We must not, however, talk as if the desert were
uncrosa- able. History shows that with luck it has been crossed and recrossed again and again. It is much sounder and safer to say that if the Turco-German force does cross the desert. it will have a very warm reception when it reaches the great trench of the canal. We are not going to prophesy at large, but we may venture upon one forecast of detail. If the Turkish Army suffers a severe check when its great attack is launched, it may find the large mass of Bedouin irregulars who are said to be accompanying it anything but a solu-oe of strength. The Bedouin are not very dependable auxiliaries except when all goes well, and the temptation to plunder a defeated force, friendly or hostile, is to them almost irre- sistible. They are apt, too, to act on the principle "Ursula, there is danger—I leave thee I "
