering in the Kangaroos' lines, with placards flapping at his sides, on which the Sydney men saw: 

 THIS IS THE FATHER OF SYDNEY AND THE KANGAROO MARINES. 

 The battle of wits was a drawn affair. But, that night, more trouble ensued. While the famous quartette were casually strolling through the town a Melbourne man jostled Sandy. 

 "Wha are ye pushin'?" he inquired. 

 "I'll push yer face for you—you bag of haggis," replied the cool Melbourne lad. 

 "Ye daur meddle wi' me," said Sandy, leering at him, for he had tasted deep of the national fluid.  "Hit me!" he roared, baring his chest towards his aggressor.  "Ma fit is on ma native heath, an' ma name's M'Greegor," continued the fierce, red-whiskered Scot. 

 "Here's one for you, M'Greegor!"  And the Melbourne man let fly. Poor Sandy, he buckled up and fell gasping to the ground. Bill now set to, but in a minute he, Claud, and Paddy were surrounded by a gang of Melbourne hands. 

 "Ye miserable spalpeens," said Paddy, laying to with a great big stick, and between times whipping the treasures from the pockets of fallen men. Claud had his monocle smashed and his nose burst, while poor old Bill was severely winded just as reinforcements arrived from the Kangaroos. It was a bloody combat. Indeed, it might have been a serious riot had Sam Killem not doubled up a company with buckets of water to throw over the antagonists. 

 Then the bugle call to assembly ended the first and last fight between these two corps. Afterwards they were loyal friends, and, in action, died nobly side by side. 

 

 

 CHAPTER III 

 THE LAND OF SIN 

 Egypt is the land of heroes and engineers—also the land of mystery, the abode of intrigue, the cockpit of puerile nationalism, and the soul of all things topsy-turvy and contrary. It is a land for a brave soldier, a skilful engineer, or the tourist in search of Rameses' shin-bones. 

 It is a country wet with British blood and paved with British gold. The noblest things in Egypt are British; the vilest are the products of aliens who have dodged justice and cleanness through the vagaries of "The Capitulations" (an 

 Prev. P 15/77 next