by G. A. Henty
Chapter 2: The Rising In Alexandria.
The harbour was full of merchant ships, as there were, at present, nomeans of getting their cargoes unloaded. The native boatmen had, forthe most part, struck work; and had they been willing to man theirboats, they must have remained idle as, in view of the situation, themerchants felt that their goods were much safer on board ship than theywould be in their magazines. It was settled, therefore that, for thepresent, Annie and the child should remain on board the Simoon, whileGregory should take up his residence at the office.
The fleet in the harbour was now an imposing one. Not only were theEnglish and French squadrons there, but some Italian ships of war hadarrived, and a United States cruiser; and on the 7th of July, SirBeauchamp Seymour sent in a decisive message, that he should commence abombardment of the fort unless the strengthening of the fortificationswas, at once, abandoned. No heed was taken of the intimation and, threedays later, he sent an ultimatum demanding the cessation of work, andthe immediate surrender of the forts nearest to the entrance to theharbour; stating that, if these terms were not complied with intwenty-four hours, the bombardment would commence.
Already the greater part of the European inhabitants had left the town,and taken up their quarters in the merchant ships that had been engagedfor the purpose. A few, however, of the bankers and merchantsdetermined to remain. These gathered in the bank, and in Mr. Ferguson'shouse, to which the most valuable goods in other establishments wereremoved. They had an ample supply of firearms, and believed that theycould hold out for a considerable time. They were convinced that theEgyptian troops would not, for an hour, resist the fire that would beopened upon them, but would speedily evacuate the town; and that,therefore, there would only be the mob to be encountered, and this butfor a short time, as the sailors would land as soon as the Egyptiantroops fled.
The Egyptians, on the other hand, believed absolutely in their abilityto destroy the fleet.
Both parties were wrong. The Europeans greatly undervalued the fightingpowers of the Egyptians, animated as they were by confidence in thestrength of the defences, by their number, and by their fanaticism;while the Egyptians similarly undervalued the tremendous power of ourships.
That evening, and the next morning, the port presented an animatedappearance. Boats were putting off with those inhabitants who hadwaited on, hoping that the Egyptians would at the last moment give in.Many of the merchantmen had already cleared out. Others were getting upsail. Smoke was rising from the funnels of all the men of war.
An express boat had brought, from France, orders that the French fleetwere to take no part in the proceedings, but were to proceed at once toPort Said. This order excited the bitterest feeling of anger andhumiliation among the French officers and sailors, who had reliedconfidently in taking their part in the bombardment; and silently theirships, one by one, left the port. The Italian and American vesselsremained for a time; and as the British ships followed, in statelyorder, their crews manned the rigging and vociferously cheered oursailors, who replied as heartily.
All, save the British men of war, took up their stations well out atsea, in a direction where they would be out of the fire of the Egyptianbatteries. It was not until nine o'clock in the evening that the twolast British ships, the Invincible and Monarch, steamed out of port. Athalf-past four in the morning the ships got under weigh again, andmoved to the positions marked out for them.
Fort Mex, and the batteries on the sand hills were faced by thePenelope, the Monarch, and the Invincible; the Alexandra, the Superb,and the Sultan faced the harbour forts, Ada, Pharos, and Ras-el-Teen;the Temeraire and Inflexible prepared to aid the Invincible in herattack on Fort Mex, or to support the three battleships engaged off theport, as might be required; and the five gunboats moved away towardsFort Marabout, which lay some distance to the west of the town.
At seven o'clock, the Alexandra began the engagement by firing a singlegun. Then the whole fleet opened fire, the Egyptian artillerymenreplying with great steadiness and resolution. There was scarcely abreath of wind, and the ships were, in a few instants, shrouded intheir own smoke; and were frequently obliged to cease firing until thisdrifted slowly away, to enable them to aim their guns. The rattle ofthe machine guns added to the din. Midshipmen were sent aloft, andthese signalled down to the deck the result of each shot, so that thegunners were enabled to direct their fire, even when they could not seeten yards beyond the muzzle of the guns.
In a short time, the forts and batteries showed how terrible was theeffect of the great shells. The embrasures were torn and widened, therewere great gaps in the masonry of the buildings, and the hail ofmissiles from the machine guns swept every spot near the Egyptian guns;and yet, Arabi's soldiers did not flinch but, in spite of the numberthat fell, worked their guns as fast as ever.
Had they been accustomed to the huge Krupp guns in their batteries, thecombat would have been more equal; and although the end would have beenthe same, the ships must have suffered terribly. Fortunately, theEgyptian artillerymen had little experience in the working of theseheavy pieces, and their shot in almost every case flew high--sometimesabove the masts, sometimes between them, but in only a few instancesstriking the hull. With their smaller guns they made good practice, butthough the shot from these pieces frequently struck, they droppedharmlessly from the iron sides, and only those that entered through theportholes effected any damage.
The Condor, under Lord Charles Beresford, was the first to engage FortMarabout; and, for a time, the little gunboat was the mark of all theguns of the fort. But the other four gunboats speedily came to herassistance, and effectually diverted the fire of the fort from theships that were engaging Fort Mex.
At eight o'clock the Monarch, having silenced the fort opposite to her,and dismounted the guns, joined the Inflexible and Penelope in theirduel with Fort Mex; and by nine o'clock all the guns were silencedexcept four, two of which were heavy rifled guns, well sheltered. Inspite of the heavy fire from the three great ships, the Egyptiansoldiers maintained their fire, the officers frequently exposingthemselves to the bullets of the machine guns by leaping upon theparapet, to ascertain the effect of their own shot.
The harbour forts were, by this time, crumbling under the shot of fourwarships opposed to them. The Pharos suffered most heavily, and itsguns were absolutely silenced; while the fire from the other two fortsslackened, considerably. At half-past ten, it was seen that theRas-el-Teen Palace, which lay behind the fort, was on fire; and, halfan hour later, the fire from that fort and Fort Ada almost died out.
The British Admiral now gave the signal to cease firing, and as thesmoke cleared away, the effects of the five hours' bombardment werevisible. The forts and batteries were mere heaps of ruins. The gunscould be made out, lying dismounted, or standing with their muzzlespointing upwards.
The ships had not come out scatheless, but their injuries were, for themost part, immaterial; although rigging had been cut away, bulwarkssmashed, and sides dinted. One gun of the Penelope had been disabled,and two of the Alexandra. Only five men had been killed, altogether,and twenty-seven wounded.
No sign was made of surrender, and an occasional fire was kept up onthe forts, to prevent the Egyptians from repairing damages. At oneo'clock, twelve volunteers from the Invincible started to destroy theguns of Fort Mex. Their fire had ceased, and no men were to be seen inthe fort; but they might have been lying in wait to attack any landingparty.
On nearing the shore, the surf was found to be too heavy for the boatto pass through it, and Major Tulloch and six men swam ashore andentered the fort. It was found to be deserted, and all the guns but twoten-inch pieces dismounted. The charges of gun cotton, that theswimmers brought ashore with them, were placed in the cannon; and theirmuzzles blown off. After performing this very gallant service, thelittle party swam back to their boat.
The British admiral's position was now a difficult one. There were nosigns of surrender; for aught he could tell, fifteen thousand Egyptiantroops might be lying r
ound the ruined forts, or in the town hard by,in readiness to oppose a landing. That these troops were not to bedespised was evident, by the gallantry with which they had fought theirguns. This force would be aided by the mass of the population; and itwould be hazardous, indeed, to risk the loss of fifteen hundred men,and the reversal of the success already gained.
At the same time, it was painful to think that the Europeans on shoremight be massacred, and the whole city destroyed, by the exasperatedtroops and fanatical population. It was known that the number ofEnglishmen there was not large, two or three hundred at most; but therewas a much larger number of the lower class of Europeans--portlabourers, fishermen, petty shopkeepers, and others--who had preferredtaking their chance to the certainty of losing all their littlepossessions, if they left them.
Anxiously the glasses of those on board the ships were directed towardsthe shore, in hopes of seeing the white flag hoisted, or a boat comeout with it flying; but there were no signs of the intentions of thedefenders, and the fleet prepared to resume the action in the morning.Fort Marabout, and several of the batteries on the shore, were stillunsilenced; and two heavy guns, mounted on the Moncrieff system (bywhich the gun rose to a level of the parapet, fired, and instantly sankagain), had continued to fire all day, in spite of the efforts of thefleet to silence them.
Next morning, however, there was a long heavy swell, and the ironcladswere rolling too heavily for anything like accuracy of aim; but asparties of men could be seen, at work in the Moncrieff battery, firewas opened upon them, and they speedily evacuated it.
All night, the Palace of Ras-el-Teen burned fiercely. Another greatfire was raging in the heart of the town, and anxiety for those onshore, for the time, overpowered the feeling of exultation at thevictory that had been gained.
At half-past ten a white flag was hoisted at the Pharos battery, andall on board watched, with deep anxiety, what was to follow. LieutenantLambton at once steamed into the fort, in the Bittern, to enquire ifthe government were ready to surrender. It was three o'clock before hesteamed out again, with the news that his mission was fruitless; andthat the white flag had only been hoisted, by the officer in command ofthe fort, to enable himself and his men to get away unmolested.Lieutenant Lambton had obtained an interview with the militarygovernor, on behalf of the government, and told him that we were not atwar with Egypt, and had simply destroyed the forts because theythreatened the fleet; that we had no conditions to impose upon thegovernment, but were ready to discuss any proposal; and that the troopswould be allowed to evacuate the forts, with the honour of war.
It was most unfortunate that the fleet had not brought with them two orthree thousand troops. Had they done so they could have landed at once,and saved a great portion of the town from destruction; but as he hadno soldiers, the admiral could not land a portion of the sailors, asthe large Egyptian force in the town, which was still protected by anumber of land batteries, might fall upon them.
At five o'clock the Helicon was sent in to say that white flags wouldnot be noticed, unless hoisted by authority; and if they were againshown, the British admiral would consider them the signs of a generalsurrender. It was a long time before the Helicon returned, with newsthat no communication had been received from the enemy, that thebarracks and arsenals seemed to be deserted and, as far as could beseen, the whole town was evacuated.
As evening wore on, fresh fires broke out in all parts of the town, anda steam pinnace was sent ashore to ascertain, if possible, the state ofaffairs. Mr. Ross, a contractor for the supply of meat to the fleet,volunteered to accompany it.
The harbour was dark and deserted. Not a light was to be seen in thehouses near the water. The crackling of the flames could be heard, withan occasional crash of falling walls and roofs. On nearing the landingplace the pinnace paused, for two or three minutes, for those on boardto listen; and as all was quiet, steamed alongside. Mr. Ross jumpedashore, and the boat backed off a few yards.
A quarter of an hour later, he returned. That quarter of the town wasentirely deserted, and he had pushed on until arrested by a barrier offlames. The great square was on fire, from end to end; the Europeanquarter generally was in flames; and he could see, by the litter thatstrewed the streets, that the houses had been plundered before beingfired.
When daylight broke, a number of Europeans could be seen, at the edgeof the water, in the harbour. Boats were at once lowered; and thecrews, armed to the teeth, rowed ashore. Here they found about ahundred Europeans, many of them wounded. When rioting had broken outthey had, as arranged, assembled at the Anglo-Egyptian Bank. They weretaken off to the merchant steamers, lying behind the fleet, and theirinformation confirmed the worst forebodings of the fugitives there.
When the first gun of the bombardment was fired, Gregory had gone up,with the other employees, to the top of the house; where they commandeda view over the whole scene of action. After the first few minutes'firing they could see but little, for batteries and ships were, alike,shrouded in smoke. At first, there had been some feeling of insecurity,and a doubt whether a shot too highly aimed might not come into thetown; but the orders to abstain carefully from injuring the city hadbeen well observed, and, except to the Palace and a few houses close tothe water's edge, no damage was done.
Towards evening, all those who had resolved to remain behind gatheredat the Anglo-Egyptian Bank, or at Mr. Ferguson's. But a consultationwas held later, and it was agreed that next morning all should go tothe bank, which was a far more massive building, with fewer entrances,and greater facilities for defence. When the town was quiet, therefore,all were employed in transferring valuable goods there, and the housewas then locked up and left to its fate. Against a mere rising of therabble the latter might have been successfully defended; but there waslittle doubt that, before leaving the town, the troops would join thefanatics; and in that case, a house not built with a special eye fordefence could hardly hope to hold out, against persistent attack.
The bank, however, might hope to make a stout defence. It was built ofmassive stone, the lower windows were barred, and a strong barricadewas built against the massive doors. A hundred and twenty resolute men,all well armed, could hold it against even a persistent attack, ifunsupported by artillery.
Early in the afternoon, all felt that the critical moment hadapproached. Throughout the night a fire had raged, from the oppositeside of the great square; where several deserted houses had been brokeninto, and plundered, by the mob; but the soldiers stationed in thesquare had prevented any further disorder.
Now, however, parties of troops from the forts began to pour in. It wasalready known that their losses had been very heavy, and that many ofthe forts had been destroyed. Soon they broke up and, joining the mob,commenced the work of pillage. Doors were blown in, shutters torn offand, with wild yells and shouts, the native population poured in. Thework of destruction had begun.
The garrison of the bank saw many Europeans, hurrying, too late, toreach that shelter, murdered before their eyes. In the Levantinequarter, the cracking of pistols and the shouts of men showed that thework of massacre was proceeding there. Soon every door of the houses inthe great square was forced in, and ere long great numbers of men,loaded with spoil of all kinds, staggered out.
So far the bank had been left alone; but it was now its turn, and themob poured down upon it. As they came up, a sharp fire broke out fromevery window, answered by a discharge of muskets and pistols from thecrowd. Here men fell fast, but they had been worked up to such a pitchof excitement, and fanaticism, that the gaps were more than filled byfresh comers.
All the afternoon and evening the fight continued. In vain the mobendeavoured to break down the massive iron bars of the windows, andbatter in the doors. Although many of the defenders were wounded, andseveral killed; by the fire from the windows of the neighbouringhouses, and from the road; their steady fire, at the points most hotlyattacked, drove their assailants back again and again.
At twelve o'clock the assault slackened. The soldiers
had long leftand, so far as could be seen from the roof of the house, had entirelyevacuated the town; and as this fact became known to the mob, thethought of the consequences of their action cooled their fury; for theyknew that, probably, the troops would land from the British ships nextday. Each man had his plunder to secure, and gradually the crowd meltedaway.
By two o'clock all was quiet; and although, occasionally, fresh firesburst out in various quarters of the town, there could be little doubtthat the great bulk of the population had followed the example of thearmy, and had left the city.
Then the besieged gathered in the great office on the ground floor;and, as it was agreed that there would be probably no renewal of theattack, they quietly left the house, locking the doors after them, andmade their way down to the shore. They believed that they were the onlysurvivors, but when they reached the end of the town, they found thatthe building of the Credit Lyonnais had also been successfullydefended, though the Ottoman Bank had been overpowered, and all withinit, upwards of a hundred in number, killed.
Gregory had done his full share in the defence, and received a musketball in the shoulder. His wife had passed a terrible time, while theconflagration was raging, and it was evident that the populace hadrisen, and were undoubtedly murdering as well as burning andplundering; and her delight was indeed great when she saw her husband,with others, approaching in a man-of-war's boat. The fact that one armwas in a sling was scarcely noticed, in her joy at his return, alive.
"Thank God, you are safe!" she said, as he came up the gangway. "It hasbeen an awful time, and I had almost given up hope of ever seeing youalive, again."
"I told you, dear, that I felt confident we could beat off the scum ofthe town. Of course it was a sharp fight, but there was never any realdanger of their breaking in. We only lost about half a dozen, out ofnearly a hundred and twenty, and some twenty of us were wounded. Myinjury is not at all serious, and I shall soon be all right again. Itis only a broken collarbone.
"However, it has been a terrible time. The great square, and almost allthe European quarter, have been entirely destroyed. The destruction ofproperty is something frightful, and most of the merchants will beabsolutely ruined. Fortunately, our firm were insured, pretty well upto the full value."
"But I thought that they could not break in there?"
"We all moved out, the evening before, to the Anglo-Egyptian Bank. Thetown was full of troops, and we doubted whether we could hold theplace. As the bank was much stronger, we agreed that it was better tojoin the two garrisons and fight it out there; and I am very glad wedid so, for I doubt whether we could have defended our place,successfully."
Mr. Ferguson and the clerks had all come off with Gregory to theSimoon, on board which there was plenty of accommodation for them, asit was not one of the ships that had been taken up for theaccommodation of the fugitives. Among the party who came on board was adoctor, who had taken part in the defence of the bank, and had attendedto the wounded as the fight went on. He did so again that evening, andtold Gregory that in a month he would, if he took care of himself, beable to use his arm again.
The next morning there was a consultation in the cabin. Mr. Fergusonhad gone on shore, late the previous afternoon; as five hundred sailorshad been landed, and had returned in the evening.
"It is certain," he said, "that nothing can be done until the place isrebuilt. The sailors are busy at work, fighting the fire, but there arecontinued fresh outbreaks. The bulk of the natives have left; butArabi, before marching out, opened the prisons and released theconvicts; and these and the scum of the town are still there, andcontinue the destruction whenever they get a chance. A score or twohave been caught red handed and shot down, and a number of others havebeen flogged.
"Another batch of sailors will land this morning, and order will soonbe restored; unless Arabi, who is encamped, with some ten thousand men,two miles outside the town, makes an effort to recover the place. Idon't think he is likely to do so, for now that the European houseshave all been destroyed, there would be no longer any reluctance tobombard the town itself; and even if Arabi did recover it, he wouldvery soon be shelled out.
"By the way, a larger number of people have been saved than wasimagined. Several of the streets in the poor European quarters haveescaped. The people barricaded the ends, and fought so desperately thattheir assailants drew off, finding it easier to plunder the betterquarters. Even if the mob had overcome the resistance of the defendersof the lanes, they would have found little worth taking there; so somefive hundred Europeans have escaped, and these will be very useful.
"Charley Beresford has charge of the police arrangements on shore, andhe has gangs of them at work fighting the fire, and all the natives areforced to assist. The wires will be restored in a day or two, when Ishall, of course, telegraph for instructions; and have no doubt thatMr. Partridge will send out orders to rebuild as soon as order iscompletely restored.
"I imagine that most of us will be recalled home, until that is done.Even if the place were intact, no business would be done, as our goodswould be of little use to the navy or army; for no doubt an army willbe sent. Arabi is as powerful as ever, but now that we have taken thematter in hand, it must be carried through.
"At any rate, there will be no clerks' work to be done here. The plansfor a new building will naturally be prepared at home, and a foreman ofworks sent out. It is a bad job for us all, but as it is we must notcomplain; for we have escaped with our lives, and I hope that, in sixmonths, we may open again. However, we can form no plans, until Ireceive instructions from home."
Gregory did not go ashore for the next week, by which time order hadbeen completely restored, the fires extinguished, and the streets made,at least, passable. The sailors had been aided by a battalion ofmarines, which had been telegraphed for from Malta by the admiral,before the bombardment began. The Khedive had returned to Has-el-Teen,which had only been partly destroyed, as soon as the blue-jacketsentered. His arrival put an end to all difficulties, as henceforwardour operations were carried on, nominally, by his orders.
The American ships entered the harbour the next day and the navalofficer in command landed one hundred and twenty-five men, to assistour blue-jackets; and, two days later, the 38th Regiment and abattalion of the 60th Rifles arrived.
The shops in the streets that escaped destruction gradually reopened,and country people began to bring in supplies. Many of the refugees onboard the ships sailed for home, while those who found their housesstill standing, although everything in them was smashed and destroyed,set to work to make them habitable. Soon temporary sheds were erected,and such portions of the cargoes on board the merchantmen as would belikely to find a sale, were landed.
Before the end of the week, Mr. Ferguson had received an answer to histelegram. Three days previously he had received a wire: "Have writtenfully." The letter came via Marseilles. After congratulations at theescape of himself and the staff, Mr. Partridge wrote:
"As you say that the house and warehouse are entirely destroyed, withall contents, there can be nothing for you and the clerks to do; andyou had best return, at once, to England. I will make the bestarrangements that I can for you all.
"As I have a plan of the ground, I have already instructed an architectto prepare a sketch for rebuilding, on a larger scale than before. Theinsurance companies are sending out agents to verify claims. Looking atyour last report, it seems to me that the loss of goods, as well asthat of buildings, will be fully covered. Should any of the staffdetermine to remain in Alexandria, and to take their chance of findingsomething to do, you are authorized to pay them three months' salary,and to promise to reinstate them, as soon as we reopen.
"I anticipate no further disturbances, whatever. A strong force isbeing sent out, and there can be no doubt that Arabi will be crushed,as soon as it is ready to take the field."
Other directions followed, but these were only amplifications of thosementioned.
"What do you think, Annie?" Gregory said, when Ferguso
n had read to hisstaff that portion of the letter that concerned them. "Shall we takethe three months' pay and remain here, or shall we go back to England?"
"What do you think, yourself?"
"There are two lights in which to look at it, Annie. First, which wouldbe best for us? And secondly, which shall we like best? Of course, thefirst is the more difficult point to decide. You see, Partridge doesn'tsay that we shall be kept on; he only says that he will do his best forus. I don't think that there is any chance of his keeping us on at fullpay. If he intended to do so, it would have been cheaper for him togive us our pay here, in which case he would save our passages back toEngland and out again. I think we could not reckon on getting anythinglike full pay, while we were in England, and you know I have lost faithin my literary powers. I think I have improved, but I certainly shouldnot like, after our last experience, to trust to that for keeping us,in England.
"The question is, what should I do here? There will be plenty ofopenings, for men who can speak the native language, as labouroverseers. The contractors for food for the army will want men of thatsort; and as I know several of them, through my work in the port andbeing in Partridge's house, I have no doubt I could get employment thatway, and carry on very well till trade is open again, and obtain then agood deal better berth than they would offer me. No doubt, one couldget employment in the transport or commissariat of the army, when itcomes out. That will be a thing to think seriously of.
"My objections to that are personal ones. In the first place, it wouldlead to nothing when the affair is over. In the second place, I shouldbe certain to meet men I knew at Harrow, or at the University, or sincethen; and I own that I should shrink from that. As Gregory Hilliard, Idon't mind carrying a parcel or helping to load a dray; but I shouldnot like, as Gregory Hartley, to be known to be doing that sort ofthing. Personally I feel not the smallest humiliation in doing so, butI don't think it would be fair to Geoffrey. I should not like itmyself, if I were an earl, for fellows who knew him to be able to saythat my brother was knocking about in Egypt as an interpreter, or muledriver, or something of that sort. That certainly has to be taken intoconsideration.
"It is not likely that I should get any sort of berth that an officerwould be appointed to, for every officer in the army, whose regiment isnot coming out here, will be rushing to the War Office to apply for anysort of appointment that would enable him to come out to the war.
"Again, it is almost certain that, when this business is over--and Idon't suppose it will last long, after we get an army out here--a freshEgyptian force will be raised. You may be sure that the greater portionof our troops will be hurried back, as soon as it is over; and that, asthe present Egyptian army will be altogether smashed up, it will beabsolutely necessary that there should be a force, of some kind orother, that can put a stop to this Mahdi fellow's doings. He hasoverrun half the Soudan, and inflicted serious defeats on the Egyptiantroops there. He has captured a considerable portion of Kordofan; and,of course, it is owing to his insurrection that those rows haveoccurred down at the Red Sea, where our men have been fighting.
"It is likely enough that they may appoint some British officers to thenew force, and I might get a fair position on it. They will wantinterpreters there. Promotion will be sure to be rapid, and I mighthave opportunities of distinguishing myself, and get an appointmentwhere I could, without discrediting it, take my own name again.
"These are only among the things that might be; but at the worst, I amcertain to get some sort of post, at Alexandria, which would enable usto live without trenching upon the three months' pay that is offeredme; and then, if I could see nothing better, I could return toPartridge's employment when they reopen here, and I have no doubt thatthey would improve my position.
"I don't think that Parrott is likely to come back again. The climatedid not suit him, and he is always having attacks of fever. Fergusonhas, I know, for he told me so, reported very favourably about my workto headquarters; and, as I have been wounded in defence of the house, Ihave an additional claim. The others will, of course, be moved up, andI should get the junior clerkship--no advance in the way ofremuneration, but a great improvement in position.
"So I think we had better accept the three months' pay, and take ourchances. At any rate, there will be no fear of another disturbance atAlexandria. The mob have had a lesson here that they are not likely toforget, and I should fancy that, although we may withdraw the army, twoor three regiments will be left here, and at Cairo, for a long time tocome. We should be fools, indeed, if we threw away the money that thisbusiness will cost, before it is over, and let Egypt slip altogetherout of our fingers again. France has forfeited her right to haveanything to say in the matter. In our hands it will be a very valuablepossession, and certainly our stay here would be of inestimableadvantage to the natives, as we should govern Egypt as we govern India,and do away with the tyranny, oppression, and extortion of the nativeofficials."
Mrs. Hilliard quite agreed with her husband; and accordingly, the nextday, Gregory informed Mr. Ferguson that he would accept the threemonths' pay, and his discharge; and should, at any rate for a time,remain in Alexandria.
"I think you are right, Hilliard. There will be lots of opportunitieshere for a man who knows the language as you do. If you like, I willspeak to Mr. Ross. I saw him yesterday, in the town, and he said thattwo of his assistants had been killed. He has already obtained a freshcontract, and a very heavy one, for the supply of meat for the troopsas they arrive; and I have no doubt he would be very glad to engageyou, on good terms, though the engagement could only be made during thestay of the army here."
"Thank you, sir. I shall be much obliged to you if you will do so; andI would rather that the engagement should be a temporary one, on bothsides, so that I should be free to leave, at a few days' notice."
The contractor, after a chat with Gregory Hilliard, was glad to securehis services. He saw the advantage that it would be to have a gentlemanto represent him, with the army, instead of an agent of a verydifferent kind. Other men would do to purchase animals from the Arabs,or to receive them at the ports when they were brought over from Spainand Italy; but it required a variety of qualities, difficult to obtainin the same person, to act as agent with the army. Gregory was exactlythe man required, and he was soon on excellent terms, both with theofficers of the quartermaster's department, and the contractors whobrought in the cargoes of cattle.
As soon as the bulk of the army sailed from Alexandria to Ismailia, hemade the latter town his headquarters; and by his power of work, histact and good temper, he smoothed away all the difficulties that sooften arise between contractors and army officials, and won thegoodwill of all with whom he came in contact. When the army removed toCairo, after the defeat and dispersal of Arabi's force at Tel-el-Kebir,Gregory established himself there, and was joined by his wife andchild.
As soon as matters settled down, and a considerable portion of thetroops had left Egypt, Mr. Ross said to him:
"Of course, our operations in the future will be comparatively small,Mr. Hilliard, and I must reduce my staff."
"I quite understand that," Gregory replied, "and I knew that I shouldhave to look out for something else."
"I shall be very sorry to lose your services, which have indeed beeninvaluable, and I am sure have been appreciated, by the army men asmuch as by myself. I certainly should not think of your leaving me,until you get another berth; and it is only because I see an opening,if you like to take it, that might lead to something better, in thefuture, than anything I can offer you.
"You know that Colonel Hicks arrived here, a fortnight since, and is totake command of the Egyptian army, and to have the rank of pasha.Several officers have received appointments on his staff. He willshortly be going up to Khartoum. I was speaking to him yesterday, andas I was doing so, two of the officers of Wolseley's staff came in. Aquestion of supplies came up, and I mentioned your name, and said thatI thought that you were the very man for him, that you were master ofArabic
, and an excellent organizer; and, a very important matter wherethere were so few English officers together, a gentleman.
"One of the officers, who knew the work that you had done, at onceconfirmed what I had said, and declared that Wolseley's quartermastergeneral would speak as warmly in your favour. Hicks told me that, untilhe got up to Khartoum, he could not say what arrangements would be madefor the supplies; but that he would, at any rate, be very glad to haveyou with him, in the capacity of a first-class interpreter, and forgeneral service with the staff, with the temporary rank of captain;with the special view of your services in organizing a supply train,when he moved forward. I said that I should speak to you, and ascertainyour views."
"I am very much obliged to you, indeed. I must take twenty-four hoursto think it over. Of course I shall be guided, to some extent, by thequestion whether the appointment would be likely to be a permanentone."
"That I have no doubt. Indeed, Hicks said as much. I asked him thequestion, and he replied, 'I can hardly make a permanent appointmentnow, as I am not quite in the saddle; but I have no doubt, from whatyou say, that Mr. Hilliard will make a valuable officer; and after ourfirst campaign I shall, without difficulty, be able to obtain him apermanent appointment in the Egyptian army.'"
"I thank you, most heartily, Mr. Ross. It seems to me a grand opening.There is no doubt that, as our troops leave, the Egyptian army will bethoroughly reorganized; and there will be many openings for a man whoknows the language, and is ready to work hard; and, no doubt, theregiments will be largely officered by Englishmen."
That evening, Gregory had a long talk with his wife.
"I don't like the thought of leaving you, even for a time; but nodoubt, when the Mahdi is settled with, you will be able to join me atKhartoum; which, I believe, is by no means an unpleasant place to livein. Of course, I shall come down and take you up. It is a splendidchance, and will really be my reinstatement. Once holding a commissionin the Egyptian army, I should resume my own name, and have the futureto look forward to. Entering the service as the army is beingreorganized, I should have a great pull, and should be sure to get on,and be able to write to my father and brother, without its appearingthat I wanted help of any kind."
There were tears in Mrs. Hilliard's eyes, but she said bravely:
"I quite agree with you, Gregory. Of course, I shall be sorry that youshould leave me, even for a time; but it seems to me, too, that it is agrand opportunity. You know what a pain it was to me, all the time thatwe were at Alexandria, that you should be working in such a subordinateposition. Now there is an opening by which you will be in a position,ere long, more worthy of your birth and education. I have no doubt Ishall get on very well, here. I believe that Hicks Pasha has broughthis wife out with him here; and some of his officers will, no doubt, bemarried men also; and as the wife of one of his officers I shall, ofcourse, get to know them. I should be selfish, indeed, to say a word tokeep you back, and shall be delighted to think of you associating withother English gentlemen, as one of themselves."
And so it was settled. The next day, Gregory called on Hicks Pasha. Thelatter had made some more enquiries respecting him, and was wellpleased with his appearance.
"I have already a gentleman named as staff interpreter, Mr. Hilliard,but I can appoint you, at once, interpreter to the quartermaster'sdepartment, attached to my personal staff for the present. I can tellyou that the Egyptian army will be largely increased, and I shall beable, after a time, to procure you a better appointment. When we haveonce defeated the Mahdi, and restored order, there will be manyappointments open for the reorganization of the Soudan. There are agood many preparations to be made, before I leave, which I expect to doin the course of three or four weeks; and I shall be glad of yourassistance, as soon as you can join us."
"I shall be glad to do so, at once. Mr. Ross has kindly told me that Iam at liberty to resign my post, under him, as soon as I like."
"Very well, then. You may consider yourself appointed, today. Myintention is to go first to Suakim, and thence up to Berber, and so bywater to Khartoum."
The next three weeks passed rapidly. Gregory was, on the following day,introduced to the various officers of Hicks Pasha's staff; and, onlearning that he was married, the general asked him and his wife todinner, to make the acquaintance of Lady Hicks, and the wives of threeof his fellow officers.
At last, the time came for parting. Annie bore up well; and although,when alone, she had many a cry, she was always cheerful, and went withher husband and saw him off, at the station of the railway forIsmailia, without breaking down badly.
