The hut of which Gregory took possession was constructed of dry mud.
The roof was of poles, on which were thickly laid boughs and palm
leaves; and on these a layer of clay, a foot thick. An opening in the
wall, eighteen inches square, served as a window. Near the door the
floor was littered with rubbish of all kinds.
"What is your name?"
"Zaki."
"Well, Zaki, the first thing is to clear out all this rubbish, and
sweep the floor as clean as you can. I am going down to the river to
get my baggage up. Can you borrow a shovel, or something of that sort,
from one of the natives here? Or, if he will sell it, buy one. I will
pay when I return. It will always come in useful. If you cannot get a
shovel, a hoe will do. Ah! I had better give you a dollar, the man
might not trust you."
He then walked down to the river, and found the black corporal sitting
tranquilly by the side of his baggage. The man stood up and saluted,
and on Gregory saying that he had now a house, at once told off two
soldiers to carry the things.
Arriving at the hut, he found Zaki hard at work, shovelling the rubbish
through the doorway. Just as he came up, the boy brought down his tool,
with a crash, upon a little brown creature that was scuttling away.
"What is that, Zaki?"
"That is a scorpion, bey; I have killed four of them."
"That is not at all pleasant," Gregory said. "There may be plenty of
them, up among the boughs overhead."
Zaki nodded.
"Plenty of creatures," he said, "some snakes."
"Then we will smoke them out, before I go in. When you have got the
rubbish out, make a fire in the middle, wet some leaves and things and
put them on, and we will hang a blanket over the window and shut the
door. I will moisten some powder and scatter it among the leaves, and
the sulphur will help the smoke to bring them down."
This was done, the door closed and, as it did not fit at all tightly,
the cracks were filled with some damp earth from the watercourse.
"What did you pay for the shovel, Zaki?"
"Half a dollar, bey. Here is the other half."
"Well, you had better go and buy some things for yourself. Tomorrow I
will make other arrangements. Get a fire going out here. There is a
sauce pan and a kettle, so you can boil some rice or fry some meat."
Gregory then went again to the officer who was acting as quartermaster.
"I have been speaking to the General," the latter said. "You will mess
with the staff. The dinner hour is seven o'clock. I am sure you will
soon feel at home."
Gregory now strolled through the camp. The troops were in little mud
huts, of their own construction; as these, in the heat of the day, were
much cooler than tents. The sun was getting low, and the Soudanese
troops were all occupied in cooking, mending their clothes, sweeping
the streets between the rows of huts, and other light duties. They
seemed, to Gregory, as full of fun and life as a party of
schoolboys--laughing, joking, and playing practical tricks on each
other.
The physique of some of the regiments was splendid, the men averaging
over six feet in height, and being splendidly built. Other regiments,
recruited among different tribes, were not so tall, but their sturdy
figures showed them to be capable of any effort they might be called
upon to make.
One of the officers came out of his tent, as he passed.
"You are a new arrival, I think, sir?" he said. "We have so few white
officers, here, that one spots a fresh face at once."
"Yes, I only arrived two or three hours ago. My name is Hilliard. I am
not attached to any regiment; but, as I speak the languages well,
General Hunter is going, so he said, to make me generally useful. I
only received my commission a few days before leaving Cairo."
"Well, come in and have a soda and whisky. The heat out here is
frightful. You can tell me the last news from Cairo, and when we are
going to move."
"I shall be happy to come in and have a chat," Gregory said, "but I do
not drink anything. I have been brought up in Cairo, and am accustomed
to heat, and I find that drinking only makes one more thirsty."
"I believe it does," the other said, "especially when the liquid is
almost as hot as one is, one's self. Will you sit down on that box?
Chairs are luxuries that we do not indulge in here. Well, have you
heard anything about a move?"
"Nothing; but the officers I have spoken to all seem to think that it
will soon begin. A good many came up with me, to Wady Halfa and the
stations on the river; and I heard that all who had sufficiently
recovered were under orders to rejoin, very shortly."
"Yes, I suppose it won't be long. Of course we know nothing here, and I
don't expect we shall, till the order comes for us to start. This is
not the time of year when one expects to be on the move; and if we do
go, it is pretty certain that it is because Kitchener has made up his
mind for a dash forward. You see, if we take Abu Hamed and drive the
Dervishes away, we can, at once, push the railway on to that place;
and, as soon as it is done, the troops can be brought up and an advance
made to Berber, if not farther, during the cool season--if you can ever
call it a cool season, here."
"Is there any great force at Abu Hamed?"
"No; nothing that could stand against this for a moment. Their chief
force, outside Omdurman, is at Metemmeh under Mahmud, the Khalifa's
favourite son. You see, the Jaalin made fools of themselves. Instead of
waiting until we could lend them a hand, they revolted as soon as we
took Dongola, and the result was that Mahmud came down and pretty well
wiped them out. They defended themselves stoutly, at Metemmeh, but had
no chance against such a host as he brought with him. The town was
taken, and its defenders, between two and three thousand fighting men,
were all massacred, together with most of the women and children.
"By the accounts brought down to us, by men who got away, it must have
been an even more horrible business than usual; and the Dervishes are
past masters in the art of massacre. However, I think that their course
is nearly up. Of late, a good many fugitives from Kordofan have arrived
here, and they say that there will be a general revolt there, when they
hear that we have given the Dervishes a heavy thrashing."
"And where do you think the great fight is likely to take place?"
Gregory asked.
"Not this side of Metemmeh. Except at Abu Hamed, we hear of no other
strong Dervish force between this and Omdurman. If Mahmud thinks
himself strong enough, no doubt he will fight; but if he and the
Khalifa know their business, he will fall back and, with the forces at
Omdurman, fight one big battle. The two armies together will, from what
we hear, amount to sixty or seventy thousand; and there is no doubt
whatever that, with all their faults, the beggars can fight. It will be
a tough affair, but I believe we shall have some British troops here to
help, before the final advance. We can depend now on both the Soudanese
and the Egyptians to fight hard, but there are not enough of them. The
odds would be too heavy, and the Sirdar is not a man to risk failure.
But with a couple of brigades of British infantry, there can be no
doubt what the result will be; and I fancy that, if we beat them in one
big fight, it will be all up with Mahdism.
"It is only because the poor beggars of tribesmen regard the Dervishes
as invincible, that they have put up so long with their tyranny. But
the rising of the Jaalin, and the news we get from Kordofan, show that
the moment they hear the Dervishes are beaten, and Khartoum is in our
hands, there will be a general rising, and the Dervishes will be pretty
well exterminated. We all hope that Mahmud won't fight, for if he does,
and we beat him, the Khalifa and his lot may lose heart and retire
before we get to Omdurman; and, once away, the tremendous business of
trying to follow him will confront us. Here we have got the river and
the railway, but we have no land carriage for an army, and he might
keep on falling back to the great lakes, for anything that we could do
to overtake him. So we all hope that Mahmud will retire to Omdurman
without fighting, and with such a host as the Khalifa would then have,
he would be certain to give battle before abandoning his capital."
"They are fine-looking fellows, these blacks," Gregory said.
"They are splendid fellows--they love fighting for fighting's sake. It
is, in their opinion, the only worthy occupation for a man, and they
have shown themselves worthy to fight by the side of our men. They have
a perfect confidence in us, and would, I believe, go anywhere we led
them. They say themselves, 'We are never afraid--just like English.'"
"There seem to be a good many women about the camps."
"Yes, their women follow them wherever they go. They cook for them, and
generally look after them. They are as warlike as their husbands, and
encourage them, when they go out to battle, with their applause and
curious quavering cries. The men get very little pay; but as they are
provided with rations, and draw a certain amount for the women, it
costs next to nothing, and I fancy that having the wives with them pays
well. I believe they would rather be killed than come back and face
their reproaches.
"I could not wish to have more cheery or better fellows with me. They
never grumble, they are always merry, and really they seem to be
tireless. They practically give no trouble whatever, and it is good to
see how they brighten up, when there is a chance of a fight."
"I hope I shall see them at it, before long," Gregory said. "Now I must
be going, for I have to change, and put on my mess uniform before
dinner. I am rather nervous about that, for I am not accustomed to dine
with generals."
"You will find it all very pleasant," the other said. "Hunter is a
splendid fellow, and is adored by his men. His staff are all
comparatively young men, with none of the stiffness of the British
staff officer about them. We are all young--there is scarcely a man
with the rank of captain in the British Army out here. We are all
majors or colonels in the Egyptian Army, but most of us are subalterns
in our own regiments. It is good training for us. At home a subaltern
is merely a machine to carry out orders; he is told to do this, and he
does it; for him to think for himself would be a heinous offence. He is
altogether without responsibility, and without initiative and, by the
time he becomes a field officer, he is hidebound. He has never thought
for himself, and he can't be expected to begin to do so, after working
for twenty years like a machine.
"You will see, if we ever have a big war, that will be our weak point.
If it wasn't for wars like this, and our little wars in India, where
men do learn to think and take responsibility, I don't know where our
general officers would get their training.
"Well, you must be going. Goodbye! We shall often meet. There are so
few of us here, that we are always running against each other. I won't
ask you to dine with us, for a few days. No doubt you would like to get
accustomed to headquarters mess first. Of course, Hunter and the
brigade staff dine together; while we have little regimental messes
among ourselves, which I prefer. When there are only three or four of
us, one can sit down in one's shirt sleeves, whereas at the brigade
mess one must, of course, turn up in uniform, which in this climate is
stifling."
The meal was a more pleasant one than Gregory had anticipated. On board
the steamer he had, of course, dined with the other officers; and he
found little difference here. Ten sat down, including the principal
medical officer and a captain--the head of the station intelligence
department, Major Wingate, being at present at Wady Halfa. Except for
the roughness of the surroundings, it was like a regimental mess, and
the presence of the General commanding in no way acted as a damper to
the conversation.
General Hunter had, before sitting down, introduced him to all the
members with a few pleasant words, which had put him at his ease.
Gregory had, on his way up, learned a good deal as to the officers who
were down at Cairo for their health; and he was able to say who were
convalescent, and who had sailed, or were on the point of sailing, for
England.
The table was formed of two long benches, and had been constructed by
the engineers. It was laid under a large tent, of which the walls had
been removed to give a free passage of air.
Although scarcely up to the standard of a mess dinner at home, it was
by no means a bad one; consisting of soup, fish from the river, a joint
of beef at one end and of mutton at the other, curried kidneys, sweet
omelettes and cheese, whisky with water or soda to drink at dinner;
and, after the meal, four bottles of claret were placed on the table,
and cigars or pipes lit. Half an hour later four of the party sat down
to whist, and the rest, going outside the tent, sat or threw themselves
down on the sand, and smoked or chatted till it was time to turn in.
Gregory's first step, next morning, was to buy a horse. This he
purchased from some fugitives, who had come down from Kordofan. It was
a good animal, though in poor condition, and would soon pick up flesh,
when well attended and fed. To accustom himself to riding, Gregory went
out on it for a couple of hours every morning; getting up before
daybreak, so as to take exercise before the work of the day began. He
also followed the example of the officers of the Egyptian regiments,
and purchased a camel for the conveyance of his own baggage.
"You will find it a great advantage," one of them said to him. "Of
course, times may arrive when you will have to leave it behind; but, as
a rule, there is no trouble about it at all. You hire a native driver,
who costs practically nothing, and he keeps with the baggage. No one
asks any questions, and when you halt for a day or two, you have
comforts. Of course, with a British regiment you are cut down to the
last ounce, but with us it is altogether different. There being only
three or four white officers to each regiment, the few extra camels in
the train make no appreciable difference. Besides, these black fellows
consider it quite natural and proper that their white officers should
fare in a very different way from themselves; whereas a British Tommy
would be inclined to grumble if he saw his officers enjoying luxuries,
while he himself had to rough it."
As the horse only cost three pounds, and the camel only five, Gregory's
store of money was not seriously affected by the purchases. For both
animals, although in poor condition from their journey from Kordofan, a
fortnight's rest and good feeding did wonders.
Zaki had not much to do, but Gregory was well satisfied with the
selection he had made. He looked after and groomed the horse, saw that
the native with the camel took care of it, and went down regularly to
the river to water it every evening, while he himself did the same with
the horse. He always had a jug of cold tea ready for Gregory, whenever
he came in, and the floor of the tent was kept scrupulously clean.
Zaki's only regret was that he could not do more for his master, but he
was consoled by being told that the time would soon come when he would
be more actively engaged.
From the first day of his arrival, Gregory was kept fully employed.
Sometimes he assisted the officer of the Intelligence Department, in
interviewing fugitives who had arrived from Berber and other points on
the river, from Kordofan, or from villages on the White Nile. Sometimes
he carried messages from the General to the officers in command of the
two Egyptian brigades. He had to listen to disputes between natives
returning to their homes, from which they had been driven by the
Dervishes, and those they found in possession of their land. He took
notes of the arguments on both sides, and submitted them to the General
for his decision.
The work would have been trifling in any other climate, but was
exhausting in the sweltering heat of the day, and he was not sorry when
the sun sank, and he could take off his khaki tunic and go down to the
river for a swim.
One evening, as they were sitting after dinner, General Hunter said:
"It is very annoying that, while these natives making their way down
the country are able to tell us a good deal of what is taking place on
the Nile, from Omdurman down to Metemmeh; and while we also get news of
the state of things at Berber and Abu Hamed; we know nothing whatever
of Mahmud's intentions, nor indeed anything of what is doing at
Metemmeh, itself, since it was captured by the Dervishes and, as we
heard, the whole population destroyed.
"Of course, Mahmud has the choice of three courses. He can stay where
he is, he can march his whole force to Berber, or he can advance
against us here. I don't suppose that he has any idea of the progress
the railway is making from Wady Halfa. He may have heard, and no doubt
he has heard, that we are making a road of some sort across the desert
in the direction of Abu Hamed; but of the capabilities of the railway
he can form no idea, and may well believe that the march of an army,
across what is practically a waterless desert, is a matter of
impossibility.
"On the other hand, he knows that we are gathering a considerable force
here; and, with his limited knowledge, doubtless supposes that we are
going to cross the Bayuda desert, to Metemmeh, as the Gordon relief
column did; or that, if we are not coming that way, we intend to follow
the river bank up to Berber. Unquestionably his best course, if he
considers, as we may be sure he does, that the force under his command
is strong enough to crush us here, would be to push across the desert,
and fall upon us before reinforcements arrive. But it is reported, and
I believe truly, that the Khalifa, his father, has positively refused
to let him do so; still, sons have disobeyed their fathers before now.
"There is, it is true, the difficulty of water; but that is not so
serious, in the case of a Dervish force, as it is with us. In the first
place, they can march twice as far as we can. In the second place, they
are accustomed to go a long time without water, and are but little
affected by the heat. Lastly, they have nothing to carry except their
weapons, a few handfuls of dates, and their water gourds. Still, we
know that the forces that have, one after another, arrived here have
been greatly weakened by the journey. However, Mahmud may attempt it,
for he must know, from his spies here, that we have at present no such
land transport as would be required, were we intending to advance
across the desert. He may, therefore, move at least a portion of his
force to Berber; trusting to the fact that, even did we make an advance
south from here, with the intention of cutting off his retreat to
Khartoum, he would be able to reach Metemmeh before we could get there.
"Undoubtedly, a British general, if commanding a force constituted as
Mahmud's is, would make a dash across the desert and fall upon us;
unless, indeed, he felt certain that, after the difficulties we
encountered last time we attempted to take the desert route, we should
be certain to advance by the river, step by step, continuing the policy
that we have followed since we began to push forward from Assouan.
"Mahmud is in a very difficult position. He is controlled by his father
at Khartoum. Among those with him are many important Emirs, men of
almost equal rank with himself; and he could hardly hope that whatever
decision he might personally arrive at would be generally accepted by
all; and those who opposed him would do so with all the more force, as
they could declare that, in making any movement, he was acting in
opposition to his father's orders.
"However, our total ignorance as to Mahmud's plans and intentions is
most unfortunate; but it can hardly be helped, for naturally the
natives coming down from Kordofan give Metemmeh a very wide berth. As
to sending up any of the natives here, to find out what is going on, it
is out of the question, for they would be detected at once, as their
language is so different from that of the Baggara."
Later on, the General retired to his quarters. Gregory went there.
"Can I speak to you for a few minutes, sir?" he asked.
"Certainly, Mr. Hilliard. What can I do for you?"
"I have been thinking over what you were saying, regarding information
as to Mahmud's intentions. With your permission, I am ready to
undertake to go into his camp, and to find out what the general opinion
is as to his plans."
"Impossible, Mr. Hilliard! I admire your courage in making the offer,
but it would be going to certain death."
"I do not think so, sir. I talk Baggara better than the Negro dialect
that passes here. It is among the Baggara that I am likely to learn
something of my father's fate; and, as the old nurse from whom I learnt
these languages had been for a long time among that tribe, she devoted,
at my mother's request, more time to teaching me their Arab dialect
than any other, and I am convinced that I could pass unsuspected among
them, as far as language is concerned. There is no great difference
between Arab features and European, and I think that, when I am stained
brown and have my head partly shaved, according to their fashion, there
will be little fear of my being detected.
"As to costume, that is easy enough. I have not seen any of the
Dervishes yet, but the natives who have come in from El Obeid, or any
other neighbourhood where they are masters, could give me an account of
their dress, and the way in which they wear the patches on their
clothes, which are the distinguishing mark of the Mahdists."
"I could tell you that. So could any of the officers. Their dress
differs very little from the ordinary Arab costume. Nearly all wear
loose white trousers, coming down to the ankles. In some cases these
are the usual baggy Eastern articles, in others the legs are separate.
They almost all wear the white garment coming down to the knee, with of
course a sash round the waist, and sleeves reaching down to the elbow
or an inch or two below it. Some wear turbans, but the majority simply
skullcaps. I could get the dress made up in three or four hours. But
the risk is altogether too great, and I do not think that I should be
justified in allowing you to undertake it."
"I really do not think that there will be any great danger, sir. If
there were no great object to be gained, it would be different; but in
view of the great importance, as you said this evening, of learning
Mahmud's intentions, the risk of one life being lost, even were it
great, is nothing. As you say, the Sirdar's plans might be greatly
affected by the course Mahmud adopts; and in such a case, the life of a
subaltern like myself is a matter scarcely to be considered.
"From childhood I have been preparing to go among the Dervishes, and
this is what I propose doing, as soon as Khartoum is recaptured.
Therefore sir if, by anticipating my work by a few months, or possibly
a year, I can render a service to the army, I would gladly undertake
it, if you will give me permission to do so."
The General was, for a minute or two, silent.
"Well, Hilliard," he said at last, "on thinking it over as you put it,
I do not know that I should be justified in refusing your offer. It is
a very gallant one, and may possibly meet with success."
"Thank you, sir! I shall be really glad to enter upon the work I have
looked forward to. Although it may have no direct bearing upon the
discovery of my father's fate, it will be a start in that direction. Do
you think that I had better go mounted, or on foot?"
"I should say certainly on horseback, but there is no occasion for any
hasty determination. Every step should be carefully considered, and we
should, as far as possible, foresee and provide for every emergency
that may arise. Think it over well, yourself. Some time tomorrow I will
discuss it again with you."
Gregory went straight back to his hut.
"Come in, Zaki, I want to speak to you.
"Light the lamp, and shut the door. Now sit down there. Do you know the
country between this and Metemmeh?"
"Yes, master; I travelled there with my father, six years ago."
"Is it difficult to find the way?"
"It is not difficult. There are many signs of the passage of caravans.
There are skeletons of the camels of the English expedition; there are
very many of them. It would not be difficult, even for one who has
never passed them, to find the way."
"And there are wells?"
"There are wells at Howeyat and Abu Halfa, at Gakdul and Abu Klea, also
at Gubat."
"That is to say, water will be found nearly every day?"
"Quite every day, to one on horseback. The longest distance is from
Gakdul to Abu Klea, but that would not be too long for mounted men, and
could even be done by a native on foot, in a long day's march."
"Do you know whether Mahmud's army is in Metemmeh, or outside the
town?"
"From what I have heard, most of the Dervish force is on the hills
behind the town. They say Metemmeh is full of dead, and that even the
Dervishes do not care to live there."
"The Baggara are mostly mounted, are they not?"
"Most of them are so, though there are some on foot. The leaders of the
tribesmen who fight for the Khalifa are all on horseback, but most of
the army are on foot."
"You do not speak the Baggara language, I suppose?"
Zaki shook his head.
"I know a little Arabic, but not much."
"I suppose most of the Arab tribes in the Soudan speak a dialect very
much like the Baggara?"
"Yes; it is everywhere Arabic, and there is but little difference. They
can all understand each other, and talk together. May your servant ask
why you put these questions?"
"Yes, Zaki, but you must not mention what I tell you to a soul."
"Zaki will be as silent as the grave."
"Well, I am going up dressed as a Mahdist. I can speak the Baggara
tongue well. I am going to try and find out what they are going to do:
whether they will march to Berber, or come here, or remain at
Metemmeh."
Zaki stared at his master, in speechless amazement. Gregory could not
help smiling at the expression of his face.
"There does not seem much difficulty in it," he said. "I can speak with
you in the dialect of Dongola, but the Baggara language is much easier
to me, because I have been accustomed to speak Arabic since I was a
child. Of course my skin will be dyed, and I shall wear the Dervish
dress. There is no difficulty in this matter."
"But they would cut you in pieces, my lord, if they found out that you
were a white."
"No doubt they would, but there is no reason why they should find that
out. It would be much more dangerous for you to go into their camp than
it would be for me. In the first place, you can scarcely speak any
Arabic; and in the second, they would see by your features that you are
one of the Jaalin. Whereas my features, when stained, would be much
more like those of the Arabs than yours would.
"Where should I be most likely to meet the Dervishes first?"
"I do not think any of them are much this side of Metemmeh, at present.
Sometimes parties ride down to Gakdul, and they have even passed on
till they are within sight of this camp; but when they have found out
that the wells are still unoccupied, and the army here quiet, they go
back again."
"If I go on horseback, Zaki, I shall want someone with me who will act
as a guide; and who will look after his horse and mine at some place
near the river, where he can find a hiding place while I am away in the
Dervish camp."
"Would you take me, my lord?" Zaki said quickly.
"I would much rather take you than anyone else, if you are willing to
go, Zaki."
"Surely I will go with my lord," the native said. "No one has ever been
so good to me as he has. If my lord is killed, I am ready to die with
him. He may count on me to do anything that he requires, even to go
with him into the Dervish camp. I might go as a slave, my lord."
"That would not do, Zaki. I do not wish to travel as a person who could
ride attended by a slave. People might say, 'Who is this man? Where
does he come from? How is it that no one knows a man who rides with a
slave?'
"My great object will be to enter the camp quietly, as one who has but
left half an hour before. When I have once entered it, and they ask
whence I came, I must tell them some likely story that I have made up:
as, for example, that I have come from El Obeid, and that I am an
officer of the governor there; that, finding he could not get away
himself, he yielded to my request that I might come, and help to drive
the infidels into the sea."
Zaki nodded.
"That would be a good tale, my lord, for men who have escaped from El
Obeid, and have come here, have said that the Khalifa's troops there
have not been called to join him at Omdurman; for it is necessary to
keep a strong force there, as many of the tribes of the province would
rise in rebellion, if they had the chance. Therefore you would not be
likely to meet anyone from El Obeid in Mahmud's camp."
"How is it, Zaki, that when so many in the Soudan have suffered at the
hands of the Dervishes, they not only remain quiet, but supply the
largest part of the Khalifa's army?"
"Because, my lord, none of them can trust the others. It is madness for
one tribe to rise, as the Jaalin did at Metemmeh. The Dervishes wiped
them out from the face of the earth. Many follow him because they see
that Allah has always given victory to the Mahdists; therefore the
Mahdi must be his prophet. Others join his army because their villages
have been destroyed, and their fields wasted, and they see no other way
of saving themselves from starvation.
"There are many who fight because they are fond of fighting. You see
how gladly they take service with you, and fight against their own
countrymen, although you are Christians. Suppose you were to conquer
the Khalifa tomorrow, half his army would enlist in your service, if
you would take them. A man who would be contented to till his fields,
if he could do so in peace and quiet, fears that he may see his produce
eaten by others and his house set on fire; and would rather leave his
home and fight--he cares not against whom.
"The Mahdist army are badly fed and badly paid. They can scarce keep
life together. But in the Egyptian Army the men are well taken care of.
They have their rations, and their pay. They say that if they are
wounded, or lose a limb, and are no more able to fight, they receive a
pension. Is it wonderful that they should come to you and be faithful?"
"Well, Zaki, we won't talk any longer, now. It is agreed, then, that if
I go on this expedition, you will accompany me?"
"Certainly, master. Wherever you go I am ready to go. Whatever happens
to you will, I hope, happen to me."
On the following afternoon, Gregory was sent for.
"I have given the matter a good deal of thought, Mr. Hilliard," the
General said, "and have decided to accept your offer. I suppose that
you have been thinking the matter over. Do you decide to go on foot, or
mounted?"
"On horseback, sir. My boy is perfectly willing to go with me. He knows
the way, and the position of the wells on the road. My plan is that,
when we get near Metemmeh, he shall remain with the horses somewhere
near the river; and I shall enter the camp on foot. I am less likely to
be noticed that way. If questioned, my story will be that my father was
at El Obeid, and that the Governor there is, by the Khalifa's orders,
holding his force in hand to put down any outbreaks there may be in the
province; and that, wishing to fight against the infidel, I have come
on my own account. If I am asked why I had not come on horseback, I
shall say that I had ridden to within the last two or three miles, and
that the horse had then died.
"But I do not expect to be questioned at all, as one man on foot is as
nothing, in an army of twenty or thirty thousand, gathered from all
over the Soudan."
"You quite understand, Mr. Hilliard, that you are taking your life in
your hands? And that there is no possibility, whatever, of our doing
anything for you, if you get into trouble?"
"Quite, sir. If I am detected, I shall probably be killed at once. I do
not think that there is more risk in it than in going into battle. As I
have told you, I have, so far as I know, no relatives in the world; and
there will be no one to grieve, if I never come back again.
"As to the clothes, I can easily buy them from one of the natives here.
Many of them are dressed in the garments of the Dervishes who were
killed when we came up here; except, of course, that the patches were
taken off. I will get my man to buy a suit for himself, and one for me.
It would be better than having new clothes made; for, even if these
were dirtied, they would not look old. When he has bought the clothes,
he can give them a good washing, and then get a piece of stuff to sew
on as patches.
"I am afraid, sir, that there will be little chance of my being able to
obtain any absolute news of Mahmud's intentions; but only to glean
general opinion, in the camp. It is not likely that the news of any
intended departure would be kept a secret up till the last moment,
among the Dervishes, as it would be here."
"Quite so," the General agreed. "We may take it as certain that the
matter would be one of common talk. Of course, Mahmud and his principal
advisers might change their minds, at any moment. Still I think that,
were it intended to make a move against us, or to Berber, it would be
generally known.
"I may tell you that we do not intend to cross the Bayuda desert. We
shall go up the river, but this is a secret that will be kept till the
last moment. And before we start, we shall do all in our power to
spread a belief that we are going to advance to Metemmeh. We know that
they are well informed, by their spies here, of our movements. We shall
send a strong force to make a reconnaissance, as far as Gakdul. This
will appear to be a preliminary step to our advance, and should keep
Mahmud inactive, till too late. He will not dare advance to Berber,
because he will be afraid of our cutting him off from Omdurman.
"You are satisfied with your horse? It is advisable that you should
have a good one, and yet not so good as to attract attention."
"Yes; I could not want a better horse, General. He is not handsome, but
I have ridden him a great deal, and he is certainly fast; and, being
desert bred, I have no doubt has plenty of endurance. I shall, of
course, get one for my boy."
"There are plenty in the transport yard. They have been bought up from
fugitives who have come in here. I will write you an order to select
any one you choose; and if you see one you think better than your own,
you can take it also; and hand yours over to the transport, to keep
until you return.
"You should take a Martini-Henri with you. I will give you an order for
one, on one of the native regiments. They are, as you know, armed with
them; and have, of course, a few cases of spare rifles. A good many
have fallen into the hands of the Dervishes, at one time or another, so
that your carrying such a weapon will not excite any remark. It would
not do to take a revolver, but no doubt you will be able to buy pistols
that have been brought down by the fugitives. You will certainly be
able to get them at some of those Greek shops. They buy up all that
kind of thing. Of course, you will carry one of the Dervish long
knives.
"Is there anything else that you can think of?"
"Nothing, sir."
"When will you be ready, do you suppose?"
"By the day after tomorrow, sir. I shall start after dark, so that no
one will notice my going. With your permission, I will come round
before I set off, so that you can see whether the disguise is good
enough to pass."