values of Egyptian money, we had to pay liberal exchange to these
train-side merchants. Oranges cost us about two cents apiece, though
later on with Egyptian money we bought them three for a half piastre
(three cents). The only station I remember on this trip was because of
its curious-sounding name, Zagizig, where we had a stroll along the
platform and met some of our lordly Sikhs from India, who were all
smiles when they discovered we were Australians. In the early dawn we
disentrained at Koubbeh and after straightening ourselves out from
having been cramped up in those horse-boxes, we started our march of
about ten miles, carrying full pack, to the camp at Zeitoun. But here
there was no arrangement for our breakfast. The New Zealanders and
Australians already camped there had only their own day's rations, and
we had consumed ours on the train. How we cursed the powers that be!
We had humped our eighty-pound packs those weary miles and when we
thought we had arrived--no tucker! There might have been some trouble;
grumbling might have led to action in a raid on somebody's stores, but
for the Y. M. C. A. hut. They served out hot tea and in a few moments
grumbling gave place to "chiaching"; criticism that a few moments ago
had been edged was now good-humored. Give an Australian soldier hot
tea and it will pick him up quicker than any other drink on earth.




CHAPTER VIII

HELIOPOLIS

Our camp was just outside the new city of Heliopolis, which was built
at the cost of about $40,000,000 by a Belgian syndicate to rival Monte