A curious incident has been the bombardment by Abd- el-Krim's
artillery of the little island fortress of Alhucemas. The island is only a few hundred yards from the Riff shore, and is therefore an easy target, but as the Spanish garrison on the island and the Riffs on the mainland have found it advantageous to trade with one another there ' has nearly always been a truce by tacit consent. At last, however, all the Spanish talk about a grand attack on Aihucemas Bay ended in the Riffs deciding to act 'first. The Spaniards, for some reason best known to 'themselves, had actually stated when the attack would be delivered—possibly, one is tempted to think, because they never intended it. It was not unnatural, therefore, for Abd-el-Krim to act on the assumption that this curious little local truce had been broken by the Spaniards themselves. * * * *
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