by G. A. Henty
Chapter 6: Gregory Volunteers.
The hut of which Gregory took possession was constructed of dry mud.The roof was of poles, on which were thickly laid boughs and palmleaves; and on these a layer of clay, a foot thick. An opening in thewall, eighteen inches square, served as a window. Near the door thefloor was littered with rubbish of all kinds.
"What is your name?"
"Zaki."
"Well, Zaki, the first thing is to clear out all this rubbish, andsweep the floor as clean as you can. I am going down to the river toget 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 willpay when I return. It will always come in useful. If you cannot get ashovel, a hoe will do. Ah! I had better give you a dollar, the manmight not trust you."
He then walked down to the river, and found the black corporal sittingtranquilly 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 twosoldiers to carry the things.
Arriving at the hut, he found Zaki hard at work, shovelling the rubbishthrough 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 ofthem, 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 therubbish out, make a fire in the middle, wet some leaves and things andput them on, and we will hang a blanket over the window and shut thedoor. I will moisten some powder and scatter it among the leaves, andthe 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 Iwill make other arrangements. Get a fire going out here. There is asauce 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 messwith the staff. The dinner hour is seven o'clock. I am sure you willsoon feel at home."
Gregory now strolled through the camp. The troops were in little mudhuts, of their own construction; as these, in the heat of the day, weremuch cooler than tents. The sun was getting low, and the Soudanesetroops were all occupied in cooking, mending their clothes, sweepingthe streets between the rows of huts, and other light duties. Theyseemed, to Gregory, as full of fun and life as a party ofschoolboys--laughing, joking, and playing practical tricks on eachother.
The physique of some of the regiments was splendid, the men averagingover six feet in height, and being splendidly built. Other regiments,recruited among different tribes, were not so tall, but their sturdyfigures showed them to be capable of any effort they might be calledupon 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 whiteofficers, here, that one spots a fresh face at once."
"Yes, I only arrived two or three hours ago. My name is Hilliard. I amnot attached to any regiment; but, as I speak the languages well,General Hunter is going, so he said, to make me generally useful. Ionly received my commission a few days before leaving Cairo."
"Well, come in and have a soda and whisky. The heat out here isfrightful. You can tell me the last news from Cairo, and when we aregoing to move."
"I shall be happy to come in and have a chat," Gregory said, "but I donot drink anything. I have been brought up in Cairo, and am accustomedto heat, and I find that drinking only makes one more thirsty."
"I believe it does," the other said, "especially when the liquid isalmost 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 youheard anything about a move?"
"Nothing; but the officers I have spoken to all seem to think that itwill soon begin. A good many came up with me, to Wady Halfa and thestations on the river; and I heard that all who had sufficientlyrecovered were under orders to rejoin, very shortly."
"Yes, I suppose it won't be long. Of course we know nothing here, and Idon't expect we shall, till the order comes for us to start. This isnot the time of year when one expects to be on the move; and if we dogo, it is pretty certain that it is because Kitchener has made up hismind for a dash forward. You see, if we take Abu Hamed and drive theDervishes 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 advancemade to Berber, if not farther, during the cool season--if you can evercall it a cool season, here."
"Is there any great force at Abu Hamed?"
"No; nothing that could stand against this for a moment. Their chiefforce, outside Omdurman, is at Metemmeh under Mahmud, the Khalifa'sfavourite son. You see, the Jaalin made fools of themselves. Instead ofwaiting until we could lend them a hand, they revolted as soon as wetook Dongola, and the result was that Mahmud came down and pretty wellwiped them out. They defended themselves stoutly, at Metemmeh, but hadno chance against such a host as he brought with him. The town wastaken, 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 havebeen an even more horrible business than usual; and the Dervishes arepast masters in the art of massacre. However, I think that their courseis nearly up. Of late, a good many fugitives from Kordofan have arrivedhere, and they say that there will be a general revolt there, when theyhear 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 otherstrong Dervish force between this and Omdurman. If Mahmud thinkshimself strong enough, no doubt he will fight; but if he and theKhalifa know their business, he will fall back and, with the forces atOmdurman, fight one big battle. The two armies together will, from whatwe hear, amount to sixty or seventy thousand; and there is no doubtwhatever that, with all their faults, the beggars can fight. It will bea tough affair, but I believe we shall have some British troops here tohelp, before the final advance. We can depend now on both the Soudaneseand the Egyptians to fight hard, but there are not enough of them. Theodds 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 nodoubt what the result will be; and I fancy that, if we beat them in onebig fight, it will be all up with Mahdism.
"It is only because the poor beggars of tribesmen regard the Dervishesas invincible, that they have put up so long with their tyranny. Butthe rising of the Jaalin, and the news we get from Kordofan, show thatthe moment they hear the Dervishes are beaten, and Khartoum is in ourhands, there will be a general rising, and the Dervishes will be prettywell 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 retirebefore we get to Omdurman; and, once away, the tremendous business oftrying to follow him will confront us. Here we have got the river andthe railway, but we have no land carriage for an army, and he mightkeep on falling back to the great lakes, for anything that we could doto overtake him. So we all hope that Mahmud will retire to Omdurmanwithout 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. Itis, in their opinion, t
he only worthy occupation for a man, and theyhave shown themselves worthy to fight by the side of our men. They havea perfect confidence in us, and would, I believe, go anywhere we ledthem. 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, andgenerally look after them. They are as warlike as their husbands, andencourage them, when they go out to battle, with their applause andcurious quavering cries. The men get very little pay; but as they areprovided with rations, and draw a certain amount for the women, itcosts next to nothing, and I fancy that having the wives with them payswell. I believe they would rather be killed than come back and facetheir reproaches.
"I could not wish to have more cheery or better fellows with me. Theynever grumble, they are always merry, and really they seem to betireless. They practically give no trouble whatever, and it is good tosee 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 mustbe going, for I have to change, and put on my mess uniform beforedinner. I am rather nervous about that, for I am not accustomed to dinewith generals."
"You will find it all very pleasant," the other said. "Hunter is asplendid fellow, and is adored by his men. His staff are allcomparatively young men, with none of the stiffness of the Britishstaff officer about them. We are all young--there is scarcely a manwith the rank of captain in the British Army out here. We are allmajors or colonels in the Egyptian Army, but most of us are subalternsin our own regiments. It is good training for us. At home a subalternis merely a machine to carry out orders; he is told to do this, and hedoes it; for him to think for himself would be a heinous offence. He isaltogether without responsibility, and without initiative and, by thetime he becomes a field officer, he is hidebound. He has never thoughtfor himself, and he can't be expected to begin to do so, after workingfor 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, wheremen do learn to think and take responsibility, I don't know where ourgeneral officers would get their training.
"Well, you must be going. Goodbye! We shall often meet. There are sofew of us here, that we are always running against each other. I won'task you to dine with us, for a few days. No doubt you would like to getaccustomed to headquarters mess first. Of course, Hunter and thebrigade staff dine together; while we have little regimental messesamong ourselves, which I prefer. When there are only three or four ofus, one can sit down in one's shirt sleeves, whereas at the brigademess one must, of course, turn up in uniform, which in this climate isstifling."
The meal was a more pleasant one than Gregory had anticipated. On boardthe steamer he had, of course, dined with the other officers; and hefound little difference here. Ten sat down, including the principalmedical officer and a captain--the head of the station intelligencedepartment, Major Wingate, being at present at Wady Halfa. Except forthe roughness of the surroundings, it was like a regimental mess, andthe presence of the General commanding in no way acted as a damper tothe conversation.
General Hunter had, before sitting down, introduced him to all themembers 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 whowere down at Cairo for their health; and he was able to say who wereconvalescent, and who had sailed, or were on the point of sailing, forEngland.
The table was formed of two long benches, and had been constructed bythe engineers. It was laid under a large tent, of which the walls hadbeen removed to give a free passage of air.
Although scarcely up to the standard of a mess dinner at home, it wasby no means a bad one; consisting of soup, fish from the river, a jointof beef at one end and of mutton at the other, curried kidneys, sweetomelettes 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 downto whist, and the rest, going outside the tent, sat or threw themselvesdown 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 hepurchased from some fugitives, who had come down from Kordofan. It wasa good animal, though in poor condition, and would soon pick up flesh,when well attended and fed. To accustom himself to riding, Gregory wentout on it for a couple of hours every morning; getting up beforedaybreak, so as to take exercise before the work of the day began. Healso 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. "Ofcourse, times may arrive when you will have to leave it behind; but, asa 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 oneasks any questions, and when you halt for a day or two, you havecomforts. Of course, with a British regiment you are cut down to thelast ounce, but with us it is altogether different. There being onlythree or four white officers to each regiment, the few extra camels inthe train make no appreciable difference. Besides, these black fellowsconsider it quite natural and proper that their white officers shouldfare in a very different way from themselves; whereas a British Tommywould 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'sstore of money was not seriously affected by the purchases. For bothanimals, although in poor condition from their journey from Kordofan, afortnight's rest and good feeding did wonders.
Zaki had not much to do, but Gregory was well satisfied with theselection he had made. He looked after and groomed the horse, saw thatthe native with the camel took care of it, and went down regularly tothe river to water it every evening, while he himself did the same withthe horse. He always had a jug of cold tea ready for Gregory, wheneverhe 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 hewas consoled by being told that the time would soon come when he wouldbe more actively engaged.
From the first day of his arrival, Gregory was kept fully employed.Sometimes he assisted the officer of the Intelligence Department, ininterviewing fugitives who had arrived from Berber and other points onthe river, from Kordofan, or from villages on the White Nile. Sometimeshe carried messages from the General to the officers in command of thetwo Egyptian brigades. He had to listen to disputes between nativesreturning to their homes, from which they had been driven by theDervishes, and those they found in possession of their land. He tooknotes of the arguments on both sides, and submitted them to the Generalfor his decision.
The work would have been trifling in any other climate, but wasexhausting in the sweltering heat of the day, and he was not sorry whenthe sun sank, and he could take off his khaki tunic and go down to theriver 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 downthe country are able to tell us a good deal of what is taking place onthe Nile, from Omdurman down to Metemmeh; and while we also get news ofthe state of things at Berber and Abu Hamed; we know nothing whateverof Mahmud's intentions, nor indeed anything of what is doing atMetemmeh, itself, since it was captured by the Dervishes and, as weheard, the whole population destroyed.
"Of course, Mahmud has the choice of three courses. He can stay wherehe is, he can march his whole force to Berber, or he can advanceagainst us here. I don't suppose that he has any idea of the progressthe railway is making from Wady Halfa. He may have heard, and no doubthe has heard, that we are making a road of some sort across the desertin the direction of Abu Hamed; but of the capabilities of the railwayhe can form no idea, and may well believe that the march of an army,across what
is practically a waterless desert, is a matter ofimpossibility.
"On the other hand, he knows that we are gathering a considerable forcehere; and, with his limited knowledge, doubtless supposes that we aregoing to cross the Bayuda desert, to Metemmeh, as the Gordon reliefcolumn did; or that, if we are not coming that way, we intend to followthe river bank up to Berber. Unquestionably his best course, if heconsiders, as we may be sure he does, that the force under his commandis strong enough to crush us here, would be to push across the desert,and fall upon us before reinforcements arrive. But it is reported, andI believe truly, that the Khalifa, his father, has positively refusedto 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 soserious, in the case of a Dervish force, as it is with us. In the firstplace, they can march twice as far as we can. In the second place, theyare accustomed to go a long time without water, and are but littleaffected by the heat. Lastly, they have nothing to carry except theirweapons, a few handfuls of dates, and their water gourds. Still, weknow that the forces that have, one after another, arrived here havebeen greatly weakened by the journey. However, Mahmud may attempt it,for he must know, from his spies here, that we have at present no suchland transport as would be required, were we intending to advanceacross the desert. He may, therefore, move at least a portion of hisforce to Berber; trusting to the fact that, even did we make an advancesouth from here, with the intention of cutting off his retreat toKhartoum, he would be able to reach Metemmeh before we could get there.
"Undoubtedly, a British general, if commanding a force constituted asMahmud's is, would make a dash across the desert and fall upon us;unless, indeed, he felt certain that, after the difficulties weencountered last time we attempted to take the desert route, we shouldbe certain to advance by the river, step by step, continuing the policythat we have followed since we began to push forward from Assouan.
"Mahmud is in a very difficult position. He is controlled by his fatherat Khartoum. Among those with him are many important Emirs, men ofalmost equal rank with himself; and he could hardly hope that whateverdecision he might personally arrive at would be generally accepted byall; and those who opposed him would do so with all the more force, asthey could declare that, in making any movement, he was acting inopposition to his father's orders.
"However, our total ignorance as to Mahmud's plans and intentions ismost unfortunate; but it can hardly be helped, for naturally thenatives coming down from Kordofan give Metemmeh a very wide berth. Asto sending up any of the natives here, to find out what is going on, itis out of the question, for they would be detected at once, as theirlanguage 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 informationas to Mahmud's intentions. With your permission, I am ready toundertake to go into his camp, and to find out what the general opinionis 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 dialectthat passes here. It is among the Baggara that I am likely to learnsomething of my father's fate; and, as the old nurse from whom I learntthese languages had been for a long time among that tribe, she devoted,at my mother's request, more time to teaching me their Arab dialectthan any other, and I am convinced that I could pass unsuspected amongthem, as far as language is concerned. There is no great differencebetween Arab features and European, and I think that, when I am stainedbrown and have my head partly shaved, according to their fashion, therewill be little fear of my being detected.
"As to costume, that is easy enough. I have not seen any of theDervishes yet, but the natives who have come in from El Obeid, or anyother neighbourhood where they are masters, could give me an account oftheir dress, and the way in which they wear the patches on theirclothes, which are the distinguishing mark of the Mahdists."
"I could tell you that. So could any of the officers. Their dressdiffers very little from the ordinary Arab costume. Nearly all wearloose white trousers, coming down to the ankles. In some cases theseare the usual baggy Eastern articles, in others the legs are separate.They almost all wear the white garment coming down to the knee, with ofcourse a sash round the waist, and sleeves reaching down to the elbowor an inch or two below it. Some wear turbans, but the majority simplyskullcaps. I could get the dress made up in three or four hours. Butthe risk is altogether too great, and I do not think that I should bejustified in allowing you to undertake it."
"I really do not think that there will be any great danger, sir. Ifthere were no great object to be gained, it would be different; but inview of the great importance, as you said this evening, of learningMahmud's intentions, the risk of one life being lost, even were itgreat, is nothing. As you say, the Sirdar's plans might be greatlyaffected by the course Mahmud adopts; and in such a case, the life of asubaltern like myself is a matter scarcely to be considered.
"From childhood I have been preparing to go among the Dervishes, andthis is what I propose doing, as soon as Khartoum is recaptured.Therefore sir if, by anticipating my work by a few months, or possiblya year, I can render a service to the army, I would gladly undertakeit, 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 isa very gallant one, and may possibly meet with success."
"Thank you, sir! I shall be really glad to enter upon the work I havelooked forward to. Although it may have no direct bearing upon thediscovery of my father's fate, it will be a start in that direction. Doyou think that I had better go mounted, or on foot?"
"I should say certainly on horseback, but there is no occasion for anyhasty determination. Every step should be carefully considered, and weshould, as far as possible, foresee and provide for every emergencythat may arise. Think it over well, yourself. Some time tomorrow I willdiscuss 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 thecountry 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 arevery many of them. It would not be difficult, even for one who hasnever passed them, to find the way."
"And there are wells?"
"There are wells at Howeyat and Abu Halfa, at Gakdul and Abu Klea, alsoat Gubat."
"That is to say, water will be found nearly every day?"
"Quite every day, to one on horseback. The longest distance is fromGakdul to Abu Klea, but that would not be too long for mounted men, andcould 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 thetown?"
"From what I have heard, most of the Dervish force is on the hillsbehind the town. They say Metemmeh is full of dead, and that even theDervishes 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 thetribesmen who fight for the Khalifa are all on horseback, but most ofthe 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 verymuch like the Baggara?"
"Yes; it is
everywhere Arabic, and there is but little difference. Theycan all understand each other, and talk together. May your servant askwhy 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 Baggaratongue 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 atMetemmeh."
Zaki stared at his master, in speechless amazement. Gregory could nothelp smiling at the expression of his face.
"There does not seem much difficulty in it," he said. "I can speak withyou in the dialect of Dongola, but the Baggara language is much easierto me, because I have been accustomed to speak Arabic since I was achild. Of course my skin will be dyed, and I shall wear the Dervishdress. There is no difficulty in this matter."
"But they would cut you in pieces, my lord, if they found out that youwere a white."
"No doubt they would, but there is no reason why they should find thatout. It would be much more dangerous for you to go into their camp thanit would be for me. In the first place, you can scarcely speak anyArabic; and in the second, they would see by your features that you areone of the Jaalin. Whereas my features, when stained, would be muchmore 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 ontill they are within sight of this camp; but when they have found outthat the wells are still unoccupied, and the army here quiet, they goback again."
"If I go on horseback, Zaki, I shall want someone with me who will actas a guide; and who will look after his horse and mine at some placenear the river, where he can find a hiding place while I am away in theDervish camp."
"Would you take me, my lord?" Zaki said quickly.
"I would much rather take you than anyone else, if you are willing togo, Zaki."
"Surely I will go with my lord," the native said. "No one has ever beenso good to me as he has. If my lord is killed, I am ready to die withhim. He may count on me to do anything that he requires, even to gowith 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 couldride attended by a slave. People might say, 'Who is this man? Wheredoes he come from? How is it that no one knows a man who rides with aslave?'
"My great object will be to enter the camp quietly, as one who has butleft half an hour before. When I have once entered it, and they askwhence 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 anofficer of the governor there; that, finding he could not get awayhimself, he yielded to my request that I might come, and help to drivethe infidels into the sea."
Zaki nodded.
"That would be a good tale, my lord, for men who have escaped from ElObeid, and have come here, have said that the Khalifa's troops therehave not been called to join him at Omdurman; for it is necessary tokeep a strong force there, as many of the tribes of the province wouldrise in rebellion, if they had the chance. Therefore you would not belikely to meet anyone from El Obeid in Mahmud's camp."
"How is it, Zaki, that when so many in the Soudan have suffered at thehands of the Dervishes, they not only remain quiet, but supply thelargest part of the Khalifa's army?"
"Because, my lord, none of them can trust the others. It is madness forone tribe to rise, as the Jaalin did at Metemmeh. The Dervishes wipedthem out from the face of the earth. Many follow him because they seethat Allah has always given victory to the Mahdists; therefore theMahdi must be his prophet. Others join his army because their villageshave been destroyed, and their fields wasted, and they see no other wayof saving themselves from starvation.
"There are many who fight because they are fond of fighting. You seehow gladly they take service with you, and fight against their owncountrymen, although you are Christians. Suppose you were to conquerthe Khalifa tomorrow, half his army would enlist in your service, ifyou 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 produceeaten by others and his house set on fire; and would rather leave hishome and fight--he cares not against whom.
"The Mahdist army are badly fed and badly paid. They can scarce keeplife 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 arewounded, or lose a limb, and are no more able to fight, they receive apension. 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 ifI go on this expedition, you will accompany me?"
"Certainly, master. Wherever you go I am ready to go. Whatever happensto 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," theGeneral said, "and have decided to accept your offer. I suppose thatyou have been thinking the matter over. Do you decide to go on foot, ormounted?"
"On horseback, sir. My boy is perfectly willing to go with me. He knowsthe 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 somewherenear the river; and I shall enter the camp on foot. I am less likely tobe noticed that way. If questioned, my story will be that my father wasat 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 theprovince; and that, wishing to fight against the infidel, I have comeon my own account. If I am asked why I had not come on horseback, Ishall say that I had ridden to within the last two or three miles, andthat the horse had then died.
"But I do not expect to be questioned at all, as one man on foot is asnothing, in an army of twenty or thirty thousand, gathered from allover the Soudan."
"You quite understand, Mr. Hilliard, that you are taking your life inyour hands? And that there is no possibility, whatever, of our doinganything for you, if you get into trouble?"
"Quite, sir. If I am detected, I shall probably be killed at once. I donot think that there is more risk in it than in going into battle. As Ihave told you, I have, so far as I know, no relatives in the world; andthere 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 werekilled when we came up here; except, of course, that the patches weretaken 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 thesewere 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 sewon as patches.
"I am afraid, sir, that there will be little chance of my being able toobtain any absolute news of Mahmud's intentions; but only to gleangeneral opinion, in the camp. It is not likely that the news of anyintended 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 thematter would be one of common talk. Of course, Mahmud and his principaladvisers 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 begenerally known.
"I may tell you that we do not intend to cross the Bayuda desert. Weshall go up the river, but this is a secret that will be kept till thelast moment. And before we start, we shall do all in our power tospread a belief that we are going to advance to Metemmeh. We know thatthey are well informed, by their spies here, of our movements. We shallsend a strong force to make a reconnaissance, as far as Gakdul. Thiswill appear to be a preliminary step to our advance, and should keepMahmud inactive, till too late. He will not da
re 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 shouldhave 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, butI have ridden him a great deal, and he is certainly fast; and, beingdesert bred, I have no doubt has plenty of endurance. I shall, ofcourse, get one for my boy."
"There are plenty in the transport yard. They have been bought up fromfugitives who have come in here. I will write you an order to selectany 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 keepuntil you return.
"You should take a Martini-Henri with you. I will give you an order forone, on one of the native regiments. They are, as you know, armed withthem; and have, of course, a few cases of spare rifles. A good manyhave fallen into the hands of the Dervishes, at one time or another, sothat your carrying such a weapon will not excite any remark. It wouldnot do to take a revolver, but no doubt you will be able to buy pistolsthat have been brought down by the fugitives. You will certainly beable to get them at some of those Greek shops. They buy up all thatkind of thing. Of course, you will carry one of the Dervish longknives.
"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 noone will notice my going. With your permission, I will come roundbefore I set off, so that you can see whether the disguise is goodenough to pass."
