Every element favored us.

Even the askari at the cross-roads, supposed to be watching the Greeks, turned his back to the wind, and what with rubbing sand in and out of smarting eyes and fingering it out of his ears, heard and saw nothing.

It was scarcely sunset when we saw both Greeks and the Goanese sneak out of the camping place in Indian file with their pockets full of cotton waste.

They had soaked the stuff in kerosene right under our eye that afternoon.
There ought to have been a sliver of moon, but the wind and dust hid it.

Fifteen minutes after sundown the only light was from the lamps in windows and the cooking fires glowing in the open here and there.
Thirty minutes later there began to be a red glow in three directions.
Less than one second after we saw the first indications of the holocaust a regular volley of shots broke out from the boma as the sentries on duty gave the general alarm.