ZERIEA FORMED. 121 therein. This looked like guarding our flanks for defence, and not for action ; and so it proved, for the rest of the force now received orders to pile arms, and build a stone wall zeriba as quickly as possible. It was already past four o'clock, and the General had determined not to attack till the next day, so we proceeded to secure ourselves for the night. Sentries were posted, and every one else brought stones and built them up on the lines of a sort of irregular redan. The ground was solid, with very few loose stones lying about, and though officers and all worked with a will, before the wall was two feet high the sun had already gone down, and twilight was rapidly coming on. Emboldened by the growing darkness, a crowd of the enemy sneaked up to the top of a hill about 1200 yards off on the right flank, and started a dropping long-range fire at us. A couple of guns were at once brought into action, and blazed shrapnel at them, but apparently with not much effect, for the Arabs stuck to their ground.

Darkness coming on, the guns ceased firing, and attention was turned to manning the zeriba in ex-