The Levant Trilogy [antikvár]

OneSimon Boulderstone, aged twenty, came to Egypt with the draft. For nearly two months, as the convoy slid down one side of Africa and up the other, he had been crowded about by other men. When he reached Cairo, he was alone.He had two friends on board, Trench and Codley, who had been his family, his intimates, the people nearest to him in the world. The sense of belonging together had been deeper than love - then, at Suez, a terrible thing happened. He lost them.As the three were disembarking, Simon had been ordered out of the lighter and put in charge of a detachment of men whose officer had gone down with jaundice. He shouted to Trench and Codley 'See you on shore' before joining the men who had been holed up in the corridor all morning. They were weary of waiting, and they had to wait longer. It was mid-afternoon before Simon reached the quay and discovered that his friends had gone. No one could tell him where. There was an emergency on and each truck, as it arrived, filled up with waiting men and went. Simon was not only alone, he had missed his transport. It seemed, too, that he had reached the most desolate and arid place on earth.The sergeant to whom he spoke said Trench and Codley might have gone to Infantry Base Depot, or they might have gone to one of several transit camps that were in and around Cairo.'Wherever they are,' said the sergeant, 'they won't be there long. Things are in a bloody mess. Just heard Tobruk's fallen. What bloody next, I'd like to know?' He gave Simon a travel warrant and directed him to take the afternoon train to Cairo and report to Abbasia barracks.'Anyone in particular?': Simon hoped for the reassurance of a name.9