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diff --git a/21136.txt b/21136.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4b8f186 --- /dev/null +++ b/21136.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11834 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of For Fortune and Glory, by Lewis Hough + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: For Fortune and Glory + A Story of the Soudan War + +Author: Lewis Hough + +Illustrator: Walter Paget + +Release Date: April 18, 2007 [EBook #21136] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR FORTUNE AND GLORY *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + + +For Fortune and Glory +A Story of the Soudan War + +By Lewis Hough +________________________________________________________________________ +We were a little nervous to know how Lewis Hough got on writing a book +with such a very different setting to his masterly "Doctor Jolliffe's +Boys." In fact the story opens in a boarding school (the British Public +School) called Harton. This is probably meant to be a word based on +"Eton" and another school that has an annual cricket match with Eton, +called "Harrow". In fact there is plenty of internal evidence that it +really is Eton, with the dropping of local slang terms only in use at +that school. + +Before I knew the story I was also nervous about the title. What could +Fortune possibly have to do with the Soudan War? What actually happened +was that a certain Will had been stolen by a former employe, an +Egyptian, of a Dublin solicitor, together with a previous version of the +Will. This had resulted in a family losing all their money, since the +father had been a Partner in an Eastern Bank that foundered in the +events leading up to the Soudan War. + +Eventually the two Wills are tracked down, and justice done as regards +the estate. + +But all this is a parallel story to the description of events in the +Soudan War. This is well worth reading for its own sake, especially in +this day and age, when certain events seem about to repeat themselves. +NH +________________________________________________________________________ + +FOR FORTUNE AND GLORY +A STORY OF THE SOUDAN WAR + +BY LEWIS HOUGH +A STORY OF THE SOUDAN WAR. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +A MYSTERIOUS RELATIVE. + +It is nice to go home, even from Harton, though we may be leaving all +our sports behind us. It used to be specially nice in winter; but you +young fellows are made so comfortable at school nowadays that you miss +one great luxury of return to the domestic hearth. Why, they tell me +that the school-rooms at Harton are _warmed_! And I know that the +Senate House at Cambridge is when men are in for their winter +examinations, so it is probable that the younger race is equally +pampered; and if the present Hartonians' teeth chatter at six o'clock +lesson, consciousness of unprepared lessons is the cause, not cold. + +But you have harder head-work and fewer holidays than we had, so you are +welcome to your warm school-rooms. I am not sure that you have the best +of it: at any rate, we will cry quits. + +But the superior material comforts of home are but a small matter in the +pleasure of going there after all. It is the affections centred in it +which cause it to fill the first place in our hearts, "be it never so +humble." + +Harry Forsyth was fond of Harton; fond of football, which was in full +swing; fond of his two chums, Strachan and Kavanagh. He rather liked +his studies than otherwise, and, indeed, took a real pleasure in some +classical authors--Homer and Horace, for example--as any lad who has +turned sixteen who has brains, and is not absolutely idle, is likely to +do. He was strong, active, popular; he had passed from the purgatorial +state of fag to the elysium of fagger. But still his blood seemed +turned to champagne, and his muscles to watch-springs, when the cab, +which carried him and his portmanteau, passed through the gate into the +drive which curved up to the door of Holly Lodge. For Holly Lodge +contained his mother and Trix, and the thought of meeting either of them +after an absence of a school-term set his heart bounding, and his pulse +throbbing, in a way he would not have owned to his best friends for the +choice of bats in the best maker's shop. He loved his father also, but +he did not know so much of him. He was a merchant, and his business had +necessitated his living very much abroad, while Cairo did not suit his +wife's health. His visits to England were for some years but +occasional, and did not always coincide with Harry's holidays. Two +years previously, indeed, he had wound up his affairs, and settled +permanently at home; but he was still a busy man--a director of the +Great Transit Bank, and interested in other things, which took him up to +London every day. He was also fond of club-life and public dinners; +and, though he was affectionate with his wife and children, too much of +their society rather bored him. + +When she heard the cab-wheels crunching the gravel, Beatrice Forsyth ran +out without a hat, and Harry seeing her, opened the door and "quitted +the vehicle while yet in motion," as the railway notices have it, +whereby he nearly came a cropper, but recovered his balance, and was +immediately fitted with a live necklace. Beatrice was a slight, fair, +blue-eyed, curly-haired girl of fifteen; so light and springy that her +brother carried her, without an effort, to the hall steps, where, being +set down, she sprang into the cab and began collecting the smaller +packages, rug, umbrella, and other articles, inside it, while Harry +hugged his mother in the hall. + +"Your father will be home by four," said Mrs Forsyth, when the first +greetings and inquiries as to health were over. + +"And Haroun Alraschid has taken possession of his study," added Trix, +with a sort of awe. + +"Haroun, how much?" asked Harry. + +"Don't be absurd, Trix!" said Mrs Forsyth. "It is only your uncle, +Ralph Burke." + +"Burke, that was your name, mother; this uncle was your brother then?" + +"Of course, Harry. Have you never heard me speak of your uncle Ralph?" + +"Now you mention it, yes, mother. But I had a sort of idea that he was +dead." + +"So we thought him for some time," said Mrs Forsyth, "for he left the +Indian Civil Service, in which he had a good appointment, and +disappeared for years. He met with disappointments, and had a +sunstroke, and went to live with wild men in the desert, and, I believe, +has taken up with some strange religious notions. In fact, I fear that +he is not quite right in his head. But he talks sensibly about things +too, and seems to wish to be kind. We were very fond of one another +when we were children, and he seems to remember it in spite of all he +has gone through." + +"I am frightened to death at him," said Trix. "I know he has a large +cupboard at home with the heads of all the wives he has decapitated +hanging up in a row by the back hair!" + +"I wonder at your talking so foolishly, Beatrice. You must not be +prejudiced by what she says, Harry. Except your uncle in Ireland, he +has no other relatives, and he may be very well off; and he is quite +harmless." + +"You know that you were afraid of him yourself, mamma, when he first +came." + +"A little, perhaps, because I did not recognise him, and thought him +dead. And then, you know, I fear he is not quite orthodox. But go and +see him, Harry, and never mind what any one says." + +"All right, mother; you have made me a bit curious, I confess," said +Harry, leaving the room. + +The garden in front of Holly Lodge was formal--just a carriage-drive, +and a bit of shrubbery, and a grass-plat with prim beds on it, which had +various flower eruptions at different periods of the year. First +snowdrops, aconites, and crocuses, then tulips, then geraniums. The +real garden was at the back, and the study looked out upon it. Not upon +the lawn, where bowls, or lawn-tennis, or other disturbing proceedings +might be going on; no, from the oriel window, which alone lighted the +room, one saw a fountain, a statue, rose-bushes, and a catalpa tree, +enclosed in a fringe of foliage, syringa, lilac, laurel, chestnut, high +and thick enough to make it as private and quiet as any man with a +speech to prepare, or sums to do, might require. Harry went along a +passage, turned to the left up five steps, passed through a green-baize +swing door, and knocked at that of the study. + +A deep musical voice, which seemed, however, to come from a strange +distance, told him to "come in," and on opening the door, he found that +he had to push aside a curtain hanging over it, and which had dulled the +sound of the voice. Smoke wreaths floated about the apartment, bearing +an aromatic odour quite different from ordinary tobacco, and a curious +gurgling sound, like that of water on the boil, only intermittent, came +from the direction of the broad low sofa, which had been brought from +the drawing-room, and was placed between the fire and the window. Close +to this was a small table with writing materials, a note-book, and a +pile of letters ready for the post, upon it. + +On the sofa reclined a man dressed in a black frock-coat, buttoned, and +dark trousers, the only Oriental thing about him being the red cap with +a silk tassel which he wore on his head. But smokers often have a fancy +for wearing the fez, so there was nothing peculiar in that. And yet +there was something different from other people about him. Most men +lounging on a sofa are ungainly and awkward-looking, while the attitude +of this one was easy and graceful, and the motion of his hand, with +which he indicated the chair on which he wished his nephew to be seated, +was courteous and yet commanding. + +His complexion was sallow, and appeared the darker from the contrast +afforded by the silvery whiteness of his long beard, moustache, and +thick bushy eyebrows, from the deep cavities beneath which his dark eyes +seemed literally to flash. His nose was aquiline, his cheek-bones +prominent. His hands were small, but strong and nervous, with little +flesh upon them, and the fingers were long and shapely. + +When Harry was seated he resettled himself on the sofa, and, keeping his +eyes fixed on the lad, placed the amber mouth-piece of a long spiral +tube connected with a narghile which was smouldering on the floor to his +lips, and the gurgling sound was once more produced. But to Harry's +astonishment, no cloud issued from his uncle's mouth; like a law-abiding +factory chimney, he appeared to consume his own smoke. Then, +deliberately removing the amber tube which he held in his hand, he +said-- + +"And you are my sister's son? I like your looks, and my heart yearns +towards you. Pity that she did not wed with one of her own land, so +that you might not have had the blood of the accursed race in your +veins. But it was the will of the All-Powerful, and what can we avail +against fate?" + +What these words meant Harry could not imagine. Were not his parents of +the same land and race? His mother was Irish and his father English, +and he had no more idea of Irish, Scotch, Welsh, or English being of +different races than of the inhabitants of Surrey and Essex being so. +They were all Englishmen he had always thought. His bewilderment was by +no means diminished when, after this speech, and without again putting +the stem of his narghile near his mouth, his uncle raised his head and +poured out a volume of smoke, which it would have taken the united +efforts of a couple of Germans about five minutes to produce. He was +quite veiled by the cloud, through which the gleam of his eyes seemed to +Harry to have an almost supernatural effect. + +"You are nearly seventeen years of age, and will soon be leaving +school," he resumed. "What are they going to do with you then?" + +"I have not quite made up my mind what profession I should like," said +Harry, somewhat hesitatingly. "I am fond of drawing, and like being out +of doors, and so I have thought at times of getting articled to a civil +engineer." + +"Ay, ay; to aid the march of civilisation, as the cant phrase goes; to +bring nations closer together, that they may cut one another's throats +when they meet. To make machines do the work by which men earn their +living, and so first drive them into cities, and then starve them. Or, +perhaps, you will be a lawyer, and learn how to darken language into +obscure terms, by which a simple, honest man may be made to sell his +birthright without knowing what he is doing. Or a doctor, fighting +madly against the decree of the Omnipotent, daring to try to stem the +flowing tide of death. If your eyes were but opened, how gladly would +you cast off the trammels of an effete society, and follow me to a land +where a man can breathe freely. I will give you a horse fleet as the +wind, and a sword that would split a hair or sever an iron bar, boy!" + +"I have thought I should like the army, too, sir," said bewildered +Harry, trying vainly to understand, and catching at the sword and horse +as something tangible. + +"The army! To be a European soldier! A living machine--the slave of +slaves! To fight without a cause, even without an object! To waste +your blood in the conquest of a country and the ruin and slaughter of +its inhabitants, and then to leave it! Madmen! Ye kill and are killed +for nothing; not even plunder." + +He drew several long inhalations, repeating the conjuring trick of +swallowing the smoke and emitting it several seconds afterwards, for +quite ten minutes before he spoke again. + +"But the ties of home and kindred are strong," he continued in a calmer +tone. "Your mother, your sister, will draw you back from the nobler +lot. I know what the love of family is; I, who have returned to this +seething cauldron of misery, vice, disease, and degradation which fools +call civilisation, and take a pride in, in order to see my sister once +more. Partly for that at least. And you are her son, and you have the +stamp of the Burke upon your face. Hark you, boy! In the time of +Cromwell, not two hundred and fifty years ago, your direct ancestor was +a powerful Irish chief, with large domains and many brave men to follow +him to battle. When the English came with the cold-blooded, +preconceived scheme of pacifying Ireland once and for all by the +wholesale massacre of the inhabitants, our grandsire was overpowered by +numbers, betrayed, surprised, and driven to his last refuge, a castle +but little capable of defence. He was surrounded; his wife and children +were with him, all young, one an infant at the breast; and there were +other women, helpless and homeless, who had sought shelter within the +walls. Therefore, resistance being quite hopeless, our chief offered to +surrender. But the English leader replied, `Give no quarter; they are +wild beasts, not men. Burn up the wasps' nest, maggots and all!' They +did it; faggots were piled round the building and set on fire, and those +who attempted to escape were received on the English spears and tossed +back into the flames. The eldest son was away with a detachment at the +time, and so escaped the fate which would otherwise have annihilated our +race. But his estates were stolen from him and conferred on the +murderers, whose descendants hold them to the present day. Have the +Burkes best reason to love the English or to hate them?" + +Harry Forsyth was a practical youth, who took things as he found them, +and he could not even understand how anybody's feelings, much less their +actions, should be affected by anything which happened in the days of +Oliver Cromwell. He might just as well refuse a penny to an Italian +organ-grinder, because Julius Caesar ill-treated the ancient Britons. +Besides, he was half a Forsyth, and the Forsyths were probably all +English. For all he knew, some old Forsyth might have had a hand in +burning up the Burkes. He did not offer any such suggestion, however, +but sat somewhat awe-stricken, wondering what this strange uncle would +say or do next. + +He relapsed into thought, and for some time the silence was only broken +by the bubbling of the water in the narghile. When at last he spoke +again, it was in a calmer tone of voice, and with eyes withdrawn from +his nephew's face. + +"Serve not the English Government, civil or military," he said. "Or, if +you do, confine yourself to your allotted task. That which is exactly +due for the pay you receive, do for honour and honesty's sake. But do +no more; show no zeal: above all, trust not to any sense of justice for +reward of any work done in excess of the bargain. Incur no +responsibility, or you will be made a cat's-paw of. + +"Listen. At the time of the Crimean War a young man in the Indian +service had a severe illness which obliged him to return to England on +furlough. At one of the stations where his ship touched a number of +women and children and invalids belonging to a regiment which had gone +on to the seat of war were taken on board, and he, according to previous +arrangement, was placed in charge of them. + +"It came on to blow hard in the Gulf of Lyons, and the old transport +strained so that she sprang a leak, which put her fires out. Later on +her masts went, and after beating about for several wretched days, she +went ashore on a desolate part of the coast of Spain. The officers and +crew of the ship behaved well enough, and though many of them, including +the captain and chief mate, were lost, nearly all the passengers were +safely landed. But though rescued from the sea, there seemed to be +every prospect of their perishing from exposure and famine. With great +difficulty the officer in charge managed to find some rude shelter and +insufficient food for immediate succour, and then, making his way to the +nearest town, he applied to the authorities, and being a linguist who +included something of the language in which Don Quixote was written +amongst his acquisitions, he obtained clothes, food, and a sum of money +for present necessities, with the promise of a vessel to transfer the +unfortunates to Gibraltar. + +"Of course he had lost everything when the ship went to pieces, and he +could only get this aid by signing bills and making himself personally +responsible. True, he was engaging himself for more than he could +perform, but he could neither desert these people who were entrusted to +his care, nor stand idly by to see them perish. And he never doubted +but that the authorities at home would take the responsibility off his +hands. They refused to do so, or rather, worse than that, they drove +him about from pillar to post, one official directing him to a second, +the second to a third, the third to the first again. And they made him +fill up forms, and returned them as incorrect, and broke his heart with +subterfuges. + +"In the meantime he had to meet the claims, and was impoverished. Then, +excited by this infamous treatment, he forced his way into a great man's +presence, and was violent, and the consequence of his violence was that +he lost his Indian appointment. It was well for him that he did so; but +his story will none the less show you what a country England is to +serve." + +Again there was a long period of stillness, broken only by the hubble- +bubble. Gradually the smoker raised his eyes in the direction of his +nephew, but Harry saw that he was looking _beyond_ him, not at him. And +this gaze became so steadfast and eager that he turned his head to see +what attracted it, almost expecting to see a face on the other side of +the window. + +There was nothing, but still the intense look remained, and it made +Harry feel as if cold water was running down his back. His uncle spoke +at length, low and slowly at first, more energetically as he went on. + +"I see it; the crescent rises; the sordid hordes of the West fall in +ruin around. The squalid denizens of cities find the fiendish devices +of destruction to which they trust for putting the weak over the strong +fail them. Man to man they have to stand, and they fall like corn +before the scythe." + +He dropped his pipe tube, and slowly rose to his feet, still gazing +fixedly at nothing in particular in the same uncanny manner, and +bringing his right-hand round towards his left hip, as if ready to grasp +a sword-hilt. + +"One prophet," he continued, "was raised up for the destruction of +idolatry, and wherever he appeared the false gods vanished. There were +those who worshipped the True God, but received not his Prophet, and +with them Islam has for centuries waged equal war, for their time was +not yet come, and the mission of Mohammed was not for them. But the +years of probation have expired, and the nations of the West remain in +wilful darkness. They receive not the commandments of the Prophet; they +drink fermented liquor, they eat the unclean beast, their worship of +gold and science has become a real idolatry. Another prophet has arisen +for their destruction, and Asia and Africa shall, ere another generation +has come and gone, be swept clean of the Infidel. Swept clean! Swept +clean! With the scimitar for a besom!" + +He remained with his eyes fixed and his lips parted, and Harry did not +quite know what to do next. But he summoned courage to rise and say +that he hoped his father would have come home by now and as he had not +seen him yet, he thought he would go. + +Filial affection might surely be taken as a valid excuse for withdrawal. +And yet, having had no experience of the etiquette due to prophets when +the orgy of vaticination is upon them, he was not quite comfortable on +the question of being scathed. There was no need for fear; Sheikh +Burrachee was too rapt to heed his presence or absence. He heard not +his voice, and knew not when he crossed the room and closed the door +softly behind him. He found Trix in the hall looking out for him. + +"Well?" she cried. + +"Oh, my prophetic uncle!" ejaculated Harry. + +"That is a mis-quotation." + +"It is not a quotation at all; it is an exclamation, and a very natural +one under the circumstances." + +"Has he been telling your fortune?" asked Beatrice, her large eyes +expanding with the interest which is begotten of mystery. + +"Not exactly," replied Harry; "except that he hinted something about the +propriety of my choosing the profession of a Bedouin, and, I suppose, +making a fortune by robbing caravans. But he told the misfortunes of +other people with a vengeance. The Mohammedans are going to turn the +Christians out of Asia and Africa everywhere." + +"Good gracious, Harry! Why, papa's a director of the Great Transit +Bank, and all our money is in it, and it does all its business in the +East." + +"By Jove! Let us hope the prophet _doesn't know_, then. But, upon my +word, he looked like seeing into futurity. At least, I could not make +out what else he was looking at." + +"Poor man, he had a sunstroke when he was quite young in India, and has +led a queer life amongst savages ever since. But papa has come home and +been asking for you. You will find him in the drawing-room." + +Harry thought his father thinner and older than when he had last seen +him, and asked how he was in a more earnest and meaning manner than is +customary in the conventional "How do you do?" + +"Do I look altered?" asked Mr Forsyth, quickly. + +"Oh, no, father, only a little pale; tired-looking, you know," said +Harry, rather hesitatingly, in spite of the effort made to speak +carelessly. + +"I have not been quite the thing, and have seen a physician about it. +Only a little weakness about the heart, which affects the circulation. +But do not mention it to your mother or sister; women are so easily +frightened, and their serious faces would make me imagine myself +seriously ill. Well, how did you get on with your uncle? You see he +has turned me out of my private den." + +"Is he at all--a little--that is, a trifle cracked, father?" + +"A good deal, I should say. And yet he is a very clever man, and +sensible enough at times, and upon some subjects. He was most useful to +me out in Egypt on several occasions when we happened to meet. A great +traveller and a wonderful linguist." + +"Was he badly treated by Government? He told me a story in the third +person, but I expect that he referred to himself all the time," said +Harry. + +"Well," replied Mr Forsyth, "it is difficult to tell all the rights of +the story. Ever since he had an illness in India, as a very young man, +he has been subject to delusions. No doubt he behaved well on the +occasion of a certain shipwreck--if that is what you allude to--and +incurred heavy expense, which ought to have been made up to him. But I +doubt if he went the right way to work, and suspect that his failure was +due very much to impatience and wrong-headedness, and the mixing up of +political questions with his personal claims. He wrote a book, which +made some noise, and caused him to lose his appointment. Then he came +to me in Egypt, and was very useful. + +"I should have liked him for a partner, but he went off to discover the +source of the Nile. He thought he had succeeded, and after a +disappearance of some years came back triumphant. But he had followed +the Blue Nile instead of the real branch, and the discoveries of Speke, +Grant, Livingstone, and Stanley were terribly bitter to him--drove him +quite mad, I think. Since then he has identified himself with the Arab +race, and seems to hate all Europeans, except his sister and her family. +With me he has never quarrelled, and I think remembers that I offered +him a home and employment when his career was cut short. What he is in +England for now I do not know. Perhaps only to see your mother once +more, but I suspect there is something else. + +"He writes many letters, and makes a point of posting them himself. I +fear that he takes opium, or some drug of that kind, and altogether, +though it is inhospitable perhaps to say so, it will be a relief when he +is gone, and that will not be many days now." + +After leaving his uncle in such a rapt state, it was curious to Harry to +see him walk into the drawing-room before dinner in correct evening +costume, and not wearing his fez. He was somewhat taciturn, ate very +little, and drank nothing but water, but his manners were those of a +perfect gentleman. After dinner he retired, and they saw no more of him +that evening. + +Harry Forsyth had several other interviews with his uncle, who showed +more fondness for his company than he had for that of any other member +of the family, but who kept a greater guard over himself, and was more +reticent than he had been on the occasion of his first interview. He +spoke of Eastern climes, war, sport, and scenery, with enthusiasm +indeed, but rationally, and Harry grew interested, and liked to hear +him, though he never got over the feeling that there was something +uncanny about him. + +One night, after dinner, when a fortnight of Harry's holidays had +elapsed, the uncle, on retiring, asked his nephew to come and see him in +the study at eleven on the following morning, and Harry, punctually +complying, found him seated on a chair before the large table with three +packets before him. + +"Sit down, my lad," he said, and the deep musical tones of his voice had +an affectionate sadness in them. + +"I am going back to my own land to-morrow, and shall never leave it +again. But we shall meet, for such is the will of the All-Powerful, +unless the inward voice deceives me, as it has never hitherto done. You +will, or let us say you _may_, need my aid. You will learn where and +how to find the Sheikh Burrachee--which is my real name--from Yusuff, +the sword dealer, in the armourers' bazaar, at Cairo. But you will more +certainly do so by applying to the head Dervish at the mosques of +Suakim, Berber, or Khartoum. At the last town, indeed, you will have no +difficulty in learning where I am, and being conducted to me; and, +indeed, in any considerable place above the second cataract of the Nile, +you will probably learn at the mosque how and where to obtain the +required direction, even if they cannot give it you themselves. If +there is hesitation, show the holy man this ring, and it will be removed +at once. Should you meet with hindrance in your journey from any desert +tribe, ask to be led to the chief, and give him this parchment. He may +not be an ally to help you, but he may, and if not, he will probably not +hinder you. Lastly, take these three stones, and see that you keep them +securely in a safe place, and that no one knows that you possess them. +They are sapphires of some value I exact no promise, but I bid you not +to part with these for any purpose but that of coming to me. For that, +sell them. Should you hear of my death, or should ten years elapse +without your coming to me, they are yours to do what you like with. +Lest you should forget any part of my directions, I have written them on +a paper which is at the bottom of the box containing the sapphires. +Come." + +Harry rose and stood by his side. His uncle fitted the ring on his +fore-finger, put the morocco box containing the sapphires, and the thin +silver case, like a lady's large-sized card-case, that protected the +written document, into his breast pocket, and then rising himself, +rested his two hands on the lad's shoulders, and gazed long and +earnestly into his face. + +Then turning his eyes upwards, he muttered a prayer in Arabic, after +which he gently drew him to the door, and, releasing him, opened it, and +said, "Farewell." + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +MR. RICHARD BURKE VISITS HIS LAWYER. + +Mrs Forsyth had another brother, named Richard, living in Ireland. +When Ralph Burke--the Sheikh Burrachee of to-day--was in trouble, and +lost his Indian appointment, he went to his brother, whom he had not met +since boyhood, and who welcomed him at first cordially. But Ralph, +possessed by the one idea of injury received from the Government, +engaged in seditious plots, and nearly involved his host in serious +trouble. The brothers quarrelled about it, and Ralph left in anger, and +never afterwards mentioned his brother's name. + +Probably he did not know at present whether he was dead or alive. But +alive he was, though in failing health. He was the eldest of the +family, ten years senior to Ralph, and seventeen to his sister, Mrs +Forsyth. In spite of Ralph's story about Oliver Cromwell, the elder +brother had some land, though whether it was part of the original +estates, or had been acquired since, I know not. He had no tenants, but +farmed himself, and was therefore not shot at. The farming consisted +principally, however, in breeding horses, in which he was very +successful. + +It was not that he realised such large profits, or grew rich rapidly, +but he always made more than he spent in the course of the year, and +invested the balance judiciously. And in twenty years hundreds grow to +thousands in that way. + +Rather late in life Mr Burke had married a widow with a son, an only +child. He lost her early, and, having no children of his own, attached +himself to her boy for her sake, and made a will leaving him sole heir +to his property, after a legacy had been paid to his sister, Mrs +Forsyth, and a provision of 200 pounds a year made for Reginald +Kavanagh, an orphan cousin for whom Richard Burke had stood godfather, +and was now educating at his own expense, the boy spending all his +holidays with him in Ireland, and becoming a greater favourite with him +as time went on. + +For his step-son, Stephen Philipson, had disappointed him grievously, +developing idle, dissipated, and extravagant habits as he grew into +manhood. Mr Burke bore with him for some years, hoping that he would +sow his wild oats and reform. But instead of this, he became worse and +worse, till at last it was evident that he would make the worst possible +use of any money which came to him. + +And then Mr Burke had an accident in the hunting field, and, while he +lay between life and death, his step-son behaved and spoke in a +heartless and ungrateful manner, which was reported to him on his +unexpected recovery; and in his indignation he determined to take a step +which he had for some time contemplated. For, though he was able to get +about again, he felt that he had received injuries which would bring him +to the grave before very long, and that he would never be the man he had +been. And, indeed, when pressed, his doctor did not deny that he had +reason for his conclusion. + +So as soon as he was strong enough to get about, he wrote to secure a +room at the hotel he used in Dublin, and took the train to that city. +And the next day called upon his solicitor, Mr Burrows, of the firm of +Burrows and Fagan. + +Mr Burrows, a sleek little man, particular about his dress, and as +proud of his small hands and feet as a cat is of her fur, was waiting +for him in his private room. + +"I am going to alter my will," said Mr Burke. + +"Exactly," said the lawyer, with a slight shrug of the shoulders, which +intimated that he was not at all surprised. + +"I have drawn up a rough copy of what I want put into legal terms; it is +very short and simple; we can get it done to-day, can we not?" + +"Certainly, I expect so. Let me see what you wish," replied Mr +Burrows, taking the sheet of note-paper. + +Now, do not skip, reader, if you please. If you do you will either have +to turn back again from a more interesting chapter, or you will fail to +follow the thread of my story. I promise not to bore you with legal +terms; only read straight on, as Mr Burrows did. + +"I revoke my former will. I now leave to two trustees as much money as +will yield 240 pounds a year to be paid monthly to Stephen Philipson, +the son of my late wife by a former husband. My land to be sold, and +that, with the rest of my property, to be equally divided between my +sister, Mary Forsyth, or her heirs, and Reginald Kavanagh." + +"Not long, certainly, as you have put it," said Mr Burrows, with a +smile. "But here is land to be sold, and other descriptions of property +to be entered correctly. Can you not give us till the day after to- +morrow? If not, I will send the will to you, and you can sign it, and +get it witnessed at home." + +"No, no; I had sooner remain in Dublin, and get the thing off my mind at +once. The day after to-morrow, then, at this time." + +"It will be all ready by then." + +As he passed through the outer office, the head clerk came from his +desk, smiling and bowing obsequiously. He was a young man of dark +complexion, and black hair, worn rather long. + +"Ah, Daireh, how do you do?" said Mr Burke with a nod, but not offering +to shake hands, as the other evidently expected. + +Daireh was an Egyptian _protege_ of Mr Forsyth, who had employed him as +a boy-clerk, brought him to England with him, and placed him in a +lawyer's office. He was clever, sharp, and a most useful servant; and, +entering the employ of Messrs Burrows and Fagan, had ingratiated himself +with both of them, so that he was trusted to an extraordinary degree. +He professed great gratitude to Mr Burke, as the brother-in-law of his +benefactor, and as having spoken for him when he was seeking his present +engagement. But Mr Burke did not like the look of him. He was +prejudiced, however, against all foreigners, especially Greeks and +Egyptians, so that his dislike did not go for much. But certainly an +acute physiognomist would have said that Daireh looked sly. + +Mr Burke had friends to call on, and business to transact, so the delay +did not really matter to him; and he called at the lawyer's office again +at the appointed time, Daireh, bowing obsequiously as usual, ushering +him into Mr Burrows' private room. + +"Well, we have put your good English into what you profanely call legal +jargon," said that gentleman. + +"Just listen, and try to understand your own directions while I read +them over." + +It was all plain enough, and short enough, in spite of Mr Burrows' +little joke, and then Mr Burke put his mouth to a speaking-tube, and +called Daireh to come and witness the document. Then there was some +signing, and the new will was consigned to the tin box bearing the name +of Richard Burke, Esquire, upon it. + +"Better destroy the old one," said he. + +"Certainly," replied Mr Burrows. "Throw it behind the fire, Daireh." + +Then Daireh did a curious thing. He took another parchment, exactly +like the old will, out of his breast coat pocket, and managed, +unperceived, to exchange it for the document; so that the object which +Mr Burke and the lawyer watched curling, blazing, sputtering, till it +was consumed, was not the old will at all, but a spoilt skin of some +other matter, and the old will was lying snugly in Daireh's pocket. + +What motive could he have? What earthly use could this old will be, +when one of more recent date lay in that tin box? Daireh could not have +answered the question. He kept it on the off-chance of being able to +make something out of it. He was a thorough rogue, though not found out +yet, and he knew that Stephen Philipson, who had just been disinherited, +was both rogue and fool. + +So he carried off the now valueless document, which would not eat or +drink, he reckoned, and might be put to some purpose some day. + +Mr Burke returned home and wrote to his sister, and to Stephen +Philipson, telling them what he had done. He did not write about it to +Reginald Kavanagh, not thinking it necessary to take from him any +inducement to exert himself, for though he was a good-enough lad in most +respects, he certainly was not studious. He was also accused by his +schoolfellows of what they called "putting on a good deal of swagger," a +weakness not likely to be improved by the knowledge of his godfather's +kind intentions towards him. + +So that altogether Mr Richard Burke was, perhaps, judicious. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +FROM GAY TO GRAVE. + +Tea was a comfortable meal at Harton in the winter half of the year, +when the boys had fires in their rooms, at least, for social fellows who +clubbed together. Not but what it is cosy to linger over the meal with +a book in your hand, or propped up, as you sit alone at the corner of +the table, half turned to the hearth. + +But Forsyth, Strachan, and Kavanagh liked to mess together, and +Strachan's room being the largest of the three, they selected that to +have their breakfast and tea in. All their cups, saucers, and so on, +were kept in a cupboard in that room, but toasting or such other light +cookery as their fags performed for them was done in their respective +apartments, for the avoidance of overcrowding and dispute amongst the +operators. Also, when bloaters, sprats, or sausages were in question, +it was well not to feed in the room in which the smell of preparation +was most powerful. + +Though the half was drawing to its close, the evening board was +bountifully spread; for Forsyth's birthday had come off two days before, +and brought with it a token from home--a wicker token which the Lord +Mayor himself would not have despised. There was a ham, succulent and +tender; a tongue, fresh, not tinned, boiled, not stewed, of most +eloquent silence; a packet of sausages, a jar of marmalade, and, most +delicious of all, some potted shrimps. Harry knew, but did not tell, +that every one of those shrimps had been stripped of its shell by the +hands of Trix, who plumed herself, with unquestionable justice, upon her +shrimp-potting. Unfathomable is the depth of female devotion; fancy any +one being able to skin a shrimp, prawn, or walnut, and not eat it! The +shrimps, the sausages, were gone, the tongue was silent for ever, but +the ham and the marmalade remained. + +The three friends were the oldest boys in the house, and almost in the +school. Two of them, Strachan and Kavanagh, were to leave at the end of +the half, and Forsyth was to do so after the next. + +"Where's Kavanagh?" said the latter, coming into the room and sitting +down by the fire. + +"At his tutor's," said Strachan; "he is bound to be in directly. Let +the tea brew a bit longer." + +"It's uncommonly cold this evening; going to snow, I think. I hate snow +in February; there is no chance of real frost for skating, and it spoils +the football. Oh, here's Kavanagh." + +The youth named strolled deliberately in at the moment, sat down at the +table, and began to shave off a slice of ham. + +"Has the cold wind made you hungry, or has the effort to understand that +chorus in Euripides exhausted you?" + +"I never try to understand what I firmly believe to have no meaning +whatever," drawled Kavanagh; "and I am never hungry. I consider it bad +form to be hungry; it shows that a fellow does not eat often enough. +Now the distinguishing mark of a gentleman is that he has too many meals +a day ever to feel hungry." + +"I see; then you are only carving the ham for us." + +"That does not exactly follow. Never jump to conclusions. A fire may +not actually require coals, yet you may put some on to keep it going; so +it is with a gentleman's stomach. You may take ham to appease hunger, +or you may take it to prevent the obtrusion of that vulgar sensation. +Not that I object to helping you fellows. The carving of ham is an art, +a fourpenny piece representing the maximum of thickness which the lean +should obtain. With a carving-knife and fork this ideal is not too easy +of attainment, but with these small blunt tools it requires a first-rate +workman to approach it. Now this slice, which I sacrifice on the altar +of friendship, is, I regret to say, fully as thick as a shilling." + +At this moment a little boy, Kavanagh's fag, came into the room bearing +a muffin on a toasting-fork. + +"Devereux!" said Kavanagh, severely, "do you know what Louis the +Fourteenth of France said when his carriage drew up, as he stepped +outside his front door?" + +"No." + +"He said, `I almost had to wait!' Now I, too, say to you that my tea is +poured out, my ham cut, and I almost had to wait. Not quite, happily +not quite, or the consequences to you would have been--terrible!" + +The little boy did not look very frightened, in spite of the tone in +which the last word was uttered. Kavanagh had never been known wilfully +to hurt anything weaker than himself in his life. As he was tall and +strong, this is saying a great deal. + +The two other fags grinned; one of them filled up the tea-pot, and then +Strachan said "Go!" and all three lower boys vanished in a twinkling to +prepare their own teas. + +"We shall not have many more teas together," said Forsyth. + +"No, but we may dinners," replied Strachan. + +"Suppose we all get into the same regiment." + +"The job is to get into any regiment at all," said Kavanagh. "There is +that abominable examination to be got over. Awfully clever and hard +reading fellows get beaten in it every time, I can tell you." + +"Well, but I believe it is easier through the Militia than direct into +Sandhurst, is it not? And that is the way you and I are going to try. +At any rate, then we can go into the same Militia regiment, and that +will give us two trainings, besides preliminary drills, and so forth, to +have some fun together. And Forsyth must come in too." + +"I have not quite made up my mind to go into the army, or rather to try +for it, at all yet," said Forsyth. "It seems such a waste of time to +sap for it, and then be sold after all. I can never do half so well as +I fairly ought in an examination, because I take so long to remember +things I know quite well, even if I have plenty of time to think them +out. I can learn, but I can't cram, so I fear I should never be in it." + +"Oh, have a shy, man; it is only going in for something else if you +fail. And there is no life like the army if you succeed." + +"If we fail, we fail. `But screw your courage to the sticking-place, +and we'll not fail,'" quoted Kavanagh. + +"Well, it is very tempting; perhaps I shall try," said Forsyth. + +"Look here, then," said Strachan, "there are two vacancies amongst the +sub-lieutenants in the fourth battalion of the Blankshire, and my father +is a friend of the Colonel. I am to have one, and I have no doubt you, +Kavanagh, will get the other. There is almost sure to be another +vacancy before the next training, and if there is, don't you think your +friends would let you leave Harton at once, and take it? Then you could +serve one training this year, and another next year, and be ready to go +in for the Competitive at the same time that we do." + +"Thanks, old fellow," said Forsyth. "I will talk it over with my people +when I go home at Easter, and will let you know as quickly as I can." + +"That is settled then. Oh, we won't say good-bye yet awhile." + +"It is a strange thing," said Kavanagh, who, having finished his tea, +had tilted his chair so that his back leaned against the wall, while his +feet rested on another chair, less for the comfort of the position, than +to afford him an opportunity of admiring his well-cut trousers, his +striped socks, and his dandy shoes; "it is a strange thing that there +should only be one career fit for a fellow to follow, and that it should +be impossible for a fellow to get into it." + +"It sounds rather like a sweeping assertion that, doesn't it?" observed +Strachan, who was helping himself to marmalade. + +"That is because you do not grasp the meaning which I attach to the word +_fellow_. I do not allude to the ordinary mortal, who might be a +lawyer, or a parson, or a painter, or fiddler, or anything, and who +might get any number of marks in an examination. I mean by fellows, the +higher order of beings, who are only worth consideration; I do not +define them, because that is impossible; you must know, or you mustn't +know, according to your belonging to them or not. Anyhow, there they +are, and everything and everybody else is only of value so far as he, +she, or it is conducive to their comfort and well-being. For them the +army is the only fit profession, and only a few of them can get enough +marks to enter it." + +"Am I one of these extra superfines?" asked Strachan. + +"You may be, perhaps, if you don't eat too much marmalade." + +"Come, you are pretty fond of jam yourself, Kavanagh," cried Forsyth. + +"Well, yes; we all have our little weaknesses." + +"That reminds me," said Strachan, turning round and poking the fire. +"Our school career is drawing to a close, and I have never made my +confession. I committed a crime last November which I have never owned, +which no one suspects, but which weighs, whenever I think of it, on my +conscience." + +"Unburden," said Kavanagh. + +"Well, then, you may remember that the weather was very mild up to the +seventh of the month." + +"Don't; but grant it. Go ahead." + +"On the eighth of November it grew suddenly colder, and I got out my +winter things, and in the afternoon I changed. Having done so, I put my +pencil in the right-hand waistcoat pocket. There was something round +and hard there--a lozenge? No, a shilling, which had remained there +ever since I changed my winter clothes in the spring. Now at that time +we were reduced to anchovy paste for breakfast, and our bare rations for +tea. Money was spent, tick was scarce, stores were exhausted. Faithful +to a friendship which has all things in common. I went out to Dell's +and bought a pot of apricot jam for tea, the time for which had arrived. +As ill-luck would have it, both you fellows were detained at something +or another--French, I rather think. I had to go to my tutor myself at +seven, so I could not wait, and began my tea alone. Well, the jam was +good, very good, hanged good; I never ate such jam! Had I had quite a +third of it? Not quite, perhaps; I gave myself the benefit of the +doubt. But, then, the gap looked awful. Happy thought! I would turn +it out into a saucer, and you might take it for a sixpenny pot. After +all, not expecting any, you would be pleased with that. But it looked +rather more than a sixpenny pot, so I had a bit more to reduce. And +then--you would not come, and you knew nothing about it. Why make two +bites of a cherry? I finished it, threw the pot out of window, and held +my tongue. But oh! Next day, when Kavanagh received his weekly +allowance, and laid it out in treacle and sprats for the public good, I +did indeed feel guilty." + +"But you ate the sprats and treacle all the same, I expect." + +"I did. I would not shirk my punishment, and flinch from the coals of +fire which were heaped on my head. I even enjoyed them. But my +conscience has been very sore, and feels better now than it has done for +a long time." + +"You have not got absolution yet," said Forsyth. + +"Not by long chalks," cried Kavanagh. "Jam! And apricot of all jams. +If you really want to wipe out the crime you must make restitution." + +"Gladly; but would not that be difficult?" + +"Not at all; you can do it in kind. At compound interest three pots +will clear you, I should say; or, if it don't run to that, say two." + +"Two will do," echoed Forsyth. "Who's that at the door?" + +"It's me," said a youth--dressed in a chocolate coat with brass +buttons--entering the room. + +"Oh, happy Josiah!" exclaimed Kavanagh; "careless of rules, and allowing +your nominative and accusative cases to wander about at their own sweet +will; what pangs would be yours at mid-day to-morrow if you were a +scholar instead of a page, and said `_Hominem sum_,' or uttered any +other equivalent to your late remark! Shades of Valpy and Arnold--`It's +me!'" + +"Mr Wheeler wants to see you at once," said Josiah, not listening to +the criticism on his grammar, and addressing Forsyth. + +"My tutor wants to see me? What on earth about, I wonder?" + +Obviously, the best way to satisfy his curiosity on this head was to go +at once, and this he did. + +Mr Wheeler sat at the paper-laden desk in his private study, under the +brilliant light of a lamp with a green glass shade over it. There was +no other light in the room, which was consequently in shadow, while the +tutor was in a flood of illumination. + +"Sit down, Forsyth," he said. "I am sorry to say I have bad news for +you from home." + +"My mother!" + +"No, no, my boy; bad enough, but not so bad as that. There are money +losses. Your father was connected with a bank, and it has been +unfortunate. It seems that it was a great shock to him, and he was not +in very good health. You may have known that?" + +"Yes, sir, yes. I noticed that he looked ill when I went home at +Christmas." + +"To be sure--yes. Then you will not be surprised at this sudden blow +having affected him very seriously?" + +Harry could not take it all in at once; he had to sit silent awhile, and +let the meaning of his tutor's words sink in. At length he asked--"Is +he dead?" And the sound of his own voice uttering the word made him +give a sob. + +"No," said Mr Wheeler; "he is very ill, and insensible, but living, and +while there is life there is hope, you know. People often recover from +fits, and this seems to be an attack of that nature. But it is as well +that you should go home at once. Put a few things together, and you +will catch the 8:30 train. A fly and your travelling money shall be +ready by the time you are." + +"Thank you, sir," said Harry, and went back to his Dame's House in a +dazed state. Strachan and Kavanagh heard him come upstairs, and as he +went straight to his own room they followed him. + +"Well, have you got the medal for alcaics?" asked Strachan, for they had +concluded that that was the news his tutor had for him. But seeing his +friend's face he stopped short. + +"Something the matter, old fellow, I am afraid," he said. "Bad news +from home?" + +"Yes," said Harry, in a voice he just kept from faltering. "I must go +home to-night; my father is ill." + +"I am awfully sorry," said Strachan, uncomfortably, wanting to do +something to aid or cheer his friend, and unable to think what. +Kavanagh made no remark, but, seeing at a glance how the land lay, took +a candle to the box-room, caught up a travelling bag belonging to +Forsyth, and brought it down to him just as he was going to call Josiah +to find it for him. + +It was not long before he got some things into it, and was ready to +start. A grip of the hand from each of his friends and he was gone. + +What a bad time he had during that short journey; feverishly impatient, +and yet dreading to get to the end of it. It was an express train, and +he got to London in an hour, and was just in time for another on the +short line to his home. So he reached Holly Lodge by eleven. Before he +could ring the door opened. Trix was listening for the wheels, and ran +to let him in. She had been crying, but was very quiet. + +"He is alive, but cannot see or hear," she said. "Come." + +His mother was there, and two doctors, who looked very grave. One soon +left, but the other, who was the regular medical attendant and a friend, +remained, not, as he plainly said, that he could do anything for the +sick man, who was dying. And in the course of the night he passed away +without regaining consciousness. + +But there is no good in dwelling upon that, or on the gloom of the next +few weeks. Poor Mr Forsyth had a heart disease, and when the Great +Transit Bank came to final smash, the agitation killed him then and +there. + +For he was quite ruined. It was not only the money he had invested in +the bank which was gone, but, as a large shareholder, he was responsible +for the enormous sums due to those who had dealt with the bank. + +Harry thought at first that they were penniless, and wondered almost in +despair how he should be able to support his mother and sister. For he +had learned no trade, he was not a skilled artisan, and mere manual +labour and clerk-work are, he knew, very poorly paid. + +But when Mrs Forsyth had recovered sufficiently from the first shock of +her grief to grapple with the cares of every-day life, she showed him +that it was not so bad as he had feared. + +"There is my five thousand pounds," she said--"my very own, which I had +before marriage, and which is secured to me. Two hundred and fifty +pounds a year I get from it, and it has always been a little pocket- +money which I had, without going to your dear father for every penny. +And now we must manage to live upon it." + +Of course they had to go into a very small house, and could not take the +whole of that. And Harry did not go back to Harton, but began to try at +once for immediate employment which might bring some little grist to the +mill. And he was more fortunate than young fellows generally are when +starting on that heart-breaking search, for he had something to go upon. +He went straight to the London representative of the Egyptian house of +business with which his father had been connected, told his story, and +asked for employment. + +"But your father was bought out fully, and you have no claim on us, you +know," said the merchant. + +"I make no claim, sir," replied Harry; "I ask a favour. I don't know +why you should employ me more than anybody else, but still I thought the +connection might interest you. My father had a hand in establishing the +business, and I had a hope that that might weigh with you, if you have +found it a good one." + +"Well, you have had a hard trial, and it is to your credit that you want +to go to work at once instead of sitting down in despair. The worst of +it is that you have been educated at Harton, and can know nothing of +what is useful in an office. What sort of hand do you write?" + +"A shocking bad one, I fear, but any one can read it. And I am not so +very bad at figures. And I am ready to learn. Won't you give me a +chance, and pay me nothing till I am useful?" + +"There is one thing, at any rate, you have learned at Harton," said the +other, with a smile, "and that is to speak up boldly, and to speak out +plainly. I was a friend of your poor father's, and shall be glad to +help you, since you are reasonable and see matters in their right light. +But you must not expect much." + +So Harry was taken into the office as a clerk just for a month on trial. +And he showed so much zeal and intelligence that he was taken into +regular employment at the end of it, and received a five-pound note for +his work during the time of probation. And the joy and triumph with +which he brought home this, the first money he had ever earned, to his +mother and sister in the evening, cheered them all up in a manner to +which they had been strangers since ruin and death had fallen upon the +household. + +Many castles did they build in the air that evening, but they were not +extravagant, their highest present ambition being to have the whole +cottage, which was but eight-roomed, to themselves, and to keep two +maids instead of one. And this, if Harry's salary rose to a hundred and +fifty, they thought they might manage. Of course it was a dreary life +for him after what he had been accustomed to, but he made the best of +it, and really interested himself in Egyptian trade, till he became a +connoisseur in gum. His principal recreation was shooting at the +Wimbledon butts on Saturday afternoons, he having joined a volunteer +corps for that purpose. He had done so at Harton, and was the best shot +there. He now had to compete with the best in the world, but he had a +marvellous eye, and up to three hundred yards could hold his own with +anybody. At any rate he won enough in prizes to pay all his expenses, +and a little over. + +Even when their resources looked lowest, he never thought of selling the +sapphires his mysterious uncle had given him. He did not look upon them +as his own till the ten years were up, or to be used for any purpose but +that of going to find him. They, together with the silver case +containing the parchment and the ring, were locked up in his old- +fashioned, brass-bound desk which he kept in his bedroom. Nobody, not +even Trix, knew anything about them. + +That was the one secret the brother and sister did not share. Beatrice +was disrespectful to her Mohammedan relative, and always called him +Uncle Renegade till Harry read Byron's "Siege of Corinth" aloud one +evening. After that she called him Uncle Alp. + +But Harry Forsyth was destined to go to Egypt without needing his uncle. +He became more and more trusted by the firm which employed him, and at +last it was determined to send him out to the house at Cairo on +important business. His absence was a desolation for Mrs Forsyth and +Beatrice; but it meant money for one thing, and, what was far more +important in the mother's estimation, it was a change for Harry from the +gloomy monotony of a London office. As for the future she was under no +concern. She knew of Richard Burke's will, and that her children at all +events would be comfortably provided for by it, though she herself might +not outlive her elder brother. + +Harry, as he was actually going to the country to which his uncle had +prophesied he would, took to wearing his ring, and carried the silver +case in an inner waistcoat pocket. The sapphires he left in his desk. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +"WAYS THAT ARE DARK AND TRICKS THAT ARE VAIN." + +While the Forsyth family was passing through its time of trial there had +been other chops and changes going on in the lives of those with whom +their fortunes were more or less connected. Mr Richard Burke had still +further declined in health, and could not be expected to last long; but +what was unexpected by those who knew them both was that he outlived his +legal adviser, Mr Burrows, who was attacked with pleurisy, which +carried him off soon after he had made Mr Richard Burke's last will. + +His son came into his place, but he was a mild and not very intelligent +young man, not long out of his articles, and very dependent upon Daireh, +who knew all the details of his father's clients' business, and was so +deferential and obsequious, that he made him think very often that he +had originated the course of conduct which the wily Egyptian had +suggested. As for the other partner, Fagan, he confined himself +entirely, as he always had done, to the criminal and political part of +the business. + +Daireh was a bachelor, living in lodgings, and might have saved money to +a reasonable extent in a modest way. But he was anything but modest in +his desire for wealth, and the law would have given a very ugly name to +some of the transactions by which he sought to acquire it if they had +but come to light. + +One February afternoon he left the office rather earlier than usual, and +after a hurried dinner repaired to his lodgings, where he mixed himself +a strong glass of whisky. Then he took a flask of glass and leather +with a metal cup fitting to the bottom, and, unlocking a bureau, took +out of a drawer a small phial. + +He listened; went to the door--opened it, and looked out on the +staircase; shut it again, locked it, and returned to the bureau. His +hand shook so that he took another pull at his grog, and then uncorking +the phial he poured the contents into the flask, filled it up with +whisky, screwed the top on, and put it into his pocket. + +Then he went out once more, and bent his steps to a railway station, +where he took a ticket to a small country place about an hour's ride +from Dublin. It was growing dark when he arrived, but there was a moon, +and the sky was fairly clear from clouds. + +He walked for a mile along the road, and then turned off by a path which +crossed a moor, and pursued this until he came within sight of a small +disused quarry, from which all the valuable stone had been long ago +carried. + +As Daireh approached the place he clapped his hands three times, and a +man came out of the shadow into the moonlight. + +"Stebbings, is that you?" said Daireh. + +"Yes, it is," replied the other, sulkily. "No thanks to you for having +to skulk like a fox. As I told you in my letter, the police are after +me, and if I cannot get out of the country I'm done." + +"What made you come to Ireland, then? It would have been just as easy +to have shipped abroad." + +"Because I wanted to see you, for I couldn't trust you to send me a +farthing." + +"How was it? You must have managed very badly." + +"The numbers of those bonds were known, though you were so sure they +could not be, and they are advertised, and traced to having passed +through my hands. That is certain to bring it out that I passed the +forged cheque, too. Bad management yourself! However, there's no good +in blaming one another. Have you got the two hundred?" + +"It is a large sum; but still, if it will get you out of your scrape, I +will make the sacrifice. Only--" + +"Get _me_ out of my scrape! If I am taken, my fine fellow, you will be +taken too." + +"Why, what good would it do you to pull me in with you?" asked Daireh. + +"You know precious well. If all the facts came out I should get about +two years, and you fourteen at least. You actually took the bonds; you +forged the cheque. I was only your tool, employed to cash the things." + +"And am I to have you sucking me like a leech all my life?" cried Daireh +in a shrill voice, stamping his foot. + +"That is as it may be; you must take your chance of that. Perhaps you +had sooner I gave myself up and told the whole story. I am not sure +that it would not be the best thing for me to do." + +"That is nonsense. Here is the money. You know how to get to South +America, you said." + +"Ay, I know. If the police have not tracked me here; and I think I have +given them the slip," said Stebbings, counting the notes before putting +them away. "Now the sooner you are off the better." + +"It is a chilly night," said Daireh, producing his flask, "and I am +going to have a sup of whisky. Will you have a drop?" + +"Don't mind if I do," replied Stebbings. + +And the Egyptian filled the metal cup and handed it to him. + +"Here's better luck," he said, taking a mouthful. + +Then suddenly he spat it out again. + +"No, hang me, if I will trust you!" he cried. "And there is a queer +taste about it, too!" + +"What nonsense!" said Daireh, forcing a laugh. "It is good whisky, very +good; I had a glass just before I left. Well, good-night, for all your +bad suspicions." + +And Daireh walked quickly away in the direction of the road which led to +the station. When he was well hidden from the quarry he poured away the +rest of what was in the flask. + +"If he had but swallowed it," he muttered fiercely between his teeth, "I +should have been two hundred pounds richer, and safe!" + +When he went to the office in the morning, one of the under clerks told +him that Mr Burke was dead, and Mr Burrows was wanted to go over as +soon as he could. + +"All right," said Daireh, "I will tell him when he comes. Where are +those papers about the Ballyhoonish Estates? In his private room, I +think." + +He passed in, and without hesitation took out a pass key which unlocked +a drawer where all the keys of the deed boxes were. Selecting that +belonging to the Burke box, he opened it; took out the will, put it in +his pocket; locked, and replaced the box; put the keys back in the +drawer, and locked _that_, and walked out with the documents he had +spoken of under his arm. It had not taken him more than three minutes +to do the whole thing. + +His plan was this. He had now both wills in his possession. He did not +exactly know where Stephen Philipson was to be found, but he was sure to +turn up now, and he would make terms with him for destroying the second +will and producing the first, which was in his favour. But he would not +destroy the second will, but keep it to extort more money out of him +with it. Also, if Philipson were to die--and his habits were such that +he was not likely to be long lived--he would find out Mary Forsyth or +Reginald Kavanagh, the persons interested, and see what they would give +for the document, the loss of which had disinherited them. + +When Mr Burrows came in and received the news of Mr Burke's death, his +first idea was to open the deed box bearing his name, to see if there +was a will there. Finding none, he called Daireh, and asked him if he +knew of any such document. Yes, Daireh said, he did; he had witnessed +one not so many months ago. He fancied Mr Burke had taken it away with +him, but he was not sure. It might be well to look in the deed box. +Mr Burrows had already done that? Ah, then, no doubt Mr Burke _had_ +taken it. Had made another since, very likely; he believed Mr Burke +was constantly altering his mind about the disposal of his property. +But no doubt Mr Burrows would find a will among the papers at the +house. + +But Mr Burrows didn't, and Daireh, as he went home that evening, bought +a large piece of oil silk, in which he afterwards wrapped each of the +two wills separately. Then he spent a considerable portion of the +evening in making two large pockets inside a new waistcoat, one on each +side, between the lining and the cloth, and each of these was to contain +a will. + +Stephen Philipson heard of his step-father's death, and soon appeared at +the office to know if the old man had really been as good, or bad, as +his word, and cut him off with a mere allowance. He asked to see +Daireh, with whom he had had a good many transactions. + +"That was a real will, was it?" he asked. + +"Real enough. I witnessed it." + +"But it cannot be found, I hear." + +"Oh, it will turn up at the funeral, never fear." + +"I wish it might not." + +"Why?" + +"Because then, by the old will, I should come in for the lot." + +"But if the old will is not forthcoming, or the new one, or any other, +the property devolves to the heir-at-law, Ralph Burke, and you will not +even get your allowance." + +Philipson, whose nervous system was considerably shattered, was so +affected by this consideration, that Daireh thought it better to revive +him with a dram of hope. + +"If I can see you privately, without fear of interruption, I may be able +to give you a useful hint," he said. "The funeral takes place on +Saturday, and if nothing is heard of a will then I will meet you next +day. Where are you staying?" + +Philipson gave his present address and left, thinking to himself as he +walked up the street-- + +"I wonder what bit of roguery that scoundrel is up to now? If he has +got anything good for me I shall have to pay rarely for it. Well, I am +in too bad a way to care much for that; but he shall not bring me within +the reach of the law. I have no fancy for going to jail, where there's +no liquor to be got--not likely. None of that, Mr Nigger. If he will +take the risk I will pay the piper, and that is a fair enough division, +I think. But I wonder what his little game is!" + +But Daireh never made that Sunday call on Philipson. For on Saturday +evening he heard a cry in the streets--"Important Arrest! Great Bond +Robbery! Scandalous Disclosures!" + +He invested a penny in the evening paper, and carried it up to his room. + +His fears were verified. It was Stebbings who had been arrested. He +had thought much about what he would do in such a case, and kept his +wits about him. Of course, the "Scandalous Disclosures" heading was +premature--inserted, indeed, to give a fillip to the sale of the paper. +But the disclosures would certainly come very soon, and there was no +time to be lost. + +He destroyed a good many letters and papers; stowed all his money, and +documents which meant money, about his person; packed a small valise +which he could carry in his hand, and started for the station. He +crossed the Channel that night, and got to Liverpool early on the +following morning. He knew--so carefully had he laid his plans--that +there was a trading vessel, with accommodation for two or three +passengers, which was advertised to start from the port of Liverpool for +Trieste that afternoon, and he would be unusually unlucky if he could +not get a passage in her. He found, indeed, no difficulty about that, +and might go on board at once if he liked. + +Before he did so, however, he had a good meal on shore, and wrote a +letter to Mr Burrows regretting that he was forced to absent himself, +without leave, from the office. And then, his imagination warming as he +sat pen in hand, he told how his poor father, a stranger, speaking +little English, had arrived in London, and been there seized with a +serious illness; that he had not received the news till the night +before, and had started at once to see that his aged parent received +proper attention. + +When the letter was finished, he went to the railway station and found a +guard, whom he asked whether he was going to London that night. The +guard said he was. + +"Then I wish you would do me a favour," said Daireh. "A lady--a friend +of mine--wants to send a valentine to a man in Ireland, and is anxious +to mystify him. She has got me to direct it, and would like it to have +the London post-mark. Will you drop it in for her?" + +He tendered the letter and a shilling, which the guard took with a grin +and an "All right, sir," and the foxy Egyptian walked back to the quay, +having done his best to put the police on a wrong scent when the +revelations of Stebbings should set them trying to track him. At the +same time he felt that he was taking needless trouble, making assurance +doubly sure; for, once at home in Alexandria, for which place he was +bound, he would be safe enough. Or, if there were any fear, he had only +to go up the Nile to Berber, where he had relatives, and what detective +dare follow him there, or dare touch him even if he did? + +A more anxious consideration was--how to make any profit out of the +wills which he had stolen. To treat for their restitution, or even for +that of the last and true one, would be a very ticklish operation +indeed. I think it is really the worst part about rogues that they are +so utterly selfish, and regardless of the misery they inflict upon other +people, even when they cannot benefit themselves by it. If Daireh had +had an ounce of good nature in his composition, he would have torn up +the old will and sent back the new one, now there was so poor a chance +of his making money out of his scheme. + +But that idea never even occurred to him. I am glad to say, however, +that he had a bad voyage, and suffered much from sea-sickness. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +IN PASSING. + +The fierce sun was declining towards the west, and it was becoming +possible to breathe and move about with a little more comfort on board +the somewhat cumbrous vessel, fitted with huge lateen sails, which went +swinging down the Nile between the lofty black rocks near Samneh. I say +_fitted_ with the sails, not borne along by them, for the stream just +there took all the carrying power upon itself, rushing along its +narrowed channel like a mill race. + +High above rose a hill, on the top of which was a temple, entire, with a +balcony round it, heedless of the lapse of ages. There is some little +difference between the ancient and modern ideas of substantial building. + +They had no ninety-nine year leases in the time of the Pharaohs; if +there were such things at all, nine thousand would probably be nearer +the mark. + +Harry Forsyth sat on the deck admiring the different points as they went +by, and delighting in the glorious pace at which they were going; a +great contrast to their sluggish progress earlier in the day, when the +river was broad, placid, and leisurely, and there was hardly a breath of +wind stirring to urge them on. + +He had been entrusted with a trading expedition as far as Dongola, +carrying merchandise and exchanging it for gum, and ostrich and marabout +feathers. He had been allowed a little venture on his own account, and +had embarked it all in the latter article of commerce--marabout +feathers--and had been rather lucky in his bargain. On returning to +Cairo he expected to go back to England, and that made him none the less +glad to be spinning along so quickly. + +"I wish we could go like this all the way, Hassib," he said to the +Nubian sitting by him; "we should soon get home then, eh?" + +"We shall go faster than this when we come to the cataract," said +Hassib, with a grin; for there was a joke here. Harry on the way up had +not shown any liking for the cataracts. In fact, had preferred, under +pretence of shooting doves, to walk round while the operation of towing +the vessel up took place. + +He and Hassib conversed in a queer lingo, for Harry was trying his +hardest to learn Arabic, but had to eke it out at present with a good +many English and French words. Hassib had a smattering of both those +languages, and after a little practice they got on glibly enough. + +But I am sure you will pardon my translating the palaver between this +supercargo and the reis or captain of the boat. The reis was the proper +companion for Harry, being a respectable fellow, and wearing some +clothes. Harry himself was dressed in a linen suit of European cut, +with a tarboosh or red cap on his head, with a turban twisted round it. +Not elegant, but sovereign against sunstroke they told him. + +"I wish I could get a crocodile," he said. "Every day we get lower down +the river there is less chance." + +"Plenty of them yet. There is an island near where we stop to-night +where there are always many crocodiles." + +"And do you think that I shall get one?" + +Hassib thought a bit over this, and then replied gravely-- + +"If it is the will of Allah that you should get a crocodile, you will +get a crocodile. If it is not the will of Allah that you should get a +crocodile, you will not get a crocodile." + +There was no gainsaying this. Mohammedan races are fond of propounding +truisms with an air of having evolved a new idea out of their unassisted +brains, and that is why people often think them so very wise. + +"You see," said Harry, after bowing his head in assent to the last +proposition, "I promised my mother a crocodile, and it seems so absurd +to go up the Nile and not be able to get one. Then they are all white, +and I expected them to be black." + +"White men call the devil and crocodiles black; black men call them +white," replied Hassib, who was a wag. "You now see which is right." + +"Good again; that is one for me!" laughed Harry. "But I should really +like to get one if I could." + +"And the English think the crocodile such a pretty ornament!" said +Hassib. "It is a strange taste." + +And then Harry thought for the first time where on earth would they put +the crocodile if they got it. But that was a future consideration. + +"Shall we shoot the cataract to-night?" he asked, presently. + +"No," said Hassib, "there will not be light enough. We shall anchor for +the night soon, and start at daybreak." + +The river soon grew broader and calmer, and in half an hour they came to +the place where they were to remain, and cast anchor. + +Harry went ashore with his rifle, in hopes of a shot at the amphibious +creatures, and his fishing tackle to keep him in patience while he was +waiting for it. Hassib accompanied him to point out the place he had +mentioned where the monsters were wont to lie. + +For some time he got neither a shot nor a bite; but presently there came +a tremendous tug at his line. The fish tugged, and Harry tugged, and +the line being strong enough to hold a whale nearly, it seemed to be a +question whether Harry pulled the fish out, or the fish pulled Harry in. +In fact it was a regular tug of war. + +Harry was the victor, and his opponent came to bank with a bound and +flop. + +"By jove! I have got a crocodile after all!" cried Harry, jumping back, +as a hideous thing four feet long, and having the same number of legs, +and a tail, seemed making towards him. The reis, laughing in a manner +most contrary to our notions of the staid impassive Arab, began +hammering the creature with a stick, until it lay quiet enough. + +"What is it?" asked the captor, approaching cautiously. + +"A big lizard," replied Hassib, "so your learned white men say; +`alligator lizard' I heard one call it. But it is really a thing that +comes out of an addled crocodile's egg." + +Harry looked up quickly, but the reis was perfectly grave. And on such +occasions he always pretended to believe, whether he did or no. Hassib +was quite confident of the correctness of his information, and how could +it be disproved, or, for that matter, why should it be? + +The sun was now very low on the horizon, and would soon take its sand- +bath. Hassib laid his hand on Forsyth's arm and ducked behind a mound +on the edge of the bank. Harry did the same. + +"One, two, five, seven," counted Hassib. Harry peeped, and saw that +mystic number of grey crocodiles lying on the island where he had been +looking for them. + +The nearest was about two hundred yards off. By stalking him along the +bank, as he was not quite opposite, he got perhaps thirty yards nearer. +As has been said, he was a really first-rate rifle-shot, and the +prospects of that crocodile could not be considered rosy. + +Scales are hard, but so are conical bullets. Harry took a steady aim at +what he had been taught to consider the most vulnerable part get-at- +able, and pulled. Crack! Smack! He heard the ball tell as plainly as +if it were on an iron target. But the absurd crocodile acted as all the +others he had shot at had done: he rolled over into the water and +disappeared, and the other six kept him company. + +"He is killed! Oh, he is killed!" cried the reis, much excited. "He +will float soon, you will see. When they are shot dead their bodies +soon float." + +Whether this creature was an exception, or was not shot dead, or was +carried down to the cataract before he got to the floating stage, and so +came up where no one wanted him, cannot be said. But they saw him no +more, and he was numbered among the partridges who have gone away to +die, and the rabbits that were hit so hard, but crept away into holes! + +Going back to where the boat lay they found another lying near her, +which had been dragged up the last bit of the cataract and brought up so +far since their arrival, while the crew had gone ashore and lit a fire, +round which they were gathered. + +Forsyth and Hassib went up to them for news, but there was not much. +Alexandria was being rebuilt after the bombardment; Arabi's insurrection +was quite over, and Mohammed Tewfik Pasha firmly established. The +English soldiers were leaving, and the country would soon be quit of +them entirely. + +"Not it," said one of the new-comers, who seemed to be a passenger. +Certainly not a sailor, for his hands were delicate, and he lacked +manliness when compared with the others of the party. "The English will +not be so easy to get rid of, make sure of that." + +And one of the others said to Hassib, alluding to the speaker-- + +"You knew his father; this is Daireh." + +"And I knew him as a boy," said Hassib. + +"It is years since I left," said Daireh. + +Here Reouf the pilot joined the group, and he, too, was a friend of the +family, and was made known. + +Harry Forsyth, seeing that old acquaintances had met after an absence, +kept in the background, and lit his pipe. He listened indeed, but +simply to try what words of Arabic, in which the conversation was being +held, he could pick up, not from any interest or curiosity which he felt +in the subject of their talk. + +"Quite a boy when you went to England," said Reouf; "and yet I think I +can recognise you. Do you remember you went in my diabeheeh from Berber +home to Alexandria?" + +"Have you been to Berber lately? Are my people there well?" + +"I was there less than a year ago, and all was well with them. You are +journeying there now?" said Reouf. + +"I am," replied Daireh. "I returned from the land of exile to visit my +home, hoping to share my hard-earned gains with my own people, when what +did I find? Ruins in the place of my home, my family dispersed, my +father slain by the English." + +"Not so," said Hassib. "I heard of the misfortune; but it was by the +hand of Arabi's soldiers that he fell; not that of the English. Arabi's +soldiers, or plunderers who called themselves such. The English sailors +caught them red-handed, and hung them up for it then and there." + +"May their graves be defiled, whoever they were," said Daireh. "I have +no friends now except at Berber." + +Harry made out a good deal of this, and his heart bled for the Egyptian, +coming back as he thought to a home, to find nothing but desolation, and +to be driven out again from his native land. For there is nothing in +common between the Egyptian and the Nubian but religion. The former +race affects to despise the latter, and the latter really despises the +former. And with reason. + +So when he rose to go back to his diabeheeh (Nile boat), he bade him +good-night in English, and expressed regret for the grievous +disappointment and sorrow he had experienced. And Daireh said of course +it was a great affliction, but he hoped to make a new home in the +Soudan. And so they parted, courteously enough. + +The diabeheeh Daireh was travelling by had sustained some injury from a +sharp rock during the process of being hauled up the cataract, and the +crew were going to remain where they were for the purpose of repairs. +So when a sudden red flush burst on the eastern horizon, and spread and +deepened till it seemed as if a large city was on fire, and Hassib, +recognising this as the dawn, began kicking his lazy sailors into +wakefulness, the down-stream boat was the only one which made +preparations for a start. + +By the time the anchor was up and the sails hoisted, however, there was +some movement on board the other diabeheeh, and parting greetings were +exchanged. Harry Forsyth, seeing the man who had excited his compassion +the night before on deck, waved his hand to him and shouted good-bye! +And the other returned the salutation. And the local pilot for the +second cataract took the helm, and the vessel entered the boiling +waters, and was whirled in apparent helplessness, though really guided +with great skill amidst innumerable rocks, any one of which would have +crushed her like an egg-shell. + +And Harry, in the excitement and anxiety of the passage, forgot all +about the casual traveller from whom he had just parted. Little did he +dream that that man carried in his breast the document upon which his +fortune depended, and the obtaining of which would establish his mother +and sister in comfort, besides changing all the future prospects of his +old friend Kavanagh. And Daireh, had he but known that the Englishman +he had just parted from was Harry Forsyth, what a lucky opportunity he +would have esteemed it for making a bargain, and securing at least some +profit out of what threatened to be the barren crime he had committed. + +For though it was not to be expected that the poor clerk and agent +should have command of sufficient funds to pay even the more moderate +ransom which he was now prepared to accept, he had formed all his plans +for eventually securing it. Something of course would have to be +trusted to the pledged word of the man with whom he treated, but though +he had no scruples about breaking his word, or his oath, indeed, for +that matter, himself, he knew well that other people had, and had before +traded, not without success, on what he considered a foolish weakness. + +But the chance was gone both for the robber and the robbed. They had +met, and not known it, and now their paths diverged more widely every +minute. + +Is there any truth in the notion of people having presentiments? +Whether or no, certainly Forsyth had none, for he was only too eager to +get back to Cairo. And the boat went well, though not fast enough for +his impatience, making a quick trip of it. + +His employers were well satisfied with the result of their venture, and +Harry himself made as much as he expected out of his marabout feathers. + +Shortly afterwards, as had been arranged, he sailed for England, and had +a warm greeting from his mother and Trix, though he did not bring the +promised crocodile. + +And then he learned that his uncle, Richard Burke, was dead, and that +his will had mysteriously disappeared, as well as the confidential clerk +of the Dublin solicitors who had charge of it, who was therefore +supposed to have taken it. + +"We would not write to you about it," said Mrs Forsyth, "because you +were on your way home, and the will might have been found in the +interim. But it hasn't." + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +IN FARNHAM PARK. + +Church parade was over, and quiet reigned in the camp of the Fourth +Battalion Blankshire Regiment, which was undergoing its annual training +at Aldershot. + +A young man in civilian clothes sat at breakfast in the officers' mess- +tent. He was a visitor and guest, who had no obligation to early +rising, so he lay snug till the band, marching the Church of Englanders +off at nine o'clock, roused him and then performed a leisurely toilet. + +And now he, the subaltern of the day, and the officer who was to take +the Roman Catholics, had the tent to themselves. The former was some +distance off, the latter sat next to him. + +"I came only just in time for mess yesterday, so we had no opportunity +for a private chat," said the one in plain clothes. "But I have a lot +to say to you." + +"Well, look here," replied the other, "my parade is at eleven; the dress +bugle has just gone for it. I shall be back by half-past twelve. Then +we will have lunch and go for a walk, you, I, and Strachan, if you +like." + +"I should like it very much, though how you can expect me to eat lunch +after such a breakfast as this at such a late hour, I cannot imagine." + +"Oh, the air here is wonderful for the appetite. Not like London and +Egypt, which seem to be your haunts." + +"And the unaccountable disappearance of this will of uncle Richard's, +Kavanagh, has it put you in a very big hole?" + +"Not just yet. The dear old man felt himself failing, and thought he +might forget me as weeks went on. So, instead of sending a quarterly +cheque, he paid my allowance for the whole year into the agent's hands. +So kind and thoughtful of him, was it not? But for the future, of +course, it will be rather awkward for me if the will does not turn up. +I go in directly after the training for the Competitive Examination, and +so does Strachan. We have both passed the Preliminary, and shall have +served our two trainings. Well, if I pass, it will be hard enough to +live on my pay, but I must get into the Indian or Gold Coast Services, +and try it that way. If I don't succeed, why then I have no idea what +to do next. At least, I have an idea, but there is no need to think it +out till the necessity comes." + +"What do you think of your chance?" + +"Well, my coach thinks it doubtful. He has known fellows get their +commissions who were worse up than I am, and he has known fellows fail +who were better up than I am. It depends on the lot of competitors, and +also on their quality, and a little bit on luck. There is a good bit of +luck in having the questions you have crammed set, you know." + +"I can imagine there must be. And how about Strachan?" + +"Well, if he has not got a good bit in hand, I am not in it, that's all. +He could give me a hundred marks and a beating. However, I fancy that +he must be safe. But there is the Fall-in; I must be off." + +As Kavanagh left the tent Strachan came into it. + +"Well, old fellow, and how did you sleep?" he asked. + +"Not badly," said Forsyth. "I fancy? Should have been still at it but +for that big drum of yours." + +"Hush! It is lucky the Colonel is not here. Never speak of the big +drum in that irreverent tone to him, I pray. It would well-nigh give +him a fit. The big drum is his fetish, though he nearly smashed it +himself last year." + +"How was that?" + +"We were out on the Queen's Birthday, and had to fire a _feu de joie_. +Rattle up the front rank, rattle down the rear rank, three times, you +know. The horses hate it, and the chief had a young one who did not +like ordinary firing very well, though he had got him in hand for that. +But the roll was too much for the gee's nerves; he went wild with +terror, bolted slap through the band, and finally reared up till he +rolled over. It looked as if the Colonel was under him, and those who +went to help thought him smashed. But he got up, and said, with a face +of intense anxiety-- + +"`Is the big drum safe?' But, I say, how jolly it is to meet you again, +old fellow. Don't you remember that last evening at Harton, we said we +were sure to meet, we three; and here we are, you see. But, I say, this +is a bad story for Kavanagh about this will being missing, is it not? +Bad for you, too, though. Your mother was in it, was she not?" + +"Yes; but as the testator's sister she will come in for something, +probably, anyhow. True, it is mostly land, and I believe an uncle +abroad will inherit that. But I don't know the legal rights of the +matter yet quite. Anyhow, she has something of her own, and I have +learned how to get work and earn my bread by it. So all round it is +worse for Kavanagh. What is his chance of passing?" + +"Not very good, I fear," said Strachan. "I don't feel safe, and I have +read more than he has. And he is such a good fellow! He was awfully +sorry about Mr Burke's death, but made no trouble whatever of the +missing will. That is, of course, he thought the prospect of being +penniless a great bore, but he never got into low spirits, or worried +others about it. And with his tastes and ideas, too!" + +"Yes," said Harry; "fellows at Harton used to think him a tremendous +swell. And those who did not know him were apt to take a prejudice +against him. `Lady Kavanagh' some called him, you remember. But we +must have a long talk, we three, for my time is short; I must go back +to-morrow. Kavanagh proposed a walk after lunch." + +"Certainly, if you like. We generally walk over to Farnham on a fine +Sunday afternoon: where the bishop's palace is." + +"I know. I have often heard of Farnham, and should like to see it," +said Harry. And others coming in, the conversation became general. + +Then lunch time arrived, and was on the table very punctually, though +Harry did not want anything. But with the majority, who had breakfasted +before eight, it was different. Kavanagh came in ready dressed for the +walk, and expressed impatience at Strachan being still in uniform. + +"I have got to pay my company," explained Strachan; "but I shall do it +directly the dinners are over, and then it won't take me five minutes to +change." And he was as good as his word, for by a quarter to two he was +ready to start. + +It was a fine afternoon and a pretty walk; round the end of the Long +Valley by Cocked Hat Wood, skirting the steeple-chase course; through +shady lanes to the wild furze-clad common land; up the sides of the hill +range, where the old Roman encampments can still be clearly traced. + +"This one looks precious modern," said Harry, doubtfully. + +"Oh, the engineers may have been digging about a bit. And this +certainly is a modern shelter trench. There are battles fought here, +you know, whenever the generals are too lazy to go as far as the Fox +Hills," said Strachan, irreverently. + +"But look at the view. Over there to the left, where you see the queer- +shaped black wood, is Sir Walter Scott's novel--what's his name: the +first one and the least interesting; at least, I could never get through +it." + +"Waverley," said Kavanagh. "Don't expose your ignorance and want of +taste, Strachan. You could not see the abbey if we went there, Forsyth, +or else I should have proposed it. But the grass is not cut yet, and +till it is no one may go to the ruins. That is Farnham Park below us. +Yonder is the Hog's Back." + +A pretty road led them down to the park paling, which they skirted till +they came to a ladder stile, which they crossed into the park, close to +the solid old-world walls and towers of the bishop's castle. + +"What splendid trees!" cried Harry, as the three old friends settled +themselves comfortably under one of them. "I don't know when I have +seen such beeches." + +"Very condescending of you to admire anything in England, such a +traveller as you have been," said Strachan. "And you have been to +Egypt? I envy you; I have always longed to see Egypt." + +"There are more unlikely things than that when you are in the Line. +Things are not settled there yet." + +"Why, Arabi's insurrection is completely quelled, and he is a prisoner. +And the Government will have nothing to do with the Soudan business, +they say." + +"Who is _they_? One set of _theys_ say so, and another set of _theys_ +say we can't help having to do with it, let the Quakers say what they +will. For my part, I hope all will be quiet," said Forsyth. + +"Quiet!" cried Strachan. "Why, if there is no war there will be fewer +vacancies, and I am less likely to get my commission in the Line!" + +"Modest youth! So you want some tens of thousands of fellow-creatures +to be slaughtered, palms and fruit-trees to be destroyed, and a whole +country made desolate and miserable for years, and millions upon +millions of pounds drained from the British tax-payer, in order that you +may get your commission with a little less trouble! You remind me of +the reasonable prayer in the poem-- + + "`Oh, gods! Annihilate both Time and Space + To make two lovers happy.'" + +"Oh, bother! I don't look so deep into things as that," said Strachan; +"I can't declare a war, and I would not take the responsibility if I +could; but if it comes and does me good, I can't help liking it. It is +like winning a wager--I am sorry the other chap should lose, but I am +consoled by the reflection that I win." + +"Exactly," said Harry; "and I strongly expect that I should lose by any +disturbance in the Soudan, and that Kavanagh would too. It is a long +story; but you are such an old friend that it won't bore you, Strachan, +though it does not concern you personally. You both know all about the +will and its mysterious disappearance, so I need not recapitulate that. +Well, I have been to Ireland and seen the lawyers--Burrows and Fagan. I +could not make much of Burrows, who is a duffer; but Fagan has his wits +about. He had never had to do with that branch of the business, but now +the credit of the firm was at stake he busied himself in making +searching and pertinent inquiry. A sharpish boy-clerk was certain that +the will was left at the office, and kept in the Burke deed box in the +late Mr Burrows' time; and, when closely pressed and questioned, the +present Burrows recalled having seen it there since he came into the +partnership. Then the question arose--Who could profit by its +disappearance? The answer was, if a former will were in existence, +Philipson--my uncle's son-in-law, who was his original heir--would. But +the old will is not forthcoming either, and Philipson is done both ways, +for he neither gets the property left him by the first will, nor the +allowance secured to him by the second. Indeed, he is barely existing +on small sums advanced him by a speculative solicitor on the chance of +one of the wills turning up. I saw a lot of Philipson: such a jolly +nose--like a big red truffle. He said he was certain the late head +clerk--a chap of Egyptian or Arab extraction, named Daireh--had got the +will, or wills, having abstracted them after my uncle's death, because +he had hinted at being able to tell him how to find them, and had +appointed the Sunday to meet him, but had failed to keep tryst, and had +disappeared. All this had to be wormed out of Philipson, who spoke very +reluctantly at first. And I suspect he is as big a rascal as the other, +and was in a plot with him to destroy will Number 2, and prove will +Number 1, only the other would not trust him, but wanted money down. +The reason he did not keep his appointment is evident, for the police +wanted him for forgery about a fortnight later, and of course he had +found out that he was discovered, and made tracks at once without +waiting to come to terms with Philipson. The police have tried to track +him everywhere without hitting on a ghost of a clue beyond London, from +which place a letter was sent to his employers. But I know the +direction in which to look for him." + +"You do?" cried Kavanagh, much interested. + +"Yes. The ugly beggar was vain, and liked being photographed, so there +were lots of his likenesses extant. I was certain I knew the face from +the first, and I soon was able to associate it with that of a fellow I +passed on the Nile just above the Second Cataract. He was going up, and +I was coming down, and I did not see very much of him; but I would swear +to his ugly face anywhere." + +"And you heard where he was going?" asked Strachan. + +"Yes, to Berber. And I know natives who know him, so I have a good +chance of tracking him; and if he don't produce the will he shall eat +stick." + +"Let him eat a little stick, as you poetically call it, even if he +_does_ produce the will. I think a hundred on his feet, or any suitable +portion of his person, might have a good moral influence upon him," said +Kavanagh. "Oh, to have the handling of the bamboo!" + +"We have got to catch the beggar first," said Harry. + +"And are you going after him really?" said Kavanagh. + +"Or are you only chaffing? It seems a wild goose chase." + +"Yes, I am going," said Harry; "and I think better of our chances than +you seem to do. In the first place, I have picked up a smattering of +Arabic, and that is a help; and then I have friends who can give me +recommendations to the Egyptian authorities in any town which is held +for the Khedive on the Upper Nile, and I am pretty confident I can make +them help me." + +"But suppose this fellow has not got the will, or has destroyed it, or +has hidden it somewhere, and won't tell?" + +"That would be hard lines for you, Kavanagh, and I hope better things. +But even in that case it would not follow that my journey would be +useless to myself. I have got a crazy uncle, a brother of uncle +Richard, who is heir-at-law if a will is not forthcoming. He has turned +Mohammedan, and lives like an Arab, and I believe has considerable +authority amongst them. He was in England the last Christmas we were at +Harton, and I saw him in the holidays, and he gave me directions how to +find him if ever I wanted, for he took a fancy to me, and wanted me to +go and live as he does. With all his eccentricity, he has a strong love +for his sister--that is my mother, you know--and if he could be told +that his brother was dead, and that he had made a will in his sister's +favour which had been stolen, by which means he had become heir to the +Irish property, I am convinced he would try to do something to set +matters straight. Anyhow, it is worth trying." + +"Rather!" said Kavanagh. "And if the country is in insurrection, and +barred against Egyptians and European travellers, your relative's pass +may enable you to get at Master Cream--Butter--what's his name?" + +"Daireh." + +"Ah, yes; I knew it had something to do with a dairy--to get at him, +after all." + +"By Jove, what an enterprising chap you are, Forsyth!" cried Strachan. +"You deserve to succeed, I am sure." + +"He does; and I heartily hope he will, for if he does not find the will, +I shall have to forego all the comforts of life, at least, all I know +of, for I daresay I shall find others. Now periwinkles may be a +comfort, but what I shudder at is the idea of dirty linen. Not to have +a clean shirt every day! It is quite too awful to think of. I am sure +I wish you speedy and complete success, and that you may eat salt with +the Arabs, and put some on Daireh's tail. That is how the Nubians catch +their prisoners, Strachan." + +"And when do you start?" asked Strachan, a great deal too much +interested to listen to Kavanagh's nonsense. + +"On Wednesday," replied Harry, "that is why I cannot stop to-morrow to +benefit by your hospitality. I must go in the morning pretty early." + + "I'm off to Berber early in the morning, + I'm off to Berber, a little while to stay," + +chanted the incorrigible Kavanagh, getting on to his feet. "Catchee +Dairy, or no catchee Dairy, Forsyth has got to see the old town of +Farnham, and walk home by road, and get there comfortably for dinner. +So come on. I am sure Forsyth must want to rest his tongue a bit and +give his eyes a turn." + +They left the park, and went down into the town by the steps beneath the +palace; and so through the broad street with the restored houses, the +bank and others, the inhabitants of which ought to wear coifs and +pinners, knickerbockers and doublets, and where tall black hats should +be unknown; then into the main street, past the Workhouse, which has a +letter-box soliciting books and newspapers for the amusement of the +paupers, and so back to camp. + +Each of the three recalled that Sunday walk often and often in after +years, with a pleasure which those who have formed school friendships, +and met those they had "conned" with after several, yet not too many, +years' absence, will understand. They talked no more of Forsyth's +adventurous journey, or the imminent examination lowering over Strachan +and Kavanagh. No, the future was banished from their thoughts, which +were full of the past. Their talk, indeed, on the way home, would have +been a terrible infliction upon an outsider, had one been of the +company. + +"I say, do you remember Baum major?" + +"Rather." + +"Don't you remember when he thought he was sent up for good, and he +wasn't, and his face when he found out that old Williams had smelt his +jacket of tobacco smoke?" + +"I remember!" + +And then a roar of laughter, the joke being only known to the three, but +needing no further elucidation for them. For every period of every +public school has its jokes, which are no jokes to any human being +unconnected with that time and place, but to those who are so connected +are a subject of life-long enjoyment. + +When they got back to camp each felt that one of the happiest days of +his life was drawing to a close. At mess that evening the Adjutant +announced that the Commander-in-Chief was coming down next morning, and +there would be a Field Day on the Fox Hills. They were to be brigaded +at half-past five, so the "Fall-in" would be at five. + +"We are sure to be back about one," said Strachan to Harry later in the +evening. "You can wait till then, and have lunch." + +"No, thank you," said Harry; "I have a lot to do before I start, and +cannot spare another day. Besides, it would not be fair to my mother. +I should have gone off early in the morning anyhow; not so early, +indeed, as you march, but by nine; so it makes no difference in my +plans, you see." + +"Well, we shall breakfast at four; there is no need for you to disturb +yourself then. Get up at your own time, and order what you like, you +know." + +"Thanks, you may trust me," said Harry. "But I shall see you off." +Those overnight resolutions do not always find fulfilment in the +morning. But when the companies were told off and equalised, and only +waiting for the Adjutant to call out the markers and form the parade, +Harry Forsyth emerged from the spare tent kept for guests, and went to +the reverse flank to give his two old chums a final hand-grip. Then the +Colonel appeared and mounted his horse, and they had to fall in. And +the band struck up, and the battalion trickled away, till the rear +company was clear of the ground, and Harry found himself alone. + +"Poor old Kavanagh!" he murmured. "Strachan does not matter half so +much. If he gets spun he has two more chances; and if he fails to get +into the Line, then his friends have money and interest to start him in +something else. But Kavanagh can't stop on in the Militia, or pay a +tutor another six months, and it is neck or nothing with him. If I find +the will it will put him square; but what is he to do till then?" + +Ruminating in this way, Harry returned to his tent and lay down again +for a couple of hours. Then he tubbed and dressed, and had a +comfortable breakfast all by himself; for he was too experienced a +traveller by this to let melancholy partings spoil his appetite. + +He was in town by eleven, getting what was wanted to complete his modest +outfit, and at the Sheen cottage with his mother and sister in time for +their early dinner. + +They were a thoroughly happy trio, for whatever interested one of them +became at once equally interesting to the others, and so Harry could +have his talk out about the friends he had just parted from without fear +of boring any one. + +It was a great sorrow to Mrs Forsyth that her son should be going back +to Egypt so soon. She had hoped that the anxiety she had suffered +during his former absence was at an end, at least, for some considerable +time. + +"If his constitution were but settled," she said, "I should not so much +mind; but he is not quite nineteen yet." + +And Beatrice tried to be cheerful, and make light of it, but she was +sorely disappointed also. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +A VERY LONG PAPER-CHASE. + +It was not without very careful consideration that Harry Forsyth had +determined to sacrifice his immediate salary, if not his prospects of +success in the commercial line for ever, in order to track Daireh, and +obtain the abstracted will. + +On learning the whole story on his return to England, he had indeed at +once thought that that was the best thing to be done, but had not been +hasty in settling to do it. + +His first act was to go to Dublin; his next to tell the whole story to +Mr Williams, the head of the house which employed him in London, and he +somewhat reluctantly fell in with his views, his hesitation arising +principally from Harry's youth. + +"You are very young," he said, "but you have proved that you have a head +on your shoulders; and if your mother and sister have enough to support +them, and you possess funds for the journey, I cannot dissuade you from +the attempt. If you fail, come back to us, and we will see if we cannot +give you employment again. And even if you succeed you had better not +lead an idle life, and need not sever all connection with us. At any +rate, I will do what I can by letters of introduction to aid you." + +Harry thanked Mr Williams heartily, and that gentleman was better than +his word, for, besides the letters, he gave him charge of some goods +which had to be sent out to Cairo, by which he not only got a free +passage, but salary up to the date of his arrival out. + +Under the circumstances, and considering the object of his present visit +to Egypt, Harry had no hesitation in selling the amethysts given to him +by his uncle Ralph, or the Sheikh Burrachee. For he fully intended to +seek him, if he could not find Daireh, a matter which he felt to be +extremely problematical. Without the sale of these jewels he could not +attempt the rescue of the will at all. He was surprised at their value, +for he got more for them than he expected, and it seemed a great risk to +have left them in the secret drawer of his desk all this time. You may +be sure he did not forget the signet-ring and the thin silver case, +these being taken with him as before. + +The trip to Cairo was uneventful, and he passed the time in improving +his Arabic, by the aid of a grammar, dictionary, and Koran. As soon as +he had delivered his cargo, and called upon the member of the firm who +resided out there, who was as kind and cordial as Mr Williams, he +started up the Nile. + +The traveller who does that, proposing to do more than visit a pyramid +or two, requires a good deal of patience; and so would a reader if the +ordinary routine of travel were to be recorded. Suffice it then to say +that Harry voyaged up the Nile to Korosko, and there joined a caravan +across the desert to Abu Hamed, from which place he got passage again on +board a diabeheeh, which carried him to Berber. + +With what excitement he beheld the white houses, the minarets, the palm- +trees, grow nearer and nearer! Within those walls, as he hoped, Daireh +was living. If so, and he could find him, and get the will, the object +of his journey would be accomplished. + +For he had laid his plans. Armed with a letter he had got for the +Governor, he would find no difficulty in having his man seized +unexpectedly before he would have time to make away with the document, +and there was little doubt means would be found to make him give it up. + +Confidence, which had fluctuated, revived at the sight of the place, and +when at length he was landed, Harry walked through the bazaars, +expecting every man he met to be the one he was in search of. After +many disappointments he recognised himself for an idiot, and calmed +down. + +How should he set to work in a methodical manner?--that was the point. +The letter to the Pasha denounced Daireh as a criminal, and therefore if +he employed his officers to make search for him the fact might get +about, and Daireh, hearing of it, might hide, escape, or at any rate get +rid of all incriminatory documents. It was more prudent, perhaps, to +pretend to have business with him, and make inquiry in the bazaars. + +The one advantage of the tedium of his journey was that Harry had +acquired much more fluency by constant practice in speaking the +language. The dress he had selected was not one to attract attention; +he had modelled it on that of a Greek merchant who was continually +trading with the interior. He wore full pantaloons, a loose sort of +jacket, with a shawl bound round the waist, and his head was protected +by a tarboosh, with a turban wrapped round it. + +But though his clothes did not look European, the pistol stuck in his +shawl belt was of the best, strongest, and most hard-hitting type. Old- +fashioned, indeed, so far that it was not breech-loading; for he had +considered that if he lost his cartridges, or spent them, his weapon +would become a useless lump of iron, whereas percussion caps, powder, +and lead, are procurable almost everywhere. + +He went to the stall of a man who sold filigree work, and at his +invitation squatted down and had a pipe and a cup of coffee, while he +asked the price of several things. That was very well, but when he +began to inquire about the object of his search, the shopkeeper lost all +interest in the conversation. + +He tried a money-changer with better success; he knew Daireh, but had +not seen him for months. More he could not say. After many more +failures Harry turned into a coffee-house, to sit down and rest, and +have a glass of sherbet and enjoy a smoke. + +While resting in the comparative cool portico where he was served, a +barber came and offered his services, and Harry, suddenly remembering +how the barber in the "Arabian Nights' Entertainments" always knew +everybody, thought he would try his luck with him. + +"I have come all the way from Cairo," he said, in reply to a bit of +characteristic curiosity, "and my business is with one Daireh, who +should reside here; for the last time our house transacted business with +him he was here." + +"He was here but six moons back. And he came from the land of the +English to his cousin, who lived here. If you have dealings with +Daireh, I know your business,"--and here the barber looked inexpressibly +cunning--"Gordon Pasha spoilt that trade; but since he has gone there is +good profit to be made. And what are the pagans fit for but slaves, +sons of pigs that they are? But they tell me there will be fine times +when the Mahdi rules. Not that I know, but while I shave heads the +tongues wag and I listen. It is nothing to me. Mahdi or Khedive, what +do I care! All want to be shaved." + +"To be sure," said Harry; "the wise man has the same opinion as his +customer. And where has the family moved to?" + +"They moved to Khartoum when trade grew better, and you will find them +there if Allah wills." + +How long he would have gone on talking it is impossible to conjecture, +had it not been that a customer entered his stall, which was on the +opposite side of the street, and he shuffled off to attend to him, for +which Harry, who had got all the information he required, was by no +means sorry. + +His one great desire now was to get away. To be so close, to find the +form of the hare almost warm, and yet to be just too late, was very +trying to his patience. It was all very well to say to himself that he +had only two hundred miles farther to go; and after travelling more than +a thousand from Cairo, let alone the journey out from England, what were +two hundred miles? But the answer he made himself was that two hundred +miles was a great distance, and there was the sixth cataract. He had +forced himself to be cool--mentally, of course, bodily coolness was +quite out of the question--all the way along, with looking upon Berber +as the end of his voyage. And here he had to go on another two hundred +miles, and up another tedious cataract. It was very disheartening. + +However, there was no help for it; so he went at once down to the quay, +and began inquiries about boats going up. Luck here turned in his +favour, for there was one starting next day, and he engaged a passage by +it. And what was still more fortunate, the next day was Friday, and so +there was not any likelihood of the delay which is so charming to the +Nubian sailor mind. For Friday is their lucky day, and they would not +miss the chance of commencing any undertaking upon it on any account. +Now we account Friday an unlucky day (or used to do so). So either we +or the Soudanese must be utterly wrong--radically wrong. Which is it, I +wonder? + +The dreary business commenced again on the morrow. A fair breeze, and +sailing; a foul one or a calm, and rowing; running on banks, and pushing +off; getting nearly wrecked half a dozen times in the rapids, and +escaping. And so they progressed until at length the mighty river +divided into two streams, that to the left the Blue Nile, that to the +right the White, and the real Nile, and they found at the junction the +city of Khartoum, dazzling in the glare of the sunshine, with the +governor's house and the mosque rising above the flat roofs. + +Opposite the city, and on the west side of the Nile, there were a number +of tents visible, and Harry asked the reis what place that was. + +"That is Um Durma, where the camp is," he replied. + +"And what is the camp for? It seems a very large one." + +"Yes, O traveller, it is large! Seven thousand foot soldiers, a +thousand of them that fight on horseback; many cannon, many camels to +carry powder, shot, provisions, water; thousands of those who fight not +themselves, but load and lead the baggage camels, sell things to the +soldiers, and live upon the camp. In all a large encampment, and must +cost the Khedive much money." + +"Who commands the force, and what is it collected for?" asked Harry. + +"Hicks Pasha commands it; he is an Englishman, and his principal +officers are also English; the men are Egyptians and Bashi-Bazooks." + +The reis paused. He was a Soudanese; and a smile played over his face +as he added, "They are going to do wonderful things; to take El Obeid +back again, to destroy the Soudan army, take the Mahdi, and carry him to +Cairo in a cage, I believe. Oh! But they are great warriors, and the +Mahdi's days are numbered." + +"Is El Obeid in the Mahdi's hands, then?" asked Harry; for the last time +he had heard news of that part of the country it had been still held by +the Egyptians; and Mahomet Achmet, or the Mahdi, as he professed himself +to be, had been repulsed with such heavy loss when he attacked it as to +oblige him to sheer off, this being his first defeat. But he had +returned in the January of that year, and taken the place after a +fortnight's siege. + +"Yes," said the sarcastic reis; "he holds it just for the present, till +the warriors of Hicks Pasha find it convenient to walk across and take +it from him." + +After the disappointment at Berber, Harry did not feel the same +confidence in finding his man that he had previously done. He began to +be disheartened, and to think luck was against him; and to settle the +matter quickly was a more important matter than ever it had been. If El +Obeid was taken by the Mahdi, the insurrection of the Soudanese against +the Egyptian yoke must be a very serious thing, and the country would be +in a disturbed state for a long time, so that the Nile route would be +closed against travellers, and passage across the desert to the sea +would be equally difficult. If then he caught his man and recovered the +will, he would not be able to get out of the country with it. + +He had little doubt that Sheikh Burrachee's signet-ring and the +parchment in the silver case, would, properly used, find him safe +conduct to his uncle, if living; but the getting back again he suspected +would be much more difficult, for his fanatical relative would probably +want to keep him when he had got him. + +But as Khartoum was a so much larger and more important town than +Berber, so much greater difficulty was there in tracing an individual; +and perseveringly and assiduously as Harry pursued his investigations, +he could learn nothing. Most of those of whom he made inquiries were +probably as ignorant as they professed to be; but there were some who, +at the name of Daireh, looked at the inquirer with a quick suspicious +glance. One of these replied with a verse out of the Koran, another +with a proverb, a third said he never meddled with other people's +affairs, and walked quickly away. + +After three days of fruitless inquiry, Harry was obliged to have +recourse to the plan which he wished to avoid as long as he could--that +of applying to the authorities. + +So he inquired for the house of Slatin Bey, to whom he had a letter of +introduction, and went to deliver his credentials. + +Experience in transacting business on his former journey up the country +had taught him how to expedite his reception, and a judicious +application of baksheesh caused him to be introduced to the great man +without too great delay. + +Slatin Bey read the letter, and received him courteously, motioning him +to a seat on the divan, and ordering him a chibouque to smoke, and +coffee. + +Harry knew that the great man must not be bustled, so he sucked at his +long pipe with apparent complacency and indifference to all external +matters, and said that he was an Englishman, who had come from London to +bask in the sunshine of the Bey's presence. + +"England is a great country, and London is a great town--twice as large +as Cairo. I am honoured," said the Bey. "And you need no interpreter? +That is pleasant." + +"I speak but badly, but I can understand and reply," said Harry. + +"It is well," said the Bey; "and if you have a message for the Governor +it is best delivered without an interpreter." + +"I have no message; neither, though a merchant, have I come to trade," +said Harry, when after a few observations on fleets, armies, and Mr +Gladstone--in which the Bey evidently tried to pump him--he thought he +saw an opening. "My business is a private one. A man named Daireh, a +native of Alexandria, went to England as a boy, and was brought up to be +a lawyer. He has fled with documents, for the want of which I cannot +obtain property which is mine by right, and I have traced him to +Khartoum; and I request your Highness's omnipotent aid to find him, and +induce him to make restitution of what is valueless to him, but of great +importance to me." + +The Bey smoked a little while in silence, and then said-- + +"If these documents are of no use to him, why has he taken them?" + +"He took them to extort money for their recovery," replied Harry. "But +he had committed other crimes which obliged him to fly the country in a +hurry, and before he had time to make profit of the papers." + +Another long pause of silent smoking, and the Bey observed-- + +"It is a difficult matter, and he will be hard to find." + +Harry was prepared for objections, and had learned the best arguments +for their removal. He placed a purse containing the sum which his +friends in Cairo had estimated sufficient on the divan, and said-- + +"I know that legal expenses are great in all countries, and it is only +just that I should bear the charge." + +The Bey bowed and clapped his hands. + +"Send Abdullah here," he said to the attendant who appeared. + +Abdullah came in; an old man, with an ink horn and other writing +materials, worn in a case stuck into his girdle instead of weapons, who +prostrated himself, and was questioned. He remembered the name of +Daireh, and knew there was something wrong about him. But he must +consult his books and examine certain sbirri, or policemen. + +So Harry had to go away, with the promise that he should have fuller +information next day. He did not for a moment expect to be satisfied so +quickly as that, nor was he; but still he was infinitely more lucky than +most people who have to deal with Turkish or Egyptian authorities, for +at a third meeting, and with a little more baksheesh to subordinates, he +got at the facts; and very disappointing they were. + +When the Egyptian army, now under the command of Hicks Pasha, was being +gathered to the camp of Um Durma, where it was at present situated, +Daireh had been very energetic in trying for contracts to supply the +troops with various requisites, and had ingratiated himself with many of +the Egyptian officers, so he came and went freely past the sentries at +all hours, always having the password. One of the English officers, +however, chanced to see him one day in company which aroused his +suspicions, and he had him watched, and shortly afterwards a couple of +spies were taken, from the papers found on whom, as well as from the +confessions they were induced to make--not, I fear, by arguments which +would be approved of in more civilised lands--it became evident that +Daireh was in communication with the enemy, and had kept him posted as +to the number of the troops, their organisation, and their probable +movements. Orders were immediately issued for the arrest of the +traitor, who, however, had disappeared, having doubtless taken refuge +with the Mahdi. + +This news was a terrible blow to Harry. He had tracked the man all +these thousands of miles, and here, just as he had his hand upon him, he +had slipped away again, and was now farther off than ever. + +There seemed to be but one chance left--to employ the signet-ring, to +apply to the principal dervish of Khartoum, and seek out his uncle +Ralph, the Sheikh Burrachee. He was most likely with the Mahdi, or else +with Osman Digna out Red Sea way; and, in the former case, he would help +him to recover what he wanted from Daireh, who was pretty certainly with +the False Prophet. But it was extremely distasteful to him to have +recourse to such an expedient. His uncle was a renegade, and if England +espoused the cause of the Khedive, which, after the experience of +interference with Arabi's revolt, it was very likely that she would do, +he would be in arms against his country. + +It was certain that he would not desert the man, Mahomet Achmet, whom +his cracked brain accepted as a prophet from Heaven, for any patriotic +consideration, for he was a wrong-headed Irishman as well as a fanatic, +and a man with a grievance to boot, and would glory in drawing his sword +against England. And if he joined him and sought his aid, Harry Forsyth +might find himself in the awkward fix of acquiescing, if not taking +part, in war against his countrymen, or of losing his head. And he had +a sort of foolish weakness for his head, which fitted very comfortably +on his shoulders, and did not want transferring to any other pedestal. +And then, suppose, after all, the Sheikh Burrachee were serving with +Osman Digna on the other side of the Soudan! He would be farther off +his object than ever after he joined him. + +He revolved all this in his mind as he walked moodily through the +bazaar, where the products of all countries were displayed, not +excepting the merchandise of Manchester and Birmingham, when he heard +voices in loud altercation, and, looking up, he saw a group of men whose +gestures showed them to be strangely excited about something. + +An Arab, who stalked along, his hand on the hilt of his sword, and +scowling on the bystanders, seemed to be the object of this commotion. + +"Stop him!" "Seize him!" "The spy!" "The rebel!" were the cries: but +the Arab passed on like a lion through a crowd of wolves. + +Then an Egyptian soldier, bolder than the rest, seized him by the sword- +arm, and in a second half a dozen were upon him. But in the next he had +shaken himself free, and his bright blade flashed in the sunlight, and +down went the first aggressor on the causeway, which was flooded with a +crimson stream. + +Pistols were pulled out, carbines unslung, as the motley crowd rushed to +the spot. Pop, pop, pop; at least half a dozen shots were fired. One +bullet whizzed unpleasantly close to Harry's nose, another smashed in +amongst the bottles of an apothecary's stall, from which an assortment +of odours arose, attar of rose and asafoetida being the most prominent. +What billets all the other bullets found I know not, but one severed the +Arab's spine, and avenged the Egyptian. + +By the time Harry got up to this latter, he saw that a man in European +clothing was by his side, kneeling on one knee, and trying to check the +flow of blood which pumped out of a wound in his neck. + +"Is there a human being here who is not a jabbering idiot?" he cried in +English. "Keep back, you fools, and let the man have a chance to +breathe." + +"Can I be of any use?" asked Harry, pushing to him. + +"That's right, come on," said the surgeon, as he evidently was. "Lay +hold of this forceps, and hold tight--that's it--while I cut down a bit +and tie it lower down. No good, I fear; there are too many vessels +severed. By George, how sharp those fellows keep their tools!" + +He was right; it _was_ no good. In five minutes the Egyptian soldier +died under his hands. Upon which he rose up and walked on to where the +Arab lay, to see if anything could be done for him; but he had hardly +moved since the shot struck him. + +"A bad business," said the doctor to Harry, who had followed him. "We +have not got many soldiers in our force brave enough to lay hold of an +Arab, and can ill afford to lose one of them in a stupid affair like +this." + +"Are they such cowards?" asked Harry. "But I say," he added, as he +looked in the other's face, "is not your name Howard?" + +"Yes, it is." + +"Don't you remember Forsyth at Harton--your fag?" + +"Remember little Forsyth! Of course I do. But you don't mean to say-- +by George! Now I look at you I see a sort of a likeness. But I should +never have known you." + +"I expect not. When you left I was thirteen, and I have altered a good +bit since then. But you were eighteen or thereabouts, and have not +changed so much." + +"That's it; though I have had plenty to change me, too. But how do you +come to be here, and in that toggery?" + +"Well, it is rather a long story," said Harry, "and I would sooner tell +it sitting down somewhere out of the sun. What are you doing here--in +private practice?" + +"That is a long story, too," cried Howard, laughing; "and I would also +sooner tell it sitting out of the sun. Come to Yussuff's, where we can +wash this mess from our hands, and get anything we want." + +Yussuff's was not far. It was a convenient establishment, where you +could get a meal, or a bottle of wine, or even beer, if you would pay +for it, or simply take a chibouque or narghile, and a cup of coffee or a +sherbet. + +"Try the lemonade; they make it first-rate here," said Howard; and Harry +took his advice, and swallowed a big glassful of nectar, which no iced +champagne he had ever drunk could beat. And then they washed their +hands and rested on a comfortable divan while they interchanged +confidences. + +Howard had been a bit wild, perhaps, before he passed the College of +Surgeons, and did not see any opening afterwards; he had no money or +professional interest. So he had gone into the Turkish service, and, +thinking himself ill-treated, had passed into that of the Khedive, and +had lately volunteered to accompany Hicks Pasha's expedition. + +"I have made a regular hash of it, as usual," he said; "for my great +wish is to study gun-shot wounds, and for that purpose I should have +taken service with the Mahdi; for almost all our fellows are hurt with +spears or swords, while all their wounded are shot. But now tell me +what extraordinary chance has brought you out here." + +Harry told his story, leaving out, however, all that part about his +uncle, the Tipperary Sheikh, who was now in all probability in the ranks +of the enemy Hicks Pasha's force was about to attack. + +When he had done, Howard said-- + +"I remember that fellow Daireh; he would have had a short shrift if we +had caught him! It was unlucky, though, that he was found out before +you came; he could not have done us much more harm, and the finding him +here would have done you a great deal of good. By George! You are a +nasty fellow to have for an enemy, Forsyth! What a sticker you are--a +regular sleuth-hound. Fancy following your enemy to the very end of the +world! Such a little innocent chap as I remember you, too. I don't +think I bullied you much, did I? By George, I should have thought twice +about offending you if I had known what a Red Indian I had to deal +with!" + +"I did think you rather a beast sometimes," said Harry, laughing; "and I +took it out of the next generation, when I had a fag in my turn. But +there is no revenge or vice in my present journey; it is simply to get +my money. I had been a good bit of the way already on other people's +business, and that put me up to coming on my own. Do you remember +Kavanagh?" + +"Very slightly; he was a little fellow--Brown's fag." + +"He is not a little fellow now!" said Harry, laughing. "I should say he +would weigh down the pair of us." + +"And you can talk the lingo!" said Howard, admiringly. "It is very few +words that I have been able to pick up. But what are you going to do +now?" + +"That is just what I was wondering when that row took place, and sent +all my ideas and reflections spinning. I must sleep on it." + +"Look here," said Howard, presently. "The chances are that that fellow +Daireh has gone to the Mahdi's head-quarters, which are at El Obeid. +Now we are going to El Obeid; therefore come with us there." + +"A capital idea!" cried Harry, hope dawning once more in his breast. +"There will be a chance of catching the fellow, after all, that way. +But how can it be managed? Will Hicks Pasha be bothered with me?" + +"He does not want any useless mouths, it is true," said Howard; "but I +expect that he will be able to make some use of you. An Englishman who +has shown sufficient energy to make his way out to Khartoum, and who can +understand and speak Arabic, and that at an age when his sisters and +their she friends would call him `a nice boy,' and patronisingly teach +him the newest waltz steps, is sure to be available in some capacity, +especially for a leader with the resources of our chief. At any rate +there is no harm in trying, and if you come with me I will introduce +you. You need not tell him your story, you know, unless he asks you for +it, because it is rather long, and he is very busy. Later, over a +bivouac fire, it may interest and amuse him. Just say who you are, what +you can do, and offer your services, and I do not doubt you will find +yourself a man in authority over a certain number of Egyptians." + +"What sort of soldiers do these Egyptians make? They did not do much +good against us under Arabi." + +"No; and we have a lot who ran away at Tel-el-Kebir here. They are no +good. The Egyptian rule has been a curse to the Soudan, and the +Egyptian troops are the greatest curs that ever tempted a brave but +unarmed people to throw off the yoke. But suppose we go to the camp." + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +KAVANAGH'S CHOICE. + +Captain Strachan was an old naval officer, who lived in a rather retired +spot on the borders of Somersetshire and Devonshire. His house had a +verandah round it, and one warm afternoon he was sitting at a table +under this, spectacles on nose, tying artificial flies. A young son of +twelve sat by him rapt, holding feathers and silk, which latter he had +previously drawn through a kid glove containing cobbler's wax, and +wondering whether he should ever attain to the paternal skill in this +manufacture. + +Mrs Strachan and two of her girls were round another wicker-work table +a little farther off, indulging in afternoon tea, their books and +needlework put down for the minute. Presently the sound of a horse's +hoofs was heard upon the gravel beyond the garden hedge, and Mary, the +eldest girl, jumped from her low basket chair, exclaiming-- + +"Here he comes!" + +Everybody looked up, expectant; even Captain Strachan laid down his +work--and those who have ever endeavoured to manufacture an artificial +fly know what _that_ means--as our old friend, Tom Strachan, walked up +the path towards the group. As he did not look very pleased, his mother +concluded the worst, and said-- + +"Never mind, Tom, if you _have_ failed; very few succeed the first time, +and you have two more chances." + +For Tom had been in for the competitive examination, and had now ridden +over to Barnstaple to forestall the country postman and learn his fate. + +"But I have not failed, mother," said Tom; "indeed, I am pretty high up +in the list--better than I expected." + +"Well done, my boy!" cried Captain Strachan. "Not that I had any fear +for you, because I saw you reading steadily at home when there was no +pressure put upon you. And those were the fellows who always passed in +my days. But I am glad it is safe, all the same, and we will have a +bottle of that old Ferrier-Jouet for dinner on the strength of it. But +I say, Tom, you look as grave as a marine at a Court-Martial. No wonder +your mother thought you had scored a blank." + +"Well, the fact is, my friend Kavanagh has not had my luck. It is +awfully hard lines, for he has only missed it by twenty marks. It is a +bad job." + +"Aye, it is a pity," said Captain Strachan. Reginald Kavanagh was a +general favourite in the family, with whom he had twice been to stay in +the holidays. "A pity for him and a pity for the service. He was cut +out for a soldier if ever a lad was. Well, I hope he will study hard +now, and succeed next time." + +"That is the worst of it," said Tom. "He has no second chance, for he +has no money to live upon till the time comes. I told you about that +will which has been stolen or lost; that was the only thing he had to +depend upon, and he has got to earn his bread." + +There was a general murmur of regret. Mrs Strachan particularly pitied +him for having no mother to console him, though her husband thought that +this was a redeeming feature in the case. If he had to bear her +disappointment as well as his own it would be a great deal worse, he +said, and no young fellow of spirit wants to be pitied. + +"Besides," he added, "there is this to be thought of. Suppose he had +succeeded, he would not have been in a very pleasant position. A +subaltern trying to live upon his pay is placed about as uncomfortably +as a lad can be. For my part, I am not sure that I would not sooner be +a full private, if I must take to soldiering at all." + +"But your other friend, Forsyth, who went out to Egypt to find the man +who was supposed to have the will--has nothing been heard from him?" +asked Mary. + +"Nothing to help," replied Tom. "There has been one letter from him, +and he was as hopeful as ever; but he had only got as far as Cairo. Of +course, if he succeeds Kavanagh will be right enough, but what is he to +do in the meantime? He has no relative to go to, you see." + +"We would have him here for a spell if it were likely to do him any +good," said Captain Strachan. + +"Thank you, father. It will be kind to ask him, but I know he won't +come. He has never been sanguine about Forsyth's recovering the will, +and I know had made up his mind to face the situation if he failed in +this. He would feel that coming here would only make it more difficult +afterwards. He expected to be spun, and I have no doubt has fixed his +plans." + +Although his friend's failure damped Tom Strachan's pleasure in his own +success, it could not entirely quench it, and the family party soon grew +more cheery. + +Of course the publication of the list was a terrible facer for Kavanagh, +and when he saw the certainty of his failure his heart thumped hard and +his brain reeled for half a minute. But when the mist cleared from his +eyes he drew a long breath, shook himself, and lit a cigar. He did not +bother himself with "ifs." _If_ he had read this subject a little more, +and that a little less, he would have got so many more marks. _If_ +those questions he had particularly crammed in such a subject had been +set. _If_ there had been three more vacancies, etcetera. Neither did +he regret his former want of application, which he had done his very +utmost to remedy the last year. Nor did he give way to a passion of +vexation about the missing will, or repine at Fate. "What's the use?" +he said to himself when these thoughts recurred to him; and he smothered +them as he walked towards his room--this was in the chambers of a +brother militia officer who played at being a barrister and lived in the +Temple. As he was a sportsman and an Alpine climber, he did not live +very much in London, and finding that his subaltern, Kavanagh, was going +to lodge in the capital for the sake of reading with a crammer, and +having a spare bedroom which he did not want, and was thinking of +letting off if he found a friend whose coming in and out would not bore +him, to take it, he proposed that the lad should do so. If he liked to +pay him 20 pounds a year he might; if not, it did not matter. For he +had taken a great fancy to Kavanagh, who, indeed, was a general +favourite. When Royce, the owner of the chambers, was away, Kavanagh +had the sole use of the sitting-room as well as of the bedroom; and when +he was in town it was much the same thing. They breakfasted together, +but Royce spent most of the day at his club. + +He was in London now, and Kavanagh wished he was not, for he did not +want consolation, advice, or offer of help. He knew that he had to work +out this business for himself, and the less said the better. Royce was +not in now, that was one consolation. Kavanagh went up to his room, and +began overhauling his clothes. He selected an old pair of corduroy +trousers which he had used for shooting, with a coat and waistcoat which +had been worn with them, and a pair of boots bought in the country +ready-made, on an occasion when he had been obliged, by an accident to +his wardrobe, to supply himself in a hurry. A much-worn check shirt, +with collar attached, and a black silk handkerchief, with a pair of +worsted socks, completed the lot of clothes which he laid upon the bed, +and for which he then changed what things he had on. These he packed up +with all his other clothes in several portmanteaus and carpet bags. He +next placed his tall hat away in its box, and, having completed these +arrangements, put on a wideawake, went out, and called a four-wheeler. +Then he went upstairs again, and returned with a tin uniform-case on one +shoulder and a portmanteau in his hand. It took him three trips to +bring all his goods down and stow them on and in the cab. When at last +he had accomplished it, he was stopped as he drove off by one of the +officials, who said-- + +"Halloa, my man, where are you off to with Mr Kavanagh's luggage?" + +"I am Mr Kavanagh," he replied. + +"I beg your pardon, sir," said the man, touching his hat, as he +recognised him. + +It was not very far that he took the cab, only across to Holywell +Street, where he stopped at an old clothes shop, and dismissed the +astonished cabby, after having carried all the luggage inside, a young +man with a hooked nose helping him quite as a matter of course. + +"Now, then," said Kavanagh, "what are you going to give me for all these +things, clothes, uniform, portmanteaus, cases, and all. Of course they +will go dirt cheap, but don't overdo it, or I shall call a cab and go on +to the next establishment. I don't mind the trouble of packing up +again." + +"Theresh no one in the street gives so good a prish as me," said the +man, turning over the different articles, and beginning to depreciate +them. There was no sale for uniforms; those shirts were thin in the +back; that coat was too big for most customers, and so forth. Kavanagh +cut him short-- + +"I don't want to know all that; come to the point, and say what you will +give for the lot." + +"What do you ask?" counter-responded the Jew. + +"Twenty pounds; and that's an alarming sacrifice." + +"Twenty pounds! Did any one ever hear the like! Twenty pounds for old +clothes!" + +"Why, you would sell the portmanteaus and tin cases alone for ten, and +that overcoat for three." + +"You think so, my tear young man? Tear, tear, how little you know of +the trade! I'll give you five pounds for the lot, and then I doubt if I +shall make any profit," and the dealer looked determined. + +"Say ten pounds, and it's a bargain," said Kavanagh. + +"No, I say five, and I mean five. Take it, or leave it." + +"Well, to have done with all bother, we will make it seven pounds," +cried Kavanagh, who was amused with his first attempt at making a deal +of the kind. + +The Jew compressed his lips and shook his head. + +"Very good, then," said Kavanagh, dragging one of the portmanteaus +towards him, and beginning to pack it. "I will try my luck over the way +there. I see it is so close a cab will not be necessary; I can carry +the things across. Sorry to have troubled you." + +"Here, stop a bit," said the Jew. "Say six pounds, and that is a more +generous offer than you will get anywhere else." + +Kavanagh went on with his packing. + +"Well, six ten, and that will swallow up all my profit, I fear, but I'll +risk it for once. Well, come, seven pounds then, since you must have +it." + +So Kavanagh left goods and chattels, which had cost about seventy +pounds, behind him, and walked out with a tenth part of that sum in +cash. + +Then he went down the Strand till he came to a pawnbroker's, where he +disposed of the rings, studs, and pins which he possessed, thus adding a +further ten pounds to his capital. + +His next visit was to a watchmaker's, where he was known, though the +owner of it did not recognise him at first in his shabby clothes. + +"You see I have come down in the world, Mr Balance," said Kavanagh. + +Mr Balance put on what he meant for a grave and sympathetic face. + +"To wear a gold watch and chain would be absurd in my altered +circumstances. Are you willing to change them for a stout silver one +which will keep as good time, and pay me something for the difference?" + +"Certainly I will, Mr Kavanagh; but, dear me, sir, pardon my asking; +your guardian, Mr Burke, was such an old customer. I hope sir, there +has been no unpleasantness between you." + +"None whatever; only he has died, poor man, and his will, in which I +know that I was well treated, cannot be found. So you see I must not +indulge in gold watches." + +"Dear me!" said the old man, to whom Kavanagh had gone for his first +watch when quite a little boy, and upon whom he had called whenever he +was in town since; to get the second handsome gold hunter now in +question; to have it cleaned; to buy some little knick-knack, or merely +for a chat. "Dear me; I do hope all will come right; I am _sure_ all +will come right." + +"I hope you are a true prophet," said Kavanagh, cheerily. "But now, how +about this silver watch?" + +He chose a good strong one, with a chain to match, and handed over the +gold, Mr Balance giving him twenty-five pounds besides. + +"I say! This is too much!" cried Kavanagh. "It only cost forty pounds +when new." + +"And is worth thirty-five now," said the watchmaker. "I shall make a +good profit out of the bargain, I assure you." + +Kavanagh pocketed his new watch, held out his hand, which the old man +grasped, across the counter, and walked away murmuring, "Good old chap!" + +It was still early in the afternoon, so to complete all his business at +once he walked back to the chambers, took his sword, which he had not +parted with, packed it up in brown paper, and directed it to Tom +Strachan. Then he wrote this letter:-- + + "Dear Tom,--When I joined the Militia I hoped that it was a stepping- + stone to the Line, so I would not have a tailor's sword, but indulged + in the expensive luxury of a good one. Accept it, old fellow, with + all sorts of congratulations and good wishes. `The property of a + gentleman, having no further use for it,' eh? I must poke my way to + fame with a bayonet, if I am to get there, instead of carving it with + a sword. Thank your people for their kindness to me.--Yours, + etcetera." + +"By-the-by," he soliloquised, when he had stuck and directed this +epistle, "I have not sent in the resignation of my commission yet." And +he took half a sheet of foolscap and wrote out the formal notice to the +Adjutant of the 4th Blankshire at once. Then he said, "There is nothing +else, I think, but to post the letters and send the sword off by rail; +and then go in for new experiences." + +It was a good bit of a new experience for him to carry a parcel through +the streets of London, and book it himself, but in his present costume +he did not mind doing it one bit. Indeed, he felt quite light-hearted; +knowing the worst was much better than the anxiety of the past few +weeks. And then there was another matter. Having been used to a good +allowance, and possessing naturally somewhat fastidious tastes, he had +not been very economical, though, as he hated the idea of debt, and +would rather have blacked shoes for a livelihood than have imposed on +his generous godfather and guardian, he had not fallen into actually +extravagant habits. + +When Mr Burke died, and the will was not forthcoming, and he was thus +placed face to face with actual impending poverty, Kavanagh had the +sense, the manliness, and the honesty, to do violence to his tastes and +feelings, by guarding against all unnecessary expenditure. But to a +free-handed and generous disposition this is a very hard task; and when +the end came, and he cast up his accounts, he found to his dismay that +he owed more than the balance of his allowance, the last sum paid to +him, would cover. + +It was not much, and would not have been pressed for, but Kavanagh, +though rather weak about his personal appearance, had a pound of manly +pride to an ounce of girlish vanity, and would sooner have gone in rags +than owed money to a tailor. The money he had obtained that afternoon +would entirely clear him from every liability, and leave him with a few +pounds in his pocket; and this relief made him quite light-hearted, in +spite of the final tumble of his house of cards. + +The question was--where to dine. He knew lots of restaurants and chop- +houses, but even in the most humble of the latter, where the floor was +saw-dusted, his present costume would excite remark. He had from +boyhood been particular about his dress, and his collars and waistcoats +had incited some of his friends to call him a dandy, so his scruples may +have been exaggerated. + +At last he saw several better-class artisans go into an eating-house in +Oxford Street, and following them he did very well. The table-cloth was +stained with brown circles from the porter pots, and was otherwise +dirty; the forks were pewter, and there were no napkins; but the meat +was as good as you would get anywhere, so were the vegetables, the beer +also; and the cost was about half that of the most homely chop-houses he +had hitherto patronised. + +His dinner done, it was about the time when the theatres were opening, +so he went to the gallery door of one of the principal of them, and +after waiting a little while, amongst the good-humoured crowd, he surged +upstairs with them--many stairs they were, and steep--and got a good +place close to the chandelier. The warmth and light from it were rather +too obtrusive, but did not prevent his taking an interest in the +performance, which was shared by his neighbours in the most intense and +hearty fashion. The women sobbed at the pathetic parts, while the men +set their teeth and turned white when the villain temporarily got the +best of it, and both sexes roared with delight over the comic scenes. +Likewise, all sucked oranges; therefore Kavanagh purchased and sucked an +orange, and ingratiated himself with his female neighbours by politely +offering them that fruit! + +And between the acts, when the young men in the stalls, in their white +ties, and white kid gloves, and nicely parted hair, stood up and +languidly surveyed the house through their opera-glasses, Kavanagh had a +sardonic amusement in the recollection as he thought that a fortnight +before he had sat in that fourth stall in the third row, in evening +dress, with a gardenia in his button-hole, and had similarly inspected +the inferior beings around him. Froggy Barton occupied that seat to- +night. Kavanagh took a squeeze at his orange, and thought he could hit +Froggy with the skin. But of course he refrained from trying. Only he +did look so sleek! "What much wiser people we are than the swells!" +Kavanagh thought. "We enjoy ourselves without being ashamed of it, and +we endure crowding and semi-suffocation without getting ill-tempered!" + +But he soon had enough of it, in spite of his philosophy, and after the +second fall of the curtain was glad to get into the fresh air. + +When he reached the Temple he found Royce expecting him, and directly he +entered he got up and shook him by the hand. + +"I did not see the list till six," he said, "and then I came to chambers +in hopes of finding you, and getting you to come out somewhere. You +have not been moping, I hope." + +"Moping! Not a bit of it," replied Kavanagh. "I am not going to cry `I +take a licking!' because Fortune has caught me a couple of facers +without a return. I have been to the theatre, and enjoyed myself +vastly, I assure you." + +"To the theatre! You; in that dress!" exclaimed Royce. + +"Oh, I went to the gallery. I have accepted the situation." + +"Come and sit down and light a pipe," said Royce. "I won't bore you +with unavailing regrets. Tell me what you are going to do, and if I can +help you at all." + +"Thank you; I have thought it probable I should fail, and have debated +with myself deliberately what course is best to adopt. I have come to a +conclusion, and no one can help me. My first thought was that if I +failed to be an officer I would be a private, and the more I have +thought it over the more convinced I have become that that would suit me +better than anything else. I have never learned a trade, so I could not +be a skilled artisan, and a soldier's life would suit me better than +that of an ordinary day labourer, whose work requires no head-piece. As +for spending my days in an office, a warehouse, or a shop, it would be +like going to prison for me. In short, I am going to enlist, and have +also determined on the branch of the service which is to reap the +benefit." + +"Cavalry, I suppose; Lancers, Dragoons, or Hussars?" + +"Neither. I fixed on that arm at first; the uniform attracted me; the +sword is a noble weapon; and to ride is pleasanter than to walk. But +these advantages are more than counterbalanced by the lot of +accoutrements a horse soldier has to clean, and the fact that at the end +of a day's march he has to attend to his horse before he can look after +himself." + +"A great many gentlemen's sons go into the Artillery." + +"I have settled upon the Infantry, and intend to-morrow morning to offer +my invaluable services to the Foot Guards. You look surprised." + +"Well, yes," said Royce. "To tell the truth I fancied that you would be +anxious to get to India; there is more chance, you know, of promotion +that way." + +"I have thought out that. But, to tell the truth, unless there were a +prospect of active service I should prefer to remain in England, for +this sole reason. I do not give up all hope of that will turning up, +and if it should, I want to be in the way of getting early information, +and looking after my interests." + +Royce sat in silent thought for a little while, and then said-- + +"I see what you mean, and upon my word I do not know how to advise you +better." + +And after a little more chat they went to bed. + +Next morning, when Kavanagh was dressed, he turned to his bath with a +sad conviction that his morning ablutions must in future be of a much +less satisfactory nature, and he sighed, for this went more home to him +than almost anything. "Ta, ta, tub!" he said, as he closed the door. + +He found Royce already in the sitting-room making the tea, and they +breakfasted together. + +When the meal was over, Kavanagh rose and said-- + +"By-the-by, there is my gun; it is a full-choke, and a remarkably good +killer if one only holds it straight. It was a present, and I did not +like to sell it. Will you have it as a memorial from a fellow to whom +you have been uncommonly kind? Good-bye, and thank you for all." + +"Good-bye," said Royce, in a voice which he had a difficulty to keep +steady. "I hope luck will turn for you soon; but I feel sure it will. +And if you have forgotten anything, or I can do anything for you, mind +you come to me, or write if I am out of town. Good-bye again." + +Kavanagh wrung his old captain's hand and hurried down-stairs, leaving +him with a ball in his throat and moisture very near his eyes. + +"Thank goodness that is over!" he murmured, as he left the Temple. "Now +for the barracks." + +Instead of offering himself to one of the outside recruiters, he went +straight to the Orderly Room, and told a sergeant waiting outside that +he wished to join. So he was brought before the Adjutant almost at +once. He stood six feet in his stockings, and measured forty-one inches +round the chest, so there was no difficulty about his acceptance. They +jumped at him like a trout at a May fly. + +He gave his real name, Reginald Kavanagh. "If I were ashamed of what I +am doing, I would not do it," he reasoned. And besides, he wished to be +traced with the greatest possible ease should the missing will be found. + +Of course the life at first was extremely hard, and the companionship of +some of his comrades very distasteful to him, but he took care not to +show it. And others were as good fellows as ever stepped, and with them +he made friends. + +The fact of his knowing his drill thoroughly made matters easier for +him, and he soon learned how to clean his arms and accoutrements, make +his bed, and so forth. And by dint of unhesitating obedience to orders, +even when foolish, and never answering or arguing with superiors, he got +a good name without subserviency. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +THE ARMY OF HICKS PASHA. + +It may have seemed to you that Harry Forsyth took the death of the +Egyptian soldier rather callously, seeing that he was not used to such +scenes, and that he ought to have been a little more impressed. But you +see he had resided in Egypt, and been some way up the Nile before; and +in hot countries people not only live a good deal, but die a good deal, +in the open air, so that he had seen human bodies; and more than once, +in the course of his journeys, he had come upon one such lying much as +you will see that of a dog on the mud of a tidal river at home at low +water. + +It is astonishing how soon we grow hardened to such spectacles. And +then, unless he has become exceptionally cosmopolitan, a Briton finds it +very difficult to reckon an African, or even an Asiatic, as _quite_ a +human being. Of course he knows that he is so, just as much as himself. +He knows, and perhaps vehemently asserts, if necessary, that even the +lowest type of negro is a man and a brother, and not a connecting link +between man and monkey. But he cannot _manage_ to feel that he is of +the same value as a European, or to look upon his corpse with a similar +awe. + +In the early days of the Australian colonies, an officer in a Scottish +regiment quartered out in that hemisphere caught a native robbing his +garden, chased him with a club, and hit him harder than he intended, so +that the man fell down and never got up again, for which the officer was +sorry, though held justified. About that time bad news from home +oppressed his spirits to such an extent that his soldier-servant, who +was much attached to him, and was allowed considerable freedom of speech +in consequence of his value and fidelity, thought fit to remonstrate. +He attributed his master's lowness of spirits entirely to his brooding +over the accident, and said one morning when he had brushed the clothes +and brought the shaving-water-- + +"I ask your pardon, meejor; but it's sair to see you take on so aboot +the likes of that heathen body. A great traveller I was conversing with +last night, and a respectable and trustworthy man, sir, told me that +there's thousands and thousands of them up the country." + +He thought that his master was fretting over the wanton destruction of a +rare specimen, a sort of dodo! + +Howard and Forsyth left Khartoum and strolled towards the plain where +the Egyptian army lay. A town of tents, well pitched indeed, and +dressed in parallel lines, and kept fairly clean--the English officers, +though they had had all their work cut out, had at length taught the +Egyptians that--but wanting in all those little embellishments which +distinguish an English or French encampment, especially if it is at all +permanent. No little flags to mark the companies; no extemporised +miniature gardens; no neat frames to hang recently-cleaned accoutrements +on. The sentries mooned up and down, carrying their rifles as if they +were troublesome, heavy things, they longed to threw down, that they +might put their hands in their pockets. + +In one block of tents, however, which they passed through there was a +great difference. + +The sentry stood to his front and shouldered arms, as he saw Howard +approach, smartly and with alacrity. The men were cleaning their arms +as if they took pride in the task, not like paupers picking oakum; +others were laughing loudly, or playing like schoolboys, and Harry +noticed they were all black. + +"These niggers look much finer fellows than the rest," he observed. + +"I should think they were!" replied Howard. "These are Nubians, and I +wish we had more of them. They hate the Arabs, too, and that is another +good thing." + +"What a lot of camels!" exclaimed Harry, as, passing over the top of a +little hill, they came in sight of lines and lines of those ships of the +desert, lying down, kneeling, standing; "and how strong they smell. One +might fancy oneself in a menagerie." + +"Yes; Hercules himself could not have kept that quarter clean; the +Augean stables were nothing to it. But look at these fellows we are +coming to now. You seem to be a bit of a military critic; what do you +think of them, and how do you like their mounts?" + +They were now passing a small camp on the further side of the mound they +had crossed. Three rows of tents, and aligned with each on the reverse +flank a line of horses picketed--small, almost ponies, thin in the +flank, wiry, but extremely rough. There had been no pains taken in +grooming them evidently. As for the men loafing or swaggering about, +those who were fully dressed were so stuck all over with arms--pistols, +swords, daggers--that one wondered if they were suddenly attacked what +weapon they would have recourse to first, and if they would make up +their minds in time. + +"I am no critic at all," said Harry, laughing, "though every Englishman +thinks he is a judge of horseflesh, and I fancy those might possess +endurance, if not up to much weight. As for the men, they seem to fancy +themselves more than the Egyptians; but a more villainous, blood- +thirsty, thievish-looking set of scoundrels, it has never been my luck +to see herded together." + +"You are not far out," said Howard, laughing. "I should not like one of +them to come across me if I were wounded and helpless, and had anything +worth stealing about me, let me be friend or foe. But they are useful +for scouting, and there are only three hundred of them. They are called +Bashi-Bazooks, you know." + +"Yes," said Harry; "from _Bash_, a head; _da_, without; _zook_, brains. +So called, as the `Old Skekarry' said, because they live on their wits: +_lucus a non lucendo_." + +"My dear fellow," remonstrated Howard, "have I come all this way from +conventional England to the wilds of Africa to hear once more that +dreadful quotation? Go on; give us _Sic vos non vobis_, and follow it +up with _Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis_, or any other little +House-of-Commons delicacy; only don't say _et nos_, as some of the +senators, who cannot, alas! Be flogged for it, often do." + +Harry apologised, and they now approached the English officers' +quarters, the Egyptian flag marking that of the General commanding the +expedition. + +"Wait here a little," said Howard; "I will see if the chief is +disengaged and able to see you," and he entered the tent. + +Harry sat down on a rude lounging chair he found just outside under the +shade of a palm-tree, and tried to reflect, not with any great success. +He was thoroughly bewildered with the events of the morning, following +the variations of hope and despondency produced by the near approach to +the object of his journey, and then finding it elude him, which had +occurred twice in the last few weeks. Without knowing it, he was +becoming a practical fatalist, inclined to do what seemed best at the +moment, and let things slide, forming no plans for a future which was so +very uncertain. Not a bad state of mind this for a hot country, where +worry of mind is especially trying. Perhaps that is why Asiatics +encourage it so much. + +It was not long before Howard came to the tent door and beckoned Harry +in. On entering, he saw the General seated at a table covered with +writing materials, finishing a despatch for which an orderly was +waiting. He was dressed in a sort of loose tunic, with pantaloons and +riding-boots, and the sword which trailed by the side of his chair was +straight. A pith helmet stood on the table before him, and altogether +he looked like an Englishman, and not at all like a Pasha, as from the +name Harry somewhat absurdly expected. + +Presently Hicks Pasha looked up, and Harry at once recognised one who is +born for command. There was no mistaking the bright eye, which seemed +to look _into_ the man it rested upon; the firm and manly features, the +_will_ expressed in the strong nervous hand. But it is in vain to +attempt to explain this, which at the same time everybody can +understand. The school-boy with his master, the soldier with his +officer--every subordinate knows instinctively if it is of any use +"trying it on." Not that he looked like one who would be harsh or +tyrannical. On the contrary, his face was lit up by a courteous smile +as Howard introduced his newly-found friend. + +"Glad to see you," said the General, offering his hand. "The country is +in a disturbed state for travellers, and I fear that you will hardly get +out of it without some risk. The river is still open to Berber, and you +might get across from there to Suakim. But I cannot promise to help you +much." + +"It is not my object to get out of the country at present," said Harry; +"quite the reverse. I thought that perhaps you might be able to make +use of me in some way, and wished to volunteer my services. I can make +myself understood in Arabic, if that is any use." + +"Well, we have an interpreter," replied Hicks Pasha. "If you had served +we might be glad of you, but you are too young for that." + +"I learned my drill as a volunteer," said Harry, "and I have been +successful at Wimbledon as a shot." + +"Well, but I cannot put you in the ranks with natives," said the +General, laughing, "and I cannot take you about as a sort of animated +machine-gun. Can you ride?" + +"Yes," replied Harry, who indeed had a very fair seat on horseback. + +"I might make use of you then to gallop for me, or to go out with the +scouts, as you speak Arabic. Well, we will attach you as a volunteer +cadet to a company _pro tem_, at all events. An Englishman is always +useful to control the fire in action. But you must understand I do not +guarantee you any pay; we will put you on rations, and if your +commission is made out and confirmed I will do my best to obtain arrears +for you; but you must take your chance of all that." + +Harry said that he quite understood, and only asked to be allowed to +accompany the expedition to El Obeid in any capacity. And then the +interview was over, and Harry left the tent, feeling quite as grateful +as he had expressed himself, and glad also to serve under such a chief. + +It is curious how little things turn our minds in one direction or the +opposite. Twenty-four hours before, Harry Forsyth had no sympathy +whatever with the Turks and Egyptians, while he thought the wild tribes +of the Soudan fine fellows, and worthy of the independence they sought +to establish. Indeed, he had seen too much of the shameless corruption +and cruel extortion of Egyptian officials to feel differently. + +And now, because he wanted to get to El Obeid on the chance of catching +Daireh, and because English officers of position and experience +commanded an Egyptian army, and the General of it had a "presence" which +inspired him with confidence and respect, he was ready to take up arms +in defence of a cause which had nothing, so far as he knew, to recommend +it, except that a certain amount of civilisation, the wearing of +trousers and petticoats, banking, railways, and steam navigation were on +one side, and a very primitive mode of life with nudity, or getting on +to it, on the other. True, that there is the question of the slave +trade, and that iniquitous business is kept up entirely by the Arabs, +but that very important matter had no weight at that time with Harry, +who merely knew that the slaves he had met were almost as free and much +better off than the Fellaheen or peasantry of Egypt. + +"You must now come and make the acquaintance of my particular chief," +said Howard, as they left. "You must know that I am an irregular +volunteer like yourself; at least, my appointment as surgeon requires +confirmation." + +And so they went to the medical quarters, and Harry was introduced to +the head of that department, who took a professional view of the advent +of the new-comer, and observing that he was very young for the work +before him, asked if he was acclimatised. + +But when he learned that he had got through the hot season without any +serious illness, he concluded that he had as good a chance of standing +the campaign as any one. That same evening, Harry made acquaintance +with the other English officers, to the company of one of whom he was +next day posted in orders. And then came the matter of getting uniform, +a horse, and a sword, which was accomplished at once, without much +difficulty in the shops of Khartoum; and he found himself once more +Europeanised. + +There was no time for delay, as the expedition was to set out in a few +days. The seniors received Harry kindly and cordially enough, but they +were extremely hard-worked, every man having to do the duty of ten. +They were full of high spirits and confidence, however, sure of +defeating the Mahdi, recapturing El Obeid, and conducting the campaign +to a satisfactory conclusion, and the men caught a great deal of their +spirit. + +The mass of them had fought under Arabi at Tel-el-Kebir, and had there +conceived a great idea of the prowess of their conquerors. English +officers they imagined could not be defeated, and led by them they felt +certain of victory. They were also much inspirited by the martial music +with which the air was always filled. The bugle bands were really good, +and some of the native airs lively and harmonious, but the constant +beating of their tam-tams would have been somewhat trying to a nervous +person, to whom quiet was the first condition of happiness. + +Plenty was found for Harry to do, and as he showed zeal, alacrity, and +intelligence, he soon became a favourite. "Send the young 'un" was +often the decision come to when a matter requiring promptitude and +gumption, and which the seniors could not well leave work in hand to +attend to, had to be done. The great ambition of a subaltern in any +capacity, civil or military, should be that his superior may learn to +trust him; and Harry Forsyth succeeded in that. + +He was happier now than he had been for a long time, for he was too much +occupied with his new duties to worry about Daireh and the missing will. +And if a shadow of melancholy came over him, it was when he thought of +the cottage at Sheen, and the anxiety his mother and sister would be in +on his behalf. He wrote a long letter home, giving an account of all +his proceedings and his present occupation, and sent it off the day +before the march across the desert commenced. + +At length the camp was struck, and the army was on the march--7,000 +infantry, 120 cuirassiers, 300 Bashi-Bazooks, and 30 guns with rocket +battery. There were some 1,000 camp followers, and 6,000 camels and +horses. At first the route of this seemingly never-ending cavalcade lay +along the Nile bank. + +Then it was committed to the desert. One hundred and eighty miles of +trackless, parched waste lay between them and El Obeid. The first few +days had indeed been weary work; the ground was full of broad, deep +cracks, for it had been under water when the Nile rose, and on the river +receding the fierce sun had had this effect upon the mud. Mimosa shrub +also grew thickly in parts; and it was important that the men should not +straggle, for that was the opportunity the Arabs were on the look-out +for, and so many fearful disasters had already occurred from this very +cause. For the soldiers, if the fierce children of the desert rushed +upon them unexpectedly when they were in loose formation, were as +helpless as sheep, though, when in a compact body, and under the +immediate eyes of their English officers, they could fight steadily +enough, as was proved at the battle of Marabia in the spring of that +same year, when they inflicted very severe losses upon the Arabs, whom +they totally defeated at little cost to themselves. + +But though the march had been toilsome, the river was near at hand, and +the worst enemy of the desert, _thirst_, was not to be dreaded. But now +they were to leave the Nile behind them, and depend for their water +supply entirely on the wells, which were understood to be at certain +places on the line of march, though these were often found to be at much +greater distances than had been represented. + +The progress was very slow, for they had to march in square--the leading +battalion in line, the rear also in line, the right and left faces +moving in fours, or in column, according to circumstances. In the +centre were the camels and other baggage animals, with the two things +which were as necessary to existence as air to breathe--ammunition and +water. + +When, through inequality of ground or any other cause, the lines bulged, +or the columns were broken, it was necessary to halt till all closed up +again, and this of course delayed the march very much. Ten miles a day +were the utmost they could accomplish without running most unjustifiable +risk. The irregular cavalry now proved of extreme value; preceding the +army, scattered out in front and on each flank, they were bound to come +upon any ambushed enemy in time to gallop back and warn the main body, +who would then be able to close up, and present a front on every side, +which the enemy would find no opening to break in at. + +On the fourth day, as the troops were passing over a plain of sand which +stretched away to the horizon all round, without a shrub to break the +monotony, only here and there a block of rock, or the skeleton of a +camel, showing where some wretched overtried animal had sunk under the +too great presumption upon his wonderful powers of endurance, the scouts +gave notice of Arab approach, and a figure could be seen coming over the +summit of a sand-hill, thus proving that the ground, though apparently +flat, was undulating. + +Field-glasses were turned towards the object, which could then be +recognised as a man mounted on a camel, and the distance beyond him was +eagerly scanned for the host of which he was assumed at first to be the +precursor. But no one else appeared; he was quite alone, and he came +directly towards the troops. + +As he was well mounted, and they were moving to meet him, it was not +long before he was quite close, and then it could be seen that he was +dressed in robe and turban, with a shawl round his waist, and that these +garments, as well as his face, were stained with blood. And he leaned +forward on his camel, as if well-nigh exhausted with wounds and fatigue. + +When the officer out with the scouts met and accosted him, he demanded +to be led to the chief, and when he was accordingly brought before the +General, he said-- + +"I am the Sheikh Moussa. Neither I nor any of my tribe have +acknowledged the Mahdi, whom we hold to be a False Prophet and impostor. +Whereupon he sent a body of troops to attack the village where seven +families of us dwelt. They came at the rising of the moon, and set fire +to our huts, but we flew to arms, and thrice drove them back, slaying +two for one. But they were ten to one, and at each onset we were fewer +and more weary. At last the fight turned to mere slaughter. I sought +my dromedary and fled, in hopes of vengeance. They have slain my wife, +my children, my slaves; there is a blood feud between the Mahdi and me. +Then I remembered that the Turks led by Englishmen were at Khartoum, +preparing for an attack upon my enemy, and I said, I will seek the +English Turk, the Hicks Pasha, and I will say, `I would be avenged upon +my enemy, but I am alone, and what can one arm do? I have a sharp +sword, I have a far-killing gun, I have a blood feud with your enemy. +Let me fight in your ranks.' I rode part of a night, and a day, and a +second night; I had only filled my water-bottle once. It ran dry; my +wounds grew stiff. I said, `I shall never reach Khartoum, I shall die +unavenged. It is Allah's will; praise to Allah, and the One Prophet, +for whom I am.' When lo! The English-led Turk army has risen up and +gone forth to meet me. It is Fate." + +He had a drink of water given to him, and then the General asked him if +he knew El Obeid well. + +"Every street, every corner of the ramparts," he replied. "Did I not +take part in the defence when the Mahdi--may his grave be defiled!--was +driven from them with slaughter?" + +"You may ride with us," said the General. "Look to his cuts, Howard," +he added, seeing him close by, with a sponge and a bandage already in +his hand. + +It was a sparing drop of water that was used, and that was presently +drunk with avidity, defiled as it was. Howard declared the cuts to be +mere flesh wounds of no consequence. + +"I am the most unlucky fellow that ever was!" he exclaimed; "I never do +get any gun-shot wounds, hardly." + +The Sheikh Moussa certainly proved an acquisition that day, for he took +them a route diverging somewhat from that which they had been following, +and so cutting off some three miles of their journey to the wells where +they were to halt till the moon was up. And three miles when the water +is running low are a matter of tremendous import to the traveller in the +desert. After that the General often sent for the Sheikh Moussa to ride +with him on the march; and he questioned him, and compared his answers +with the maps and plans he had. And the more he was tested the more +genuine did the man appear. The tribe, too, to which he claimed to +belong was known to be friendly, and not as yet overawed into owning +allegiance to the Mahdi. + +And so the square dragged slowly on from well to well through the long +scorching mornings and the bright moonlight nights, and was swallowed up +in the desert. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +SENT OUT SCOUTING. + +It is one of the first principles of warfare that an army should always +keep up communication with what is called its _base_, that is, the safe +place from which food, ammunition, stores of all kinds, and fresh men to +supply the place of those who fall, can be sent to it, and to which the +sick and wounded may be returned. But as there is no universal rule in +anything, and people have often to do what they can, rather than what +they know to be best, it so happens that columns have sometimes to be +launched into an enemy's country without any communication with seaport, +town, or friendly frontier, so that they are entirely self-dependent, +with no resources beyond what they have at hand, and liable to be +attacked on all sides. + +This is termed being "in the air," and is a very great risk, which is +only voluntarily incurred for the sake of gaining some equally great +advantage. In civilised warfare failure under such circumstances means +surrender; in expeditions against barbarians it involves utter +destruction. + +Hicks Pasha's little army was now thus isolated, and, after several +days' march across the desert, matters began to wear a very serious +aspect. As has been said, ten miles a day were the utmost that could be +accomplished, and the distance between the places where water could be +obtained increased as they advanced. + +Water was carried by camels in tanks with galvanised linings, which kept +it fresh, and free from the nauseous taste which it gets from the skins +in which travellers generally have to keep it. It is true that there is +an earthenware water-bottle, which is in much request, and the +inhabitants of a town on the Nile earn their livelihood by manufacturing +them. But the porousness of the clay, which keeps the contents so +deliciously cool, makes them very brittle. + +In these tanks sufficient water could be carried for twenty-four hours, +which meant at the present rate of marching but ten miles. There came +an occasion when, at the end of the first day's halt from the last well, +an order was given to put men and horses on a half ration of the +precious fluid. Considering that the full ration was very insufficient, +this caused much suffering, especially as, there being no moon, night +marches were out of the question, and the parched troops had to toil +through the sand in the mornings and evenings, though they were forced +to rest and get what shelter they could in the hottest part of the day. + +That night Harry was roused from a dream of plunging in the river at +Harton, which, however, refused to cool or wet him, but seemed to turn +to hot sand at his touch, by a shot and then a volley, a little in their +front. He started to his feet and found Howard standing beside him. + +"Some stupid mistake of a sentry, very likely," said he. But presently +the outposts came running in with three of their number missing, and two +others with slight spear wounds, and reported an attack of the enemy. +The force stood to its arms at once, and as it bivouacked in square, in +the order in which it marched, every man was in his place without delay +or confusion, and there was no danger of surprise, and some of the men +would keep firing uselessly into darkness, and it gave their officers +some trouble to stop them. This was done, however, and the waste of +ammunition was left to the Arabs, who kept up a dropping fire till dawn, +wounding a poor camel by chance, but unable to do much damage by +starlight from the distance at which they kept. + +"No gun-shot wounds for you at present," said Harry, when he rejoined +the surgeon. + +"I don't want any," replied Howard. "I could not attend to a poor +fellow after treating him, in any satisfactory way, on the march, and +without water. Do you know, I am tempted to drink the contents of my +medicine bottles." + +"Then you _must_ be thirsty, poor fellow. But, I say, do you call this +being under fire? There! Something struck the ground which I fancy +must have been a bullet." + +"Yes; they are making very long shots, but as some of them get into our +neighbourhood, I suppose one may be said to be so. Why?" + +"Only because I have never been under fire before, and I expected to be +in a funk." + +"There is time enough; I daresay you will get a satisfactory test of +your nerves before long. But courage is a comparative thing, depending +very much upon circumstances. I, for example, am a non-combatant, and +though I have little dread of infectious diseases, which many heroes +would shrink from risking contact with, I hold all lethal weapons in +strong dislike. And yet, if there were a barrel of beer in front, +though it were guarded by the best shots in Boer land, I would have a +fight for it." + +"I should think you would!" cried Harry. "Beer! How can you be so +cruel as to mention the word?" + +But though the Arab fusillade was almost innocuous, it harassed the +troops, keeping them on the alert all night. And when, with the first +streaks of dawn, the dreary march began, all traces of the foe had +disappeared. All the morning dragged along, till fatigue and the heat +of the sun compelled the mid-day halt. Then forward again till dark; +and no wells reached! Hardly a drop of water left for each man! +Several had dropped and died in the course of that day's march, and +several horses. The bugle bands, which had been so cheery in the start, +were silent now; the poor fellows were too parched to blow their +instruments. Even the tam-tams were silent. Not that either would have +been prudent, for though, doubtless, they were never lost sight of by +the enemy's scouts, there was no advantage in publishing their +whereabouts. + +Harry was on outpost duty that night, and when the firing was renewed, +which happened soon after dark (though no enemy had been sighted all +day), he, not being hard pressed, would not withdraw his men. The stars +were very bright, and objects were distinguishable at about thirty yards +distance; perhaps further by Harry, who was particularly clear of +vision, that being the reason, possibly, of his fine shooting. The +Arabs got closer to the rocks, amongst which the outpost was situated, +with sentries at intervals connecting it with the square. Harry felt +savage with thirst, fatigue, and this aggravating annoyance, and was +strongly tempted to try and make an example. He took a rifle from one +of his men, and began stalking carefully in the direction of the +flashes; not directly towards them, of course, which would have been +trying to meet the bullets, but on the flank. + +Crouching down under a sand ridge, he got pretty close, crawled a little +nearer on his hands and knees, and peered forwards. There was a flash +and a report quite near to him, and then Harry could plainly distinguish +the man kneeling up, withdrawing the old cartridge from his Remington. +He levelled his rifle, but could not see the fore-sight, so as to align +it with the object. For a moment he was nonplussed, but suddenly +remembered having read of a dodge for night shooting, and resolved to +try it. + +He had in his pocket a small box of matches, and, taking one of these, +he broke the end off and rubbed in on the fore-sight very gently, +careful not to let it explode, and succeeded in making the little +projection so luminous that he could align it with the back-sight and +the Arab's body. Then he pulled the trigger, and saw the dark figure +leap forward and fall prone. Saw it, indeed, but only in a fraction of +a second, for he stole back to the sand ridge, slipping in another +cartridge as he went. + +There he lay still a minute, listening and peering. Presently a tall +figure, which looked gigantic in the dim light, bounded close to him, +with a gun in his left hand, and a spear in his right. He had evidently +made a rush in the direction of the flash, and now stood, looking right +and left for the man who had fired. Harry almost touched him as he +pressed the trigger, and the savage lay at his very feet. "I'll have +his spoils any way," thought he; so he picked up the spear and +Remington, and got back to his men as fast as he could. The Arab +scouts, bothered by these two shots, were probably uncertain about the +movements of the troops, and thought they had shifted their ground since +they had marked them down, and possibly had flanking parties who might +surround them. For they withdrew to a distance, fired a few shots in +the direction where Harry _had been_, which was quite away from the main +body, and the outpost too, and then gave no more trouble for that night. + +In the course of the next day the water gave out entirely, and there was +not a drop in the army beyond what some few far-seeing, self-denying +men, had hoarded in their gourds. + +Harry had not been one of these, and when the mid-day halt came he +thought he was dying, and fell down in the glare of the sun, senseless. +When he returned to life he found himself under the scanty shade of a +mimosa tree, supported by the strong arm of a man whose sun-burned face +and flowing beard, the loose robe which he wore, and the silk scarf +which surrounded his tarboosh, with the pistol and dagger thrust into a +shawl round his waist, seemed to betoken a native of the country; but +the kindly eyes were those of an Englishman, as were the murmured words, +"Poor lad! Poor lad!" which fell on his ear. His brow was deliciously +cool, and his throat less parched; and he recognised that it was the man +whose wonderful journey to Merv had so enthralled him when he read of it +who had now spared the water, which was life, to damp his brow and give +him respite; and he was certain that it was Mr O'Donovan, the newspaper +correspondent, now accompanying the army of Hicks Pasha, who had saved +his life. + +Howard, who came up at the moment, was almost awe-struck at the +sacrifice. + +"I have known one man allow his veins to be drained to supply the life- +blood which might be infused into the veins of his friend; but what was +that to sparing water _now_!" he said. + +The patience and discipline of the men during this trying time were +admirable; there was no grumbling, no repining against their leaders; +and just fancy how the sturdy Briton would have growled! + +The officers did their best to cheer them up, assuring them that they +were certain to reach the wells that afternoon, and always bearing an +air of confidence in the future before them. But when they were alone +together, and looked into each other's eyes, it was evident that they +thought they were in a very desperate position. + +However, let them reach and carry El Obeid without too great delay, and +all would yet be right. Their assurance to the men concerning the wells +was verified; and when they approached the mud-holes which bore that +name, discipline for once broke down. First the Bashi-Bazooks urged +their fainting steeds to a gallop; then the infantry broke from their +ranks and hurried forward; and had the enemy come down in force at that +moment, they would have had an easy prey. But, oh horror! The puddles +were choked with the putrefying bodies of men, horses, and camels, who, +wounded in a recent fight near the spot, had crawled hither to drink, +and die. + +Thirst, however, overcame disgust; the contaminating carcases were +dragged away, and many plunged their faces in the filthy pools. Others +had the self-control to dig or scrape holes for themselves, and wait +till a purer water had percolated into them, when they slowly satisfied +themselves and their faithful horses, and then managed to collect a +supply for the next march. + +Wonderful was the effect of the water, when at last a sufficiency for +all had trickled out. The musicians found their instruments, and played +once more; the outposts stepped off to their stations with alacrity; and +all felt as if El Obeid had already fallen. + +But several days' more terrible marching, with insufficient water, and +many a death from sheer hardships, fatigue, or sunstroke, were to elapse +before they neared the fortress. At last, however, the time came when, +on starting at dawn, the guide assured the General that he should see +the sun set behind its walls. After four hours' march one of the senior +officers called Harry. + +"You and your nag look pretty fit," he said; "that comes of being a +light weight. Is your water-bottle full?" + +"Yes," replied Harry; "I have not touched it since we left the last +wells." + +"That is right; I want you to take six men out scouting. You see that +rocky hill, with trees, out to the north?" + +"Yes." + +"The General wants to know if the enemy are behind there in any force. +Go cautiously; and if you see no one, pass through the wood, and have a +look on the other side of the hill; you can see from here that it cannot +be very extensive on the top. But if you find Arabs in the cover, try +to draw them; and if you succeed, and they are in force, come back at +once. But should they keep in cover, so that you cannot tell whether +there are half a dozen or a considerable body, skirt round the hill, and +see if there is any sign of a camp, or a large body of the enemy +concealed by it. Be cautious, so as not to get cut off. I have +selected six of the best mounted Bashi-Bazooks, in case you have to make +a bolt for it. Of course, you see the importance of knowing what we +have in our rear before attacking the place." + +"All right, sir," said Harry; and in another minute he was trotting +across the plain, followed by his six picturesque, irregular horsemen. + +Of course he did not go fast, as it was most important to reserve the +powers of the animal that carried him for the emergency of having to +gallop for his life, which it was not at all improbable that he would be +called upon to do; but half an hour's steady trot, the ground being +fairly free from obstacles, and not so yielding as usual, brought the +party to the foot of the hill. + +Harry ordered his men to extend, and they threaded their way among the +rocks in a line, working cautiously up towards the belt of trees. When +they were within a hundred yards, however, a couple of shots were fired +from the cover, and the bullets came pattering against the rocks. + +Harry had impressed upon the men beforehand what to do in such a case: +to retire slowly, halting to return the fire at intervals; and they did +it pretty fairly, though not quite so steadily as could be wished. And +when they were down on the level plain, a couple of them showed a +decided inclination to try the mettle of their steeds in a race in the +direction of the column, but Harry managed to stop them; and, +withdrawing a little, the party dismounted, and fired a few ineffective +shots at the Arabs, who were mounted, and came down towards them. + +There were but eight in the party, and Harry could see no more behind +them, so he concluded that it was clearly his duty to skirt the hill and +see what was on the other side. Besides, seven to eight was not such +prodigious odds as to justify bolting without a bit of a fight, he +thought. + +So he got his men together, and, drawing his sword, told them he meant +to charge the moment the Arabs were at the bottom of the hill, so as to +overthrow them by the impetus before they could get any pace on, and +trotting quietly on with this object, he got within thirty paces, and +then, cramming his spurs in, went at them as they got clear of the +declivity. And he showed good judgment, in spite of his inexperience; +for he bowled one enemy over with the force of the shock, and a Bashi- +Bazook on his right served another the same, and got a slice at him as +he rolled over, which made the number of combatants level. + +But, unfortunately, the other Bashi-Bazooks did not charge home, but +swerved, wheeled, withdrew a little, and began firing wildly. Harry was +engaged in single combat with another Arab, who could have given him any +number of points in sword-play, and presently made a drawing cut at him +which would infallibly have taken off his head, had not his horse at +that very quarter of a second suddenly fallen, shot dead by one of his +own men. + +Seeing their officer down, the Bashi-Bazooks fairly turned and galloped +as hard as they could go, the Arabs who were otherwise disengaged racing +after them--five pursuing six; for the man who had been ridden down had +got a broken thigh, the second was killed, and the third was now +dismounting in order to polish off Harry comfortably as he lay on the +ground. + +But our friend, though he was pinned down by the body of his horse, +which lay on his left leg, was not hurt, and his right arm was free. He +drew his revolver, and when the Arab stood over him he shot him in the +breast. The man fell--but not dead--across Harry, with whom he +grappled, seeking to clutch him with the left hand by the throat and +sabre him with the right. But Harry caught his right wrist, and a +struggle took place, in which each strained every muscle. + +In his efforts, Harry got his leg from under the dead horse, the sand +being loose; but as he did so his enemy got his sword-arm free and cut +him over the head--not with much force, for he was weak and in a cramped +position, but sufficiently to inflict a nasty wound. It was an expiring +effort; he fell over helpless, the blood gushing from his mouth, and +Harry had no need to give him another barrel, which he was prepared to +do, but rose to his feet to survey the scene of conflict. The Bashi- +Bazooks and their pursuers could be seen in the distance, still going at +a great pace. The horses of the broken-legged and the two dead Arabs +were careering about; his own head-dress had fallen off, which was a +serious affair, though the afternoon was waning. + +But before putting it on he bound his head with a strip of cotton torn +off the garment of the Arab at his feet, for the cut on the scalp was +bleeding freely. Then, feeling very thirsty, he took the man's water- +bottle, but it was empty. So, picking up his sword, he moved over to +the other dead Arab and tried his, and with better success; there was a +refreshing draught in it, which Harry was thus able to benefit by +without infringing on his own supply. Then he considered that he must +get out of sight somewhere before the Arabs returned, which they were +sure to do, to look after their missing friends. He had now no horse, +and to make his way on foot across the open plain by daylight was to +ensure being seen by the returning horsemen and cut off. + +The best place to hide in would surely be the wood, where he felt +certain that there were no more Arabs, or they would have come out to +join in the chevy. He would lie there till nightfall, and then +endeavour to make his way to the column, though he did not feel like +taking a long walk just at present. + +As he was going up the hill, however, he saw the Arab with the broken +leg lying helpless. The string which held his water-bottle had broken, +and the gourd lay beyond his reach. The man glared like a wild beast +when Harry picked it up, and clutched at his waist-band, but there was +no weapon in it. + +"Don't fear me," said Harry in Arabic, holding out the gourd, which the +other snatched viciously; "I am an Englishman, and the English never hit +a foe when he is down, unless he is very obstinate and unreasonable, and +insists on biting or kicking." + +But the wounded man made no reply. It is to be feared that he only +thought either that the speaker was a great liar, or else that his +countrymen were great fools. It was evident that, so far from being +touched, he would be the first to betray the secret of Harry's hiding- +place to his returning friends if he knew it. So as Harry did not like +to shoot him through the head, or draw his sword across his throat, he +made a detour as if going across the desert, and did not commence the +ascent until he was out of the other's sight. It was not very steep or +very high, but Harry had some difficulty in getting up it. He felt very +weak, giddy, and queer, and had hardly got to the wood, and sunk down +under the shade of trees behind a big black boulder, than he lost +consciousness, for he had bled more than he knew for, and it was that +which turned him faint. + +How long he lay without consciousness he did not know; and I daresay +that you have noticed in story-books that people never _do_ know. +Indeed, it would take a very methodical person to look at his watch just +as he was going off in a swoon, and refer to it again as he came to. +Harry Forsyth certainly never looked at his watch, but he snatched his +water-bottle, for one effect of loss of blood is to cause intense +thirst. A quantity of liquid being taken out of the body. Nature seems +to point out in this way that the loss should be supplied; you know she +is said to abhor a vacuum. If he had had all his senses about him, he +would merely have taken a sup and held it in his mouth some time before +swallowing it; but he was half dazed, and did not know where he was, and +he yielded to the instinct of thirst and took a long, deep draught. For +the present it was the best thing he could have done, for the effect was +that he sank into a sound restoring sleep, which must have lasted many +hours, for when he woke again the night was far advanced, and there were +streaks of dawn in the east, and it was quite two hours to sunset when +he had begun his nap. The wound in his head smarted, but otherwise he +felt stronger and more refreshed, only hungry. He had crammed some +biscuits into his kharkee jacket the day before, and these he ate, +washing them down with what remained in the water-bottle, which he +emptied without much compunction, as he reckoned that he would easily +strike the trail of the column and come up with it in a short time. + +They had reckoned before he left that it was three hours' march at the +longest to the wells within sight of El Obeid, where they were to halt +for the night, and he thought that he surely ought to be able to walk, +alone and unencumbered, at least as fast again as the square moved, and +he had little fear of not being in time for the attack. The place could +hardly be carried by a _coup de main_; they would have to breach the +walls with artillery first. Of course he might be cut off on his road; +that was a risk which could not be helped or avoided. + +Directly he could see his way, he retraced his steps down the hill, and +went round the base to the side where he had had the skirmish; but he +did not look to see whether the dead Arabs had been buried by their +comrades, or to inquire after the welfare of his friend, the enemy with +the broken leg. No, he stole along that part as quietly as he could. + +The orange, purple, violet, old gold flashes shone wider and higher, but +the only way in which Harry heeded them was by keeping the point, at +which it was evident from the intensity of glory that the sun would +rise, at his back, for he knew that El Obeid lay due west of his present +position. It was true that he had a compass attached to his watch +chain, but for some unknown cause the thing had struck work a fortnight +back, and now the black half, which ought always to have turned to the +north, perversely remained where you choose to place it. But, after +all, the sun in the morning and evening, and the polar star at night, +will put you somewhere in the right direction, _when you can see them_. + +As for hitting off the exact track by which he had come on leaving the +column, he could no more do that than on the sea, for there were no +marks to guide the eye, and the surface of the plain was the same as +water. One dead camel's skeleton is uncommonly like another, and they +lay about in various directions, showing that caravans converged to or +diverged from El Obeid by different routes. When the sun burst forth +with all that inconceivable grandeur which drives artists who visit the +country to despair, and causes untravelled gazers on their pictures to +accuse them of exaggeration, when their efforts have as a fact fallen +far short of the reality, Harry's eyes scanned the horizon in every +direction for an enemy, but he was alone on the sandy expanse. + +No! What were those black figures moving along the side of yonder dune? +His hand went to the butt of his revolver as he saw them. But he was +presently reassured; they were only vultures and eagles over-gorged by +the fruits of war; the only beings besides wolves and hyaenas, who pluck +them. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A GLIMPSE AT A TRAGEDY. + +As the power of the sun increased, Harry Forsyth found that his renewed +strength was but partial, and though considerable compared to his +weakness before that long sleep, was by no means up to his powers +twenty-four hours previously, before he got that cut down through his +scalp and lost all that blood. And soon the thirst began; but thirst +was his familiar now, and he had learned to bear it as we do what is +constantly recurring and inevitable. + +But as time passed on the thought would intrude upon his mind. Was he +going in the right direction? El Obeid, indeed, must lie to the west, +if the guides were to be depended upon, but would not the General +diverge very likely on approaching the place? It could not be told +beforehand from what side he would find it best to attack it, and Harry +might be going quite away from his friends. Still, if he once caught a +glimpse of the town, he should feel fresh confidence, for then he would +certainly get round to the army, somehow, and in time for the attack. +But this last consideration was not so important a matter with him as it +had been some hours before. He did not feel particularly keen after +fighting just now. A beefsteak and a pot of porter, and then to turn +into a comfortable bed, with a lump of ice on the top of his head, would +have formed his programme of perfect bliss. And yet, if his friends +were in the thick of it, he would like to be there, and take his share +in what was going, too. + +Pshaw! He must not get nervous, he said to himself. Unless the guides +were treacherous, he must sight the minarets of El Obeid soon _Unless +the guides were treacherous_! Was there a chance of that? Experience +showed that there was always. And that professed friendly sheikh, who +had come in with his scratches and told such a plausible tale, was he to +be trusted? + +Hark! What was that? Dropping shots away to his right front. Again, +others; and now a volley; more single shots, increasing to a continuous +roll of musketry. + +"They are at it, and I am not there!" Harry cried aloud, as, forgetting +fatigue, weakness, even thirst, he pressed forward in the direction of +the firing. What surprised him most was that he heard no report of the +Krupp guns, no whish of rockets, no continuous grinding of machine-guns. +Why did they not use their artillery? + +Half an hour brought him to rocks, herbage, and palm-trees, and here +were empty preserved meat cans and other _debris_, showing that the +force had bivouacked there the night before. And here, too, deep down +in a rocky dell, he found a well of clear, bright, sweet, cool water! +He flung himself down, plunged his face in the delicious liquid, and +sucked in large draughts of the life-inspiring elixir. When he could +drink no more he filled his water-bottle, and then, removing his pith +helmet, he unbound the bandage which he had tied over his head. It had +of course stuck, and the attempt to remove it was painful, but by +wetting it freely he got it off, and then bathed his head and face, +saturated his pocket handkerchief, and tied that on as a fresh bandage. + +Then, much refreshed, he again hastened forwards, guided by the sound of +the still continued firing. The character of the country was now +completely changed. It became hilly, and the hills were precipitous and +covered with inky black rocks, which lay so thickly about that it seemed +as if a shower of enormous aerolites had fallen there. + +Harry threaded his way amongst these, some way up a ravine, which wound +to the right. The firing now seemed quite close; indeed, he could see +smoke floating up to the dear sky. But surely El Obeid could not be +there, in the middle of a mountain pass, commanded on all sides by +higher ground! The army must surely have been attacked on the march. + +He turned a corner, from which the valley ran for some distance +straight, and came suddenly on volumes of smoke, pierced by incessant +flashes of fire, not a thousand yards in his front, while every now and +then a spent bullet came pattering against the rock behind which he +crouched, trying to make out whether those nearest him were friends or +foes. + +Firing was also going on from the higher ground to right and left, and +one or two of these points were visible from Harry's present position. +He had no field-glass, but he carried a small pocket telescope of great +power, and adjusting this, and holding it steadily with some difficulty +against the rock side, for the field of vision was very small, and his +hand shook with excitement, he made out that the men holding these were +certainly Arabs. + +And presently some wounded men of those engaged in the valley to his +front falling to the rear, and coming within five hundred yards of him, +and clear of the smoke, he perceived that they were Arabs too. And then +the fearful truth broke upon him. The spent bullets which fell towards +him came from his friends. The army had been enticed into the defile, +round which the Mahdi's troops were posted. When it was hopelessly +entangled, a body of Arabs, which had lain in ambush for the purpose, +had closed in upon their rear to cut off retreat, and these were the men +now in front of him. + +Though he felt convinced that this must be the state of the case, Harry +did not give up all hope that the Egyptians might fight their way +through, though with severe loss, to the other end of the defile, and to +ascertain this he went back, and then began mounting the higher ground, +trying to work round to the front of the position. This he had to do +very cautiously, to avoid falling in with groups of Arabs, whom he was +perpetually sighting. Indeed, to get near the edge of the rocks +commanding the defile without being observed was impossible, but by +making a wide detour he kept clear of them. And thus, after the lapse +of some hours, and with occasional difficult climbing, he reached a +lofty point, from which he could distinguish the sides of the ravine +held by the Arabs and the pall of smoke which covered the doomed square, +fighting like a lion at bay, surrounded by the hunters. + +For eagerly as he searched with his telescope in every direction he +could perceive no line of advance or retreat; every point appeared to be +barred by the enemy. There seemed to him only one hope; if General +Hicks could hold on till nightfall, perhaps he might push through +backwards or forwards under cover of the darkness. + +So the hours passed, and the fusillade did not cease; only slackened at +times to burst out again, till the sun sank down in all his glory, and +the heavenly splendour of the after-glow bathed the sky, just as if all +on earth was peace, goodwill, and happiness, and men had ceased to +strain all the powers and talents which the God of Mercy has bestowed +upon them for their mutual benefit to one another's destruction; then +sudden darkness, and silence broken only at long intervals by a fitful +splutter of musketry. + +Harry had marked a little cave, where two boulders leaned together, and +into this he now crept, for the air was cold. Here he lay, thinking +with agony of his friends below there. How many were now living, and +what chance had they of getting clear if they had survived thus far? + +And his own position, was that any better? Nay, they indeed would die +fighting, but he would either probably perish of want, or be barbarously +murdered in cold blood. He still wore his uncle the sheikh's ring on +his finger, and carried the silver case containing the parchment in his +breast, but since he had thrown in his lot with the Egyptian army, his +faith in those talismans had become weakened. Why, he did not know; it +was an illogical feeling, for, of course, the circumstances had not +altered. Probably it was because it is impossible to trust to two +diametrically opposite sources of aid at the same time. + +Then his thoughts wandered to home, and his mother and sister, and their +terrible anxiety at his long silence, and how they would not know +whether or not to mourn him as dead. And then he dropped asleep. + +He woke at dawn, wondering how he could have slept when his comrades +were in such sore straits. Had they got away? In answer to his +thought, the firing recommenced as before, and in the same quarter, +answering "No!" + +All day long the noise of battle lasted, and Harry watched in vain for a +change in the situation. + +At one period a body of Arabs came up and crossed the mountain from his +rear, and he only just had time to conceal himself in his rocky hole to +escape observation. + +But they pushed on, and went down into the fight; doubtless carrying +ammunition. How Harry got through that long day he could not remember. +He made his water-bottle last, but he had no food beyond one biscuit. +But anxiety for some time prevented his feeling hungry. There seemed no +change in the situation, except that the volume of fire diminished +perceptibly; and the cloud of smoke becoming thinner, he could, from one +point, just distinguish something of the square. It was still existing, +then, and might, perhaps, cut through that night, though it had failed +to do so on the preceding. + +When darkness fell, Harry crept back to his hole, and again he slept. +But he awoke before dawn, roused by the cravings of hunger. It was of +no use to stop where he was, and at the first glimpse of daylight he +commenced his descent towards the plain, not by the way he had come, but +on the opposite side, in the direction he calculated the remains of the +army must take if they succeeded in pushing through. + +At the foot of the hill, in a rocky, barren-looking dell, not at all the +place where you would expect to find it, he chanced upon a spring; and +after drinking and replenishing his gourd, he sat down to try and +collect his thoughts. + +And as he sat there he saw a solitary figure coming towards the spot. +It was a camel, with an Arab on his back. Harry concealed himself +behind a boulder and watched. The poor beast could hardly move, and, in +spite of all urging, presently fell. The rider took certain articles +from the saddle, and came to the spring, where he sat down, after +drinking; and, pulling out a lump of bread, began to make his breakfast. +The sight made Harry feel ravenous; he was determined that he would +have a share of that bread. He would probably have been justified in +potting him with his pistol, which he might easily have done, for he was +almost certainly a hostile Arab with despatches. But he might belong to +a friendly tribe, and if he were an enemy, Harry could not murder him +like that. + +He had a Remington rifle, so Harry must pounce upon him, or he would not +have a chance. He did it rather cleverly, and the meal of the Arab was +suddenly interrupted by finding the muzzle of a revolver within a yard +of his head, while, at the same time, his rifle, which rested against a +rock beside him, was thrown to some distance. + +"Throw away your sword and pistol, or I will shoot," said Harry. "But +do that, and share your bread with me, and I will not hurt you." + +"My hygeen is dead; I am weary and wounded; and the chance is yours," +said the Arab. "What have I to do but to submit? It is fate," drawing +his highly ornamented and damascened pistols from his waist-band, for he +was a considerably dressed Arab, this one. These he laid aside; then he +took out his sheathed scimitar, but appeared to hesitate. + +"How do I know," he said, "that you will not kill me when I am +completely disarmed?" + +"Why should I?" replied Harry. "Could I not have shot you from behind +the rock?" + +"Fool you were, not to!" cried the Arab with the bound of a wild beast, +springing up, flashing the blade out, and uttering the taunt, which in +his own idiom was but a couple of words, simultaneously. + +So quick and sudden was the movement that it might well have deceived +the eye and paralysed the nerve. But the very start made Harry press +the trigger with his fore-finger. Even so, and only a yard off, he was +as likely to have fired over his shoulder as to have hit him. But he +did not. The point of the scimitar just left the scabbard as the owner +of it went down on his back motionless as a wax figure. + +Harry was perfectly bewildered; he was not conscious of having fired; +yet, there lay the Arab, with his face blackened with the powder, and a +small hole in the forehead just between the eyes. + +I hope you will not think the worse of Harry Forsyth for what he did +next. War makes the feelings very callous, for the time being, at all +events, with regard to certain things. Besides, Harry had had nothing +but biscuits to eat for one hundred and seventy-two hours, about, and +not many of them. He pounced upon the bread and devoured it. What to +do next? + +The conviction had now forced itself upon him that there was no hope for +the Egyptian army, but that it was doomed to certain destruction. There +was no possibility of surrender; it was war to the knife, for the Arabs +neither took nor gave quarter. And thus his mind reverted to the object +of his throwing in his lot with that body, which he had in a great +measure lost sight of in the company of Howard and the excitement of a +totally new life. But, after all, he had not come out to Egypt and the +Soudan to fight but to discover Daireh and, if possible, gain possession +of the will. + +The only chance for him to accomplish this now was obviously through +finding his uncle, the Sheikh Burrachee, and to do this he must follow +the course he had pointed out: find a dervish or fakir, and show the +ring and parchment. Of course the efficacy of these might all be the +delusion of a crazy brain, but he must take his chance of that. It was +certain, however, that he would never get the chance of a hearing in his +present costume. The helmet, the uniform kharkee jacket, would insure +his being shot or cut down by the first follower of the Mahdi who saw +him. They must be discarded, and the dead Arab lying hard by would +supply him with a disguise. For, instead of going nearly naked, like so +many of them, this man had a smart turban and a long garment, which came +a good bit below the knees, bound round his waist with a sort of shawl +of gay colours. + +So, after having taken his life and his breakfast, Harry now proceeded +to despoil him of his clothes. + +There was a fair supply of cartridges in a bag which the ill-fated Arab +had worn over his shoulder, so Harry took that and the rifle, and +presently he came out of the glen in complete Arab costume, his European +clothes being made into a bundle and shoved under a rock. The only +article of dress he had retained was a light linen waistcoat, in which +were pockets containing the silver case with the parchment, his watch, +and his money. The dead man's pistols, though ornamental, had flint +locks and were heavy, so he left them, but the scimitar he stuck, +together with his own revolver, in the waist-shawl, and the rifle he +slung over his shoulder. + +Then he went to the hygeen, or camel, hoping that water might revive it, +but the poor beast was past that--its eyes were already glazing. + +All this time the roll of musketry in the distant ravine still +continued, and with a heavy heart he turned from the spot, and went out +into the wilderness. + +His idea was boldly to accost the first living being he met, and ask the +way to El Obeid, intending to represent himself as a merchant whose +caravan had been attacked and robbed by Nubian blacks. He knew that he +would be recognised as a European by his speech, and probably arrested +as a spy, but then would be the time to test the efficacy of his uncle's +talisman. It might be inefficacious, or he might perish in the desert +before he met any one, but he did not give up all hope of a better fate. +His being sent out on that scouting expedition, wounded, and so +prevented from rejoining the ill-fated column, was so extraordinary that +he felt that his hour was not yet come. For it almost seemed to him as +if a miracle had been performed in his behalf. + +He had not gone a hundred yards before he noticed several black specks +in the distant sky. Nearer and larger they came, till he could +distinguish two eagles and five vultures hovering lower and lower, till +at length they settled down in the dell by the spring which he had just +left. And he shuddered. How soon he might lie, helpless and dying, and +watching these loathsome birds of prey swooping towards him! + +His idea was to keep bearing to the west, which was the direction in +which he knew that El Obeid lay, unless indeed he had passed to one side +of it, which he did not think probable, or he should most likely have +seen it from the mountain-top. Any other high ground he came to he +would ascend, so as to get as wide a view as possible. And so he +tramped on towards the declining sun till it sank; then he lay down in +the solitude and darkness, and fatigue gave him sleep. + +When dawn awoke him he was beyond the sound of the firing, or else it +had ceased. And though he knew well enough that this was no good sign, +the silence was less harrowing. He resumed his weary march till the sun +reached its full power. There were some stunted bushes a little out of +his track, and he made for them, hoping to find water. In this he was +disappointed; so taking a sparing pull at his water-bottle, he crawled +under one of them, seeking its shade. There was a slight rustle, and a +snake rose on its tail, and darted at him with its forked tongue, but, +just missing him, glided away. + +Harry then looked more carefully, but there was no other, and he rested. +Another escape! Did he, then, bear a charmed life? After about an +hour, he grew restless. The sand in that part lay in high ridges or +dunes, some of them at least a hundred feet high, and he hoped that on +surmounting the next beyond him he would come in sight of the town, or +at least of some oasis, with water and human habitations, and with each +recurring disappointment he became only the more eager to reach the +sand-hill beyond. But he was becoming very faint, and the wound in his +head throbbed to agony. He was at last so "_beat_" that he was on the +point of letting himself sink down on the sand to struggle no more, when +suddenly there, straight before him, lay the object of his desires! +Surely not a mile off, but say a mile and a half, rose towers, +fortifications, minarets, palm-trees, and, most grateful sight, all this +was reflected in a broad clear sheet of water. + +"El Obeid!" he cried aloud, forgetting everything else in the joy of the +moment. + +He had never heard that it was on a lake, and thus his wildest +expectations were surpassed. + +No need now to torture himself by refraining from his water-bottle. He +seized and drained it, and then falling on his knees he thanked Heaven +for this deliverance. For though, when considered calmly at a distance, +he had recognised the perils which would attend his adventure in +entering the place, which was now the head-quarters of the Mahdi and his +fanatics, they seemed as nothing compared with the immediate prospect of +perishing of want and thirst, alone, in the desert. Rising to his feet +again he hurried onwards, but the place was much farther off than it had +first seemed, for when he had gone on for a full twenty minutes, with +speed inspired by hope, he seemed to be no whit nearer. + +On again, plunging through the loose sand, reeling, staggering. A +little more effort; he must be nearing it, though it did not seem so; +another ten minutes, say, and he would be able to plunge into that +delicious water! And so he fought on, when suddenly all vanished. + +He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Had sudden blindness fallen upon +him? No, he could see the sand-hills as plainly as possible. But the +city, the fortifications, the minarets, the water, which were so +distinct a minute ago, where were they? All turned to sand? That could +not be. He was giddy, and must have altered his course without knowing +it. + +He looked all round him, bewildered. Sand, sand, sand, and nothing +else. Then the truth flashed across his memory: the mirage! Towers and +water were as unreal as the magician's money in the "Arabian Nights' +Entertainments," which turned to paper in the drawer where it was. For +the first time Harry was stricken with utter despair; without water, +without food, alone in the trackless desert, exposed to a fierce sun, he +fell, and lay motionless for awhile. Then up and on blindly, in what +direction he knew not. His tongue swelled; his throat seemed choked and +breathing was difficult. + +Soon he lost consciousness of everything but a sense of distress and +pain; and after awhile even that left him, and he fell senseless. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +ABDUL ACHMET. + +A body of twenty Arab warriors mounted on camels was crossing the +desert, and as they rode in Indian file, and from ten to twenty paces +apart, the string was a long one. Probably they did not belong to a +tribe that had taken part in any of the numerous routs, assaults on +strong places, and massacres, which had supplied so large a portion of +the Mahdi's troops with modern arms of precision, for those of them who +carried guns had those long-barrelled, short-stocked weapons, which are +familiar to us in pictures, and which are so admirable from an artistic, +and so worthless from the Wimbledonian, point of view. But the majority +carried spears instead of guns, and they were all armed with swords and +pistols. + +Whatever the actual number of days and hours which elapse between the +dates of an Arab's birth and death, his life seems a short one reckoned +by sensations and incidents, for he spends so very large a proportion of +it in sitting on the hump of a camel as it toils across a country of +maddening sameness. The distances he has to travel are so vast, and his +means of progression so limited! + +Perhaps that is the reason why, when he does come across an occasion of +excitement, he is so terribly in earnest. He is months and months +without the chance of an emotion, accumulating explosive forces all the +while; and when he at last goes off, he does it like dynamite. + +And yet, perhaps, the child of the desert, if he visited our shores, +might point to a ploughboy plodding up and down, with one foot in the +furrow, from dawn till dusk, and ask if _his_ task were lively. Or, +still more forcibly, he might take us into an office in a dingy city +street where copying clerks sat at their monotonous work, and put it to +us how many minutes in the week we supposed _they_ lived. + +But still, though it might be difficult to deny that he had reason on +his side, there is a certain dreariness about the endless sandy plains +which renders it difficult to imagine it possible for a human being to +spend his days in traversing them without going mad. + +But these present travellers did not seem to mind it. Some of them +solaced themselves with the chibouque, as they sat with the comfort +which can only be acquired after years of practice on the humps of their +camels; the others, though silent and quiescent, did not look bored. + +Presently the one in front was attracted by an object a little out of +his path, and turned to examine it more closely. Then he spoke to his +hygeen, which knelt down, whereupon he dismounted, and went up to the +figure of a man lying on the sand. There had been a great deal of +fighting and carnage, beyond the ordinary blood-feuds between the +different tribes, going on for some months in the country, and the +bodies of men were as commonly found as those of camels used to be. So +it may seem surprising that the Arab should have taken the trouble to +dismount for such a trifle. + +But this body was dressed, and had weapons--was worth despoiling, in +fact. This particular child of the desert was not more greedy than +others; he was a man in some authority, and rich according to his own +ideas and those of his people. But still, one does not like to see +articles of value unappropriated, and one might as well have them as any +one else. Such sentiments might animate you or me, let alone a +gentleman who had been brought up to regard all human beings who did not +belong to his own particular set much as we look upon beavers, foxes, +hares, grouse, pheasants, as creatures that are provided by Providence +for our sport or profit. + +The body lay on its breast with the arms stretched out; the head a +little turned, so that the right cheek lay on the sand. And when the +Arab bent over it, it did not look, he thought, quite dead. Well, if he +were not, a man with such a good gun as that ought to be when a better +man wants it. But still, it has been shrewdly observed that there is a +deal that is human about human nature. The Arab might not improbably be +in the same position some day, and would he not then require aid +himself? And then the Koran enjoined true believers to succour the +distressed who fell fainting in the desert; and this was an educated +man, who read his Koran; and a religious man, according to his lights, +who obeyed its precepts when he happened to remember them, and +temptation to the contrary was not too strong. If he had known that the +property before him belonged to a pig who did not believe the Prophet, +it might have been different; but he could not tell that, and he turned +Harry Forsyth over to give him a drink of water. + +As he did so he saw the ring on his finger, and his humane intention +vacillated. He had a fancy for a ring like that. Never mind; he would +compromise matters, he thought--take the ring, rifle, and cartridges +first, and give him a drink afterwards. But when he took the hand for +the purpose of drawing the ring off it, and saw the stone close, he +started back with the exclamation, "Allah is great!" and let the hand +drop. + +"He bears the signet!" he said to his followers; "and he lives. We must +not leave him. We must take him on to El Obeid." + +"The Fakir's Oasis is close at hand," said another; "let us bear him +there. The holy man will know best what to do with him, and the shorter +the journey the better for his life." + +"You speak the words of wisdom, Meouf," said the leader; "let us lift +him on to your camel; it has the easiest pace." + +A cynic might imagine that Meouf knew this, and that his claims to being +a good Samaritan were affected by the fact that he would have the +trouble of carrying the helpless man, and his wish to do so for as short +a distance as possible. But we won't be cynics, and we'll give him all +the credit for his forethought which we can. + +The Fakir's Oasis was less than an hour's ride off for a good camel. +Harry, when some water was poured down his throat, showed decided signs +of life, though not regaining consciousness. He was lifted on the +camel, and carried forward, his property being scrupulously respected +with one exception. The leader of the party considered that, as he was +an invalid, and therefore, for the time being, a non-combatant, he could +have no immediate use for a Remington rifle, or the cartridges belonging +to it, and these he therefore made free to borrow for an indefinite +period. It was a small fee for him to pay, after all, for his life. + +The oasis they were taking him to was one not known to European +travellers, and indeed but few native merchants were aware of its +existence, for it was out of the usual caravan routes to El Obeid, from +which place it was not more than two hours' journey distant. It was a +little patch of fertility in the midst of a plain of undulating sand, +and appeared a hundred-fold more luxuriant from the contrast. There was +actual herbage on which some goats were feeding; a small patch was even +under cultivation, and corn grown there. Fine acacias lent a grateful +shade, but not equal to that afforded by a splendid fig-tree which +overhung a deep cool well. + +The oasis received its name from its having long been the residence of a +fakir who was accounted a sort of prophet, and commanded great +reverence. His successor, Abdul Achmet, who now lived there, was also +in high esteem among the followers of the Mahdi, to whose cause he had +given his adherence. + +There were three houses, all inhabited by priests or dervishes, of whom +Abdul was the chief, and a small mosque, all built of sun-dried bricks, +which, retaining the look of clay, are habitually termed by European +travellers _mud_. But this gives rather a false impression, as a mud +hut properly consists of wattles with mud plastered all over them, which +is a different thing from one regularly built, though the bricks are +sun-dried instead of being baked in a kiln. What is the use of having a +tropical sun if you do not make it do some fire-work for you beyond +nearly roasting you to death? + +Abdul Achmet received the party, several of whom he knew, under the +shade of his fig-tree. Harry Forsyth was carefully handed down from the +camel and laid before the dervish, and the signet-ring was shown to him. +Whereupon he said that it was quite right to bring him on to him, and +that he would take care of him; and he had him carried into his house +and attended to. + +The travellers watered themselves and their camels, and were then +treated to dates, pipes, and coffee. They rested thus in the oasis, and +benefited, it is to be hoped, by the companionship of their clerical +entertainers, till the hottest part of the day was passed, and then, +once more mounting their camels, went on their way to El Obeid--an easy +march for the evening. + +Days passed before Harry Forsyth was conscious of anything; then for +weeks he had no sense of life but pain and weariness, with intervals of +blissful rest. He had no doctor but the first lady who ever practised-- +Dame Nature, who sometimes, strange to say, pulls her patients through +almost as well as if she had a diploma. But he was well nursed, and +there is a great deal in that. + +At length there came a time when he knew that people moved about and +talked, and that he took food and was very weak; but he did not know +where he was, nor cared. He had visions, and half knew they were +visions; sometimes these were rather pleasant but more often very much +the other way. What was the matter with him? As no medical man +diagnosed his case, it is impossible to say, though that he was for some +time in a high state of fever we may safely assume. He had gone through +a good deal, and had had a cut through the scalp of his head right down +to the skull. At last he woke one day after a long sleep and recognised +his nurse, whom he took to be a demon--a very nice, amiable one, with +gleaming white teeth, who grinned from ear to ear with pleasure to see +him better. + +At last it dawned upon him that it was absurd to suppose an evil spirit +would sit there fanning the flies away, or would put cooling drinks to +his lips; and he jumped abruptly to the opposite conclusion, that there +were such things as black angels, and this was one of them. Though +perhaps nearer the mark, he was not quite right yet, for his kind and +careful nurse was but a negress--a slave from the interior. Black, +white, or brown, women are always more patient and tender when anything +is really the matter than men, bless them! + +It was rather a shame to have called her Fatima, because that leads one +to expect rather prettier lips and a fairer complexion; not that this +incongruity ever struck Harry, even when he came to know it, which was +not for some time yet. For by that time he had come to associate his +nurse's homely features with all that was pleasant and solacing. + +He did not know where he was, nor had he any clear perception of past +events. He had been very uncomfortable, and there was a dim impression +upon his mind of past misfortunes, but he had no care or curiosity with +regard to past or future; he was at ease for the present, and that was +all that he felt signified. + +One day when he opened his eyes after a doze, expecting to see Fatima, +he found in her usual place a tall man, with a long white beard, and +shaggy white eyebrows, which contrasted curiously with his dark skin, +giving him something of an unearthly appearance. + +"Oh, long-expected one," he said, when he saw that Harry noticed him, +"to whom Allah hath at length restored some degree of understanding, +know that you are welcome and among friends. This writing found upon +you tells me that you are he of whom the Sheikh Burrachee has often +spoken, the Feringhee destined to bring his benighted and hitherto +accursed race to the acceptance of the true faith. The sheikh is beyond +Om Delgal, far away up the Bahr el Abiad, amongst the heathen whom the +All-bountiful One has given to the True Believer for bondsmen. But he +will return when the Mahdi--his name be revered--shall need his +services. Then shall you join him with renewed health and strength. In +the meantime, I, a humble servant of Allah and his Prophet, and one +whose eyes have been opened to the divine mission of the Mahdi, which +the Turks--may their tongues swell--are slow to receive, even I will +expound to you the mysteries of the only True Faith, and from this day +forth consider my house, and what poor goods I may possess, as your +own." + +Harry Forsyth quite followed this speech, and knew that the Sheikh +Burrachee alluded to was a relative whom he had seen at some time, and +was to rejoin. For anything recalled to him by words he remembered at +the time, though it passed from his brain the moment afterwards, neither +pleasing him nor distressing him. His mind was like a lake, and ideas +suggested in any way resembled clouds passing rapidly above it, +reflected for a minute on the surface, and then gone. It was rather a +curious thing that what Arabic he had picked up had not passed from him; +on the contrary, it sounded more familiar to him than it had done +before. Probably that was because of his surroundings at the time of +recovering consciousness, and of Arabic being the first sound which fell +on his ears. + +He replied coherently enough to his fakir host, though his voice was +very feeble. He thanked him for his present hospitality, and for the +care he had taken of him during his illness, and he expressed the +pleasure it would give him to see the Sheikh Burrachee when he came back +from the Equator. + +And then Fatima brought him food, which he turned to like a baby to its +bottle. + +From that day Abdul Achmet paid him constant and long visits, reading +long passages from the Koran, and expounding to him that, as Mahomet had +been sent to convert idolaters, and had accomplished his task, so now +the Mahdi had been appointed to teach the truth to Europeans and other +civilised races. The means to be employed were the same in both cases, +and were simple, consisting merely of the extermination of all who would +not be convinced. + +"The great and indeed only object is the overthrow of infidelity," he +explained; "and if all infidels are killed there will no longer be such +a thing." + +"QED," replied Harry Forsyth, in a tone of assent which pleased the +fakir mightily. + +"QED" was not intelligible to him, but it sounded very well indeed, he +thought. + +Sometimes Harry listened to these long tirades, and sometimes he did +not, the latter reception of them being very much more frequent than the +former. But he looked politely attentive, and that was sufficient. He +was the best listener when Abdul Achmet entered into personal details +concerning his heroes, in which he occasionally indulged; as when he +told how the Mahdi was brought up as a carpenter at Dongola; how he +first came to know of his mission; of the holy men who had taken up his +cause; and of his residence and education amongst them. And then he +described his miraculous success, and what a boon even in the present +life the spread of his authority would be. In proof of which he +recounted the extortions and cruelties of the Turks, and how the +taxation of the Soudanese was so excessive as to ruin the country +itself, while the bribes exacted by the officials who were appointed to +rule the country made it impossible to obtain justice. He also waxed +very indignant over the unnatural folly and wickedness of those Powers +who sought to interfere with the slave trade, which he looked upon as a +perquisite provided by Providence for the Arab race. Indeed the fakir +showed himself to be a man of some thought and shrewdness, and some +people to hear him speak might have fancied that secular interests, such +as improving their condition in life by throwing off a burdensome yoke, +and maintaining the considerable profits which they derived from +imposing such yokes on other people, who happened to be black and to +have thick lips, and woolly hair, had something to do with the aptitude +shown by the Soudanese to accept the new religion. But Abdul Achmet was +an honest fanatic, and neither intended to insinuate this nor thought +it. + +On the whole, Harry much preferred to hear his black nurse Fatima talk. +She told him about her childhood, when she remembered playing about +among trees and in long grass with other little darkies; and their +fright when they heard the lions roar; and how once, when she had +wandered away alone, she saw two fiery eyes glaring at her from a bush, +and ran home, expecting to be pounced upon and eaten all the way. And +she described her parents' hut, with a low entrance, into which the +family had to crawl on their hands and knees. Then, while she was still +quite little, her tribe declared war against another tribe, and all the +young men went out to battle, and were defeated, and fled back to their +village to make a last stand in defence of their wives and children. +And she described a night attack, and the horrors of a massacre, the +burning of the huts, and the carrying off of the younger women, the +youths, and children; how they were sold to Arab merchants, and +underwent a fearful desert march; and how she cried for her mother at +first, but was bought by a man who treated her kindly, and was happy, +and forgot her native language and habits. All this she told in a +simple, artless way, and when she found that it amused her invalid she +repeated it again and again. But his interest did not flag for the +repetition. He was like a little child who has a favourite story, and +cries, "Again!" when told it, preferring it to risking a new one, which +might not prove so good. + +And time flew by, and Harry Forsyth remained in this state of semi- +imbecility, free from anxiety about his mother and sister at home, +forgetful of all but his animal comforts and the superficial interest he +felt in such prattle as this. His bodily health improved before his +mental activity; perhaps it was owing to the freedom from worry +consequent upon this lethargic state of mind that he was able to pick up +some strength. + +But he became able to move about and help himself, and wander out to the +fig-tree over the well, which the delighted Fatima thought extremely +clever of him. + +One day, as he sat in his favourite spot, thinking of nothing in +particular, a body of horsemen rode up to the oasis, and the leader of +it dismounting came up to him, and held out his hand English fashion, +though he spoke in Arabic. + +"Harry," he said, using the English accent for the name, however, "you +remember me?" + +Harry looked at him in a troubled way, and pressed his hand on his +forehead. + +"I told you that you would come to me, for the inward voice, which never +errs, declared it to me," he went on. "Struggle as you might, you could +not avert your destiny. Our family is called to do a great work. I +have commenced it, and it will be yours to complete it. I am growing +old, but I can still strike a blow for the cause. May Allah grant me to +die when my right arm is powerless: to die on the field of battle, in +the moment of victory, with my face to the foe! Yes, you are clearly +destined to lead the hosts of Islam. Have you not come out to me alone, +leaving home and friends? Have you not traversed the desert without +guide, still alone; and though struck down by an unknown hand, have we +not met? Have you not miraculously learned the language of the country +to which destiny called you? Were you not brought when found, to all +appearance dead, to the fakir, Abdul Achmet, the one man of all others I +would have directed you to? And the blind fools of Europe would call +this chance, as they do everything which they cannot attribute to their +own forethought or cunning." + +"Yes, I know you," said Harry, at length; "you are my uncle Ralph, the +Sheikh Burrachee. But I think I have been ill, and everything is like a +dream to me. Were there not a signet-ring, and a paper in a silver +case, and jewels of value which you gave me?" + +At that instant Abdul Achmet came out of the mosque, and the Sheikh +Burrachee advanced to meet him, leaving Harry more bewildered and +disturbed in mind than he had been since he was brought to the oasis; +and that night he had a relapse of fever. It did not prove serious, +however, and when it passed away his mind was clearer than before, +though he still seemed like one in a dream, and the past events of his +life appeared to him as having happened to some one else. + +On the morning after his arrival the Sheikh Burrachee left, but some +weeks afterwards he returned with an escort and an easy-paced hygeen to +take Harry away with him. He took the announcement of the journey with +the placid indifference which now characterised him, only at the moment +of starting he showed reluctance to part from his black nurse, Fatima. +But whether the sheikh bought her, or only borrowed her, it was arranged +that she should go too, and Harry was perfectly reconciled. The +hygeen's motions were wonderfully smooth for a camel, and the journey +was made easy to him; but still it was trying in his weak state and +after so long a confinement. + +But it did not last long, and then they reached a town of flat-roofed +houses, and entered a spacious courtyard with a portico round it, +through which were the living-rooms. There were soldiers here and there +under this portico, some of them wearing the turban, but the majority +having a skull-cap of blue and white on their heads, and a sentry over +the gate had one of them too. Those who wore the bernouse, and most of +them did, had similar blue and white patches sewn on different parts of +it. These were the Mahdi's colours; I don't know why, for he was never +a Third Trinity man, and had no right to their blazer. Like his +impudence! It is true that the colours were generally in dice, not +regularly striped. Some of the soldiers did not show the colours, but +that was because they had nothing to put them on unless they painted +their bodies. Passing through a large room with a divan round it, and +pushing aside a curtain at the farther end, you came upon another and +smaller court, which was a garden with a fountain in the middle, well +filled with date and other palms. There was a portico round this too, +and this was destined to be the place where Harry Forsyth was to pass +the greater part of his life for some time, for it was the dwelling or +private part of his uncle's establishment. + +Crazy renegade as he was, the Sheikh Burrachee had some old ideas of +comfort which the wild life he had led had not dissipated, and being a +rich man for the country where he was and the people he had adopted, he +could indulge any little fancies he had; and he had made his house both +handsome and comfortable. + +According to the simple ideas of the natives, indeed, he was possessed +of enormous wealth, and this reputation went some way towards the +superstitious regard in which he was held. This was the place which +Harry now entered, and reposing on a divan, low, with soft cushions on +it, and close to the portico, he looked upon the green leaves and +listened to the trickle of the fountain, while Fatima brought him a +glass of delicious lemonade, squeezed from the fresh-plucked fruit; and +the fatigues of the journey were forgotten, and he fell into a long and +refreshing sleep. His curiosity, however, had not been one whit +aroused; he took everything as a matter of course. Perhaps he was a +character in the "Arabian Nights," and not Harry Forsyth at all--who +could tell?--all seemed so strange and unreal. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. + +Gradually Harry Forsyth came back to real life, as it were. First of +all he had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong, but he wanted a +word or an event to strike the key-note of his memory. His uncle never +spoke of home matters; he was kind, and even affectionate, but was much +away. He would come out into the large courtyard in the early morning, +mount the horse which was held ready for him with an activity worthy of +a much younger man, and scour off at a gallop with a troop of his wild +retainers racing behind him. He might come back that evening, or not +for a week. + +And when he was at home he was very busy, seeing different people, who +came and went in a great hurry, and writing despatches, which mounted +orderlies, or what answered for such, were always in waiting to carry. +And when they were together he talked of the wild life of the desert; of +the sport to be had further up in the Black Country, but never of +England. + +He spoke Arabic always, even when they were alone, and never lapsed into +his native tongue. Yet his face and the tone of his voice disturbed +Harry, causing him to make an effort to get his mind clear. + +At length, one morning he awoke with a distinct remembrance of his +mother and sister, and the knowledge that he was far away from them in a +foreign land, and had not had any communication with them for a long +time. And he felt a strong desire to relieve their anxiety, and let +them know he was alive, and also to have news of them. But he could not +remember what he had come to this part of the world for. + +He knew that he had wanted to trace his uncle; but why? He had come out +to Egypt in the service of a firm of merchants, and the name of the head +of it was Williams; he was confident so far. But had he not returned +home since then? And why had he sought out his uncle? Surely not on +business connected with the firm, and certainly not because he had +turned Mohammedan and wanted to live like an ostrich. + +A little longer, and his connection with Hicks Pasha's force, and the +disastrous termination of that expedition, came clearly back to him; and +with it the necessity of keeping silent about the matter, for he now +wanted to get away to a civilised place like Cairo, at all events, if +not to England. For though he did not know that the British Government +had taken up the Egyptian quarrel, and that war had actually been waged +between them and the Soudanese in the neighbourhood of the Red Sea, he +knew that an officer of the late expedition would be looked upon with +suspicion, if not treated as an open enemy. + +Neither was he sure how his uncle would bear the disappointment if he +found out that he had been in the ranks of his enemies--the Egyptians. +Though he need not have worried himself about that, for the Sheikh +Burrachee would only have thought it the method which Destiny had taken +to bring him to him. + +As Forsyth's mind grew sounder his body kept pace with it, and he was +able at last to mount a horse and take short rides; and it amused him to +saunter about the bazaar occasionally, though it was not a very +extensive or grand one; indeed, the poet who wrote "Man wants but little +here below," would have been pleased to see how completely an Arab, as a +rule, verifies his theory. + +One day he, (Harry, not the poet) was puzzled by some round balls of a +frothy appearance, which he could not make out; could it possibly be +soap? What sale could there be for such an article? The shopman might +just as well have offered straps and stay-laces to the population around +him. But it did not smell like soap, either; indeed, the odour was +extremely unpleasant. + +"That is not an object worthy of your attention," said the owner of the +shop, who sat on a cushion in the midst of his goods. "I have a +preparation for the hair which is infallible for restoring it if it +falls off from age or sickness, for example, and which is as agreeable +to the nose as beneficial to the scalp. Those balls of mutton fat are +only fit for the poor who can afford no better." + +"Oh, it is for the hair, then," observed Harry; "and what makes it look +all frothy like that?" + +"It is prepared by chewing, and women are employed for the purpose; they +cheat me sometimes, and swallow a portion. But deign to come up, oh +illustrious one, and partake of a cup of coffee or a glass of sherbet +and a chibouque, and allow me the unparalleled and illustrious honour of +showing you my poor goods." + +Harry consented, not that he wanted to purchase anything, but because +something about the man's face struck him as familiar, and he was +anxious to remember where and under what circumstances he had seen him +before. + +"I have here a French pistol, a revolver with six chambers, which I can +offer your Excellency almost for nothing, with ammunition to match. It +is a weapon which will save your life a hundred times by its accuracy +and the rapidity of its fire; and what says the wise man? `Life is +sweet, even to the bravest.'" And all the time he was talking, Harry +Forsyth kept thinking, "Where have I seen him? What circumstance does +his face recall?" + +As he left the shop his eye fell on a bale of goods yet unopened, and on +it he read the name *Daireh*! + +It acted like a match on a gas-jet. He had come out to seek the will, +and Daireh was the man who had abstracted it! + +And as he walked home, he remembered everything which had been a puzzle +to him. Being still weak, he now grew as much excited as before he had +been apathetic, and had his uncle been at home he would have gone to him +with the whole story at once. But the sheikh was away, superintending +the drill of certain European ruffians in the Mahdi's service who were +to man some Krupp guns taken from the Egyptians, and Harry had a forced +respite in which to collect his ideas and frame them in the manner best +calculated to gain his uncle's attention and assistance. + +And now his anxiety about those at home who had no doubt long mourned +him as dead grew more poignant, and remembering his uncle's affection +for his sister, he regretted not having confided in him and begged him +to get a letter conveyed to some point sufficiently civilised to have a +post. He tried to find out from Fatima how long he had been laid up at +the fakir's residence, and at first she was puzzled. But at last she +gave him a clue. + +"The Nile had risen and gone back," she said, "when you were brought to +us as dead. It rose again, and fell again, and now it will soon rise +once more." + +Two years! Was it possible? Nearly two years! And he wondered whether +his people had gone into mourning for him, or if they still hoped on. +He next made inquiries about Daireh, setting Fatima to gossip for him +and tell him the result. He seemed to bear a shockingly bad character, +and to be very unpopular. The fact was that he was a money-lender, and +his extortions caused him to be hated. + +Harry was glad of this, since it promised to make his task easier. + +The Sheikh Burrachee returned, and was rejoiced to find his nephew so +much improved in health. + +Harry took the first opportunity of opening his budget. + +"Do you mind my speaking to you in English?" he said. "I have got to +say things which I should find it difficult to explain in a foreign +language, which I have very imperfectly picked up, and which may not +have idioms answering to the English." + +"I do not love the English tongue," said the sheikh, using it, however. +"But what things do you allude to?" + +"Family matters, affecting my mother and all of us--you, perhaps." + +"When I last went to England," said the sheikh, "I took a final farewell +of all relatives, and of everything belonging to the country from which +I shook off the dust on my feet, you only excepted, for I saw that you, +too, were called out of the seething hotbed of corruption, which is +called civilisation, to the natural life of man. Why disturb the ashes +of the buried past?" + +"I love my mother," replied Harry; "and you, her brother, once loved her +too." + +His uncle bowed his head. "True," he said; "speak on." + +"And besides," added Harry, "justice is justice all the world over, and +crime should not prosper. Richard Burke, your brother, died at his home +in Ireland. He had made two wills, one leaving the bulk of his fortune +to his step-son, Stephen Philipson, and another, and later one, made on +the occasion of Philipson turning out badly, leaving him a modest +allowance, and bequeathing the bulk of his fortune between his sister +and Reginald Kavanagh. This will, which would make my mother and +Beatrice comfortable, as they have been brought up to esteem comfort, +was not to be found; neither was the other. A dishonest clerk, forced +to fly the country because a forgery he had committed must soon be +discovered, stole them both out of the lawyer's office where he was +employed, for the purpose of levying a sum for giving them to one or the +other of the parties interested. But the police were too close on his +traces, and he had to fly without a chance of making use of either +document. He was an Egyptian, and went home; but not feeling safe at +Alexandria or Cairo, and having connections in the Soudan, he came to +this country. If both wills are destroyed, part of the property comes +to you." + +"And the cause has need of funds!" exclaimed the sheikh. "But how shall +we find this dog?" + +"I saw him the other day in the bazaar; his name is Daireh." + +"Daireh, the money-lender, against whom I have had so many complaints, +but who always manages to have the law on his side?" + +"The very same." + +The Sheikh Burrachee clapped his hands; an attendant came. "Bring +hither Daireh, the Egyptian usurer," said the sheikh; "and keep him +guarded in the outer court." + +The Arab inclined his head and departed without a word. + +It may seem to you that Harry Forsyth had recovered his wits very +rapidly, and this, indeed, was the case. Up to a certain point his +progress had been very slow, but that once passed he had come to himself +almost at a bound. But as for his clear statement to his uncle, that he +had prepared beforehand with great care, writing it out and learning it +by heart, feeling that it was necessary to be as concise as possible. + +A thoughtful expression came over the Sheikh Burrachee's face, quite +different from the wild faraway look which now ordinarily characterised +it. + +"And so Richard is dead," he murmured to himself; "and Mary has known +poverty in a land where there is no kindness for the poor; where all is +hard and cold, and people can no longer love or even hate. And this +fellow has robbed her. By my beard he shall smart for it!" + +When the sheikh swore by his beard the matter was serious, and if Daireh +had heard him he would not have walked along between the guards who +arrested him with so impudent an air. He had so often been had up, and +had got the best of his accusers, that he felt quite safe. For he knew +well the customs which had the force of laws in the country, and took +care not to violate them, though straining every point to his advantage. +And the Sheikh Burrachee was just, and however much he might sympathise +with the complainant, would not allow his judgment to be affected by his +feelings. + +It was indeed a rough-and-ready justice, not always consistent, and such +as would not meet entire approval from any civilised persons; he went on +the principle that when he could not do what he would, he did what he +could, to set things straight according to his judgment and the evidence +before him, adopting the habits of the people with whom he had +identified himself, who had not the horror of physical pain--for +others--or the employment of it to elicit truth, which we have. + +He rose from the divan by the garden where he had been sitting with +Harry, and, beckoning to the latter to follow him, proceeded to the +outer and larger hall, where he took his seat, with his nephew at his +side. And hardly had he done so when Daireh was brought in. He +salaamed with a confident air, which expressed, "Who will find me +tripping? It would take a clever fellow to do that. They are willing +enough to agree to my terms when they want to borrow, but when I claim +my own, there is all this bother and outcry, and I am dragged before the +sheikh forsooth!" + +But he looked more serious when the Sheikh Burrachee said to him-- + +"Daireh, where are the two wills you stole from Burrows and Fagan, the +Dublin lawyers, when you ran away from their employ?" + +Surely such an incongruous question was never put in an Arab town in the +heart of Africa by a sheikh dressed in bernouse and turban, with a +jewel-hilted yataghan at his side, sitting cross-legged on a cushion. +No wonder Daireh was flabbergasted; such a thunderbolt out of a clear +sky has seldom fallen upon any man. + +"Your Mightiness is mistaken," he stammered. "I have lived, earning an +honest livelihood as a poor merchant, at Khartoum and Berber, Alexandria +and Cairo. But what is Dublin? I know it not." + +"Is that your photograph?" asked Harry Forsyth, suddenly, in English. + +"No!" replied Daireh, startled into answering in the same language; and +the moment he did so he could have bitten his tongue out for vexation. + +The sheikh took the likeness in his hand; it was unmistakable. + +"Here is your portrait, and it was taken in Dublin, for it bears that +name upon it. Also you know English," he said. + +"I learned that language at Alexandria," replied Daireh, more firmly now +he had collected his wits; "and I had a brother very like me who went +beyond the seas, and may have lived in the place you speak of, for I +never heard of him again." + +"You speak the words of Sheytan, the father of lies," said the sheikh +sternly; "where are the stolen documents?" + +"I never heard of them, your Justice; and I know not what you mean," +replied Daireh, striving, but with indifferent success, not to tremble. + +"Hassan!" called the sheikh, and a tall, stalwart black stepped forward, +with a courbash in his hand. "Twenty lashes to refresh his memory." + +"Mercy, great sheikh; oh, favourite of Allah, have mercy, and listen to +me!" cried the wretch; but without heeding his cries four men seized him +and flung him on the ground face downwards. Two held his legs, one his +arms, and a third put a knee on his back between the shoulder-blades to +keep him in position. It was all done in a twinkling. + +Then Hassan stepped up, courbash in hand, and measured his distance. +The courbash is a fearful whip made of hippopotamus' hide, a stroke from +which is felt by a bullock as painfully as a cut from an ordinary whip +is by a horse. + +It whistled through the air, and came down upon the naked flesh of the +victim, who screamed with the pain as if he would break a blood-vessel. +The wild men in the hall gathered round, their eyes sparkling and their +teeth gleaming with enjoyment and laughter. It was good fun to them to +see any one flogged, but a money-lender and extortioner, that the +punishment should fall upon such an one, was indeed a treat! And Daireh +too was particularly disliked. Then the currish way in which he took +his licking added to the sport. The little civilisation they had was +very superficial, and did not go nearly deep enough to repress the +instinct of cruelty. + +Another and another lash, and the fellow's howls, yells, and cries for +pity were hardly human, but seemed rather those of some powerful spirit +in pain. Harry felt quite faint and sick, and looked down so as not to +see what was going on. But he could not close his ears, unfortunately, +and he counted the strokes, longing for them to be over. He feared +being mastered by his feelings, and pleading for the wretch, so +displaying a compassion which would be considered by the Arabs as a most +despicable weakness, and it was part of his plan now to gain their +respect, and appear to enter into his uncle's plans. + +No, it served the rascal right; let him have that, and more too. Only +he had rather not be present. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. The screams +subsided into a whimpering and wailing, and when Harry looked up he saw +Daireh on his feet again, his eyes bloodshot, and his features convulsed +with pain and terror. + +"Where are the wills you stole?" asked the Sheikh Burrachee, +unconcernedly, as if nothing had occurred since he last put the +question. + +"They are at my house, your Mightiness; send some one with me, and I +will give them up." + +"I rejoice that your memory has returned; it is one of the choicest +gifts of Allah," said the sheikh. "Go with him and get the papers, and +bring them back with the prisoner." + +"A bad speculation from the first!" reflected Daireh, as he was escorted +through the streets, his woe-begone appearance and gingerly gait +exciting much mirth and mockery amongst the juvenile population. "I +wish I had left the accursed wills alone. And what son of Sheytan is +this who has traced them, and had my likeness in his pocket? A +detective? No; no English policeman would win upon this mad fool of a +sheikh--may the vultures tear his heart out while he is still alive--to +treat him like a son. He must be one of the parties interested in the +last will. What wretched luck that I did not meet him in a fair way, +and make a proper agreement with him! But it is too late for that now. +If I could only be revenged upon him, upon all of them--sheikh, +torturer, mocking demons, and all! Ugh, how sore I am! If it were but +all over! But I fear they may torment me further. I had almost sooner +they took my head off at once rather than put me to more of that agony. +But no; I hope they won't do that either. There is a remedy for every +evil but death." With these reflections, fears, and impotent rages +tormenting him, Daireh reached his house, and from a box, which +contained what he had of most value, produced the required documents +which had cost Harry Forsyth so much anxiety, toil, and suffering to +come at. He was strongly tempted to destroy them, and so glean some +little vengeance; but the certainty of perishing in fearful pain if he +did so deterred him, and when he was brought back, he delivered them to +the sheikh, wrapped in the oilskin in which he had carried them about +him until he had a fixed residence where he could deposit them in +tolerable security. + +"Are these the right wills?" asked the Sheikh Burrachee, handing them to +Harry. + +"I think so," replied the latter, as he looked them over and examined +the signatures; "indeed, I feel certain that they are." + +"Then," said the sheikh, "since after all it was but infidels, and not +true believers, that this rascal robbed, the justice of the case will +perhaps be met by fifty lashes of the courbash, those he has already +received being allowed to count. Dog!" he added, indignantly, as +Daireh, flinging himself on the ground, wallowed, gasping and crying for +mercy, "tempt me not, if you are wise, to treat you according to your +deserts, but know that you are treated with extreme leniency." + +And so saying he rose and withdrew to the inner garden court, whither +his nephew gladly followed him, and here they refreshed themselves with +pipes and coffee. + +But the screams of the miserable felon told with what energy Hassan was +performing his duty, and Harry thought the punishment would never be +over. If it seemed long to him, you may be certain Daireh thought it an +age, and indeed he believed that mortal endurance had reached the acme +of suffering, and that one more stroke must drive the soul from the +body, some time before the last had cut into his palpitating flesh. + +But it takes a good deal to kill, and when all was over he was alive, +though unable to stand, and when spurned from the courtyard into the +street, managed to crawl and drag himself home, where he obtained the +draught of water, the want of which had been his chief torment since the +stripes ended. + +"And now we have recovered the will, uncle, how are we to send it to my +mother?" asked Harry when the distracting cries extracted by the +courbash had ceased. "The old one I will destroy, as should have been +done before. The money will add to her comfort, but news that I am +alive and with you will make her happier still." + +This last was a skilful touch, and, I fear, Harry was becoming a bit of +a cheat. For, though tidings of her son's own safety would undoubtedly +be the best news Mrs Forsyth could receive, the fact that he was +domiciled with her crazy brother would as certainly not add to her +satisfaction. + +"Keep it safely for the present," said the sheikh, after smoking some +time in thoughtful deliberation; "we shall find a method of transmitting +it. Great events will occur soon. The authority of the Mahdi being +established in the Soudan, we shall sweep Egypt like the simoom, and +Cairo and Alexandria once in our hands, we shall find no difficulty in +communicating with Europe. Or, perhaps, it may be done more quickly by +Suakim, should the forces of the Mahdi's lieutenant, Osman Digna, +recover from their check," he added, musing and thinking aloud rather +than addressing his nephew. + +Harry longed to ask what check, but it was part of his newly-formed +system not to ask questions or show curiosity, but yield himself +passively to the course of events, and watch his opportunity. For the +same reason he would not propose taking the will home himself, feeling +certain that so obvious a course would be suggested by his uncle himself +if he could feel it was practicable. But it was evident what he was +driving at now; as his nephew picked up health and strength he began +asking him about his connection with the volunteers, and whether he had +paid attention to the theory as well as the practice of shooting. + +And though Harry pretended not to understand, and parried the questions +as well as he could, he saw very well that he wanted him to take an +active part in the training of Soudanese soldiers in the use of the +Remington rifles which had fallen into their hands. + +For never in the history of war had a nation been armed so completely by +its enemies. The Egyptians sent out armies with weapons of precision +and improved artillery, and they fortified towns, where they massed vast +stores of ammunition, suited to both rifles and guns. The soldiers of +the Mahdi rushed upon their feeble foes with sword and spear, totally +annihilated army after army, and collected the rifles. Then they took +the towns and possessed themselves of the cartridges. Napoleon the +Great used to say that war should support war; but this was going a step +further, and making war supply the means of waging war. The only +drawback was this, that the more elaborate the weapons which you put +into a soldier's hands, the more skill he requires to use them +effectively; and this skill can only be acquired by proper training. + +But the Mahdi had never taken the precaution to send any officers to +Hythe, and amongst the miraculous powers which he was said by some of +his followers to possess, that of creating ready-made musketry +instructors was apparently not included. The consequence was that his +men were extremely bad shots, and wasted their ammunition in an almost +incredible manner. What mischief they were enabled to do, especially +with the artillery, was principally owing to the lessons they received +from European scoundrels who had been forced to fly from their own +countries by their crimes, or reckless adventurers who did not care for +cause, nationality, or anything else, so long as they were where +fighting and a chance of plunder was going on--men who would have made +most excellent mediaeval heroes, and would have had a good chance of +living in song and story had they not been born a few centuries too +late. + +Amongst all these the Sheikh Burrachee was an exception. He was a +genuine crack-brained enthusiast, sane and even shrewd enough in many +things, but quite crazy upon certain points. Convinced, to begin with, +that it was the duty of every Irishman to hate the English, he had +imaginary private wrongs of his own to avenge. On the top of all that, +he had become a thorough Mohammedan in his sympathetic feelings and +habits, and quite sincere in his adoption of the cause of the Mahdi. +The appearance of England in the field, which would have caused many to +hesitate, was a spur to his enthusiasm, since it offered him an +opportunity of having it out with the foes of his predilection. + +Harry Forsyth had no idea whatever that England had engaged in +hostilities in the Soudan. When he last had any information, she was +firmly determined to do nothing of the kind, but to let the Egyptian +Government get out of the difficulty in the best way they could. +Indeed, it was the last thing he would have guessed. But still he knew +well enough that English interests were firmly bound up in Egyptian, +since any disturbance of the Government at Cairo might endanger the +route to India, and therefore that to assist in any way the enemies of +Egypt was to act indirectly against his own country; and he was +determined to be of no use, even if he made believe to espouse the cause +which his uncle had made his own. And this he suspected more and more +he would have to do, if he was to get an opportunity of leaving the +country. + +His uncle had hinted at an impending advance upon Egypt; if he could +join that, and once reach the Nile, surely he would find some +opportunity of slipping down the river, and joining the Egyptian troops, +who would receive a relic of Hicks Pasha's army with open arms. Then he +would get to Cairo, and find friends to assist him to reach England with +the will in his pocket. + +He did not fear that the Arabs would be able to penetrate far into Egypt +proper, for there were probably some English troops still at Cairo, and +more would be sent there on the first intimation of danger. The will, +by-the-by, had now taken the place which the parchment given to him by +his uncle had formerly held, and he seldom laid it aside, not knowing +what might happen from day to day. + +His health, meantime, became re-established, and he grew rapidly +stronger, while his mind was perfectly clear now. At times, indeed, he +had violent neuralgic headaches, but these recurred less and less +frequently, and he had every prospect of soon losing all ill effects of +that wound in his head. + +But the stronger and better he became, the more restless he grew. The +only amusement he had to pass the time in was riding. He had always +been very fond of horses, and now he had a good choice, and as the two +he had fancied most had not been often backed, they took some riding; +and that was exercise and amusement both. But the bits and the saddles +were not to his fancy: the former too severe; the latter heavy, with +high peaks before and behind. But one cannot have everything, and he +was grateful to be able once more to sit a horse and enjoy a gallop at +all. And to watch the wild cavalry at their exercises on a broad plain +outside the town was a pretty sight, though it seemed to him that their +performances were too much of the circus order. + +"Can the English dragoons or hussars do anything like that?" the Sheikh +Burrachee asked him one day, when they were together watching a body of +horsemen who were supposed to be skirmishing. + +They pulled up their horses to a dead halt from a gallop with their +cruel bits; went, not over the head, as it seemed they must, but under +the body of the animal; fired a shot from that position, and remounted +anyhow--one by the neck, another over the tail; a third ran alongside +his horse for some way, using him as cover, and then vaulted on his back +without checking the pace. + +Harry was bound to confess that, to the best of his belief, no British +regiment, light or heavy, could rival such equestrian gymnastics. + +"No," said the sheikh; "they learn to stick on while the horse keeps his +footing, but these cannot be thrown; for should the horse fall, even, he +jumps at once to the ground." + +"But surely he must reach it head or shoulder first sometimes," objected +Harry. + +"No," replied his uncle; "he turns a somersault and alights on his feet. +The European is as far behind the Asiatic in horsemanship as in +everything else which is manly and not demoniac. The use of the sword, +for example. The dragoon has a straight weapon, with which he is taught +to cut or thrust. If he does the former, and the blow is not parried, +he may knock his opponent down, but he seldom inflicts a dangerous +wound. If he gives point, he may kill his man indeed, but his weapon +will often become so entangled that he is for some time unable to free +it, and he remains defenceless against another attack. But with his +curved blade of temper, which will not shiver and which takes a razor's +edge, the warrior of the East neither strikes nor gives point, but +presents the half-moon-shaped sword at his opponent, holding it still if +galloping, pushing it forward if motionless, and will so slice off limb +or head, or cut deep into the body, without useless expenditure of +strength, or the chance of losing even the momentary control of his +weapon. I have seen an Arab meet an enemy in full career, and slice his +head clean off in this way, with hardly a perceptible movement of the +arm." + +Having no knowledge on this subject, Harry assented without any mental +reserve; but concerning the military utility of acrobatic equestrian +performances, or of their being available at all in the hunting field, +he entertained the very gravest doubt. But they were good fun to watch, +for all that, and one, that of vaulting into the saddle while the horse +was in motion, he practised, and to a certain extent caught the knack. +He also went in for throwing the spear, which the natives could do for +ten yards or so with great force and accuracy; and though he did not +make very good practice, it proved an excellent exercise for his muscles +after his long confinement. + +The Sheikh Burrachee was delighted to see how his nephew took to these +martial exercises, and at last he put the question to him point-blank, +whether he would not assist in teaching some of the men the use of the +Remington rifles they had captured. + +Harry, having thought over the best course to pursue in such a +contingency, consented with apparent alacrity, but said that he hoped +his shortcomings would be excused. His uncle, not knowing how much that +hope covered, replied that he must not take the Kor Dofan for Wimbledon, +and the most elementary instruction would be esteemed extremely +scientific. + +So the very next day Harry found himself with a squad of five hundred +men to instruct. + +"Delightful task, to rear the tender root--to teach five hundred Arabs +how to shoot!" he said to himself, when the lot were handed over to him. +There was one consolation: do what he would, his instructions to so +large a number, without assistance, could not avail much: but he wanted +to do nothing at all. + +His uncle was not present; he had no one to check him, able to judge +whether his instruction was good or bad. So he stuck some stones up for +butts, at about twelve hundred yards, and set them all firing at them. +He judged that by this he would in the first place accustom them to +firing at a comparatively innocuous distance; and in the second, that +they would waste a good deal of ammunition. + + "His honour rooted in dishonour stood; + And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true," + +in the words of Tennyson's famous conundrum. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +TRINKITAT. + +The _Alligator_ troopship came tearing along the Red Sea, sending the +spray flying from her bows, and churning up the historical water with +her screw, just as if it were ordinary commonplace sea-water, without +any sacred, classical, or poetical associations! The men gathered on +the forecastle and the officers on the poop were alike gazing hard at a +town of brilliant whiteness, which became more distinct every minute. + +"And that is Suakim," said one of the group of officers. "It looks very +clean at a distance. What is it made of, doctor?" + +Doctor MacBean was a middle-aged man who liked the society of young ones +because he had one little weakness: he was very fond of holding forth, +and young men were more inclined to listen patiently to him than older +ones. He was a naturalist, a sportsman, and had been a great traveller. +There are men who go through Greece, as they would through Surrey, +gleaning nothing; but the doctor was not one of them. If he were only a +day in a place he learned all about it, and what he learned he +remembered. So that to be in his company was to have an encyclopaedia +conveniently at hand, from which you could learn what you wanted to know +without the trouble of turning over the leaves. For the rest, such a +_boy_ past forty there never was--ready for anything for sport or fun, +even to a spice of practical joking; and with all this a grave Scottish +face which imposed upon those who had not found him out. But in matters +of information he was trustworthy, his passion for fact overcoming his +love of mystification. + +"Suakim is built of madrepore," he replied to the above question; "very +curious. Houses and mosques all of the same materials as these reefs we +are now coming to." + +"Madrepore--why, that is a sort of coral--isn't it?" + +"Yes, it is coral." + +"That's queer though. My shirt-studs are made of coral; fancy a town +built of shirt-studs!" + +"Shirt-studs are quite a secondary use of the article; the principal +being to help babies cut their teeth. Have you got your coral still, +Green?" + +Green was a very young subaltern, who had not been to a public school, +and was somewhat easily imposed upon. + +"No," he said; "at least not here. It is somewhere at home, I believe." + +"That is right; you will want it when you come to cut your wisdom teeth. +You know, I suppose, that you cannot get your company until you have +done that?" + +"I knew I had to pass an examination," said Green, not convinced that +this information was quite _bona fide_. + +"Of course, but this is in addition to that. When a vacancy occurs, you +send in your certificate of having passed in tactics, and then you are +ordered to go to the Veterinary College, and there they look in your +mouth." + +"But I am not a _horse_!" exclaimed Green. + +"No, but the rule applies to other animals," said his tormentor, +gravely. + +"I know you are chaffing me," said Green, and indeed the roars of +laughter were alone sufficient to show him that. + +"But all the same, it is curious that a town should be built of child's +corals." + +"That is why it has been selected as a good station for infantry," said +a young fellow amidst a chorus of groans. + +"I tell you what it is, Tom," said one of the captains; "I will not have +you in my company if you do that again. The man who would make a bad +pun and a hackneyed pun in such beautiful scenery as this, would--I +don't know what enormity he would _not_ commit. Come late on parade, +very likely." + +"Oh, no!" said Tom Strachan, for the lieutenant was no other then our +old friend, "I hope I know better than to infringe on the privileges of +my superior officers." + +A general grin showed that Strachan had scored there; for Fitzgerald, +his captain, was noted for slipping into his place just in time to avoid +reprimand, and no sooner. But he could not make any reply without +fitting the cap; so he grinned too. + +"Is Suakim an island?" he asked. + +"Not now," replied MacBean. "When I was last here it was, but since +that Gordon has had a causeway made to the mainland. There, you can see +it now," he added, as the vessel steamed through a gap in the outer +coral reef. + +"I wonder whether these passages in the reef were made by cutting the +coral out to build the town," said another. + +"No," replied the doctor. "Their origin is rather curious. Sometimes, +in the wet season, torrents rush down from the mountains to the sea, and +the fresh water kills the polypus which makes the coral, and so stops +the formation of it just there, and makes an opening. This theory is +confirmed by the fact that all such passages through the reefs are +immediately opposite valleys." + +"The town looks like a large fortification; I suppose the dwelling- +houses are behind the walls." + +"No, those are the houses; and what look from here like loopholes are +the windows. The place is worth looking over, though you won't have +much time for that, I expect, nor yet for boating amongst the curious +coral caves, or looking at the queer creatures which serve for fish and +haunt them, until you have chawed up the Hadendowas and got Osman Digna +in a cage." + +"Not then, I hope," said one of the seniors of the group. "I hope they +will send us across to Berber, when Osman's forces are swept from the +path." + +"I doubt if they will," replied the doctor, shaking his head. "It will +be frightfully hot in a couple of months." + +"It is the only way to save Gordon." + +"I fear you are right, but I hope not. But here is a boat coming off to +us." + +It was a man-of-war's boat dashing along with the smart, lively stroke +which can never be mistaken. It was alongside presently, and almost the +moment it touched, the naval officer they had seen in the stern sheets +stood on the quarter-deck; a harlequin could not have done it more +quickly. + +"It is a mistake your coming in here, sir," he said to the commanding +officer; "you are to go to Trinkitat." + +So the chance of closely investigating a coral town, and seeing how +closely or otherwise it resembled a similar sort of colony in an +extravaganza, was lost for the present for the First Battalion of the +Blankshire, who growled. And yet, oh fortunate ones! If they but knew +it, they gained two more comfortable meals, and one comfortable night's +lodging, by having to go on. + +For they did not anchor in Trinkitat harbour till it was too late to +land that night. The delay caused a last rise to be taken out of poor +Green, or rather a final allusion to a long-standing one. When the +battalion got its route for the Soudan, the lad was as keen to see +active service as any one of them, and it was a severe shock to him when +one of the most mischievous of his brother officers pretended to +discover that one of his legs was crooked, which would incapacitate him, +he feared, from marching across the desert. + +"You would knock up in an hour's march, and have to be carried, you +know," said the tormentor; "it would never do." + +"I am sure my legs seem to me all right," urged poor Green. + +"Well, of course, I may be quite in error," candidly admitted the other. +"We will ask a doctor." + +So Doctor MacBean was called in, and he made an examination of the +accused limb. + +"Dear, dear!" he said, "however were you passed for the army? The +_scarsal bone_ of the _fons ilium_ is all out of drawing." + +"But you won't tell, doctor?" pleaded poor Green; "it does not +inconvenience me in the least, I assure you." + +"Not now, perhaps," said the doctor, nodding his head; "but after a long +march in sand, it might be serious. I am very sorry, but I must do my +duty." + +But, being much entreated, the doctor was persuaded to try what an +invention of his own, which he spoke diffidently of, would do. So +Green's leg was done up in splints for twenty-four hours, and then +plaistered up. And after a bit the doctor saw so much improvement that +he agreed to say nothing about it, and so Green sailed with the rest. + +"How is your _fons ilium_, Green?" he was asked that evening in the +saloon. + +"Hush!" he whispered, anxiously; "the colonel will hear you! I am all +right. I'll walk you ten miles through the deepest sand we meet with +for a sovereign." + +"Thank you; no amount of sovereigns would tempt me to accept the +responsibility of putting your scarsal bone to so severe a test. But I +am glad it is so much stronger; very glad. I would not have the +regiment miss the aid of your stalwart arm on any consideration. Never +shall I forget the way you delivered that Number 3 cut which caught +Mercer such a hot one the other day, when you were playing singlestick +on the deck. I say, by-the-by, have you had your sword sharpened?" + +"Yes!" replied Green, with enthusiasm. "It has a good butcher's-knife +edge upon it; so the corporal said, who ground it for me. It is quite +as sharp as my pocket-knife." + +"I am not quite so soft as they take me for," he added, confidentially, +to Strachan presently. + +"Of course you are not, my dear fellow," said Tom. "I doubt if it would +be possible." + +"Now that MacBean, the doctor, you know: did you hear what he said about +the fresh water coming down from the hills in the rainy season, and +making gaps in the coral because fresh water killed the insects that +make the coral?" + +"Yes, I heard him," said Strachan, wondering what fault Green could find +with what seemed to him a very lucid explanation. + +"As if I was going to swallow that!" said the other. "The rainy season, +indeed! Why, every one knows that rain never falls in Egypt." + +"But, my dear fellow, this isn't Egypt for one thing, and it rains +sometimes everywhere, I expect," said Tom, who was somewhat tired of +imposing on the innocence of Green, who was a very willing and good- +tempered lad. "Do you know you remind me of a very old story of a +sailor-lad who returned home to his grandmother after a cruise in these +very waters. It may be familiar to you." + +"I don't remember it," said Green. + +"Well, it is really so apt that I will tell it." + +"`What did you see that was curious, Jack?' asked the old woman. `Well, +granny, there were flying fish; they came right out of the water and +flew on the deck, and we picked them up on it.' The old woman laughed +and shook her head. `What else, Jack?' `Why, I wish you could see the +sea at night in them parts, granny; where the ship disturbs the water it +all sparkles, and you can see her track a long way, like a regular road +of fire.' `Ha, ha! Go it, Jack. What else?' Jack's budget of fact +was exhausted for the moment, so he had to take refuge in fiction. +`Well, when we were in the Red Sea, you know, we hauled up the anchor, +and we found a carriage-wheel on one of the flukes. A queer old wheel +it was. And the chaplain, he looked at it and found the maker's name, +which was that of Pharaoh's coach-builder. So he said there was no +doubt it belonged to his army, when he followed the Israelites after +they had gone out of Egypt.' `Ah, now you are telling me what is worth +listening to!' cried the old woman. `We know that Pharaoh's host was +drowned in the Red Sea, and that they had a many chariots. It is like +enough you should fish one of the wheels up. But to try to stuff your +poor old granny that fish can fly, and water take fire! For shame, you +limb!'" + +Green was a bit thoughtful, and puzzled over the application of this +fable; but Strachan having to hurry off on duty, he could not question +him further. + +Every one was on deck by daybreak next morning, and the bustle of the +day commenced. The _Alligator_ was rather a late arrival, and the shore +was already white with tents, large and small, circular and square, the +camp being protected by an earthwork and a trench, which came down to +the sea on each side, entirely enclosing it on that of the land, while +on the other it was protected by the harbour and its gunboats. + +But there was not much time for gaping; launches and boats of various +kinds were alongside presently, and the work of disembarkation +commenced. It did not take long, for a number of little piers had been +made, rude enough, but answering their purpose, and several boats could +land their passengers at them at once. Then there was an officer ready +to show them where to get their tents, and it was not long before the +First Blankshire had added several streets to the canvas town. + +They had hardly done that, however, and were still telling off men for +the various regimental duties, when they were called upon to find a +large fatigue party for the public service. And now, if any men felt +the cramping effects of life in a small compass on board ship, they had +plenty of opportunity for stretching their limbs and getting their +muscles into full play. + +The sailors, for the most part, brought the cargoes ashore, and the way +they worked was marvellous. They bundled bales and boxes into the boats +as if the ship were on fire and they had only a few minutes to save them +in; they rowed them to the strand as if they were racing in a regatta, +and they got them out on the jetties before dockyard hands at home would +have quite made up their minds what bale they should begin with. + +And they laughed and chaffed, and seemed to think it the best fun out. +Such energy was infectious, and "Tommy Atkins," without coat or braces, +and with his shirt sleeves rolled up above his elbows, tried to emulate +"Jack." Some of the goods they had to pile up on the shore; some to +carry to the commissariat stores; and some, again, to the ordnance +department. If free perspiration was the best thing for health and +vigour, they were going the right way to work to obtain those blessings. + +There was a lad in Fitzgerald's company, that in which Strachan was +lieutenant, upon whom these new duties fell very hard. His name was +James Gubbins, and he enlisted because he found it hard to obtain any +other employment. And no wonder, for never was there such an awkward +mortal. He broke the hearts of corporals and sergeants, and the +officers of his company would fain have got rid of him. But he was +perfectly able-bodied, and the surgeon was bound to pass him. Neither +would the colonel help them; the man was well conducted, healthy, and +tried his best. "He would make a good soldier in time," he said. +Perhaps so, but the process was tedious. One lad, who joined as a +recruit a month after Gubbins, learned his drill, went to his duty, was +made a lance-corporal, and had the drilling of the squad in which +Gubbins was still toiling at the rudiments. + +He got perfect in the manual exercise, and was dismissed from recruit +drill at last however, and even learned to shoot, after he had once +taken in the part of the back-sight of his rifle which was to be aligned +with the fore-sight, haziness about which nearly caused several bad +accidents, as his bullets went wandering dangerously near the butts to +the right and left of that where he was supposed to be firing. + +By the time he passed muster he was indeed a valuable soldier, if the +value of a thing depends upon the trouble taken to manufacture it. And +now poor Gubbins had more to learn! It may seem very easy to turn a +crank, to pump, to shoulder a box, to help carry a bale, or to push at a +capstan bar, and this certainly is not skilled labour. Yet there is a +way of doing each of these things in a painful, laborious, knuckle- +cutting, shoulder-bruising, toe-smashing manner, and a comparatively +easy and comfortable one. + +And James Gubbins invariably did the worst for himself possible. I do +wish that a special artist had seen him trying to help sling a mule on +one occasion, and endeavouring to take a similar animal to the place +appointed on shore for it on another. Words can do no justice to those +scenes. + +Another adventure, however, I will try to describe. A naval officer +engaged in transport came up to Tom Strachan, who was in charge of half +his company on fatigue duty, and said-- + +"Look here, do you see that steamer with a green funnel? Well, there +are stores on board, for your regiment mostly. A whole lot of shells +have to be landed this afternoon, and all my men are at work at that. I +wish you would take that lighter, and let your fellows go off to the +steamer and unload it. We should bring you the stores, as a rule, for +you to carry up from the jetty, only we are short-handed." + +"All right," said Tom. + +The lighter was propelled by large oars, or sweeps, and James Gubbins +found there was yet another trial for him in this weary world--that of +endeavouring to row with one of these things. But he was so clumsy, and +impeded the others to such an extent, that they pushed him on one side +and told him to keep quiet. + +When they got alongside, a rope was thrown up and caught by a sailor on +deck, and Strachan went up a rope ladder to see exactly what had to be +done. The stores were as yet in the hold, and the first job would be to +hoist them out of it; so the lighter would not be wanted alongside for +some time. The sailors let it drop astern, and then made it fast. + +"Now then, men, you are wanted on deck; look alive!" cried Strachan. + +The sergeant in the lighter looked puzzled how to get on board for a +moment; but seeing a grin on a sailor's face, and at the same time +observing a rope hanging from the taffrail close to him, he seized, +pulled at it, and finding it firm at the top end, swarmed up it +presently. It was not far to go, or a difficult operation, so the +others followed. + +Then they manned the crane, by which a chain with a big hook to it was +lowered into the hold, as if to fish for something. And a bale having +been caught, it was wound up, slewed round, and deposited on the deck. + +When this had been going on a little time Strachan called out-- + +"Where's Gubbins?" + +"Gubbins, sir," said the sergeant; "is he not here? No, he is not. +Where can he have got to? Gubbins!" + +He went aft and looked into the lighter; there was no one there, and he +was turning away again, when he heard a voice in tremulous accents +crying-- + +"Help! Help! Do pull me up, some one, or send a boat. He will have +me--I know he will! He will jump presently; and if he doesn't, I can't +hold on much longer. Help! Oh, lor! Help!" + +There was James Gubbins clinging to the rope by which the others had +come on board. He had waited till the last, and then attempted to +follow. There were two knots in the rope, one near the bottom, the +other some five feet higher, and by grasping it above the top one with +his hands, and above the lower one with his ankles, he managed not to +fall into the water. For the lighter had floated clear of him. As for +swarming up the rope without the aid of knots, he might as well have +tried to dance on the tight rope. + +Now to fall in the water would of itself have been a serious thing to +poor Gubbins, who, of course, could not swim; but to add to his terror +there was a shark, plainly visible, his back fin indeed now and then +rising out of the water, swimming round and round, opening his mouth, +but by no means shutting his eyes, to see what luck would send him. And +good rations and regular meals, with something a day to spend in beer, +had agreed with James, who had not been accustomed before enlisting to +eat meat every day. He was plump, and enough to make any shark's mouth +water. + +The sergeant called for assistance, and Gubbins was hauled up. He got a +good many bumps against the side before he was safely landed on the +deck, but he stuck to his rope like a limpet, and came bundling on board +at last. + +And then, when he felt himself out of the reach of those cruel jaws +which had threatened him for a time, which seemed to him long enough, he +nearly fainted. + +After this experience, if James Gubbins ever learned to swim, it would +have to be after his return to England, for nothing could persuade him +to go into the waters of the Red Sea. And so he missed the principal +pleasure which hard-worked "Tommy Atkins" enjoyed at that period. For +when the work of the day was over, bathing parade was the great feature +of the evening, and the margin of the strand was crowded with soldiers, +swimming, wading, diving, splashing, playing every imaginable game in +the water, for, however tired they might be, the refreshing plunge gave +them fresh life and vigour. + +And, by-the-by, why is the British soldier called "Tommy Atkins?" I +believe that there are plenty of people who use the term and don't know. +The nickname arose simply from the fact that every company has a +ledger, in which each man's accounts are kept. So much pay and +allowance on the credit side, so much for deductions on the debit, with +the balance. The officer commanding the company signs to the one, the +soldier himself to the other. On the first page of this book there is a +form filled in, for the guidance of any new pay sergeant who may have to +make out the accounts, and in this the fancy name of the supposed +soldier is printed in the place where he has to sign, and this fancy +name is "Thomas Atkins." But upon the point of who was the first person +to generalise the name, and how it came about that his little joke was +taken up and came into common use, history is dumb. + +This is a digression, and I suppose, according to the ideas of some +people, I ought to ask you to pardon it, for I observe that that is a +common plan upon such occasions. But I do nothing of the kind. If I +thought it needed pardon I should not have made it; and you ought to be +glad to improve your mind with a little bit of useful information. But +you knew it all before? Well, how could I tell _that_, I should like to +know. + +Whether the sharks were good old-fashioned Mohammedans, who would not +bite on the side of the Mahdi, or whether the number of British soldiers +in the water together, and the noise they made, overawed them, they did +not attempt any supper in that direction, and the men enjoyed their bath +with impunity. + +The work went on day after day for some time, always at high pressure, +and the men got into rare good training for marching or any other kind +of work. And they had plenty of water to drink, for the steamers in the +harbour were perpetually at work condensing the salt-water, which turns +it, as you probably know, into fresh. Pipes then conveyed it on shore, +where it was received in tanks and barrels. And the want of natural +springs, and the consequent necessity of having recourse to an +artificial supply, were not without advantage. + +For the only water which can be got for troops when campaigning is very +often polluted, and the men get dysentery from drinking it, whereas this +was necessarily quite pure. And probably owing to this cause there was +wonderfully little sickness. A terrified horse gave trouble in the +landing him one day, and Tom Strachan, who was with the fatigue party +which had to do it, lent his personal assistance, and with success, but +he grew warm over the job. + +As he was wiping the perspiration from his forehead Major Elmfoot rode +up. + +"Well, Strachan," he said, "how do you like this work? Do you want it +over that you may begin fighting the Arabs?" + +"Well, yes, sir," replied Tom. "A little of it goes a good way, and we +have had more than a little. Still, we should not get on well without +grub or cartridges, should we, sir?" + +"No, my lad, you are right there; and I am glad to see you are a +philosopher." + +"Am I that, sir? Well, it is no use grumbling, but I am glad it is +pretty nearly over." + +"Pretty nearly over, you think it, do you?" said the major, drily. +"Then the stores are to walk up to Fort Baker by themselves, I suppose." + +"Have we got to--," began Tom, in dismay. + +"Yes, we have," replied Major Elmfoot to his unfinished query; "and you +are to knock off this job and start off on the other one at once." + +It was a peculiarity of the major's to preface an order in that way-- +that is, to prepare you for something quite different, and then take you +aback. If you were just going to dinner, and he had a duty for you +which would cause you to defer that meal, he would begin by asking if +you were hungry. He did not mean to be aggravating; it was only a way +he had; but it was rather trying sometimes. + +Fort Baker was about three miles from Trinkitat harbour; it was erected +by Baker Pasha on the second of the month which was now drawing to a +close, that is the February of 1884, when he was in command of the +Egyptian army which was cut to pieces by the Arabs on the fifth. There +is no fresh water nearer that part of the coast than the wells at El +Teb, eight miles off; so every drop of the precious liquid for the use +of the troops had to be first condensed at Trinkitat, and then carried +in tanks of galvanised iron on camel or mule back to the fort. Three +miles do not sound like a long distance, and on good ground are not very +far. But the greater part of this track lay through marshes, and for a +mile it was very bad indeed. But all were in good spirits, for it +transpired that this was the last of that sort of work the two companies +of the Blankshire employed in it were to have for the present. They +were to take their arms and accoutrements with them and remain at Fort +Baker till the rest of the battalion joined them. But it was hard work +to get the unfortunate baggage animals along. + +"I say, sergeant, what am I to do with this campbel now?" asked a +soldier, alluding not to a clansman of the famous Highland chief, but to +a ship of the desert which had sunk down in the mud, making the most +horrible noises imaginable, and seemed likely to be swallowed up after a +bit. + +"The Johnny who understands him won't do nothing; may I lick him?" + +"No, no," said the sergeant, glancing towards his captain, and with a +frown at the man which was half a wink, intimating that if it could be +done quietly and unofficially a little gentle persuasion used towards +the Egyptian driver might expedite matters. + +"What's up?" asked the captain, turning back. + +"A camel that's down, sir," replied the sergeant. + +Tom Strachan put the case in the form of an old nursery jingle, which he +murmured for the benefit of another subaltern, Williams, who was by his +side at the moment. + +"Captain, captain slang sergeant; sergeant won't swear at private; +private won't kick Egyptian; Egyptian won't stir up camel; camel won't +get out of that; and C Company won't reach Fort Baker to-night." + +The captain was equal to the occasion, however. + +"Look here, you know," he said to the native driver; "if you don't make +that camel go on with that load, you and your two mates will have to +carry it yourselves, don't you know." + +Whether the "Johnnies," as Private Smith called them, understood all +this is perhaps doubtful, as their English was peculiar, but the tone +and gesture which accompanied the words were very intelligible, and the +Egyptian began to unload the poor bogged beast with great alacrity. + +The soldiers, seeing his purpose, helped him, leaving the two other +included natives to go on with other camels, and soon the goods carried +by the fallen one were conveyed to a sounder place. The wallowing +animal being beaten and prodded, emerged from the mud uttering unearthly +cries, and was then reloaded, still objecting loudly, and on he went +again. + +There was no difficulty in catching the others up; other mules and +camels in front were in a similar plight. These were also unloaded, and +then the men pulled and pushed and heaved them out, first taking off +their shoes and stockings, and rolling their trousers up as far as they +could. + +One man, finding that even so he got those garments sorely bemired, so +deep was the slush, took them off altogether; others followed his +example, hanging their trousers round their necks. But no one need have +been shocked, their limbs were by no means bare, but decently clothed in +long clay stockings. + +"I say, Tom," said Williams to Strachan, "fancy the regiment turning out +like that for Commanding Officers' parade at Aldershot!" + +James Gubbins managed to distinguish himself as usual, for he let a +floundering mule knock him over and roll upon him. Having to help the +animal out, he seized one of his hind legs and hauled at it, with this +result-- + +"Look at Gubbins!" cried one of his comrades; "blest if he hasn't been +taking a cast of hisself in clay. Going to have a marble statty, old +man?" + +"You ought to have a photo taken to send home to your sweetheart, Jim." + +"Pity it's the end of February, and not the beginning; what a lovely +valentine he would make, surely." + +"It's easy to laugh at a chap," spluttered Gubbins, "but this stuff +tastes awful; and however shall I clean myself for inspection?" + +"Never mind, old chap, you'll be confined to barracks, and then them +Johnnies with the spears can't get at you." + +"If any chap had a drop of rum instead of jaw to give a chap with his +mouth full of filth, there would be more sense in it," said the victim; +and it was one of the wisest remarks he had made for a long time. Some +good Samaritan _had_, and administered it, and Gubbins was consoled. + +"You have made these Egyptians work," said Tom to his captain. + +"Yes, I flatter myself I know how to treat those fellows." + +"Oh!" cried Tom. + +"What's the matter?" asked Fitzgerald. + +"Nothing; only if a poor sub had done it!" + +"Done what?" + +"Well, you know, it was one of the jokes which were tabooed by general +consent." + +"Get out!" + +But it must be owned that though he meant nothing so atrocious as Tom +Strachan implied, the captain did pronounce _fellow_ like Fellah! + +The fort was reached at last, and never a mule or camel left on the way. +There were some salt-water puddles at the end of the worst part of it, +and in these the men contrived to wash the mud off their limbs before +resuming their nether garments. Ward the quartermaster was there before +them; and he had a rough tent in which to receive the officers of the +two companies, and he treated them to ginger-beer and tea. Ward was an +old campaigner, who had seen no end of service--been frozen in the +Crimea, broiled in India, devoured by stinging insects on the Gold +Coast. Strachan liked to listen to his yarns, and was in consequence +rather a favourite of his. And if you are going on a campaign, it is +not half a bad thing to be on good terms with a doctor, a quartermaster, +or any other staff officer. They always have a bite or a drop of +something should you happen to come across them when nobody else has. + +"You didn't expect this kind of work when you thought, as a boy, how you +would like to go into the army, eh?" he asked him. + +"No," said Tom, laughing; "they don't enter into these little details in +books. It's mostly feasting and fighting, with other fellows getting +killed, that a school-boy looks forward to." + +"Ah, the fighting is the best of it; there is something to keep you +going in that. Give me the chap that will stand hunger, thirst, +fatigue, want of sleep, and fever, and be as jolly as a sand-boy all the +time. That's the sort for a soldier." + +"But all that would be no good if he would not stand up when the pinch +came." + +"Of course not; but a fairly bred one--I mean English, German, French, +Italian, Dutch--is bound to stand if he is properly trained and led. If +he is rightly drilled it does not occur to him to run away unless his +comrades do; and then, after a bit, he gets excited. Then, as to +generals; I don't say that it's an easy thing to fight an army well, but +it is easier than to feed it. I tell you all the real art of war lies +in little details that no one ever talks about." + +"Then you are not a hero worshipper, Ward?" + +"Not I, I have seen too much. I take no credit from men who get +mentioned in despatches, win the Victoria Cross, and so forth; but there +is a lot of luck in it. Heaps of men deserve these prizes just as much +as those who get them. Indeed, the most deserving of all get killed out +of hand, and make no claim. You see, one man does a thing with a +flourish, which attracts notice, and is popular, and gets watched; and +another is quiet and retiring, and afraid that if he pushes himself he +may not prove as valuable an article as he has led people to expect; and +a smart or plucky thing which gives promotion, or the Victoria Cross, to +the first, merely elicits a `well done, old fellow!' from his mates for +the second." + +"And that's worth risking a good bit for!" cried Green, with his eyes +sparkling, and a heightened colour. + +"Hark to Green! Good lad! By Jove, he's right!" Green blushed. + +"Why are you like King Duncan's blood on Lady Macbeth's hand, Edwards?" +asked Tom Strachan of the last speaker. + +"I can never guess riddles," said Edwards. "Give it up." + +"Because you have made the Green one red," said Strachan. + +"_You_ will never miss the Victoria Cross for want of cheek, at any +rate," said Fitzgerald. + +"I am glad of that," replied Tom, "as I have my plan for it. I mean to +stick behind you the first time you go to do anything heroic, and if you +get killed I shall hope to get the credit of your action." + +"So you want me to be knocked on the head, do you, you young villain?" + +"Not at all, sir; no one can say I would rather have your room than your +company." + +"What _are_ the boys coming to?" cried Fitzgerald. "When I was a sub, I +no more dared to speak to my captain like that than to--to walk off +parade without permission," he added, after pausing to think what was +the highest possible stretch of mortal impudence. + +"Perhaps your captain had not your appreciation of wit," replied Tom. + +"Wit, indeed! You call your bad puns wit, do you?" + +Next day the rest of the troops marched in from Trinkitat, and +bivouacked outside the fort. They had made a fair start, and commenced +the campaign now, and the novelty of eating their evening meal in the +open, by the light of a bonfire, had a charm for some of the young ones. +The officers' mess of the First Blankshire was held round an oval +trench. A coat thrown on the earth dug out of it served for a seat; the +feet were placed in it, and the pewter plate with food on it was held on +the knees. This is infinitely more comfortable than feeding in a +cramped position on the ground. + +Though they knew all about it before, it seemed strange to the +inexperienced to lie down at night in the open, like animals, instead of +going to bed, but some were so tired that, not being on duty, they +rolled themselves up in the coats they had been sitting on, and courted +a nap directly they had done feeding. + +Those who did so, however, were presently aroused by a tremendous +cheering, which made them jump up, and run to see what had happened. It +was the arrival of the Sixty-fifth, who had been stopped on their return +from India, and sent to Trinkitat instead of England. They had only +landed that afternoon, and had marched on at once. It was not long, +however, before the challenge of the sentries, and the snores of +sleepers alone broke the silence of the little host, lying stretched in +slumber under the faint light of the new moon. Their sleep was +disturbed by showers of rain, which interfered with all but the very +sound, and even these were fairly roused at last by a regular drencher, +the water coming down tropical fashion, in bucketfuls. + +"Halloa, Green!" said Strachan, to that young hero, whom he found +standing in astonishment, drenched, but not dismayed. "Do you believe +that it rains sometimes in the Soudan, now?" + +"I do," replied Green, solemnly. "Books talk nonsense." + +"I wish it was time to start," said Edwards, joining them. "It seems so +absurd to stand here saturated, with no possibility of resting oneself, +when one might be getting on." + +"It is more than half-past four, and reveille is to sound at five. +Let's try and light the fire again; there's a bit smouldering, in spite +of the rain." + +This was Strachan's suggestion, and voted a good one; and they had just +succeeded in raising a blaze, when a bugle started the most romantic, +melancholy, musical call in the whole category. I mean in itself, and +not for its associations; and yet when one thinks how many thousands of +brave men have been roused by it to go to death, it is not free from +these. Number one only got about three notes start, when a second +began, and presently the whole air was full of plaintive sound. + +Then flickers of fire shone out, and coffee was boiled, and the men got +their breakfasts. Then, after a while, the Fall-in sounded, and the +different corps and detachments stood to their arms. The commanding +officer of the First Blankshire went round the ranks, and spoke to the +men here and there. He did not remark on the mud which still clove to +James Gubbins, but he stopped opposite Green. + +"Why, what is the matter, Green; where and how are you hurt?" he asked. + +"I, sir?" said Green, in astonishment; "I believe I am all right." + +"Why, you are bleeding like a pig!" And so he was, from his right ear. + +"I must have cut it with my sword, sir, carrying it carelessly. I +forgot that I had had it sharpened." + +"Well, it can't be very bad, if you did not know it," said the colonel, +laughing as he rode on. The bleeding stopped presently, but not before +it had made Green's kharkee sleeve and his sword, down which there had +been a trickle, look exceedingly warlike. + +"He has fleshed his maiden blade!" said Tom Strachan. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +EL TEB. + +The force started on the march about eight o'clock. It moved in square, +with camels, mules, baggage, ammunition in the centre. Also inside were +the surgeons and ambulance, and some troops ready to strengthen any weak +part in the course of action; there were guns, either machine-guns, (as +guns which fire bullets through individual barrels by turning a handle-- +various improvements upon the mitrailleuse--are called) or Krupp guns, +at the corners, manned either by sailors or artillerymen. + +The square was not a square in the sense of Euclid, because two sides of +it were longer than the other two. One of the longest faces led, the +men being in line. The other formed the rear face, and moved also in +line, turned to the right-about; but when halted and fronted it would +face to the rear. The side faces marched, the right side "fours left," +the left side "fours right," so that when halted and fronted they too +would face outwards. + +The officer in command, General Graham, had two men who knew the ground +well, Baker and Burnaby, to point out the best route to avoid obstacles +which would break the formation, and so they moved over a flat expanse +of sand, with now and then a hill overgrown with low bushes. Not far +from the line of march these sand-hills were larger and more numerous, +and the bushes thicker, and amongst and beyond these parties of the +enemy were hovering; to guard the infantry against a sudden attack from +these, a squadron of light cavalry were spread out half a mile ahead, +covering the flanks. + +"I ask your pardon, sir," said a sergeant to Strachan, as they tramped +through the sand, "but do you happen to know what we are going to fight +about? Not that it matters, only it gives an interest like to the +business." + +"Oh, yes, sergeant," said Tom. "We are going to relieve Tokar." + +"So I thought, sir. But then, you see, Tokar, they say, has fallen." + +"I believe it has," replied Tom; "but that was the original idea. And +if we are a bit late, why then we must show them how we would have +relieved it if it had not been taken. The Arabs had no right to be in +such a hurry. You remember the sham fights we used to have at +Aldershot? Neither side was to commence manoeuvring before a certain +hour, when a gun fired. Well, these Arabs have not played fair, but +stolen a march upon us before the proper time. But that is no reason +why we should go home after all this trouble and preparation without a +fight." + +"Of course not, sir!" + +"Well, then, they have got the wells at El Teb, and have raised +fortifications to defend them, I believe, and our job to-day is to get +them out of that. Then we go on to Tokar, and we shall see if they make +another fight there." + +"Thank you, sir," said the sergeant; "I understand quite enough now." + +A puff of smoke from the bushes; another; twenty. But no bullets came, +the enemy firing from too long a distance. It was like a peaceable +field day with blank cartridge burning. + +Trinkitat harbour was in full view, and an energetic ship there, seeing +the Arabs' position thus indicated, tried to throw shells amongst them. +But they, too, were out of range. Only, as shells when properly +constructed burst somewhere, and these were sent over the heads of +friends, their exploding short was dangerous, and after two or three +attempts the experiment was dropped. + +The main body of the cavalry followed in rear of the square, and to the +left of it, in three lines. + +"Look at those birds!" said Green to Tom, coming up to him to draw his +attention. "What lots of them! They look like vultures surely, some of +them." + +"And they are vultures, too. What carrion have they got there I wonder. +Faugh! One can smell it from here." + +"Look at General Baker, what a stern expression he has got," said +Fitzgerald, letting his subaltern come up to him. "What a scene those +birds and this stench must recall for him!" + +"Ah, to be sure!" said Tom. "This was the line of the flight of his +Egyptian army a month ago, when they let the Arabs massacre them without +even attempting to resist. Well, we won't do that if we can help it, +will we, Green? We will strike a blow, even if we cut off our noses as +well as our ears." + +"There, there, don't chaff him, Strachan; you are too bad. And look to +your half-company. Close up, there!" + +The enemy kept up their innocuous out-of-distance popping, principally +at the advance cavalry. The square was halted two or three times for a +minute's rest, which the men dragging the guns must have particularly +wanted, considering the loose nature of the soil. Then on again, after +between two and three hours' march. + +Tom Strachan could see huts, and what looked like a fort with guns; +earthworks also in another part, with flags stuck upon them. Also, of +all earthly things in such a spot, an old boiler, such as you may see in +some Thames-side yard, where old vessels are broken up and worn-out +machinery accumulates. + +Here the cavalry skirmishers, having done their work, retired to their +main body. Another halt, almost within rifle-shot of the position, and +the men flung themselves carelessly down on the sand. Major Elmfoot was +examining the defences through his field-glass. + +"That thing looks like an old boiler, major," said Fitzgerald. + +"And it _is_ an old boiler," replied the other. "I was hearing about it +the other day; there was a sugar-mill here once; that ruined building +was part of it." + +"Ten-shun!" + +The men sprang to their feet all together. The enemy were close, and +there would be serious work in a minute. A flash and a puff of smoke +from the earthworks, a singing in the air, another flash and report +close by, and the fragments of a shell were flying about their ears. +Two more bursting right over, and a man here and there dropped. + +Then the rifle-fire opened in earnest, and those who had never yet heard +it learned what the sound of a bullet was like. More men were hit, +collapsed, and were picked up by the ambulance. + +Still the square pressed steadily on, the men stepping jauntily as if +marching past. Green said to himself with joy-- + +"I am under fire, really under fire! And I am not half so frightened as +I thought I should be." + +"Mayn't I give them one back, sir?" a man asked him. + +"Not yet; presently," he replied. + +He had hardly spoken before the words, "Halt! Lie down!" were passed, +and return fire was opened, both from guns and rifles, overpowering and +almost silencing that of the enemy. + +"Advance!" Up the men jumped again, and pressed forward towards the +works. + +The ground was broken by lumps of rock, bushes, and holes, which made +temporary breaks in the ranks as the men had to give way to pass on +either side of them, and then run up into their places again. Behind +every rock and bush, crouched in every pit or hollow, were Arabs, who +seized the opportunity to dash amongst the men, getting into the very +ranks, and striking with their spears and sharp swords right and left, +and on equal terms. + +For the rifle, considered as a firearm, was of no use at such very close +quarters; the bayonet at the end of it, or the butt, was all that could +be used. The bayonet exercise is often spoken of as a bit of gymnastics +rather than of practical value; but smartness in the delivery of a +thrust was just everything now. In civilised warfare it may be that +bayonets are seldom crossed, but when you have to deal with a barbarian +foe, who places his trust in cold steel, the case is different. For the +first thrust perhaps the bayonet has the advantage, for the weight of +the rifle behind it sends it very quick and true, and difficult to +parry. But the point once turned or avoided, the spear gets the pull, +as, by drawing back the hand which holds it, the point can be withdrawn +to the shoulder, and launched, without a chance of parrying, at any +unguarded spot. + +True, that the English soldier can also shorten arms, but it takes both +hands to do that, and in the meantime the whole body is exposed; while +the Arab shortens his spear with the right-hand alone, and the left arm, +with a round shield of hippopotamus hide upon it, can be used to put +aside the bayonet thrust. Unless wounded to death, they fight on when +they have fallen, clutching at their enemies' legs, stabbing while they +can hold a weapon. + +Such struggling as this caused the advance of the square to be very +slow, for those portions of the front line which had no obstacles to +enable the enemy to get amongst them had to wait while the men engaged +in these single combats despatched their foes and were ready to advance +again. Not that they wasted their time, for they had plenty of shooting +to do to clear their own immediate front. + +Nor was this the only cause of delay; the rear line of the square was +also subject to rushes of the enemy, who lay in ambush till it had +passed, and then dashed upon it. To meet the attack it must halt and +face about, and the rest of the square must halt too, or a gap would be +opened through which the determined foe would rush. Then, again, the +flanks, or side faces of the square, were also attacked. These had to +turn towards the front when the square advanced, not in file, or two +deep, as they stood, because men moving like that must always straggle +out too much, but in fours. Thus, on each forward movement, the right +side of the square formed fours left, the left side of it fours right. +But in this way the men would have their sides towards the surrounding +enemy, and would be helpless. So when attacked they had to halt and +front, thus becoming a line two deep again, facing their foes. But this +required another general halt till the enemy were killed or driven back. + +It is difficult to explain all this without using technical terms, but I +think you will understand how absolutely necessary it was to move +steadily, with the men forming the four sides of this square standing +shoulder to shoulder, and leaving no openings. + +If the forces opposed were about equal, no such square as this, which +moves with such cumbersome difficulty, would be thought of; but when a +mere handful of men have to encounter countless hordes, it is employed +to avoid being attacked in front and rear and flanks at the same time, +and to protect the wounded, the water, and the spare ammunition. But +let the overpowering masses of the enemy once break into the centre, all +advantage is gone, and the small body is worse off than it would be +advancing in any other way, because the four sides would be attacked in +front and rear, cut off from each other, and deprived of mutual support. +The ammunition would be seized, and the wounded in the ambulances +massacred, while the soldiers would just have to fight back to back +while their strength lasted. + +To prevent a partial irruption resulting in such a catastrophe, spare +troops moved inside the square to oppose a second line, ready to repel +any Arabs who broke in, and so aid their comrades to regain their +formation. + +The guns were at the corners of the square. While there was a clear +space in front of them, and they were well served, nothing alive could +approach. But suppose a hillock close in front, or a pit, full of +Arabs, into which they could not fire, just under their muzzles, and +they would become weak places, where the enemy could surge in without +being met by the bristling bayonets, and so stab the soldiers on the +right and left of the angle in their backs, increasing the gap, through +which their friends might penetrate. And the enemy saw this plainly +enough, and planned dodges to aid their rushes upon these corners. + +There was one good thing for the British troops that day: a nice breeze +swept the smoke away, and they could see their enemies' movements, and +so stall off many a rush with their fire before it came to close +conflict. If a thick pall of smoke had combined with the broken ground +to cover the attacks of the Arabs, the losses would most likely have +been heavier, and the battle more protracted. + +Tom Strachan had acquired an accomplishment which promised to be useful +before the day was over. He and others were practising with their new +revolvers one day on the grounds near the rifle butts, where they were +quartered, when the colonel rode by, and stopped to look on. + +"I tell you what you should do," he said to them, "you should practise +with the left hand. I have learned to shoot as well with my left hand +as my right, and I believe it saved my life in India during the Mutiny. +It leaves the sword-arm free to ward off a cut or thrust if there are +more than one at you, or you fail to shoot your man dead." + +All tried it, but Strachan at least persevered, and it came quite +natural to him after a while to use his left hand for that purpose. Not +only that, but the determination to conquer the awkwardness he felt at +first made him practise pistol shooting much more than he would +otherwise have done, and he became a first-rate shot. + +The weapon, however, lay in its leather case at present; he had enough +to do to look after his men, and to catch and repeat the word of command +amidst the din, without thinking of personal combat. He, like Green, +had got an edge put on his sword. It was Kavanagh's present, and during +the lull preceding the attack, he had thought of his old friend, +wondered where he was, and regretted that they were not side by side +that day. He and Harry Forsyth--what fun it would have been! But when +the firing once commenced, he had no thought but of what he was about. + +"Fire low, men! Steady! Don't shoot wildly. Harris, cover your man, +just as if he were a target at home." + +"Close up, there; never mind Roberts, the ambulance will look to him. +Good man, Gubbins! That's your sort; can't well miss 'em at ten yards. +Aim at the waist-cloth. Cease firing! Advance; _fours left_ there! +Close up." + +Orders could not always be heard in the din; it was necessary to watch +the front of the square, and move on or halt as it did, unless a +particular rush at a certain point compelled those at it to take the +initiative, and then others had to conform to it. + +When the square got close to the right end of the curved earthwork, the +troops nearest to it charged at it with a cheer, leaving a big gap in +the ranks they left. Had they succeeded in carrying the place with the +rush, this would not have mattered; but it could not be done. Tap a +bee-hive smartly with your stick on a mild May day, and see the +inhabitants swarm out at you, and you may form some idea of how the +Hadendowas flew over the parapet at their assailants. Every one of them +fixed his eye on an enemy, and went straight at him. Every soldier +found himself with two or three opponents, and, instead of pressing on +into the earthwork, had enough to do to hold his ground. + +The cool, brave man, who made sure of getting rid of one with a steady +shot a few yards off, and then plied his bayonet till he got a moment's +pause to re-load, came off well; the flurried soldier, who was not quite +sure whether to stand or retire, who missed or only wounded his man, and +then stood strictly on the defensive, was most likely overpowered and +speared. + +The greater the daring the greater was the safety, and _vice versa_. +But brave or timid, the men who had rushed out of the ranks to attack +were borne back by the sheer weight of numbers. The Soudanese, however, +never got through the gap that was left. The Marines inside the square +promptly presented themselves as a second barrier, till the attackers, +retiring in good order, fell back into their places again. + +But there was some hard fighting at the point for a minute or two. Good +old-fashioned cut and thrust, hammer and tongs, like cutting out a ship. +Tom Strachan found himself, he did not know how, with the hilt of his +sword right up against a Soudanese breast-bone, the weapon having passed +right through the man's body. But there was no expression of pain in +the dying face so close to his own, only hate and defiance. He was +killed, not conquered. + +Before he could disencumber himself from the body another Hadendowa +rushed at him with uplifted spear. Tom levelled his pistol at him, and +pressed the trigger; but the weapon did not explode. He had already +fired all the barrels. + +Another second and the spear-head would have been buried in his throat, +but suddenly the Arab's arm dropped, nearly severed by a cut from Green, +which caught him between wrist and elbow. The wounded man caught his +spear with the left hand, and strove to stab, but before he had time he +got the point in his throat, and that stopped him. + +At this time Private Gubbins had a narrow escape. He fired at an Arab, +about twenty yards off, and hit him hard, but he came on at him all the +same, trying to spear him. Gubbins thrust at him with his bayonet, but +perhaps rather timidly; anyhow he missed his body, though he wounded him +again in the shoulder, and with that, and parrying, knocked the spear +out of his hand. Whereupon the Soudanese caught hold of the bayonet and +tried to unfix it. He could not manage that, and a tug of war +commenced, in which Gubbins, being the weaker and less active, was +pulled bodily out of the ranks, and would have been made mincemeat of +had not some one shot the Arab through the head, while his rear rank man +pulled him back. He owned afterwards that he was fairly scared. + +"Thought that 'ere cannibal couldn't die!" he said, "Fust I shot him, +and then I bayoneted him, and he only snarled like a wild cat. Fancy a +chap pulling like that with one hole in his stomach and another in his +shoulder! 'Taint reasonable." + +They fought like that, many of them. + +When the momentary confusion was over, and the square again compact, +Strachan found an opportunity of slipping fresh cartridges into his +revolver; the work in prospect did not look like being suited to an +empty pistol. He had hardly done it before they were under the parapet +of the earthwork. + +Here there was a pause; the Arabs, not dashing out, the British, after +their late experience, apparently not quite knowing whether they ought +to break the square formation by dashing in. Not to mention that the +Arabs were ticklish gentlemen to tumble over a bank into the middle of! + +During this pause a stalwart, almost gigantic figure was seen walking up +the slope with a double-barrelled fowling-piece in his hand. Coming to +the parapet he brought the gun to his shoulder, fired right and left, +and calmly opening the breech, replaced the two empty cartridges with +two fresh ones, just as if he were standing during a battue, shooting +pheasants and not Soudanese. + +"Look at Burnaby!" cried some one, and hundreds were looking at him, +expecting that at last he must fall, this dauntless traveller, keen +observer, and born soldier, who courted peril as other men court safety; +who spurned luxury and loved hardship; who seemed to treat the king of +terrors as a playfellow. + +Again he gave the enemy in the earthwork, and within a few yards of him, +both barrels, and retreated a few steps down to re-load. + +The Soudanese followed to the top of the parapet, but the moment one of +them showed his head above it he was shot by the soldiers close below. + +Directly he had got fresh cartridges in, Colonel Burnaby stepped back to +his old place, and added another brace to his bag. But this combat +between one man and a host would never take the fort, and the foremost +line did not stand long at gaze, but ran up and clambered over the +artificial bank, which was about four feet high, pouring a volley into +the defenders as they did so. And now single combats again commenced, +and the interior of the earthwork resembled an ancient arena. + +The theoretical duty of an officer in action was suspended, for he had +to fight physically and practically like the men, the only difference +lying in the arms he wielded. + +His sword was no longer a baton of office, but a weapon to cut and +thrust with, and the better its temper and the keener its edge, the +greater friend was it to him that day. Not always did it prove true. + +Captain Wilson, RN, cut down an Arab who was about to kill a soldier, +and his blade shivered to the hilt, leaving him without a weapon to ward +off a cut which wounded him, though happily not severely, in the head. + +Captain Littledale, of the York and Lancaster Regiment, also bent his +sword over one of the Soudanese in the fort, and would have lost his +life had not two of his company come to his rescue. Some of the men's +weapons proved equally rotten. + +"Look here, sergeant," said a fine broad-shouldered young fellow, whose +face was like a sweep's with powder and dust, and whose clothes were +bespattered with what Tennyson delicately calls "drops of onset," as he +showed his bayonet twisted like a corkscrew, with the point bent over +into a hook. + +"Why, what have you been using it for, Sullivan?" asked the sergeant, +taking it into his hand. + +"Only prodding Johnnies, and not above three of them. It wouldn't go +into the last, and I had to polish him off with the butt end. Might +have smashed the stock, for their heads is uncommon hard." + +"It's a deal too bad," said the sergeant. "I'll show it to the captain, +and he will report it. Take Brown's rifle and bayonet, he will never +want it again, poor fellow." + +And indeed poor Brown was lying at the foot of the parapet with a spear +completely through his body, his first and last battle ended. The +spears and swords of the savages did not break or bend, or lose their +edge over the first bone they touched, like the weapons of their +civilised opponents. + +Fitzgerald came up, and the sergeant showed him the twisted bayonet. He +was not easily put out, but the sight was too much even for his placid +temper. + +"Keep it, sergeant, keep it. We will see if we cannot get it stuck up +in Saint James's Park with the trophies of captured guns, that the +British public may see the weapons soldiers are sent out to fight with. +The man who is responsible for this, and the fellow who forged it, ought +to be shot." + +"_Forged_ is a good word," said Major Elmfoot. "To pass off stuff like +that for good steel is rank forgery, and a worse crime than making bad +money, for here men's lives are sacrificed by it." + +"I wish we had some of 'em here!" murmured one of the men. + +"Aye, and the triangles rigged up," said another, "I should like to lay +on the first dozen myself." + +And so say all of us. + +This conversation took place after the earthwork was cleared of the +enemy--at least of the living enemy, for the whole interior was crowded +with their dead--and while the sailors and artillerymen were turning the +two Krupp guns found in it upon the retiring foe and the ruins of the +old sugar-mill to which the Soudanese still clung. And the troops had a +little rest while the leaders determined the direction of the next +attack. And the water-bottles you may be sure were mostly drained, for +the men's throats were like lime-kilns. + +An officer standing on the highest part of the parapet beckoned to +Strachan, who doubled up and joined the group assembled there. + +"Look," said the friend who had called him, pointing to the right, "the +cavalry are going to have their turn." Sure enough, there were the +three lines of cavalry, advancing at a walk towards the dense hordes of +Soudanese who covered the plain, some retiring slowly and reluctantly, +but the majority still holding their ground. + +As they drew nearer the Hussars broke into a trot, and then, when quite +close, they were loosed, and swept down on the foe at full gallop, a +simoon of glittering steel. Surely the grandest sight the modern world +can afford; the last remnant of chivalry. For ever since the invention +of fire-arms the infantry officer's place in battle has necessarily been +in rear of his men; but the cavalry officer still rides in front, yards +in front. He believes that his men are behind him, but he sees them +not. Alone he plunges into the enemy's ranks, and the first shock of +the encounter is his. He is a knight without his grandsire's defensive +armour, and exposed to rifle bullets and bursting shells, which the old +paladin knew not. + +"Oh, to be with them!" cried Tom in his excitement, uttering what was in +the hearts of all the group, as with eager eyes, parted lips, and breath +coming short, they saw the line swallowed up in the sea of Arabs. A +minute's confusion, with nothing distinguishable but the flash of +weapons, and they re-appeared _beyond_ the masses through whom they cut +their way, prostrate figures marking their track, and were now serrying +their ranks, disordered in the fierce passage. + +But the spectators could watch no more, for the shells failed to +dislodge the Arabs from the ruined mill, and it was impossible to +advance and leave any such indomitable fanatics, who cared not for +numbers and despised death, so long as they could wreak their wrath upon +an infidel, in their rear; and the immediate business was to turn them +out of that lair. + +There were about a couple of hundred sheltered by the ruin and the old +boiler; and for some distance round about the ground was regularly +honey-combed with rifle-pits, each of which contained an Arab, crouching +down, spear in hand, only desiring to kill an enemy and die. + +It was said before that they swarmed out of the fort earlier in the day +like bees when their hive is tapped. Like bees, too, when angered, they +only sought to sting, though they knew that the act of stinging was +their own destruction. As a soldier came to the edge of an apparently +empty hole in the ground, a man would spring out upon him and transfix +him before he had time to offer resistance. Not that this succeeded +often. + +The men soon learned to approach these rifle-pits with their muzzles +lowered, finger on trigger, the point of the bayonet over the opening +before they came up to it. Then, if the Arab made his spring, he was +transfixed; if he kept crouching, waiting for the other to pass, he was +shot. A large number of the holes became the graves they looked like +before the boiler was reached. + +Here the massacre was horrible, for at that point the state of things +was reversed, and the Soudanese were few in number, while the English +were the many. And it was a revolting thing to have to shoot down and +stab this handful of heroes. + +But it could not be helped; they would not fly, and they would not +surrender; and to endeavour to spare one of them was to insure your own +death or that of a friend. It was even necessary to slay the slain, for +they would sham and lie still, to spring up when the English had passed +and stab one in the back; then stand with extended arms to be shot, with +a smile of triumph and joy, secure of Paradise since he had sent a +double-dyed infidel, a disbeliever, both in Mahomet and the Mahdi, to +his doom. + +The old sugar-mill and the ground about it being at length cleared, the +victorious square advanced upon the wells. The whole body of Arabs were +now in retreat, dismayed at last by the terrible slaughter amongst their +best and bravest; for the reckless heroism which is described, though +there were so many hundreds of examples of it, as to entitle it to be +fairly considered as characteristic of the race, could not, of course, +be universal, or they would be absolutely invincible, except by +extermination. + +They were brave, every man and boy of them, but the vast majority were +not mad fanatics; and, indeed, a certain number of the tribes engaged +did not believe in the Mahdi at all, but joined him partly because he +was the strongest, and partly because they hated the Turks--and to them +Turks and Egyptians were all one--and their oppressive corrupt +government, and the Mahdi had thrown it off. + +But they were not prepared to commit actual suicide, and did not want to +go to Mahomet's Paradise just yet. So, after a certain number were +killed without gaining any advantage, they grew disheartened, and +retired. And then the machine-guns sent their continuous streams of +bullets tearing through the dense masses, and volleys from the Martini- +Henrys ran the death list up still higher, and the retreat became +flight. + +They marched steadily on. At the wells the Arab sheiks strove hard to +rally their warriors, charging alone, and, in some instances, +weaponless, to shame their men into following them. But it was no use. +"Tommy Atkins" was not flurried or excited now, success had made him +firm and confident, and there was no wild firing. Every shot was aimed +as steadily as if the charging Arab were an inanimate target and whoever +came within that zone of fire was swept into eternity. + +This was an expiring effort, and when two companies of the Gordon +Highlanders had carried the last earthwork, with three guns and a +machine-gun in it, the enemy made no further resistance, but left their +camp, the huts containing the spoils of Baker Pasha's army--cut to +pieces by them a month ago--and the wells in the conquerors' possession. + +A well is a grand name for a hole in the mud, but the water was fresh +and plentiful, and there were ten of them. It is difficult to keep the +bands of discipline very tight when men are flushed with victory, wild +with thirst, and water is before them. So, perhaps, there was a little +crowding which defeated its own object, causing needless delay in +obtaining the coveted water for all. But order was soon restored, and +every one served. + +"Shall we go on to Tokar to-night, do you think?" Tom Strachan asked +his captain. + +"I hope not," replied Fitzgerald; "I want something to eat, don't you? +Glory is all very well, but one cannot dine off it. Besides, it is +absurd to cram too much of it into one day. If four hours' fighting, +part of which was as severe as Association football playing, is not +enough for one day, I should like to know what General Graham would +have." + +The general was not unreasonable, or he thought it better to hold the +wells. At any rate, the troops remained in the position lately held by +the enemy, strengthening it in parts, after the men had had a rest, and +bivouacking there for the night. Provisions came up from Fort Baker, +and the officers of the First Blankshire had a good mess--tinned beef, +chicken and ham, sardines, and other delicacies, with biscuit and tea, +with just a taste of rum apiece to top up with. + +A really useful invention is that of preserving fresh meat in tins. The +man who found that out, and he who discovered chloroform, ought to go up +to the head of the Inventors' Class, in my humble opinion. I hope they +made their fortunes. You may despise tinned food at home, when you can +get fresh-killed meat and poultry not so overcooked. But go a long +voyage, or even on a yachting tour, travel in wild countries for +exploration, or to shoot big game, and then say. + +And when they lit their pipes and lay round the bivouac fire, talking +over the events of the day, what a time that was! The First Blankshire +had not come off scathless as regarded men or officers. There was a +captain lying yonder with his cloak over his face who would never hear +the cheery bugle call again; a lieutenant was in the ambulance tent with +a bullet in his leg, forcing himself to bear the pain without moaning. +And of those present, several bore gashes which would have been thought +nasty at home, though after being dressed by the surgeon they were +accounted scratches of no signification, beyond a certain smarting and +throbbing. Green had a bandage under his chin, and going up on each +side till his helmet covered it. + +"No," he said, when asked if it was binding his self-inflicted cut of +the morning; "it's the other ear. Curiously enough, a bit of a shell or +a bullet, or something, has taken the lobe off; and as it would not stop +bleeding, and the flies were troublesome when I took off my helmet, +which hurt, I asked a doctor to look at it, and he put this thing on to +keep the lint in its place." + +"You will never be able to wear earrings, if they come into fashion for +men, my poor Green," said Strachan. "But what is the row with your +hand, Edwards? I did not see it was bound up in a handkerchief before." + +"Ah, it's nothing; only a bite." + +"A bite!" + +"Yes. There was a poor little Arab chap, such a game little boy, with a +small spear made for him, fighting like a bantam till a bullet broke his +leg and knocked him over. He lay in the first earthwork, and I tried to +give him a drink, but the little rat darted up at me and bit my hand." + +"Have you had it cauterised? I do believe these savages are mad," said +the major. "And what became of the varmint?" + +"I don't know; we had to move on just then." + +"That is the worst part of these Arabs, letting their children go into +the ranks so soon. I hate to see babies made into little men and women. +If they must fight, let them punch one another's heads with their +fists." + +"I suppose, major, that as these Arabs are always fighting with one +another, if there is no one else, it becomes a necessary branch of +education." + +"Well, at any rate," said Jones, who was learned in dogs--their training +and management--and who, indeed, was known as Doggy Jones, "they need +not `enter' them to the British soldier. There are plenty of Egyptians +for them to worry till they have come to their full growth." + +"That is a curious thing about General Baker," said the colonel to Major +Elmfoot. + +"Yes, indeed, it is." + +"Was he hit, sir?" asked Dudley. "I heard something of it." + +"Yes, by a splinter of a shell in the face, just as we came under fire." + +"But I saw him after that." + +"Oh, yes; he got the wound dressed, and remounted, knowing how useful he +could be, knowing the ground. But it is a nasty wound for all that, +MacBean says. The strange thing is that he should have passed unscathed +through the hordes a month ago, when his troops fled and left him +unprotected, and the chances against him looked a hundred to one, and +get hit to-day; the odds were a hundred to one the other way." + +"The most curious case of that sort was Sir Charles Napier," said the +major. "He was one of the most unlucky men that ever lived in the way +of getting hit. In every great battle in which he took part during the +Peninsular War he was severely wounded. But at Meeanee and Dubba, where +he was in command, and almost everything depended upon him, and where, +too, he exposed himself in a manner which made the Sindhees think he had +a charmed life, he did not get a scratch." + +"I wonder whether those Indian fellows fought as hard as these Arabs?" +observed Green. + +"Not much difference, I should say," said the major. "They flung +themselves on the bayonets, and, if not mortally wounded, seized the +muzzles and pressed them to their bodies with the left hand, to get one +cut at their enemy and die. I don't quite see how _that_ could be +beaten in the way of game fighting, though these fellows equal it. I +saw one do much the same thing to-day." + +"And did Sir Charles Napier fight them in square, sir?" asked Green, who +was of an inquiring mind on professional subjects. + +"No, he met them in line, and his men had no breech-loaders in those +days; not even percussion caps; only the old brown bess with a flint and +steel lock, and a good bayonet on the end of her." + +"But perhaps the odds were not so great." + +"Quite, by all accounts. It is true that the Indians fought with swords +and shields, and, after firing their matchlocks, charged home with those +weapons. A swordsman requires space for the swing of his arm, so, +however more numerous they may be, they must fight in looser order than +soldiers armed with the bayonet, and therefore, at the actual point of +meeting, each individual swordsman finds at least two antagonists +opposed to him in the front rank alone. Now these Arabs, fighting +principally with spears, can very often come in a much denser mass. I +only give that idea for what it is worth. I think it may make a good +deal of difference. The nature of the ground, also, would alter the +condition of the contest. But, at any rate, I do not quite see how we +should be safe against getting taken in the rear in any other than the +square formation." + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +TOUCH AND GO! + +Tired men cannot go on talking all night, even about the events of an +exciting day, and one by one our friends rolled themselves up in their +coats and went off to sleep. And how the unfortunates on sentry-go +envied them! That was an infliction which Tantalus escaped, but it +might well compare with those which have caused his name to be embodied +in our language. + +To feel that the lives of a number of other people as well as your own +depend on your keeping extremely wide awake, when you are dead beat and +have to fight against the strongest possible inclination to doze even as +you walk about, is really no light trial of fortitude, though it is not +reckoned amongst the hardships of campaigning. But if you are within +sight of your sleeping comrades, and within hearing of their snores, it +becomes doubly exasperating, and might really sour the temper if it were +not for the consolatory reflection that another time _you_ will be the +happy sleeper, and one of the present performers on the nose will be +listening to your efforts to play upon that organ. + +It has been whispered that evil men when on sentry have been known to +feel a grim delight in an alarm which has dissipated the slumber of +their comfortable comrades, but we may surely hope that this is +slanderous. However that may be, the slumbers of those who were not +kept awake by the pain of wounds or by duty the night after El Teb were +not disturbed, and next day the main body, after a guard had been left +at the wells, went on to Tokar. + +"Do you think they will fight?" asked Green of one of his seniors during +a short halt. + +"Sure to," replied the other. "You saw for yourself what determined +demons they are, and it is not likely that they will give up a place +they have only just taken without striking a blow for it." + +"Do you think they will fight?" asked Tom Strachan of another, not in +the hearing of the first oracle, who had moved away. + +"Not they!" responded the second. "After such a licking as they got +yesterday all the fight will be taken out of them." + +"Which shall we believe, Green?" said Tom presently. + +"It is very puzzling," replied the inquiring mind. "Suppose we wait and +see before we make up our minds." + +"A Daniel come to judgment!" exclaimed Strachan. "A second Daniel! We +_will_ wait." + +"Hulloa! There's Charley Halton!" as a smart young cavalry officer +cantered past with a message, having delivered which he came to exchange +greetings with his friends. + +One of the most enviable of mortals was Halton, a lad who might be the +model for either painter or poet in search of an ideal hero. Handsome, +strong, active, acquiring proficiency in all games and athletic +exercises almost instinctively, a horseman with the hands of a Chaloner, +and the seat of a Land, endowed with a bright intelligence which seized +the common sense of things, and comprehended the meaning of an order as +well as its literal injunctions, and a happy disposition which made a +trouble of nothing, he was a general favourite wherever he went. He was +attached as a galloper--or bearer of orders--to the General's staff, +but, being employed to take a message the day before to his own +regiment, he charged with them, and the officers of the Blankshire who +knew him, and witnessed the charge from a distance, were anxious to know +for certain what had occurred, the reports which had reached them being +too contradictory for reliance. + +"Well, Charley, did you eat them all yesterday?" + +"Not quite; we have left a few for you. Eat them, by Jove! They were +near eating us." + +"Why, you seemed to go through them grandly." + +"Yes, but it was like going through water, which closes on you as you +go. The beggars lay flat, or crouched in holes, and cut at the horses +as they passed, to hamstring or maim them; and good-bye to the poor +fellow whose horse fell! We ought to have had lances, and it would have +been a very different tale. But the troopers' swords could not reach +the beggars, who are as lithe as monkeys. If they had run it would have +been easy to get a cut at them; so it would if they had stood up. But +they were as cool as cucumbers, and dodged just at the right moment. Of +course some were not quite so spry as others, and got cut down; it was a +case of the survival of the fittest. What acrobats they would be in +time if this game lasted long enough! + +"But it was like a nightmare. You know when you have a dream that you +are trying to kill something which won't die; some beast of the eel +persuasion. We went through them, cutting all we knew; re-formed; came +back, doing ditto; through them a third time; and _then_ there was no +satisfaction worth calling such. The fellows were broken up indeed, and +a good lot were sabred, but not so many as there ought to have been +after undergoing one cutting up, let alone three. And the scattered +individuals still showed fight. And we lost awfully; no wonder, for I +will tell you what I saw. + +"A man rode at an Arab who fired and missed him, and then seized his +spear, with the apparent intention of meeting him as an infantry soldier +should, according to Cocker. But when the horse was two yards from him +he fell flat as a harlequin. The trooper leant over on the off side as +low as he could and cut at the beggar, but could not reach him, and the +moment he was past, the Arab jumped up and thrust his spear through him +from behind. I never saw anything done so quickly in all my life; it +was like magic. + +"There was a clever old soldier who was not to be done that way; when he +saw he could not get at his Arab, he slipped off his horse before you +could say `knife,' parried his spear-thrust, ran him through the body, +and was up again like a shot. But it was heart-breaking business +altogether; you should have seen the horses afterwards, cut about +awfully, poor things; and we lost heavily in men too. The Colonel has +had the dead Arabs' spears collected, and armed his regiment with them; +and if they get another chance, you will see much more satisfactory +business, I expect. But I must be off." + +And off accordingly he went, his horse seeming pleased and proud to +carry and obey him. And on went the brigade also towards Tokar. + +Oracle number two proved the correct one; the enemy made no stand at the +place, but streamed away at their approach, while the inhabitants came +out to greet them with every demonstration of joy and gratitude. + +Interpreters were few, and apt to be absorbed by senior officers, but it +was gathered afterwards that the Tokarites were denouncing the Mahdi as +a false prophet and heretic, whose soldiers had despoiled them of their +goods, and only spared their lives on condition of their believing in +him, and this condition they had thought it best to pretend to comply +with, though their consciences rebuked them sorely for the pretended +apostacy. + +But though our friends of the First Blankshire could not understand all +this, whatever officers of other corps may have done, the pantomime of +the men, women, and children was unmistakable, and was only intended to +express the most enthusiastic delight. + +"I shall never make it out," said Green. "Have we relieved the place +after all, then?" + +"Cannot say; we shall find out, perhaps in general orders." + +"Catch a newspaper correspondent; he will tell you all about it." + +"At any rate, the gratitude of the poor people is quite touching." + +"Not quite, thank goodness!" cried Fitzgerald; "at any rate so far as I +am concerned; though a horrid old woman who cannot have washed for +years, and who tainted the air with the rancid fat in her hair for yards +round, tried to kiss me. But I dodged round the major's horse, and left +her to him. In my humble opinion, we want the square formation quite as +much to meet our native friends as our enemies." + +Major Elmfoot got away from his demonstrative female, and rode up to the +group. + +"They seem very fond of us, sir," said Stacy. + +"Yes," responded the major. "I wonder whether they went through the +same performance when the Mahdi's army arrived." + +"But they showed fight, and he took the place by storm, did he not, +sir?" + +"I really do not know; a spy said so. But the place does not look +knocked about at all, and the people seem very jolly. I should not be +surprised if the whole thing were a farce, and Tokar had not been +besieged or taken at all." + +"Then you do not think they are genuine in their welcome, sir?" + +"I do not say that; these people have shops of a sort, I believe, and a +customer is a customer all the world over." + +The troops bivouacked outside Tokar, where nothing further occurred of +any interest, and shortly afterwards they tramped back to the wells at +El Teb, and so to Trinkitat, where they were re-embarked as quickly as +might be, and steamed round to Suakim, which now became the base of +operations. + +And soon Trinkitat was entirely abandoned, and since no natives lived +there (how could they when they had no fresh water?) the place ceased to +be a place at all in any rational sense of the word. + +You may have heard the old explanation of how a cannon is made: "you +take a hole, and pour a lot of melted iron round it." Well, Trinkitat +was a hole, and the English store-houses tents, soldiers, horses, camels +were poured round it, and when they were withdrawn, nothing but the hole +remained. But Suakim was a considerable place, built of coral too, and +very interesting in its way to some people. And what was of more +consequence, there were many good wells close by, from which water could +be obtained all the year round. + +Suakim itself, as has been explained before, is built on an island, but +the British camp was on the mainland, within the circuit of earthworks +which protected the town and harbour. It was on the eighth of March +that the First Blankshire were landed at this camp. The look of the +houses in the town disappointed some of them now they were closer. + +"They don't look like coral at all," said Tom Strachan. "If I had not +been told I should have thought they were the ordinary sun-dried brick +affairs whitewashed." + +"I vote we have a regular inspection of them on the first opportunity," +said Edwards, "and settle the matter once for all." + +"It would be kind to posterity," replied Tom. + +"If you have so much time to spare, which I very much doubt," said +MacBean, "you will employ it better in visiting a very pretty place and +a curious. There is just a gap in the earthworks which protects Suakim, +a regular breach as one may say, which has to be defended by two strong +works, which the sailors have given the names of ships to--Euryalus and +Carysfoot they call them. And why is the gap left? And why are the two +forts made to defend it instead of filling it up? Just because the +rains, which some don't believe in, make a torrent in the proper season, +and this is the watercourse, and everything which barred its passage +would be swept into the sea." + +"I recant and apologise," said Green. "The rain quite convinced me of +its existence at Baker's Fort, I promise you. But you know you sold me +so often that I hardly knew what to believe." + +"I never practise upon anybody's credulity in matters of that sort," +said the doctor. "If a young man likes to believe that the moon is made +of green cheese, I may let him; but atmospheric and scientific facts are +above being trifled with. Well, if you go through this gap, which is +barely a mile off, you will find a very pretty place--the wells, and +sycamore trees, and dates. Just the place to spend a happy day. And if +you take a bottle or two of champagne, and a _pate de foie gras_, I +shall not mind if I make one of the party, and show you the objects of +interest." + +But such a pic-nic was not destined to come off, nor was there even any +opportunity given for testing the coral theory, for there was plenty of +work to be done at the moment, and on the eleventh the intending +pleasure-seekers started for Baker's zereba at six o'clock in the +evening. + +Baker Pasha's Egyptians, though they had not proved much good at +fighting, and had paid the penalty of their cowardice by undergoing a +massacre which made the world thrill with horror, were very useful to +the avenging force which followed so quickly on their traces. The fort +they had constructed near Trinkitat had done much to help the rapid and +successful advance upon Tokar; and now the zereba they had made eight +miles out from Suakim, and in the direction in which Osman Digna lay +with his whole army, made a good first halting-place for the English +troops. A zereba, it should be mentioned, is an enclosed space +surrounded by thorn-covered bushes cut down and packed round it, with +old packing-cases, or anything else which will afford cover to those +inside. This one was particularly strong, being further protected by a +mound of earth all round it. + +When the force, which was the same as before, with the addition of two +hundred Marines, and a mule battery of four nine-pounders, had gone some +little way, night fell, but not darkness, for a bright moon lent them +her rays. Not such a moon as we are accustomed to in these latitudes, +but a large brilliant orb, by whose light small print might be easily +read. + +"You have got the best of it," said MacBean, who rode up first to one +friend amongst the officers and then to another, detailing information +which he managed to pick up, he himself best knew how; but it was, as a +rule, exceptionally correct. "The Highlanders, who marched out to the +zereba yesterday in the heat, suffered awfully. There were five cases +of sunstroke, and lots of other men had a narrow squeak of being bowled +over too." + +"I can easily imagine it," replied Major Elmfoot, "for it was hot enough +in camp." + +"It is not exactly what you would call bracing to-night, even," said +Fitzgerald. + +And, indeed, the air was very close, and the march over the loose sand +fatiguing. But the men stepped out merrily, and joke and song lightened +the way. There was an improvisatore in the Blankshire, whose comrades +considered him a wonderful genius, though, as a matter of fact, his +extempore effusions only consisted of taking some well-known song, and +altering certain words or lines to suit a particular occasion. + +But this was far more successful than original composition would have +been, because it was so readily understood and caught up; and the man +was really shrewd, and often hit on something appropriate. + +He now trolled out in a clear, ringing voice, with every word distinct, +a new version of "The Poacher":-- + + "When I was bound apprentice in a village of Blanksheer, + I served my master truly for close upon a year; + But now I serves her Majesty, as you shall quickly hear, + For 'tis my delight of a shiny night, in the season of the year." + +And then the chorus broke out far and wide:-- + + "For 'tis my delight of a shiny night, in the season of the year." + +And the lads laughed at the aptness of the "shiny night," for that was +evident to the dullest capacity. Thus encouraged, he tried a second +verse:-- + + "As the soldiers and the sailors was a marching to his lair, + Old Digna he was watching us, for him we didn't care; + For the bayonet beats the spear when he rushes on our square, + And 'tis my delight by day or night to beat the Johnnies fair." + +Towards the end of the eight miles march indeed there was less singing +and laughing, for throats were dry and legs weary. What, in eight miles +and at night-time? Well, the next time you are staying at a sea side +place, where there is plenty of sand, you try walking along it, not +where it is firm, but higher up from the sea, where you sink over your +ankles at every step; if you can borrow a rifle and a hundred rounds of +ball cartridge and carry that too, you will be able to form a still more +just opinion; but, even without that, I invite you to consider how many +more miles of it you want when you have gone four. But if they were +tired and thirsty they were full of spirit, and it would only have +required the sight of an enemy to make them as lively as crickets again. + +It was midnight when they arrived, and they bivouacked outside the +zereba in the square formation, every man lying down in the place he +would occupy if the force were attacked, so that if the alarm sounded, +he had only to snatch up his rifle and rise to his feet, and he was +ready for anything. + +But they were not disturbed, and rested till noon on the 12th, when +dinner was eaten, and after it, at 1 p.m., they started once more to +find the foe. As you draw cover after cover to find a fox, so in the +desert you try watering-places when you are seeking game of any kind, +quadruped or biped. And thus information was obtained that Osman Digna +had a camp where all his forces were massed at Tamai, a valley well +supplied with the precious fluid, nine miles from the zereba. + +Once more was theory knocked over by experience. If there is one thing +upon which most people feel quite confident about with regard to Egypt +and the surrounding country, it is that the atmosphere is always +perfectly clear, so that objects are only hidden from the eye by +intervening high ground or the curve of the earth. For, as you probably +know, anything on a (so called) level surface like the sea may be +visible if the atmosphere allows it for ten miles, to a man on the same +plane the shore say; but beyond that distance it gets so far round the +globe we inhabit as to be hidden. Of course the taller it is the longer +the top of it can be seen, as you will often perceive a ship's top masts +after the hull and lower spars have vanished. + +Or, on the other hand, the higher the ground you stand on the further +round the earth's curve you can see; so that a man living on the top of +a high mountain has a longer day than one on a flat, since the sun rises +earlier and sets later for him. + +But it was neither high ground nor the dip of the horizon which bounded +the view of those quitting the zereba, but a thick, grey, British haze, +which swallowed up everything a thousand yards in front, and out of +which the Arab hosts might pour at any moment. The order of advance was +different on this occasion, two squares instead of one being formed, the +right under General Buller, and the left being commanded by General +Davis. The guns were dragged with ropes by men of the Naval Brigade--a +tug of war with a vengeance. The haze being so thick would have made it +difficult to go straight for the enemy's position had the information +been as uncertain as was sometimes the case, but happily it had been +ascertained that if they took a south-west course they could not go far +wrong, and the compass came to their aid. + +The cavalry marched in rear of the square, with the exception of the +scouts, who with the Mounted Infantry explored the ground in front, +preventing the possibility of a surprise. Tramp, tramp, mile after +mile, hour after hour, plodded the two brigades, with many a halt to +enable the man-drawn guns to keep with them. But tedium and fatigue +were thought nothing of. The man who would consider a five-mile walk +without an object a frightful infliction would think nothing of ten with +a gun in his hand, and the chance of game getting up every minute. It +is the same with all sports. How far across country could you run alone +for the mere sake of exercise? And how far in a paper-chase, with the +hare to run down and other hounds to compete with? Think how this +stimulating excitement must be intensified when there is an enemy in +front of you certain to fight well, and make you do all you know to beat +him. After awhile the haze grew thinner, and a range of hills loomed +through it in the distance. + +As the atmosphere grew clearer these became distinct, and were seen to +be low, while a higher range rose above them beyond. On towards the +higher ground slowly moved the two brigades, with a total front of from +400 to 500 yards, the scouts spread in a cloud before them, and these +were now amongst the spurs of the lower hills. + +Presently a couple of them came galloping back with the report that +these were clear of the enemy, who were massed further behind, and were +watching the English advance. And then a group of mounted infantry were +seen returning at a slower pace. + +"Look!" cried Strachan, whose eyes were remarkably good; "they have +caught some natives." + +And sure enough the troopers could presently be distinguished, coming on +in a semi-circle, driving before them a group of men who were unarmed, +and declared themselves friendly, or at least no adherents of the Mahdi, +Osman Digna, or any votaries of the new Mohammedan heresy. This might +be true, but the officer with the scouts thought the general had better +decide so knotty a point, and so they were thus brought before him, +travelling perhaps a little quicker than they were accustomed to, but +otherwise uninjured. + +"That's the way to run fellows in!" cried Tom, enthusiastically. "A +fellow, you see, is bound to go straight when he has several rifles +pointed at his head in cold blood. There goes the interpreter. I wish +the colonel would just go up and hear what it is about, because he would +tell the major, and the major would tell the captains loud enough for us +poor subs to hear, perhaps." + +"The colonel knows his duty," said Fitzgerald, "and does not intrude +upon the general unless he is sent for." + +"I know he doesn't, but I wish he did," replied Tom. "However, we shall +get it all out of old MacBean." + +And sure enough, soon after the captured natives had been pumped dry and +dismissed, the doctor rode up. + +"No fighting for you, my boys," he said. "The Arabs won't meet you this +time, I expect, and you have had your walk for nothing. I expect that +they see that the sun will lick us single-handed, and they need not take +the trouble." + +"What makes you say that?" + +"Well, at El Teb, you know, they kept their women and boys with them, +and these carried hatchets to kill our wounded with after the fight." + +"That's their notion of surgery," said Tom, in a very audible aside. + +"It goes more directly to its result than ours." + +"Wait till you come under my hands, you young monkey! You will sing a +different song then." + +"I have no doubt you will hurt me more than Mrs Arab would, doctor; but +then you would cure me, you know, and she wouldn't." + +"Never mind that cheeky boy, MacBean," said Fitzgerald. "Why won't they +fight now?" + +"Because they have sent all their women and boys away, and that, the +friendly natives say, is a sure sign." + +"Curious; it is just the other way on with other savage people, who send +their families off when they _do_ mean to fight." + +"But the Arabs are only half savages; and besides they are quite unlike +other people. Why, their lucky day is Friday, and their unlucky day +Wednesday." + +"Yes," said Tom Strachan, "and Robinson Crusoe called his savage Friday, +and these fellows calls their Prophet Tuesday." + +"Tuesday! What _do_ you mean?" asked Major Elmfoot. + +"Mardi is the French for Tuesday, is it not, sir?" + +"Strachan, you are really too bad, to make such execrable puns in the +middle of the desert." + +"That is it, sir? I thought even my poor flowers of speech might be +welcome in such a barren waste!" + +Soon after this the colonel was called up to the brigadier, and when he +returned he communicated what he had been told to his officers. The low +hills being found clear of the enemy, it was intended to occupy them at +once, and then if possible to advance upon the camp and the wells, and +carry that position before nightfall. But this depended on what +daylight they had, for rather than risk being overtaken by darkness in +an unfavourable position, it was determined to form a zereba and wait +for the advance till next day. + +"It is just four o'clock," said Strachan, looking at his watch as he +returned to his company; "and surely there must be a fair chance of +carrying the wells before sunset, for I see a lot of the enemy on the +hills beyond. Therefore I shall risk a drink," and he put his water- +bottle to his lips accordingly. + +"Hurrah! So will I," said Green. + +"I have been fighting down the feeling of thirst for the last two hours. +Do you know," he added, after a refreshing and yet a tantalising +irrigation of the mouth and throat, "I have been haunted by a sort of +waking dream while plodding on in silence this afternoon. There was an +old man who used to bring fruit and ginger-beer to the cricket-field at +my school, and he has kept rising up in my memory so vividly that I +could see every wrinkle in his face, and the strings which kept down the +corks of his brown stone bottles as vividly as if they were before me." + +"I wish they were!" cried Tom. "By Jove, what a trade the man might +drive if he could be transported here just now." + +"Oh! And I have often scorned that nectarial fluid," groaned Edwards, +"or only considered it as a tolerable ingredient of shandy--" + +"Silence!" cried Strachan. + +"Don't utter that word, or I shall simply go mad. It is quite bad +enough of the exasperating Green to allude to the homely pop, though one +bore with it in consideration of the tender reminiscences of his +childhood; but human endurance has its limits." + +Those who reckoned on carrying the wells that night were over sanguine; +when the rising ground was reached the progress of the guns was very +slow; indeed, it was wonderful how the sailors managed to drag them on +at all. + +The atmosphere had now for some time become perfectly clear; and when +the infantry had surmounted the first hill they saw the broad valley of +Tamai, and on the hills bounding it on the further side, corresponding +with the somewhat lower range, where they stood, the enemy's lines were +plainly discernible. + +There were multitudes on foot, and others mounted, some on camels, some +on horseback. The brigades halted, and the scouts pushed to the front, +to unmask the enemy's position. + +"Do you think we shall get on to-night, sir?" asked Major Elmfoot of the +colonel. + +"Not a chance of it," replied the chief. "But let the men lie still and +have a good rest before they begin making the zereba." + +So they did; even the youngest and most curious had learned by this time +to husband their strength and snatch forty winks whenever they got a +chance. + +"They are at it!" cried Edwards presently, as crack! crack! was heard in +front; and then a couple of volleys, followed by more single shots and +more volleys again, and then, when the work seemed getting really hot, +sudden silence. Some object had been obtained, but what it was exactly +regimental officers could not know till they read all about it in the +papers afterwards. However, the question of advancing that evening, +which had before been answered practically, was now settled officially +in the negative, and the order to make the zereba was issued. Mimosa +and cactus trees, many of them seven feet high, grew thickly around, so +there was no lack of material. + +A position was chosen, protected on one side by a sand-hill, which made +a natural rampart, and then parties were sent out to cut and bring in +the cactus and mimosa bushes, and these were arranged round the space +marked out, forming a prickly barrier. And at the same time the ground +was cleared of cover where an enemy might lie concealed for from fifty +to a hundred yards in every direction, and that was space sufficient to +stop any number of Arabs rushing across it with steady rifle-fire. And +it soon became evident that this was no mean advantage, for heads were +seen popping above the nearest bushes, on the borders of the zone which +had been cleared, and it was evident that directly the scouts were +withdrawn the Arabs had followed up to the English position, and were +now prowling and prying around it. + +As the wells could not be taken that night, and the horses could not do +without water, the cavalry retraced their steps, and rode back to +Baker's zereba, the point from which they had started in the morning. +When they were gone the enemy entirely surrounded the zereba, which was +like a ship in the midst of angry waves, hungry for her destruction. +While daylight lasted the men inside watched Osman Digna's seemingly +innumerable soldiers dodging about, and when night fell the knowledge +that they were there unseen, and might attack on all sides at any +moment, was really calculated to try the nerves. For there is nothing +more unpleasant than the idea of any one pouncing upon you suddenly in +the dark. But the nerves of our friends were getting pretty well +seasoned by this time. Only Green, who was very frank, observed to +Strachan that it seemed very lonely now the cavalry had gone. Mr Tom, +to tell the truth, had the same feeling of isolation, and even his high +spirits were rather damped. + +"I will tell you what is lonely if you like," he said plaintively, "and +that is my last meal: it wants a companion very much indeed, and I could +find plenty of room for it, and for a gallon or two of water besides." + +"Yes, indeed," replied Green; "if one had a good square meal well +moistened, one would feel, I think, that even the enemy were a sort of +company." + +But food and water had run very short, and some of the men were faint. +The colonel made them a little speech; he was not an orator, but what he +said was generally practical. + +His remarks on the present occasion were to the following effect-- + +"We are short of rations, both liquid and solid, men; but you have +plenty of cartridges, and the wells are but a mile and a half off, so +that we only want daylight to get as much water as we please." + +They got a supply sooner than was expected, however, for at half-past +nine there was a bustle, and the sentries challenged; and, after a brief +parley, a string of camels was admitted into the zereba, with water and +other necessaries on their backs. Major Cholmondeley Turner had brought +them over from Baker's zereba, and got them safely in clear of the +Arabs. He belonged to the Egyptian Carrier Corps, and you may imagine +how he was cheered. + +The men lay down in lines two deep, leaving a space of twelve feet +between the front rank and the hedge of the zereba. They wore their +great coats and slept with their rifles in their hands, the officers +being in rear. In the twelve foot space which was left the sentries +patrolled, and there was no need to ingress the necessity of vigilance +upon them; the known vicinity of the enemy put them sufficiently on the +_qui vive_. + +All, however, was quiet till an hour after midnight, when the sleepers +were awakened by a tremendous fusillade, and a storm of bullets came +rushing over the zereba. But as the men were lying down, or crouching +under the hedge, only a few unfortunate animals were struck by the +leaden shower. + +To show, however, what absurd things men will do in a panic, an Egyptian +camel driver jumped, in his fright, over the prickly hedge, and ran +along it _outside_, exposed to the enemy's bullets. These failed to +strike him, but an English sentry inside naturally took him for an Arab +trying to force an entrance, and shot him dead. The firing was still +kept up by the enemy, and as some of the shots came lower, being sent +through the hedges, the bivouac fires had to be put out, as their light +evidently guided the Soudanese in their aim. The night was cold, and +this was felt all the more after the heat of the day. And the men lay +shivering, unable to sleep, and wishing for day. + +As Strachan lay thus, wrapping himself round as closely as he could in +his great coat, he heard a thud just in front of him, and the man lying +there gave a gasp and straightened his limbs. Strachan rose and went to +him, asking-- + +"Are you hit, my lad?" But there was no answer; he was quite dead. + +This, however, was the only fatal effect of some four or five hours' +incessant firing, for the Arabs kept it up for the remainder of the +night. + +At six o'clock the sun rose, and the enemy no longer had it all their +own way. A nine-pounder was run up to the zereba hedge, and pointed in +the direction from which the fusillade was hottest, and on another side +a Gardner was brought to bear on a bit of cover where the Arabs +clustered thickly. Ere the sun was quite above the horizon the loud +sharp report of the former cheered the hearts of those who had been so +hemmed in and pestered, and a second or so after there was a second bang +as the avenging shell burst right among the bushes a thousand yards off. +At the same time the ger-r-er of the machine-gun told that its handle +was turning, and its deadly missiles tearing through the light cover. +The effect was immediate; the enemy cleared off like midges from a puff +of tobacco smoke, and retired across the valley to their own lines. + +At eight o'clock the troops issued from the zereba and advanced, as +before, in two squares in _echelon_, as it is called, which means that +one was in advance of the other, but not directly in front of it. If it +were, and the force were attacked, you will easily see that the rear +side of the leading square and the front side of the following square +could not fire at anything between them without injuring one another. +Or if they were on a level, side by side, it would be the same thing, +the faces opposite could not use their rifles without firing into each +other. But with one square a little in rear this danger is avoided, and +each can support the other. Take a pencil and paper and draw two +squares upon it if you do not see what I mean. Masses of the enemy +could be seen crowning the hills in front and to the right, dark masses +on the sides, distinct figures on the sky-line. + +The route lay across dry water-courses, which were inconvenient for the +square formation, the ranks being necessarily broken in descending and +ascending the sides, so causing little delays while the men closed into +their places again when clear. But they pressed steadily on, the Second +Brigade leading. If the sun rose at six, why did not the troops march +before eight? You may ask. Because the cavalry had to return from +Baker's zereba, where they had gone the night before, you may remember, +to water their horses. These now came to the front and spread out +skirmishing. They were soon engaged with the enemy, and the firing grew +very hot, forcing the skirmishers to retire, while the Arab masses +pressed on. The leading square now came to the edge of a large _nullah_ +or dry river-bed, sixty feet deep and two hundred yards wide, thickly +strewn with boulders, and having larger masses of rock rising from its +depth. + +This nullah was full of Arabs, crowds of whom swarmed up also to the +further bank, and from these a heavy fire was poured upon the square, +the other sides of which were also assailed. The First Blankshire was +in this brigade, but not on the side next the nullah, and the men were +firing rather wildly. For the first time since he joined Tom Strachan +saw his captain, Fitzgerald, in a rage. + +"You confounded idiots!" he yelled to his men, "what's the use of firing +at them a mile off! What are you shooting at, Smith--a balloon? You +are no use at all, Strachan; why don't you make your section reserve +their fire? Steady, men, steady!" + +All the other officers were making similar efforts, but for a time it +was no good. Bodies of Arabs kept sweeping round some seven hundred +yards off, watching their chance for a dash, and the men would keep +firing at them, and, what was worse, hurriedly, without a cool aim. +Indeed a good aim was not to be had, for they were only dimly seen +through the smoke. And it was this probably which bothered the men; the +ground in front was rough, and might conceal enemies close to them; +there were swarms in all directions, and they fired at those they got a +glimpse of. + +Neither was the distance anything like out of range, only recent +experience had shown that it required very severe concentration of fire +at the closest quarters to make any impression on these brave Soudanese, +and the losses which can be inflicted at seven hundred yards are slight +comparatively, especially if the aim is not very cool and deliberate. + +"Cease firing!" at last shouted a superior officer, and the word being +promptly echoed by all, and enforced by actually grasping the shoulders +of the most excited and flurried men, it slackened at length, and there +seemed to be a good prospect of the unsteadiness calming down; and after +all, this burst of wild firing had only lasted about three minutes. The +atmosphere, however, was heavy; there was not a breath of air stirring, +and the smoke hung in so thick a pall overhead, that it was impossible +to see what was going on. + +"Steady!" cried our friend Tom, who really had not deserved his +captain's reproach, for he had been struggling all he knew to restrain +his men's fire, only they got out of hand with him as with everybody +else for a minute. + +"Wait till the smoke clears, unless they come out of it a yard from your +muzzles. Not a shot at present, or ever without a steady aim." + +"That's right," shouted Major Elmfoot; "stick to that, Strachan. No +more wild shooting, men. Ah!" + +There is an infinite variety of expression in the various tones of the +human voice, and that simple "_All_!" conveyed more than I can give you +any idea of. There was surprise in it and dismay, but not a suspicion +of panic; on the contrary, determination was clearly expressed. The +accent of the exclamation indeed was so striking that Strachan turned as +sharply as if he had been struck, and at the further corner of the +square he saw white teeth, gleaming eyes, tangled black locks, dark +naked forms, and glittering spearheads, and--_British soldiers recoiling +before them_! + +As the major uttered his cry, he crammed his spurs into his horse's +sides, and with one bound was among them, cutting and pointing like a +trooper, and Tom found himself close to him, though whether he moved or +the seething, struggling mass came upon him where he stood he did not +quite know. One thing he felt sure of, that the situation was just as +critical as it possibly could be. Careless, light-hearted lad as he +was, he could not lead the life and pass through the scenes of the last +few days without becoming familiar with the thought that every hour +might very likely prove his last. + +But that conviction, which would have been so terrible in cold blood, +gave him little concern now; it was the feeling of _being beaten_ which +was such mental agony. What was his life, what was the life of any man, +of a million of men, compared with defeat? At that moment he would have +flung himself into the fire to secure victory for his side. I do not +wish to make him out an exceptional hero, and he was not a fellow to +brag, but it is certain that at that crisis he felt no fear whatever, no +more than when having got hold of the ball in a football match at +Harton, he had thought: + +"I must have it between the goal posts, if I die for it!" + +It has been explained before how he had attained a rare proficiency with +his weapons; he had not fired his pistol yet, and he was as clear-headed +and firm in nerve as man could be. While the chambers of his revolver +were loaded he was in little danger from spearmen in front of him, for +he parried the thrust with his sword, and shot the assailant _through +the head_, and even an Arab is knocked out of time by that. But against +a thrust in the side or the back no skill or coolness could defend him. +And presently he was so jammed up by retreating soldiers that he could +not use his arms, and then he was quite powerless for self-help. + +It happened, by the best accounts, in this fashion. Covered by the +dense smoke, the Arabs swarmed out of the nullah upon the face of the +square on the edge of it. The foremost flung themselves on the +bayonets; those behind pressing them on to them, the soldiers could not +draw their weapons out, and found themselves hampered with dying foes, +whose breast-bones were jammed against the muzzles of their rifles. If +they drew back to release their weapons, the enemy took instantaneous +advantage of the space yielded. When they strove to stand firm they +were pushed bodily back by the dense mass surging upon them since the +Soudanese in rear could push on with perfect impunity wherever the +bayonets were sheathed in the bodies of the front rank. The sailors who +manned the machine-guns at one corner were driven back by main force +with the rest, but made a desperate effort to keep back the savages, +while certain parts without which the guns were useless could be +removed. They succeeded, but at the cost of many lives, and then back +they had to go, leaving the guns, now happily harmless, in the enemy's +hands. + +The confusion was frightful, the front face of the square being driven +back upon the rear, and the sides jammed up with them. And then the +whole tangled mass was forced slowly back, fighting its hardest. For +there was no turning tail; the retreating soldiers kept their faces to +the foe, and where they had their arms free delivered thrust for thrust. +Marines and Highlanders fought back to back, and fought like bull-dogs. +So did the Arabs for that matter; they lay tumbled over in hundreds, +but others came on over their bodies. Seventy English were killed in a +few minutes. Fighting thus the Second Brigade, now no longer a square, +was pushed back nearly half a mile. + +But now the charging Arabs came under the fire of the First Brigade, the +square on the right, up to which the enemy had not been able to +penetrate. This was so well directed and murderous as to check the rear +masses of the Arabs, and the Second Brigade having only those in +immediate contact to deal with, and relieved from the tremendous +pressure, soon got on terms with their enemy again, shook them off, and +recovered their lost formation. + +The battle was restored; the retreat turned into an advance. + +The Arabs, now driven back in turn, retired some distance and opened +fire, which was not very effective. Indeed, in spite of it, the re- +formed square, when it had recovered some hundred yards of its lost +ground, was halted for a quarter of an hour for the purpose of serving +out fresh ammunition, the men being exhorted not to waste it as they had +done before. Desirous of retrieving their former error in this respect, +they were as steady as veterans now, and advancing in line, firing +deliberately and with careful aim, they cleared the ground in front, and +fought back to the brink of the nullah where the enemy had broken their +ranks, and re-captured the guns, the First Brigade moving up at the same +time on their right. Savage with the idea that they had been forced to +retire and leave their guns, though it was principally the sheer weight +of numbers that had done it, and burning with revenge, the men set their +teeth and went down into the nullah, clearing all before them. The +Arabs defended every bush, every rock, every boulder; but there was no +wild firing now, at thirty, twenty, ten paces, and even closer; every +bullet had its billet, and the valley was cleared of the living, though +every point which afforded cover, and had been tenaciously held by Osman +Digna's soldiers, had its groups of corpses behind it. + +Officers were intoxicated with delight at the way their men behaved +after their early discouragement. + +"That's the way!" + +"Let them have it!" + +"Give it 'em hot, boys!" + +"Good man, O'Grady; there's another for you!" + +"That's your sort; never pull trigger till you can blow him to +smithereens." + +The advance of the line was not rapid, but it left nothing living behind +it. Then the First Brigade under Redvers Buller went into and across +the nullah, making for the second ridge held by the enemy some half mile +off, still keeping the square formation. It was well that the distance +to be traversed was so short, for it was now getting on for ten o'clock, +and the power of the sun was intense. The ground, too, was covered with +sharp rocks of red granite, and these had become so hot as to burn the +feet. But what do brave men feel in the delirium of battle? When close +to the foe a volley rang out, and then from every parched throat +"Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" burst forth, as with levelled bayonets +they rushed upon the broken ranks before them, and the ridge was +carried. + +There was a second beyond it, where the Arabs still lingered, and for +that again they went. But the enemy, the fight at last taken out of +them, made but a feeble stand, and it was carried at the first onset. +But what was that firing in their rear? Had a body of Soudanese lain +concealed somewhere? Or had their dead come to life again? Neither. + +One of the Gardner guns had been overturned into the limber containing +its ammunition, and set fire to. This kept burning, hissing, and firing +shots like a gigantic and malevolent cracker for a long time. But the +Blue Jackets recovered the gun. When the victorious troops crowned the +last ridge, the valley of Tamai lay below them, and there was spread the +camp of Osman Digna, the object of their march, the prize for which they +had been fighting. The enemy made no further attempt to defend it; they +had proved to their cost that the Mahdi's assurance that the infidel +guns would "spit water" was a lie. + +They were disheartened, beaten at all points, and hundreds of their best +and bravest lay in heaps on the hills and in the valleys to feed the +vultures and the jackals. It was no retreat such as they often made, +stalking slowly and sullenly from the field where they had been foiled, +but a disorderly flight, a rout. + +The camp was left to the conquerors, with two standards, all their +ammunition, tents, stores, and the spoils of former victories, and +before noon the English, without fear of molestation, were slaking their +thirst at the wells. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +A SEARCH. + +"May I go back to look for Strachan, sir, if you please?" + +"Yes, Green," replied the colonel, "but take a file of men with you. I +think there are none of these fellows left about, but some of the +wounded may prove dangerous. Where did you last see him?" + +"In the _melee_, sir, when the square was forced to retire. He was all +right then." + +"And did no one see him after that?" + +"No one that I can hear of, sir." + +"Ah, poor lad! Well, we must hope he will turn up alive. A good +officer." + +"Well, has the colonel given you leave to go?" asked Fitzgerald. "I +knew he would, but Stacy did not care to take the responsibility, for +fear anything should happen to you. You had better take a file of men +of my company; they knew him best. I wish I could go, but I have too +much to do. Of course, you will take a stretcher from the ambulance; it +will be probably useful for some other fellow, if not for poor Tom." + +Directly Green had turned from Fitzgerald, a sergeant brought a man up +to him. + +"James Gubbins wishes to speak to you, sir," he said, saluting. + +"I beg your pardon, sir," said Gubbins when called upon to unfold his +wishes, "but I heerd say as you was a-going back over them hills to look +for Mr Strachan, sir." + +"Yes, Gubbins, what then?" asked Green. + +"Well, sir, might I ask to go too? He was very kind to me, and I was in +his ker--ker--company, sir;" and the man's voice faltered. + +"Yes, Gubbins," replied Green, who appreciated perhaps more than others +the sentiment which animated the poor fellow, for he himself had been a +bit of a butt at first, and had been very grateful for Tom Strachan's +friendship. "I am to take two men of Captain Fitzgerald's company, and +you shall be one of them." + +"Thank you kindly, sir." + +"And pick another to go with him, will you, sergeant? A fellow with his +wits about him, you know." + +He did not add "to make up for poor Gubbins's deficiency in that +respect," but that was what he meant, and so the sergeant understood +him. + +"Let me see," he said, on rejoining his company; "his servant would be +the best man. Dodd! Has any one seen Dodd?" + +"He was killed, sergeant, just when the gun was taken." + +"Ah, yes, so he was. Who to send? No, Sims, my lad; it would not do to +have both idiots." + +"I saw Mr Strachan last, from all I can make out," said another man; +"send me, sergeant." + +"Ah, yes, Davis, you will do. Where was it though?" + +"It was in the nullah, sergeant. One of the Johnnies got past my +bayonet, and tried to wrestle, but I got my rifle at the port, and +pushed it forward into his face, damaging the sights a little and +knocking him down. And at that moment another of them jumped on my +shoulders from a rock above, sending me sprawling on top of the chap I +had just floored. I wriggled round and saw t'other with his spear up a +couple of feet over my neck, when he tumbled over, and there was Mr +Strachan, with his sword well into the Johnny's stomach. I jumped up, +and had no time to thank him, or see where he went. We was too busy." + +"All right, you go at once with Gubbins to Mr Green; he is speaking to +the major, yonder. And hark! both of you. If you see an Arab lying +like dead, with a weapon of any sort in his hand, run your bayonet +through him first, and ask him if he is alive afterwards, for we have +lost too many men as it is, and the duties will come heavy. Right-about +turn; quick march!" + +"Well, good luck go with you," Major Elmfoot was saying, as Green +started. "But I fear that he must be dead, or the ambulance would have +found him and brought him in." + +"I wish they would not talk like that," thought Green, as he went off, +followed by his two men. "Everybody speaks of poor Tom in the past +tense, from the colonel to Gubbins. I won't believe that he is dead +till I see it; as for the ambulance, they have had plenty of work, and +might easily miss him, if he is senseless, and unable to call out." + +He went round to the Field Hospital, where the surgeons were busy at +work, and applied for a stretcher. But he was told it was unnecessary +to take one, there were several about the fatal spot where the hard +fighting had taken place, and two others which had just brought in their +blood-stained burdens were going back presently. + +So the three went on their way unencumbered. + +It was perfectly calm and still; the sun was getting low in the west, +but its rays, though not so scorching as at mid-day, were sickening, and +productive of extreme lassitude. On the first low range of hills they +crossed the bodies were not numerous, and down in the valley at the foot +of them they only came upon one group. A knot of Arabs retreating to +their last position had evidently been overtaken by a shell bursting in +their midst, and their fearfully mangled bodies showed what modern +science can effect when applied in earnest to the work of war. On the +next ridge the Soudanese dead lay thicker; lying dotted about singly +where the Martini-Henry bullets had stopped them, or strewed in rows +like the corn sheaves where the reaping machine has passed, as the +Gatling guns, sweeping slowly from right to left, and pouring missiles +with the regularity and continuous stream of a fire-engine, had mowed +their ranks. + +"I say, Gubbins," said Davis, "we fought fairly well to-day I reckon; +but do you think we should have stood against such a fire as that?" + +"Well, I don't know," replied Gubbins. "If there had been any cover +near I, for one, should have felt uncommon inclined to make for it. I +can't abide them shells and machine-guns." + +"No, it seems like fighting against lightning and thunderbolts, don't +it?" said Davis. + +But as this was an idea which required some cogitation and digesting +before it could become assimilated in the Gubbins' mind, it remained +without reply. + +As they approached the edge of the nullah the harvest of Soudanese lay +thicker and thicker, and when they got down into the dry bed of the +watercourse, they had to pick their way in places to avoid treading on +the corpses. + +And here, for the first time, English dead lay intermingled with the +Arab. There was peace between them now. + +"Look carefully here," said Green, turning over a kharkee-clad body +which lay on its face as he spoke: it was not his friend. + +"Ah, would yer!" cried Davis, presently; and there was a gasp and a cry, +which might be rage or pain, as he thrust his bayonet into an Arab who, +though his legs were shattered, made a cut at him with his sword as he +passed. And Davis was as tender-hearted a man as ever stepped; liked +playing with children; petted dogs, cats, and birds; and would risk his +own life to save that of another, though a perfect stranger. He had +proved it, and had the right to wear the medal of the Royal Humane +Society on his right breast. But circumstances are too strong for all +of us. + +The search was long and ineffective. + +"You are certain it was in the nullah that Mr Strachan killed the Arab +who was on the top of you?" Green asked Davis. + +"Certain, sir; and that rock I showed you was the one the Johnny jumped +off, I am pretty sure; though there's such a many of them, and they are +so like, I wouldn't swear." + +"And you had not leisure to look very particularly. But still, though +you saw him here, he may have gone back for some of his men, for in +dodging the enemy round stones and bushes they got scattered a bit. We +had better go over the ground where we were so hard at it." + +So they clambered up the further bank of the nullah, and stood again on +the ground over which they had advanced, been driven back, and advanced +again in the morning. Here the Soudanese lay in hundreds, piled up in +places in heaps, three or even four deep, one on the top of another. +And here too the English dead were terribly thick. But the ambulance +had been at work for some hours, and all who had life in them were +removed, while many of the dead had been withdrawn from the mingled +heaps, and laid decently side by side, and apart. + +Green saw that this acre of the Aceldama had been, or was being, +thoroughly explored, and he returned to the nullah, where the three +continued their search, examining now the outlying crevices and bushes, +where individual men, stricken to death, had crawled away; or the +pursuing English, observing skulking foes, had spread to clear them out, +and prevent being fired upon from the rear after they had passed; and +searching in this manner they got separated. + +Where could poor Tom Strachan have got to? The sun was sinking fast, +there would not be much more daylight, and if he were not found soon he +might be left without help all night. For Green would not think of him +as dead, and no more for that matter did Gubbins, though Davis had given +up all hope long ago. But he did not say so. + +Walking up the nullah a bit to the right, Green came to the foot of a +huge mass of black rock about twelve feet high, and he thought that from +the top of that he might get a more extended view of the bed of the +nullah, and perhaps discern some hollow which had not yet been explored. +The climbing was not difficult, and he soon sprang up. There were +smaller boulders on the little plateau, and a mimosa bush, and an +English officer lying on his back, with his arms extended, and his sword +attached to his right wrist. + +Green ran to his side; it was the object of his search--Tom Strachan. + +"Dead!" he cried. "Poor old Tom; dead after all!" + +He knelt down and took his left arm up in order to get nearer to his +body, to feel if there was warmth in it. + +The arm was limp, not stiff; the fingers had been cut by some sharp +weapon, and when stirred, blood dropped from them. These signs gave +Green fresh hope, and loosening the kharkee, he thrust his hand into his +breast. Certainly there was warmth! + +He raised the body a little, propping the shoulders against a stone, and +taking out a flask he had brought for the purpose, he poured a little +brandy into the mouth. It was swallowed. He gave him more, and +presently he moved his lips and eyelids. + +His first fear over, Green examined him more closely, and found that his +clothes were saturated with blood from a broad wound, no doubt a spear- +thrust, in the right side. Surgeons were not far, and immediate +assistance might be everything, so he rose and went to the edge of the +rock to call Davis or Gubbins, who must be within reach of his voice. + +Shouting their names, he passed close to the mimosa bush, from the cover +of which a man, with tangled locks and glaring eyes, and naked, but for +a waist-cloth, sprang out upon him like a wild cat. + +He had lost or broken his weapons, but he clasped the young officer in +his arms, and bore him to the ground, and then, searching for his throat +with his hands, sought to throttle him, while Green, keeping his chin +down to his chest, and dragging at his hands, strove to prevent his +design. + +The movement was so sudden that he never suspected the Arab's presence +till he was on him. The savage wrenched his left arm free; Green upon +this got his right-hand down, and managed to clutch his revolver; and +just as his enemy's fingers forced their way under his chin to his +throat, he put the muzzle to his head and pulled the trigger. + +His helmet having fallen off in the struggle, his own hair was singed by +the explosion, but he was free; the Arab rolled away from him, his head +shattered--a gruesome spectacle. + +Just as Green got to his feet again, his two men appeared on the rock. +They had heard him call, and the voice had guided them in that +direction; and while they were hesitating the pistol-shot told them +exactly where their officer was. + +"He is up here, and alive," said Green. "Run, one of you--you, Davis-- +to the place where we saw the doctors and stretchers, and tell them. +Take good note of this spot, that you may not miss it. But I don't +think they are a thousand yards off." + +"I shall know it, sir," said Davis, and he disappeared over the side of +the rock. + +Green was now once more by Strachan's side, and with Gubbins' help got +him into a more comfortable position. The spear-head which had wounded +him, with a couple of feet of the shaft, lay close by, as if he had +pulled it out before losing consciousness. The rest of the shaft also +lay near, half cut through, half broken, close to the edge of the rock, +and underneath that spot, at the foot of the crag, was the body of an +Arab--head amongst the large stones, feet and legs uppermost--resting on +the steep side. + +Probably it was the man who had speared Strachan, his weapon, previously +hacked nearly through, breaking with the thrust. And one of the +soldiers storming the rock had shot him as he was making off. As for +the disarmed man who had attacked Green, he had probably taken refuge up +there after the tide of battle had swept past, intending to escape at +nightfall, but the sight of a foe so close was too tempting for his +prudence. + +All this, however, is only conjecture; the certain fact was that poor +Tom Strachan had a wide wound in the side, and that Green dared not move +him much, because it made the life-stream well out afresh. There was +nothing for it but to wait till medical aid arrived. + +It is surprising what trivial ideas and memories, such as tags of old +songs, or anecdotes more or less appropriate to the occasion, will run +in our heads when we are anxious about anything, and are forced to +remain in inactivity. All the time certain lines of Sir Walter Scott +would worry Green, as he knelt there by his friend: + + "That spear wound has our master sped; + And see the deep cut on his head. + Good-night to Marmion." + +Over and over and over again rang the lines, till Strachan himself +dissipated them by moving his hand and murmuring. It was evident that +what he wanted was water, and so Green put his gourd to his mouth, and +after a refreshing draught, consciousness returned to the wounded man's +eyes. + +Then Green gently disengaged the sword-knot from his wrist, and, +unbuckling his belt, returned the weapon to its scabbard, not without +having to wipe it first. + +Strachan made a movement of his hand again towards it, evidently knowing +that something was taken from him. But Green showed him the sword, and +said, "It is all right, I am only wiping it for you;" and the other was +placid again immediately, and closed his eyes. + +It was not long before the surgeon came, and they got Strachan's kharkee +jacket off, and bandaged him up. + +"He has lost a lot of blood," said the surgeon, "and that is why he +fainted, probably." + +"Will it kill him?" + +"Not necessarily at all. It is a nice clean wound, and all depends upon +how far it has penetrated. Of course, a man cannot have a sharp +instrument thrust into his body without some danger to the vital organs. +The pressing matter, however, is how to lower him from this. I have +got a stretcher at the bottom all right, but the sides of this rock are +pretty steep for a badly wounded man to get down." + +"Yes," said Green. + +"But I have examined carefully all round it, and this is the best +place." + +And he indicated a corner where there were ledges which formed steps; +and here they carried Tom Strachan, and lowered him as gently and +carefully as might be. + +They could not avoid a jolt or two, which elicited a moan; but it was +not far to the bottom, and there was the stretcher. Just as they had +managed to get him settled the sun sank, and it was amidst the usual +display of orange, crimson, and purple fireworks that they picked their +way amongst the corpses which strewed the nullah. It was another job to +carry their burden up the steep sides of this, but they managed it +before darkness settled down on the battle-field. + +At the other side, however, they were soon forced to halt, and wait for +the rising of the moon. She was up, but had not appeared over the hills +yet, and the ground where they were was in such deep shadow that the +bearers could not go a dozen yards without stumbling either over a dead +body or the inequalities of the surface. It was a weird thing to wait +there in the gloom in the midst of those who had been so full of life +and vigour in the morning, and were now as motionless, senseless, as the +boulders amongst which they were scattered. + +While waiting thus, they fancied they saw several dark figures gliding +by them, and Green held his revolver ready, thinking that live Arabs +were still prowling around, or taking advantage of the darkness to +escape from the nooks where they had lain concealed. Presently, +however, the moon topped the higher ground, and he saw one of these +moving forms more distinctly, and perceived that it was a four-footed +animal, not a biped. Probably they were beasts of prey stealing to the +scene of carnage. It takes a good deal of the gilt off glory that the +foulest beasts and birds should fake heroes for carrion. And yet, after +all, this is a superficial way of looking at it, for it is the qualities +of the mind--courage, endurance, patriotism, loyalty, fidelity to +comrades--which make the hero, and the soul is beyond the reach of +vulture or jackal. As for the mere body without it, it is of no more +value than an empty champagne bottle. When there was light enough they +went on again, and in due time reached the ambulance. And Green, having +seen his friend made as comfortable as was possible under the +circumstances, returned to the bivouac of the regiment, where everybody +was glad to hear that Tom Strachan was found alive, and that there was a +good chance for him, for his good humour and high spirits had made him a +general favourite. + +"Do you know, Green, you have done a very fine thing?" said the colonel. +"If you had not found Strachan this evening he would have been dead in +all probability before morning. And you found him very cleverly." + +And Green felt as good all over at this praise as if he had been +mentioned in despatches. + +The battle of Tamai was the end of the campaign. Some folk said the +troops should have taken advantage of the rout and dispersion of Osman +Digna's tribes to march across to Berber on the Nile, and then Khartoum +would have been relieved without any further fuss. Other people, who +had equally good means of judging, scorned this idea, and were certain +that had such a thing been attempted every man of the expedition would +have perished. + +If the latter people were right, the authorities acted wisely; if the +former had reason on their side, they acted foolishly. But as to which +is which, it would be very rash for any one who does not know all the +ins and outs, and has not the evidence which influenced those who had to +decide, before him, to give an opinion. Anyhow, the expedition returned +to Suakim, and the majority of the troops sailed away for different +places. And Osman Digna had time to gather fresh fanatics together, and +the Soudanese recovered from the shock to their superstition and +conviction of invincibility which the hecatombs of slaughter had given +them, and were soon ready to fight again. + +And Tom Strachan was not so very badly hurt, but was soon able to be +taken home to England to be nursed, and rejoined his regiment in six +months. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +AGAINST THE STREAM. + +A swift broad river, with the water broken into foaming wavelets by +rocks which were everywhere showing their vicious heads above the +surface; a string of nuggars, or half-decked boats, fifteen feet broad, +forty-five feet long, flat-bottomed, each with a thick rope attached to +the bows, and a string of men on the bank towing it under a hot sun. + +Perhaps you have yourself towed a skiff on the Thames, when the current +was so strong that the progress made with the oars was unsatisfactory. +Well, if you have, you _don't_ know one bit what this was like. In the +first place, the Thames, even by Monkey Island, is still water compared +to the Nile between Surras and Dal, a sixty-mile stretch. Then your +skiff did not carry six tons of beef, bacon, biscuit, and other stores. +It may also be safely asserted that the towing-path you walked on was +not composed of sharp pointed rocks. + +Those were the conditions under which certain picked British soldiers, +one of whom was an old friend of ours, lost sight of for a considerable +time, were dragging their nuggar up a series of cataracts. Towing +always looks to me an absurd business, much as if a man were to carry a +horse about, and call it going for a ride. + +"Are you growling or singing, Tarrant?" asked Kavanagh of the man behind +him on the string. + +"Not singing, you may take your davy," growled the man addressed. + +"I fancied not, though there is a certain likeness in your way of doing +both which made me ask. I suppose you are growling then--what about?" + +"What about, indeed!" grunted Tarrant. "D'ye suppose I 'listed as a +soldier or a barge horse?" + +"Don't know; never saw your attestation papers." + +"Why, it was as a soldier then. I should have thought twice if I had +known I was to be put to this sort of work." + +"Really! Why, when we were rowing, you did not like that, and said you +would sooner be doing any work on your legs." + +"But I didn't mean this; why, I have cut two pairs of boots to pieces +against these here sharp rocks since we began it." + +"Ay," said Kavanagh, "but you had already worn-out some of your garments +at the other game, so it was only considerate to give the feet a +chance." + +"Well, it's a pity them that likes it should not have the doing of it," +said the judicious Tarrant. + +"Well, you know, you could not pull an oar, and you _can_ pull a rope," +said Grady, "so you are a trifle more useful now than you were before; +and begorra you had need." + +"I could pull a rope if it were over the bough of a tree, and the other +end round your neck," snarled Tarrant. + +"Oh, the murdering villain!" cried Grady. "And would ye be after +hanging a poor boy who never harmed ye in all his life?" + +"Well, keep a civil tongue in your head." + +"Sure, and it's myself that has kissed the Blarney stone, and can do +that same. And if you had such a thing as a bottle of whisky or a pound +of tobacco about you, I would make you believe you were a pleasant +companion, and pretty to look at besides. But what's the use of telling +lies when there's nothing to be got by it?" + +"Suppose you were to pull a bit harder and talk a bit less," said +Corporal Adams. + +"And I will, corporal dear," replied Grady. "But sure I thought we was +marching at ease." + +It may be well to explain that when troops get the word _March at +ease_!--which is generally given directly they step off, when they are +not drilling or manoeuvring, but simply on the route--they are allowed +to carry their arms as they please, open the ranks, though without +losing their places or straggling, smoke their pipes, and chat or sing +if they like. + +At the word of command--_Attention_! They close up, slope their arms +properly, put away their pipes, and tramp on in perfect silence. + +But marching at ease was such a singularly inappropriate expression for +men who were dragging a heavy nuggar up a cataract under a blazing sun +that there was a general laugh, and even Tarrant relaxed into a grin. A +general laugh, I say, not a universal one, for Macintosh, who was +plodding along behind Grady, preserved his gravity. + +"I don't say that silence is incumberous," explained Corporal Adams, +who, since he had got his stripes, had taken to using rather fine +language, "but too much talking don't go with hauling." + +"Ho, ho, ho!" chuckled Macintosh, and the corporal began to think he had +said something funny. But no; Macintosh had trodden on an unusually +sharp flint, and that presented Grady's idea of what marching at ease +was in a ridiculous form to his mind. So when the pang was over he was +tickled. + +"Eh, but Grady's a poor daft creature to call this marching at ease; ho, +ho!" + +A particularly stiff bit came just now. The rope strained as if it +would snap; the bows of the nuggar were buried in foam, and the men +hauling were forced to take the corporal's hint, and keep their breath +for other purposes than conversation. + +When they had got over the worst, however, the boat got jammed on a +rock, and the work of getting her off devolved on the crew on board of +her, unless she were so fast as to require the aid of the others, who +for the present got a much-required rest. + +"A set of duffers, those chaps," said the sergeant in charge of the +party, a young fellow named Barton, of good parentage, and Kavanagh's +particular friend off duty. "A regular Nile reis, with his crew of four +natives, would never have stuck the nuggar _there_." + +"I wish we had them Canadian vogajaws, sergeant," said Corporal Adams. + +"Ay, they are first-rate," replied the sergeant. + +"A good many boats have them, haven't they?" + +"Oh, yes! Most I suppose, or we should not get on at all. But we have +not had the luck to get them for our craft. There are only a few of +these who know how to work a boat up rapids at all, and I fancy they are +only apprentices at it. As for the others, one of them owned to me that +he had never been on any river before the Nile but the Thames at Putney, +and his idea of a rapid was the tide rushing under the bridge." + +"But sure, sergeant, he can sing `Row, brothers, row,' iligantly, he +can," said Grady. + +"Ay, but he can't do it," replied the sergeant. "He ought to be in the +water now. There's Captain Reece overboard and shoving; I must try and +get to him. Stand by the rope, men, and haul away like blazes when she +shifts." + +What with poling, and shoving, and pulling at the rope, the nuggar was +floated once more at last, and on they went again, and by-and-by the +river widened, and the current was not so strong, and so long as they +kept the rope pretty taut the boat came along without any very great +exertion. + +"Have a pipe out of my baccy-box, just to show there's no malice?" said +Grady to Tarrant. + +"Thankee, I will," replied Tarrant, "for mine is so wet it won't burn. +I went up to my neck in shoving off the first time we stuck, before we +took to towing." + +"Eh, but that was a chance for the crocodiles!" cried Macintosh. "I saw +ye go souse under, Tarrant, and thought one of them had got ye by the +leg. Ye might have grumbled a bit then, and folks would have said you +had reason." + +"It is all very fine," said Tarrant, "and if you chaps are pleased, you +are welcome; but I don't call this riding on a camel. I had as soon +have stopped with my own regiment, amongst sensible and pleasant lads, +and taken my chance, as have volunteered to join this corps, if I had +known I was to march all the same, and lug a beast of a boat after me +too. I expected to have a camel to ride on." + +"Thank you for putting me in mind that I'm mounted," said Grady; "I had +almost forgotten it." + +"Make your minds easy," said Sergeant Barton. "You will have plenty of +camel riding in a day or two, quite as much as you like perhaps." + +"And I hope it will be before I have worn-out my third pair of boots," +said Macintosh. "Eh, but this is a grievous waste of shoe-leather." + +"I had sooner wear that out than my own skin," said Kavanagh. + +"I'm not that sure," replied Macintosh. "The skin grows again, and the +shoe-leather doesn't." + +The sergeant laughed. + +"Well, I think I may promise you that you will have no more of this work +after to-morrow," he said. "You will get your camels at Wady Haifa." +Barton had been specially instructed in camel drill, and selected for +his proficiency to assist in training the corps to which Kavanagh +belonged. + +His story was a very simple one; he was not one of the plucked, who, +failing to get their commissions, join the ranks rather than not serve +at all, for it was most likely that he would have succeeded in any +competitive examination, being a clever and industrious youth, who was +doing well at Oxford when his father lost all his money, having shares +in a bank which suddenly failed, and left him responsible to the extent +of every penny he possessed. The undergraduate had been accustomed to a +handsome allowance, and owed bills which he was now unable to pay. This +he could not help, but being an honourable man he would not incur a +farthing more, but took his name off the boards at once, divided his +caution money, and what was obtained by the sale of his horse, the +furniture of his rooms, and whatever else he possessed, amongst his +creditors, and enlisted. Having once chosen his profession, he went at +it with prodigious zeal, and lost no opportunity of attending any school +of instruction which was open to him. When he had once acquired his +drill, he was soon made corporal, then sergeant. He distinguished +himself at Hythe; he learnt signalling both with flags and flashes. And +when useful men were wanted for the formation of Camel Corps, and the +battalions in Egypt searched for them, he was one of the first pitched +upon to learn and then to instruct. For, when people talk of the super- +human intelligence of German officers and soldiers, and speak of ours as +a set of dunder-headed idiots, you need not quite take all they say for +absolute fact. I think if you took the adjutants, sergeant-majors, and +musketry instructors of the British army, you would find it hard to pick +out an equal number of men in any country, even Germany itself, to beat +them for intelligence, common sense, and promptitude. + +"There will be a new drill to learn!" growled Tarrant. + +"Oh, that won't be much," said Kavanagh. "Lots of old words of command +would do over again, I should say. For instance, `Shouldare--oop!' only +it would be the camel's shoulder which has to be mounted." + +"Now, that's mighty clever," said Grady. "Will you tell me something, +Kavanagh, you that's a real scholar now--can a man be two things at the +same time?" + +"Of course he can; he can be an Irishman and a barge horse, you see." + +"Ah, then a Mounted Infantry man can be a trooper and a foot soldier all +at once. And a camel rider, would you call him a horse soldier, now?" + +"No, Pat, I could not afford it. I'm an Irishman as well as yourself, +and dull people would think it was a blunder." + +"That's a true word," said Grady. "And have you not noticed now, when +folks laugh at an Irishman, he is mostly quite right if they had the +understanding? Now you have observed, and heard, what a bad country +Egypt is for the eyes. Sure they give us green goggles, or we should +get the--what do you call it, Mr Corporal, sir, if you plaze?" + +"The hop-fallimy," replied Corporal Adams, proud of being appealed to. + +"Thank you; the hop-family, what with the sun, and the sand, and the +flies. And if you get the hop-family you are likely to go blind, and +that is a bad thing. Is it not curious that the great river of a +country that is so bad for the eyes should have cataracts itself in it? +Now that would sound foolish to many people, but you, who are an +Irishman, see the bearings of it, don't you now?" + +"But," observed Macintosh, "a cataract in the eye is a skin, or +something growing over it, and a cataract in the river is a kind of +waterfall. They are not the same sort of thing at all." + +"And is that so? To be sure, now, what a stupid mistake then I made. +And did you ever undergo the operation, now, Macintosh?" + +"Well, beyond vaccination and the lugging out of a broken tooth, I don't +call to mind that I have been in the surgeon's hands; and if ye want to +know the truth, I don't care if I never am. Eh, but that tooth now, it +took a tug!" + +"I thought you had never had it done," said Grady. "It's a pity, sure. +And what do you say makes a cataract in the Nile?" + +"Surely you have seen enough of them for yersel'. It's a rapid where +the water comes down a steep part with great vehemence. But what +operation are ye talking of? I expect ye mean some sauce or other." + +"Sure, no; it's only that which they say a Scotchman must have done +before a joke can be got into his head. But I don't belave it at all; +folks are such liars!" said Grady. + +"I would have ye to know," said Macintosh, when the others had stopped +laughing, "that a Scotchman is not deficient in wut, but he can't see it +in mere nonsense." + +All this talk was not spoken right off the reel, as it reads, but at +intervals, during pauses in the harder part of the work, and rests. And +it was lucky they could keep their spirits up; there is health and +vigour in that: + + "The merry heart goes all the day; + The heavy tires in a mile--a!" + +Shakespeare is always right. + +But the sergeant was better than his word, and that was their last +afternoon of rowing or towing, for they reached the place where the +camels were collected that evening before sun-down. On the very next +day the new drill commenced, for there was not an hour to be lost. + +The last days of 1884 had arrived, and Khartoum still held out. The +chances of reaching that place and rescuing Gordon were always present +to every mind; that was the one goal to which all efforts were tending. +But there was no good in for ever talking about it; on the contrary, it +was more healthy to divert the thoughts, if possible, in other +directions. A fall from a horse is unpleasant, and risky to the bones, +but a tumble off a camel is worse, because it is more dangerous to fall +ten feet than five. The first step was a difficulty--to mount the +creature at all, that is. It looks easy enough, for it lies down for +you. Apparently all you have to do is to throw one leg over and settle +yourself in the saddle. But the camel has a habit of springing up like +a Jack-in-the-box just as your ankle is on a level with his back, and +away you go flying. Experienced travellers, who have camel drivers and +attendants, make one of them stand on the creature's fore legs to keep +them down while they settle themselves; but troopers had no such +luxuries provided for them, and had to look after their animals +themselves, and it took several trials and severe rolls on the sand +before some of them managed to mount at all. There the camel lay, quiet +and tame and lazy, to all appearance as a cat dozing before the fire. +But the moment the foot was over his back he resembled the same cat when +she sees a mouse, and away you went. Taught by experience, you spring +into the saddle with a vault. Up goes the camel on the first two joints +of his forelegs with a jerk which sends the small of your back against +the hinder pommel so violently that you think the spine broken. Before +you have time to decide this important question in your mind, the hind +legs go up with an equally spasmodic movement, and you hit the front +pommel hard with your stomach. + +Surely now you are settled; not a bit of it. The beast jumps from his +knees to his feet with a third spring, and your back gets another severe +blow from the hind pommel. After these three pommellings you are +mounted. But when you want to get off, and your camel lies down for +you, you get it all over again; only your stomach gets the hits one and +three, and your back the middle one. Opinions differ as to which is the +most pleasant, but after several repetitions of it you feel as if you +had been down in the middle of a scrimmage at football, and both sides +had taken you for the object to be kicked at. The ordinary traveller, +when once on his camel, would stop there some hours; and again, when he +got off, would remain off till it was time to renew his journey, and so +he would not get so much of it. But a soldier learning camel drill must +go on till he is perfect. + +After mounting, dismounting, and re-mounting a certain number of times, +the troopers learned to anticipate the camel jerks, and avoid the high +pommels which rose in front and rear of the saddles, or rather to use +them as aids instead of encumbrances. But it took a good deal of +practice, and some were longer about falling into it than others. But +they were not always at drill, though they had so much of it. + +Some went in for fishing, and hooks and lines had been provided by the +authorities for that purpose. But the sport was very poor, little being +caught, and after trying it once or twice Kavanagh preferred to sit +under the tree or in an arbour and smoke his pipe either alone or with a +companion--Sergeant Barton for choice, but he was not always available. +When that was the case the honest Grady would sometimes join him, and +though he would rather have been left to his own thoughts, it was not in +his nature to show a want of cordiality towards a good fellow who made +advances to him. From the day of his enlistment Reginald Kavanagh had +frankly accepted the situation, and had been careful above all things to +avoid giving himself any airs of superiority. + +"This is a mighty pretty spot you have fixed on, any way," said Grady, +stretching himself under the grateful shade of a palm-tree, "and reminds +me of Oireland entirely!" + +"It is rather like Merrion Square," said Kavanagh, gravely; "or that +perhaps combined with the Phoenix Park, with a touch of the Lakes of +Killarney." + +"Sure, now, you are making fun of a poor boy! Look at that bird now! +Isn't he an illigant bird that? There's a many of them about, and they +are the best looking I have seen at all in Egypt." + +"Do they remind you of Ireland, too?" asked Kavanagh. + +"Well, now, you are too hard on me." + +"Not a bit of it, it is only natural that they should, for they are +called Paddy birds." + +"And is that a fact now?" + +"Certainly it is. Sergeant Barton told me, and he has been some time in +Egypt, and knows most of the birds and animals," replied Kavanagh. + +"Well, now, it is only natural that the loveliest bird in the country +should be called Paddy. Are not the finest men and the prettiest girls +at all Irishmen? They call us every bad name there is, but they can't +do without us. Why, the general is an Irishman, and the Goughs and +Napiers are Irishmen, and the Duke of Wellington was an Irishman." + +"And Grady and Kavanagh, the best men that ever rode on camels--or who +will be when they can sit them--are Irishmen," cried Kavanagh, laughing, +and Grady chuckled too. + +"But, now, there's a thing I want to ask you, since you are larned about +animals. You may not have thought it, for I am no scholar, but when I +was a gossoon I went to school," said Grady presently, "and they had +pictures of bastes hung about the walls, and the queerest baste of all +to my fancy, barring the elephant, was the camel. I remember purty well +what they told me from the mouth, though I was bad at the reading and +the sums and that; and the master he said that a camel with one hump was +meant for carrying things, water and potatoes and other necessities, and +that was why he had only one, to make more room, and have something to +tie them on by. And he said there was another camel with two humps, and +he was created for riding, and was called a dromedary, and when ye rode +him, ye sat at your ease between the two humps, which made a soft +saddle, just like an arm-chair ye straddled on, only without arms. And +ye could go fast and easy for a week, with provisions all round ye, and +the dromedary he only wanted to eat and drink once a week. Now, have +the dromedaries died out, do ye think? Or are they more expensive, and +is the War Office that mane it won't afford them, but trates Christians +like baggage?" + +"They were out of it altogether at your school, Grady," said Kavanagh. +"A dromedary is only a better bred camel; it is like a hack or hunter, +and a cart-horse, you know; the dromedary answering to the former. But +both are camels, just the same as both the others are horses, and one +hump unluckily is all either of them possess." + +"But I saw the pictures of them," said Grady, with a puzzled look. + +"I wish that the pictures had been painted from real animals, and not +from the artist's fancy," repeated Kavanagh. "It was a general idea, I +know--I had it myself--that there were two-humped camels, mighty +pleasant to ride. But I believe it is all a mistake." + +"The one-humped beggar is not easy to ride, any how!" said Grady. + +"No, that I vow he isn't!" cried Kavanagh. "Some of the camels trained +to trot, and called hygeens, are a bit easier, I believe. The Arabs say +that they can drink a cup of coffee on their backs without spilling it +while they are going at speed." + +"We have not got any of them in our troop," said Grady. "Well, we will +get a bit of a holiday, plaze the pigs, the day after to-morrow, and not +before I want it, for one. For what with them saddle peaks, and the +rolls on the sand I have got, I don't know whether my inwards or my +outwards are the sorest. But the show is beginning; and, faith, it's +worth coming all the way to Egypt to see the sun set." + +This was one of the things which made Kavanagh like Grady's company; he +had a real innate love of the beauties of Nature, which you would rarely +find in an Englishman of the same class. Together they watched the +glories of the transformation scene shifting before them. Low on the +horizon the deepest crimson changing and blending as it rose into +violet; higher up the blue of the sapphire and the green of the emerald; +and when these colours were the most intense, the two rose, and turned +back to camp slowly and reluctantly, still gazing in silence. For now +the after-glow succeeded; first the sky was a most brilliant orange, +such a tint as would cause the painter who could at all approach it to +be accused of the most absurd exaggeration by those who had not seen the +real colour, while those who had would esteem it far too faint. This +changed to an equally brilliant rose colour; and then, in a few seconds, +suddenly, as if "Lights out" had been sounded in the zenith, darkness! + +"It is like going to church," said Grady. + +"Yes," replied Kavanagh; "that makes one feel God great and man little, +doesn't it?" + +"Aye!" + +They were barely a quarter of an hour from camp, and the fires guided +them; for hot as it was in the daytime the nights were chilly, and a +bonfire in the open acceptable. They found their mates gathered round +the largest in great excitement. + +"Here, you chaps," was the cry which assailed them when they made their +appearance, "can either of you make a plum-pudding?" + +"Of course," replied Kavanagh. "There's nothing easier if you only have +the materials." + +"Well, the materials have just come; how do you work them up?" + +"Why, make them into a pudding and boil it, of course." + +"Any idiot knows that; but how do you make them into a pudding? If we +spoil one, you know, we shan't have any opportunity of trying a second +time, so none of your experiments." + +"That's serious!" + +"I should think it was!" + +"Well, you take the flour and put it in a basin, and moisten it with +water; and you put in your plums and raisins and citron, and beat up +half a dozen eggs and put them in too, and three glasses of brandy, and +anything else that's good you have got, and you knead it all up for a +good bit, and put it in a cloth, and tie it up tight with a piece of +string, and boil it as long as you can; all to-night and to-morrow and +to-morrow night, and so right up to dinnertime." + +"It sounds pretty right," said the first speaker, doubtfully; "but how +do you know? Did you ever make one?" + +"Why, I cannot say that exactly, but I have seen many made, and helped +to stir them." + +"Lately?" + +"Not so very, when I was a boy." + +"It would be a sinful waste to put sperrits into a pudding," observed +Macintosh. "It would all boil away, and no one be a bit the better." + +"No fear! Good liquor's too scarce for that," cried another. + +"Brandy is a great improvement, when you have it, for all that," +maintained Kavanagh. + +But though this part of his recipe sounded to all like the dissolving of +Cleopatra's pearls in her drink for wilful waste, the other items of it +confirmed the previous opinion of the chief cook of the troop, and the +precious ingredients were entrusted to his care. When they were well +mixed, an unforeseen difficulty arose about a bag to boil it in; but +that was met by the sacrifice of a haversack, and at last it was +consigned to the gipsy kettle which was to bring it to perfection. If +it were literally true that a watched pot never boils, this would have +had a poor chance, for when off drill or duty next day every man ran to +have a look at it; but the proverb happily fell through, and it bubbled +away famously. Christmas-day dawned, and would have been hot in England +for July. + +It is a curious experience the first Christmas spent away from home in a +warm climate, such a contrast to all early associations. There were +decorations of palm-branches, and instead of holly cactus, which +represented it well for prickliness. And there was church parade; and +afterwards came dinner of tinned roast beef, fish which some of the +persevering had caught in the Nile, and an ostrich _egg_, which a +friendly native had brought in, and which proved fresh. And the +pudding! + +It was an anxious moment when the string was cut, and the remains of the +ancient haversack were opened, and every one was relieved when the +object of interest did _not_ fall to crumbs as some feared, but remained +firm and intact till cut. Was it good? Well, the proof of the pudding +is in the eating, and there was not a crumb or a plum left when the +party rose. Then a delightful afternoon of idleness and complete rest, +which took the ache out of many a poor fellow's bones, and talk of +friends in England, and reminiscences of home. And some lucky ones got +letters which succeeded in reaching them the right day, and got away +alone to read them; while others kept the link by writing. Rather +melancholy, but pleasant all the same, for the element of hope kept all +sweet. And at night a huge bonfire was lit; it was cold of nights, and +officers and men gathered round it for a sing-song. And there was a +platform of barrels and planks on which various performances, fiddling, +a hornpipe, recitations, nigger melodies, took place, the highest in +command enjoying themselves as heartily as the humblest. And there was +a tot of rum, not enough to hurt the weakest head indeed, but still a +taste, for every one to drink to absent friends, and a rousing chorus or +two, and sound sleep closing a day of thorough enjoyment. For to +_taste_ a holiday you must have a long spell of real hard work. + +By this time the men were more at home with their queer steeds, and +mounting and dismounting was no longer a painful and even perilous +performance. The camels also had become accustomed to the drill, and +learned to know what was expected of them. All animals work better and +pick up ideas quicker in company. Sometimes, indeed, one would drop +suddenly on his knees without rhyme or reason that any one could guess +at, and send his rider flying over his head if he were not looking out +sharply; but such instances of eccentric conduct were rare, and grew +still less frequent as the bipeds and quadrupeds got to know one another +better. + +A move was now made to Korti, higher up the Nile, a good deal nearer the +fourth cataract than the third in fact. But this journey was made on +camel back instead of by boat. Now, travelling by boat is not +unpleasant when the boat takes you, but when you have to take the boat +it is quite a different matter, and riding, even on a camel, is far +preferable. And those long days on camel back, near the Nile all the +way, and consequently with no stint of water, were about the most +pleasant experiences Kavanagh and his companions had. + +"Well, Tarrant, I hope you are happy now," said a trooper one day, as +the column was on the march. + +"Happy! With tinned meat and no beer, and more flies in the open in the +middle of winter than you get over a stable at home in August! I know I +wish I was back in Windsor barracks." + +"Never mind, old boy; if you were there you would wish you were here." + +"And a jolly idiot I should be." + +"Don't fret about that same," interposed Grady, who was riding near. +"It's your misfortune, not your fault. Faith, we wud all be clever if +we could; but sure, I thought ye would be aisy in your mind now that you +had got your camel." + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +ACROSS THE LOOP. + +Korti was the pleasantest place Kavanagh had been to yet. It was +healthy, there were plenty of trees to give shade, forage was easily got +for the camels, and fresh provisions for the men, for the villages about +seemed more prosperous than usual, and the inhabitants more friendly. +Here the camel drill was polished up and brought to perfection. They +worked in this way. You must know that though the soldiers rode camels +on the march, they were not intended to fight on their backs, except +perhaps incidentally when they were out scouting. + +So their object when in immediate contact with the enemy was to get rid +of their camels for the time being, but so that they might find them +again and remount at the shortest possible notice. The battalion being +in column--that is, suppose a double row of men on camels, forming a +front and rear rank, and some way behind them another double row, and +then a third, and then a fourth; that forms what is meant by a column-- +well, then, the battalion, as I say, being in column, the word of +command, signifying what formation the men are to take after they have +dismounted, is given, followed by the words, "Close order!" Upon this +the rear rank of the leading line jambs up to the front rank, which +halts at the word. All the rear rows break into a trot and jamb up to +the front in turn. + +When all are close and compact, the camels are told to lie down; the men +dismount, and tie up their animals' legs, so that they cannot rise, with +the head rope. The men who have to run out and mark the places where +the others are to form when ready, get their camels knee-lashed for them +by the two men whose duty it is to remain with the animals of their +company. + +By the time the beasts are in a square, helpless mass, the markers are +"covered" (or got into their proper places according to the order +accurately) by an officer, and the men form on them at once. After a +good deal of drill this was done very quickly, as such things are when +each man knows exactly what to do and how to do it, since it is +confusion and uncertainty which cause delay. When the battalion had to +move away and manoeuvre at some little distance from the camels, one +company was always to be left to defend them. + +The pleasant time at Korti was soon over, and they started across the +desert for Shendy. If you will look at the map you will see that from +Korti (which you will find in the neighbourhood of Old Dongola, Ambukoi, +Merawi, places written large) the Nile stretches to the north for a +hundred miles and more as far as Abu Hamed, when it makes a bend +completely round, and goes south all the rest of its course. So that by +cutting across the desert from Korti to Shendy, or rather Matammeh, +which is on the nearer bank of the river, an enormous distance is cut +off. + +And since time was of the utmost importance, if Khartoum and Gordon were +to be rescued, a force under General Stewart was to take the short cut, +while the rest followed the tedious windings of the Nile, actually +turning their backs for a precious hundred miles on the way they wanted +to go. It was provoking, but it could not be helped; water carriage was +absolutely necessary for the existence of the expedition. + +Those who were to go with General Stewart's force were in high spirits, +and the others envied them exceedingly, for they were going straight at +the throat of the enemy, and would probably relieve Khartoum, disperse +the Arab hordes, finish the campaign; who knew? They might even bring +the Mahdi back in a cage, perhaps, before those following the river +would have a chance of distinguishing themselves. They need not have +distressed themselves; there would be plenty of hard fighting for all. + +You might as well know how our friend Reginald Kavanagh was dressed when +he mounted his camel for the desert ride. Picture him then in a loose +red flannel tunic, corduroy knee-breeches, serge leggings, white pith +helmet with a puggaree round it. Over his shoulder he wore a bandolier +belt with sockets for fifty cartridges, and a rifle pocket, in which the +butt of the rifle was secured. The bandolier made him look something +like a mediaeval musketeer; or might have reminded an admirer of Dumas' +wonderful story--and who is not?--of Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and +Aramis. + +The Naval Brigade was also mounted on camels, and it was great fun to +see them start. The camel has been called the ship of the desert, but +that was by a poet, who thought rightly enough that he said a pretty +thing, but who did not mean it literally. Jack did. + +"How this craft does roll!" cried one. + +"Hard a port, Bill, or you'll foul me." + +"What d'ye come across my bows for, then?" + +"Can't help it; this here won't answer the helm. Port, will you!" + +"Port it is." + +"Mind, messmate, your camel's going to founder, I think." + +But the warning came too late; the beast dropped on its knees, and Jack +went flying over his hideous head. + +Love of adventure and excitement is one thing, patient endurance is +another. You want to combine the two to get good soldiers, and +Englishmen hitherto have done pretty well. So did these, only after a +certain number of hours' march they were less jocular and more vicious. +When they got to the first wells, where they expected to have a rest, +being by that time pretty well baked, the supply of water was found to +be so scarce that they had to push on at once; but they did it for the +most part in silence. + +"Well, Tarrant," said Kavanagh, when they had been plodding on for some +two hours in dead silence, "have you not got a growl for us?" + +"No, I haven't," replied the champion grumbler. "I did get a drink at +Hasheen, but this poor brute I am riding didn't, so I leave the growling +to him." + +"Sure it ought to be put in the _Gazette_" cried Grady, waking up. +"First grumbler, Tarrant's camel, _vice_ Tarrant, contented." + +"I never said I was contented," replied Tarrant. + +"Only it is a consolation to know there's some one worse off than +yourself." + +"Meaning the camels?" + +"Aye, and not only them. Don't you remember that 19th Hussar chap who +came up the last halt? There was a go!" + +"What do you mean?" + +"Didn't you hear? Why, he belonged to Captain Fanshawe's troop, who +went skirmishing about, and caught a sheikh, called Abu Zoolah. Well, +he said that a while ago the Mudir of Dongola had offered a thousand +dollars for his head, and now it isn't worth the price of a pint. Just +think what a chance to nearly get, and miss! There's a lot of beer in a +thousand dollars." + +"Sure, yes, that's hard lines," observed Grady. "What fun it would be +to go out shooting, and get a thousand dollars for every man you +bagged." + +"Aye, that would make a man hold straight, if anything would," said +Macintosh. And there were a few spurts of talk like that, but mostly +they plodded on in silence. + +It took close upon three days to reach Gakdul Wells, and during all that +time the camels were not watered, the supply at intermediate wells being +barely sufficient for the men. But when they got to Gakdul there was +abundance of the life-restoring element for all, beasts and men, thanks +to the Royal Engineers and their pumps. For the place was as wild and +romantic as you can imagine, the wells being hidden away in deep caverns +with precipitous sides, in the midst of frowning and rugged rocks. The +sailors, with their contempt of heights, and entire freedom from +giddiness, swung themselves down into the most horrible abysses, if only +they had a rope made fast at top, without a moment's hesitation, fixing +pipes by which the precious fluid was pumped up and conveyed to the +troops. + +It was a treat to see the camels drink when at last they got the chance; +they sucked the water up with a loud noise, and you could trace it +flowing down their necks in waves. Four days is the longest period they +can go without a supply. There are people in India and elsewhere who +believe that when they die their souls go into the bodies of animals, +and Kavanagh's acquaintance with his camel enabled him to understand +this odd notion, for when he looked in its eyes for some time he almost +expected it to speak. It was an unsatisfactory beast in some respects, +for it would not be petted in any way, and it was impossible to make +friends with it. Try to pet it, and it growled; persist, and it tried +to bite him. I have known a dog of much the same disposition, but then +he made one or two exceptions, and showed as much exaggerated fondness +for them as made up for his general want of amiability. + +But the camel was consistent, and steadily refused to form the slightest +attachment to anything human. You remember the genii in the "Arabian +Nights Entertainments" who were forced to serve powerful magicians, but +who hated them and longed to tear them in pieces all the time, and did +so, too, if the omission of some necessary incantation gave them the +power. Well, the camel seemed like one of these subjugated spirits, an +excellent servant, but a most unwilling one, and resenting the power to +which, forced by inevitable destiny, he yielded implicit obedience. +Evidently he was a fatalist, like the people he lived amongst. + +When he was being loaded for the journey he moaned and howled as if he +were being beaten to death, and whenever a start was made, the outcry of +hundreds of the creatures remonstrating at once was something perfectly +unparalleled in the way of horrid and dismal noises. + +"Sure," said Grady on the first occasion, "I have often heard spake of a +howling wilderness, but I never knew what it meant before at all. But I +see now; it's the camel that does the howling." + +But once started he seemed to make up his mind to the inevitable. While +he was uncertain what Fate had in store for him he groaned and lamented, +but once he knew the worst he thought it was no use bothering, and +proceeded on his way in apparent content. + +Indeed, that seemed to be his one aim and object, to be always going +straight on to some place a long way off and never arriving, like the +Wandering Jew. As for his appearance, you have probably often seen a +camel in the Zoological Gardens or a wild beast show, and know his +weird, shapeless, uncanny look, with the beard on his upper lip, and the +hard natural pads on all parts of him which touch the ground when he +subsides for loading or unloading; his chest, knees, and so on. An +experienced man has described his motion when he trots in this +way:--"Put a horse into a cart without springs, in the cart put a +rickety table; on the table place a music-stool screwed up as high as it +will go. Now seat yourself on the music-stool and gallop over a +ploughed field, and you will have a very correct notion of the sensation +of riding a trotting camel." But with practice the motion is much +easier, and with so many hours in the day in the saddle the troops had +plenty of practice. + +The position at Gakdul was naturally strong, and with the aid of art was +made perfectly impregnable, forming a place to fall back upon in case of +need. The camels, it has been explained, utterly declined all friendly +advances, but the affections of the company Kavanagh belonged to were +not on that account destined to grow utterly rusty for want of use, +since a dog had attached himself in every sense of the word to it. +Where the dog came from and to whom he belonged originally were matters +as mysterious as his breed, which seemed to partake of several +varieties, amongst which the native sheep dog was the most perceptible. + +But his virtues were manifold. He joined on that day of the march when +the towing commenced, and posted himself, as no one did it for him, and +he was enlisted under the name of _Hump_, not because of any personal +deformity, but after the distinguishing characteristic of the camel. +When the battalion took to riding, and, though still following the +course of the Nile, often lost sight of it for some hours, either +because the track was better or to cut off a corner, Hump carried his +own water-bottle, ingeniously constructed for him by a man named Thomas +Dobbs, out of an old preserved meat tin covered with a bit of felt, to +prevent its becoming too hot; and this was fastened round his neck. +When a halt was called, and he wanted a drink, he went up to one of the +men, who would take off the cover and pour a little out for him. This +was all very well while the river was near, but when they were about to +strike across the desert, where water would be scarce, and he would +hardly be able to carry enough for his own wants, it was determined to +leave him behind, and he was made over to a man who promised to, take +charge of him, and who was to remain on the Nile. + +But in the bivouac at Gakdul, Dobbs awoke with a start under the +impression that a snake was gliding over his face, and sitting up found +that it was Hump licking him, the empty water-bottle still round his +neck. + +It now seemed hopeless to get rid of him, so they let him take his +chance; to live if he could manage to supply himself, and to be shot +should his sufferings from thirst prove too great. Poor Hump! The most +thoughtful feared that he had a poor chance of reaching a good old age. +And yet he developed a wonderful talent for finding water in unexpected +places, which was useful to himself and others. Sometimes when men +would turn away in disappointment from a mud-hole which was indicated by +a native guide as a well, but which proved to be dry, Hump would sniff +out some place near, and scratch, and six inches or so below the surface +water would begin to ooze and trickle. + +On January 16th, 1885, at noon, the column on the march was roused from +the lethargy induced by monotonous riding hour after hour under a warm +sun by distant firing. + +"By Jabers!" cried Grady. "There's an inimy somewheres after all. I +began to think Mr Mahdi had packed up his things--it's a mighty small +portmanteau most of them require--and gone out of the country entirely, +with all his people." + +"Make your mind quite easy, Grady," said Sergeant Barton, who was riding +near. "The Arabs won't baulk you, if you want something to remind you +of Donnybrook." + +"It isn't for myself, Mr Sergeant, sir, that I care. I am a peaceable +man, and would sooner get what I want quietly. It's my friend Tarrant +here who is spoiling for a fight, and to see him pining away before me +very eyes, just for want of a little divarshion with his rifle, makes me +feel quite low." + +"Here come the scouts back!" cried Kavanagh, and sure enough the Hussars +were seen riding in. For some time all was suspense and conjecture +amongst our friends; but after awhile the news circulated from the staff +to the regimental officers, from the officers to the sergeants, from the +sergeants to the men, that the enemy were in position at the Wells of +Abu Klea, twenty-three miles from Matammeh, the place on the Nile they +were working for. Where was Abu Klea? Straight to their front was a +ridge of fantastically-shaped rocks, and there the enemy was in +position. + +A little nearer square was formed, and in that formation the force +advanced to the foot of the ridge, and was there halted. Then, after +awhile, orders were issued to form a zereba for the night, and it was +soon made, the materials being plentiful and close at hand, and the +camels and stores were placed within it. + +"Men for picket!" cried a sergeant, and Kavanagh, who had been warned +for the duty, stepped forward and fell in with the others, and presently +they were marched off and posted on one of the hills commanding the +zereba. + +The officer in command took careful note of the position and posted his +sentries, taking care to be in communication with the pickets on his +right and left, and the zereba in his rear. The sentries were double, +that is, there were two men on each post, and were changed every hour. + +An hour's sentry-go may seem to you but a short spell, but if you had a +swarm of agile sharp-sighted savages prowling about you all the time, +and knew that your own life and those of others who depended on you +would be sacrificed if your vigilance flagged, perhaps you would find it +long enough. + +It was ten o'clock when Kavanagh was roused to go on; Dobbs was his +companion, and Corporal Adams posted them. + +"You are to challenge any one approximating this post," he said; "and if +they say `friend' or `rounds' you must stop them and make them give the +countersign. If they can't you must run them in, and if they won't be +run in you must run them through with your bayonet; if they won't be run +through you must wait and see if there's many of them, and if there is +you must shoot. But you mustn't alarm the camp without reason, mind +you." + +And with these somewhat conflicting "must's" and "must not's" he left +them in the gloom. The position was as uncomfortable a one as Kavanagh +had ever been in. His imagination peopled the night around him with +supple forms ready to leap upon him from behind every time he turned in +walking his beat. I won't say that either he or Thomas Dobbs was +frightened, for that would be a slur on a soldier, and one or the other +might have me up for it; but they did not half like it. They had been +on about twenty minutes when Kavanagh thought he saw something move by a +rock a little in front of him, and the next time he met Dobbs, as they +both patrolled to the same spot and turned, he whispered his suspicions +to him, and he went with him a few paces back along his beat and gazed +in the direction, but could distinguish nothing. Kavanagh did not know +whether to challenge or not, but thought it best to wait and watch; +perhaps he might have been mistaken. + +Presently he heard Dobbs cry, "Who goes there?" in a decidedly startled +voice, and he brought his own rifle down to the charge. But immediately +afterwards Dobbs said-- + +"What! Is it you, Hump, old boy, come to do a bit of sentry-go? By +jingo, you made me jump!" + +And no wonder; in such a ticklish situation, to have something jump upon +you in the dark, when all your nerves are on the stretch, must be very +startling. + +Five minutes passed, and there again by the rock Kavanagh was certain he +saw a figure move this time, and he, in his turn, called-- + +"Who goes there?" again bringing down his bayonet. + +There was no reply, and he waited, uncertain what to do next, when Hump +suddenly dashed forward with a low, angry growl; and presently +exclamations were heard in an unknown tongue indeed, but which, from the +accent, did not appear to be blessings. + +"Good dog, Hump; shake him, boy!" cried Dobbs; but the animal was +evidently doing his best in that direction without encouragement. + +But the man, who could not have been a dozen yards off, shook himself +free somehow, and Hump retired growling, from which Kavanagh felt +convinced there were more than one or two Arabs near. Presently he made +out three objects against the sky-line, and thought he ought to delay no +longer, so he fired at them. + +Whether he hit anything he could not, of course, tell; but in reply to +his shot there were at least twenty flashes of fire in his front, and +the bullets came buzzing about the ears of Kavanagh and Dobbs like a +swarm of hornets, though neither was touched. + +The picket turned out, and, as the Arabs were some of them quite close +to them, the sentries retired upon it. The enemy kept on firing for +about five minutes, then ceased; and the sentries were advanced again, +but somewhat closer in than before, since, but for the dog, these two +would have been cut off. + +They were relieved presently; but there were two other alarms in the +night, and the troops in the zereba did not get a very sound rest, +having thus to stand to their arms three times. + +The morning at length dawned, and a sharp fire was maintained for some +time from the hills, the pickets being withdrawn into the zereba. Then +the enemy advanced in two long lines, with banners flying, five thousand +of them, an imposing spectacle, and the English soldiers grasped their +weapons, thinking that the struggle had come at last. But not yet was +it to be. The enemy declined to push the attack home, but halted at a +distance, keeping up a galling fire. So, as men began to drop, and the +day was slipping on, General Stewart determined at ten o'clock to take +the initiative. + +The camels and other encumbrances were left in the zereba with a guard, +and the square advanced, working round the left of the enemy's position. +The Arabs retreated, and some of our young soldiers began to anticipate +an easy victory. But the enemy showed that they too could manoeuvre; +suddenly wheeling to the left, they came down like an avalanche on the +rear of the square, bearing back the men composing it, and breaking in +at one of the corners. + +Why detail the scene? It was very much the same as that which occurred +the year before at Tamai, on the Red Sea side, to the Second Brigade, +and which was described while we were following the fortunes of Tom +Strachan. The hand-to-hand fighting was desperate, the slaughter +terrible, and the enemy was finally beaten back. No matter; a step was +taken, though deep in blood, towards the great object--the relief of +Khartoum, and the rescue of Gordon, and hope beat high in every breast. + +Next day, January the nineteenth, General Stewart left his wounded at +the wells of Abu Klea, which had been won, and pushed forward for +Matammeh at three in the afternoon. No resistance was met with, no sign +of the enemy perceived all night, and when the day dawned a thread of +silver shone in the south-east, and a hundred voices broke out +simultaneously in a chorus of-- + +"The Nile!" + +Yes, there was the river, and as the light grew stronger the town of +Matammeh could be distinguished. At the same time the tam-tams were +heard beating, and the enemy appeared swarming over the hills which +intervened between the British army and the river. + +Another zereba was constructed, for the men were exhausted with fatigue +and want of food, and it was not thought wise to give battle until they +were refreshed, for it is ill fighting on an empty stomach. So +breakfast was got ready, the troops of the Mahdi gathering round the +while, like the masses of a thunder-cloud. + +Presently it burst forth, with rifle flashes for lightning, and a deadly +leaden hail. Vainly the men piled up camel furniture, barrels, sacks, +sand-bags, for protection; the bullets came amongst them in a storm, and +they fell in all directions. And then a rumour ran through all the +ranks which spread, not dismay, indeed, nor consternation, but a stern +tightening of the heart-strings and bracing of the muscles, with a +desire to shoot straight and strike home. The general was hit! Yes, +the noble Stewart was down! + +Sir Charles Wilson now took command. A redoubt was constructed by the +Royal Engineers on the right of the zereba, and manned by fifty-five +Life Guardsmen and Scots Greys under Lord Cochrane, and by this means +the enemy's fire was somewhat held in check. + +At length the longed-for opportunity for vengeance came; the square left +the zereba and advanced upon the foe. Straight it went for the sandy +ridge held by the enemy, who came charging down with their accustomed +reckless courage. + +But this time they did not get up to the square. The ground was too +open, the zone of fire too unimpeded, the shooting too steady. Down +they went in hecatombs. At one hundred yards their pace was checked, +those behind embarrassed by the heaps of dead and dying blocking their +path. Still they struggled on to get to close quarters with the +English, but at thirty yards the withering volleys were too deadly even +for their supernatural bravery, and they broke and fled. Steadily +advanced the English troops over the ridge of sand, firing carefully +while the fugitives were within range; then down to the Nile at Gubat, +near Matammeh, victorious indeed, but having paid a high price for +victory. + +"If them Arabs takes to shooting straight, and won't come on any more, +it strikes me we shall be in a hole," said Thomas Dobbs to Grady. + +"True for you, me boy," replied the Irishman. + +"Or at any rate we shall not be able to go about in square for them to +get all round and blaze away into the brown of us." And there were some +of higher rank who began to entertain the same misgivings. + +To resist a rush, the square was excellent, but for a long-continued +fire without coming to close quarters it was impossible. Many of the +more sanguine, however, hoped that the tremendous losses the Arabs had +sustained would dishearten them--that they would awake to the fact that +the Mahdi was by no means invincible, and had deceived them. + +As for Gordon, had they not had a message from him? "All right; could +hold out for years." + +Their chivalrous dash across the desert, and the hard fighting against +enormous odds, the loss of valuable men, and the fall of their general, +were not fruitless then, since the object of the expedition would be +attained. + +"Sure we will all get a bar with _Khartoum_ on it under a medal!" said +Grady. + +"Medals! Bars! Yah!" cried Tarrant. + +"I'd sooner have tuppence a day extra for beer." + +"We've got naither the medal nor the bar nor Khartoum yet, d'ye ken?" +said Macintosh. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +BIR-HUMP. + +"And when will we be after attacking Matammeh?" asked Grady, as he sat +over the bivouac fire. + +"Precious soon, I should think; we can't get on to Khartoum till it's +taken," said Kavanagh. + +"And for why not?" asked Grady again. + +"Eh, man!" exclaimed Macintosh, "ye would na go past it and leave all +these thousands of heathens in our rear, would ye? With an army at +Khartoum in front, and the army here in our rear, we should be between +two fires, don't ye see? Never a mouthful of grub or a cartridge could +get to us, and we should be peppered on all sides at once." + +"We might as well risk it and get it over," said Tarrant. + +"We get nothing fit to eat as it is." + +"I call that stupid, talking like that!" cried Dobbs. "I know the +rations are a deal better than ever I expected; capital, I call them." + +"So they are," said Macintosh; "but if Tarrant had sheep's-head, haggis, +and whusky itsel' for dinner, he would na be contented." + +"Every man to his taste," growled Tarrant; "and if a chap likes tinned +meat he's welcome. I prefer good beef and mutton, fresh-killed, with +plenty of potatoes and white bread." + +"And a little tripe and onions, or a swatebread after it, with pudding +and lashings of sherry wine, I'll be bound," said Grady. + +"Get along wid ye, it's Lord Mayor of London ye ought to be. Why, man, +it's fighting and not ating ye've come out here for." + +"Well, I got plenty of that between Abu Klea and this, anyway," replied +Tarrant. "A bullet went through my water-bottle early on the +eighteenth, and I was without a drop for hours. I believe I have worse +luck than anybody." + +"Worse luck than anybody, you ungrateful beggar!" cried Smith. + +"And how about Richardson, your rear rank man, who got the same bullet +which spoilt your bottle into his body, and died in pain that evening? +I suppose you would rather _his_ water-bottle had been hit and _your_ +inwards!" + +Tarrant busied himself in stuffing and lighting his pipe, and made no +reply. + +"Well, for my part, I hope we shall have a cut in at Matammeh to- +morrow," said Kavanagh, "so as to get on up the river at once." + +"Aye, I hope we may," echoed half a dozen voices in chorus. + +"Gordon and the poor chaps with him must be pretty well sick of waiting +to be relieved, hemmed in all the time by those blood-thirsty savages." + +"Eh, but it must have been bad last March, when our people won the +victory at Tamai, and they thought at Khartoum that they were coming +across to them," said Macintosh. + +"And then to hear they had gone awa again, and left them without a bit +of help but themselves." + +"Sure, won't they be glad when they hear our guns!" cried Grady. "And +won't they come out and tackle the naygurs that have been bothering them +on the one side, while we pitch into them on the other! We'll double +them up and destroy them entoirely." + +"I doubt if we go at Matammeh before we get reinforcements," said +Macintosh. + +"And what will we want with reinforcements?" asked Grady; "haven't we +bate the inimy into fiddle-strings already?" + +"Yes, if they only knew it," said Kavanagh. + +"But they seem to take a lot of persuading before they own themselves +beaten." + +"They do, the poor ignorant creatures," said Grady, reflectively. "And +we can't kill the lot of 'em, which is what they seem to want; they are +too many." + +"If there _is_ a big fight in a day or two we shan't be in it," said +Corporal Adams, who had come up in time to hear the end of the +conversation. + +"The orders are out, and our company has got to go ten miles off to- +morrow." + +"Only our company, corporal?" + +"That's all detailed in orders." + +"And does it say what for?" + +"It does not; rikkernottering most like. But you will hear them read +presently." + +That was done, and Corporal Adams was quite correct. This particular +company was ordered to take a certain amount of ammunition both for +mouth and rifle, and march out in a certain specified direction. If +they found water they were to make a zereba, or otherwise entrench +themselves and remain until further orders; if not, they were to return +at once. There was a little disappointment amongst both officers and +men of the company. + +"We will be out of all the fun entirely," said Grady. "They will catch +the Mahdi, relieve Khartoum, rescue Gordon, and have all their names in +the newspapers--and we will have nothing to say to it at all, at all." + +"Don't you believe it," said Kavanagh. "The general would not send a +rifle away if he were going to attack. He has heard something, or knows +something we can't guess at, and means waiting for more troops to come +up, you may depend. And our expedition has something to do, I should +not wonder, with covering the flank of the reinforcements. We shall be +called in, no fear, before the big battle is fought." + +But even with those who thought differently the matter did not weigh +very heavily. They had already fallen into the true campaigning frame +of mind which takes things as they come--good quarters and bad; fighting +and resting; outpost duty or guarding stores, even wounds and death-- +very philosophically. + +As the company was to start some time before daybreak, the men wisely +left off discussing matters, and went to sleep. Then came their rising +while it was still night, and the raking together of the embers of the +bivouac fire, and breakfasting; then the saddling and lading of camels, +amid the dismal lamentations of those grievance-mongering animals; then +the start in darkness, and the mind adapting itself to the lethargic +monotony of the tramp. Every one was chilly; every one was a trifle +sullen at not being in bed; no one was inclined to talk. + +The silence was only broken by the _swish_, _swish_, _swish_ of the +camels' feet through the sand, the most ghostlike and uncanny of sounds; +so slight, so continuous, so wide-spread. To meet a train of camels in +the dark would be enough to convert any unbeliever in supernatural +phenomena, I mean if he did not know anything about it. + +When the sun rose every man seemed to wake up and feel new life in him, +and they began to talk, just as the dicky birds tune up for a song on +the like occasion. Yet the scene was desolate and dreary enough for +Dante or Gustave Dore. + +After some hours' march they passed this barren land and approached the +foot of a hill where the mimosa was plentiful again, and other shrubs +were seen, with herbage, scant indeed, but good for camels, who will +browse upon what would hardly tempt a donkey. Here a halt was called, +and while the men dismounted and lay down, the three officers who were +with the company explored the spot. There were two mud-holes which +supplied water, and had a couple of palms near them, pretty well in the +open, and a third spring a hundred yards from the others, larger and +deeper, and apparently yielding a better supply than both the others put +together, but so near a patch of rocks and thick mimosas which would +afford dangerous cover to an enemy, should any be in the neighbourhood, +that it would never do to camp close by it. + +So when the colour-sergeant was called out presently, he learned that it +had been determined to form the zereba so as to include the two smaller +water holes and the palm-trees, and the ground was marked out +accordingly. Then all set to work to cut down mimosa bushes, and make a +hedge of them all round, a gap, just admitting of one camel to pass at a +time, being left on the side nearest the outside well, but not at the +corner, and this gap was marked by a short hedge inside facing it. It +was determined to use this outside well while they had the place to +themselves, and reserve those within the zereba in case of an attack. + +The space enclosed was as limited as was consistent with convenience to +render it more capable of defence, and the hedge was breast high, so +that the men could fire over it without their aim being in any way +impeded. Shrubs beyond those required to form the zereba were cut down +and stored for firewood, so as to remove all cover where Arabs might +conceal themselves as far as possible. + +Most of this work was done before dinner, and the men had two hours' +rest. After that tapes were brought out and the lines of a trench +marked off, six feet from the hedge all round, and when that was done +the men began to dig it out, five feet wide, one foot and a foot and a +half deep, throwing the soil out on the hedge side, flattening it down +and making it as firm as they could, so that if exposed to heavy fire +the men might find protection, since the prickly walls, though difficult +for men to struggle through, would not stop bullets. And so a good +day's work ended, and the night sentries were posted between the trench +and the hedge. + +There was no alarm that night. The next morning the camels were taken +outside the zereba and watered at the large well, from which also a +supply was drawn for the company; and it sufficed for all, evidently a +valuable spring. That day the trench was completed, deepened a little, +but not much, as it would not do for the defenders to be too low behind +the hedge, and a small watch-tower commenced in the centre of the +square. Some quaint, distorted trees were found at a little distance, +and from one of these enough timber was got for the erection +contemplated. There was a flat rock which formed a foundation for it, +and a rustic-looking affair, something like a summer-house, was raised +some twelve feet from the rock it stood on, which was already six feet +from the level plain. From this elevation an extensive view could be +obtained. + +On the third day a balcony was made round the top of the watch-tower, +the sides of which were composed of logs, which it was reckoned would be +bulletproof. A few good marksmen might, without being exposed, do +considerable execution from this. It also had a roof fixed over it, and +the look-out man had thus a protection from the sun. The saddles, with +all cases and packages, were arranged to form an inner court of the +zereba, within which were the camels, and when they were lying down they +were very well protected. Hump, who of course had followed his company, +took great interest in all these proceedings, and when the men were at +work he stood with his head on one side watching them critically, and +from the expression of his face, and the vibration of his tail, it was +gathered that on the whole he approved. Captain Reece, who commanded +the company, did not, as a matter of fact, much expect an attack, but he +thought it only right to be prepared in case one were made, and being a +man of an ingenious turn of mind, who, when a boy at Harton, was known +as the "Dodger," he felt a special delight in constructing devices. On +being ordered off on his present duty, he had gone to a friend in the +Royal Engineers and begged a good bit of gun-cotton, carried for +blasting purposes, and with this he proposed to make a mine, an electric +battery and a coil of wire forming part of his baggage. There was a +group of boulders two hundred yards off, which was certain to be taken +advantage of by an enemy, since it formed a perfectly safe redoubt from +which to fire on the zereba, or to shelter a group forming the forlorn +hope of an attack. This Reece fixed upon as the most favourable spot +for his mine, and here the gun-cotton was placed in the position he +deemed most adapted for a favourable explosion, and connected by a wire, +which there was no great delay or difficulty in concealing in the sandy +soil with the zereba, and so with the electric battery. + +"It's a sight of trouble we have taken to resave the inimy, and it will +be mighty onpolite of him if he doesn't come at all," said Grady. + +"I don't believe there's any Arabs about these parts," said Macintosh; +"they air all together at Matammeh, or else before Khartoum." + +"You think yourself very clever, no doubt," said Corporal Adams, +indignantly. "But do you suppose that the captain would have taken all +this trouble without good information?" + +"Nay, but with all due respect to the captain, and the colonel, and the +general, and yersel', too, corporal," said Macintosh, "the reports they +have acted upon are native reports, and they may be good, and they may +be bad, they may be honest, and they _may_ want to get detachments sent +aboot to weaken the force at Gubat." + +"Well, I think you are very presumpterous," said the corporal, "very +presumpterous indeed, to suppose your superior officers can be took in +by a lot of Johnnies that you can see through. They may attack us or +they may not, seeing how ready we are for them; but they are +somewhere's, you may take a haveadavy." + +As everybody is generally somewhere, it was difficult to contradict this +statement. Besides it is imprudent for a private to contradict a +corporal, who has many ways of making himself disagreeable or the +reverse. So the prudent Scot acquiesced. + +"Well, I am a paceable boy meself, and hate fighting," said Grady. + +"But still it seems a pity to make such iligant fortifications and not +to thry them. Is there not sinse in that, now, Kavanagh?" + +"I don't know about sense, but there's a lot of human nature in it," +replied Kavanagh. "I know I learned to box when I was a lad, and was +never happy until I had a turn up to try my skill without the gloves. +And a jolly good licking I got for my pains." + +"To be sure!" cried Grady. "And if ye get a new knife ye want to cut +something with it, or a new gun ye must be after shooting with it; and +so on with anything at all. And now we have got the fortifications one +is a thrifle curious to know if the Johnnies could get into them." + +I don't know whether many of the company wanted to be attacked, or, +indeed, if any did, but certainly there was a restlessness about them. +They listened all day for firing in the direction of Matammeh, some +lying down with their ears to the ground to hear the farther. But all +was still as the desert only can be, and the great battle which was +expected had certainly not yet begun. But expectation of a fight +excites men, and if at a distance they itch to be in it, this feeling +even actuating men who fail to show any particular heroism when the +pinch comes. + +However, wishing or not wishing to be attacked could make no difference; +the Arabs were not likely to consult their feelings on the subject. +There was no alarm that night, and all but the men on duty slept soundly +by the bivouac fires. In the course of the next morning the camels were +to be taken to the outside well to be watered, and a few impediments +which blocked the gap being removed they began to move out. The leader +had gone twenty paces, and three others were following, when Grant, one +of the lieutenants who was in the gallery of the look-out with a field- +glass, shouted, "Halt! Come back!" + +The man with the leading camel looked round to see if the order applied +to him, and saw the lieutenant beckoning to him. "Come back at once!" +he repeated. The four camels went to the right-about not a bit too +soon; for a puff of smoke spurted up from a mimosa bush beyond, and the +vicious whiz of a bullet hinted to the leader of the camel nearest to it +that it would be better for him not to stop to wind up his watch or pare +his nails before he got under shelter. + +Pop, pop, pop, pop! A camel is a big mark, and it was clever to miss +the lot. One indeed had a lock of hair chipped off him, as if the +marksman were an artist who wanted a painting brush; but that was the +nearest approach to a casualty. + +The other bullets went high over everything, save one or two, which +struck the sand and sent little stones flying about in a dangerous +manner. But they came in contact with nothing vulnerable, and the four +were back in the enclosure presently. + +Macintosh, Cleary, and two other men, the crack shots of the company, +were ordered up into the balcony to try if they could show the attacking +party that they could make a better use of their weapons than they +could. Captain Reece was now up there, and the bullets were whizzing +about and thudding into the logs in a nerve-shaking manner. + +"Crouch down, men, till they are a bit tired of wasting their +cartridges," said the captain, standing erect himself, however; "you +could not get a fair shot yet for the smoke." + +When they had done so, he sat on a block of wood himself, and was then +protected by the balcony. The two lieutenants and the non-commissioned +officers were below cautioning the men, who were now in position all +round the zereba, against firing until ordered. + +It was a picked corps, and they were perfectly in hand, so that not one +single shot was fired during this first storm. And a storm it was; the +air seemed perfectly alive with the rush of bullets, all aimed high. +Whether it did not occur to the Arabs that the bushes of the enclosure +were not impervious, or the watch-tower offered a more tempting mark, or +the Remington rifle stocks did not suit their arms and shoulders, and +came up high I don't know, but certainly all the bullets which hit +anything struck the wooden erection and the rock it stood upon. +Splinters of wood and chips of stone were flying in all directions, but +nothing was wounded which minded it, not a man or a camel or Hump, who +thought the whole affair got up for his amusement, and barked with +delight at the noise. + +The leaden shower raged for about five minutes, died down to a +sputtering, and ceased. Every man grasped his weapon and peered over +the hedge, expecting a rush. But the enemy seemed to want to know +whether they had annihilated everything with their fusillade, and kept +close in cover. Slowly the smoke lifted, and rolled above their +positions. + +"Now there is a chance for you, Macintosh," said the captain; "above +that bush, do you see? About three hundred yards." + +Macintosh took a steady aim and pulled. + +The man he aimed at staggered, and came down in a sitting position, +seizing his right leg, which was broken, with both hands. + +"An outer!" cried Captain Reece, who had his field-glass directed on the +spot. + +"A miss," he said presently, as another man fired at an Arab darting +from a distant to a nearer bit of cover. + +"Don't shoot at them running." + +An Arab was taking careful note of the zereba from the rocks two hundred +yards off, his head and shoulders only being exposed. Cleary rested his +rifle on the top of the balcony, pulled the stock firmly to his +shoulder, got a fine sight on his mark, and pressed the trigger. A +flash! A crack! + +"A bull for you, Cleary!" exclaimed the captain. "You have nailed him +through the head." + +The enemy were now more cautious, and not more than half a dozen shots +were got in the next hour, but most of them told. During that time the +Arabs indulged in no more continued storms of fire; only Captain Reece +drew occasional volleys, mostly from a considerable distance, as he +stood fully exposed, reconnoitring the position. + +He did not do this recklessly or out of bravado, but simply because it +was of the utmost importance to gain some idea of their numbers, which +he put at about five or six hundred; not more in the immediate +neighbourhood. It was an uncomfortable position, being cramped up +there, imprisoned in so small a space, but not a dangerous one. The +enemy kept up a dropping fire, which had no effect beyond wasting their +cartridges, though after nightfall it was annoying in two ways; the +English had to bivouac in the cold, for they could not light fires, and +their sleep was disturbed by constant alerts. In the morning there was +a lull, not a shot being fired for some hours. The marksmen went up to +the balcony, but, seeing no chance of a shot, were withdrawn, and only +the look-out man left there. There was some idea that the enemy might +have gone away, and no one would have been sorry; for the wells inside +the zereba were very inefficient, the water being soon exhausted, and a +tedious waiting entailed before the wells filled again. Already the men +had to be put on an allowance, and in that country, where the throat is +always parched, any stint of water is the greatest possible privation. + +But just as it was in contemplation to send out an exploring party, +numbers of them were sighted again amongst the more distant bushes, and +it did not go out. Dinner time arrived, and the meal was served out. +Before the men had quite finished two sentries fired shots, and all +sprang to their arms, which were handy; for every man ate, drank, slept +with his rifle close to him, as it was impossible to tell at what moment +he might require it. + +In half a minute every man was at the hedge with a cartridge in his +rifle, and that was not too soon, for the Arabs came at a fast run on +two sides simultaneously, and even lapped round and threatened a third. + +"Steady, now! Don't shoot till you have your man covered. There's no +hurry. The nearer they are the better!" cried the officers, and +sergeants and corporals seconded them well. Yet the commands were not +necessary, so cool and steady were the men. It was as if they had been +waiting so long for a chance, that they were afraid of wasting it now +they had got it. Nothing could be more deliberate than the way they +aimed. + +"Why did you not fire then, Macintosh?" Sergeant Barton happened to +ask; "you had a fair chance," the Arab being about forty yards off, and +the Scotsman "drawing a bead" on him. + +"I was trying to get two in a line," said the economist; and presently +he succeeded. Being protected by the hedge naturally made the men +cooler, and able to afford to reserve their fire. + +If any Arabs were shot so far off as a hundred yards it was as much as +it was, and then only because the marksman felt he was "on." Indeed, +with far inferior defenders the position would have been impregnable; +held by such men as these, to attack it was suicide. It is hardly an +exaggeration to say that every shot told; and if several hit one man, on +the other hand some single bolts struck two men, and that helped to +bring up the average. For a good ten minutes the plucky fanatics +persevered, thirsting like tigers for the blood of their foes; and the +carnage was fearful. They had no artillery to shake the defence with +before attacking, and the fire was uniform as well as deadly. + +"Give it 'em hot, boys!" "That's your sort!" "Bravo, old Waterproof!" +this last cheer being for Macintosh, who shot a chief who was leading on +his tribesmen, brandishing a huge two-handed sword. + +"Camels for ever!" "Faugh-a-ballah!" "Ha! Ha!" "Hurrah! Hurrah! +Hurra-a-ah!" and the cheers were heard for miles across the barren +waste, disturbing the beasts and birds of prey on the sites of +neighbouring battle-fields from their unholy repast, as the Arabs drew +off to their cover in confusion, leaving the whole ground between it and +the zereba strewed with their dead and dying. As they pressed back more +fell, the soldiers firing at longer distances now the prospect of many +more immediate chances was small. The champion marksmen ran for the +balcony again, and the last victims dropped to their rifles. And soon +was apparent the astonishing vitality of the Arab race. The wounded, +who were not mortally stricken, were seen crawling and dragging +themselves to cover in all directions. Had they but got the order, how +delighted would the soldiers have been to quit the zereba, and dash upon +the disordered foe; and that Captain Reece burned to give that order you +may be perfectly certain. But that would have been contrary to the +tenor of his instructions; and, besides, might, after all, have turned +victory into disaster, for the Arabs probably had received +reinforcements before the attack, and the little band of Englishmen +might find themselves smothered with numbers in the bush. + +There was no more sign of the enemy that day; they lay close in cover, +watching. During the night they stole out and removed many of their +dead, which those in the zereba were glad of, for the numbers threatened +presently to poison the air. The next day water began to grow very +scarce indeed, and two men with a corporal were permitted to leave the +zereba and approach the well, to try if they could get a supply without +molestation, so quiet and hidden were the enemy. But they had hardly +got half-way before a storm of fire was poured upon them, and they had +to run back as hard as they could go, one dropping--the first casualty. +The corporal and the other man, who was no other than Grady, stopped, +picked him up, and carried him in, the bullets cutting the ground up in +puffs of dust all around. But they were not hit, and got their comrade +inside amidst cheers from all who were watching them. + +Poor Hump seemed likely to come off badly, for however great a pet you +may make of an animal, when it comes to a question whether you or he are +to go thirsty, the animal is apt to come off second best. And the +camels, who reverse the recipe of "little and often," and require "much +and seldom," must fill the reservoirs, as they call their stomachs, at +certain intervals, or die. And if they died the company would probably +die too. Poor Hump! Every consideration was against his getting a +drink. He whined, and looked very plaintive, with his tongue hanging +out. He scratched and scratched, but the water was exhausted, and only +trickled into the legitimate holes by driblets. Everybody was very +sorry for him, but still more sorry for himself. + +So Hump took the matter into his own hands--I was going to say, but he +had not got any. I mean that he fell back on his own resources, and he +simply ran across to the outside well, drank his fill, and ran back +again. It never occurred to the Arabs to take the trouble to shoot at a +dog, so he was quite unmolested. After he had made two journeys a +bright idea came into the head of Thomas Dobbs. The next time Hump +prepared to start on a watering expedition, he took off the lid of his +water-bottle, which was suspended round his neck, so when the dog +plunged his nose to lap, the tin went into the water and got filled; and +though some of it got spilled as he trotted back, enough remained to wet +the ingenious Dobbs's whistle. And he improved upon this; he cut a +round piece of wood, filling the can so loosely as to lie at the bottom +when it was empty, and floating to the surface when full, but prevented +from tumbling out by the edges of the top of the tin being bent in a +bit. This prevented most of the spilling, and every excursion Hump made +he brought back the best part of a pint. And a pint of water, look you, +was worth a good deal more than a pint of champagne in England. + +Two more days passed; the Arabs burst out now and then into a spurt of +volley firing, but would not attempt another attack. They probably knew +the nature of the wells, and trusted to thirst to fight for them. + +The little party in the zereba kept a sharp look-out for rescue, you may +depend, for their position was growing more and more critical every +hour. To the south was the spring, with a few trees, and the thick +mimosa bush beyond. On the east were more mimosas and rocky ground in +which the enemy could find cover to within five hundred yards at the +furthest part; up to two hundred at one point. But on the northern and +western sides the country was quite open, and the view was only bounded +by sand-hills a good mile off. And it was from one of these directions +that they expected help would come. + +So when dust was noticed, amidst which an occasional glitter flashed, on +the western horizon, eyes began to sparkle and hearts to beat high, as +those of shipwrecked men in an open boat when a sail comes in sight. No +doubt it was a party sent to relieve them--cavalry, by the pace they +came, for the cloud of dust rolled rapidly nearer. In five minutes it +was within a thousand yards, and then out of it burst a single horseman, +riding straight for the zereba, and the enemy, running from their cover +on the southern side, strove to intercept him with their fire as he +passed, while presently some twenty Arab horsemen became visible, racing +after the fugitive, the foremost about twenty yards from his heels. +_Bang_! _bang_! _bang_! From the Arabs, who had run out, and were +somewhat too far for the zereba fire. But the hunted man came on +untouched. + +It is not easy, even for good shots, to hit flying with ball, and the +Arabs were not good shots, but the exact reverse. Nearer now, with his +horse well in hand, not seeking to increase his distance, glancing back +to judge how far off his pursuers were. The footmen of the enemy, +provoked at not being able to stop him, ran out in his course too close +to the English, and two of them were presently down on the sand. Others +not heeding sought to cut him off, and the English could not fire +without risk to him also, as they were straight in his direction. + +Whipping out his sword, which had hitherto been sheathed, he flourished +it in salutation of his friends, and rode straight at a couple of Arabs +in his path, loosening his rein, and digging with his spurs as he did +so. He knocked one down with his horse's shoulder, and put aside the +spear of the other, as he passed, and without waiting to cut at him, +went straight at the zereba hedge. The horse, though covered with foam, +had a good bit left in him yet, and rose at it nobly, without an attempt +to refuse, and landed safely on the inside. His pursuers came within +ten yards. There was a spurt of fire, and four saddles were empty. + +The Arab horsemen wheeled round, and the broadsides of the horses +presented too fair a mark. Half a dozen of the poor animals were +brought down by the bullets, and before they could get away the riders +too were slain. Neither did those who in the excitement of the moment +had run out from their cover entirely escape; several deliberate shots +were aimed at them, and several fresh corpses dotted the plain. + +"The curse of Cromwell on them!" cried Grady; "the more you shoot the +more there are!" + +And it really looked like it. It was a similar phenomenon to that of +the wasps in August, when, if you kill one, three come to his funeral. +The man who had occasioned this commotion was carried by his horse +safely over the zereba hedge, as has been said. Directly he landed he +found himself on the edge of the trench, and this, too, the animal +cleverly got over. + +The rider at once dismounted, and saw Captain Reece before him. + +"Rather an unceremonious way of coming into a gentleman's parlour," he +said; "but I don't think I have done any damage." + +"Not a bit; and no matter if you had," said Reece. "We cannot show you +much hospitality, I fear, for we are short of everything." + +"By Jove!" exclaimed the new-comer, "I beg your pardon if I am wrong, +but is not your name Reece?" + +"Yes." + +"You do not remember me?" + +"Well, I am sure you will pardon me; I cannot call to mind exactly where +I have had the pleasure of meeting you. Was it at the Rag? No, no; +surely at Simla, was it not?" + +"Not exactly," said the new arrival. + +"Don't you remember a little idiot who was your fag at Harton, and used +to boil your eggs hard and burn your toast, for which you very properly +corrected him?" + +"What, Strachan!" cried Captain Reece. "Impossible! You can't be Tom +Strachan!" + +"As sure as you are Dodger Reece. I should not have dared to call you +that to your face then, though." + +"Well, but, you know, I should never have recognised you." + +"I daresay not; I was twelve years old when you left Harton, and I have +altered a bit since, no doubt. You were seventeen, and have not changed +so much." + +"I am very glad to see you, anyhow," said Reece, "and we will have a +good chat presently. Just now I must not lose my opportunity; the rocks +seem pretty crowded. The beggars are blazing away from every crevice +about them." + +Strachan wisely asked no questions, but watched and followed. The Arabs +had evidently gathered in considerable numbers about the pile of +boulders among which the gun-cotton mine was buried. Reece had +forbidden any one to molest them from the balcony, not wishing to drive +them away. He now went to his battery, attached the wires, brought two +ends together, and the ground shook. There was a roar and a rattle; +blocks of stone, arms, heads, legs went flying into the air, and a whole +posse of Arabs were seen scuttling away into the mimosa bushes. + +"What is bred in the bone," said Strachan to himself. + +"He is a Dodger still!" + +The men got some more shots at their enemies in the confusion caused by +the explosion. It was a useful measure, this, however; for six men with +water-cans, and six with rifles, who were waiting close to the gap, +rushed out to the well the moment they heard the explosion, and in the +confusion into which the enemy were thrown by an event which seemed to +them supernatural, in the dust and in the smoke they accomplished their +task of filling the cans and retiring without being observed, much less +attacked. + +It was not until they were safely back in the zereba that the Arabs +began firing harmless volleys, in evident anger at having been out- +manoeuvred. The water gained was not so much in quantity, but was a +great boon nevertheless, for it had been absolutely necessary to water +the camels, and that had absorbed every drop of their own springs for +the last twelve hours, and was very insufficient for the poor animals +then. Strachan loosened his horse's girths and rubbed him down with a +palm-leaf or two, doing what he could for him after his gallant efforts. +It was pitiful to hear him whinny as he smelt the water in the +distance, and not to be able to get him any. But perhaps a little could +be spared from what trickled out by-and-by. + +Presently Captain Reece came back to his visitor. + +"Well, now I have time to ask, how on earth did you come to choose this +desert for a steeple-chase course, and our little zereba for a goal?" he +asked. + +"I am acting on the staff," said Strachan; "only galloping, you know. +And I was sent out to find you if I could, and tell you to make for +Shebacat, and, if you could, to get on to Abu Klea at once. If I found +any of the enemy out in this direction, and could not get on, I was to +return at once, and a force was to be sent to relieve you; but it was +important to avoid this if possible, I was given to understand. +However, I had no chance of returning, for the first glimpse I got of +the enemy consisted of a small body of mounted Arabs, who cut off my +retreat, and chased me all the way here." + +"We are not to make back to Gubat, then?" asked Reece in surprise. + +"No," said Strachan. + +"Matammeh has not been carried?" + +"Not yet; I suppose it may be soon; everybody seems to expect it. But I +don't see the use now." + +"Why not?" + +"Well," said Strachan, "one hates to be the bearer of bad news, but it +must come. The expedition has been too late: Khartoum has fallen." + +The two other officers had come up and heard this, and their faces +showed the blank dismay which had fallen upon their hearts, as the words +fell upon their ears. + +Khartoum fallen! Why, then, what were they fighting for? What was to +happen next? All seemed chaos. + +"And Gordon?" was the first question which rose to all lips. + +"There is no certain news, yet," said Strachan; "but the rumours of his +death are only too probable. He was not the sort of man to be taken +alive, I think, was he?" + +"No, no!" + +"But when did you hear this?" asked Reece. + +"Only last night," replied Strachan. "Gordon's four steamers arrived +while you were at Abu Kru, the camp at Gubat, I think?" + +"Yes, and two of them, the _Bordein_ and _Telh-howeiya_, had started +with Sir Charles Wilson up the river. That was on the 24th of January." + +"Exactly. Well, it seems when they got to Khartoum they found it in the +hands of the Mahdi, and it was with the greatest difficulty they got +away, having to run the gauntlet of several batteries and a tremendous +fusillade. Both steamers were wrecked coming down, and Sir Charles +Wilson, with the crews and the Royal Sussex men who went with him, is on +an island watched by the enemy, who have got guns posted, waiting to be +brought off. Stuart Wortley came down in a small boat with the news +last night." + +"I could go straight to Shebacat; but for Abu Klea I am not so certain," +said Reece. + +"I can guide you as straight as a die," replied Strachan. + +"Indeed, from Shebacat you cannot miss the track." + +Captain Reece then said he had some immediate business to look to, and +retired to the watch-tower, partly to have another look round, but +principally to get away alone for a bit to think. It was clear to him +that he must get away as soon as possible, but yet leaving would cause +him to incur responsibility, which he hated. He was a brave man enough +where personal danger was concerned, but to have to decide upon a matter +where grave interests were at stake threw him into a cold sweat. Let a +superior officer be in command, and he was as jolly as possible under +any circumstances; supposing he got killed, and all got killed, it had +nothing to do with him--that was the commanding officer's look-out; and +he obeyed him cheerfully, reserving the right to criticise him freely +afterwards, supposing he were alive to do so. + +But here he himself had to take a decided step; he was commanding +officer, and Strachan had brought him no definite orders. Suppose they +were intercepted, and cut to pieces. The blame would fall on him. Why +did he quit the zereba? Suppose he delayed, and a force had to be sent +to his rescue, and it were proved afterwards that he could have saved +the small main body all that risk and trouble, and very likely loss, if +he had shown a little more enterprise. Or suppose that the enemy, now a +small body, assembled in force, cut off his retreat, now open, prevented +all rescue, and cut them to pieces. In any case he would be blamed. He +dreaded the second alternative most, because then he would be alive and +ashamed. Still it made his ears burn to think what would be said of +him, even after he could not hear or know, if he failed. + +The more he thought about it, however, the more he saw that the first +risk was the best to incur, and he finally determined to march that +night and stand the racket. He examined the enemy's position once more +carefully through his field-glass, and could only make out a few camels +and a couple of horses. Indeed, they could not have watered any large +number, especially as they had to do so entirely by night, the well +being under the fire of the zereba all the daytime. And from men on +foot they had nothing to fear, let them get the shortest of starts. +There was the cavalry which had hunted Strachan, but they were but a +handful. And the route to Shebacat was open desert, so far as the eye +could reach from the balcony, with but few mimosas or black rocks. + +When he had quite settled his plans he felt easier, and returned to the +others. The two juniors had shown Strachan what little hospitality was +in their power, including an iron tea-cupful of muddy water for himself +and a pint for his horse, who asked for more, poor fellow! With all the +earnestness of Oliver Twist in the workhouse. + +"Are you Strachan of the Blankshire?" asked Grant. + +"Yes," said Strachan. + +"Were you not wounded at Tamai last spring?" + +"Yes, I was; but I soon got all right." + +"Is not Edwards in your battalion?" + +"Yes, he is; do you know him?" + +"Very well; we were at Sandhurst together." + +And this discovery of a common friend made these two feel like comrades +at once. + +"Well, Strachan," said Reece, coming up, "are you ready to pilot us to- +night?" + +"Perfectly ready, sir," replied Strachan. + +"Well, then, we will be off directly after sun-down. Since Khartoum has +fallen, the troops before it will be set free, and the country perhaps +will be flooded with them. This may be our best chance." + +"Certainly." + +The three officers of camelry had to prepare their men for the start, +and see that they got the saddles and other packages, which had been +piled together to make an inner defence, separated and placed in proper +position for instant adjustment. + +Tom Strachan, left alone, wandered off to the watch-tower, to have a +look at it and mount to the balcony. On his way across he met a +soldier, who advanced his rifle and brought his right-hand smartly +across in salute, whom he recognised. + +"Kavanagh!" he cried. + +"Yes, sir, here I am," replied Kavanagh. "No, please don't shake hands +now or here," he added, hurriedly. "I do not want to be recognised at +all. My captain has not remembered being with me at Harton, I am glad +to say." + +"I have your sword still," said Strachan. + +"Yes, and did good work with it at Tamai," replied Kavanagh. + +"I am glad of that." + +"It is a good one, indeed," said Strachan; "but I don't know that I have +done anything wonderful with it!" + +"Oh, yes, I read about it in the papers. You were mentioned in +despatches." + +"They were very kind, because I was wounded. Have you heard anything of +the missing will, or Harry Forsyth?" + +"Not a word; but I hope for better times still," he replied. + +"So do I, Reginald, with all my heart. You have found life as a private +soldier a severe trial, I fear." + +"Not out here, campaigning," replied Kavanagh. "At home it was +certainly trying at first. But the sergeant is waiting for me." + +And he saluted again and passed on, leaving his old chum very serious +and meditative, which was not by any means his accustomed state of mind. + +Presently Hump came up to make friends, and, when Strachan met Grant +again he learned the story of the dog and his excursions to the well, +and how Thomas Dobbs had made him fetch water. + +"You were saying you did not know the name of this place," cried +Strachan, laughing; "you should call it after him. _Bir_ is the Arabic +I believe for a well; you should name it _Bir-Hump_." + +The suggestion was repeated, adopted, and spread, and the entire company +always alluded to the place as _Bir-Hump_ from that hour forward. + +The day waned; the camels were saddled and loaded as quietly as might +be, Strachan tightened the girths of his horse, and when the sun had set +and the after-glow faded into darkness, all mounted, and the camels, led +by Strachan, defiled out of the zereba like a string of ghosts. + +Every man had his rifle in his hand, ready to sell his life as dearly as +he could; but the Arabs did not issue from their cover, and they sped on +at a sharp trot unmolested, Strachan keeping a correct course by a +compass he had, with an ingenious phosphorescent contrivance, by which +he could distinguish the north point. When an hour had elapsed they all +began to breathe more freely, for it is uncanny work expecting to be +attacked every minute in the dark. But still strict silence was +maintained. + +During the long night tramp, with no jingling of accoutrements, beat of +hoofs, light laugh, or homely talk to break the stillness, nothing but +the light _brushing_ sound, more like the whisper of sound than sound +itself, caused by the movement of the camels' feet over the sand, the +minds of the most thoughtless could not avoid reflection, and probably +there was not one of all that company who did not think of Gordon. And +of him there was not a little to think. The long waiting, month after +month; never disheartened or beaten; trying every device, every +stratagem, to keep the foes which environed him at bay; maintaining well +even _his_ reputation; anxious not for himself but for others, ready to +sacrifice self indeed at any moment, cheerfully, for the sake of those +whom he had undertaken to rescue; struggling on against fanatic courage +without, and weakness, frailty, half-heartedness within; seeing the +hearts of those in whom he was forced to trust grow fainter and fainter +by degrees, in spite of his constant struggles against the effects of +hope deferred upon them. + +And then, when the reward was just within his reach--not personal +honours, for which he cared so little, but what to him was the dearest +object, the rescue of those whom he had undertaken to save if possible-- +to lose all by treachery, the treason of those he had trusted and +forgiven. + +"Trust makes troth," says the proverb, and Gordon had proved the truth +of it again and again. + +But it failed him; the endurance of some who had long wavered was now +quite worn-out, and so he was killed, and all his heroic work nullified, +all those who had depended on his efforts for safety being destroyed +with him. It was a perfectly maddening thought that the ship should +founder thus in the entrance of the harbour; that after so many tedious +marches, thirst-sufferings, struggles against the forces of nature, +desperate battles, and wide-spread misery and wretchedness, they should +be just a couple of days too late. + +So little would have done it. A week's earlier start, a little more +energy in some clerk, tailor, bootmaker, shipwright--who knows? + +The mind seems forced in such a case to try and fix blame upon somebody. +There was no redeeming feature for the most persevering maker of the +best of things to turn to Experience gained? There was no use in it, +for Gordons do not crop up every century. + +His example? The lesson of it was spoiled, since his devotion resulted +in failure, and he died in the bitterness of feeling that his efforts +had not been appreciated, and that he had been but lukewarmly supported. + +We do not mean to imply that this was so. History must judge of that. +We know only partial facts, and our judgment must also necessarily be +affected by our feelings. But it is to be feared that it seemed so to +him. + +The moon rose, and gloomy thoughts were lightened. There was no enemy +in sight, and talk began to circulate amongst the men. Captain Reece, +for his part, was inclined to forget everything else in his delight at +having given the enemy the slip. To have carried out his orders, and +sustained such an attack with the loss of but one man wounded, and he +doing well, was a legitimate source of satisfaction. It is true that he +was not out of the wood yet; the Arabs who had chased Strachan might +belong to a large body that had seized Shebacat. + +This proved not to be the case, however, and a halt was called at the +wells there. First the men were supplied, and Strachan's horse had a +good satisfactory drink, and then the camels got an instalment of water. +Then they mounted again, and pushed on to Abu Klea, where they arrived +at sunrise, and Reece reported himself to the officer in command with a +feeling of intense relief. He had got well out of it, at any rate, and +Tom Strachan also had accomplished his mission satisfactorily; and next +day he returned to head-quarters, not, however, without having seized +the opportunity of a short unnoticed interview with his old chum +Kavanagh before he started. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +THE CONVOY. + +Kavanagh and his friends had no long rest at Abu Klea; they were soon +off again across the Desert, making for the Nile. It was not a cheerful +duty they were performing, for they were convoying a body of sick and +wounded to Korti, and that was rather too close a connection with the +wrong side of the theatre of war. I expect that hospital nurses take +quite a different view of a campaign from that entertained by high- +spirited subalterns. And this present business was worse than the +scenes in a hospital. Do what you will to lighten his sufferings, the +transport of a wounded man must always be a painful operation. + +These were being conveyed on camels. You have seen the seats in which +little children often ride on ponies, one on each side, with a board for +the feet to rest on. There were similar affairs on camels' backs, with +two wounded men sitting back to back. Others, whose hurts were more +serious, or of a nature which prevented their sitting up, were slung in +a species of litter. + +But, in despite of depressing influences, the escort were lightening the +journey with chat and jest, when they were called to seriousness by the +word-- + +"Attention!" + +Silence fell upon the escort, and every man was in his proper place in a +second. Arabs had been seen in the mimosa bushes to the right of the +convoy, and it was impossible to keep quite clear of them, though, of +course, the object of such a party is to avoid collision with the enemy +as much as possible. + +Half a dozen puffs of smoke spurted out of the cover, and as many +bullets came singing overhead. The convoy did not halt, but moved +steadily on, some of the escort dismounting, while the others led their +camels. When the men on foot got a chance they halted and fired, and +then doubled on again, and as they shot a very great deal better than +their enemies, they made them chary of exposing themselves, and so held +their fire in check. As the convoy came abreast of the position, +however, the volleys broke out afresh, and the skirmishers spread, some +in front, others in rear of it, to draw the fire on themselves, and away +from the sick and wounded men. But not with entire success, for it +seemed to be the object of the ambushed Arabs to annoy these with their +fire rather than to fight the escort. There was a poor fellow named +Binks, whose right-hand had been shattered and amputated, riding +sideways on a camel, balanced by another invalid whose head had come in +contact with a fragment of a shell, and was bandaged up. Binks had been +despondent about himself from the first, not caring very much whether he +lived or died, now that he was so mutilated, for how was he to get his +living without a right-hand? He asked. It was in vain that Kavanagh +assured him that he could do very well in the Corps of Commissionaires; +he had not been very steady in the early part of his soldiering career, +and his name had several entries against it in the Regimental +Defaulters' Book, which he was convinced would tell fatally against his +chances. + +Suddenly he flung up his left arm, the right being in a sling, and gave +a deep gasp, collapsing in his seat, and falling up against his +companion. All his doubts and difficulties about the future were +solved, poor fellow! For he was shot through the heart. Presently a +camel was wounded, and sank down, groaning pitifully, if pity could have +been spared for it, but most of that was absorbed by the soldier, +suffering grievously from dysentery, whom he carried, and who was now +thrown violently to the ground. A halt was necessary while he was +otherwise accommodated, and the covering party pushed close up to the +shrubby ground, taking advantage of the mimosas in their turn, and +inflicting some loss on the enemy, who seemed now to have quite altered +their former tactics, and to prefer distant to close quarters. When the +convoy moved on again they closed upon it once more, ready to run up to +it at the first signs of a rush upon it. The Soudanese, however, made +none; on the contrary, they seemed to find the marksmanship of the +escort too accurate for their taste, for they drew off to a distance +where the bush was thicker, but so far that the fire they maintained was +a mere waste of ammunition. + +"Where's Grady?" cried a man. "Why don't he come and take his camel?" + +"Grady!" called the corporal. + +"Grady!" called the sergeant; but even _his_ superior authority evoked +no answer. + +The officer in command again halted the convoy. + +"He may be only wounded; we must not leave him," he said. + +"Who saw him last?" + +"I can find the place exactly, sir," said Kavanagh, "because of a bit of +rock among the scrub which marked the place, and he was making towards +it." + +"Is it far?" + +"No, not five hundred yards; it was just before we ran in." + +"Then double out and look for him. Go with him, another of you, and +Corporal Adams." + +But just as this start was being made Grady appeared, shoving before him +a man dressed in bernouse and cap, bearing the Mahdi's colours of blue +and white, whom he grasped by the scruff of the neck, and, when he +showed unwillingness to advance, expedited his movements with a bump +from his knee. What had happened was this. While skirmishing he had +caught sight of a pair of human heels protruding from a bush which grew +on the side of a rock, and he came to the conclusion that there probably +were legs attached to those heels, and a body in continuation. So he +made a detour, and crept up very softly from behind till he was within +reach of those heels, which he promptly seized--or rather the ankles +above them--and drew out a wriggling Arab with a rifle in his hand, +which he could not get a chance of using against the person who was +drawing him. + +Flattering himself that he was entirely concealed, he thought he had got +a beautiful place for a pot-shot when the skirmishers had passed, and +the convoy came abreast of him. And so indeed he had, and with the +barrel of his Remington in the natural rest formed by a fork in the +boughs of a tree, he had a first-rate chance of bagging something. But +he reckoned without his extremities; had he been a foot shorter, or the +scrub a foot deeper, he would have remained unnoticed. + +"Come out, you spalpeen, and drop that gun, will ye?" cried Grady, and +both directions were obeyed, involuntarily enough; for, as he spoke, the +butt of the rifle was brought with such a jerk against the stem of a +mimosa, that the owner lost his grip of it, and the same jerk landed him +clear of the bush. + +"Be quiet, my jewel, till I pick up your shooting-iron," said Grady, who +wanted to take back the rifle as a prize and a trophy, but feared that +his nimble captive would escape him while he reached for it. + +So he knelt on the Arab's back, he lying on his face, and taking a piece +of twine out of his pocket, he tied his elbows together. Then he +reached out and got the rifle, and slung it over his shoulder. + +"And will ye plaze to get up?" he said. "You must excuse me if I am a +thrifle rough, but it's owing to the resistance ye make;" and as Grady, +a very powerful man, was the stronger, his captive found himself on his +feet and emerging into the open, without any volition of his own. + +"Sure, and it's in mighty good luck ye should estame yourself, to fall +into the hands of a tender-hearted boy like meself, who lets the dirty +life stop in your haythen carcase. By all the laws of your warfare, I +am bound to put my bayonet into your stomach instead of making ye a +prisoner, just as if ye were a respectable sodger, who gave and took +quarter like a Christian. Get along wid ye! Ye are as bad to drive as +a pig, and not a hundredth part the value of him, nor such good company +either. Get on, I say, or they'll be thinking you've took me, and not +that I've took you. Ye've got to go before the captain, and tell him +what he chooses to ask you, so where's the use of struggling, making us +both so uncomfortable this warm day? It's proud ye should be to have +spache with a real gentleman and a British officer, ye poor haythen +vagabond!" + +It may be observed that the last sentence was uttered in the possible, +though not the certain and obvious hearing of the officer alluded to. + +"Why, Grady, what have you been up to?" was the question which greeted +him. + +"Sure and I've made an important capture; look at the clothes of him! +How do you know that it is not the Mahdi himself?" + +Here the officer commanding the detachment rode up. + +"Well done, Grady," he said; "we were wanting a prisoner, and may get +some valuable information out of this one. A very neat thing indeed; I +shall remember it." + +Grady saluted, and went to his camel. + +The prisoner had his arms freed, and was given another camel, as he +seemed quiet and philosophical, and had a couple of friendly natives for +companions to pump him. And the convoy went on its slow and painful +journey. + +Assured by the other Arabs that no harm would be done him, the captured +man became cheerful and communicative. Of course there are different +sorts of Arabs, as there are of English or Frenchmen, and this one was a +philosopher who saw no particular merit in struggling against the +inevitable, and was inclined to make himself as comfortable as +circumstances permitted. Indeed, he and his captor would have found +much in common if they had passed a social evening together, and been +able to hold converse; though for that it would have been necessary +either for Grady to learn Arabic, or for the native to learn English, +and neither might have thought it worth the trouble. + +He belonged to a tribe which had not been very keen about espousing the +Mahdi's cause. They were old-fashioned in their ideas, and did not like +newfangled notions. Besides, this might be an impostor. Mahomet was +good enough for them, and they wanted no other prophet. Then they had +profitable business relations with the Egyptians, and had no desire to +break off communication with them. And they also saw that something was +to be made out of the English, especially if they established themselves +at Khartoum and opened up a trade with the black tribes towards the +Equator. So they were inclined to join us, and throw in their lot with +ours. But one day a proclamation was issued which filled them with +dismay. The English, to reconcile the inhabitants of the Soudan to +their presence, announced that they only desired to rescue General +Gordon and his garrison at Khartoum, and then they would retire from the +Soudan. + +But that meant that this particular tribe, and any others who supported +the English, would presently be left alone to stand the brunt of the +Mahdi's power; and the Mahdi's motto was not "Rescue and retire," but +"Annihilate and stop!" If they had been strong enough to stand alone it +would have been different, but without the English alliance they were +powerless to resist the False Prophet. + +Therefore the only course for them seemed to be to join him, and so +escape the vengeance which would otherwise overtake them. And since +they had hesitated and therefore incurred suspicion, it was advisable, +they thought, to show the greater zeal, and they in many instances +adopted the Mahdi's uniform, as the present prisoner had done. But they +did not thoroughly believe in him; they were not at any rate fanatical +in his cause, and were not likely to impale themselves on bayonets to +encourage the others, as his more earnest adherents thought it a +privilege to do. At the same time they were Mohammedans, and to kill an +unbeliever must be always a meritorious action in their eyes. So it was +a pleasure to them to pepper the Christians a bit, when occasion +offered, not to mention that any sort of a fight was attractive to such +a warlike race. But still there was no venom in their hostility; we +were enemies, of course, but enemies who might any day become friends; +and Grady's prisoner did not think it necessarily behoved him to sulk, +refuse food, commit suicide, or, which was much the same thing, attempt +to escape. So he was soon chatting freely with the natives, of whom +there were a good many, for the camels conveying the invalids were led +and tended by them. It stands to reason that all he said about his own +tribe and others, and the number of the Mahdi's followers, and the +distribution of his forces, could not be accepted as implicitly correct. +For, in the first place, he most likely had no accurate knowledge on +many of these and similar points; and in the next place, if he had, he +might more than possibly wish to mislead, rather than afford useful +information. + +But after a certain amount of practice an officer with a head on his +shoulders learns how to sift the reports gathered from spies, deserters, +prisoners, and peasants, and to get a few grains of valuable fact out of +bushels of chaff. So the chief interpreter went to work, and translated +much useless and some practical talk. + +The most interesting account he had to give could not be called useful, +however, because it referred to past events, and these were already +fully reported; but the present party had not heard them. It was +concerning the death of Colonel Stewart, the only English companion +Gordon had for so long, and of which the man professed to have been a +witness in the October of 1884. The following was the Arab's account, +transcribed from the note-book of Sergeant Barton, who could take things +down in shorthand, when men spoke slowly and deliberately, or with the +delay, as in the present instance, of an interpreter:-- + +"When Gordon Pasha knew that there was no hope, and that Khartoum must +fall, because, though he could hold his own against the enemy without, +treason in the heart of the place was a thing against which he was +powerless, and he knew, though no one else may have done so, that he was +betrayed, he sent off Colonel Stewart in a steamer for a pretended +purpose which imposed upon him, his real object being to save his friend +by getting him out of the way when the attack, which he expected from +day to day, came. + +"Nothing would have made Colonel Stewart leave Khartoum if he had +suspected this, but he did not, and he set out in the firm conviction +that his going would really be useful. So say those that should know. +What is certain is that he went, and that his steamer struck on a rock +in the Wad Gamr country, for I myself have seen it. I was with the +Sheikh Omar at Berti at the time. Sheikh Omar had a nephew Sulieman Wad +Gamr, a very bitter enemy of the Turk, and of any one who supported the +Turk, but a man with a double face, who promised most and smiled the +sweetest, when he had the dagger concealed in his sleeve. + +"Colonel Stewart did not like the look of him when he came to offer his +services, but Hassan Bey, who was with the Englishman, thought that +Sulieman was to be trusted, and so a conference was held, and Sulieman +undertook to find camels to take all the shipwrecked travellers on to +Merawi if he could. Afterwards he came and said that he knew of camels, +but the people who owned them were afraid that they would be taken from +them by force, and if those who came to conclude the bargain had arms in +their hands, there was no chance of any camels being brought forward, +but if those who were to bargain for them were unarmed, it was very +certain that as many as were necessary might be got. And when, seeing +no other way than to trust Sulieman, Colonel Stewart agreed to this, he +was directed to go at a certain hour to the house of one Fakreitman, who +was blind, but to be sure to take no weapons, neither he nor any of the +party. They went to Fakreitman, the blind man's house, accordingly, and +Sulieman met them there with the men that he had instructed to carry out +his secret, and others who were not entrusted. I was in the courtyard +with others serving under the Sheikh Omar, and we wondered where the +camels were, for we saw none in the neighbourhood, and yet the +bargaining was going on. Then suddenly, at a signal from Sulieman Wad +Gamr, the appointed men attacked Colonel Stewart and his companions, and +there was such a scuffle as is possible when there are sharp swords and +daggers on one side and no weapons at all on the other. + +"Colonel Stewart and others were soon put to death. Hassan Bey seized +the owner of the house, the blind man, Fakreitman, and held him before +him as a shield, and so got clear of the house with only a slight wound. +We outside might have dispatched him, but we had no orders, and did not +interfere. And so he got clear, and letting the blind man go, escaped." + +Such was the prisoner's account, and there was no reason to doubt the +general tenor of it, though of course the details were not to be +implicitly relied upon. + +The man was asked why, since he seemed to bear no particular grudge +against the English, he took such pains to establish himself in a good +position for a sure shot at the convoy. It was not a wise question. +The Arab laughed, and asked if the English had any particular enmity to +the Soudanese. + +"No," was the reply. "On the contrary, we wish to be friends with +them." + +"And yet," said the prisoner, "you have killed twenty thousand of us in +the last few moons. When we fight we mean to kill; and when we hunt we +mean to kill. Are you not the same?" + +There was no denying this; war is of necessity a game for two to play +at, or else it would be sheer murder. + +He was questioned about Gordon's death, but, though he was willing +enough to talk on the subject, his information was at third or fourth +hand, and did not profess to be personal, like the other account. + +"Ah! That was a man, Gordon Pasha!" he said. "If He had declared +himself a prophet, or the great sheikh of the Soudan, the Mahdi would +have lost all his followers but a few slave hunters, and all would have +gathered under Gordon's standard. He was just, and when he said a thing +every one knew that it was true. The Turks were never just; they took +bribes, and they sought by word and deed to deceive. But Gordon Pasha +was the wisest and the most just ruler that ever came into the country, +and he feared nothing except to offend Allah. The highest and the +lowest were the same to him, and it was a pity to kill him. There will +never be such another." + +"Why, then, was he murdered?" + +"The Mahdi knew that he was a rival, and must overthrow him if he could, +or else lose his power himself. And he was betrayed by those who had +sinned against him, and been forgiven, but did not believe in the +forgiveness. And besides that, the Mahdi offered them money from the +first, and when you got so near Khartoum he increased this to a large +sum. But all this would not have availed if men had known that Gordon +was going to remain as their sheikh; but where was the use of joining a +sheikh who was leaving to-morrow against another who was sure to stop?" + +He was a shrewd fellow, this prisoner of Grady's, and knew how to trim +his sails to the prevailing wind. The marches of the convoy were slow, +as the patients could not bear the jolt of a camel's trot; and the old +medical direction, "When taken to be well shaken," would have been death +to most of them, so the halts were fixed at various intermediate wells, +where zerebas had been formed and held till the last load had passed, +when the detachment performing that duty likewise retired. The body of +Binks was carried on to the bivouac for that night, and decently buried +there. + +On the following morning the captured Arab was nowhere to be seen, and +it was at first feared that he had escaped in the night. But he was +soon discovered, the cause of his disappearance being that he had +discarded his Mahdi uniform, which was now a little bundle about the +size of a cocoa-nut, hanging from a projection of a camel's harness. +Such clothing as he wore fitted well, nature herself having measured him +for it; and since he was still a young man, there were no wrinkles in +it. You know how difficult it is to recognise a fellow if you come upon +him down a back-water bathing, and will understand why the prisoner was +missed at first. He came up presently and offered to take service, and +tend a camel. It appeared to him that he had to go along with the party +anyhow, and might as well improve the shining hour and earn a little +money. + +Earlier in the march one of the natives in charge of camels had been +killed by one of the scattered volleys which every now and then harassed +them on their journey, and two others had taken the opportunity of +deserting, so that the new volunteer's services were gladly accepted. +And there was the little bundle, ready to be shaken out and put on again +should the fortune of war land him to-morrow amongst the adherents of +the Mahdi. Quite a man of the world, this Arab. + +In the course of his long talk with the interpreter the day before, +Kavanagh, who was riding at his side, rifle in hand, having been made +responsible for his safe custody, heard a name repeated several times +which struck him as familiar, and which he yet could not associate with +anything in particular. _Burrachee_! Whereon earth had he ever heard +the word Burrachee? He had dreamt it, or fancied it, or was thinking of +that word which expresses the taste given to wine by the skin in which +it is stored in some places. And he tried to drive it from his head. +But that night he was for guard, and while doing his tour of sentry it +flashed upon him in a second. + +Burrachee, the Sheikh Burrachee; that was the name of the Mohammedan +uncle of Harry Forsyth, who lived amongst the Arabs of the Soudan, and +to whom Harry meant to have recourse in finding the portentous will, the +absence of which was the cause that he, Reginald Kavanagh, was tramping +up and down a narrow path under the stars, with a chance of being shot +or sprung upon every minute, instead of being snugly tucked up between +the sheets, snoring to the nightingales. + +His mind was easier for having remembered the association with the name, +but his curiosity was excited to know whether there was any connection +between that and the same word used by the Arab, and he took an early +opportunity on the march next day to ask Sergeant Barton to get him the +loan of the interpreter for a bit. For the interpreter was a person of +consequence, in his own estimation at least, and not to be lightly +appropriated by privates. + +But tact can do a great deal, and by approaching the question in a +judicious manner, his services were secured, and he blandly expressed +his readiness to put any questions to the ex-prisoner which Kavanagh +might desire, and to translate the answers. + +This was the result in one language. To give the Arabic and then the +English would involve mere repetition, so I am sure that you will excuse +that. Besides I could not do it. + +_Question_. "Do you know the Sheikh Burrachee?" + +_Answer_. "Yes, everybody knows the Sheikh Burrachee." + +_Question_. "Is he not a foreigner to the Soudan?" + +_Answer_. "It is said so. He is rich, wise, learned, and he is a True +Believer. But his features are not those of the Turk or of the Arab." + +_Question_. "Do you know whether a man of his race, much younger, has +joined him lately?" + +_Answer_. "Truly, yes, I have heard something of such an event. Some +say his son, others a man made by magic by the sheikh, who is a great +magician, and can make ghosts come and go as he commands." + +_Question_. "Did you ever hear of any--(Kavanagh was regularly bothered +to know how to ask after a legal document like a will, and the +interpreter could not help him; at last he hit on the word Firman) of +any Firman the young man was seeking for?" + +_Answer_. "No, I have never seen either of them; I speak from hearsay, +and know nothing more than I have told you." + +There was nothing more to be got out of Grady's captive. + +But still, to know that Forsyth had reached his uncle was something. +And the probability was that he was living, for if he had been dead the +news would very likely have reached this gossiping Arab. + +"I told you about the missing will in which I have an interest," +Kavanagh said to Sergeant Barton, when all that could had been got out +of the Arab. + +"Yes; and Daireh the Egyptian led your friend, who undertook to trace +it, a pretty dance out here, and all over the Soudan." + +"Yes; well I expect that he has traced him, for it seems he is living +with this Sheikh Burrachee, as he calls himself, who is as mad as a +hatter, and he would not do that without a very strong reason." + +"Then the man who may be the Irish sheikh's son, or may be merely a +magical illusion, and vanish or turn into a cat some fine morning, is +your friend, I suppose?" said Barton. + +"Sure to be," replied Kavanagh; "though whether he has found Daireh yet +is another question, and if, having found him, he has also got the will +is still more problematical." + +"It would be hard lines if, after all that risk and trouble and running +his man to earth, he should find the will destroyed or lost after all," +said Barton. "I cannot believe in such ill-luck!" + +"No more should I three months ago," said Kavanagh; "but after getting +to Khartoum just three days too late I am prepared for anything. What +is the journey undertaken by Forsyth compared to the expedition fitted +out, the persevering struggle against the forces of Nature, and the +opposition of hosts of desperate foes for the purpose of rescuing +Gordon? And that all that should fail seemed too bad to be possible. +Yet so it was. I shall always be prepared for the worst for the rest of +my life." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +SWORD VERSUS BAYONET. + +After the skirmish which was fatal to poor Binks, and in which Grady +effected his clever capture, the convoy had not been annoyed, save now +and then by a distant shot which fell short; but in the afternoon of the +day that Kavanagh got his information about Harry Forsyth, such as it +was, out of the man Grady had taken prisoner, bullets fell closer again. + +They had entered a wide valley, and there was water on the south side of +it, near the black rocks. No zereba was formed here, possibly because +troops could not be spared to guard it, or the spot was considered too +near the next wells, or there was good reason to know that there was no +force of the enemy of any consequence in the neighbourhood. Whether it +was the cause or not, this latter fact was probably the case, but there +were individual sharp-shooters about who were inclined to make +themselves a nuisance. + +Perched high up among fantastic blocks of stone, which would have +tempted an artist to draw out his sketch-book, they got excellent shots +at the party below them, and as there was no chance of a return, they +being entirely concealed, and their presence merely indicated by the +little puffs of white smoke which spurted out here and there, there was +nothing to disturb their aim. For nothing spoils a rifleman's shooting +like being exposed to accurate fire himself; which was probably the +reason why duellists, who could perform wonders in the shooting gallery, +used so often to miss each other at twelve paces in the days of single +combat, when George the Fourth was Regent. + +The range, however, was a long one, and the fire _plunging_, or +perpendicular. Now horizontal fire has this characteristic, that if a +bullet misses one object it goes straight on and may strike another; or +it may pass through a fleshy substance which does not offer too great +resistance, and strike another beyond. But a plunging fire, if it +misses the object aimed at, goes into the ground and is harmless. + +And so it happened that no mischief was done for some time, though +several bullets came thudding down in the midst of men and camels. At +length, with the fatality which seemed throughout this campaign to +attend upon non-combatants, a shot struck a poor Egyptian camel driver +on the neck, passing through his spine, and shortly afterwards a surgeon +was wounded in the foot. + +There did not seem to be more than two or three riflemen firing at them, +but they were far above the average in marksmanship, and more dangerous, +at a distance, than a score of ordinary soldiers of the Mahdi. Six men, +of whom Kavanagh was one, were told off to dislodge them; not more, +because they would certainly retire before a strong body, and return, +when they withdrew from the pursuit, to their former positions and +practice. Indeed, the officer who went with the six thought that number +too numerous to show, and advanced in front with a file only, while the +others had orders to creep up on the flanks, concealing themselves +entirely, if possible. + +Those in front got fired at several times as they scaled the rocks, but +to hit a small object shifting behind cover was far beyond the Arabs' +skill yet, though they _had_ made a vast improvement, and the risk of +advancing upon them in this way was not great. And when the two men had +got within a couple of hundred yards of the nearest Arab's lurking- +place, the officer called to them to halt, keep under cover, and fire if +they got a chance, or even if they didn't, his object being to keep them +amused while the flankers gained higher ground, and obtained fair shots +at them. + +But one of those in front was Macintosh, for whom the wilful waste of a +bullet was almost an impossibility, frugality and marksmanship combining +to render the task painful to his feelings. He prided himself on his +shooting, and did not like even to appear to make a miss. Not able to +catch a glimpse of a foe where he was, he crept thirty yards higher, to +a nice flat stone just breast high, which commanded a much wider view. +But still he could see nothing to shoot at; so he exposed himself, +standing fairly up. _Pat_! Came a ball against a rock five yards on +his right; it would not do for Wimbledon that. + +"Eh! They must practise a wee bit afore they challenge the Scottish +team!" murmured Macintosh, as he dropped on one knee behind the stone +over which he held his Martini-Henry at the ready, his eye being fixed +on the spot the shot came from. + +The Arab probably thought that he had dropped his man, for he raised his +head and shoulders above the cover to look. That was the opportunity +Macintosh was waiting for. He had him covered in a moment, his rifle +was as steady and motionless as if it grew out of the rock itself. His +finger pressed the trigger, and the Arab he aimed at fell forwards, his +arms hanging over the rocky parapet, the Remington falling from his +hands. + +When they examined his body afterwards, it was found that the bullet had +struck him in the exact centre of the forehead. + +"I am sorry for the puir mon, but it was an unco' good shot!" was the +complacent remark of Macintosh, as he contemplated his handiwork. But +that was later on. At the time he fired he remained still, as ordered, +looking out for another chance. + +The other man had taken what he was told more literally, and fired once +or twice at spots from which flashes had issued, without a hope of +hitting anything but stones, and uncertain, indeed, whether the Arab who +had last fired was still there or had shifted his quarters. And shots +were fired back, principally at the officer, who showed his head as he +peered about, trying to see how his men were getting on. + +Meantime, the files on the flanks were climbing cunningly, Kavanagh +being one of the two men on the right, until they got rather above the +level of the Arabs in ambush, and a man on the left got the first shot. +The Arab was lying down, peering to his front, and afforded a steady +aim, not fifty yards off. It was almost impossible to miss him, unless +the marksman were flurried, and the soldier was as cool as if on parade, +and hit him in the back, between the shoulder-blades: that made two. + +The last report showing they were enfiladed, three other Arabs bolted +from their hiding-places, and made for the higher ground. Bang! Bang! +Bang! Went the rifles from below and each side: there they were still, +active as monkeys, darting between and over the fantastic boulders; +bang! Bang! As they re-appeared, without effect. Then five rifles +exploding together, like a volley, as a retreating Arab paused, and +turned to fire a shot back; and this time the bullets found a billet, +for he sank down in a heap. The other two got away, in spite of the +leaden invitations to stop sent after them. + +Directly the first flanking shot was heard, the officer in front cried +"Forward!" to the two men with him, Macintosh and the other, and all +three pushed up amongst the rocks. As they worked up higher, the +surface of the mountain side became so rugged that they could not keep +sight of each other, and hunt about in a satisfactory manner at the same +time. While firing was going on, indeed, they had a guide as to the +direction of their friends, but when that ceased, they were somewhat +more scattered and isolated than prudence dictated. But prudence is apt +to be forgotten in the excitement of a hunt, and a manhunt is the most +thrilling of all chases. They searched about, with bayonets fixed, and +fingers on trigger-guards, expecting an antagonist behind each new rock. + +Kavanagh, making for a point where he last saw the end of a bernouse +vanishing, wandered further than the others, perhaps, and came suddenly +on a hole in the side of the rock. Not a natural fissure, but evidently +a man-made doorway; oval, with carved pillars at the sides, and an +inscription over the door. Kavanagh's first impulse was to go in, his +second one not to. Why, there might be an army inside! But by the time +the risk occurred to him he was through the portals, and he was afraid +of turning, not knowing what was behind him. So he took a pace to his +rear, still looking into the interior, and holding his rifle at the +ready. + +It was by no means dark inside, though coming out of the intense glare +it seemed so at the first moment. But light came in from openings high +up, showing a chamber which would _not_ contain an army, but was of +handsome dimensions for all that, and empty. Empty to all appearance, +so far as human beings were concerned that is, but inhabited by stone +heroes of the past. There they sat, solemn and gigantic, heedless of +the lapse of ages, staring into the future with blind eyes. + +The walls and the bases of the statues were covered with hieroglyphics, +which would no doubt have told all about them to officials of the +British Museum not present. + +What a long time it must have taken to write a letter when you had to +draw a dog to express a dog, a man when you meant a man, and so forth. +It would be rather amusing reading, though, so far as some of my +friends, who are not good artists, are concerned. And yours? If a +fellow could draw a little bit, however, one might spend nine or ten +hours after breakfast very pleasantly in deciphering his correspondence; +though it must have been annoying, if one wanted some such matter as a +pyramid in a hurry, to have to draw a stag and a knight for "Dear Sir," +an eye for "I," and so forth throughout the piece. And when ingenious +innovators took prominent curves and angles of these drawings to express +the things, and so invented hieroglyphics, no doubt busy men with a +large correspondence found advantage in it! + +Kavanagh had little time for these reflections, for he had hardly made a +rapid inspection of this curious old temple, burying-place, or whatever +it was, before he heard a shot in the distance outside, and running to +the entrance he saw an Arab, who had doubtless been unearthed on another +side and bolted here, pausing a hundred yards off to have a return shot +at the man probably who had fired at him, and the report of whose rifle +had disturbed Kavanagh's day-dream. Of course he did not know that an +enemy was up there, or he would not have stopped for his shot. + +As he was getting his sight to bear on some one below, Kavanagh was +doing the same for him, and just as he was going to pull he got a +violent shock on the hip, which disconcerted his aim; and perhaps that +was lucky for Macintosh, whom he had got nicely at the end of his fore- +sight Kavanagh had hardly fired, however, and had not time to open the +breach and put another cartridge into his rifle, before he heard a noise +in the cavern-temple behind him, and, turning sharply, saw a figure with +a sword in the right-hand and a shield on the left arm, literally +bounding towards him. + +The Arab must have been concealed behind one of the figures, or in a +recess which had escaped the explorer's notice, and, not possessing +fire-arms himself, had not chosen to attack while his enemy's rifle was +certain to be loaded; but directly he heard him fire he seized his +opportunity with the promptitude of a really good soldier, and went for +him before he could re-load. + +Kavanagh brought his weapon down to the charge and waited for him, and +now a really interesting set-to began, and it was a pity there was no +one to witness it. The Arab, a fanatic fakir, approached with his +shield well advanced, and his sword, which a man might have shaved with, +in his strong right-hand, watching for an opening. He made a cut; +Kavanagh turned it with his bayonet and re-posted. The thrust was +parried by the shield, but the force of it made the Arab stagger back. + +Kavanagh followed, feinted low, and when the shield went down delivered +the point over the top of it, just touching his opponent's chest, who +saved his life by jumping back with a slight wound. Kavanagh followed +further into the cavern. Each now knew that the other was not to be +trifled with, and they circled round, eyes glaring into eyes, trying to +draw on an attack, the statues around looking straight before them, +heedless witnesses of the conflict. Kavanagh feinted again, but the +Arab was not to be caught by the same trick a second time, and instead +of warding the thrust seized that moment to make a dash and a cut, and +his sword bit deeply into the other's side, cutting through bandolier +and kharkee into the flesh. + +Kavanagh, wounded, but not disabled, at the same moment dashed his +rifle, held across, into his opponent's face, and as he staggered back +darted his bayonet at him over the shield, piercing his shoulder. Yet +he could still swing his right arm, still wield his razor-edged weapon. + +And still they faced each other, bleeding freely. Kavanagh had this in +his mind fixedly, that if he thrust the point of his bayonet through the +shield, and so got it entangled, he was done, for his active opponent +would step within distance, and cut him down in a moment. As if to +force him to risk this, the Arab suddenly crouched down, and covering +himself well with his shield, made a spring at him, cutting at his left +arm. Kavanagh jumped back and saved his wrist, but it was so near a +thing that the edge of the sword touched his hand, severing the little +finger, which fell on the ground, and making a deep cut in the rifle +stock. Unaware of the mutilation, Kavanagh re-posted, darting out his +weapon over the shield with his right-hand, and piercing his enemy +through the neck. + +But even for such a wound as that the brave Soudanese would not be +denied, but forced his way to close quarters, and cut his enemy over the +side of the head; a blow which would have been instantly fatal had it +been delivered with his accustomed force, but the wound through the +shoulder took the strength out of it, and loss of blood and the shock of +the throat wound helped to weaken him; indeed, his sword dropped from +his hand with the effort. Kavanagh, almost blind with the blood which +deluged his face, shortened arms and sought to transfix his assailant, +who, however, managed to seize the muzzle of the rifle and close, and a +species of rough-and-tumble conflict ensued for about half a minute, +each striving to throw the other, and both as weak as babies. + +Kavanagh, however, had most strength left, for though both were losing +much blood, that which ebbed from the Arab drained more important veins, +and the wound in his throat especially was terrible. His grasp relaxed, +his eyes lost the light of fanaticism and the joy of combat, and grew +filmy and expressionless, and he fell heavily at the foot of a gigantic, +blubber-lipped statue. + +Kavanagh caught up his rifle and turned the bayonet downwards, but there +was no fight left in his foe, and in spite of the customs of this +barbarous war he could not thrust. So he left the Arab lying there, and +staggered to the portal, where he was forced to lean against a pillar, +so giddy and faint was he. He had enough strength and wits left, +however, to slip a cartridge into his rifle and fire it off, as a guide +to his friends where to find him; and it was as well he did so, as they +were searching for him close by, and might not have hit upon the +entrance to the cave-temple for some time, so curiously was it masked by +the rocks. The report, however, directed them right, and just as +Kavanagh was slipping from the pillar to the ground, he heard a voice +say-- + +"Here he is, sir!" and saw comrades close, though their voices sounded +somehow a long way off. + +"My eye, you have had a good bout, mate;" one said to him, "but where is +the other fellow?" + +"In there," replied Kavanagh, faintly; "don't kill him, he's a good +'un." + +"Dinna kill him, indeed!" said Macintosh, presently, as he bent over the +body of the Arab and took his scarf for bandages. "There's nae much +need for any one to do that!" + +Kavanagh's wounds were rudely bound up, just to check the bleeding for +the present, and the officer having some spirits in a flask gave him a +drain, and asked him if he thought he could walk down to camp. Being +somewhat revived, he said he could, and set out, supported by a couple +of men, one on each side. It was a slow progress, but the distance was +not great, and he managed to get down all right, and then a surgeon +dressed his wounds for him. + +"The bandolier and a tobacco-pipe in the pocket of your kharkee jacket +have done you a good turn, my lad," he said; "for the body cut has gone +right through them, and might have been fatal but for that resistance. +It is pretty deep as it is, but you will be all right; and your other +hurts are not serious, only sword cuts. But your little finger will not +grow again, you know." + +The wounds might not be serious in a surgeon's estimation, but they were +very painful, and to feel so weak and helpless was depressing to the +spirits. The attack, however, had been successful, and the handful of +sharp-shooters killed or effectually dispersed, for no more shots were +fired at the convoy either that evening, during the night, or on the +following morning, when it got under weigh again. So he had the +pleasure of reflecting that his discomforts were not altogether incurred +in vain. The most provoking thing he found was to be told that he was +so very lucky only to be slashed all over with sword cuts, and not to +have any bullet wounds. What he had got ached and smarted and throbbed +to an extent calculated to try the patience of Job, and what was the use +of endeavouring to persuade him that he was one of the favourites of +fortune? He succeeded to the seat on a camel vacated by the ill-fated +Binks, and every jolt hurt his side; the head and hand wounds were not +much affected by the motion, but every violent jerk caused the other to +gape and bleed, and the dressing had to be renewed at every halt where +water was obtainable. But the comrade who rode alongside and +congratulated him on not having any gun-shot wounds meant well, and he +restrained his impatience. Only when Grady, whom he credited with more +sense, went on the same tack, he said, "Thank you, Paddy; did you ever +see a codfish crimped?" + +"No, sure, but I have seen a salmon." + +"Alive?" + +"In course; it's no use doing it after he's dead." + +"And did you congratulate him?" + +"Indeed, I did not, and it was a cruel thing I thought it," said Grady. +"Ah, and sure I see what you are after! And it is like a crimped fish +ye are with the deep slashes, and only those would think light of them +who have not got them. But you will soon be all right again after the +clane cuts, while a poke or a bullet-hole is a long time haling if it +does not kill ye entirely. That is what the boys mane." + +It was after a couple of days that Kavanagh was able to hold this +conversation. Before that he was incapacitated for talking not only by +weakness, but also because the cut on the side of his head had reached +his cheek, and slicing through it nicked the tongue. + +Taking food and drink was therefore quite painful enough just at first +without talking. But it was surprising how quickly this part began to +heal. He could not smoke yet, however, and that resource for whiling +away some of the long hours failed him. + +"It was a regular duel ye had with the haythen in his temple, and ye won +it fair and square, anyhow, without shooting," said Grady. "The other +was as dead as Julius Sayser when the boys saw him, for I was not to the +fore myself, having had my little tour the day before." + +"I remember," said Kavanagh. "And how is your prisoner getting on? He +has not slipped away yet, has he?" + +"Sorra a bit of it, he seems quite plazed to be living with dacent +people for a change. He tould the interpreter that it was a mighty +great friend of the Mahdi's ye killed; a man some people reckoned very +holy--a _faker_ he called him. At least, a man like that lived up by +that cavern ye discovered." + +"I don't know who he was," said Kavanagh, "but I wish he had recovered. +He was a game one that, to fight as he did after he got his death- +wound." + +Sergeant Barton, who came up just then, heard this last remark, and +said, smiling-- + +"That is true enough, but his opponent must have a good bit of pluck, +too, it seems to me." + +"Not so much as you think," replied Kavanagh, meditatively. "I do not +say it out of mock modesty, but it is a simple fact that fear of that +sharp edge made me strain all my faculties to keep it at a distance. +But I was horribly afraid of it all the same." + +"Well, I suppose that the other was afraid of your bayonet point, if you +come to that." + +"I don't believe it; he did not mind it more than a pin, if he could +only kill me at the same time." + +Here an officer came up and asked Kavanagh how he was; adding, "I have +good news for you. We shall reach Korti to-day, and then you will be +more comfortable." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +IN THE RANKS OF THE ENEMY. + +Harry Forsyth had put off the evil day as long as he could, but at +length he found himself forced to turn an apparent traitor to his Queen +and country, or else to give up the object of his journey when his +trials, dangers, and sufferings had been crowned with success, and +probably to lose his life into the bargain. + +The detachment in which the Sheikh Burrachee held a command came to a +precipitous rocky mountain overlooking the Nile, and here they were to +stop the English advance. No position could have been more judiciously +chosen: the rocks looked down on a narrow gorge of the river still more +straightened by an island named Dulka, which it was determined to +garrison strongly with riflemen, and there was debate as to who should +undertake this duty. Harry hoped that it would be the tribe with which +his uncle had become associated, and of which he himself was now +supposed to be a member, because he thought it would be hardly difficult +to slip away down the stream somehow, by swimming if no other means were +to be had, and so join the English before they attacked, and avoid even +the appearance of being a partaker of his uncle's crimes. But this +chance was denied to him, and others went to the island, while the +Sheikh Burrachee and his men were posted in the steepest part, the very +citadel of this natural fortress. + +To escape from there before the assault was obviously impossible. Up to +that time Harry had taken it for granted in his own mind that his +countrymen would carry any position they chose, with more or less loss, +and pass on, but he now began to fear that this one was really +impregnable. Parts of it were difficult to climb if unopposed, but with +an enemy with a rifle in his hand behind every crag and boulder, it +looked simply impossible for any living thing to make the ascent. Now +for the first time Harry Forsyth became an active hypocrite, for he had +only been a passive one up to this. He busied himself about to select a +good commanding spot in which to ensconce himself with his rifle with an +energy which delighted his uncle extremely. And so much was thought of +his shooting that he was sure not to be interfered with. + +"Not a man of them can ever pass the Rackabit el Gamel by water, and +they can as soon take these rocks as scale the heavens. Here the +freedom of the Soudan will be worked out; the authority of the Mahdi +established!" exclaimed the sheikh. Rackabit el Gamel, or the Camel's +Neck, is the name of the gorge by Dulka Island. + +When the sun rose on the tenth of February, eighteen hundred and eighty- +five, Harry Forsyth, from his lofty position on the heights of Kirbekan, +strained his eyes in the direction from which the British force was +expected to come. Nothing yet; yes, those red ants, as they seem in the +far distance, what are they? And there were larger black ants in rear +of them. + +And now in the clearer light grey ants aligned with the red. The red +ants, had he known it, were the Black Watch, going into action in their +red coats and kilts; the grey were the men of the South Staffordshire +Regiment; the large black ants in rear were the guns. He did not know +these details, but he recognised English troops, not seen now for a long +time by him, and his heart beat high with excitement and hope. Now was +his chance of escape. Unless he were killed during the assault, or +taken prisoner and shot before he had time to explain himself, he would +surely be able to get away in the confusion of fight. Even if the +English were repulsed, he could feign pursuit and so come up with them. + +Suddenly he saw both red and grey masses scatter out from their centres, +as they broke into extended order, and at the same time what he could +now distinguish as cavalry swept round to the right. It was a beautiful +sight. While he was gazing at it his uncle passed him in a state of +great enthusiasm. + +He waved a rifle with his right-hand, and a banner, with texts from the +Koran inscribed upon it, with his left, and cried, "They come! They +come! The Lord hath delivered them into our hands at last!" And it was +with difficulty that he could restrain himself from forfeiting the +advantages of the strong position, and rushing down to meet the +advancing troops at once. + +He had not long to restrain his impatience; the red and the grey lines +swept into the base, and were among the boulders in a trice. Then the +whole mountain side seemed to burst forth into flame and smoke, and from +his commanding position Harry could see that here and there an advancing +figure stopped, and came on no more, but dotted the ground with a +scarlet or brown patch. + +The scene would have resembled a holiday sham fight but for those +figures which lay motionless, taking no further part, so orderly and +regular was the advance. Presently the combat entered on a new phase. +Unchecked by the storm of fire which had broken out upon them, the +Highlanders and South Staffordshire pressed steadily on amongst the +rocks; when there was room they squeezed between them; when this could +not be done they swarmed over them; still they pressed steadily on. +Steadily, indeed, but slowly. Behind each rock there was an Arab, and +when a soldier wriggled round it or swarmed over it, he found himself +engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict, in which, however, the bayonet +generally proved victorious over sword or spear. It was most +magnificent fighting; each individual man had to force his independent +way in the face of a deadly fire from hidden foes, at whose covers he +went straight. If he were hit there was an end of his course; but, if +he stood up, into the hiding-place where his foe lay concealed, he was +bound to go; and then, if he killed his man, as he mostly did, forwards +and upwards at another. There was no sense of support afforded by the +touch of comrades, and the being an item of a serried mass, as in the +case of the majority of the battles of the Soudan, fought in square +formation. Then there might be unsteady or pusillanimous soldiers, +whose faults were hidden by their firmer comrades, from whose presence +and example they gained confidence; but at Kirbekan every soldier fought +on his own account, as it were, and failure in courage or dash in any +individual would have been at once perceptible. But there was no such +failure, and the Black Watch and South Staffordshire fought as British +soldiers fought in the Peninsula, at Waterloo, at Alma, and at Inkerman. + +Higher and higher they came, and the Arabs began to grow uncontrollably +excited. The Sheikh Burrachee came to the post occupied by Harry, who +immediately let loose his rifle at a fine rock near which there was +nobody. But he might have spared himself the trouble; his uncle never +noticed him; he only came there because the spot afforded the best view +of a portion of the English advance. + +"It is impossible!" he cried; "and yet there they are. Has Sheytan +given them charmed lives?" and he charged down, waving his banner, and +calling on his tribesmen to follow him and extirpate the infidels. + +Harry saw him falter on the brow of a crag, stretch his arms wide, drop +weapon and banner, and fall backwards. Forgetting everything else at +the sight, he ran down to him and raised his head. + +He was quite dead. + +"Poor Uncle Ralph! You were kind to me, and you loved my dear mother. +Would that you had met with a better fate!" he said, as he turned away, +and looked about for the means of escape. + +There was no reason for further delay; the Arabs had too much to do to +look after themselves to notice him; and his uncle was dead! + +Round the side of the rock he crept, keeping well under shelter, till he +found a side where no fight was raging, and here he clambered cautiously +down into the plain, and made for that part of the Nile where he had +seen the English pontoons and boats. + +After about an hour's cautious approach, he came near enough to hail the +nearest sentry. + +"I am an English prisoner, released by your attack!" he cried; and after +his report of himself had been carefully heard by an officer, he was +received with welcome and eagerly questioned as to what he knew about +the progress of the fight. + +"Most of the points had been carried when I made my escape," Harry said; +"but I fear the loss has been very heavy." + +Heavy indeed it proved when the full news came in! Colonel Eyre, +commanding the South Staffordshire, fell at the head of his regiment at +the first onset; Colonel Green was killed at the hottest moment of the +struggle; and shortly afterwards General Earle, the commander of the +expedition himself, was shot dead from a stubbornly-defended building. + +Harry told his story, was examined, cross-examined, re-examined; for all +he had to say was most interesting, and very different from the meagre +and often contradictory reports to be gleaned from natives. He told +them of the force in Dulka Island. But they knew of that, and heeded it +not, finding no difficulty in shelling the Arabs there out of it without +an attack. + +The only thing he was reticent about was the story of his uncle. Poor, +crack-brained visionary, he had gone to his account now, and what need +was there to recount his treasonable vagaries? + +An old Harton boy is almost sure to find some mutual acquaintance in any +group of English officers he may fall in with in any part of the world, +and when at the evening meal he was chatting with his hospitable +entertainers, Strachan's name happened to be mentioned. + +"What, Tom Strachan, of the Blankshire?" he cried. + +"That's the man!" + +"Is his regiment in the Soudan?" + +"No, but _he_ is. He is an active card, and volunteered to act on the +staff, and has done a good bit of galloping business. I think he is +working in the Transport now, at least he was when we heard last from +Korti." + +From this and all else he could gather Korti was the place Harry now had +to try and make for, and he was soon once more on his travels down the +river. + +We will not follow his footsteps, since he met with no adventures to be +compared at all with those he had gone through. And very glad he was of +it, for the one thing he now dreaded most was delay. + +He had not long been at Korti before he saw the very old friend he had +been asking after, and soon got an opportunity of speaking to him, busy +as he seemed to be. + +"Don't you know me?" he asked. + +"Know you! Of course I do, just as if you were my brother; but just now +I forget whether it is tinned meats or bullocks. By Jove! Is it +possible! Harry Forsyth! And how are you, old fellow? One would think +Korti was the centre of the world, for every fellow comes here. I say, +who was to know you dressed up like that? Well, and what are you up to? +Have you found that will yet?" + +"Yes." + +"Nonsense! And _got_ it?" + +"Yes." + +"You must tell me all about that. I was just going to get something to +eat; come along and share it. You have fallen upon the right boy for +grub, I can tell you; I am in the provisioning department just for the +moment, and there is no order against looking after number one." + +"And you found your uncle who had turned wild man?" observed Tom +Strachan, as the two filled and lit their pipes after a capital repast. + +"Yes, poor fellow!" answered Harry. "Without him I don't suppose I +should have got the will." + +"And where did you run your Egyptian clerk to earth?" + +"At El Obeid, and we got it out of him with the kourbash." + +"Of course; you know the cynical saying here. As Nature provides an +antidote growing in the same district with every poison, all we have to +do is to learn how to seek it. So when the Egyptian was placed on the +Nile the hippopotamus was created to provide whips to rule him with. +But you must tell your story at greater length to-morrow morning to a +friend of mine who is lying wounded here, waiting for a chance to be +transported to Cairo. For I have a lot of things to see to; reports to +make out--you would never believe; and must run away presently." + +Next morning Harry Forsyth called on Strachan at the time and place +appointed, and was taken by him to the hospital which had been +established near the banks of the river. They found the friend of +Strachan's they proposed to visit lying on a bamboo couch under an +awning, over which again spread a palm-tree. There was a pleasant view +of the river and the country, and altogether it was as cheery a spot as +could have been selected. + +There was a visitor already with the invalid: a soldier who was standing +near, his head leaning on his rifle. + +"I tell ye what it is," he was saying; "I'll say nothing about flesh +wounds and bullet wounds since it worries ye, but ye have the best luck +of it to be wounded at all, in my thinking. Won't ye be getting out of +this baste of a country at once, and shan't we poor beggars what's whole +and sound have to stop here and stew, and be ate up with the flies +entirely? I tell ye so long as ye aint crippled it's the best chance to +be a bit hurt, and get away, now there's no more fighting to be done. +And they say there will perhaps be some real fun going on in India, out +Afghanistan way, against the Rooshians; and we will be left here with +the flies and crocodiles. But here's the officer coming. I'll come and +see you again, when I'm off duty." + +And Grady stepped briskly away, making the sling of his rifle _tell_ +with a smart salute, as he passed Strachan. And then Harry Forsyth +stepped up to the couch, and found himself looking on the drawn and +pain-worn features of Reginald Kavanagh. + +"I flatter myself that I have managed that with considerable dramatic +talent," said Tom Strachan, as he stood looking at the two, holding each +other's hands in silence, and looking into each other's eyes. + +"Yes," said Harry Forsyth, answering the question in the other's look; +"I have found it, and it is here in my breast, all perfectly right." + +"Yes, he has found it," echoed Strachan. "Where there's a will there's +a way, and the way in this instance was the kourbash. I hope the fellow +got it hot, Harry." + +"Pretty fairly; I think Kavanagh would have been satisfied, though he +has been disappointed in his desire to wield the lash himself. Don't +you remember?" + +"Well, all you have got to do now," said Strachan to Kavanagh, "is to +get back to England as quick as they will take you, purchase your +discharge, and enjoy your _otium cum dignitate_." + +"Thank you, sir; if you will kindly say a word for me it will help," +replied Kavanagh. + +The little word _sir_ struck with strange harshness on Harry Forsyth's +ears. But, of course, Kavanagh was but a full private, and Strachan was +an officer, if he came to think and realise it. He had been about to +say: + +"Here we three chums have met at last, ever so many miles up the Nile, +and I shall believe in presentiments as long as I live;" but he did not +like, after that word _sir_, to class his two old friends in the same +category; it might make an awkwardness, he felt. + +"I do not like the idea of quitting the service altogether," said +Kavanagh. + +"If we have this war with Russia they talk about, and I get well in +time, and can qualify, I wonder if I shall have a chance of getting a +commission. Surely it will not be so difficult as it was when I tried +before, and I nearly qualified. I wonder whether my service in the +ranks would be allowed to count in any way." + +"It very well might," said Strachan; "for there are all sorts of chances +going when good men are really wanted. If not, you must go back into +the old Militia Battalion of the Blankshire, as I mean to do when I am +shelved; and then we shall get a chance of airing our medals, if they +give us any, for one month in the year at any rate." + +"And what are your wounds, Kavanagh?" asked Harry presently. + +"Sword cuts; one in the body is troublesome, but is getting better since +I got away from camel back, though sometimes I feel down-hearted, +progress is so slow." + +"Oh, you must not give way to that sort of feeling," said Forsyth. +"Why, I lay senseless for months and months from a cut on the head; how +long I have no idea yet; I shall have to puzzle it out some day, but at +present it is logarithms over again to think of it. I should certainly +have died if it had not been for my dear old black nurse, Fatima, the +loss of whom is the only thing I shall regret in leaving this part of +the world. And if ever I come back, it will be to hunt her out and buy +her." + +"Fatima! Come, now for a touch of romance, Harry!" cried Strachan, +laughing. + +"Black as your Sunday hat in London; blubber lips, hair like coarse +wool; feet like canoes, and the best heart in the world, and--there she +is!" + +It was true enough; Fatima was searching about, looking for Harry +Forsyth, just like a dear, faithful old dog. Ever since the episode of +the letter she had thought he wanted to go to his own people, and sought +how to aid him; after the fight at Kirbekan she lost him, and made her +way down to Korti, as the best place, so far as she could learn, to gain +tidings of any Englishman. The delight she expressed on thus +unexpectedly seeing him again was touching to a degree. + +"You will have some one else to nurse now, Fatima," said Harry in +Arabic, pointing to Kavanagh. + +"Your brother is my master; I will cure him!" she said, nodding +cheerfully to Kavanagh, and showing her white teeth. + +"I am afraid Fatima would want to be nurse and doctor all in one, as she +was with me," said Harry, "and that would hardly agree with discipline. +But you might do worse than that, I can tell you. Meantime, what am I +to do with her, I wonder? Part from her willingly I never will. I tell +you, Kavanagh, you would never have had a chance of your money, if I had +not fallen into her hands, after I fell for dead in the wilderness; for +I should never have pulled through but for her. How astonished my dear +old mother and sister will be when I bring them a black servant! But +she will soon learn their ways." + +"You are my good genius, Forsyth," said Kavanagh; "and if you will call +on the Principal Medical Officer, and other great authorities, I have no +doubt you will be able to help me to get away the quicker." + +"I should like to go home with you," said Forsyth, "and will if I can. +Let us once get to Cairo, and I can raise any necessary money on the +strength of this," and he tapped the will on his chest. + +"Would it be too great a presumption to ask to see this portentous +document?" asked Strachan. "I own to feeling some curiosity about it." + +"Not at all." And he unwound it from its wrappings and produced it. + +"And because a rascal clerk ran away with that bit of parchment, +Kavanagh had to enlist as a private, and you had to go wandering over +the world for years, leaving your mother and sister in poverty and +anxiety!" said Tom Strachan, meditatively. "People are always talking +about red tape in the army; surely there is still more of it in the +law." + +"Oh, yes, naturally one would expect that." + +"Ah, well, I hope he got it hot; I _do_ hope he got it hot! I will +introduce you to all the people who can help you, Harry, but I must be +off just now." + +Forsyth got every assistance from the authorities to take his wounded +friend away. And his old connection with Mr Williams and the English +firm at Cairo stood him in good stead; so that he reached Cairo, and +embarked for England with Fatima and her patient sooner than he had +expected. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +AT SHEEN. + +The severity of the May of 1885 had at last abated, and the arrows on +the vanes proved that they had not got fixed by rust, as many suspected, +in a north-easterly direction, by turning to the south and west, so that +those inhabitants of Great Britain who had not succumbed to pneumonia +were able to let their fires out, open their windows, and enjoy out-of- +door games with impunity. + +Mrs Forsyth and Beatrice now reaped the benefit of their work in the +garden, for the tulips, the various _arias_ and _otises_ made the +borders resplendent, while the delicious scent of the wallflowers was +almost oppressive. The May blossom was full out on the hedge which +bounded the little domain, and the apple-trees in that part devoted to +fruit and vegetables were one mass of pink and white. + +Though still at Sheen, the Forsyths were not in their original cottage. +When their fortunes changed for the better, Mrs Forsyth had moved into +a larger villa, with a verandah round it, and modest stabling, and a +nice lawn. And on this lawn white chalk lines were drawn, and a net +fixed, on one side of which Beatrice Forsyth, racquet in hand, was +employed in affording exercise for her brother Harry, who was on the +other. He took the large court to her small court, and as she had a +special talent for placing the balls, she made him run about rarely. +The original layer out of that garden, who flourished before lawn-tennis +was invented, had perpetrated a prophetic pun by planting a service tree +on one side of the ground, and under this sat Mrs Forsyth before a +garden table which had wools and work-box on it, for she could not bear +to sit idle. Not far from her, and still under the shade of the service +tree, was a lounging chair or couch of cane and wicker-work of the most +comfortable description, with arms so broad and flat that you could +lodge books and papers upon them, and the right arm had a circular +hollow to hold a tumbler. + +In this chair reclined a good-looking young man, whose pale and delicate +features and thin hands told of recent illness, and together with a +crimson scar across his face gave him that appearance which ladies call +interesting, the effect being heightened by the shawls and rugs which +were strewn about him. Rice paper and a packet of Egyptian tobacco lay +on one of the arms of his couch, but it was only between the games that +he occasionally twiddled up a cigarette, so conscientiously did he +attend to his duties as umpire. + +"Vantage out," said Harry, who was serving. Beatrice returned the ball +high, and very far back-indeed, and immediately cried-- + +"I think it was just in!" + +"I think _not_," said Harry, grinning. "How was it, umpire?" + +"Line ball!" said Kavanagh, who from his position could not possibly +have seen. + +"Game and set!" cried Trix, delighted, though as a matter of fact the +ball had fallen a foot beyond the base line, and they both came to the +tree for a rest. + +"I hope you will be able to play yourself soon," said Harry Forsyth. + +"I could play now," replied Kavanagh; "my side does not hurt me a bit +whatever I do. It is only weakness that stops me, and I feel stronger +every morning." + +"Then we shall have a four set without recourse to neighbours when Mary +Strachan arrives," said Beatrice. + +"Mary Strachan! Is she coming?" cried Kavanagh. + +"Yes; mamma asked her, and she is to arrive early next week." + +"That _will_ be jolly! We only want Tom too." + +"I don't despair of seeing _him_ before the autumn," said Harry. "I +heard from him yesterday, and he thought he should come home when the +Guards did. And if we kiss and make it up with the various folks we are +at loggerheads with, I don't think there will be much more fighting for +you military parties to do." + +"Who do you mean?" asked Kavanagh. "I am not a military person. I have +got my discharge, sir, and might pass the commander-in-chief himself +without saluting. Not that I would though, God bless him." + +"Is it not time that you had your jelly and glass of port wine?" +observed Mrs Forsyth. + +"Not quite," said Harry; "Fatima would not let him miss it by a minute. +I believe she sits watching the clock, now she has learned what the +figures mean, and why the hands go round." + +"That is right; speak up for your slave," said Beatrice. "Any +imputation upon her punctuality might depreciate her market value." + +"I would not sell her for her weight in gold, and that must be something +towards settling the National Debt," said Harry. "She nursed me back +into life, I know." + +"I can never repay her," murmured Mrs Forsyth. + +At that moment the object of conversation appeared with a tray in her +hand, and a broad smile on her honest black face. She was robed in +white, with a red shawl and a yellow handkerchief round her head. They +had tried to put her into a print gown and a mob cap, but she looked so +queer and was so uncomfortable that they let her choose her own costume. +Nursing was certainly her strong point, and she tended Kavanagh as +carefully as if he had been a baby. Only she always thought it cold, +and wanted to smother him with wraps. + +It was no use resisting, so he had to put them away quietly when her +back was turned. + +"I shall have apoplexy if I am convalescent long," said Kavanagh, +swallowing the last spoonful of his jelly. "I am eating and drinking +good things the whole day long." + +"But think of the privations you have to make up for," said Mrs +Forsyth. + +"Oh, mother, what a dear you are!" cried Harry. "Now I know why we have +asparagus every day for dinner! _Apropos_ of dinner, who do you think +is coming to feed with us this evening, Kavanagh?" + +"Invalids are excused guessing," said Kavanagh. + +"Your old militia captain, Royce. He has got his majority now, by-the- +by, and he is set upon having you back into the regiment." + +Royce was punctual; and I propose to you a novelty in story endings. +Let the curtain fall upon our friends as they are going in to dinner. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of For Fortune and Glory, by Lewis Hough + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR FORTUNE AND GLORY *** + +***** This file should be named 21136.txt or 21136.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/1/3/21136/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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