The Game is Afoot!

Erstwhile archaeologist Mr. Stanley Giles has fallen in with some rather dubious vagabonds, and hoping that they might be able to help him out of his serious debts back home he has advised them that a long-lost treasure can be found in a unique tomb in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.

Three hard-bitten adventurers, led by Harvey, have hired on a Captain Fanning to ship them to the coast to await their return. Despite some run-ins with fierce Berbers they have indeed located the underground labyrinth and have packed up all the choice pieces to be sold at auction in Marseilles.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Newbolt of the United States Navy, having been seeking the rogue Harvey for some time now has send a squad of Marines by land while his gunboat is taking on fuel.

Kemp has posted sentries on the hilltop overlooking the camp and guarding the likeliest approach

Harvey has not been caught off-guard, in fact the porters (led by Mr. Giles) have already started off towards the awaiting dhow

Harvey races into cover with two of his hired men - here they hope to enfilade any of the Marines as they enter the camp

Lieutenant Matheson surprised everyone by leading his men at breakneck pace past the camp and into a copse of palm trees by the pool - they don't even seem to spot Jefferson hiding in the undergrowth as they orient themselves towards the column of porters

Meanwhile on the other side, Deal and Jones have driven the touring car around the fight - on the ridge they can spot Captain Fanning beside his car

Gunnery Sergeant Bowie directs Mills to take a shot into the trees - the long-range effort hits Harvey in the head, dropping him instantly!

Having taken a large number of shots from the Marines (to no effect) Fanning loses his nerve and runs from the fight and back to his ship

Kemp sneaks with his men down into the camp, the Marines nearby can't spot them amongst the rocks and tents

A shot from Deal's BAR finally makes its mark, hitting Giles and seriously wounding him. Now the porters mill around without any direction

Feeling Harvey's absence, Bouba and Oton exchange fire with the Marines, and somehow they get the better of the firefight, killing the tommy gun-wielding Private Halpert

Giles has stumbled back to his feet, but not without his pistol the two Marines don't feel up to shooting an unarmed man. They turn their attention to Fanning's first mate who's taken station to cover the retreat

Jefferson has high-tailed it to the ridge as well and he and Yondo open fire on the Marines below

Bowie leads Mills in a bayonet charge into the two surprised men in the trees - Bowie blows Bouba away while Mills and Oton fight tooth and nail. In the ensuing confusion, Bowie can't make out his fellow Marine and shoots Mills by mistake - though distraught, he doesn't waste time in finishing off Oton

The sentries unveil themselves and fire at the surprised marines across the camp - now they're under fire from two directions and taking casualties. They must dominate the firefight or withdraw

While they're distracted the porters have gotten on board, ushered there with considerable haste by Jefferson and backed up by Kemp and his men

The surviving marines, now without Lieutenant Matheson or the Lewis Gunner snap out of it and open fire, gunning down the two mercenaries posted as a rear-guard

Racing past the groggy Giles, Hyde and Beasley go Gung-Ho and race up the ridge, taking potshots at the retreating mercenaries

They charge across the open ground, but it seems highly unlikely that they'll be able to stop the ship from casting off now

They take cover behind some trees, avoiding the rushed return fire and giving their predicament some brief thought

Hyde has a crazy idea; but it just might work...

Hyde gets the old Ford into gear and accelerates it down the pier, everyone in the way gets out of the way (though they can hardly believe what they're seeing!)

Hyde survives the rough ride over the dhow's gunwales, though the car's axle will need a little bit of repair work soon

The dhow isn't so lucky - it's nearly dismasted, and will require some heavy lifting to get underway - has Hyde bought the rest of his squad the time to get to the pier?

Deal and Mills, though incredulous, hate to waste a good idea and hop back into the touring car and put the pedal to the metal. They screech to a halt before they follow Hyde's path too closely though

They jump out and lay waste around them - killing or seriously injuring every last one of the grave-robbing adventurers. Just one of the mercenaries makes it out alive

Having all but given up the fight, the Marines were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at the last minute! They'll see the treasure aboard a chartered ship and back to the United States to be added to the Smithsonian's collection