As soon as the sun was up they pursued their journey, Gregory's compass
being now available.
In half an hour, Zaki said, "There is a sign of the track, my lord,"
and he pointed to the skeleton of a camel.
"How many more miles do you think we have to go, Zaki?"
"We must be a good half way, my lord."
"Yes, quite that, I should think. Looking at the map, I should say that
we must be about abreast of the line of Gakdul. This route is only just
indicated, and there are no halting places marked upon it. Still, there
must be water, otherwise caravans could not use it. We have about sixty
miles farther to go, so that if the horses were fresh we might be there
this evening; but as it is, we have still two, if not three days'
journey before us.
"Well, we must hope that we shall find some water. Just let the horses
wet their mouths; we can keep on for a bit, before we have a drink.
"How much more is there left?" he asked, after the lad had given a
little water to each horse.
"Not above two gourdfuls."
"Well, we must ride as far as we can and, at any rate, must keep one
gourdful for tomorrow. If we cover twenty-five miles today--and I don't
think the horses can do more--we can manage, if they are entirely done
up, to walk the other thirty-five miles. However, as I said, there must
be wells, and even if they are dry, we may be able to scratch the sand
out and find a little water. What food have we got?"
"Only about two pounds of dates."
"That is a poor supply for two days, Zaki, but we must make the best of
them. We will only eat a few today, so as to have a fair meal in the
morning. We shall want it, if we have to walk thirty-five miles over
the sand."
"It will not be all sand," Zaki said; "there is grass for the last
fifteen miles, near the river; and there were cultivated fields about
ten miles out, before the Dervishes came."
"That is better. Now we will be moving."
The herbage the horses had cropped during the halt had served, to a
certain degree, to supply the place of water; and they proceeded at a
brisker pace than Gregory had expected.
"Keep a sharp lookout for water. Even if the wells are dry, you will
see a difference in the growth of the bushes round them; and as it is
certain that this route has not been used for some time, there may even
be grass."
They rode on at an easy canter, and avoided pressing the horses in the
slightest degree, allowing them to walk whenever they chose. The heat
was very great, and after four hours' riding Gregory called a halt.
"We must have done twenty miles," he said. "The bushes look green about
here, and the horses have got something of a feed."
"I think this must be one of the old halting places," Zaki said,
looking round as they dismounted. "See, my lord, there are some broken
gourds, and some rags scattered about."
"So there are," Gregory said. "We will take the bridles out of the
horses' mouths, so that they can chew the leaves up better; and then we
will see if we can find where the wells were."
Twenty yards farther away they found a deep hole.
"This was one of them," the lad said, "but it is quite dry. See, there
is an old bucket lying at the bottom. I will look about; there may be
some more of them."
Two others were discovered, and the sand at the bottom of one of them
looked a somewhat darker colour than the others.
"Well, we will dig here," Gregory said. "Bring down those two half
gourds; they will help us to shovel the sand aside."
The bottom of the hole was some six feet across, and they set to work
in the middle of it. By the time they had got down two feet, the sand
was soft and clammy.
"We will get to water, Zaki, if we have to stay here all day!" said
Gregory.
It was hard work, and it was not until after four hours' toil that, to
their delight, they found the sand wet under their feet. They had taken
it by turns to use the scoop, for the labour of making the hole large
enough for them both to work at once would have been excessive.
In another hour there was half an inch of water in the hole. Gregory
took a gourd, and buried it in the soft soil until the water flowed in
over the brim.
"Give me the other one down, Zaki. I will fill that, too, and then we
will both start drinking together."
Five minutes later, the two took a long draught. The scoops were then
refilled and carried to the horses, who drank with an eagerness that
showed how great was their thirst. Three times the gourds were filled,
and emptied.
"Now hand me down that water bag."
This was half filled, and then, exhausted with their work, they threw
themselves down and slept for some hours. When they awoke, the sun was
setting.
"Bring up the horses, Zaki. Let them drink as much as they like."
The gourds had each to be filled six times, before the animals were
satisfied. The riders then took another deep drink, ate a handful of
dates, and mounted.
"We are safe now, and only have to fear a band of marauding Arabs; and
it would be hard luck, were we to fall in with them. We had better ride
slowly for the first hour or so. We must not press the horses, after
they have had such a drink."
"Very well, master."
"There is no particular reason for hurry, and even if we miss the trail
we know that, by keeping straight on, we shall strike the river
somewhere near Korti or Ambukol."
For an hour they went at a walk, and then the horses broke into their
usual pace, of their own accord. It was getting dark, now, and soon
even Zaki could not make out the track.
"The horses will keep to it, my lord," he said; "their sight is a great
deal better than ours, and I dare say their smell may have something to
do with it. Besides, the track is clear of bushes, so we should know at
once, if they strayed from it."
They rode for five hours, and then felt that the horses were beginning
to fag.
"We will halt here," Gregory said. "We certainly cannot be more than
five-and-twenty miles from the river; and, if we start at dawn, shall
be there before the heat of the day begins. We can have another handful
of dates, and give the horses a handful each, and that will leave us a
few for the morning."
The horses, after being given the dates, were again turned loose; and
it was not long before they were heard pulling the leaves off bushes.
"Our case is a good deal better this evening than it was yesterday,"
Gregory said. "Then it looked as if it would be rather a close thing,
for I am sure the horses could not have gone much farther, if we had
not found the water. I wish we had a good feed to give them."
"They will do very well on the bushes, my lord. They get little else,
when they are with the Arabs; a handful of durra, occasionally, when
they are at work; but at other times they only get what they can pick
up. If their master is a good one, they may get a few dates. They will
carry us briskly enough to the river, tomorrow."
They did not talk long, and were soon sound asleep. Zaki was the first
to wake.
"Day is just breaking, master."
"You don't say so!" Gregory grumbled, sleepily. "It seems to me that we
have only just lain down."
They ate the remainder of their dates, took a drink of water, and gave
two gourdfuls to the horses; and, in a quarter of an hour, were on
their way again. They had ridden but two or three miles, when Zaki
exclaimed:
"There are some horsemen!"
"Eight of them, Zaki, and they are evidently riding to cut us off! As
far as I can see, only four of them have guns; the others have spears.
"I think we can manage them. With my breech-loader I can fire two shots
to their one, and we have pistols, as well."
The Arabs drew up ahead of them, and remained quiet there until the
others came to within fifty yards, and checked their horses. A man who
appeared to be the leader of the party shouted the usual salutation, to
which Gregory replied.
The leader said, "Where are my friends going and why do they halt?"
"We are on a mission. We wish to see if the infidels are still at
Ambukol."
"For that you will not want guns," the man said, "and we need them
badly. I beg of you to give them to us."
"They may be of use to us. We may come upon infidel scouts."
"Nevertheless, my friends, you must hand them over to us. We are, as
you see, eight, and you are only two. The law of the desert is that the
stronger take, and the weaker lose."
"It may be so, sometimes," Gregory said quietly, "but not in this case.
I advise you to ride your way, and we will ride ours."
Then he said to Zaki, "Dismount and stand behind your horse, and fire
over the saddle; but don't fire the first shot now."
He threw himself from his saddle. Scarcely had he done so when four
shots were fired, and Gregory took a steady aim at the chief. The
latter threw up his arms, and fell. With a yell of fury, the others
dashed forward. Zaki did not fire until they were within twenty yards,
and directly afterwards Gregory fired again. There were now but five
assailants.
"Now for your pistols, Zaki!" he cried, glancing round for the first
time.
He then saw why Zaki had not fired when he first did so--his horse was
lying dead in front of him, shot through the head.
"Stand by me! Don't throw away a shot! You take the man on the other
side of the horse. I will take the others."
Steadily the four pistols were fired. As the Arabs rode up, two of them
fell, and another was wounded. Dismayed at the loss of so many of their
number, the three survivors rode off at full speed.
"Are you hurt, Zaki?"
"A spear grazed my cheek, my lord; that is all. It was my own fault. I
kept my last barrel too long. However, it tumbled him over.
"Are you hurt, master?"
"I have got a ball in the shoulder. That fellow without a spear has got
pistols, and fired just as I did; or rather, an instant before. That
shook my aim, but he has a ball in him, somewhere.
"Just see if they have got some dates on their saddles," for the horses
of the fallen men had remained by the side of their masters' bodies.
"Yes, my lord," Zaki said, examining them. "Two bags, nearly full."
"That is satisfactory. Pick out the best horse for yourself, and then
we will ride on. But before we go, we will break the stocks of these
four guns, and carry the barrels off, and throw them into the bushes, a
mile or two away."
As soon as this was done, they mounted and rode on. They halted in a
quarter of an hour and, after Gregory's arm had been bound tightly to
his side with his sash, both they and their horses had a good meal of
dates. Then they rode on again, and in three hours saw some white tents
ahead.
There was a slight stir as they were seen coming, and a dozen black
soldiers sprang up and ran forward, fixing bayonets as they did so.
"We are friends!" Gregory shouted, in Arabic; and Zaki repeated the
shout in his own language.
The soldiers looked doubtful, and stood together in a group. They knew
that the Dervishes were sometimes ready to throw away their own lives,
if they could but kill some of their enemy.
One of them shouted back, "Stay where you are until I call an officer!"
He went back to the tents, and returned with a white officer, whom
Gregory at once recognized as one of those who had come up with him
from Wady Halfa.
"Leslie," he shouted in English, "will you kindly call off your
soldiers? One of their muskets might go off, accidentally. I suppose
you don't remember me. I am Hilliard, who came up with you in the
steamer."
The officer had stopped in astonishment, at hearing this seeming
Dervish address him, by name, in English. He then advanced, giving an
order to his men to fall back.
"Is it really you, Hilliard?" he said, as he approached the horsemen,
who were coming forward at a walk. "Which of you is it? For I don't see
any resemblance, in either of you."
"It is I, Leslie. I am not surprised that you don't know me."
"But what are you masquerading for, in this dress; and where have you
come from?"
"Perhaps I had better not say, Leslie. I have been doing some scouting
across the desert, with my boy here. We have had a long ride. In the
first place, my arm wants attending to. I have a bullet in the
shoulder. The next thing we need is something to eat; for the last
three days we have had nothing but dates, and not too many of them.
"Is there any chance of getting taken up to Merawi? We came down from
there to Korti, in a native vessel."
"Yes; a gunboat with some native craft will be going up this afternoon.
I will give orders, at once, that your horses shall be put on board."
When the ball had been extracted from his shoulder, and the wound
dressed and bandaged by the surgeon in charge, Gregory went up to the
tents again, where he was warmly received by the three white officers
of the Negro regiment. Breakfast already had been prepared, Zaki being
handed over to the native officers. After having made a hearty meal,
Gregory related the adventure with the Arabs in the desert, merely
saying that they had found there were no Dervishes at Gakdul.
"But why didn't you go straight back, instead of coming down here?"
"I wanted to see whether this line was open, and whether there were any
wells on it. We only found one, and it took us four or five hours' hard
work to get at the water. It is lucky, indeed, that we did so; for our
horses were getting very done up, and I had begun to think that they
would not reach our destination alive."
In the afternoon, the adventurers started with the boats going up to
Merawi and, the next morning, arrived at the camp. The Dervish patches
had been removed from their clothes, as soon as they arrived at
Ambukol. Gregory could have borrowed a white suit there; but as the
stain on his skin, although somewhat lighter than when first put on,
was too dark, he declined the offer.
"No one may notice me as I land, now," he said, "but everyone would
stare at a man with a brown face and white uniform."
Leaving Zaki to get the horses on shore, Gregory went straight to the
General's quarters. He told the sentry that he wished to see the
General, on business.
"You cannot go in," the man said. "The General is engaged."
"If you send in word to him that his messenger has returned, I am sure
he will see me."
"You can sit down here, then," the sentry said. "When the officer with
him comes out, I will give your message to his orderly."
Gregory, however, was in no humour to be stopped; and in an
authoritative voice called, "Orderly!"
A soldier came down directly from the guard room.
"Tell the General, at once, that Mr. Hilliard has returned."
With a look of wonder, the orderly went into the tent. Half a minute
later, he returned.
"You are to come in," he said.
As the General had seen Gregory in his disguise, before starting, he of
course recognized him.
"My dear Hilliard," he said, getting up and shaking him cordially by
the hand, "I am heartily glad to see you back. You have been frequently
in my thoughts; and though I had every confidence in your sharpness, I
have regretted, more than once, that I allowed you to go.
"I suppose you failed to get there. It is hardly possible that you
should have done so, in the time. I suppose, when you got to Gakdul,
you learned that the Dervishes were at Abu Klea."
"They were at Abu Klea, General; but I made a detour, and got into
their camp at Metemmeh."
"You did, and have returned safely! I congratulate you, most warmly.
"I told you, Macdonald," he said, turning to the officer with whom he
had been engaged, "that I had the greatest hope that Mr. Hilliard would
get through. He felt so confident in himself that I could scarce help
feeling confidence in him, too."
"He has done well, indeed!" Colonel Macdonald said. "I should not have
liked to send any of my officers on such an adventure, though they have
been here for years."
"Well, will you sit down, Mr. Hilliard," the General said, "and give us
a full account? In the first place, what you have learned? And in the
second, how you have learned it?"
Gregory related the conversations he had heard among the soldiers; and
then that of Mahmud's brother and the commander of the Dervish cavalry.
Then he described the events of his journey there, his narrow escape
from capture, and the pursuit by the Dervishes at Abu Klea; how he gave
them the slip, struck the Ambukol caravan road, had a fight with a band
of robber Arabs, and finally reached the Egyptian camp.
"An excellently managed business!" the General said, warmly. "You have
certainly had some narrow escapes, and seem to have adopted the only
course by which you could have got off safely. The information you have
brought is of the highest importance. I shall telegraph, at once, to
the Sirdar that there will assuredly be no advance on the part of
Mahmud from Metemmeh; which will leave him free to carry out the plans
he has formed. I shall of course, in my written despatch, give him full
particulars of the manner in which I have obtained that information."
"It was a very fine action," Macdonald agreed. "The lad has shown that
he has a good head, as well as great courage.
"You will make your way, Mr. Hilliard--that is, if you don't try this
sort of thing again. A man may get through it once, but it would be
just tempting providence to try it a second time."
"Now, Mr. Hilliard," the General said, "you had best go to your
quarters. I will ask the surgeon to attend to you, at once. You must
keep quiet, and do no more duty until you are discharged from the sick
list."
Ten days later, orders were issued that the brigade under Macdonald;
consisting of the 3rd Egyptians, and the 9th, 10th, and 11th Soudanese,
together with a mule battery; were to move forward the next day to
Kassinger, the advanced post some ten miles higher up the river. This
seemed only a preliminary step, and the general opinion was that
another fortnight would elapse before there would be a general
movement.
A reconnaissance with friendly Arabs had, however, been made ahead
towards Abu Hamed, and had obtained certain information that the
garrison at that place was by no means a strong one. The information
Gregory had gathered had shown that Mahmud had no intention of
advancing against Merawi; and that no reinforcements had, as yet,
started to join the force at Abu Hamed; the Dervish leader being
convinced that the Nile was not yet high enough to admit of boats going
up the cataract.
Thus, everything favoured the Sirdar's plan to capture Abu Hamed, and
enable the railway to be constructed to that place before Mahmud could
receive the news that the troops were in motion. He therefore directed
General Hunter to push forward, with only one brigade, leaving the rest
to hold Merawi; and ordered the camel corps, and the friendly Arabs, to
advance across the desert as far as the Gakdul wells, where their
appearance would lead Mahmud to believe that they were the advance
guard of the coming army.
Two days later Gregory, on going to the headquarters tent, was told
that General Hunter and his staff would start, in an hour's time, to
inspect the camp at Kassinger.
"Do you think you are fit to ride?" the chief of the staff asked him.
"Perfectly, sir. The doctor discharged me yesterday as fit for duty,
but advised me to keep my arm in a sling, for a time."
"In that case, you may accompany us.
"It is a little uncertain when we shall return," the officer said, with
a smile; "therefore I advise you to take all your belongings with you.
Have them packed up quietly. We do not wish any suspicions to arise
that we are not returning this evening."
"Thank you, sir!" Gregory said, gratefully. "I shall be ready to start
in an hour."
He returned in high glee to his hut, for he felt certain that an
immediate advance was about to take place.
"Zaki," he said, "I am going to ride with the General; and, as it is
possible I may be stationed at Kassinger for a short time, you had
better get the camel brought up, and start as soon as you have packed
the things on it. I am going to ride over with the staff, in an hour,
and shall overtake you by the way. How long will you be?"
"Half an hour, bey."
"I will be there by that time, and will take my horse; then you can go
on with the camel."
Behind the headquarter camp the work of packing up was also going on;
the camels being sent off in threes and fours, as they were laden, so
as to attract no attention. Half an hour later the General came out,
and without delay started with the staff, Captain Fitton remaining
behind to see that the rest of the stores were sent off, and a small
tent for the use of the General. All heavy packages were to be taken up
by water.
The arrival of the General at Kassinger excited no surprise, as he had
ridden over the day before; but when, in the afternoon, orders were
issued that the camels should all be laden, in preparation for a march
that evening; the Soudanese could with difficulty be restrained from
giving vent to their exuberant joy that, at length, their long halt was
at an end, and they were to have another chance of getting at the
enemy.
A large train of camels had been quietly collected at Kassinger,
sufficient to carry the necessary supplies for the use of the column,
for some three weeks' time; and it was hoped that, before long, the
gunboats and many of the native craft, with stores, would join them at
Abu Hamed.
The force started at sunset. The distance to be travelled was a hundred
and eighteen miles, and the road was a very difficult one. The ground
rose steeply, almost from the edge of the river; and at times had to be
traversed in single file.
As night came on, the scene was a weird one. On one side the rocky
ascent rose, black and threatening. On the other, the river rushed
foaming, only broken by the rocks and little islands of the cataract.
Gregory had been ordered to remain with the camel train; to keep them,
as much as possible, together, and prevent wide gaps from occurring in
the ranks. It was tedious work; and the end of the train did not
arrive, until broad daylight, at the spot where the infantry halted. He
at once told Zaki to pitch his little tent, which he had already shown
him how to do, while he went to see if there were any orders at
headquarters.
He found the staff were just sitting down to a rough breakfast. Being
told, after the meal, that he would not be wanted during the day; but
that at night he was to continue his work with the camels; he went back
to his tent, and threw himself on his bed. But, in spite of the fly
being fastened up, and a blanket thrown over the tent, the heat was so
great that he was only able to doze off occasionally.
He observed that even the black troops suffered from the heat. They had
erected screens, with their blankets placed end to end, supported by
their guns; and lay there, getting what air there was, and sheltered
from the direct rays of the sun. Few slept. Most of them talked, or
smoked.
There was some argument, among the officers, as to the relative
advantages of night and day marches. All agreed that, if only one march
had to be done, it was better to do it at night; but when, as in the
present case, it would last for seven or eight days, many thought that,
terrible as would be the heat, it would be better to march in the day,
and permit the troops to sleep at night. This opinion certainly seemed
to be justified; for, at the end of the third day, the men were so
completely worn out from want of sleep that they stumbled as they
marched; and were with difficulty restrained from throwing themselves
down, to get the much-needed rest.
Gregory always went down, as soon as the column arrived at its halting
place, as he did before starting in the evening, to bathe in some quiet
pool or backwater; and, much as he had set himself against taking
spirits, he found that he was unable to eat his meals, unless he took a
spoonful or two with his water, or cold tea.
On the evening of the third day, they passed the battlefield of
Kirkeban, where General Earle fell when the River Expedition was
attacked by the Dervishes. Next day they halted at Hebbeh, where
Colonel Stewart, on his way down with a number of refugees from
Khartoum, was treacherously murdered. A portion of the steamer was
still visible in the river.
Day after day the column plodded on, for the most part strung out in
single file, the line extending over many miles; and, late on the
evening of the 6th of August, they reached a spot within a mile and a
half of Abu Hamed, the hundred and eighteen miles having been
accomplished in seven days and a half.
So far as they knew, the enemy had, as yet, received no news of their
approach. Three hours' rest was given the troops, and then they marched
out, in order of battle.
A fair idea of the position had been obtained from the friendly
natives. Abu Hamed lay on the river. The desert sloped gradually down
to it, on all sides; with a sharp, deep descent within two hundred
yards of the town. The houses were all loopholed, for defence.
When within a mile of the town, they must have been sighted by the
Dervish sentries on a lofty watchtower. No movement, however, was
visible, and there was a general feeling of disappointment, as the
impression gained ground that the enemy had retreated. The 9th and 10th
Soudanese made a sweep round, to attack from the desert side. The 11th,
and half of the Egyptian battalion--the other half having been left to
guard the baggage--followed the course of the river.
Major Kincaid rode forward, to the edge of the steep slope that looked
down to the town. He could see no one moving about. The Dervish
trenches, about eighty yards away, appeared empty; and he was about to
write a message to the General, saying that the place was deserted,
when a sharp fire suddenly opened upon him. He turned to ride back to
warn the General, but he was too late; for, at the same moment, Hunter
with his staff galloped up to the edge of the slope, and was
immediately saluted by a heavy volley; which, however, was fired so
wildly that none of the party was hit.
The artillery were now ordered to bombard the place. At first, they
could only fire at the tops of the houses; but, changing their
position, they found a spot where they could command the town. For half
an hour this continued. The infantry were drawn up just beyond the
brow, where they could not be seen by the defenders. The Dervishes gave
no signs of life, and as the artillery could not depress their guns
sufficiently to enable them to rake the trenches, the infantry were
ordered to charge.
As soon as they reached the edge of the dip, a storm of musketry broke
out from the Dervish trenches, but, fortunately, the greater portion of
the bullets flew overhead. Macdonald had intended to carry the place at
the point of the bayonet, without firing; but the troops, suddenly
exposed to such a storm of musketry, halted and opened fire without
orders; the result being that they suffered a great deal more than they
would have done, had they crossed the eighty yards, which divided them
from the trench, by a rush. Standing, as they did, against the skyline,
the Dervishes were able to pick them off; they themselves showing only
their heads above the trenches. Two of the mounted officers of the 10th
were killed, and two had their horses shot under them.
Macdonald and his officers rushed along in front of the line, knocking
up the men's muskets; and abusing them, in the strongest terms, for
their disobedience to orders. The moment the fire ceased, the troops
rushed forward; and the Dervishes at once abandoned their trenches, and
ran back to the line of houses. These were crowded together, divided by
narrow winding lanes, and here a desperate struggle took place.
The Dervishes defended themselves with the greatest tenacity, sometimes
rushing out and hurling themselves upon their assailants, and defending
the houses to the last, making a stand when the doors were burst open,
until the last of the inmates were either shot or bayoneted. So
determined was the defense of some of the larger houses, that it was
necessary to bring up the guns and batter an entrance. Many of the
houses were found, when the troops burst in, to be tenanted only by
dead; for the Soudanese always heralded their attack by firing several
volleys, and the bullets made their way through and through the mud
walls, as if they had been paper.
About seventy or eighty horsemen and a hundred Dervish infantry
escaped, but the rest were either killed or made prisoners, together
with Mahomed Zein, the governor. A quantity of arms, camels, and horses
were also captured. The loss on our side was two British officers
killed, and twenty-one of the black troops; and three Egyptian
officers, and sixty-one men wounded.
When the convoy halted, previous to the troops marching to the attack,
Gregory, whose duties with the baggage had now ended, joined the
General's staff and rode forward with them. Hunter had glanced round,
as he rode up, and answered with a nod when he saluted, and asked if he
could come.
He felt rather scared on the Dervishes opening fire so suddenly, when
the General's impatience had led him to ride forward, without waiting
for Major Kincaid's report. After the troops rushed into the town, the
General maintained his position at the edge of the dip, for the narrow
streets were so crowded with men that a group of horsemen could hardly
have forced their way in, and it would be impossible to see what was
going on, and to issue orders.
Mahomed Zein had not followed the example of some of his followers, and
died fighting to the last. He was found hiding under a bed, and was
brought before General Hunter; who asked him why he fought, when he
must have known that it was useless; to which he replied:
"I knew that you had only three times as many as I had, and every one
of my men is worth four of yours. You could not fire till you were
quite close up, and at that range our rifles are as good as yours."
The General asked what he thought Mahmud would do, to which he replied:
"He will be down here in five days, and wipe you out!"
It was necessary to halt at Abu Hamed, until stores came up. Captain
Keppel, Royal Navy, and the officers commanding the gunboats were
toiling at the cataracts to bring them up. Nevertheless one of these
was capsized, and only three got through safely. Major Pink, with a
large number of troops from Merawi, succeeded in hauling the sailing
boats through.
A large column of laden camels was, at the same time, being pushed
forward by the caravan route from Korosko. It was a time of much
anxiety, till stores began to arrive; for, had Mahmud advanced at once,
the passage up the river would have been arrested, and the land column
cut off; in which case the little force would have been reduced to sore
straits, as they must have stood on the defensive until reinforcements
reached them.
There was, too, some anxiety as to the safety of the forces at Ambukol
and Korti; for Mahmud, on learning that the garrisons had been weakened
by the despatch of troops to Abu Hamed, might have crossed the desert
with all his force and fallen upon them. Mahmud had indeed, as it
turned out, believed that the expedition to Abu Hamed was only
undertaken to cover the flank of the Egyptian army from attack, from
that quarter; and still believed that it was from Merawi that the main
British force would advance against him.
Before the supplies had all arrived, the position changed; as news came
that Berber was being evacuated by the Dervishes. The information was
telegraphed to the Sirdar, who at once ordered that a force of the
friendly Arabs, escorted by a gunboat, should go up to Berber to find
if the news was true. One gunboat had already arrived, and General
Hunter decided on going up in her himself. Two hundred of the Arabs,
under Ahmed Bey, were to ride along the bank. They were to be mounted
on the fastest camels that could be picked out; so that, if they
encountered the Dervishes, they would have a fair chance of escaping,
and getting under cover of the gunboat's fire.
"Mr. Hilliard," the General said, "I shall be obliged if you will
accompany Ahmed Bey. The Arabs are always more steady, if they have an
English officer with them. They will be ready to start in an hour. A
signaller from the 11th Soudanese shall go with you; and you can
notify, to us, the approach of any strong party of the enemy, and their
direction; so that the gunboat can send a shell or two among them, as a
hint that they had better keep out of range."
As his baggage camel was by no means a fast one, Gregory at first
decided to leave it behind in charge of Zaki; but on going across to
the Arab camp, Ahmed Bey at once offered to place a fast one at his
disposal. He accordingly sent his own animal into the transport yard,
committed the heavy wooden case, with the greater portion of his
remaining stores, to the charge of the sergeant of the mess, retaining
only three or four tins of preserved milk, some tea, four or five tins
of meat, a bottle of brandy, and a few other necessaries. To these were
added half a sheep and a few pounds of rice. These, with his tent and
other belongings, were packed on the Arab camel; and Zaki rode beside
it with great satisfaction, for he had been greatly cast down when his
master first told him that he would have to remain behind. All the
preparations were made in great haste, but they were completed just as
Ahmed Bey moved out of his camp, with his two hundred picked men and
camels.
Five minutes later, a whistle from the steamer told them that General
Hunter, and the party with him, were also on the point of starting. The
distance to be traversed to Berber was a hundred and thirty miles, and
the expedition was undoubtedly a hazardous one. Even if the news was
true, that the five thousand Dervishes who had been holding Berber had
evacuated the town, it was quite possible that a part of the force had
been sent down the river, to oppose any advance that might be made; or,
if unable to do this, to carry the news of the advance to Mahmud. The
Arabs were to keep abreast of the gunboat; and would, where the shores
were flat, be covered by its guns. But at spots where the ground was
high and precipitous, this assistance could scarcely avail them in case
of an attack, unless the hundred soldiers on board the steamer could be
landed.
As they rode along, Ahmed Bey explained to Gregory the plan that he
should adopt, if they were attacked in such a position, and found their
retreat cut off.
"The camels will all be made to lie down, and we shall fight behind
them, as in an entrenchment. My men are all armed with rifles the
government has given them, and we could beat off an attack by a great
number; while, if we were on our camels and pursued, we should soon
lose all order, and our shooting would be bad."
"I think that would be by far the best plan, sheik. Your two hundred
men, and the hundred the gunboat could land, ought to be able to make a
tough fight of it, against any number of the enemy.
"How long do you think we shall be, on the way?"
"About four days. The camels can easily travel thirty-five miles a day.
We have six days' provisions with us, in case the gunboat cannot make
its way up. Fortunately we have not to carry water, so that each camel
only takes twenty pounds of food, for its rider; and forty pounds of
grain, for itself. If we were pursued, we could throw that away, as we
should only have to ride to some point where the gunboat could protect
us. We could not hope to escape by speed, for the Dervishes could ride
and run quite as fast as the camels could go."