fences, we heard, had been torn up and sent north for the construction
of barricades. In a wild land like Palestine, where the native has no
respect for property, where fields and crops are always at the mercy of
marauders, the barbed-wire fence has been a tremendous factor for
civilization, and with these gone the Arabs were once more free to sweep
across the country unhindered, stealing and destroying.

The situation grew more and more unbearable. One day a little Christian
soldier--a Nazarene--disappeared from the ranks. We never saw him again,
but we learned that his sister, a very young girl, had been forcibly
taken by a Turkish officer of the Nazareth garrison. In Palestine, the
dishonor of a girl can be redeemed by blood alone. The young soldier had
hunted for his sister, found her in the barracks, and shot her; he then
surrendered himself to the military authorities, who undoubtedly put him
to death. He had not dared to kill the real criminal,--the officer,--for
he knew that this would not only bring death to his family, but would
call down terrible suffering on all the Christians of Nazareth.

[ILLUSTRATION: NAZARETH, FROM THE NORTHEAST]

When I learned of this tragedy, I determined to get out of the army and
return to my village at all costs. Nine Turkish officers out of ten can
be bought, and I had reason to know that the officer in command at
Saffêd was not that tenth man. Now, according to the law of the country,
a man has the right to purchase exemption from military service for a
sum equivalent to two hundred dollars. My case was different, for I was
already enrolled; but everything is possible in Turkey. I set to work,
and in less than two weeks I had bought half a dozen officers, ranging
from corporal to captain, and had obtained consent of the higher
authorities to my departure, provided I could get a physician's