THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 ENDOWED BY THE 
 
 DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC 
 
 SOCIETIES 
 
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.^[^'/ERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL t 
 
 j 00023571 92 
 
 This book is due at the WALTER R. DAVIS LIBRARY on 
 the last date stamped under "Date Due." If not on hold it 
 nnay be renewed by bringing it to the library. 
 
 
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 THE DASH FOR KHARTOUM. 
 
MR. HENTY'S HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Crown 8vo, Cloth elegant, Olivine edges. Each Book is 
 
 beautifully Illustrated. 
 
 The Cat op Bubastes : A Story of Ancient Egypt. 5s. 
 
 The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of Hannibal. 6s. 
 
 For the Temple : A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. 6.s. 
 
 The Lion of St. Mark: A Story of Venice in the 14th Century. 6s. 
 
 The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and 
 the Wars of Religion. 6s. 
 
 In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster 
 Boy during the French Revolution. 5.s. 
 
 The Dragon and the Raven : Or, The Days of King Alfred. 5s. 
 
 In Freedom's Cause : A Story of Wallace and Bruce, es. 
 
 St. George for England : A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. 5s. 
 
 By Pike and Dyke : A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. 6s. 
 
 Under Drake's Flag : A Tale of the Spanish Main. 6s. 
 
 Orange and Green : A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. 5s. 
 
 Bonnie Prince Charlie : A Tale of Fontenoy and CuUoden. Os. 
 
 The Bravest of the Brave: Or, With Peterborough in Spain. 5s. 
 
 With Wolfe in Canada : Or, The Winning of a Continent. 6s. 
 
 With Clive in India : Or, The Beginnings of an Empire. 6s. 
 
 True to the Old Flag : A Tale of the American War of Inde- 
 pendence. 6s. 
 
 One of the 28th : A Story of Waterloo. 5.s. 
 
 Through the Fray : A Story of the Luddite Riots. Qs. 
 
 By Sheer Pluck : A Tale of the Ashanti War. 5s. 
 
 For Name and Fame : Or, Through Afghan Passes. 5s. 
 
 With Lee in Virginia : A Story of the American Civil War. Gs. 
 
 London: ELACKIE & SON, Limited; Glasgow and Edinburgh. 
 
THE 
 
 DASH FOR KHARTOUM: 
 
 
 A TALE OF 
 THE NILE EXPEDITION. 
 
 G. A. HENTY, 
 
 Author of "WitU Clive in India;" "True to the Old Flag;'' "Bonnie Prince Charlii 
 "By Sliecr Pluck;" "Facing Death;" "One of the 28th;" &c. 
 
 WITH TEN PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOSEF FI NASH, R.I. 
 AND JOHN SCHUNBERG. 
 
 >t,uccm liiljr ;i -'■jcnunamug's 
 
 *==3p - ».Wj_ri —Tz: ^==^ 
 
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 ' it^ 
 
 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 
 BLACKIE & SON, Limited, 49 OLD BAILEY, E.G. 
 
 
 GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, AND DUBLIN. 
 
 
 1892. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/dashforkhartoumtOOhent 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 My dear Lads, 
 
 The story of the Nile Expedition is so recent that no 
 word, of introduction is necessary to the historical portion of 
 the tale. The moral, such as it is, of the story of the two 
 lads brought up as brothers is — Never act in haste, for repent- 
 ance is sure to follow. In this case great anxiety and unhap- 
 piness were caused through a lad acting as he believed for the 
 best, but without consulting those who had every right to a 
 voice in the matter. That all came right in the end in no 
 way affects this excellent rule, for all might have gone wrong. 
 We are often misled by a generous impulse, more often perhaps 
 than by an evil one, but the consequences may be just as serious 
 in the one case as the other, \yhen in trouble you should always 
 go freely to your best friends and natural advisers, and lay the 
 case fully before them. It may be that, if the trouble has 
 arisen from your own fault, you will have to bear their tem- 
 porary displeasure, but this is a small thing in comparison 
 with the permanent injury that may arise from acting on your 
 own impulse. In most cases, cowardice lies at the bottom of 
 concealment, and cowardice is of all vices the most contemp- 
 tible; while the fear of the displeasure of a parent has ruined 
 many a boy's life. Therefore, when you are in serious trouble 
 always go to your best friend, your father, and lay the case 
 
frankly and honestly before him; for you may be sure that 
 present displeasure and even punishment are but small things 
 in comparison with the trouble that may arise from trying to 
 get out of the difficulty in other ways. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 G. A. HENTY 
 
C O N T E N T S. 
 
 CuAP. Page 
 
 I. Mixed! 11 
 
 II. At Cheltenham, 27 
 
 III. Gone, 47 
 
 IV. Back at School, 65 
 
 Y. Enlisted, 84 
 
 A'l. Egypt, 97 
 
 VII. El-Teb, 116 
 
 VIII. Tamanieb, 134 
 
 IX. The Camel Corps, 144 
 
 X. An Unexpected Meeting, 165 
 
 XI. Abu Klea, 183 
 
 XII. Metemmeh, 201 
 
 XIII. Abu Keu, 218 
 
 XIV. A Slave, 235 
 
 XV. B.>lD News, 253 
 
 XVI. In Disguise, 270 
 
 XVII. A Runaway Slave, 288 
 
 XVIII. The Zakeba, 306 
 
 XIX. A Long Search, 325 
 
 XX. Found! 340 
 
 XXI. Home! 359 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Pago 
 
 "The AVoman placed herself in his "Way," 50 
 
 "Edgar struck him with all his strength," 102 
 
 "With a desperate rush they reached the Sailors," . . 123 
 
 Towing the Boats up the Nile, 163 
 
 At the Wells of Gakdul, 184 
 
 "The Arabs with wild yells charged upon the Square,". 196 
 
 "Good-bye, lad, and God bless you!" 210 
 
 t 
 
 "A shot had passed through her boiler," 263 ■■-*-- &-v,J.. 
 
 The Army of Hicks Pasha on the March, 342 
 
 "It is Rupert's voice, but it cannot be Eupert!" . . . 357 
 
 Plan— Port of Suakim, 122 
 
 ,, Battle of El-Teb, 29th Feb. 1884, ,, 
 
 „ Battle of Tamai, 13tli Mar. 1884, 138 
 
 Battle of Abu Klea, I7tli Jan. 1885, ,, 
 
s^-:^":i'J X fc::,a«tee 5i 
 
 THE DASH FOE KHARTOUM; 
 
 A TALE OF THE NILE EXPEDITION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MIXED ! 
 
 N a room in the married non-commissioned officers' 
 quarters in the cantonments at Agra, a young 
 woman was sitting looking thoughtfully at two 
 infants, who lay sleeping together on the outside 
 of a bed with a shawl thrown lightly over them. Jane Hum- 
 phreys had been married about a year. She was the daughter 
 of the regimental sergeant-major, and had been a spoilt child. 
 She was good looking, and had, so the wives and daughters of 
 the other non-commissioned officers said, laid herself out to 
 catch one of the young officers of the regiment, and was bit- 
 terly disappointed at the failure of her efforts. 
 
 The report may have been untrue, for Jane Farran was by 
 no means popular with the other women, taking far too much 
 upon herself, as they considered, upon the strength of her 
 father's rank, and giving herself airs as if she were better than 
 those around her. There were girls in the regiment just as 
 good looking as she was without any of her airs and tempers. 
 Why should she set herself up above the rest ? 
 
 When, however, Sergeant-major Farran died suddenly of 
 
12 THE sergeant's WIFE. 
 
 sunstroke after a heavy field-day, whatever plans and hopes 
 his daughter may have entertained came to an end. Her 
 name and that of her mother were put down among the 
 women to be sent, with the next batch of invalids, home to 
 England, and she suddenly accepted the offer of marriage of 
 young Sergeant Humphreys, whose advances she had previ- 
 ously treated with scorn. They were married six weeks later, on 
 the day before her mother was to go down by train with a party 
 of invalids to Calcutta. The universal opinion of the women 
 in the regiment was that the sergeant had got a bad bargain. 
 
 " No man of spirit," one of them said, " would have taken 
 up with a girl who only accepted him because she could not 
 do any better. She has got her temper written in her face, 
 and a nice time of it he is likely to have." 
 
 It may have been true that Jane Humphreys had during 
 her father's lifetime had her ambitions, but she was a clever 
 woman and adapted herself to her circumstances. If, as the 
 sergeant-major's daughter, she had given herself airs, and had 
 thrown herself in the way of the young officers, and had been 
 light and flighty in her manner, all this was changed as soon as 
 she was married, and even the most censorious were obliged to 
 admit that she made Sergeant Humphrej's a better wife than 
 they had expected. His home was admirably kept, the gay 
 dresses that had been somewhat beyond her station were cut 
 up and altered, and she dressed neatly and quietly. 
 
 She was handy with her fingers, her things always fitted her 
 well, and she gained the approbation of the officers' wives, who 
 had previously looked upon her with some disfavour as a for- 
 ward young person. She made every effort to get on good 
 terms with the wives of the other non-commissioned officers, 
 and succeeded at last in overcoming the prejudice which, as 
 Jane Farran, she had excited. There was no doubt that she 
 was a clever woman, and it was equally beyond doubt that she 
 completely managed her husband. She was much his superior 
 in education, and possessing far greater abilities could twist 
 
"WHICH IS YOURS, JOHN?" 13 
 
 him round her little finger, although she did it so cleverly 
 that he never suspected that he was the victim of such an 
 operation. 
 
 A month previous to the opening of the story she had been 
 confined of a boy, and two days later Mrs. Clinton, the wife 
 of the captain of her husband's company, also became a mother. 
 Before the week was over Mrs. Clinton was taken dangerously 
 ill, and as it was impossible for her to nurse her child, the 
 surgeon of the regiment recommended that it should be given 
 into the charge of the sergeant's wife, as she, being a strong 
 and healthy young woman, could very well nurse it as well as 
 her own. It was a month after this that Sergeant Humphreys, 
 returning to his quarters, found his wife sitting by the side of 
 the bed on which the two infants were asleep. 
 
 " They are as alike as two peas," he said as he looked at them. 
 "I am sure I wonder, Jane, that you know which is which! " 
 
 Mrs. Humphreys' answer did not seem to the point. " Cap- 
 tain Clinton is a rich man, is he not, John 1 " 
 
 "Yes; they say he came into a grand estate two years ago 
 when his father died, and that like enough he will leave the 
 regiment when it goes home next year." 
 
 "Then one of those babies will be a rich man, and the 
 other — " and she stopped, 
 
 "The other will, I hope, be a non-commissioned officer in 
 the 30th Foot one of these days," the sergeant said. Jane 
 looked up at her husband. There was no touch of envy or dis- 
 content in his voice. She was about to speak but checked herself. 
 
 " Which is yours, John? " she asked a moment later, returning 
 to his first remark. 
 
 " I am sure I could not tell," he said with a laugh. " Babies 
 are mostly pretty much alike, and as these two are just the 
 same age, and just the same size, and have both got gray eyes 
 and light coloured hair — if you can call it hair, — and no noses 
 to speak of, I don't see a pin's point of difference." 
 
 A month later a small party were assembled in Captain 
 
14 "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS TO BE DONEl'' 
 
 Clinton's bungalow. Mrs. Humphreys was standing with a 
 baby in each arm. Mrs. Clinton was lying upon a sofa crying 
 bitterly. Captain Clinton was walking up and down the room, 
 hot and angry. The surgeon of the regiment was standing 
 grave and sympathetic by Mrs. Clinton. Sergeant Hum- 
 phreys was in the attitude of attention by the door, with an 
 anxious troubled expression on his face. 
 
 "What in the world is to be done, doctor?" Captain Clinton 
 asked. " I never heard of such a thing, it is a most serious 
 business." 
 
 "I can quite see that," the doctor replied. "When Mrs. 
 Humphreys came to me and asked me to break the news to you, 
 I told her at once that it was a terrible business. I own that 
 I do not see that she is altogether to blame, but it is a most 
 imfortunate occurrence. As I have just told you, she had, 
 when she put the children to bed, put your child in one of her 
 baby's night-gowns, as it happened there were none of your 
 child's clean. In the morning she took them out and laid them 
 on a rug on the ground before beginning to wash and dress 
 them. She went out to the canteen to get something for her 
 husband's breakfast, and when she returned she could not 
 remember the order in which she had taken them out of bed 
 and laid them down, and could not distinguish her own child 
 from yours." 
 
 " You must remember, Mrs. Humphreys," Captain Clinton 
 broke in; "think it over, woman. You must remember how 
 you laid them down." 
 
 "Indeed, I do not, sir; I have been thinking all the morning. 
 I had nursed them two or three times during the night, and 
 of course had changed their position then. I never thought 
 about their having the same night-gowns on. If I had, of 
 course I should have been more careful, for I have said to my 
 husband over and over again that it was only by their clothes 
 that I should know them apart, for if they had been twins 
 they could not be more alike." 
 
"A TERRIBLE BUSINESS." 15 
 
 "This is downright maddening!" Captain Clinton exclaimed, 
 pacing up and down the room. " And is there no mark nor 
 anything by which they can be recognized? Why, bless me, 
 woman, surely you as a mother ought to know your own 
 child ! " 
 
 Mrs. Humphreys shook her head. "I have nursed them 
 both, sir, and which is mine and which is yours I could not 
 say to save my life." 
 
 " Well, put the children down on that sofa," Captain Clinton 
 said, "and take yourself off for the present; you have done 
 mischief enough for a lifetime. I will let you know what we 
 decide upon later on." 
 
 " Well, doctor, what on earth is to be done 1 " he asked after 
 the door had closed upon the sergeant and his wife. " What 
 do you think had best be done, Lucy ? " 
 
 But Mrs. Clinton, who was but just recovering from her ill- 
 ness, was too prostrated by this terrible blow to be able to offer 
 any suggestion. 
 
 " It is a terrible business indeed, Clinton," the doctor said, 
 "and I feel for j^ou most deeply. Of course the possibility of 
 such a thing never entered my mind when I recommended you 
 to let Mrs. Humphreys act as its foster-mother. It seemed at 
 the time quite a providential circumstance that she too should 
 be just confined, and in a position to take to your baby. 
 The only possible suggestion I can offer is that you should 
 for a time bring up both boys as your own. At present they 
 are certainly wonderfully alike, but it is probable that as they 
 grow up you will see in one or other of them a likeness to 
 yourself or your wife, and that the other will take after its own 
 parents. Of course these likenesses do not always exist, but 
 in nine cases out of ten some resemblance can be traced between 
 a boy and one or other of his parents." 
 
 " That certainly seems feasible," Captain Clinton said in a 
 tone of relief. " What do you say, dear"? It is only bringing 
 up the two children for a time till we are able to be certain 
 
16 "THAT WILL BE ALMOST AS BAD." 
 
 which is our own. The other will have had the advantage of 
 a good education and so on, and of course it will be our busi- 
 ness to give him a good start in life." 
 
 " It will be awful having the two children, and not knowing 
 which is our own." 
 
 " It will be very unpleasant," Captain Clinton said soothingly; 
 " but, you see, in time you will come to care for them both just 
 as if they had been twins." 
 
 "That will be almost as bad," Mrs. Clinton cried feebly. 
 "And suppose one gets to love the wrong one best?" 
 
 "We won't suppose that, dear; but if we love them both 
 equally, we will, when we find out which is ours, treat the 
 other as an adopted child and complete his education, and 
 start him in life as if he were so. Fortunately the expense 
 will be nothing to us." 
 
 "But this woman has a right to one of them." 
 
 " She does not deserve to have one," Captain Clinton said 
 angrily; " but of course we must make some arrangement with 
 her. She is bound to do her best to repair the terrible mis- 
 chief her carelessness has caused. Well, doctor, we will think 
 it over for an hour or two, but certainly your suggestion seems 
 by far the best for us to adopt." 
 
 " The hussy ! " the doctor said as he walked away to his 
 quarters. "I am more than half inclined to believe that she 
 has done it on purpose. I never liked the jade before she 
 married, though I own that she has turned out better than I 
 expected. But I always thought her a designing and artful 
 young woman, and gave her credit for plenty of brains, and 
 what could suit her purpose better than this change of children 1 
 She would see that in the first place she would get her own 
 boy well brought up, and perhaps provided for, with all sorts of 
 chances of making money out of the affair. It may have been 
 an accident, of course, but if so, it was a wonderfully fortunate 
 one for her." 
 
 Such was the opinion among the women of the regiment 
 
 (650) 
 
"NOT IN THE SMALLEST DEGREE." 17 
 
 when the news became known, and Jane Humphreys was 
 speedil}^ made aware of the fact by the change in their man- 
 ner towards her. They had, however, but small opportunity 
 for demonstrating their opinion, for Mrs. Humphreys remained 
 shut up as much as possible in her room, and the one or two 
 women who were inclined to take a favourable view of the 
 matter and so called upon her, reported that she was com- 
 pletely prostrated by the occurrence. Among the officers and 
 their families the greatest commiseration was felt for Captain 
 Clinton and his wife, and the matter was discussed at tiffin 
 that day with great animation. 
 
 " Don't you think, doctor, that a woman must know her own 
 child]" a young ensign asked. 
 
 "Not at all, Arbuthnot; that is to say, not if you mean 
 that she would know it by any sort of maternal instinct. 
 There is no such thing. She has no more means of telling 
 her own infant out of a dozen others of similar complexion, 
 age, and appearance, than she would have of picking out her 
 own pocket-handkerchief out of a dozen others of similar pat- 
 tern if they were all unmarked." 
 
 " But a sheep can pick out his own lamb among a hundred, 
 doctor, and I am sure they are alike as so many peas. Surely 
 that must be maternal instinct 1 " 
 
 "Not in the smallest degree, Arbuthnot. The sheep and 
 other animals possess in a very high degree a sense which is 
 comparatively rudimentary in human beings. I mean, of course, 
 the sense of smell. A sheep knows her lamb, and a cow knows 
 her calf, neither by the sense of hearing or by that of sight. 
 She recognizes it solely and wholly by her sense of smell, 
 just as a dog can track its master's footsteps out of a thousand 
 by the same sense. The two babies are as alike as twins; 
 and I am not surprised that, if they really got mixed, this 
 woman should not be able to detect one from the other." 
 
 " It is an awful thing for Clinton," the major said, " Here 
 he has got a splendid estate, and he will never be certain 
 
 (660) B 
 
18 "WE MUST HOPE IT WILL BE SO." 
 
 whether his own son or a stranger is going to inherit it after 
 him. It is enough to make a man go out of his mind." 
 
 "I don't see that that would be likely to mend matters," 
 the doctor said dryly; "in fact it would lessen the one chance 
 that exists of ever setting the matter straight. As I have told 
 him, though these children are very much alike at present — 
 and indeed most babies are — it is probable that as they grow 
 up there will no longer be any resemblance whatever, and that 
 his own child will develop a likeness either to him or Mrs. 
 Clinton, while the other child will resemble the sergeant or 
 his wife." 
 
 " We must hope it will be so," the major said, " though 
 there are lots of fellows who don't resemble in the least either 
 of their parents. But what is Clinton going to do about 
 it?" 
 
 " He has not settled yet. His wife was in no condition to 
 discuss the matter, poor lady! My suggestion was that he 
 should bring up both the children as if they were his own, 
 until one or other of them develops this likeness that I was 
 speaking of." 
 
 "I suppose that is the best thing they can do, doctor; but 
 it will be an awful business if, as they grow up, no likeness to 
 anybody can be detected in either of them." 
 
 "Well, major, although at present it does seem an awful 
 thing, it won't seem so bad at the end, say, of twenty years. 
 They will naturally by that time be as fond of one as the other. 
 The boys, in fact, will be like twins; and I suppose the property 
 can be divided in some such way as it would be were they really 
 in that relation to each other." 
 
 "But, you see, doctor," one of the captains said, "Mrs. 
 Humphreys has to be considered to a certain extent too. It is 
 hard on Mrs. Clinton; but if she gets both boys she is certain 
 at any rate that one of them is her son, and Mrs. Humphreys 
 will, by that arrangement, have to lose her child altogether. 
 That seems to me pretty rough on her," 
 
CAPTAIN CLINTON'S DETERMINATION. 19 
 
 " Well, she brought it on herself," the doctor replied. " The 
 whole thing has arisen from her carelessness." 
 
 "Do you think it was carelessness, doctor"?" the major 
 asked. 
 
 " That is a matter on which I will give no opinion, major. 
 It is one upon which one man can form a judgment as well as 
 another. The thing may very well have happened in the way 
 she describes; and again it may be a very cunningly devised 
 plot on her part. It is evident she had everything to gain by 
 such an accident. She would get her child taken off her hands, 
 educated, and provided for. She would calculate no doubt that 
 she would be their nurse, and would expect, in return for giv- 
 ing up her claim to one or other of them, some very distinct 
 monetary advantages. I do not at all say that the affair was 
 not an accident. Upon the contrary, I admit that it was an ac- 
 cident which might very well happen under the circumstances. 
 What I do say is, nothing could have turned out better for 
 her." 
 
 Just as tiffin was finished, Captain Clinton's soldier-servant 
 came into the mess-room with the request that Dr. Parker 
 should go across to his master's bungalow. " Well, doctor," 
 Captain Clinton said as he entered, "in the first place 
 I want you to go up and see my wife, and give her a 
 sedative or something, for she is terribly upset over this 
 affair; and in the next place I want to tell you that we 
 have agreed to take your advice in the matter, and to bring 
 up the two children as our own until we can make out which 
 of the two is our child; then I want your advice as to whether 
 they can be weaned without any damage to their health. My 
 wife is determined upon that point. They shall not be brought 
 up by Mrs. Humphreys. There is no other woman, is there, 
 in the regiment with a young baby? " 
 
 The doctor shook his head. "There are one or two with 
 babies, but not with babies young enough for her to take to 
 these. It would certainly be far better that they should have 
 
20 "A FATHER CANNOT SELL HIS RIGHTS." 
 
 the natural nourishment, but I do not say that they would 
 necessarily suffer from being weaned. Still, you see, Clinton, 
 there is a question whether this woman will consent to part 
 with both the children." 
 
 " I quite see that, doctor, and of course I shall be ready to 
 make any money arrangements that will content her." 
 
 " I would see the husband, if I were you," the doctor said. 
 " He is a steady, well-conducted young felloAV, and however this 
 matter has come about, I quite acquit him of having any share 
 in it. I think you will find it more easy to deal with him 
 than his wife. Unfortunately, you see, there is always a diffi- 
 culty with adopted children. A father cannot sell away his 
 rights; he may agree to do so, but if he changes his mind after- 
 wards he can back out of his agreement. However he may 
 bind himself never to interfere with it, the fact remains that 
 he has a legal right to the custody of his child. And though 
 Sergeant Humphreys might keep any agreement he might 
 make, the mother might give you no end of trouble afterwards." 
 
 " I see all that, doctor, but of the two evils I think the one 
 we propose is the least. My wife says she could not bear to 
 see this woman about the children, and I have a good deal of 
 the same feeling myself. At any rate in her present state of 
 health I wish to spare her all trouble and anxiety as much as 
 I can, and therefore it is better to buy this woman off for 
 the present, even though we may have to run the risk of 
 trouble with her afterwards. Anyhow, something must be 
 done at once. The children have both been squalling for the 
 last hour, though I believe that they have had some milk or 
 something given to them. So I had better send across for 
 Humphreys, the sooner the matter is got over the better." 
 
 The young sergeant presently appeared. 
 
 " Sit down, sergeant. I want to have a talk with you over 
 this terribly painful business. In one respect I quite under- 
 stand that it is as painful for you and Mrs. Humphreys as it is 
 for us, but in other respects you are much better off than I 
 
SERGEANT HUMPHREYS CONSULTED. 21 
 
 am. Not only do I not know which is my child, but I do not 
 know which is heir to my estate; which is, as you will under- 
 stand, a most serious matter." 
 
 " I can quite understand that, sir," the sergeant said quietly. 
 
 "The only plan that I can see," Captain Clinton went on, 
 "is that for the present I shall adopt both children, and shall 
 bring them up as my own. Probably in time one of them will 
 grow up with some resemblance to myself or Mrs. Clinton, and 
 the other will show a likeness to you or your wife. In that 
 case I should propose to finish the education of your boy, and 
 then to provide for him by putting him into the army, or such 
 other profession as he may choose ; for it would be very unfair 
 after bringing him up and educating him as my own to turn him 
 adrift. Thus, you see, in any case my adoption of him would be 
 greatly to his benefit. I can, of course, thoroughly understand 
 that it will be very hard for you and Mrs. Humphreys to give 
 up your child. Very hard. And I am quite ready to make any 
 pecuniary arrangement with you and her that you may think 
 right. I may say that I do not think that it would be desir- 
 able that Mrs. Humphreys should continue as their nurse. I 
 want to consider the boys as my own, and her presence would 
 be constantly bringing up unpleasant remembrances. In the 
 second place I think that it would be better for her that she 
 should not act as their nurse. She would know that one of 
 them is her own, and the separation when it came would be 
 very much more painful than it would be at present. Of 
 course I do not expect an answer from you just at this 
 moment. You will naturally wish to talk it over with her, 
 but I shall be glad if you will let us have an answer as soon as 
 you can, as it is necessary that we should obtain another nurse 
 without loss of time." 
 
 " What you say seems to me very fair. Captain Clinton," 
 the sergeant said. "I would give anything, sir, that this 
 shouldn't have happened. I would rather have shot myself 
 first. I can answer for myself, sir, that I accept your offer. 
 
22 "I AM SURE SHE WILL, 
 
 Of course, I am sorry to lose the child; but a baby is not 
 much to a man till it gets to know him and begins to talk, 
 and it will be a satisfaction to know that he is in good hands, 
 with a far better look-out than I could have given him. I will 
 see my wife, sir, and let you know in half an hour." 
 
 "Do you think that she will consent, Humphreys?" 
 
 "I am sure she will," the sergeant said briefly, and then 
 added, "There is nothing else she could do," and saluting he 
 went out of the room. 
 
 " He suspects his wife of having done it on purpose," Dr. 
 Parker said, speaking for the first time since the sergeant had 
 entered the room. " I don't say he knows it, but he suspects it. 
 Did you notice how decidedly he said that she would consent"? 
 And I fancy up to now she has had her own way in everything." 
 
 "Well, what do they say?" Mrs. Humphreys asked as her 
 husband entered the door. He told her shortly the offer that 
 had been made. She laughed scornfully. "A likely thing 
 that! So they are to have both children, and I am not to be 
 allowed even to see them; and they are to pick and choose as 
 to which they like to say is theirs, and we are to be shouldered 
 out of it altogether! It is just as bad for me not to know 
 which is my boy as it is for that woman; but they are to take 
 the whole settlement of things in their hands, my feelings to 
 go for nothing. Of course you told them that you would not 
 let them do such a thing?" 
 
 " I did not tell them anything of the sort. I told them that 
 I accepted their proposal, and that I could answer for your 
 accepting it too." 
 
 " Then you were never more wrong in your life, John Hum- 
 phreys!" she said angrily; "I won't consent to anything of the 
 sort. Luck has thrown a good thing in our hands, and I mean 
 to make the most of it. We ought to get enough out of this 
 to make us comfortable for life if we work it well. I did not 
 think that you were such a soft!" 
 
 " Soft or not soft, it is going to be done as they propose," 
 
"WHAT DO WE CARE ABOUT THEIR TALKl" 23 
 
 her husband said doggedly. "It is burden enough as it is — we 
 have lost our child. Not that I care so very much about that; 
 there will be time enough for more, and children do not add 
 to the comfort of close little quarters like these. But whether 
 we like it or not, we have lost the child. In the next place we 
 shall never hear the end of it in the regiment, and I shall see 
 if I cannot manage to get transferred to another. There will 
 be no standing the talk there will be." 
 
 "Let them talk !" his wife said scornfully. "What do we care 
 about their talk!" 
 
 " I care a great deal," he said. "And I tell you why, because 
 I know what they will say is true." 
 
 "What do you mean?" she asked quickly. 
 
 " I mean, Jane, that I know you mixed up those children on 
 purpose." 
 
 "How dare you say so!" she exclaimed making a step for- 
 ward as if she would strike him. 
 
 "I will tell you why I say so. Because I went to the drawer 
 this morning before going to parade, and I saw some of Mrs. 
 Clinton's baby's night-gowns in it. Yes, I see they are all in 
 the wash-tub now; but they were there this morning, and 
 when I heard you say you had put the child into one of our 
 baby's night-gowns because it had no clean ones of its own, I 
 knew that you were lying, and that you had done this on 
 purpose." 
 
 The woman was silent a moment and then burst out, " You 
 are a greater fool than ever I thought you! I did tell a lie 
 when I gave that reason for putting the child into our baby's 
 gown. When I took the two clean ones out of the drawer I 
 did not notice until I put them on that they were both ours, 
 and then I thought it was not worth while changing again 
 just as the child had got quiet and comfortable. Then when 
 I found what had happened in the morning, I had to make 
 some excuse or other, and that occurred to me as the best. 
 When I came back I did put them all into the wash-tub, clean 
 
24 "WHAT IS IT YOU DO WANT?" 
 
 and dirty, in case any one should come here to see about them. 
 What harm was there in that, I should like to know"?" 
 
 " You have acknowledged you have told one lie over it; after 
 that you may say what you like, but you need not expect me 
 to believe you." 
 
 "Well, why don't you go at once and tell them that you 
 believe that I changed the children on purpose?" 
 
 "Because in the first place I cannot prove it, and because 
 in the second case you are my wife, Jane. I took you for better 
 or worse, and whatever you have done it ' is not for me to 
 round on you. Anyhow, I will do all I can to set this matter 
 straight, and the only way that I see it can be set straight 
 is by doing as Captain Clinton says — by letting him have the 
 two children until they grow up, and then see which of the 
 two is like them and which is like us. What do you want 
 done? I suppose you don't want to have the care of them 
 both. I suppose you don't want to get paid for letting them 
 keep them both, and to have every man and woman in the 
 regiment asking the question. Who sold their child 1 What is 
 it you do want?" 
 
 "I want to go as their nurse.'' 
 
 " Well, then, you cannot do it. It is evident that Mrs. Clin- 
 ton hates the sight of you, and no wonder; and she won't 
 have you at any price. You had best be contented with what 
 you have got." 
 
 "What have I got?" she asked sullenly. 
 
 "Well, you have got the trouble of the child off your hands, 
 you have got the knowledge that it will be well taken care of 
 and provided for and made a gentleman of. That ought to be 
 a satisfaction to you anyhow." 
 
 " What is that when we might make a nice little fortune 
 out of it?" 
 
 " I can see no way of making a fortune," he said, " unless 
 you do know which is which, and offer to tell them if they 
 will pay you for it. In which case, instead of making a fortune 
 
"I WILL MAKE MONEY OUT OE IT YET." 25 
 
 you would be likely to find yourself inside a prison for years 
 — and serve you right." 
 
 The woman was silent for some time, then she said, "Very 
 well, then, T will agree to their terms; but mind you, I will 
 make money out of it yet." And so Sergeant Humphreys went 
 across to Captain Clinton's bungalow and told him that his 
 wife agreed to give up both children. 
 
 "It is by far the best thing for the little chap whichever he 
 may be, and you will be able to do a deal more for him than I 
 ever could. My wife did not quite see the matter at first, but 
 she has come round to my way of thinking. No, sir, we do 
 not want to be paid," as Captain Clinton was about to speak; 
 " as long as I am fit for service we want nothing. Some day, 
 perhaps, when I get past service I may ask you to give me a 
 job as a lodge-keeper or some such post, where I can earn my 
 living." 
 
 And so the matter was settled. One of the other officers' 
 wives had already lent her ayah to take care of the children 
 until one could be found for them. 
 
 The ready manner in which Sergeant Humphreys had done 
 the only thing in his power to obviate the effects of his wife's 
 carelessness restored him at once to the good opinion of his 
 felloAv sergeants and the men, as it was generally allowed that 
 he had done the right thing, and that no one could do more. 
 Opinion, however, was less favourable as to his wife. It was 
 soon evident to all who lived in the non-commissioned officers' 
 quarters that things were not going on well between Sergeant 
 Humphreys and his wife. There were frequent and violent 
 quarrels. The sergeant was often down at the canteen drink- 
 ing more than was good for him. 
 
 One day Captain Clinton sent for him. "Sergeant, I am 
 sorry to say that I hear from the sergeant-major that you 
 were drunk last night, and that you have several times been 
 the worse for liquor. It is not a formal complaint, but I 
 thought it better to talk to you. You have always been a 
 
26 "TRY TO PULL YOURSELF ROUND, MAN." 
 
 very steady man, and I should be sorry in the extreme if any- 
 thing should happen which would cause you to be brought 
 before the colonel. I have no doubt this affair has troubled 
 you greatly, and that it is entirely owing to that that you have 
 become unsettled. Try to pull yourself round, man. You 
 know that nobody attributes the slightest shadow of blame to 
 you in the matter." 
 
 " Thank you, sir. I was coming to see you if you hadn't 
 sent for me, to say that I wished to give up my stripes and 
 return to the ranks. I know I shall be degraded if I don't 
 do it of my own free-will, and I would rather go down than 
 be sent down." 
 
 "But what will your wife do? It would be a great change 
 to her, Humphreys." 
 
 "My wife has made up her mind to go home, sir, and I 
 think it is the best thing she can do. She will never be 
 comfortable in the regiment, and to say the truth we are not 
 comfortable together. She says that she has friends in Eng- 
 land she will go and stay with, and I think it is best to let 
 her go. I would rather cut my hand off than ask for any- 
 thing for myself, but as I am sure that it is for the best that 
 she should go, and as I don't hear of any invalids or women 
 going home at present, I should be very much obliged if you 
 would lend me twenty pounds. I have got thirty laid by, and 
 fifty will be enough to send her across by rail to Bombay, pay 
 her passage home, and leave her twenty pounds in hand when 
 she gets there. I will pay it off so much a month." 
 
 "You are welcome to twenty pounds without any talk of 
 repayment, Humphreys. But I wouldn't take any hasty step 
 if I were you. If your wife and you have had a quarrel she 
 may change her mind in a day or two, and think better 
 of it." 
 
 "No, sir; I think we are pretty well agreed on the point 
 that she had best go home. People make mistakes sometimes, 
 and I think we both made a mistake when we got married. 
 
A SEPARATION. 27 
 
 Anyhow, we have both agreed that it is best to part for a 
 time." 
 
 Accordingly three or four days later Mrs. Humphreys left 
 Agra for EomlDay, and was seen no more in the regiment. 
 Sergeant Humphreys gave up his stripes and returned to the 
 ranks, and for two years remained there. After his wife had 
 left him he gradually gave up the habit into which he had 
 fallen, and at the end of the two years again became a non- 
 commissioned officer. He was never heard to speak of his 
 wife after she left him, nor so far as his comrades knew did 
 he ever receive a letter from her. Soon after ho had again 
 got his stripes the regiment returned to England, and a 
 month later Captain Clinton sent in his papers and retired 
 from the service. 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 AT CHELTENHAM. 
 
 EVERYTHING packed and ready, boysf 
 "Yes, father, I think so." 
 
 " The dog-cart will be at the door at eleven. Be sure and be 
 ready in time. It won't do to miss your train, you know. Well, 
 you have had a pleasant holiday this time, haven't you?" 
 
 " Very," both boys replied together. 
 
 " It has been awfully jolly," one went on, " and that trip in 
 Brittany was certainly the best thing we have done, though we 
 have always enjoyed our holidays. It is ever so much nicer 
 going to out-of-the-way sort of places, and stopping at jolly 
 little inns without any crowd and fuss, than being in those 
 great Swiss hotels as we were last year, where every one was 
 English, and one had to be in at regular times and almost 
 fight to get something to eat. I hope next year you will be 
 able to take us to Norway, as you were saying yesterday. I 
 
28 TWO LADS. 
 
 should think it would be just the same sort of thing as Brittany, 
 only, of course, different sort of scenery, and different lan- 
 guage and different people. Madge, you will have to set to 
 and get up Norse to act as our interpreter." 
 
 "You are very lazy boys. I had to do all the talking in 
 Brittany. You are supposed to have learnt French longer than 
 I have." 
 
 "Oh, yes; supposed. Nobody cares about their French lessons. 
 They make no difference in your place in the school, and so no 
 one takes the trouble to grind at them. Well, come along, let 
 us take a turn round the place for an hour before we start." 
 And the two boys and Madge, who was a year their junior, 
 went out through the French window into the garden. 
 
 Captain Clinton walked to the window and looked after 
 them. They were lads any father might be proud of, straight, 
 well-built, handsome English lads of about sixteen. Rupert was 
 somewhat taller than Edgar, while the latter had slightly the 
 advantage in breadth of shoulders. Beyond the fact that both 
 had brown hair and gray eyes there was no marked likeness 
 between them, and their school - fellows often wondered that 
 there should not be more similarity between twins. Both had 
 pleasant open faces, and they were equally popular among their 
 school-fellows. As to which was the cleverest, there were no 
 means of ascertaining; for although both were at Cheltenham 
 together, one was on the modern and the other on the classical 
 side, Captain Clinton having made this arrangement purposely 
 in order that there should be no rivalry between them, and the 
 unpleasantness that sometimes arises when two brothers are at 
 the same school, and one is more clever than the other, was 
 thereby obviated. Rupert was the more lively of the two, and 
 generally did the largest share of talking when they were 
 together; but Edgar, although he talked less, had the more 
 lively sense of humour, and the laughter that broke out in the 
 garden was caused by some quiet remark of his. Captain 
 Clinton turned sharply round upon hearing a sigh from his wife. 
 
"I don't want to see it." 29 
 
 "Well, Lucy, I know what you are thinking: another holiday 
 over, and we are no nearer to the truth. I own that our plan 
 has failed so far, for I can't see in either of the boys a shadow of 
 resemblance either to you or myself. Some people profess to 
 see likenesses. Mr. Tomline remarked yesterday that he should 
 have known Eupert anywhere as my son, but then Colonel 
 Wilson said the day before that Edgar had got just your 
 expression. I don't see a scrap of likeness either way, and I 
 begin to think, dear, that I don't want to see it." 
 
 " No, I don't want to see it either, Percy; I love one as 
 well as the other. Still I should like to know which is our own." 
 
 "I used to think so too, Lucy; but I have been doubting 
 for some time about it, and now I am quite sure that I don't 
 want to know. They are both fine lads, and, as you say, we 
 love one just as well as the other. Parental instinct, you see, 
 goes for nothing. I should like to know that one of them was 
 my son, but on the other hand I should be very sorry to know 
 that the other wasn't. I think, dear, that it is much better as 
 it is. We have got two sons instead of one; and after all, the 
 idea that there would be a great satisfaction in the real one 
 inheriting all our landed property has very little in it. There 
 is plenty for them both, and each of them will be just as hajjpy 
 on three thousand a year as he would on six. 
 
 "As matters stand now, I have divided the property as nearly 
 as possible equally between them. Madge, of course, will have 
 her share; and I have left it in my will that they shall draw 
 lots which shall have the part with the house and park on it, 
 while the other is to have a sum of money sufficient to build an 
 equally good house on his share of the estate. We can only hope 
 that chance will be wiser than we, and will give the old house 
 to the right boy. However, whether our son or our adopted 
 son, whichever be which, gets it, does not concern me greatly. 
 There is enough for our son to hold a good position and be 
 comfortable and happy. Beyond this I do not trouble. At 
 any rate the grievance, if there is a grievance, is a sentimental 
 
30 "IT WOULD BE HARD." 
 
 one; while it would be a matter of real grief to me should 
 either of them, after having always looked upon us as his 
 parents, come to know that he does not belong to us, and that 
 he has been all along in a false position, and has been in fact 
 but an interloper here. That would be terribly hard for him 
 — so hard that I have ceased to wish that the matter should 
 ever be cleared up, and to dread rather than hope that I should 
 discover an unmistakable likeness to either of us in one or other 
 of them." 
 
 "You are right, Percy; and henceforth I will worry no more 
 about it. It would be hard, dreadfully hard, on either of them 
 to know that he was not our son; and henceforth I will, like 
 you, try to give up wishing that I could tell which is which. 
 I hope they will never get to know that there is any doubt 
 about it." 
 
 " I am afraid we can hardly hope that," Captain Clinton 
 said. " There are too many people who know the story. Of 
 course it was talked about at every station in India at the 
 time, and I know that even about here it is generally known. 
 No, it will be better some day or other to tell it them ourselves, 
 making, of course, light of the matter, and letting them see 
 that we regard them equally as our sons, and love and care for 
 them alike, and that even if we now knew the truth it could 
 make no difference in our feelings towards them. It is much 
 better they should learn it from us than from anyone else." 
 
 At eleven o'clock the dog-cart came to the door. The boys 
 were ready. Captain Clinton drove them to the station four 
 miles away, and in two hours after leaving home they arrived 
 at Cheltenham with a large number of their school-fellows, 
 some of whom had been in the train when they entered it, 
 while others had joined them at Gloucester. At Cheltenham 
 there was a scramble for vehicles, and they were soon at the 
 boarding-house of Mr. Eiver-Smith, which had the reputation 
 of being the most comfortable of the Cheltenham boarding- 
 houses. 
 
THE CArXAIN OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM. 31 
 
 There was a din of voices through the house, and in tlic 
 pleasure of meeting again and of exchanging accounts of how 
 the hoHdays had been spent, the few lingering regrets that 
 school-time had come round again completely vanished. Then 
 there was a discussion as to the footliall prospects and who 
 would get their house colours in place of those who had gone, 
 and whether River-Smith's was likely to retain the position 
 it had won by its victories over other houses in the previous 
 season; and the general opinion was that their chances were 
 not good, 
 
 "You see," Skinner, the captain of the team, said to a party 
 gathered in the senior boys' study, " Harrison and White will 
 be better than last year, but Wade will of course be a great 
 loss; his weight and strength told tremendously in a scrim- 
 mage. Hart was a capital half - back too, and there was no 
 better goal-keeper in the college than Wilson. We have not 
 got any one to take their places, and there are four other 
 vacancies in the team, and in each case those who have left 
 were a lot bigger and stronger than any of the young ones we 
 have got to choose from. I don't know who they will be yet, 
 and must wait for the trial matches before we decide; but I 
 think there is plenty of good material to choose from, and we 
 shall be nearly all up to last year's mark, except in point of 
 weight — there is a terrible falling off there, and we have no 
 one who can fill the place of Wade. He was as strong as a 
 bull; yes, he is an awful loss to us! There was not a fellow 
 in the college who could go through a grease as he could. You 
 remember last year how he rolled those fellows of Bishop's over 
 and carried the ball right through them, and then kicked the 
 deciding goal? That was grand! Why don't some of you 
 fellows grow up like him'? " And he looked round reproachfully 
 at his listeners. " Over thirteen stone Wade was, and there is 
 not one of you above eleven and a half — anyhow, not more 
 than a few pounds." 
 
 "Why don't you set us an example?" Edgar Clinton asked; 
 
32 "FAILED IN HIS DUTY.'' 
 
 and there was a laugh, for the captain of the team was all wire 
 and muscle and could not turn ten stone. 
 
 "I am not one of that kind," he said; "but there is Words- 
 worth, who is pretty near six feet in length, and who, if he 
 gave his mind to it and would but eat his food quietlj^ instead of 
 bolting it, might put some flesh on those spindle-shanks of his 
 and fill himself out till he got pretty near to Wade's weight. 
 A fellow ought to do something for his house, and I call it a 
 mere waste of bone when a fellow doesn't put some flesh on 
 him." 
 
 " I can run," Wordsworth said apologetically. 
 
 "Yes, you can run when you get the ball," Skinner said in 
 a tone of disgust; "but if a fellow half your height runs up 
 against you, over you go. You must lay yourself out for 
 pudding, Wordsworth. With that, and eating your food more 
 slowly, you really might get to be of some use to the house." 
 
 Wordsworth grumbled something about his having done his 
 share last year. 
 
 "It all depends what you think your share is," Skinner said 
 severely. "You did your best, I have no doubt, and you certainly 
 got a good many goals, but that arose largely from the fact 
 that there was nothing tangible in you. You see, you were 
 something like a jointed walking-stick, and, naturally, it puzzled 
 fellows. You have grown wider a bit since then, and must 
 therefore try to make yourself useful in some other line. What 
 we want is weight, and the sooner you put weight on the l^etter. 
 I see Easton has not come yet." 
 
 " He never comes until the evening train," another said. " He 
 always declares it has something to do with cross lines not fit- 
 ting in." 
 
 "It takes him so long," Skinner growled, "to fold up his 
 things without a crease, to scent his pocket-handkerchief, and 
 to get his hair to his satisfaction, that you may be quite sure 
 he cannot make an early start. As he is not here, and all 
 the rest that are left out of last year's team are, it is a good 
 
"1 .surrosE he ought to iTvAy." 33 
 
 0[)portunity to talk him over, I did not like having him in 
 the team last year, though he certainly did better than some. 
 What do you think? Ought we to have him this year or not? 
 I have been thinking a lot about it," 
 
 "I don't care for him," Scudamore said, "but I am bound 
 to say he does put ofl' all that finicking nonsense when he gets 
 his football jersey on, and plays a good, hard game, and does 
 not seem to mind in the least how muddy or dirty he gets, I 
 should certainly put him in again, Skinner, if I were you." 
 
 There was a murmur of assent from three or four of the others. 
 
 "Well, I suppose he ought to play," Skinner said; "but it 
 does rile me to see him come sauntering up as if it was quite 
 an accident that he was there, and talk in that drawling, affected 
 sort of way." 
 
 "It is riling," another said; "but besides that I do not think 
 there is much to complain about him, and his making an ass of 
 himself at other times does not affect us so long as he plays 
 well in the team," 
 
 "No, I do not know that it does, but all the same it is a 
 nuisance when one fellow keeps himself to himself and never 
 seems to go in for anything. I do not suppose Easton means 
 to give himself airs, but there is nothing sociable about him." 
 
 " I think he is a kind-hearted fellow," Edgar Clinton said, 
 speaking, however, with less decision than usual, as became 
 one who was not yet in the first form. "When young Jack- 
 son twisted his ankle so badly last term at the junior high 
 jump, I know he used to go up and sit with him, and read 
 with him for an hour at a time pretty near every day, I used 
 often to wish I could manage to get up to him, but somehow 
 I never could spare time; but Easton did, though he was in the 
 college four and was working pretty hard too, I have known 
 two or three other things he has done on the quiet. I don't 
 care for his way of dressing nor for his drawling way of talk- 
 ing, in fact, I don't care for him at all personally ; but he is a 
 good-natured fellow in spite of his nonsense," 
 
 ' 050 ) c 
 
34 "YOU ARE A PREJUDICED BEGGAR." 
 
 "Well, then, we must try him again," Skinner said, "and 
 see how he does in the trial matches. There is no certainty 
 about him, that is what I hate; one day he plays up and does 
 uncommonly well, then the next day he does not seem to take 
 a bit of interest in the game." 
 
 " I have noticed several times," Scudamore said, " that 
 Easton's play depends very much on the state of the game : if 
 we are getting the best of it he seems to think that there is no 
 occasion to exert himself, but if the game is going against us 
 he pulls himself together and goes into it with all his might." 
 
 "He does that," Skinner agreed; "that is what riles me in 
 the fellow. He can play a ripping good game when he likes, 
 but then he does not always like. However, as I said, we will 
 give him another trial." 
 
 Half an hour later the subject of the conversation arrived. 
 He was in the first form on the classical side, and was going up 
 at the next examination for Sandhurst. Easton was one of 
 the monitors, but seldom asserted his authority or put himself 
 out in any way to perform the duties of the office. He was 
 dressed with scrupulous care, and no one from his appearance 
 would have said that he had just come off a railway journey. 
 He nodded all round in a careless way as he came in, and 
 there was none of the boisterous friendliness that had marked 
 the meeting of most of the others. 
 
 "Affected ass!" Skinner growled to Rupert who was next to 
 him. 
 
 " You are a prejudiced beggar, Skinner," Rupert laughed. 
 " You know very well he is not an ass, and I am not at all sure 
 he is affected. I suppose it is the way he has been brought up. 
 There is no saying what you might have been yourself if you 
 had had nurses and people about you who always insisted on 
 your turning out spick-and-span. Well, Easton, what have 
 you been doing with yourself since we saw you lasf?" 
 
 "I have been on the Continent most of the time," Easton 
 said, in the quiet, deliberate tone that was so annoying to 
 
"IT WOULD P.E A VERY PLEASANT WAY." 35 
 
 Skinner. " Spent most of the time in Germany : had a week 
 at Munich, and the same time in Dresden doing the picturc- 
 gahery." 
 
 " That must have been a treat," Skinner said sarcastically. 
 
 " l^es, it was very pleasant. The worst of it is, standing 
 about so long makes one's feet ache." 
 
 "I wonder you did not have a bath-chair, Easton; delicate 
 people go about in them, you know." 
 
 "It would be a very pleasant way, Skinner, only I don't 
 think I could bring myself to it." 
 
 There was a laugh at his taking Skinner's suggestion seri- 
 ously. 
 
 " What have you been doing, Skinner'?" 
 
 " I have been up in Scotland climbing hills, and getting my- 
 self in good condition for football," Skinner replied shortly. 
 
 "Ah, football? Yes, I suppose we shall be playing football 
 this term." 
 
 There was another laugh, excited principally by the angry 
 growl with which Skinner greeted this indifference to what was 
 to him the principal feature of the year, 
 
 " I shouldn't mind football," Easton went on, after looking 
 round as if unable to understand what the others were laughing 
 at, "if it wasn't for the dirt. Of course it is annoying to be 
 kicked in the shins and to be sc|ueezed horribly in the greases, 
 but it is the dirt I object to most. If one could but get one's 
 flannels and jerseys properly washed every time it would not 
 matter so much, but it is disgusting to have to put on things 
 that look as if they had been rolled in mud." 
 
 " I wonder you play at all, Easton," Skinner said angrily. 
 
 " Well, I wonder myself sometimes," Easton said placidly. 
 "I suppose it is a relic of our original savage nature, when men 
 did not mind dirt, and lived by hunting and fighting and that 
 sort of thing." 
 
 "And had never learned the nuisance of stiff shirts and col- 
 lars, and never heard of such a thing as a tailor, and did not 
 
36 "IT MUST HAVE BEEN BEASTLY." 
 
 part their hair in the middle, Easton, and had never used soap," 
 Skinner broke in. 
 
 "No; it must have been beastly," Easton said gravely. "I 
 am very glad that I did not live in those days." 
 
 "Ah, you would have suffered horribly if you had, wouldn't 
 you?" 
 
 "Well, I don't know, Skinuer; I suppose I should have done 
 as other people did. If one does not know the comfort of a 
 wash and a clean shirt, one would not miss it, you see. I have 
 sometimes thought — " 
 
 " Oh, never mind what you thought," Skinner broke in out 
 of all patience. "'Come, let us go for a walk; it is no use 
 stopping here all this fine afternoon. Let us take a good long 
 spin. I can see half you fellows are out of condition altogether, 
 and the sooner we begin work the better. Will you come, 
 Easton ? After lolling about looking at pictures a twelve-mile 
 spin will do you good." 
 
 "Thank you. Skinner; I don't know that I want any good 
 done to me. I should not mind a walk, if it is to be a walk; 
 but a walk with you generally means rushing across ploughed 
 fields and jumping into ditches, and getting one's self hot and 
 uncomfortable, and splashing one's self from head to foot. It 
 is bad enough in flannels, but it is downright misery in one's 
 ordinary clothes. But I don't mind a game at rackets, if any- 
 one is disposed for it." 
 
 " I will play you," Mossop said. " I want to get my hand in 
 before the racket matches come off." 
 
 So they went and put on their flannels and racket shoes, 
 while the rest of the party started for a long walk with Skinner. 
 
 " I am glad he has not come," the football captain said as 
 they started; "he drives me out of all patience." 
 
 " I don't think you have much to drive out of you, Skinner," 
 Rupert Clinton laughed. " I believe Easton puts about half of 
 it on, on purpose to excite you. I am sure just now I saw a 
 little amusement in his face when he was talking so gravely." 
 
"HE IS A QUEER FELLOW." 37 
 
 "He Avill find he has got in the wrong box," Skinner said 
 angrily, "if he tries to chaft' me." 
 
 A quiet smile was exchanged among the others, for Easton 
 was tall and well built and had the reputation of being the best 
 boxer in the school ; and although Skinner was tough and wiry, 
 he would have stood no chance in an encounter with him. 
 
 "Well, hoAV did you get on, Mossop?" Scudamore asked as 
 they sat down to tea. 
 
 "Easton beat me every game. I had no idea that he was so 
 good. He says he does not intend to play for the racket, but if 
 he did he would have a first-rate chance. I was in the last ties 
 last year and I ought to have a good chance this, but either I 
 am altogether out of practice or he is wonderfully good. I was 
 asking him, and he said in his lazy way that they had got a 
 decent racket-court at his place, and that he had been knocking 
 the balls about a bit since he came home." 
 
 "If he is good enough to win," Pinkerton, the captain of the 
 house, said, "he ought to play for the honour of the house. 
 He has never played in any matches here before. I did not 
 know he played at all." 
 
 "That is the way with Easton," Edgar Clinton said; "he is 
 good all round, only he never takes trouble to show it. He 
 could have been in the college cricket eleven last year if he liked, 
 only he said he could not spare the time. Though Skinner 
 doesn't think so, I believe he is one of the best in our football 
 team ; when he chooses to exert himself he is out and out the 
 best chess player in the house ; and I suppose he is safe to pass 
 in high for Sandhurst." 
 
 " He is a cjueer fellow," Pinkerton said, " one never knoAvs 
 what he can do and what he can't. At the last exam Glover 
 said that the papers he sent in were far and away the best, but 
 that he had only done the difficult questions and hadn't sent in 
 any answers at all to the easy ones, so that instead of coming 
 in first he was five or six down the list. I believe myself 
 he did not want to beat me, because if he had he would have 
 
66 A PLEASANT WALK. 
 
 been head of the house, and that would have been altogether 
 too much trouble for him. Glover wanted him to go up for the 
 last Indian Civil, and told him he was sure that he could get in 
 if he tried, but Easton said he wasn't fond of heat and had no 
 fancy for India." 
 
 "I suppose he was afraid to take the starch out of his collars," 
 Edgar laughed. "Ah! here he is, late as usual." 
 
 Easton strolled quietly in and took his place, looking annoy- 
 ingly fresh and clean by the side of those who had accompanied 
 Skinner on his walk, and who, in spite of vigorous use of 
 clothes brushes, showed signs of cross-country running. 
 
 " Have you had a pleasant walk?" he asked calmly. 
 
 "Very pleasant," Skinner said, in a tone that defied contra- 
 diction. " A delightful walk; just the thing for getting a little 
 into condition." 
 
 There was a murmur of assent among the boys who had 
 accompanied him, but there was no great heartiness in the 
 sound; for indeed Skinner had pressed them all to a much 
 higher rate of speed than was pleasant in their ordinary clothes, 
 although they would not have minded it in flannels. 
 
 " You all look as if you had enjoyed it," Easton said, re- 
 garding them one by one with an air of innocent approval; 
 "warmed yourselves up a bit, I should say. I remark a general 
 disappearance of collars, and Rupert Clinton's face is scratched 
 as if he had been having a contest with some old lady's cat." 
 
 " I went head-foremost into a hedge," Rupert laughed. " My 
 foot slipped in the mud just as I was taking off, and I took a 
 regular header into it." 
 
 "And what is the matter with your hand, Wordsworth?" 
 
 " A beast of a dog bit me. We were going across a field, 
 and the brute came out from a farmhouse. My wind had 
 gone, and I happened to be last and he made at me. Some 
 fool has written in a book that if you keep your eyes fixed upon 
 a dog he will never bite you. I fixed my eye on him like a gim- 
 let but it did not act, and he came right at me and sprang at 
 
" QUITE A CATALOGUE OF ADVENTURES." 39 
 
 nio ;uul kuoclvcd nic down and got my hand in his mouth, and 
 I don't know what would have happened if Skinner hadn't 
 pulled a stick out of the hedge, and rushed back and hit him 
 such a lick across the back that he went oil' yelping. Then the 
 farmer let fly with a double-barrelled gun from his garden; but 
 luckily we were pretty well out of reach, though two or three 
 shots hit Scudamore on the cheek and ear and pretty nearly 
 drew blood. He wanted to go back to fight the farmer, but 
 as the fellow would have reloaded by the time he got there, and 
 there was the dog into the bargain, we lugged him oif." 
 
 " Quite an adventurous afternoon," Easton said in a tone of 
 cordial admiration, which elicited a growl from Skinner. 
 
 "You wish you had been with us, don't youf he said, with 
 what was meant to be a sneer. 
 
 "No, rackets was quite hard work enough for me; and I 
 don't see much fun in either taking a header into a hedge, 
 being bitten by a farmer's dog, or being peppered by the man 
 himself. Still, no doubt these things are pleasant for those 
 who like them. What has become of Templar?" 
 
 "He fell into a ditch," Wordsworth said; "and he just was 
 in a state. He had to go up to the matron for a change of clothes. 
 He will be here in a minute, I expect." 
 
 " Quite a catalogue of adventures. If I had known before- 
 hand that there was going to be so much excitement I might 
 have been tempted to go with you. I am afraid, Mossop, I 
 have kept you out of quite a good thing." 
 
 "There, shut up Easton!" Pinkerton said, for he saw that 
 Skinner was at the point of explosion; "let us have peace 
 and quiet this first night. You have got the best of it, there 
 is no doubt. Skinner would admit that." 
 
 " No I wouldn't,'' Skinner interrupted. 
 
 " Never mind whether you would or not. Skinner, it clearly 
 is so. Now, let us change the conversation. For my part I 
 cannot make out why one fellow cannot enjoy football and that 
 sort of thing, and another like to lie on his back in the shade, 
 
40 SKINNER BECOMES DANGEROUS. 
 
 without squabbling over it. If Skinner had his own way he 
 would never sit quiet a minute, if Easton had his he would 
 never exert himself to walk across the room. It is a matter 
 of taste. I like half and half, but I do not want to interfere 
 with either of your fancies. Now, it is about time to set to work. 
 I expect there are a good many holiday tasks not perfect." 
 
 There was a chorus of assent, and the senior boys went off 
 to their private studies, and the juniors to the large study, 
 where they worked under the eye of the house-master. 
 
 Skinner's mournful anticipations as to the effect of the want 
 of weight in the football team were speedily verified. The 
 trial matches were almost all lost, the team being fairly borne 
 down by the superior weight of their opponents. There was 
 general exasperation at these disasters, for Eiver - Smith's 
 House had for some years stood high, and to be beaten in 
 match after match was trying indeed. Skinner took the matter 
 terribly to heart, and was in a chronic state of disgust and 
 fury. As Easton observed to Edgar Clinton: 
 
 "Skinner is becoming positively dangerous. He is like a 
 Scotch terrier with a sore ear, and snaps at every one who 
 comes near him." 
 
 " Still it is annoying," Edgar, who thoroughly sympathized 
 with Skinner, said. 
 
 "Well, yes, it is annoying. I am annoyed myself, and it 
 takes a good deal to annoy me. I think we ought to do some- 
 thing." 
 
 " Well, it seems to me that we have been doing all we can," 
 Edgar said. " I am sure you have, for it was only yesterday- 
 Skinner was holding you up as an example to some of us. He 
 said, 'You ought all to be ashamed of yourselves. Why, look at 
 that lazy beggar Easton, he works as hard as the whole lot of 
 you put together. If it was not for him I should say we had 
 better chuck it altogether.'" 
 
 " I observe that Skinner has been a little more civil to me 
 lately," Easton said. " Yes, I do my best. I object to the whole 
 
EAS'l'ON SAYS A VKW WOllDS. 41 
 
 tiling-, luit if one doos play one docjs not like being beaten. 1 
 think Ave had better have a talk over the matter together." 
 
 "But we are always talking over the matter," Edgar ob- 
 jected. " All the fellows who liad a chance of turning out well 
 have been tried, and I am sure we play up well together. 
 Every one says that we are beaten just because we cannot 
 stand their rushes." 
 
 That afternoon the house was badly beaten by the Greenites 
 in the trial match, and as there was a special rivalry between 
 Green's and River- Smith's the disgust not only of the members 
 of the team but of the whole house was very great. Seven of 
 the seniors met after tea in Skinner's study to discuss the 
 situation. 
 
 "I don't see anything to be done," Skinner said, after various 
 possible changes in the team had been discussed; "it is not 
 play we want, it is weight. The Greenites must average at 
 least a stone and a half heavier than we do. I have nothing 
 to say against the playing. We simply cannot stand against 
 them; we go down like nine -pins. No, I suppose we shall 
 lose every match this season. But I don't see any use in talking 
 any more about it. I suppose no one has anything further to 
 suggest." 
 
 "Well, yes, I have a few words to say," Easton, who had 
 been sitting on the table and had hitherto not opened his lips, 
 remarked in a quiet voice. 
 
 " Well, say away." 
 
 "It seems to me," Easton went on without paying any 
 regard to the snappishness of Skinner's tone, " that though we 
 cannot make ourselves any heavier, weight is not after all the 
 only thing, I think we might make up for it by last. When 
 fellows are going to row a race they don't content themselves 
 with practice, they set to and train hard. It seems to me 
 that if we were to go into strict training and get ourselves 
 thoroughly fit, it ought to make a lot of difference. We might 
 lose goals in the first half of the play, but if we were in good 
 
42 "GOING IN FOR IT HEART AND SOUL." 
 
 training we ought to get a pull in the second half. By playing 
 up all we knew at first, and pumping them as much as possible, 
 training ought to tell. I know. Skinner, you always said we 
 ought to keep ourselves in good condition; but I mean more 
 than that, I mean strict training — getting up early and going 
 for a three or four mile run every morning, taking another run 
 in the afternoon, cutting off pudding and all that sort of thing, 
 and going in for it heart and soul. It is no use training unless 
 one does a thing thoroughly." 
 
 " Well, one could but try," Skinner said. " There is no reason 
 why one shouldn't train for football just as one does for rowing 
 or running. You are the last fellow I should have expected 
 to hear such a proposal from, Easton, but if you are ready to 
 do it I am sure every one else will be." 
 
 There was a cordial exclamation of assent from the others. 
 
 " Well, of course it will be a horrible nuisance," Easton said 
 regretfully; " but if one does go in for a thing of this sort it 
 seems to me that it must be done thoroughly. And besides, it is 
 very annoying just at the ticklish point of a game, when you 
 would give anything to be able to catch the fellow ahead of you 
 with the ball, to find that your lungs have given out, and that 
 you haven't a cupful of wind left." 
 
 " I believe, Easton, that you are a downright humbug," 
 Scudamore said; "and that while you pretend to hate any- 
 thing like exertion, you are just as fond of it as Skinner is." 
 
 "Well, at any rate," Skinner broke in, "we will try Easton's 
 suggestion. From to-night the team shall go into strict train- 
 ing. I will see Eiver-Smith now and get leave for us to go out 
 at six o'clock every morning. We will settle about the after- 
 noon work afterwards. Of course pudding must be given up, 
 and there must be no buying cakes or things of that sort. 
 New bread and potatoes must be given up, and we must all 
 agree never to touch anything to drink between meals. We 
 will try the thing thoroughly. It will be a month before we 
 play our next match with Green's. If we can but beat them 
 
TRAINING. 43 
 
 I do not care so much about the others. There are two or 
 three houses we should have no chance with if we were to train 
 as fine as a university eight." 
 
 The rest of the team were at once informed of the deter- 
 mination that had been arrived at. Had it emanated only 
 from Skinner several of the members might have protested 
 against the hardship of going into training for football, but the 
 fact that Easton had proposed it weighed with them all. If 
 he was ready to take such trouble over the matter no one else 
 could reasonably object, and the consequence was that, although 
 not without a good deal of grumbling at being got up before 
 daylight, the whole team turned out in their flannels and two 
 thick jerseys punctually at six o'clock. 
 
 " Here is an egg and half cupful of milk for each of you," 
 Skinner said as they gathered below. " Look sharp and beat up 
 your egg with the milk. Here is a mouthful of biscuit for 
 each. Eiver-Smith said he did not like our going out without 
 taking something before we started, and Cornish, who rowed 
 in the trials at Caml 
 best thing to take." 
 
 Five minutes later, comforted by the egg and milk, the 
 party started. 
 
 "We don't want to go at racing speed," Skinner said; 
 " merely a good steady trot to make the lungs play. We 
 don't want to pull ourselves down in weight. I don't think, 
 after the last month's work, we have any fat among us. What 
 we want is wind and last. To-morrow we will turn out with 
 the heaviest boots we have got instead of running shoes. 
 When we can run four miles in them, we ought to be able to 
 keep up pretty fairly through the hardest game of football." 
 
 There was a good deal of lagging behind towards the last 
 part of the run, a fact that Skinner pointed out triumphantly 
 as a proof of want of condition, but after a wash and change 
 of clothes all the party agreed that they felt better for the 
 
44 IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 Mr, Eiver-Smith was as much concerned as the boys at the 
 defeats of the house at football, and when they sat down to 
 breakfast the members of the team found that a mutton-chop 
 was provided for each of them. Strict orders had been issued 
 that nothing was to be said outside the house of the football 
 team going into training; and as, for the afternoon's exercise, 
 it was only necessary that every member of the team should 
 take part in football practice, and play up to the utmost, the 
 matter remained a secret. In the first two or three matches 
 played the training made no apparent difference. 
 
 "You must not be disheartened at that," Mr. Cornish, who 
 was the "housemaster," told them. "Fellows always get 
 weak when they first begin to train. You will find the benefit 
 presently." 
 
 And this was the case. They won the fourth match, which 
 was against a comparatively weak team. This, however, en- 
 couraged them, and they were victorious in the next two con- 
 tests, although in the second their opponents were considered 
 a strong team, and their victory had been regarded as certain. 
 
 The improvement in the River-Smithites' team became a 
 topic of conversation in the college, and there were rumours 
 that they had put themselves into regular training, and that 
 some one had seen them come in in a body at seven in the 
 morning after having been for a run. The challenge cup 
 matches were now at hand, and as it happened they were 
 drawn to meet the Greenites, and the match was regarded 
 with special interest throughout the school. The rivalry be- 
 tween the two houses was notorious, and although the Green- 
 ites scoffed at the idea of their being defeated by a team they 
 had before so easily beaten, the great improvement the latter 
 had made gave promise that the struggle would be an excep- 
 tionally severe one. Skinner had for some days before looked 
 after the team with extreme vigilance, scarcely letting one of 
 them out of his sight, lest they might eat forbidden things, 
 or in other ways transgress the rules laid down. 
 
A HARD GAME. 41) 
 
 " We may not win," ho admitted, as they tallced over the 
 pi'ospect on the evening Ijcfore the matcli, " but at any rate they 
 will have all their work cut out to beat us. I know they are 
 very confident, and of course their weight is tremendously 
 in their favour. Now, mind, we must press them as hard as 
 we can for the first half the game, and never leave them for a 
 single moment. They are sure to get savage when they find 
 they have not got it all their own way, and that will help to 
 pump them. We shall have more left in us the second half 
 than they will, and then will be our chance." 
 
 These tactics were followed out, and from the first the game 
 was played with exceptional spirit on both sides; and as the 
 Greenites failed, even by the most determined rushes, to carry 
 the ball into their opponents' goal, the game became, as Skin- 
 ner had predicted, more and more savage. 
 
 The sympathies of the school were for the most part with 
 Eiver-Smith's, and the loud shouts of applause and encourage- 
 ment with which their gallant defence of their goal was greeted, 
 added to the irritation of the Greenites. When the half-play 
 was called neither party had scored a point, and as they changed 
 sides it was evident that the tremendous pace had told upon 
 both parties. 
 
 " Now is our time," Skinner said to his team; " they are more 
 done than we are, and our training will tell more and more 
 every minute. Keep it up hard, and when we see a chance 
 make a big rush and carry it down to their end." 
 
 But the Greenites were equally determined, and in spite of 
 the efforts of their opponents, kept the ball at their end of the 
 field. Then Skinner got it and made a rush. One of the 
 heaviest of the Greenites charged down upon them at full 
 speed, but was encountered by Easton before he reached him, 
 and the two rolled over together. The Eiver-Smithites backed 
 up their leader well, and he was more than half-way down the 
 ground before the Greenites had arrested his progress. Then 
 there was a close scrimmage, and for a time the mass swayed 
 
46 A POINT SCORED. 
 
 backwards and forwards. But here weight counted for more 
 than wind, and the Greeuites were pushing their opponents 
 back when the ball rolled out from the mass. 
 
 Edgar Clinton picked it up, and was off with it in a moment, 
 dodging through those who attempted to check his course. He 
 was down near the Greenites' goal before two of them threw 
 themselves upon him together; but his friends were close be- 
 hind, and after a desperate scrimmage the ball was driven 
 behind the Greenite goal. Some loose play followed, and a 
 Greenite who had the ball threw it forward to one of his own 
 team, who caught it and started running. The River-Smithites 
 shouted "Dead ball!" "Dead ball!" and claimed the point; but 
 the holder of the ball, without heeding the shouts, ran right 
 through followed by the rest of his team, and touched down 
 behind the River-Smith goal. The ball was then brought out 
 and a goal kicked. All this time the River-Smithites had not 
 moved from behind the Greenite goal, but had remained there 
 awaiting the result of their appeal to the umjDire, who now at 
 once decided in their favour. Not satisfied with this the 
 Greenites appealed to the referee, who confirmed the decision 
 of the umpire. Too angry to be reasonable, the captain re- 
 fused to continue the game, and called upon his team to leave 
 the field. They were going, when the derisive shouts of the 
 lookers-on caused them again to alter their intentions, and the 
 game was renewed. 
 
 There were ten minutes yet remaining, and for that time the 
 game was played with a fury that caused it to be long memor- 
 able in the annals of Cheltenham football. But weight and 
 strength could not prevail over the superior last and coolness 
 of the defenders of the River-Smith goal. Every attempt was 
 beaten off, every rush met, and as no point had been added 
 to the score when time was called, the umpire decided that 
 the game had been won by the River-Smithites by one touch- 
 down to nothing. The captain of the Greenites appealed from 
 the umpire's and referee's decision to the football committee of 
 
A FINAL DECISION. 47 
 
 the college, who gave it against him, and he then appealed to 
 the Rughy Union, who decided that the umpire's decision was 
 perfectly right, and the victory thus remained beyond further 
 contention with the Kiver-Smithites. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 BRAVO, Clinton ! Well done, indeed !" so shouted one of the 
 big boys, and a score of others joined in in chorus. 
 
 " Which is Clinton?" a woman who was standing looking on 
 at the game asked one of the younger boys. 
 
 The boy looked up at the questioner. She was a woman 
 of about forty years old, quietly dressed in black with a gloss 
 of newness on it. 
 
 " I will point him out to you directly. They are all mixed 
 up again now." 
 
 "There are two of them, are there not?" the woman asked, 
 
 " Yes, that's the other; there — that one who has just picked 
 up the ball and is running with it; there, that's the other, the 
 one who is just charging the fellow who is trying to stop his 
 brother." 
 
 "Well done!" he shouted, as Edgar's opponent rolled over. 
 
 The woman asked no more questions until the match was 
 over, but stood looking on intently as the players came off the 
 ground. Rupert and Edgar were together, laughing and talk- 
 ing in high spirits; for each had kicked a goal, and the town 
 boys had been beaten by four goals to one. The boy to Avhom 
 she had been speaking had long before strolled away to another 
 part of the field, but she turned to another as the Clintons 
 approached. 
 
 "Those are the Clintons, are they not?" she asked. 
 
48 "I WONDER WHO THE WOMAN IS." 
 
 " Yes, and a good sort they are," the boy said heartily. 
 
 She stood looking at them intently until they had 
 her, then walked away with her eyes bent on the ground, and 
 made her way to a small lodging she had taken in the town. 
 For several days she placed herself so that she could see the 
 boys on their way to and fro between Eiver-Smith's and the 
 college, and watched them at football. 
 
 " I wonder who that woman is," Rupert said one day to his 
 brother. "I constantly see her about, and she always seems 
 to be staring at me." 
 
 " I thought she stared at me too," Edgar said. " I am sure 
 I do not know her. I don't think I have ever seen her face 
 before." 
 
 " She asked me whether you were Clinton the other day when 
 you were playing football. It was just after you had made a 
 run with the ball, and some one shouted, 'Well done, Clinton!' 
 And she asked me which was Clinton, and whether there were 
 not two of them. And of course I pointed you both out," a 
 youngster said who was walking with them. 
 
 " That is rum, too," Eupert said. " I wonder who the woman 
 is, Edgar, and what interest she can have in us." 
 
 "If she has any interest, Eupert, I suppose she will stop 
 staring some day and speak. Perhaps it is some old servant, 
 though I don't remember her. Well, it is no odds any- 
 way." 
 
 Jane Humphreys was much puzzled as to what step she 
 should take first. During all these years she had waited she 
 had always expected that she should have known which was 
 her own child as soon as she set eyes on the boys, and was 
 surprised and disappointed to find that even after a week's stay 
 at Cheltenham, and examining their faces as closely as she 
 could, she had not the slightest idea which was Avhich. She 
 had imagined that she should not only know, but feel an affec- 
 tion for the boy who was her own, and she had fully intended 
 to place him in the position of Captain Clinton's heir, trusting 
 
iNDKcrsroN. 49 
 
 to rccoivc the ])romise of a large sum from him when ho should 
 fomo iuto possession. 
 
 Now it seemed to her that sho cared no more for one than 
 for the other, and that lier best jjlan therefore was to place in 
 the position of heir whichever of them was most likely to suit 
 her purpose. But here, again, sho was in a difficulty. If they 
 resembled each other in no other point, they both looked 
 thoroughly manly, straightforward, and honest lads, neither of 
 whom would be likely to entertain any dishonourable propo- 
 sition. Her intention had been to say to her son, " You are 
 not really the twin brother, as you suppose, of the other. 
 Captain and Mrs. Clinton do not know which of you two is 
 their child." She wondered whether they already knew as 
 much as that. Probably they did. So many people had known 
 of that affair at Agra, that Captain Clinton had probably told 
 them himself. She would tell the boy, " I am the only person 
 in the world who can clear up the mystery. I have the key to 
 it in my hand, and can place either you or the other in the 
 position of sole heir to the estate. I shall expect to be paid a 
 handsome sum from the one I put into possession. Remember, 
 on one hand I can give you a splendid property, on the other 
 I can show you to have been from the first a usurper of things 
 you had no right to — an interloper and a fraud." 
 
 It had seemed to her a simple matter before she came down 
 to Cheltenham. Surely no boy in his senses would hesitate a 
 moment in accepting her offer. It had always been a fixed 
 thing in her mind that this would be so, but now she felt that 
 it was not so certain as she before imagined. She hesitated 
 whether she should not defer it until the boys came of age, 
 and the one she chose could .sign a legal document; Ijut she was 
 anxious to leave England, and go right away to America or 
 Australia. Besides, if she had the promise she could enforce 
 its fulfilment. Which boy should she select? She changed 
 her mind several times, and at last determined that she would 
 leave it to chance, and would choose the one whom she next met. 
 
 ( 650 ) D 
 
50 "NOW, FIRE away!" 
 
 It chanced that Edgar was the first she encountered after 
 having taken this resolution, and it happened that he was 
 walking by himself, having remained in the class-room a few 
 minutes after the rest of the boys had left, to speak to the 
 master respecting a difficult passage in a lesson. The woman 
 placed herself in his way. 
 
 "Well, what is it?" he said. "You have been hanging 
 about for the last week. What is it you want 1 " 
 
 "I want to speak to you about something very important." 
 
 "Oh, nonsense!" he said. "There is nothing important 
 you can have to tell me." 
 
 "Yes, there is; something of the greatest importance. You 
 do not suppose that I should have been here for a week wait- 
 ing to tell it to you, if it was not." 
 
 " AVell, I suppose you think it important," he said; " so fire 
 away." 
 
 "I cannot tell you now," she said; "it is too long a story. 
 Could you spare me half an hour, young sir? You will not be 
 sorry for it afterwards, I promise you." 
 
 Edgar looked impatiently at his watch. He had nothing 
 pai'ticular to do at the moment, and his curiosity was excited. 
 " I can spare it you now," he said. 
 
 " I am staying at this address," she said, handing him a piece 
 of paper. " It is not five minutes' walk from here. I will go 
 on, if you will follow me." 
 
 "All right," Edgar said, looking at the paper; "though I 
 expect it is some fooling or other." She walked away rapidly, 
 and he sauntered after her. She was standing with the door 
 open when he arrived, and he followed her into a small par- 
 lour. He threw himself clown into a chair. 
 
 "Now, fire away," he said; "and be as quick as you 
 can." 
 
 " Before I begin," she said quietly, " will you tell me if you 
 know anything relating to the circumstances of your birth?" 
 
 He looked at her in astonishment. " No," he said. " What 
 
"THE WOMAN PLACED HERSELF IN HIS WAY." 
 
"YOU MUST BR MAD!" 51 
 
 in the world should I know about the circumstances of my 
 birth ? " 
 
 " You know that you were born at Agra in India?" 
 
 " Of course I know that." 
 
 "And your father, Captain Clinton, has never spoken to 
 you about the circumstances 1" 
 
 Edgar shook his head. "No; I only know that I was born 
 there. 
 
 " I should have thought that he would have told you the 
 story," she said; "for there were many knew of it, and you 
 would be sure to hear it sooner or later." 
 
 " I do not want to hear of it," he said, leaping to his feet. 
 " If there was anything my father wanted me to know he 
 would tell it to me at once. You do not suppose I want to 
 hear it from anyone else ? " 
 
 He was making for the door, when she said, "Then you do 
 not know that you are not his son?" 
 
 He stopped abruptly. " Don't know I am not his son ! " he 
 repeated. " You must be mad." 
 
 " I am not mad at all," she said. " You are not his son. 
 Not any relation in the Avorld to him. Sit down again and I 
 will tell you the story." 
 
 He mechanically obeyed, feeling overwhelmed with the 
 news he had heard. Then as she told him how the chil- 
 dren had become mixed, and how Captain Clinton had 
 decided to bring them up together until he should be able to 
 discover by some likeness to himself or wife which was his 
 son, Edgar listened to the story with a terrible feeling of 
 oppression stealing over him. He could not doubt that she 
 was speaking the truth, for if it were false it could be contra- 
 dicted at once. There were circumstances too which seemed 
 to confirm it. He recalled now, that often in their younger 
 days his father and mother had asked casual visitors if they 
 saw any likeness between either of the children to them; and 
 he specially remembered how closely Colonel Winterbottom, 
 
52 "I SACRIFICED MYSELF FOR YOUR SAKE." 
 
 who had been major in his father's regiment, had scrutinized 
 them both, and how he had said, " No, Chnton, for the life of 
 me I cannot see that one is more like you and your wife than 
 the other." And now this woman had told him that he was 
 not their son; and he understood that she must be this ser- 
 geant's wife, and that if he was not Captain Clinton's son she 
 must be his mother. 
 
 "You are Mrs. Humphreys, I suppose?" he said in a hard, 
 dry voice when she had ceased speaking. 
 
 "I am your mother," she said. He moved as if struck with 
 sudden pain as she spoke, but said nothing. 
 
 " I sacrificed myself for your sake," .she went on after a 
 pause. " I had them both, and it seemed to me hard that my 
 boy should grow up to be a boy of the regiment, with nothing 
 better to look forward to than to enlist in it some day, while 
 the other, no better in any respect than him, should grow up 
 to be a rich man, with everything the heart could desire, 
 and I determined that he should have an equal chance with 
 the other. I knew that perhaps some day they might find 
 out which was which by a likeness, biit that was not certain; 
 and at any rate you would get a good education and be well 
 brought up, and you were sure to be provided for, and when 
 the time should come, if there was still doubt, I could give you 
 the chance of either having the half or all just as you chose. 
 It was terrible for me to give you up altogether, but I did it 
 for your good. I suffered horribly, and the women of the 
 regiment turned against me. Your father treated me badly, 
 and I had to leave him and come home to England. But my 
 comfort has all along been that I had succeeded; that you 
 were being brought up as a gentleman, and were happy and 
 well cared for." 
 
 Edgar sat silent for some time. " How do you know," he 
 asked suddenly, " that it is Rupert and not I who is the real 
 son?" 
 
 " One of the infants," she said, " had a tiny mole no bigger 
 
"WELL, wiLvr ni-ixtT' 53 
 
 thiiii a pill's head on his shoulder, aud I was sure that I would 
 always know them a})art from that." 
 
 " Yes, Itupcrt has a mark like that," Edgar admitted, for ho 
 had noticed it only a short time before. 
 
 "Yes," the woman said quietly. "Mrs. Clinton's child had 
 that mark. It was very, very small and scarcely noticeable, 
 but as I washed and dressed them when babies, I noticed it." 
 
 " Well, what next ? " Edgar asked roughly. 
 
 "As I said, my boy," — Edgar winced as she spoke — "it is 
 for you to choose whether you will have half or all the pro- 
 }icrty. If I hold my tongue you will go on as you are now, 
 and they will never know which is their son. If you like to 
 have it all, to be the heir of that grand place and everything 
 else, I have only to go and say that my boy had a mole on his 
 shoulder. There is nothing I would not do to make you 
 happy." 
 
 " And I suppose," Edgar said quietly, " you will want some 
 money for yourself"?" 
 
 "I do not wish to make any bargain, if that is what you 
 mean," she said in an indignant tone, " I know, of course, that 
 you can give me no money now. I suppose that in either case 
 you would wish to help a mother who has done so much for 
 you. I don't expect gratitude at present. Naturally you are 
 upset about what I have told you. Some day when you grow 
 to be a man you will appreciate better than you can now what 
 I have done for you, and what you have gained by it." 
 
 Elgar sat silent for a minute or two, and then he rose 
 quietly and said, "I will think it all over. You shall have 
 my answer in a day or two," and without another word left 
 the room and sauntered off. 
 
 " What is the matter, Edgar 1 " Rupert asked two hours later. 
 "I have been looking for you everywhere, and young Johnson 
 has only just said that you told him to tell me you were feeling 
 very seedy, and were going to lie down for a bit." 
 
 " I have got a frightful headache, Rupert," Edgar, who Avas 
 
54 "GOOD-NIGHT, OLD FELLOW." 
 
 lying with his face to the wall, said. " I am too bad to talk, 
 old fellow; let me alone. I daresay I shall be all right when I 
 have had a night's sleep. Tell Eiver-Smith, will you, that I 
 am seedy, and cannot come down to tea. I do not want the 
 doctor or anything of that sort, but if I am not all right in 
 the morning, I will see him." 
 
 Eupert went out quietly. It was something new Edgar's 
 being like this, he never remembered him having a bad 
 headache before. " I expect," he said to himself, " he got hurt 
 in one of those scrimmages yesterday, although he did not say 
 anything about it. I do hope that he is not going to be ill. 
 The examinations are on next week, it will be a frightful 
 nuisance for him to miss them." He went into Edgar's dormi- 
 tory again the last thing. He opened the door very quietly in 
 case he should be asleep. 
 
 "I am not asleep," Edgar said; "I am rather better now. 
 Good-night, Eupert," and he held out his hand. Eupert was 
 surprised at the action, but took his hand and pressed it, 
 
 " Good-night, Edgar. I do hope that you will be all right in 
 the morning." 
 
 " Good-night, old fellow. God bless you ! " and there was 
 almost a sob in the lad's voice. 
 
 Eupert went out surprised and uneasy. " Edgar must be 
 worse than he says," he thought to himself. "It is rum of 
 him saying good-night in that way, I have never known him 
 do such a thing before. I wish now that I had asked Eiver- 
 Smith to send round for the doctor. I daresay Edgar would 
 not have liked it, but it would have been best; but he seemed 
 so anxious to be quiet and get off to sleep, that I did not think 
 of it." 
 
 The first thing in the morning Eupert went to his brother's 
 dormitory to see how he was. He tapped at the door, but 
 there was no answer Thinking that his brother was asleep, 
 he turned the handle and went in. An exclamation of sur- 
 prise broke from him. Edgar was not there and the bed had 
 
gone! 55 
 
 not been slej)t in, l)ut wiis just as he had seen it wlicii Edgar 
 was lying on the outside. On the table was a ]vXUn- directed 
 to himself. He tore it open. 
 
 "My dear Eupert," it began, "a horrible thing has happened, 
 and I shall be off to-night. I have learned that I am not your 
 brother at all, but that I was fraudulently put in that position. 
 I have been writing this afternoon to father and mother. Oh! 
 Rupert, to think that it is the last time I can call them so. 
 They will tell you the whole business. I am writing this by 
 the light of the lamp in the passage, and you will all be up in 
 a few minutes, so I have no time to say more. I shall post 
 the other letter to-night. Good-bye, Rupert! Good-bye, dear 
 old fellow ! We have been happy together, haven't we 1 and I 
 hope you will always be so. Perhaps some day when I have 
 made myself a name — for I have no right to call myself Clinton, 
 and I won't call myself by my real name — I may see you again. 
 I have taken the note, but I know that you won't grudge 
 it me." 
 
 Rupert read the letter through two or three times, then ran 
 down as he was, in his night-shirt and trousers, and passed in 
 to the master's part of the private house. "Robert," he said to 
 the man-servant whom. he met in the passage, "is Mr. River- 
 Smith dressed yet?" 
 
 "He is not finished dressing yet. Master Clinton; at least he 
 has not come out of his room. But I expect he is pretty near 
 dressed." 
 
 "Will you ask him to come out to me at once, please?" 
 Eupert said. " It is a most serious business, or you may be 
 sure I should not ask." 
 
 The man asked no questions, for he saw by Rupert's face 
 that this must be something quite out of the ordinary way. 
 " Just step into this room and I Avill fetch him," he said. 
 
 In a minute the master came in. "What is it, Clinton, — ■ 
 nothing serious the matter, I hope?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I am afraid it is something very serious. My 
 
56 "HOW COULD THERE BE?" 
 
 brother was not well yesterday evening. He said that he had 
 a frightful headache, but he thought it would be all right 
 in the morning, and he went and lay down on his bed. I 
 thought that he was strange in his manner when I went in to 
 say good-night to him; and when I went in this morning, sir, 
 the bed hadn't been slept in and he was gone, and he has left 
 me this note, and it is evident, as you will see, that he is alto- 
 gether off his head. You see, he fancies that he is not my 
 brother." 
 
 The master had listened with the gravest concern, and now 
 glanced hastily through the letter. 
 
 " 'Tis strange indeed," he said. " There is no possibility, of 
 course, that there is anything in this idea of his?" 
 
 "No, sir, of course not. How could there be?" 
 
 " That I cannot say, Clinton. Anyhow the matter is most 
 serious. Of course he could not have taken any clothes 
 with him?" 
 
 "No, sir; at least he cannot have got any beyond what he 
 stands in. I should think the matron would not have given 
 him any out, especially as he must have told her that he was 
 ill, or he could not have got into the dormitory." 
 
 "I had better see her first, Clinton; it is always well to be 
 cjuite sure of one's ground. You go up and dress while I make 
 the incpuries." 
 
 Eupert returned to the dormitory, finished dressing, and 
 then ran down again. "He has taken no clothes with him, 
 Clinton. The matron says that he went to her in the after- 
 noon and said that he had a splitting headache, and wanted to 
 be quite quiet and undisturbed. She offered to send for the 
 doctor, but he said that he expected that he should be all 
 right in the morning, but that if he wasn't of course the 
 doctor could see him then. So she unlocked the door of the 
 dormitory and let him in. I asked her if he had his boots on. 
 She said no; he was going up in them, contrary to rule, when 
 slie reminded him of it, and he took them off and put them in 
 
"WHAT IS TO BK DONK, Sllli" 57 
 
 the rack in the 'wood-closct. I have seen the Ixiot-lxjy, and lie 
 says ho noticed when he went there this morning early to 
 clean them, No. G rack was empty. 80 your brother must have 
 come down, after he had gone up to the dormitory, and got 
 his boots. 
 
 "Now let us ask a few questions of the servants." lie rang 
 the bell, and sent for some of the servants. " Which of yuu 
 were down first this morning?" he asked. 
 
 *' I Avas down first, sir," one of the girls said. 
 
 " Did you find anything unusual?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. One of the Avindows downstairs, looking into 
 the yard, was open, though I know I closed it and put up the 
 shutters last night; and John says the door of the yard has 
 been unbolted too, and that the lock had been forced." 
 
 The master went out, walked across the yard, and examined 
 the lock. 
 
 "There would be no difficulty in opening that on this side," 
 he said to liupert; "it could be done with a strong pocket- 
 knife easily enough." 
 
 "What is to be done, sir?" Eupert asked anxiously. "Shall 
 I telegraph to my father?" 
 
 "I think you had better go and see him, Clinton. Your 
 brother probably did not leave the house until twelve o'clock, 
 though he may have gone at eleven. But whether eleven or 
 twelve it makes no difference. No doubt he posted the letter 
 he speaks of the first thing on leaving; but, you see, it is a cross 
 post to your place, and the letter could not anyhow have got 
 there for delivery this morning. You can hardly explain it 
 all by telegram ; and I think, as I said, it is better that you should 
 go yourself. I will have breakfast put for you in my study, 
 and I will have a fly at the door. You will be able to catch 
 the eight- o'clock train into Gloucester, and you should be 
 home by eleven." 
 
 "You do not think anything could have happened to him?" 
 Piupert asked anxiously. 
 
58 "JUST THE SAME AS USUAL, SIR." 
 
 " No, I do not think that there is any fear of that, CHnton. 
 You see, he has got a fixed idea in his head; he has evidently 
 acted with deHberation. Besides, you see in his letter to you 
 he says he shall not see you until he has made a name for 
 himself. I tell you frankly, Chnton, that my own impression 
 is that your brother is not mad, but that he has — of course I 
 do not know how, or attempt to explain it — but that he has in 
 some way got the idea that he is not your brother. Has he 
 been quite himself lately?" 
 
 " Quite, sir; I have seen nothing unusual about him at alL" 
 
 "Did he seem bright and well yesterday morning f 
 
 "Just the same as usual, sir. I Avas quite surprised when, 
 just at tea-time, I found that he had gone to lie down with 
 the headache." 
 
 "Did he get any letter yesterday?" 
 
 "No, sir; we neither of us had any letter, in the morning 
 anyhow. He may have received one in the afternoon, for any- 
 thing I know.** 
 
 "I will go and ask Eobert," the master said, "he alwaj's 
 takes the letters from the letter-bag." 
 
 "No, Clinton," he went on when he returned; "there were 
 only three letters for the boys in the afternoon mail, and 
 neither of them Avas for him. He cannot have seen anyone, 
 can he, Avho could have told him any story that would serve as 
 a foundation for this idea?" 
 
 Then an idea flashed across Eupert. " Well, sir, a rather 
 curious thing has happened in the last few days. There has 
 been a woman about here, and it appears she asked one of the 
 boys which were the Clintons; and we have seen her every 
 time Ave have been out, and we both noticed that she has 
 stared at us in a very strange Avay. I don't knoAv that that 
 can possibly have anything to do Avith it. She may have 
 spoken to Edgar yesterday. Of course I cannot say." 
 
 " Well, 1 must be going now. I have told Eobert to put your 
 breakfast in my study, and to send the boy for a tiy." 
 
"WHAT IS TIIK MATTI-J;, IJl'l'llUl' T' 59 
 
 " W'luit will }-ou say to tho boys, sir'i" Kupert asked anxiously. 
 
 "There will be no occasion to say anything for a day or 
 two beyond the fact that you are obliged to go home suddeidy. 
 I shall only say Clinton, but it will naturally be supposed that 
 I mean both of you. If it gets out that you have gone alone, 
 which it may do, although I shall give strict orders to the con- 
 trary, I shall of course mention that we fear that your brother 
 got his head hurt in that football match, and that he has 
 taken up some strange ideas and has gone off. But it is hardly 
 likely that the matter will leak out in any wa}^ until you return, 
 or I hear from you. I think you can make yourself quite easy 
 on that score." 
 
 It was half-past eleven when Rupert Clinton reached home. 
 On the way he had thought over how he had best break the 
 news quietly to his father, and he got out of the trap that had 
 driven him from the station at the lodge, and made a long 
 circuit so as to reach the stable without being seen from the 
 front windows of the house. He went at once to the old 
 coachman, who was a great ally of the boys. The man uttered 
 an exclamation of astonishment at seeing him. 
 
 " Why, Master Eupert, I thought that you were not coming 
 home for another fortnight. Well, you have given me a start!" 
 
 " Look here, Fellows, I have come to see my father about a 
 serious matter, and I want to see him before I see my mother." 
 
 "Nothing the matter with Master Edgar, I hope, sir"?" 
 
 "Yes, it is about him; but I will tell you presently, Fellows, 
 I don't want to lose a minute now. Please go into the house 
 and get my father to come out at once to the stables. Make 
 any excuse you like to bring him out, and as you come along 
 you can tell him I am here." 
 
 In five minutes Captain Clinton hurried into the saddle- 
 room, where Rupert was standing. He was pale and agitated. 
 
 "What is the matter, Rupert, — has anything happened to 
 Edgar 1 I know that it must be something very serious or you 
 would never come like this." 
 
60 "OH, FATHER, HOW CAN THAT BE?" 
 
 "It is serious, father, very serious;" and he told him what 
 had happened, and handed him the letter that Edgar had left. 
 "You see he has evidently gone out of his mind, father." 
 
 Captain Clinton ran his eye over the letter and gave an 
 exclamation of surprise and grief, then he stood for a minute 
 covering his face with his hand. When he removed it Eupert 
 saw that his eyes were filled with tears. "Poor boy!" he 
 murmured, "I see that we have made a terrible mistake, 
 although we did it for the best." 
 
 "A mistake, father ! Why, is it possible, can it be true that — " 
 
 " That Edgar is not your brother, my boy ? Yes, it is certain 
 that he is not your brother, though whether he or you is our 
 son we know not." 
 
 Eupert stood speechless with astonishment. " One of us not 
 your son!" he said at last in a broken voice. " Oh, father, how 
 can that hel" 
 
 " It happened thus, Eupert," Captain Clinton said, and then 
 told him the story of the confusion that had arisen between the 
 children. He then went on: " You see, Eupert, we hoped, your 
 mother and I, at first that we should find out as you grew up, 
 by the likeness one of you might develop to your mother or 
 myself, which was our child; but for some years now, my boy, 
 I have feared rather than hoped to discover a likeness, and have 
 been glad that neither of you took after either of us, as far as 
 we could see. We loved you equally, and could not bear the 
 thought of losing either of you. We had two sons instead of 
 one, that was all; and had one been proved to be ours, we should 
 have lost the other. We intended to tell you in a short time 
 how the matter stood, and that while one was our adopted 
 sou and the other our own, we neither knew nor cared which 
 Avas which, loving you both equally and regarding you both as 
 our own. Indeed we should never have told you about it, had 
 it not been that as the story of the confusion at your birth was 
 known to a great many men who were at that time in India, it 
 was almost sure to come to your ears sooner or later. Had we 
 
TOT,r> r.Y A woi\rAN. (51 
 
 ever dreamt that it would eomo like tin's, of course \vc should 
 have told you loug ago. JJut how can Edgar have learnt it? 
 Still more, how can anyone have been able to tell him — what 
 even we do not know — that he is not our son?" 
 
 "You will know when the letter arrives by the next post, 
 father. Eut now I have heard the story, I think it must have 
 been told him by a woman;" and he related how they had 
 been watched by a woman who was a stranger to tlnnn. 
 
 "What was she like, Rupert?" 
 
 Rupert described her as well as he was able. 
 
 "I have no doubt that it was Mrs. Humphreys, Rupert; she 
 would be about the age you describe, and, allowing for the 
 seventeen years that have passed since I have seen her, like 
 her in appearance. But we had better go in to your mother 
 now, she must be told. I will go in first and break it to her. 
 Of course there is nothing else that can be done until we get 
 Edgar's letter. I will send a man off on horseback to the post- 
 office, we shall get it an hour earlier than if we wait for the 
 postman to bring it." 
 
 It was half an hour before Captain Clinton came out from 
 the drawing-room and called Rupert in. The boy had been 
 telling the news to Madge, having asked his father if he should 
 do so. She had been terribly distressed, and Rupert himself 
 had completely broken down. 
 
 " You can come in now, both of you," Captain Clinton said. 
 " Of course, your mother is dreadfully upset, so try and keep 
 up for her sake." 
 
 Mrs. Clinton embraced Rupert in silence, she was too affected 
 for speech. 
 
 "Do you think," she said after a time in broken tones, " Edgar 
 can have gone with this woman?" 
 
 " I don't know, mother; I have not been able to think about 
 it. I should not think he could. I know if it had been me I 
 should have hated her even if she was my mother, for coming 
 after all this time to rob me of your love and father's. I 
 
62 WAITING. 
 
 should run away as he has done, I daresay, though I don't 
 know about that; but I would not have gone with her." 
 
 " I cannot make out how she could have known which was 
 which," Captain Clinton said, walking up and down the room; 
 " we have never seen any likeness in either of you to ourselves, 
 but it is possible she may have seen a likeness in Edgar to her 
 husband. By the way," he said suddenly, " I must send off a 
 telegram to River-Smith; he, of course, will be most anxious." 
 He took a telegram form from his desk, and after a minute's 
 hesitation wrote: " No anxiety as to Edgar's mind — can account 
 for his conduct — will write fully to-morrow after I have received 
 his letter— shall keep Rupert here some days." Then putting 
 it in an envelope, he rang the bell and directed the servant to 
 give it to one of the grooms with orders to ride with it at once 
 to the nearest telegraph station. 
 
 "Now, Rupert, the best thing you and Madge can do is to 
 go out for a walk. You can know nothing more until the letter 
 arrives, and it will be better for you to be moving about than 
 to be sitting here quietly. Your mother had best lie down 
 until the letter comes; it cannot be here until five o'clock." 
 
 Madge and Rupert as they walked talked the matter over in 
 every possible light, the only conclusion at which they arrived 
 being that whoever might be Edgar's father and mother they 
 would always regard him as their brother, and should love him 
 just the same as before. 
 
 "I cannot think why he ran away!" Madge exclaimed over 
 and over again. " I am sure I should not run away if I found 
 that I wasn't father and mother's real daughter. They have 
 been everything to me, and I could not love them a bit less if 
 I did know that I was their adopted child instead of being their 
 real one." 
 
 "No, certainly not," Rupert agreed; "but then, you see, 
 Madge, Edgar may have thought that he had been adopted, 
 not as childless people sometimes adopt children, but because 
 they could not help adopting him." 
 
"IT IS VERY BAD." 63 
 
 "But that wasn't his fault, Rupert." 
 
 "No, tliat wasn't his fault; but I can understand him feeling 
 that it made a great difference. Oh, I wonder what ho is doing! 
 I expect he went up to London by the night mail; he would 
 have caught that at Glo'ster. But Avhat could he do when he 
 got there?" 
 
 "Oh, I am not thinking about that!" the girl said. "I am 
 thinking what he must feel when he knows father and mother 
 are not his father and mother, and that you and I are not his 
 brother and sister. It must be awful, Rupert." 
 
 "It must be awful," Rupert agreed. "I do not know what 
 I should have done had it been me, and you know it might just 
 as well hav^e been mo as Edgar. I wish it were five o'clock!" 
 
 The afternoon seemed indeed endless to them all. For the 
 last half -hour Rupert and Madge sat at the window gazing 
 across the park for the first sight of the horseman, and at last 
 they exclaimed simultaneously, "There he comes!" 
 
 Captain Clinton, who had been sitting by the sofa holding 
 his Avife's hand in his, rose. " I will go and meet him," he said. 
 " Rupert and Madge, you had better go into the library until 
 I call you. I must read it over first to your mother." 
 
 Without a word they went into the other room, and from the 
 window watched Captain Clinton as he walked quickly down 
 the drive to meet the groom. They saw him take the letter, 
 and, as the man rode on towards the stables, open it and stand 
 reading it. 
 
 "It is very bad," Madge said almost in a whisper, as she 
 saw her father drop his hand despondently to his side, and 
 then with bent head walk towards the house. Not another 
 word was spoken until Cajjtain Clinton opened the door and 
 called them. Madge had been crying silently, and the tears 
 were running fast down Rupert's cheeks as he sat looking out 
 on to the park. 
 
 " You had better read the letter here," Captain Clinton said. 
 " I may tell you what I did not mention before, that there was 
 
64 THE LETTER. 
 
 a strong opinion among many at the time, that the confusion 
 between the children arose, not from accident, as was said, but 
 was deliberate, and this letter confirms that view. This is what 
 has hit Edgar so hard." 
 
 The letter was as follows : — 
 
 ^'My dearest father, for I cannot call you anything else, I 
 have just heard about my birth from a woman who calls her- 
 self my mother, and who, I suppose, has a right to do so, though 
 certainly I shall never call her or think, of her so. She has 
 told me about her child and yours getting mixed, and how you 
 brought both up in hopes of finding out some day which was 
 which. 
 
 "Rupert and I had noticed for some days a woman looking 
 at us, and she met me this afternoon and said she had some- 
 thing of extreme importance to tell me. I went with her and 
 she told me the story, and said that I was her son and not 
 yours. I asked her how she knew me from Rupert, and she 
 said that one of us had a small mole on the shoulder. I knew 
 that Rupert had a tiny mole there, and she said that that was 
 the mark by which she knew your son from hers. 
 
 " Then, father, she told me that she had done it all on pur- 
 pose, and had sacrificed herself in order that I might benefit 
 from it. This Avas all horrible ! And then she actually proposed 
 that I should not only keep silent about this, but offered to 
 come forward and declare that it was her son who had the 
 mole on his shoulder, so that I might get the whole and Rupert 
 none. I don't want to say what I felt. I only told her I 
 would think it over. I have been thinking it over, and I am 
 going away. My dear father and mother, for I shall always 
 think of you so, I thank you for all your love and kindness, 
 which I have received through a horrible fraud. If it had all 
 been an accident, and you had found out for yourselves by the 
 likeness that Rupert was your son, I do not think that I should 
 have minded, at least nothing like so much. I should, of course, 
 have been very grieved that you were not my father and mother, 
 
"YOUR UNTTAPrY RDCAIt." 05 
 
 and that Ku[)ort and JMadL;*; \vcni not my Ijrotlicr and sisl(ir; 
 l)ut it would have been nobody's fault, and I am sure that you 
 would all still have loved rao. But to know that it has l)een a 
 wicked fraud, that I have been an impostor palmed upon you, 
 that there has been a plot and conspiracy to rob you, and that 
 I have a mother who not only did this, but who could })ropose 
 to mo to go on deceiving you, and even to join in a fresh fraud 
 and to swindle Rupert, is so awful that there* is nothing for me 
 to do but to go away. 
 
 "I feel sure you will all be sorry, and that though I am 
 not your son you would go on treating me as if I were a younger 
 brother of Rupert's. But I could not bear it, father. I could 
 not accept anything from you, for I should feel that it was the 
 result of this wicked fraud, that it was what this woman, I can- 
 not call her mother, had schemed for me to get. Some day 
 when I have made my way, and when all this may not hurt me 
 so horribly as it seems to do now, I will come and see you all 
 if you will let me, to thank you all for the love and kindness 
 that should never have been mine. But that will not be till I 
 am in a position when I can Avant nothing, for I feel now that 
 were I dying of hunger I could not accept a crust from your 
 hands, for if I did so I should feel I was a party to this 
 abominable fraud. God bless you, dearest father and mother 
 and Rupert and Madge! — Your unhappy Edgar." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BACK AT SCHOOL. 
 
 IT was a long time after they had, with many breaks, read 
 Edgar's letter to the end before Rupert and Madge could 
 compose themselves sufficiently to accompany their father into 
 the drawing-room. They again broke down when they met 
 
 (650) 
 
66 "WHAT MONEY HAD HE?" 
 
 their mother; and it was not until Captain Clinton said, "Come, 
 we must all pull ourselves together and see what is to be done, 
 and talk the whole matter over calmly," that by a great effort 
 they recovered their composure. " Now, in the first place, we 
 must try to find Edgar. He has got twenty-four hours' start 
 of us, but that is not very much. I suppose you think, Rupert, 
 that there is no doubt that he went up to town by the night 
 train." 
 
 "I have no doubt that he got away in time to do so, father; 
 but of course he might have gone by the down train, which 
 passes through Gloucester somewhere about the same time." 
 
 "I do not think it likely that he did that, Rupert. I should 
 say he was sure to go to London; that is almost always the 
 goal people make for, unless it is in the case of boys Avho want 
 to go to sea, when they would make for Liverpool or some 
 other port. But I don't think Edgar was likely to do that. I 
 don't think he had any special fancy for the sea; so we may 
 assume that he has gone to London. What money had he?" 
 
 "He had that five-pound note you sent three days ago, 
 father, to clear off any ticks we had, and to pay our journey 
 home. That is what he meant when he said, ' I have taken the 
 note, but I know you won't grudge it me.' I think he had 
 about a pound left — that is about what I had — and I know 
 when the note came he said that the money he had was enough 
 to last him to the end of the term. So he would have the five- 
 pound note untouched when he got to London, and if driven 
 to it he could get, I should think, six or seven pounds for his 
 watch and chain." 
 
 " That would give him enough to keep him some little 
 time. If he had been a couple of years older I should say 
 that he would probably enlist at once, as you had both made 
 up your minds to go into the army. But although lads do 
 enlist under the proper age, no recruiting officer or doctor 
 would pass him as being eighteen. The first thing to do will 
 be to advertise for him — in the first place to advertise offering 
 
HOW COULD YOU SAY SO?" G7 
 
 a reward for information as to his wheroal)outs, and in tlic 
 second })lacc advertising to liini direct, Ijeyging him to come 
 home." 
 
 " But he would never come, father," Rupert said, looking at 
 the letter, which Captain Clinton still held in his hand. 
 
 " It would depend how we advertised. Suppose I were to 
 say, 'Statement of woman not believed j we are in as much 
 doubt as before.'" 
 
 The others looked up in intense surprise. 
 
 "Oh, father, how could you say that?" Rupert exclaimed. 
 " Oh, if we could but say so ! I should be quite, quite content 
 to know that either of us might be her son — that would not 
 matter so much if we felt that you loved us both equally; but 
 how could you say sol" 
 
 "Because, Rupert," Captain Clinton said gravely, "I still 
 think there is great ground for doubt." 
 
 "Do you really, father? Oh, I am pleased! I think — yes, I 
 am sure that I could bear now to know that Edgar is your real 
 son, and not I. It would be so different to learn it from your 
 lips, to know that you all love me still, instead of hearing it 
 in the dreadful way Edgar did. But how do you doubt, 
 father? It seemed to me from reading the letter so certain." 
 
 " Do you really doubt, Percy ? " Mrs. Clinton asked. 
 
 "I do indeed, Lucy; and I will give you my reasons. In the 
 first place, this woman left India a few weeks after the affair. 
 She certainly could not have seen the children until Ave returned 
 to England, and, so far as we know, has never seen them since. 
 If she has seen them, she never can have spoken to them or 
 come in any sort of contact with them, therefore she cannot 
 possibly have known which is which. When she saAV them at 
 Cheltenham, and Rupert says that she was there more than a 
 week, she met them upon every possible occasion and stared 
 hard at them. It is evident, therefore, that she was for all that 
 time doubtful. No doubt she was doing what we used to do, 
 trying to detect a resemblance. Now, if we in all these years 
 
68 "THERE IS THE MARK." 
 
 with the boys, constantly watching their ways and listening to 
 their voices, could detect no resemblance, it is extremely im- 
 probable that she was able to do so from merely seeing them a 
 score of times walking in the streets. I do not say that it is 
 impossible she could have done so; I only say it is extremely 
 inaprobable; and I think it much more likely that, finding she 
 could see no resemblance whatever, she determined to speak to 
 the first whom she might happen to find alone." 
 
 " But there is the mark, father," Rupert said, 
 
 '* Yes, there is the mark," Mrs. Clinton repeated. 
 
 "I did not know you had a mark, Eupert. I wonder we 
 never noticed it, Lucy." 
 
 "It is a very tiny one, father. I never noticed it myself — 
 indeed I can hardly see it before a glass, for it is rather at the 
 back of the shoulder — until Edgar noticed it one day. It is not 
 larger than the head of a good-sized pin. It is a little dark- 
 brown mole. Perhaps it was smaller and lighter when I was a 
 baby; but it must have been there then, or she would not have 
 known about it." 
 
 " That is so, Eupert; but the mere fact that it is there does 
 not in any way prove that you are our son. Just see what 
 Edgar says about it in his letter. Eemember the woman could 
 not have known which of you boys had the mark; and that 
 she did not know, that is to say, that she had not recognized the 
 likeness, appears from Edgar's letter. This is what he says: 
 ' She said that one of us had a small mole on the shoulder. 
 I knew that Eupert had a tiny mole there; and she said 
 that was the mark by which she knew your son from hers.' 
 Suppose Edgar had replied, ' Yes, I have such a mark on my 
 shoulder,' might she not have said, that is the mark by which 
 I can distinguish my son from that of Captain Clinton'?" 
 
 The others were silent. Then Mrs. Clinton said, "You 
 know, Percy, I do not wish to prove that one more than the 
 other of the boys is ours; but naturally the woman would 
 wish to benefit her own boy, and if it had been her own boy 
 
I'KO AND CON. 69 
 
 who liad the ni;irk, why should slie not have told Edgar that 
 she had iiia(U> a luistako, and that it wa« liupert who was lior 
 son ? " 
 
 "1 do not sup])ose, Lucy, that she cared in the slightest 
 which was her son; her main object, of course, was to extort 
 money. Edgar does not say anything at all about that; and 
 of course at iirst she would try and make out that she was ready 
 to sacrifice herself for him, and would scarcely say that she ex- 
 pected him to make her a handsome allowance when he came 
 into the property, but I have no doubt that was her motive. 
 Well, you see, she had already begun with Edgar. Suppose 
 she said that she had made a mistake, and Eupert was her son. 
 Edgar would have gone in and told him, and would probably 
 have telegraphed to me, so that I could get to liupert before 
 this woman saw him, and she would have known then that 
 her story would have been upset altogether. No court of law 
 would attach any weight to what she might say. She would 
 have to stand confessed as having been concerned in a gross 
 fraud, and with having lied at first; and unless she was in a 
 position to produce corroborative evidence to prove that her 
 child had this mark, her word would go for nothing. 
 
 " Now, I feel sure that she could produce no such evidence. 
 The mark was almost an invisible one, for it was never after- 
 wards noticed. Had she shown it to any of the women of 
 her acquaintance, they would have come forward when the 
 change of children took place, and have pointed out that the 
 children could be easily distinguished, inasmuch as my child 
 had a peculiar mark. I feel sure that even her husband knew 
 nothing about this mark, for I don't believe he was a party to 
 the fraud. He was terribly upset by the whole business, and 
 took to drink afterwards. There were continual quarrels 
 between his wife and himself, and she left him and went to 
 England. I believe if he could have pointed out which was 
 my child and wdiich was his own, he would have done so. 
 
 " Certainly, I myself should have attached little or no weight 
 
70 "woman's story not believed." 
 
 to this woman's story if she had come here with it. I should 
 have turned her out of the house, and have told her to go 
 to a court if she dare and claim the custody of her son. She 
 must have known the weakness of her own position, and as 
 I say, having once opened the matter to Edgar, she determined 
 to stick to it, knowing that a boy taken thus on a sudden 
 would be likely to believe her, whereas if she said that you 
 were her son she would find you already prepared and probably 
 have to confront me too. So you see, Eupert, I can truthfully 
 advertise — 'Woman's story not believed; we are in as much 
 doubt as before; both are regarded by us as our sons.'" 
 
 "I am glad, father!" Eupert exclaimed excitedly. "Oh! if 
 Edgar had but written to you first, instead of going straight 
 away." 
 
 " It would have been better," Captain Clinton said, " but I 
 cannot blame him. I think it was natural that he should go 
 as he did. He would have thought that had he written to me 
 it would have seemed as if he wanted something from me, and 
 anything would have seemed better to him than that. How- 
 ever, we must set about doing something at once. I shall go 
 by the nine o'clock local to Swindon, and on by the night mail 
 to town. Then I shall set a detective at work. He may find 
 out from the porters if anyone noticed a lad arrive by the 
 night mail this morning, and shall draw up carefully-worded 
 advertisements. I shall write to Mr. Eiver- Smith before I 
 start. What would you like, Eupert — to go back to-morrow, 
 or to stay away until the end of the term? If you take my 
 advice, you will go back; it would be a pity for you to miss 
 your examinations." 
 
 " I don't think I could get through the examinations, father, 
 with this on my mind; besides, what should I say to the fellows 
 about Edgar's going away? You see, if we find him before 
 next term begins, we need say nothing about it." 
 
 " You would have to account for his having run away, 
 Eupert, anyhow. I think you had better go back, my boy, 
 
CAI'TAIN ("MNTON's SKAKCII. 71 
 
 aiul tell the facts of the story. There is not the sHLi,htest dis- 
 credit ill it, ;uid it would bo better for Edgar himself that it 
 should be known that he went under the iniluence of a mis- 
 take than that all sorts of reasons should be assigned for his 
 absence. There will, of course, be no occasion to go into full 
 details. You would tell the story of the confusion that aiose 
 as to the children, and say that Edgar had received some in- 
 formation which led him erroneously to conclude that the 
 problem was solved, and that he was not my son, and that 
 therefore he had run away so as to avoid receiving any further 
 benefits from the mistake that had been made." 
 
 " Perhaps that Avould be best, father. Indeed I don't know 
 what I should do if I were to stop here now with nothing to 
 do but to worry about him." 
 
 " I am sure it will be best, Eupert. I will tell yoiu- master 
 you will return to-morroAV afternoon." 
 
 Captain Clinton went up to town by the night mail, and in 
 the morning went to a private detective's office. After giving 
 particulars of Edgar's age and appearance he went on : " As he 
 had no luggage with him, and there Avas nothing particular 
 about his personal appearance, I consider it altogether useless 
 to search for him in London; but I think it possible that he 
 may try to enlist." 
 
 " Sixteen is too young for them to take him, unless he looks 
 a good deal older than he is." 
 
 " Yes, I quite see that. At the same time that is the only 
 thing that occurs to us as likely for him to try." 
 
 "Not likely to take to the sea, sir?" 
 
 " Not at all likely from what we know of his fancies. Still 
 he might do that for a couple of years with a view to enlisting 
 afterwards." 
 
 "How about going to the States or Canada?" 
 
 "That again is quite possible." 
 
 "Had he money with him, sir?" 
 
 " He had about five pounds in his pocket, and a gold watch 
 
72 THE detective's opinion. 
 
 and chain that he had only had a few months, and could, I 
 should think, get seven or eight pounds for; but I do not see 
 what he could do to get his living if he went abroad." 
 
 "No, sir; but then young gents always have a sort of fancy 
 that they can get on well out there, and if they do not mind 
 what they turn to I fancy that most of them can. Is he in 
 any trouble, sir? You will excuse my asking, but a young 
 chap who gets into trouble generally acts in a different sort of 
 way to one who has gone out what we may call venture- 
 some." 
 
 " No, he has got into no trouble," Captain Clinton said. "He 
 has gone away under a misunderstanding, but there is nothing 
 whatever to make him wish to conceal himself beyond the fact 
 that he will do all he can to prevent my tracing him at present. 
 Here are half a dozen of his photos. If you Avant more I can 
 get them struck off." 
 
 "I could do with another half-dozen," the mail said. "I 
 will send them down to men who act with me at Southampton, 
 Hull, LiverjDOol, Glasgow, and Plymouth, and will send two or 
 three abroad. He might cross over to Bremen or Hamburg, 
 a good many go that way now, I will look after the recruit- 
 ing offices here myself; but as he is only sixteen, and as you 
 say does not look older, I do not think there is a chance of his 
 trying that. No recruiting sergeant would take him up. No, 
 sir; I should say that if he has no friends he can go to, the 
 chances are he will try to ship for the States or Canada. But 
 what are we to do if we find himf 
 
 Captain Clinton had not thought of this, 
 
 "Of course," the man went on, "if you gave an authority 
 for me to send down to each of my agents, they could take 
 steps to stop him," 
 
 "No," Captain Clinton said after a pause, during which he 
 had been thinking that as he could not swear that Edgar was 
 his son, he was in fact powerless in the matter. " No, I do not 
 wish that done. I have no idea whatever of coercing him. I 
 
''IlUr^.O, CLINTON! UM'K A(iAlN, KWV 7."j 
 
 Wiuit, if ])ossil)le, to see him and converse with liim Ix-foro lie 
 goes. If that is not possible, and if he is not found until just 
 as the ship is sailing, then I want your agent to wire to me the 
 name of the steamer in which he goes and the port to which it 
 sails. Then if there is a faster steamer going, 1 might be there 
 as soon as he is; if not, I should wash you to telegraph to a 
 private detective firm across the water, which I suppose you 
 could do, to have somebody to meet the steamer as she came 
 in, and without his knowing it to keep him under his eye until 
 I arrive." 
 
 " I could manage all that, sir, easily enough. I will send olF 
 four of the photographs at once to the ports and the others as 
 soon as I get them, and will go down with the other photo- 
 graph to the recruiting office and arrange with one of the 
 sergeants engaged there to let me know if he turns up, and 
 will send a man down to the docks to watch the ships there. 
 I will send off the other photos directly I get them." 
 
 There w\as nothing else for Captain Clinton to do, but before 
 he returned home he wrote out a series of advertisements and 
 left them at the offices of the principal papers. They ran as 
 follows: — "If E.C., who left Cheltenham suddenly, will return 
 home he will find that he has acted under a misapprehension. 
 The woman's story was untrustworthy. He is still regarded 
 as a son by P.C. and L.C." Having done this he drove to 
 Paddington, and went down by an afternoon train. 
 
 Rupert arrived at Cheltenham just as the others had sat 
 down to tea. 
 
 "Hullo, Clinton! Back again, eh? Glad to see you." 
 
 Rupert nodded a reply to the greeting. His heart was too 
 full to speak, and he dropped into the seat he was accustomed 
 to use, the others moving up closely to make room for him. 
 A significant glance passed between the boys. They saw that 
 Edgar was not with him, and guessed that there was something 
 wrong. There had been a good deal of wonder among them 
 at the Clintons' sudden disappearance, and although several of 
 
74 "I WOULD RATHER TELL YOU. 
 
 the boys had seen Rupert go into his brother's dormitory none 
 had seen Edgar, and somehow or other it leaked out that 
 Eupert had started in a cab to the station alone. There had 
 been a good deal of quiet talk among the seniors about it. 
 All agreed that there was something strange about the matter, 
 especially as Robert, when questioned on the subject, had replied 
 that Mr. River-Smith's orders were that he was to say nothing 
 about it. As a precautionary measure orders were given to 
 the juniors that no word about the Clintons' absence was to be 
 said outside the house. 
 
 After tea was over Rupert went up to Pinkerton. 
 
 "Pinkerton, I should like to have a talk with you and 
 Easton and two or three others — Skinner, and Mossop, and 
 Templer — yes, and Scudamore." 
 
 " Just as you like, Clinton. Of course if you like to tell us 
 anything we shall be glad to hear it, but we all know that 
 your brother was not the sort of fellow to get into any dis- 
 honourable sort of scrape, and I can promise you we shall ask 
 no questions if you would rather keep the matter altogether to 
 yourself." 
 
 " No, I would rather tell you," Rupert said. " I know none 
 of you would think that Edgar would have done anything 
 wrong, but all sorts of stories are certain to go about, and I 
 would rather that the truth of the matter were known. You 
 are the six head fellows of the house, and when I have told 
 you the story you can do as you like about its going further." 
 
 " Well, if you go up to my study," Pinkerton said, " I will 
 bring the others up." 
 
 In three or four minutes the party were gathered there. 
 
 " Look here, Clinton," Easton said, " Pinkerton says he has 
 told you that we are all sure that, whatever this is all about, 
 your brother has done nothing he or you need be ashamed 
 about. I should like to say the same thing, and if it is painful 
 for you to tell it do not say anything about it. We shall be 
 quite content to know that he has left, if he has left — although 
 
"IT Dc)i':s Not iMATTKi: A r.ir to us. /;> 
 
 [ hope wo shall sec him again next term for some good reason 
 or other." 
 
 "No, I wouhl rather tell it," Ivupcrt said. "It is a curious 
 story, and a very unpleasant one for us, but there is nothing 
 at all for us to be ashamed about." And he went on to tell them 
 the whole story, ending with " You see, whether Edgar or I am 
 the sou of Captain Clinton, or of this sergeant and his scheming 
 wife, is more than we can say." 
 
 " It does not matter a bit to us," Easton said, bi'eaking the 
 silence of surprise with which they had listened to the story. 
 "We like you and your brother for yourselves, and it does not 
 matter a rap to us, nor as far as I can see to anyone else, who 
 your fathers and mothers were." 
 
 "I call it horribly hard lines for you both," Skinner put in; 
 " deuced hard lines, especially for your brother." 
 
 Pinkertou said : " By what you say Captain Clinton and his 
 wife don't care now which is their real son; one is real and the 
 other adopted, and as they regard you in the same light they 
 don't even want to know which is which. Well, now you 
 know that, it seems to me you are all right anyhow. You 
 see your brother didn't know that, and when this woman told 
 him she was his mother, and that the whole thing had been 
 a preconcerted plot on her part, I can quite understand his 
 going straight away. I think we should all have done the 
 same if we had had the same story told to us, and had seen we 
 were intended to be parties to a fraud of that sort. Well, I 
 am glad you told us, but I do not think there is any occasion 
 for the story to go further." 
 
 "Certainly not," Easton agreed, "it would do no good what- 
 ever; and of course it would never be kept in the house, but 
 would come to be the talk of the whole school. All chat need 
 be said is that Clinton has told us the reason of his brother 
 leaving so suddenly, that we are all of opinion that he acted 
 perfectly rightly in doing so, and that nothing more is to be 
 said about the matter. We will each yive Clinton our word 
 
76 " so IT WAS SETTLED." 
 
 of honour not to give the slightest hint to anyone about it, or 
 to say that it is a curious story or anything of that sort, but 
 just to stick to it that we have heard all about it and are per- 
 fectly satisfied." 
 
 "That will certainly be the best plan," Pinkerton agreed; 
 " but I think it would be as well for us to say he has left for 
 family reasons, and that it is nothing in any way connected 
 with himself, and that we hope that he will be back again next 
 term." 
 
 "Yes, we might say that," Easton agreed; "family reasons 
 mean all sorts of things, and anyone can take their choice out 
 of them. Well, Clinton, I shouldn't worry over this more than 
 you can help. I daresay Edgar will be found in a day or two. 
 At any rate you may be sure that no harm has come to him, or 
 is likely to come to him. If he emigrates, or anything of that 
 sort, he is pretty safe to make his way, and I am sure that 
 whatever he is doing he will always be a gentleman and a good 
 fellow." 
 
 "That he will," Mossop said cordially. "I hope we should 
 all have done as he has under the same circumstances, but it 
 would be a big temptation to some fellows to have the alter- 
 native of a good fortune and a nice estate on one side, and of 
 going out into the world and making your own living how you 
 can on the other." 
 
 There was a chorus of assent. 
 
 " Yes," Easton said, "it is very easy to say 'Do what is right 
 and never mind what comes of it;' but we should all find it very 
 hard to follow it in practice if we had a choice like that before 
 us. Well, you tell your brother when you hear of him, Clinton, 
 that we all think better of him than before, and that whether 
 he is a sergeant's son or a cajDtain's we shall welcome him 
 heartily back, and be proud to shake his hand." 
 
 And so it was settled, and to the great disappointment of 
 the rest of the house no clue was forthcoming as to the cause 
 of Edgar Clinton leaving so suddenly; but as the monitors and 
 
A KIND INVITATION. 77 
 
 seniors all seemed i)crfectly satisfied with wliat tlioy liad hoard, 
 it was evident to the others that whatever the cause niii:,ht ho 
 he was not to hlame in the matter. 
 
 During the short time that remained of the term I\,u])ert got 
 on better than he had expected. While the examination was 
 going on Easton invited him to do his work in his private 
 study, gave him his advice as to the passages likely to be set, 
 and coached him up in difficult points, and he came out higher 
 in his form than he had expected to do. 
 
 Three days before the school broke up Easton said: "Clinton, 
 I have had a letter from my father this morning, and he will 
 be very glad if you will come doAvn to spend the holidays at our 
 place. And so shall I. There is very good hunting round us. 
 My father has plenty of horses in his stables, and I expect we 
 shall be rather gay, for my brother comes of age in the week 
 after Christmas, and there is going to be a ball and so on. I 
 don't know how you feel about it, but I should say that it 
 would be better for you than being at home where everything 
 will call your brother to your mind, and your being there will 
 make it worse for the others." 
 
 "I am very much obliged to you, Easton; I should Hke it 
 very much. I will write off to the governor at once and hear 
 what he says. They might like to have me home, and possibly 
 I might be useful in the search for Edgar. As I have told you, 
 I feel sure that he has enlisted. He would be certain to change 
 his name, and it would be no use anyone who did not know 
 him going to look at the recruits." 
 
 "But we agreed, Clinton, that no one would enlist him at 
 his age, and he is altogether too old to go as a band-boy." 
 
 "Yes, I know that; and that is what worries me more than 
 anything. Still I cannot help thinking that he will try some- 
 how to get into the army. If he can't, I believe he will do 
 anything he can to get a living until they enlist him." 
 
 "I don't think he can anj-how pass as eighteen, Clinton. If 
 it was for anything else he might get up with false moustache or 
 
78 CAPTAIN CLINTON APPROVES. 
 
 something; but you see he has got to pass a strict examination 
 by a surgeon. I have heard that lots of fellows do enlist under 
 age, but then some fellows look a good bit older than they are. 
 I don't believe any doctor would be humbugged into believing 
 that Edgar is anything like eighteen." 
 
 "Well, I will write to my father this afternoon and hear 
 what he says. If he thinks I cannot do any good and they 
 don't want me at home, I shall be very pleased to come to 
 you." 
 
 Captain Clinton's letter came by return of post. He said 
 that he was very pleased Eupert had had an invitation that 
 would keep him away. "We have received no news whatever 
 of Edgar, and I don't think that it would be of any use for 
 you to join in the search for him. There is no saying where 
 he may have gone or what he may be doing. I agree with you 
 that he will most likely take any job that offers to keep him 
 until he can enlist. Arrangements have been made with one 
 of the staff sergeants at the head-quarters of recruiting in Lon- 
 don to let us know if any young fellow answering to Edgar's 
 description comes up to be medically examined. So we shall 
 catch him if he presents himself there. Unfortunately there 
 are such a number of recruiting depots all over the countiy, 
 that there is no saying where he may try to enlist — that is, if 
 he does try. However, at present there is certainly nothing 
 you can do. I should like to have you home, and your mother 
 says she should like you too, but I do think that for her 
 sake it is better you should not come. As long as you are 
 away there is nothing to recall at every moment the fact that 
 Edgar has gone, whereas if you were here his absence would 
 be constantly be before her. She is quite ill with anxiety, and 
 Dr. Wilkinson agrees with me that change is most desirable. 
 I am sure she would not hear of going away if you Avere at 
 home; it would give her a good excuse for staying here; but 
 when she hears that you are not coming I think I may be 
 able to persuade her to listen to Wilkinson's opinion, and in 
 
A PLEASANT HOLIDAY. iV 
 
 that case I sl)all take her and Madge down to Nice at once. 
 If I can get her there by Cliristmas so much the Ijettcr, for 
 Christmas at home would be terribly trying to us all. (Jnce 
 we are there, we can wander about for two or three months in 
 Italy or Spain, or across to Algeria or Egypt — anything to dis- 
 tract her mind." 
 
 Accordingly Rupert accepted Easton's invitation, and went 
 with him to his father's in Leicestershire. Had it not been for 
 the uncertainty about Edgar he would have enjoyed his holidays 
 greatly. Although he had always joined to a certain extent in 
 the chaff of his school-fellows at Easton's care about his dress 
 and little peculiarities of manner, he had never shared in Skin- 
 ner's prejudices against him, and always said that he could 
 do anything well that he chose to turn his hand to, and had 
 appreciated his readiness to do a kindness to anyone Avho 
 really needed it. It had been his turn now, and the friendly 
 companionship of the elder boy had been of the greatest value 
 to him. Easton had never said much in the way of sympathy, 
 which indeed would have jarred Rupert's feelings, but his 
 kindness had said more than words could do; and Rupert, as 
 he looked back, felt ashamed at the thought that he had often 
 joined in a laugh about him. 
 
 At home the points that had seemed peculiar at school were 
 unnoticeable. The scrupulous attention to dress that had there 
 been in strong contrast to the general carelessness of the others 
 in that respect, seemed but natural in his own house, where 
 there were a good many guests staying. Rupert and Edgar had 
 always been more particular at home than at school; but 
 Easton was the same, indeed Rupert thought that he was if 
 anything less particular now than he had been at River- 
 Smith's. 
 
 A week after Christmas Rupert received a letter from his 
 father, written at Nice, saying that a letter from Edgar had 
 been forwarded on from home, and giving the brief words in 
 Avhich the lad said that he was well, and that they might be 
 
80 NEWS OF EDGAR. 
 
 under no uneasiness respecting him. " This does not tell us 
 much," Captain Clinton went on, "but we are very pleased, 
 inasmuch as it seems that Edgar does not mean altogether to 
 drop out of our sight, but will, we hope, write from time to 
 time to let us know that at any rate he is well. The letter has 
 the London post-mark, but of course that shows nothing; it 
 may have been written anywhere and sent to anyone — perhaps 
 to a waiter at an hotel at which he stopped in London, and 
 with whom he had arranged to post any letters that he might 
 inclose to him. The letter has greatly cheered your mother, 
 who, in spite of all I could say, has hitherto had a dread that 
 Edgar in his distress might have done something rash. I have 
 never thought so for an instant. I trust that my two boys are 
 not only too well principled, but too brave to act a coward's 
 part, whatever might befall them. Your mother, of course, 
 agreed with me in theory; but while she admitted that Edgar 
 would never if in his senses do such a thing, urged that his 
 distress might be so great that he would not be responsible for 
 what he was doing. Happily this morbid idea has been dissi- 
 pated by the arrival of the letter, and I have great hopes now 
 that she will rouse herself, and will shake off the state of silent 
 brooding which has been causing me so much anxiety. It was 
 but this morning that we received the letter, and already she 
 looks brighter and more like herself than she has done since 
 you brought us the news of Edgar's disappearance." 
 
 This news enabled Rupert to enjoy the remainder of the 
 holidays much more than he had done the first fortnight. He 
 and Edgar had both been accustomed to ride since they had 
 been children, and had in their Christmas holidays for years 
 accompanied their father to the hunting field, at first upon 
 ponies, but the previous winter on two light-weight carrying 
 horses he had bought specially for them. Mr. Easton had 
 several hunters, and liupert, who was well mounted, thoroughly 
 enjoyed the hunting, and returned to school with his nerves 
 braced up, ready for work. 
 
A RECONCILIATION. 81 
 
 " T won't say anything against Easton a^ain," Skinner said 
 A\hon he lieartl from liupert how pleasant his hoHdays liad been 
 made for liim. *' T noticed how he took to you and made 
 things smooth for you the last ten days of the term, and I fully 
 meant to tell him that I was sorry I had not understood him 
 liotter before; only, in the first place, I never happened to have 
 a good opportunity, and in the second place I don't know that 
 I ever tried to make one. However, I shall tell him now. It 
 is not a pleasant thing to be obliged to own that you have 
 liehaved badly, but it is a good deal more unpleasant to feci it 
 and not have the pluck to say so." 
 
 Accordingly the next time Easton came into the senior study. 
 Skinner went up to him and said: 
 
 " Easton, I want to tell you that I am uncommonly sorry 
 that I have set myself against you because you have been more 
 particular about your dress and things than the rest of us, and 
 because you did not seem as keen as we were about football 
 and things. I know that I have behaved like an ass, and I 
 should like to be friends now if you will let me." 
 
 " Certainlj^ I will, Skinner," Easton said, taking the hand he 
 held out. " I don't know that it was altogether your fault. My 
 people at home are rather particular about our being tidy and 
 that sort of thing, and when I came here and some of you 
 rather made fun of me about it, I think that I stuck to it all 
 the more because it annoyed you. I shall be going up for 
 Sandhurst this term, and I am very glad to be on good terms 
 with all you fellows before I leave ; so don't let us say anything 
 more about it." 
 
 And with another shake of the hands their agreement to be 
 friends was ratified. 
 
 The term between Christmas and Easter was always the 
 dullest of the year. The house matches at football were over. 
 Although a game was sometimes played, there was but a 
 languid interest in it. Paper-chases were the leading incident 
 in the term, and there was a general looking forward to spring 
 ( 650 ) F 
 
82 ANOTHER LETTER. 
 
 weather, when cricket could begin and the teams commence 
 practice for the matches of the following term. 
 
 Easton was going up in the summer for the examination for 
 the line. He was not troubling himself specially about it; and 
 indeed his getting in was regarded as a certainty, for Mr. 
 Southley had said that he would be safe for the Indian Civil 
 if he chose to try, and considered it a great pity that he was 
 going up for so comparatively an easy competition as that for 
 the line. He occasionally went for a walk with Eupert, and 
 while chatting with him frequently about Edgar, was continu- 
 ally urging him not to let his thoughts dwell too much upon it, 
 but to stick to his work. 
 
 The watch at the various ports had long since been given 
 up, for had Edgar intended to emigrate he would certainly 
 have done so very shortly after his arrival in London, as his 
 means would not have permitted him to make any stay there. 
 
 " I think it is very thoughtful of Edgar," Easton said one 
 day when Eupert told him that he had heard from his father 
 that another letter had arrived. " So many fellows when they 
 run away or emigrate, or anything of that sort, drop writing 
 altogether, and do not seem to give a thought to the anxiety 
 those at home are feeling for them. He is evidently deter- 
 mined that he will go his own way and accept no help from 
 your people, and under the circumstances I can quite enter into 
 his feelings; but, you see, he does not wish them to be anxious 
 or troubled about him, and I don't think there is anything for 
 you to worry about, Clinton. He may be having a hardish 
 time of it; still he is no doubt getting his living somehow or 
 other, and I don't know that it will do him any harm. 
 
 " T think he is the sort of fellow to make his way in what- 
 ever line he takes up, and though what he has learnt here may 
 not be of much use to him at the start, his having had a good 
 education is sure to be of advantage to him afterwards. A 
 fellow who could hold his own in a tussle such as we had with 
 the Greenites last term can be trusted to make a good fight in 
 
"I DO NOT DO TT ON PRTNOTPLK." 83 
 
 any tiling. At any rate it is of no use yonr worrying yourself 
 about him. You see, you will be going up in a year's time for 
 your examination for the line, and you will have to stick to it 
 pretty steadily if you are to get through at the first trial. It 
 won't help matters your worrying about him, and wherever 
 he is and whatever he is doing he is sure to keep his eye on 
 the lists, and he will feel just as much pleasure in seeing your 
 name there as he would have done if he had been here with 
 you. So I should say, work steadily and play steadily. You 
 have a good chance of being in the college boat next term ; that 
 and shooting will give you enough to do. 
 
 " It is no use sticking to it too hard. I was telling Skinner 
 yesterday he will regulftrly addle his brain if he keeps on 
 grinding as he is doing now. But it is of no use talking to 
 Skinner; when his mind is set on a thing he can think of 
 nothing else. Last term it was football, now it is reading. 
 It must be an awful nuisance to be as energetic as he is. I 
 cannot see why he should not take life comfortably." 
 
 " He would say," Eupert laughed, " he cannot see why he 
 should do things by fits and starts as you do, Easton." 
 
 " Ah ! but I do not do it on principle," Easton argued. " I 
 am all for taking it quietly, only sometimes one gets stirred up 
 and has to throw one's self into a thing. One does it, you know, 
 but one feels it a nuisance — an unfair wear and tear of the 
 system." 
 
 " Your system does not seem to suffer seriously, Easton." 
 
 "No; but it might if one were called upon to do these things 
 often. But it is time for us to turn back, or we shall be late 
 for tea." 
 
84 Edgar's arrival in London. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 EDGAR had found but little difficulty in getting out from 
 the house. He had timed himself so as to arrive at the 
 station just before the train left for Gloucester, and taking 
 his ticket, had slipped into an empty carriage. At Gloucester 
 there was half an hour to wait before the up-train came in. 
 This time he got into a carriage with several other people. 
 He did not want to spend the night thinking, and as long as 
 his fellow-passengers talked he resolutely kept his attention 
 fixed on what they were saying. Then when one after the other 
 composed themselves for a sleep, he sat with his eyes closed, 
 thinking over his school-days. He had already, while he lay 
 tossing on his bed, thought over the revelation he had heard 
 from every point of view. He had exhausted the subject, and 
 would not allow his thoughts to return to it. 
 
 He now fought the football match of the Greenites over again 
 in fancy. It seemed to him that it was an event that had taken 
 place a long time back, quite in the dim distance, and he was 
 wondering vaguely over this when he too fell asleep, and did not 
 wake up until the train arrived at Paddington. It was with a 
 feeling of satisfaction that he stepped out on to the platform. 
 Now there was something to do. It was too early yet to see 
 about lodgings. He went to a little coffee-house that was 
 already open for the use of the workmen, had some breakfast 
 there, and then walked about for two or three hours until 
 London was astir, leaving his things at the coffee-house. Then 
 he went to a pawnbroker's and pawned his watch and chain. 
 Then, having fetched his things from the coffee-house, he went 
 into the Edgware Road and took an omnibus down to Victoria 
 and then walked on across Vauxhall Bridge, and set to work to 
 look for loddnsfs. 
 
Edgar's resolution. 85 
 
 IIo wjis not long in finding a bed-room to let, and here ho 
 installed himself. He was convinced Captain Clinton would 
 have a \igilant search made for him, but he thought that 
 he was now fairly safe, however sharp the detectives might 
 be in their hunt for him. He felt deeply the sorrow there 
 would be at home, for he knew that up to now he and Rupert 
 had been loved equally, and that even the discovery that he 
 had had no right to the care and kindness he had received 
 would make no great difference in their feeling towards him. 
 Had the change of children been really the result of accident, 
 he would not have acted as he had done. 
 
 He himself had had no hand in the fraud, but were he to 
 accept anything now from Captain Clinton he felt that he would 
 be an accessary to it. Had not his mother, his own mother, 
 proposed that he should take part in the plot, that he should 
 go on deceiving them, and even that he should rob Rupert alto- 
 gether of his inheritance 1 It was too horrible to think of. There 
 was nothing for it that he could see but for him to go out utterly 
 from their lives, and to fight his way alone until he could, at 
 any rate, show them that he needed nothing and would accept 
 nothing. He was dimly conscious himself that he was acting 
 unkindly and unfairly to them, and that after all they had done 
 for him they had a right to have a say as to his future ; but at 
 present his pride was too hurt, he was too sore and humiliated 
 to listen to the whisper of conscience, and his sole thought was 
 to hide himself and to make his own way in the world. 
 
 Lest his resolution should be shaken he carefully abstained 
 from a perusal of the papers, lest his eye might fall upon an 
 advertisement begging him to return. His mind was made up 
 that he would enlist. He knew that at present he could not 
 do so as a private, but he thought that he might be accepted 
 as a trumpeter. He thought it probable that they would 
 guess that such was his intention, and would have given a 
 description of him at the recruiting oflices. It was for this 
 reason that he determined to live as long as he could upon his 
 
86 "I HAVE NO FATHER THAT I KNOW OF." 
 
 money before trying to enlist, as if some time elapsed he would 
 be less likely to be recognized as answering the description 
 that might be given by Captain Clinton than if he made the 
 attempt at once. From Vauxhall he often crossed to West- 
 minster, and soon struck up an accjuaintance with some of the 
 recruiting sergeants. 
 
 " Want to enlist, eh ? " one of them said. 
 
 " I am thinking of entering as a trumpeter." 
 
 "Well, you might do that. There are plenty of younger 
 lads than you are trumpeters in the cavalry. I will look at 
 the list and see what regiments have vacancies; but I doubt 
 whether they will take you without a letter from your father 
 saying that you are enlisting with his consent." 
 
 " I have no father that I know of," Edgar said. 
 
 " Well, then, it is likely they will want a certificate from a 
 clergyman or your schoolmaster as to character; and I expect," 
 the sergeant said shrewdly, "you would have a difficulty in 
 getting such a paper." 
 
 Edgar nodded. 
 
 " Well, lad, if you have quite made up your mind about it, 
 my advice would be, do not try here. In London they are a 
 lot more particular than they are down in the country, and 1 
 should say you are a good deal more likely to rub through at 
 Aldershot or Canterbury than you would be here. They are 
 more particular here. You see, they have no great interest in 
 fdling up the ranks of a regiment, while when you go to the 
 regiment itself, the doctors and officers and all of them like 
 seeing it up to its full strength, so their interest is to pass a 
 recruit if they can. I have known scores and hundreds of men 
 rejected here tramp down to Aldershot, or take the train if they 
 had money enough in their pockets to pay the fare, and get 
 passed without a shadow of difficulty." 
 
 " I would rather not enlist for the next month or two," Ed- 
 gar said; "there might be somebody asking after me." 
 
 " If you will take my advice, lad, you will go back to your 
 
TAKING LESSONS. 87 
 
 frioiuls. Tlicre arc many young fellows run away from home, 
 but most of them are precious sorry for it afterwards." 
 
 " I am not likely to be sorry for it, sergeant, and if I am 1 
 shall not go back. Do you think I could hnd anyone who 
 would give me lessons on the trumpet?" 
 
 "I should say that there would not be any difficulty about 
 that. There is nothing you cannot have in London if you have 
 got money to pay for it. If you were to go up to the Albany 
 Barracks and get hold of the trumpet-major, he would tell you 
 who would teach you. He would not do it himself, I daresay, 
 but some of the trumpeters would be glad to give you an hour 
 a day if you can pay for it. Of course it would save you a lot 
 of trouble afterwards if you could sound the trumpet before 
 you joined." 
 
 Edgar took the advice, and found a trumpeter in the Blues 
 who agreed to go out with him for an hour every day on to 
 Primrose Hill, and there teach him to sound the trumpet. He 
 accordingly gave up his room at Vauxhall, and moved across to 
 the north side of Eegent's Park. For six weeks he worked for 
 an hour a day with his instructor, who, upon his depositing a 
 pound with him as a guarantee for its return, borrowed a 
 trumpet for him, and with this Edgar would start of a morning, 
 and walking seven or eight miles into the country, spend hours 
 in eliciting the most mournful and startling sounds from the 
 instrument. 
 
 At the end of the six weeks his money was nearly gone, 
 although he had lived most economically, and accordingly, after 
 returning the trumpet to his instructor, who, although he had 
 been by no means chary of abuse while the lessons were going 
 on, now admitted that he had got on first-rate, he went down 
 to Aldershot, where his friend the recruiting sergeant had told 
 him that they were short of a trumpeter or two in the 1st 
 Hussars. 
 
 It was as well that Edgar had allowed the two months to 
 pass before endeavouring to enlist, for after a month had been 
 
88 AT ALDERSHOT. 
 
 vainly spent in the search for him, Rupert had suggested to 
 his father that although too young to enlist in the ranks Edgar 
 might have tried to go in as a trumpeter, and inquiries had 
 been made at all the recruiting depots whether a lad answering 
 to his description had so enlisted. The sergeant had given 
 him a note to a sergeant of his acquaintance in the Hussars. 
 
 " I put it pretty strong, young un," his friend had said when 
 he gave him the note; "mind you stick to what I say." 
 
 The sergeant had indeed — incited partly perhaps by a 
 liking for the lad, partly by a desire to return an equivalent 
 for the sovereign with which Edgar had presented him — drawn 
 somewhat upon his imagination. " I have known the young chap 
 for a very long time," he said; "his father and mother died 
 years ago, and though I am no relation to him he looks upon 
 me as his guardian as it were. He has learned the trumpet 
 a bit, and will soon be able to sound all the calls. He will 
 make a smart young soldier, and will, I expect, take his place 
 in the ranks as soon as he is old enough. Do the best you can 
 for him, and keep an eye on him." 
 
 " I will take you round to the trumpet-major," the sergeant 
 said; "he had better go with you to the adjutant. You know 
 what Sergeant M'Bride says in this letter?" 
 
 "No, I don't know exactly what he says. He told me he 
 would introduce me to you, and that you would, he was sure, 
 do your best to put me through." 
 
 "Well, you had better hear what he does say. It is always 
 awkward to have misunderstandings. He says you have lost 
 your father and mother; you understand that?" 
 
 " That's right," Edgar said quietly. 
 And that he has known you for a very long timel" 
 
 Edgar nodded. 
 
 " It seems to me a very long time," he added. 
 
 " And that though he is no actual relation of yours he con- 
 siders he stands in the light of your guardian. That is im- 
 portant, you know." 
 
"YOU STICK TO THAT." 89 
 
 " I \\ ill leiUL'iuber that," Edgar said, " There is certainly no 
 one as far as I know who has a Letter right than Sergeant 
 M'Bride to advise me, or give me permission to enlist." 
 
 " AVell, 30U stick to that and you are all right. Now, come 
 along." 
 
 " I wonder who the young chap is," the sergeant said to 
 himself as they crossed the barrack yard. "As to what 
 M 'Bride said, we know all about thatj I have been on the 
 recruiting statf myself. But I think the young un was speaking 
 the truth. He has lost his father and mother, he has known 
 M'Bride for some time, and he has got no one who has any 
 right to interfere Avith him. Eum, too. The boy is a gentle- 
 man allover, though he has rigged himself out in those clothes. 
 Well, we are short of trumpeters, and I don't suppose the 
 adjutant will inquire very closely." 
 
 The trumpet-major was quite willing to do his share of 
 the business. He was glad to fill up one of the vacancies, 
 especially as it seemed that the new-comer would soon be able 
 to take his place in the ranks; and after asking a few questions 
 he went across with him to the adjutant. The latter looked 
 at Edgar critically. 
 
 " Smart young fellow," he said to himself. " Got into some 
 scrape at home, I suppose, and run away. Of course he has 
 some got-up lie ready. Well, sergeant, what is if?" 
 
 " Lad wishes to enlist as a trumpeter, sir. Here is a letter 
 from his next friend, Sergeant M'Bride of the 18th Hussars. 
 Lad's father and mother dead. M'Bride stands in place of 
 guardian." 
 
 " A likely story," the adjutant muttered to himself. " What 
 is your name, lad]" 
 
 " I enlist as Edward Smith," Edgar said, "age sixteen." 
 
 "Parents dead]" 
 
 " I lost them when I was a child, sir." 
 
 "Who were they?" 
 
 "My father was a sergeant in the 30th Foot, sir." 
 
90 " RATHER A TOUGH CASE THAT. 
 
 The adjutant was watching him narrowly. 
 
 " Either he is telling the truth," he said to himself, " or he 
 is one of the calmest young liars I have ever come across." 
 
 " And there is no one who has any legal right to control you 
 or to object to your enlisting''^" 
 
 " No one, sir." 
 
 "You cannot play, I suppose?" 
 
 "I have been learning the trumpet for some little time, sir, 
 and can sound a few of the calls." 
 
 " Well, I suppose that will do, sergeant. You had better 
 take him across to the doctor. If he passes him put him up 
 for the night, and bring him here to-morrow at twelve o'clock 
 to be sworn in." 
 
 "Kather a tough case that," he said to himself as the trumpet- 
 major left with the young recruit. "There is not a doubt 
 the boy is lying, and yet I could have declared he was speaking 
 the truth. Of course he may be the son of a non-commissioned 
 officer, and have been brought up and educated by someone. 
 He looks a gentleman all over, and speaks like one. Well, it 
 is no business of mine;" and the adjutant gave the matter no 
 further thought. 
 
 The next day Edgar was sworn in. The colonel, hearing from 
 the adjutant that he had questioned the boy, and that there 
 was no impediment to his enlisting, passed him without a 
 remark, and Edgar was at once taken to the regimental tailor 
 and measured for his uniform, and half an hour later was 
 marched out with four or five of the other trumpeters beyond 
 the confines of the camp, and was there set to work at the calls. 
 His work was by no means hght. He was at once sent into 
 the riding-school, and he found it a very different thing to 
 satisfy the riding-master and his sergeants than it had been to 
 learn to sit a horse at home. However, his previous pracfice 
 in that way rendered the work much easier for him than it 
 would otherwise have been, and he was not very long in passing 
 out from the squad of recruits. Then he had two or three 
 
BARRACK LIFE. 91 
 
 hours a day of practice with the trumpet, an hour a day at 
 gymnastics, and in the afternoon two hours of school. The 
 last item was, however, but child's play, and as soon as the 
 instructor saw that the lad could without dilliculty take a 
 first-class, he employed him in aiding to teach others. 
 
 The evening was the only time he had to himself; then, if 
 he chose to take the trouble to dress, he could go out into the 
 town or stroll through the camp or take a walk. If disiu: 
 clined for this there was the cavalry canteen, with a large 
 concert-room attached, where entertainments were given by 
 music-hall singers brought down from London. The trumpeters 
 and bandsmen had a barrack-room to themselves. Edgar, who 
 had a healthy appetite, found the food of a very different 
 description to that to which he had been accustomed. Al- 
 though up at six o'clock in the morning, even in the winter, as 
 it was, there was nothing to eat until eight. Then there was 
 a mug of a weak fluid called tea, and an allowance of bread. 
 The dinner, which was at one, consisted of an amount of meat 
 scarcely sufficient for a growing boy; for although had the allow- 
 ance consisted entirely of flesh, it would have been ample, it 
 was so largely reduced by the amount of bone and fat that the 
 meat was reduced to a minimum. However, when eked out 
 with potatoes and bread it sufficed well enough. 
 
 Tea at six consisted, like breakfast, of a mug of tea and 
 bread. Edgar found, however, that the Spartan breakfasts and 
 teas could be supplemented by additions purchased at the 
 canteen. Here pennyworths of butter, cheese, bacon, an egg, 
 a herring, and many similar luxuries were obtainable, and two- 
 pence of his pay was invariably spent on breakfast, a penny 
 sufficing for the addition to his tea. 
 
 He found that he soon got on well with his comrades. It 
 was like going to a fresh school. There was at first a good 
 deal of rough chaff, but as soon as it was found that he could 
 take this good-temperedly, and that if pushed beyond a fair 
 limit he was not only ready to fight but was able to use his 
 
92 "HE FOUND HIS PAY SUFFICIENT," 
 
 fists with much more science than any of the other trumpeters, 
 he was soon left alone, and indeed became a favourite with the 
 bandsmen. Two months after he joined he was appointed to 
 a troop. He found, however, that he did not have to accom- 
 pany them generally on parade. The regiment, like all others 
 at home, was very short of its complement of horses, and only 
 one trumpeter to each squadron was mounted. Edgar, how- 
 ever, cared little for this. He considered his first two years' 
 work as merely a probation which had to be gone through 
 before he could take his place in the ranks as a trooper. 
 
 He found his pay sufficient for his needs. Although he had 
 in the old days been in the habit of drinking beer, he had made 
 a resolution to abstain from it altogether on joining the regi- 
 ment. He determined to gain his stripes at the earliest pos- 
 sible opportunity, and knew well enough, from what he had 
 heard Captain Clinton say, that drink was the curse of the 
 army, and that men, although naturally sober and steady, were 
 sometimes led into it, and thereby lost all chance of ever rising. 
 He had never smoked, and it was no privation to him to 
 abstain from tobacco, and he had therefore the whole of his 
 pay, after the usual deduction for stoppages, at his disposal 
 for food, and had always a little in his pocket to lend to any 
 comrade who had the bad luck to be put on heavy stoppages 
 by the loss of some of his necessaries. 
 
 In this respect he himself suff'ered somewhat heavily at first. 
 Accustomed at school to leave his things carelessly about with- 
 out the slightest doubt as to their safety, he was astonished 
 and shocked to find that a very much laxer code of morality 
 prevailed in the army, and that any necessaries left about 
 instantly disappeared. The first week after joining he lost 
 nearly half the articles that had been served out to him, and 
 was for some months on heavy stoppages of pay to replace 
 them. The lesson, however, had its effect, and he quickly learnt 
 to keep a sharp look-out over his things. He was soon dis- 
 missed from school, obtainina; his first-class at the examination. 
 
Edgar's pursuits. 93 
 
 which took jilaco two months after he joined, and this gave 
 him time to attend the fencing-school, and to give more time 
 to gymnastics. 
 
 When once accustomed to his work he found his life an 
 easy and pleasant one, and had far more time at his disposal 
 than had been the case at school. He resolutely avoided 
 dwelling on the past, and whenever he found himself thinking 
 of what had so long been home, he took up a book, or Avent 
 out for a walk, or engaged in some occupation that served to 
 distract his thoughts. He missed the games. Football was 
 occasionally played, but there was no observance of rules, and 
 after trying it once or twice he gave it up in disgust. He 
 often joined in a game at fives, and practised running and jump- 
 ing, so as to be able to take part in the regimental sports in 
 the spring. 
 
 When Easter had passed and the weather became bright and 
 pleasant he often took long walks alone, for it was seldom he 
 could find anyone willing to accompany him. He had learnt 
 drawing at Cheltenham, and as he found that it would be use- 
 ful for him when he obtained the rank of a non-commissioned 
 officer to make sketches and maps to send in with reports of 
 any country reconnoitred, he accustomed himself to do this 
 on his walks, jotting down the features of the country, notic- 
 ing the spots where roads came in, the width of the bridges 
 across the canals and the nature of their banks, and taking 
 sketches of what appeared to him positions that would be 
 occupied to check a pursuing force, or to be taken up by an 
 advanced one. 
 
 At this time, too, he joined a class for signalling, and found it 
 highly interesting, and before the end of the summer could 
 send a message or read one with flags or flash-lights. As soon 
 as the summer really began he took to cricket, and here he 
 speedily attracted the attention of the officers. He had been 
 the best bowler in the second eleven, and would have been in 
 the first the next season at Cheltenham. But it was some little 
 
94 "HE PLAYS IN GOOD FORM." 
 
 time before his proficiency as a bowler became known, although 
 it was soon seen that his batting was far above the average. 
 
 " That youngster handles his bat well, Moffat," one of the 
 lieutenants said to the captain, who was the most energetic 
 cricketer among the officers, and who with one or two of the 
 sergeants generally made up the team when the regimental 
 eleven })layed against that of another corps. 
 
 " Yes, he plays in good form, doesn't hel Who is the young 
 fellow at the wicket now, sergeant 1 " 
 
 "He is trumpeter of D troop, sir. He only joined three 
 months ago, but he could play a bit when he came, and got 
 posted to a troop before two others who joined four or five 
 months before him." 
 
 "The man who is bowling now is not up to much, sergeant. 
 Suppose you take the ball for an over or two; I should like 
 to see how that young fellow would stand up to your bowling." 
 
 The sergeant, who was one of the regimental bowlers, took 
 the ball. Edgar, who had been driving the previous bowler 
 in all directions, at once played carefully, and for an over or 
 two contented himself with blocking the balls, then one came 
 a little wide and he cut it to leg for four. 
 
 Captain Moffat took off his coat and waistcoat and took the 
 end facing the sergeant, and began to bowl some slow twisting 
 balls, that were in strong contrast to the fast delivery of the 
 sergeant. Edgar felt now that he was being tried, and played 
 very cautiously. There were no runs to be made off such bowl- 
 ing until the bowler became careless or tired. At last a ball 
 came rather farther than usual. Edgar stepped out to meet it, 
 and drove it nearly straight forward and scored four, and it 
 was not until his score ran up to thirty that he was at last 
 caught. 
 
 "You will do, Smith," Captain Moffat said approvingly. 
 " Where did you learn to play cricket 1 " 
 
 " I learned at school, sir." 
 
 "Ah! well, they taught you that well if they taught you 
 
A BOWI,KR SHORT. 95 
 
 nothing else. You go on practising, and I will give you a 
 chance to play for the regiment the first time that there is a 
 vacancy." 
 
 Two or three matches were played before the chance came. 
 Then Sergeant Stokes, the bowler, hurt his hand the day 
 before they were going to play the Eifle Brigade, which was 
 considered the strongest team in camp. 
 
 " This is an unlucky business, sergeant," Captain Moffat 
 said to him as they were talking over next day's play. " I 
 thought if we had luck we might make a good fight with the 
 EiHes. Bowling is never our strongest point, and now you are 
 out of it we shall make a very poor show. Are there any of 
 the men outside the eleven who show any bowling talent ? " 
 
 The sergeant shook his head, 
 
 " Not one of them, sir. I hoped Corporal Holland would 
 have made a bowler, but he seems to have gone off rather than 
 come on. No; we must trust to the bowlers we have got. 
 There are four or five of them who are not bad, though except 
 yourself, sir, there is nothing, so to speak, to depend on." 
 
 "You cannot depend on me, sergeant; there is no certainty 
 about my bowling. Sometimes I do pretty fairly, at other times 
 I get hit all over the field. No; my proper place is wicket- 
 keeping. I should never leave that if we had two or three 
 bowlers we could depend upon. Well, we must go in for run 
 making. 
 
 "I do not think that we can do better than put on that 
 young trumpeter till you can play again. I have watched him 
 several times at practice, and he always keeps his wickets up 
 well, and hits freely whenever he gets a chance." 
 
 " Very well, sir. I will warn him that he will be wanted 
 to-morrow. There can be no harm in trying him for once any- 
 how." 
 
 There was some little surprise among the men who played 
 cricket at hearing that Trumpeter Smith was to play in the 
 eleven against the Eifles, and some little s;rumblin2; amonc; 
 
96 "DO YOU BOWL AT ALL]" 
 
 those who had hoped to be the next choice. However, all 
 agreed that he was a very likely youngster. The Hussars won 
 the toss, and went in first. The bowling of the Rifles was 
 deadly, and the ten wickets fell for fifty-two runs. Edgar was 
 the last to go in, and did not receive a single ball, his partner 
 succumbing to the very first ball bowled after Edgar had gone 
 out to the wicket. Then the Eifles went in, and the loss of 
 the Hussars' fast bowler soon made itself felt. Two of the 
 best bats of the Eifles were at the wicket, and in spite of sev- 
 eral changes of bowling, seventy-four runs were scored without 
 a separation being made. Captain Mofl'at looked round the 
 field desj^airingly. He had tried all the men on whom he had 
 any dependence. His own bowling had been very severely pun- 
 ished, and he had retired when thirty runs had been scored 
 and was reluctant to take the ball again. As he was standing 
 undecided after an over in which twelve runs had been scored, 
 his eye fell on Edgar as he ran lightly across to take up his 
 place on the opposite side. 
 
 "Smith! " Edgar ran up to him. "Do you bowl at alH " 
 
 " I have not bowled this season, sir, but I used to bowl 
 pretty fairly." 
 
 " Very well, then, take the ball at this end after the next 
 over. I am going to try Smith at this end," he said to the 
 young lieutenant who was long- stop. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. " Well, there is one thing, he 
 cannot make a worse mess of it than we are making already." 
 
 When the over was concluded, Edgar took the ball. The 
 year that had elapsed since he had last played, and the gym- 
 nastics and hard exercise, had strengthened his muscles greatly, 
 and as he tossed the ball from hand to hand while the field 
 took their places he felt that he was more master of it than he 
 had been before. He had then been a remarkably fast bowler 
 for his age, and would have been in the eleven had it not hap- 
 pened that it already possessed three unusually good bowlers. 
 
 The first ball he sent up was a comparatively slow one ; he 
 
THE MATCH SAVED. 97 
 
 ^\•antcd to try his hand. It was dead on the wicket, and was 
 Mocked; then he drew his breath, and sent the next ball in 
 with all his force. A shont rose from the Hussars as two of 
 the wickets went flying into the air. Another player came 
 out, but at the fourth ball of the over his middle stump was 
 levelled. 
 
 ''^\'ilat do you think of that, Langley?" Captain Moffat 
 asked tiie long-stop as they walked together to the other end. 
 "We have found a treasure. He bowls about as fast as any 
 one I have ever seen, and every ball is dead on the wicket." 
 
 " He is first-class," the lieutenant, who was an old Etonian, 
 said. "I wonder where he learnt to play cricket"?" 
 
 The wickets fell fast, and the innings concluded for 98, Edgar 
 taking seven wickets for twelve runs. Captain Moffat put him 
 in third in the second innings, and he scored twenty-four 
 before he was caught out, the total score of the innings amount- 
 ing to 126. The Eifles had therefore eighty-one runs to get to 
 win. They only succeeded in making seventy-six, eight of 
 them being either bowled out by Edgar or caught off' his bowl- 
 ing. After this he took his place regularly in the Hussar team, 
 and it was generally acknowledged that it was owing to his 
 bowling that the regiment that season stood at the head of the 
 Aldershot teams. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 NATURALLY his prowess at cricket made Trumpeter Smith 
 a popular figure in the regiment, and even at the officers' 
 mess his name was frequently mentioned, and many guesses 
 were ventured as to who he was and what school he came 
 from. 
 
 That he was a gentleman by birth nobody doubted. There 
 
98 GENTLEMEN IN THE RANKS. 
 
 was nothing unusual in that, for all the cavalry regiments con- 
 tain a considerable number of gentlemen in their ranks; men 
 of this class generally enlisting in the cavalry in preference to 
 the other arms of the service. It was, however, unusual for 
 one to enlist at Edgar's age. Many young men, after having 
 failed to gain a commission by competition, enlist in hopes of 
 working up to one through the ranks. Another class are the 
 men who having got into scrapes of one kind or another, run 
 through their money, and tired out their friends, finally enlist 
 as the only thing open to them. 
 
 The first class are among the steadiest men in the regiment, 
 and speedily work their way up among the non-commissioned 
 ofiicers. The second class are, on the other hand, among the 
 wildest and least reputable men in the ranks. They are good 
 men in a campaign where pluck and endurance and high spirits 
 are most valuable, but among the worst and most troublesome 
 when there is little to do and time hangs heavily on hand. 
 
 There were two of the sergeants who had failed in the ex- 
 amination for commissions, and were hoping some day to obtain 
 them. One had been five years in the regiment, the other 
 three. Their attention had first been called to Edgar by his 
 getting a first-class in the examination, which at once stamped 
 him as having had an education greatly superior to that of 
 the majority of recruits. His position in the regimental 
 cricket team further attracted their attention, and they took 
 an opportunity to speak to him when it happened they were 
 walking together and met Edgar returning from an afternoon's 
 ramble across the country. 
 
 "Well, Smith, how do you like soldiering 1 " 
 
 " I like it very well; I don't think that there is anything to 
 complain of at all." 
 
 " It is better than grinding away at Latin and Greek and 
 mathematics, and that sort of thing," the younger of the two 
 sergeants said with a smile. 
 
 " There are advantages both ways, sergeant." 
 
GOOD ADVICE. 99 
 
 " So there are, lad. Of tlic two I like drill better than grind- 
 ing at books, worse luck; if I had been fond of books I should 
 not bo wearing these stripes. I asked the band-master if you 
 were learning an instrument. He said you were not. So I 
 suppose you mean to give up your trumpet and join the ranks 
 as soon as you get to eighteen f 
 
 " Yes. I should not care about being in the band." 
 
 " Your cricket is not a bad thing for you," the elder of the 
 two men said. "It brings you into notice, and will help you to 
 get your stripes earlier than you otherwise would do; as a man 
 who does his regiment credit either as a good shot or as a 
 cricketer or in the sports is sure to attract notice, and to be 
 pushed on if he is steady and a smart soldier. If you won't 
 mind my giving you a bit of advice, I should say don't try to 
 push yourself forward. Sometimes young fellows spoil their 
 chances by doing so. Some of the old non-commissioned 
 officers feel a bit jealous when they see a youngster likely to 
 make his way up, and you know they can make it very hot 
 for a fellow if they like. So be careful not to give them a 
 chance. Even if you are blown up when you do not deserve 
 it, it is better to hold your tongue than to kick against it. 
 Cheeking a non-commissioned ofiicer never pays." 
 
 "Thank you, sergeant," Edgar said quietly; "I am much 
 obliged to you for your advice." 
 
 "An uncommonly good style of young fello^T-," Sergeant 
 Netherton, who was the son of a colonel in the army, and had 
 been educated at Harrow, said to his companion. "Comes from 
 a good school, I should say. Must have got into some baddish 
 scrape, or he never would be here at his age." 
 
 " It does not quite follow," the other replied. " His father 
 may have died or burst up somehow, and seeing nothing 
 before him but a place at a clerk's desk or enlisting he may 
 have taken this alternative; and not a bad choice either. For, 
 putting aside altogether the chance of getting a commission, 
 which is a pretty slight one, there is no pleasanter life for a 
 
100 NOT A BAD CAREER. 
 
 steady, well-conducted young fellow who has had a fair 
 education than the army. He is sure of getting his stripes 
 in a couple of years after enlisting. A non-commissioned 
 officer has enough pay to live comfortably; he has no care or 
 anxiety of any sort; he has more time to himself than a man 
 in any other sort of business. There are no end of staff 
 appointments open to him if he writes a good hand, and does 
 not mind clerk work. If he goes in for long service he has 
 every chance of being regimental sergeant-major before he has 
 done, and can leave the service with a pension sufficient to 
 keep him in a quiet way." 
 
 " Yes, that is all very well, Summers, but he cannot marry. 
 That is to say, if he has, as we are supposing, been born and 
 educated as a gentleman, he cannot marry the sort of woman 
 he would like as a wife." 
 
 " No, there is that drawback," the other laughed. " But then, 
 you see, if he had been obliged to take a small clerkship lead- 
 ing to nothing, he could hardly invite a young countess to 
 share it with him." 
 
 As Edgar walked back to barracks he thought over the 
 advice that had been given him, and recognized its value. He 
 knew that the chances of his ever obtaining a commission 
 were exceedingly small, and that even young men whose 
 fathers were officers of high standing and considerable influence 
 seldom obtain a commission under six or seven years' service, 
 and that the majority of commissions from the ranks are 
 given to old non-commissioned officers who were made quarter- 
 masters or pay-masters. He had not entered the service, as 
 had the two non-commissioned officers with whom he had been 
 speaking, for the express purpose of gaining a commission, but 
 simply because he had always had a fancy for soldiering, and 
 because it seemed at the time he left Cheltenham the only 
 thing open to him. 
 
 He had resolved from the first that he would regularly put 
 by a portion of his pay, so that he could at any time purchase 
 
Edgar's tlans. 101 
 
 his discharge if lie wished to, should ho see .any opening in 
 which he could embark by the time ho reached the age of 
 throe or four and twenty. He would have gained experience, 
 and might then, if ho liked, emigrate to one of the colonies. 
 He resolved that when Avinter came he would go into one of 
 the regimental workshops and learn a trade, either saddlery 
 or farrier}', which would enable him to earn his living for a 
 time abroad until he saw something bettor to do. At school 
 Edgar had held his place rather by steady work than by 
 natural talent. Rupert was the more clever of the two, but 
 Edgar's dogged perseverance had placed him in a more ad- 
 vanced position on the modern side than Paipert held on the 
 classical, and in whatever position he might find himself his 
 perseverance, power of work, and strong common sense were 
 likely to carry him through, 
 
 Edgar was conscious himself that he had acted hastily and 
 wrongly in leaving Cheltenham as he had done, and yet he 
 felt that if again placed in the same circumstances he should 
 do the same. Captain Clinton had certainly a right to have a 
 voice in his future, and yet he felt so keenly the dishonour of 
 the fraud in which he had been an unconscious accomplice, 
 that he could not have brought himself to accept any assistance 
 at Captain Clinton's hands. Still he knew that those at home 
 — for he still thought of it as home — would be feeling much 
 anxiety about him, and once a month he Avrote a short letter 
 to Captain Clinton saying that he was well and was keeping 
 himself comfortably. These letters he gave in charge of com- 
 rades going up for a day's leave to London to post there for 
 him. 
 
 One day Edgar had gone with a dozen others to bathe in 
 the canaL After doing so they had returned to barracks, and 
 he had gone for a walk by himself. On his return he was 
 walking along a lane at a distance of about a mile from the 
 town, when he heard a scream. He at once started off at the 
 top of his speed, and at a turn of the lane he came upon a 
 
102 A RESCUE. 
 
 group of two tramps and two frightened ladies. One of these 
 was in the act of handing over her purse to a tramp, while the 
 second man was holding the other by the wrist, and was en- 
 deavouring to tear off her watch and chain, which she was 
 struggling to retain. Just as Edgar turned the corner he 
 struck her on the face, and she fell backward on to the bank. 
 
 Another moment and Edgar was up to them. The tramp 
 turned with a savage oath. Edgar, who was carrying his 
 riding-whip, struck him with it with all his strength across the 
 eyes, and the man staggered back with a shriek of pain. The 
 other stood on the defensive, but he was no match for Edgar, 
 who was in hard exercise, and in regular practice with the 
 gloves, and Avhose blood was thoroughly up. The fight lasted 
 but a minute, at the end of which time the tramp was lying in 
 the road roaring for mercy, and shouting to his comrade to 
 come to his assistance. 
 
 The latter, however, was stamping with pain, and was still 
 unable to use his eyes. 
 
 Edgar turned to the ladies. "If you will kindly walk on 
 to the town," he said, " and send the first man you meet here 
 to me, I will take care of these two fellows until he arrives, 
 and then we will hand them over to the police. Do not be 
 alarmed," he went on, seeing that they hesitated, "I think they 
 have had enough of it." 
 
 The ladies hurried off, and before going many hundred 
 yards came upon three infantry men, who, when they heard 
 what had happened, set off at a run to Edgar's assistance. 
 They arrived just in time. The man on the ground had 
 recovered his feet, and he and his companion had attacked 
 Edgar with fury, and it needed all the latter's skill and 
 activity to defend himself. As soon as the soldiers arrived 
 upon the scene the combat ceased. As a measure of pre- 
 caution the tramps were first knocked down; they were then 
 dragged on to their feet and conducted by their captors into 
 Aldershot, where they were lodged at the police station. They 
 
EDGAR STRUCK HIM WITH ALL HIS STRENGTH. 
 
MAKING A FRIEND. 103 
 
 were followed by the two ladies, who after sending on the 
 soldiers had waited until their return with the tramps. They 
 waited outside the police station until a constable came out and 
 asked them to sign the charge sheet, which they did. Edgar 
 now looked at them fairly for the first time, and recognized one 
 of them as being the wife of the major of his corps. 
 
 " You belong to my husband's regiment," she said as they 
 came out from the police station. " What is your name'?" 
 
 "Smith, madam. I am a trumpeter in D troop." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! I remember your face now. I have often seen you 
 in the cricket field. Miss Pearson and myself are greatly in- 
 debted to you. I should not mind so much being robbed of 
 my purse, but I prize my watch very highly as it was a present 
 from my father. Major Horsley will see you and thank you 
 when he hears what you have done." 
 
 "I do not want any thanks," Edgar said] "it is a pleasure 
 to punish such ruffians." 
 
 Half an hour later Major Horsley came across to Edgar's 
 quarters, and the sergeant called the lad down. 
 
 "I am greatly indebted to you. Smith," he said, as Edgar 
 saluted, "greatly indebted to you. You have behaved most 
 gallantly, and have saved my wife from the loss of her watch 
 and chain that she greatly valued, and perhaps from serious ill- 
 treatment from those ruffians; as it was, one of them struck her 
 a very severe blow on the face. I know enough of you, lad, to 
 feel that I cannot offer you money for the service that you have 
 rendered me; but be assured that I shall not forget it, and that 
 when it is in my power to do you a good turn I will do so." 
 
 "Thank you, sir," Edgar said. "I am very glad to have 
 been of service." 
 
 The major nodded kindly. Edgar saluted and turned away, 
 well pleased at having made a friend who would have it in his 
 power to be so useful to him, and still more pleased that the 
 major had not offered him money as a reward for what he had 
 done. An hour later he was sent for to the orderly-room, 
 
104 CORPORAL NORTH. 
 
 where the colonel in the presence of several of the officers 
 thanked him for his gallant conduct. 
 
 "You are a credit to the regiment, Smith; and you may be 
 sure that I shall keep my eye on you," he concluded. 
 
 The next day the tramps were brought up before the local 
 magistrates and committed for trial for highway robbery with 
 violence, and a month later they were brought up at the assizes 
 at AVinchester and sentenced to five years' penal servitude. 
 Edgar gained a great deal of credit in the regiment from the 
 affair, and came to be known by the nickname of "The Ban- 
 tam." There were, of course, some men who were jealous 
 of the young trumpeter's popularity, and two or three of the 
 non-commissioned officers especially felt aggrieved at the notice 
 taken of him. One of these was the corporal in charge of the 
 barrack-room occupied by Edgar, for he had, since he had been 
 regularly appointed to a troop, left the quarters he first occupied 
 with the band for those allotted to troop D. 
 
 Corporals, however, have but little power in a barrack-room. 
 They are in a sort of transitional state between a private and 
 a sergeant, and are liable for even a comparatively small fault 
 to be sent down again into the ranks. This being the case, 
 they seldom venture to make themselves obnoxious to the men 
 who were but lately their comrades, and may be their comrades 
 again before a week is out. Corporal North, however, lost no 
 opportunity of making himself disagreeable in a small way to 
 Edgar. More than that he could not venture upon, for the men 
 would at once have taken the lad's part. 
 
 The regiment had been for some little time first on the list 
 for foreign service, and there was no surprise when the news 
 ran round the barrack-rooms that the order had come to pre- 
 pare for embarkation. It was supposed that as a matter of 
 course India would be their destination; but it was soon known 
 that the regiment was for the present to be stationed in Egypt. 
 Most of the men would rather have gone direct to India, where 
 soldiers are better off and better cared for than elsewhere. 
 
A PROSPECT OF ACTIVE SERVICE. 105 
 
 Edgar, however, was pleased at the thought of seeing some- 
 thing of Egj-pt, and it seemed to him, too, that there was a 
 chance of active service there. 
 
 " It seems to me," ho said, talking it over with several of his 
 chums, " that sooner or later we must have some fighting in 
 Egypt. I cannot understand how it is that some of the regi- 
 ments there have not long ago been sent down to Suakim. We 
 have smashed up the Egyptian army, and it seems to me that as 
 we are really masters of the place Ave are bound to protect the 
 natives from these savage tribes who are attacking them down 
 on the Red Sea and up in the Soudan. The Egyptians always 
 managed them well enough until we disbanded their army. If 
 Hicks Pasha had had, as he asked for, an English regiment or 
 two with him, he would never have been smashed up by the 
 Mahdi's people; and it seems to me awful that the garrisons 
 of Sinkat and Tokar should be deserted when we have a lot of 
 troops lying idle at Cairo, while Baker is trying in vain to get 
 up a native force to march to their relief. I wish, instead of 
 going to Egypt, we were going straight down to Suakim to help 
 him. There is one thing, if Baker fails and Sinkat and Tokar 
 fall into the hands of the natives, there will be such indignation 
 that government will have to do something. So I think there 
 is a very good chance of our seeing some active service there, 
 which will 1)e a thousand times better than sweltering in hot 
 barracks in Cairo," 
 
 "Eight you are, Smith," one of the others said. "I don't 
 go in for reading the papers, and I don't know anything about 
 the chaps in Egypt; but if there is going to be a row, I say let 
 us have our share in it. We are pretty well up in the pur- 
 suing drill; it would be a change to do it with somebody to 
 pursue. Anyhow, wherever it is it will be a good job to get out 
 of Aldershot, witu its parades and its drills and its Long Vallej^, 
 and the whole blooming lot of it." 
 
 Three clays later the order came, and the regiment proceeded 
 by rail to Southampton; they embarked as soon as they arrived 
 
106 BAD NEWS. 
 
 there, and the transport started on the following morning. The 
 weather was fine, and the voyage a pleasant one. They had 
 but little to do, for they had left their horses behind them, 
 as they were to take over the horses of the regiment they 
 were going to relieve. The steamer was a fast one, and in 
 twelve days after sailing they reached Alexandria. They were 
 met when they arrived there by terrible neAvs. General Baker's 
 force had marched to the relief of Tokar, but on the way had 
 been attacked by the natives and utterly defeated, half the 
 force being killed; and the whole would have been annihilated 
 had they not reached the sea- shore, where the guns of the 
 vessels which had brought them down from Suakim checked 
 the pursuit of the enemy. Sinkat had fallen. 
 
 The news had arrived only on the previous day, and the 
 greatest excitement prevailed. The regiment at once proceeded 
 to Cairo by train and took over the barracks and horses from 
 the small detachment that had been left in charge of them, the 
 main body of the regiment having crossed them on their journey 
 from Alexandria, as they were to proceed to India in the same 
 steamer that had brought out the Hussars. They were scarcely 
 settled in their quarters before they heard that, now that it was 
 too late, an expedition was to be sent down to Suakim. Two 
 English regiments would have saved Baker's force from de- 
 struction, and would have rescued the garrisons of Sinkat and 
 Tokar; now a large force would have to be employed. Some 
 time would, of course, be needed for the organization of the 
 expedition, and in the meantime the Hussars had plenty of 
 opportunity for investigating Cairo. 
 
 To Edgar the town was delightful, with its bazaar and its 
 varied population, and he and some of his comrades were never 
 tired of wandering about examining the shops with their curious 
 contents, their bright-coloured scarves, their wonderful pipes, 
 their gaudy brasswork, and their oriental stuffs and carpets. But 
 the population were even more amusing, with the mixture of 
 Egyptians, Arabs, and Negroes clad in every variety of garb : 
 
A CHALLENGE. 107 
 
 from the Egyptian functionary in his neat blue uniform and 
 fez, and the portly merchant in his oriental rohes, to the Arabs 
 nuillled uj) in cotton cloths with turban and bcrnous, the lightly- 
 chul Fellah, and the women shrouded in dark blue cottons with 
 their faces almost entirely hidden by the yashmack. It needed 
 sonre dexterity to avoid the strings of loaded camels that made 
 their way through the narrow streets, the porters carrying 
 heavy weights hanging from the centre of a thick bamboo pole 
 resting on the shoulders of two or four men, and the diminutive 
 donkeys with their high saddles, on the top of which were 
 l)erched men who looked far more capable of carrying the don- 
 keys than the donkeys of supporting their weight. 
 
 The men soon discovered that spirits were cheap in Cairo, 
 and the result was a considerable addition to the number 
 brought up at the oi-derly-room for drunkenness. Among these, 
 to Edgar's satisfaction, was Corporal North, who was at once 
 sent back to the ranks and sentenced to a week in the cells. 
 On the day he came out Edgar went up to him. 
 
 " Now look here. North. You have made it pretty hot for 
 me while you were corporal. If I had given you any cause for 
 it I should bear no malice, but it has been simply persecution. 
 As long as you were corporal I had to grin and bear it, but now 
 that you are in the ranks we can settle matters; so I challenge 
 you to meet me in the riding-school after we are dismissed from 
 parade to-day." 
 
 "That will suit me exactly," North said. " You want a lick- 
 ing badly, young fellow, and now you will get it." 
 
 " Well, if I Avere you I would say nothing about it until it is 
 over," Edgar replied; "for, you see, it is quite possible that it 
 may be the other way." 
 
 As several of the men had heard the conversation there was 
 a considerable gathering in the riding-school after they were 
 dismissed from parade. The sympathies of the men were 
 strongly with Edgar; but most of them thought that he was 
 hardly a match for North, who had fought several times before 
 
108 A FIGHT. 
 
 he had got his stripes, and was a well-built young fellow of 
 two-and-twenty. 
 
 The fight lasted upwards of an hour. North had some know- 
 ledge of boxing, but in this respect Edgar was his superior. 
 He was far stronger and longer in the reach, while Edgar was 
 the more active. _ In the early part of the fight the advantage 
 lay all with the soldier, and Edgar was terrilily knocked about, 
 so much so that the general opinion was that he had better give 
 in and say that he had had enough; but Edgar laughed at the 
 suggestion, 
 
 " We have only begun yet," he said to the man who was 
 acting as his second; "last tells in the long run. I have seen 
 that before now, and I have double the last he has." 
 
 This was the fact. Edgar had been constantly at hard work 
 since he joined the regiment, while North had had a compara- 
 tively easy time of it since he became a corporal. He had, too, 
 spent no small portion of his pay in drink, and although he 
 was seldom absolutely drunk, had had more than one narrow 
 escape of his condition being observed on his return to barracks 
 in the evening. As the fight went on, then, want of condition 
 told upon him. Edgar, who had at one time seemed weak, 
 gradually recovered his strength, while North became exhausted 
 by the exertions he had made in the early part of the fight. 
 
 Edgar now took the off"ensive, and at the end of an hour and 
 a cjuarter's fighting North was no longer able to come up to 
 time, and a loud shout from the lookers-on proclaimed that 
 Edgar was the victor. He went across to North and held out 
 his hand. 
 
 "Let us shake hands. North," he said; "it has been a good 
 tough fight. I owe you no malice now, and if you get your 
 strijDes again, as I daresay you will, I hope it will be a lesson 
 to you not to drop unfairly upon anyone you may take a dislike 
 to." 
 
 North took the hand held out to him. 
 
 "You have licked me fairly, Smith," he said. "I did not 
 
"HE IS BEYOND YOUR SKILL." 109 
 
 tliink you had it in you; but I don't tliink you would have 
 thrasliod ino if I had been in as good a condition as you are." 
 
 "Very likely not," Edgar laughed. "Well, next time we 
 fight I hope it will be against the Arabs, and not against each 
 other." 
 
 This fight greatly added to Edgar's reputation in the regi- 
 ment. North was not a popular character and had always 
 been considered a bully, and the pluck with which Edgar had 
 continued the fight was thoroughly appreciated. Neither of 
 the combatants were able to take their place in the ranks for 
 some days after the fight, being obliged to obtain an order 
 from the surgeon dispensing them from appearing on parade, 
 thougli they still did stable duty and inner guards. Through 
 the surgeon the matter came to the ears of the officers, who, by 
 quiet inquiry from the sergeants, learnt the particulars of the 
 fight. 
 
 " Your friend Trumpeter Smith is reported as unfit for duty, 
 my dear," Major Horsley said to his wife. 
 
 " Is he ! I am sorry for that," the lady said, " Is there 
 anything we can do for him in the way of sending him some 
 soup, or anything of that sort^ He is not seriously ill, I 
 hope'?" 
 
 " I am afraid he is beyond your skill, Emma," Major Horsley 
 said; and then, seeing that his wife looked seriously grieved, 
 went on, "don't be alarmed, he has only been fighting again." 
 
 "Oh! is that alii I was afraid it was fever, or something of 
 that sort. Who has he been fighting with? He doesn't look 
 quarrelsome at all." 
 
 " He has been fighting with a man named North, who was a 
 corporal in his troop, and who, as I hear, has been persecuting 
 him a good deal. The fellow got drunk the other day and 
 was reduced to the ranks, and young Smith lost no time in 
 challenging him to fight. I hear most of the men thought he 
 was a fool for doing so, for North is five years older than he 
 is, and a stiflf-built young fellow too. I hear that it was a very 
 
110 "FAVOURITES ARE NOT OFTEN POPULAR." 
 
 hard fight, and lasted nearly an hour and a half. After the 
 first half-hour it seemed to every one that Smith would have 
 to give in, for the other man had all the best of it, knocking 
 him down every round; but he stuck to it, and at last North 
 was so beaten he could not come up to time. The sergeant 
 says both of them are terribly knocked about, Smith worst. 
 He can hardly see out of his eyes, and it will be fully a week 
 before either of them can take their places in the ranks. I 
 hear it was the longest fight that there has been in the regi- 
 ment for years, and the sergeant-major tells me the men are 
 quite enthusiastic over the pluck with which the young one 
 fought. You see, he is not seventeen yet, and for a lad of that 
 age to stand up against a man — and one too who, as I hear, is 
 accustomed to use his fists — is a feather in his cap. It will do 
 him good in the regiment. I have no doubt some of the men 
 are rather jealous of the position he gained from his play at 
 cricket, and from that affair of yours." 
 
 " It was very mean of them, then," Mrs. Horsley said 
 warmly. 
 
 " Perhaps so, my dear; but favourites are not often popular. 
 Anyhow, this will do him good, and will give him a better 
 standing in the regiment than even his cricket could do; and, 
 at anyrate, those who don't like him are likely after this to 
 keep their opinion to themselves." 
 
 " I wish we could do something for him, Eobert. You see, 
 we have never done anything yet." 
 
 " I shall have a chance of giving him a helping hand some 
 day," the major replied, "and you may be sure that when the 
 opportunity comes I shall do what I can. I have not forgotten 
 what I owe him, I can tell you." 
 
 The opportunity came sooner than the major had expected. 
 In a short time it became known that four squadrons of the 
 10th Hussars and one squadron of the 1st were to accompany 
 the expedition, and the greatest excitement prevailed in the 
 corps as to which troops should be chosen. Two days later 
 
A GOOD TURN. Ill 
 
 Edgar was dcliglitcd to hear that tho A and D troops had been 
 named for the service. 
 
 "Wh}' have they chosen tlic D troop, Ivohert?" Mrs. IJorslcy 
 asked hor husband. 
 
 "Partly, my dear, because Atkinson is the senior captain." 
 
 "Oh, yes! I forgot that. And what is the other reason?" 
 
 " Well, Emma, that reason is known only to myself, but I 
 do not mind your knowing it; but you must not whi.spcr it to 
 anyone." 
 
 "^Yhat is it?" his wife asked curiously. 
 
 " Because, my dear, Trumpeter Smith belongs to that troop, 
 and I thought I would give him the chance of distinguishing 
 himself. Some day, when it comes to a cjuestion of promotion, 
 it will count in his favour that he has seen active service." 
 
 " Oh, I am glad, Robert! It was very good of you to think 
 of it. I Avish that he could know that you thought of him." 
 
 " That he certainly cannot know," the major said decidedly, 
 "It would be a nice thing for it to be known by anyone that 
 the arrangements as to which troop should go on service had 
 been influenced by my desire to do a good turn to a trumpeter. 
 The other reason is a good and sufficient one. Atkinson, as 
 senior captain, has almost a right to the first chance that ofl'ers. 
 He is pretty sure to get brevet rank if there is any hard fight- 
 ing." 
 
 At this moment there was a knock at the door and an 
 orderly entered, and saluting handed a note to Major Horsley. 
 He glanced through it, and an expression of pleasure crossed 
 his face. 
 
 " My compliments to the colonel. I will come across and 
 see him at once." 
 
 "What is it, Robert?" his wife asked as the door closed be- 
 hind the soldier. 
 
 " Well, my dear, it is news that I own gives me great 
 pleasure, but which I am afraid you won't like." 
 
 "Not that you are to go with the detachment, Robert?" 
 
112 ORDERED ON SERVICE. 
 
 "Yes, Emma, that is it;" and he handed her the note. 
 
 "My dear Horsley, I have just received orders from the 
 general that a field-officer is to go in command of the squadron. 
 As senior major, you have, of course, the right to the chance, 
 I congratulate you." 
 
 Mrs. Horsley turned a little pale as she read it, and her lip 
 quivered as she said, " Well, Robert, no doubt you are glad of 
 the opportunity, and as a soldier's wife I will not say anything 
 to damp your pleasure. It is natural that you should wish to 
 go. If I were a man I should wish so too. Anyhow, it will 
 only last a very short time. You said you thought that they 
 would be back again in a month, and surely there can be no 
 very great danger in a fight with these savages." 
 
 " The smallest amount in the world, Emma. It is not like 
 Baker's force, which was composed of these cowardly Egyptians; 
 and it is ridiculous to suppose that these wild tribesmen, brave 
 as they may be, can stand against British troops armed with 
 breech-loaders. I am afraid that all our share of the business 
 will be to do a little scouting before the fight begins, and a 
 little pursuing practice afterwards, so there will be really no 
 occasion whatever for you to be at all uneasy, child; and I 
 must own that I am extremely glad of the opportunity of 
 taking part in this little expedition against these fanatics. 
 Well, I must go across and see the colonel." 
 
 Mrs. Horsley indulged in a quiet cry while he was away, for 
 although she did not apprehend any real danger, the thought 
 that her husband was going to run some risk of his life for the 
 first time since she married him was a trial. However, she 
 looked bright and cheerful when he returned, and at once set 
 to work to pack up the kit required for the expedition. 
 
 The next morning the detachment of the 1st Hussars, 
 eighty strong, marched down to the station with one hun- 
 dred men of the 10th Hussars. They took train for Suez. 
 Here they found another two hundred and twenty-eight men 
 of the 10th who had come on bv an earlier train, and the work 
 
DOWN THE RED SEA. 113 
 
 of omlmrlcing tlic horses on board the steamer that Mas to 
 take tliem down to Suakim at once began. It was continued 
 until nightfall and recommenced again at daybreak, for the 
 oiteration of getting horses on board a ship and slinging tliem 
 down into the hold is necessarily a slow one; but by mid-day 
 all was concluded, the baggage on board, and the troops in 
 readiness for a start. 
 
 It was just sunset when the vessel steamed away from the 
 wharf, the troops on board joining in a hearty cheer as she 
 started. The ship was far more crowded than would have 
 been the case had she been starting for a long voyage; but 
 the run down to Suakim was so short that she was packed as 
 full as she could hold, having in addition to the troops a num- 
 l)er of mules for the transport. Every one was in high spirits. 
 The change was a most welcome one after the monotony of 
 barrack life in Egypt, and moreover all were burning to avenge 
 the destruction of Baker's force and the massacre of the brave 
 little garrison of Sinkat. 
 
 The voyage was a pleasant one. After passing out of the 
 Gulf of Suez, with the lofty and rugged mountain of Sinai 
 with its red rocks and patches of verdure rising almost from 
 the water's edge, they entirely lost sight of land on the left. 
 On the right, however, ran a range of steep hills, which became 
 bolder and loftier as they made their way south. When night 
 again fell the engines were slowed down, for it was not deemed 
 advisable to arrive off Suakim before daylight, as the coast of 
 the neighbourhood abounded with reefs, and the entrance to 
 the harbour was intricate and difficult. As soon as day broke 
 the engines were again put at full speed, and in an hour the 
 masts of the shipping lying in the port could be made out. 
 As they neared the port a sma'l launch was seen coming out. 
 An officer soon came on board. 
 
 " You are to go down the coast to Trinkitat," he said to the 
 captain. "The transports have gone down there ^ that is to 
 be the base of operations." 
 
 (650) H 
 
114 "TOKAR HAS FALLEN." 
 
 The officers clustered round the new-comer to learn the 
 news. 
 
 "You have been more lucky than the 19th," he said. "The 
 Neva ran ashore on a shoal eighteen or nineteen miles away 
 and has become a total wreck. Several steamers went out at 
 once to help her, and got out the men and horses. A good deal 
 of the baggage was lost, and fifty transport mules, which there 
 was no time to take out before she went to pieces. It was a 
 very close thing, and it was very lucky that aid came two or 
 three hours after she struck. There has been trouble with the 
 black regiments. The scoundrels mutinied as soon as they got 
 on shore, and announced their intention of joining the rebels; 
 so the marines have been kept here for the defence of the place, 
 instead of going with the expedition. I am sorry to say that 
 Tokar has fallen." 
 
 A groan broke from his hearers. 
 
 "It is a bad business," he went on; "but happily there has 
 been no repetition of the Sinkat massacre. We heard the news 
 yesterday morning. It was brought by five soldiers who made 
 their way down the coast. They reported that the civil gover- 
 nor of the town had entered into negotiations with the enemy, 
 and had agreed to surrender on the promise that the lives of the 
 garrison should be spared. In the afternoon two of our spies 
 came back and confirmed the intelligence. It seems that they 
 could have held out some time longer, and that the governor 
 has behaved like a traitor. They were annoyed by a distant fire 
 from six Krupp guns taken at the defeat of Baker's force, and 
 worked by some black artillerymen captured at the same time. 
 The fire did no material harm, but it seems to have frightened 
 what little courage was left among the officials, and the gover- 
 nor and a hundred and fifty of the townsmen went out and 
 arranged the surrender, although they knew perfectly well that 
 in a very few days help would arrive. There is one thing, the 
 surrender will enable General Graham to choose his own time, 
 and to wait until all the troops are up, instead of pushing 
 
TRINKTTAT. 115 
 
 forward, as he niiglit otliorwiso liavc done, directly he thought 
 he had men enough, to save Tokar." 
 
 In another five minutes the officer had taken liis pLace in tlie 
 launch and was steaming back into Suakim, and the transport 
 was making her way south. By noon she was anchored oft' the 
 landing-place, a low beach with a fiat country extending behind 
 it. The shore was alive with troops, and numbers of boats 
 Avere plying backwards and forwards. The work of disembark- 
 ing the horses began immediately, and the greater part of them 
 were on shore before night. There they found the Black 
 Watch, Gordon Highlanders, Irish Fusiliers, 19th Hussars, and 
 the Mounted Infantrj', a corps of one hundred and twenty-six 
 strong. 
 
 Edgar greatly enjoyed the bustle and excitement, and the 
 troops were all in the highest spirits. The first comers were 
 eagerly cpiestioned. They said that during the day the 19th 
 and Mounted Infantry had made a reconnaissance across a 
 lagoon which lay between the beach and the country behind. 
 The enemy had been seen there in force, but they retired at 
 once upon seeing the cavalry advance. It was expected that 
 by the following morning some of the infantry would cross the 
 lagoon and occupy a battery which General Baker had thrown 
 up there to cover his landing, for Trinkitat had been the spot 
 from which he too had advanced to relieve Tokar, and the 
 scene of the conflict in which his force had been destroyed 
 would probably be crossed by the British in their advance. 
 
 No tents had been taken or were needed, for even in February 
 the heat upon the shores of the Eed Sea is very great; and as 
 the evening went on the buzz of talk and laughter died out, 
 and the troops lay down and slept under the starry sky 
 
116 RECONNOITRING. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 EI^TEB. 
 
 THE next morning the Gordon Highlanders and Irish Fusi- 
 liers, accompanied by a squadron of Hussars and the 
 Mounted Infantry, with a couple of small guns, crossed the 
 lagoon and occupied the intrenchment. The cavalry went a 
 little distance out; but the enemy were seen in considerable 
 numbers, and as there might be a large force concealed among 
 the low sand-hills, no attempt was made to attack them, as it 
 was undesirable to bring on serious fighting until the whole 
 force were in readiness to advance. In the evening the cavalry 
 recrossed the lagoon, as there was no water obtainable on the 
 other side, and the animals had to depend upon the supply 
 landed from the steamers. All day the work of disembarka- 
 tion had been going on, and in spite of the heat of the blazing 
 sun, the men had worked enthusiastically in getting the horses 
 and stores on shore. 
 
 The next day the Naval Brigade, one hundred and fifteen 
 strong, all picked men from the crews of the gun-boats, with ten 
 officers, landed. The troops on the beach were most anxious 
 to advance, but as those beyond the lagoon had to depend 
 entirely upon food and water carried across to them, it was 
 unadvisable to push a larger body of men forward, especially 
 as the natives had clearly no intentions of attacking them, 
 contenting themselves by keeping up a distant fire. 
 
 " I expect the beggars are gathering their forces just as we 
 are gathering ours," one of the Hussars said, as they sat round 
 a fire they had lighted with some drift-wood picked up on 
 shore. The heat was in no way required, but the light was 
 cheei'ful, and the smoke kept away troublesome insects. 
 
 " They reckon," another said, " upon falling upon us on the 
 
WAI'I'INO FOR THE CnTII." 117 
 
 march as they did upon Daki'v's iiicii, Ijut thoy will liiid tlicy 
 have got into the wrong box." 
 
 "Cieneial IJaker came down himself in the steamboat which 
 arrived this afternoon. I heard one of the officers say so," 
 Edgar put in. " It will be a satisfaction to him to see these 
 felloAvs well licked on nearly the same ground where they cut 
 uj) his force." 
 
 "Ah! I expect Baker would give his right hand to lead the 
 cavalry in the charge. What a splendid officer he is ! There 
 is not a man in the army can handle cavalry as he can; and 
 wouldn't the 10th fight with their old colonel at their head!" 
 
 There was a general chorus of assent. 
 
 "How splendidly he fought in Turkey!" another trooper 
 said. " I am told the Turks he led would have done anything 
 for him, and had just the same confidence in him our chaps 
 used to have. If he had been in command of the whole army, 
 instead of those rotten old pashas, the Russians would have 
 found it a very difterent job. I wonder when we are going 
 on. Now we have got all the stores ashore it will be precious 
 slow work being stuck on this beach." 
 
 " We are waiting for the 65th," a sergeant said. " I hear the 
 Serapis was expected this morning. It is great luck for them 
 getting a fight without any trouble at all. How pleased they 
 must have been when they heard at Aden that they were to be 
 stopped on their way up, to have a share in the affair ! " 
 
 " Yes, I call that a first-rate piece of luck," another agreed, 
 "to have a good fight and then go straight home, while we 
 have got nothing to look forward to afterwards but garrison 
 thity in Cairo. I would rather be going on to India fifty 
 times." 
 
 " Like enough we may see some service there," the sergeant 
 said. "If this Mahdi fellow comes down, which they say he 
 means to do, to invade Egypt, you may be sure we shall all 
 have to go up to stop him." 
 
 "I don't call it 'fighting' against these savages," one of the 
 
118 "AS BKAVE AS THE ZULUS." 
 
 troopers said. " What chance have they got against regular 
 troops ? " 
 
 " I don't know, Johnson. The Zulus were savages, and they 
 made a pretty tough fight against us. I suppose you don't 
 want anything much harder than that? These fellows have 
 been every bit as brave as the Zulus. They cut Hicks Pasha's 
 army into mincemeat, and they have licked two Egyptian 
 armies down in this neighbourhood. If you think this is going 
 to be no harder work than a field-day at Aldershot, I think you 
 are likely to find you are mistaken." 
 
 " You don't suppose, sergeant, that these naked beggars are 
 going to stand for a moment against a charge of eight hundred 
 cavalry?" 
 
 " It did not seem as if naked savages could stand infantry 
 armed with breech-loaders, but you see the Zulus did. It does 
 not seem possible these Arabs can stand for a moment against 
 our charge; but, you see, we do not understand these fellows. 
 One knows what regular infantry can do against cavalry, and 
 it may be we shall find that these Arabs are not to be ridden 
 over as easily as we think. When you have got to reckon with 
 men who don't care the snap of a finger whether they are killed 
 or not, you never can count upon an easy victory however 
 badly they may be armed, and however undisciplined they 
 may be. 
 
 " There is nine o'clock." he broke off, as the bells on board 
 the gun-boats rang out twice. A moment later a bugle sounded 
 "lights out," and the call was repeated by the buglers and 
 trumpeters of the various corps, and a few minutes later the 
 men stretched themselves out on the sand, and silence reigned 
 in the camp. The next morning Admiral Hewett sent on shore 
 eight seven-pounder guns from the fleet, to take the place of the 
 same number of little camel-guns, which had been found to be 
 of no real utility. At noon the smoke of a steamer was made 
 out in the distance, and a few hours later the Serapis, whose 
 engines had uone wrons;- arrived with the 65th, who were 
 
Port of 
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TlUi STRIONCITII (.)F THE KOIMJK 111) 
 
 landed at once, and ininiediately crossed the lagoon to the 
 iutrenchment, and it \\us known that the advance would at 
 once begin. 
 
 In addition to the guns sent on shore from the fleet the 
 artillery had ten brass mountain-guns and four Krupi:)s; the 
 Naval Brigade had with them two nine-pounders, three Gatlings, 
 and three Gardners. The troops were divided into two bri- 
 gades, the first consisting of 610 men of the Rifles, 751 Gordon 
 Highlanders, and 33-1: of the Irish regiment; the second brigade 
 of 7G1 Royal Highlanders, 500 of the 65th, 361 Royal Marine 
 Artillery and Infantry, and 100 Royal Engineers. There were 
 600 camels for the transport, 350 mules and 100 camels for 
 the ambulance corps, while the camel battery was composed of 
 80 camels and 100 men. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon Major Harvey and Lieutenant- 
 colonel Burnaby rode out two miles beyond the intrenchment 
 and planted a white flag with a letter attached to the flagstaff", 
 calling upon the enemy to retire and allow us to pass on to 
 Tokar without opposition. They were fired at by the Arabs, 
 and as the flag disappeared a short time after the officers had 
 returned, there was no doubt that the letter would arrive at its 
 destination. Before nightfall the whole of the force, with the 
 exception of one hundred and fifty men left to defend the stores 
 on the beach, had crossed the lagoon. Three hundred men 
 were to remain in the intrenchment, when the rest marched, 
 to defend the transport animals and stores left there against 
 any attacks. Bivouac fires were lighted, and round these the 
 troops sat smoking and chatting until the bugle-call ordered all 
 to lie doAvn in their ranks. They were bivouacked in the order 
 in which they were to advance. 
 
 The formation was to be a sort of square, of which the Gordon 
 Highlanders Avere to form the front face, the Roj^al Highlanders 
 the rear line, the Irish Fusiliers the right face with the Rifles 
 inside them; the 65th were on the outside of the left face, 
 the Marines being inside them. The whole square was about 
 
120 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 250 yards long by 150 deei^. Between the Marines and Rifles 
 in the centre were stationed the transport animals with the 
 reserve ammunition and hospital appliances. The camel bat- 
 tery with the seven-pounders was to remain in reserve in the 
 centre of the square, while the sailors with the six marine-guns 
 were placed at the left front of the square, next to the Gordon 
 Highlanders. 
 
 The bivouac fires were kept up all night, as it was considered 
 probable that the enemy, who occasionally fired from a dis- 
 tance, might attempt an attack upon the sleeping force. The 
 night, however, passed quietly, but towards morning rain fell 
 heavily, soaking the troops as they lay, and there was a gen- 
 eral feeling of gladness when the reveille called them to their 
 feet. Fresh fuel was thrown on to the fires, and the men tried 
 as best they could to dry themselves. The kettles were boiled 
 and breakfast eaten, and the cavalry recrossed the lagoon to 
 the beach to give their horses water at the tanks there. They 
 then rejoined the infantry. Their place was to be in the rear of 
 the square, but two squadrons were to move in extended order 
 as scouts a mile in front of it and on both flanks. 
 
 Their orders were that if attacked they were not to charge 
 the enemy, but to open right and left and to retire at once and 
 rejoin the main body in the rear of the square, so as to allow 
 a clear space for the sweep of the infantry fire. The infantry 
 were to fire only in volleys on word of command, and were not 
 to open fire until within three hundred yards of the enemy. 
 
 Moving out from the camp the force was halted on open 
 ground and a brief inspection made to see that all was in order, 
 and soon after eight o'clock the advance began in earnest. 
 
 As soon as they moved forward the enemy could be seen 
 retiring, evidently bent upon pursuing the same tactics that 
 they had done upon the occasion of the advance of Baker 
 Pasha's force from the same halting-place a month before. 
 The officers with their glasses could make them out swarming 
 along a slight ridge of ground in the neighbourhood of the 
 
TlIK AKAB POSITION. 121 
 
 wt'lls; their flags extended along a front a mile in length, and 
 guns could be made ont in position. As the column advanced 
 the enemy cleared off from the rising ground, but whether 
 they had retired behind the ridge, and Avere there waiting in 
 readiness to pour out to the attack, or whether they were moving 
 round to fall upon the flank of the column, was uncertain. As 
 the column neared the position it could be seen that a breast- 
 work had been thrown up, and that the position of the guns 
 had been well chosen, and the enemy could now be made out 
 crowded among the bushes on the ridge. 
 
 It was now ten o'clock, the column was advancing briskly to 
 the martial music of the pipes of the Royal Highlanders, the 
 cavalry scouts had moved away from the front, and the square 
 was within five hundred yards of the ridge. They were not, 
 however, advancing directly against it, but were moving in a 
 line almost parallel to its face, as General Graham had deter- 
 mined to pass it and then attack in flank, as it Avas evident that 
 there Avould be serious loss in a front attack upon a position so 
 strongly held and fortified. It was a trying moment, for all 
 expected that the silence, so far preserved by the enemy, would 
 be broken by the roar of cannon and the discharge of musketry, 
 and that it Avould be followed by the tremendous rush that had 
 proved fatal to Baker's force. 
 
 But the square kept its way for some distance across the face 
 before the enemy opened fire. They had doubtless expected 
 that a direct attack would be made upon their position, and 
 the passage of the troops without the slightest attention to 
 themselves surprised and disconcerted them. But at last they 
 perceived that they must take the offensive, and suddenly a 
 hot fire of musketry broke out from bush and earthwork, while 
 the Krupp guns, manned by the soldiers who had formed part 
 of the Tokar garrison, opened fire. The distance was but four 
 hundred yards, and several of the men fell out from their places 
 in the ranks wounded, but the greater part of the shot and 
 bullets flew overhead. 
 
122 THE ATTACK. 
 
 No reply to the fire was made by the square, but its direc- 
 tion was changed a little more to the right so as to take it 
 somewhat farther from the face of the enemy's position. The 
 artillery now opened fire upon the guns of the enemy, but the 
 square kept on its course steadily, while a storm of bullets and 
 fragments of shrapnel-shell flew around them. The enemy's 
 gunners proved that their training had been good. They 
 worked their guns quickly and their aim was accurate. Gen- 
 eral Baker, who was acting as head of the intelligence depart- 
 ment, was struck in the face by a ball from one of the shrap- 
 nel-shells. This imbedded itself so deeply in his jaw that it 
 could not be got out by the surgeons until after the conclusion 
 of the fight. But the gallant officer, having had his face 
 bandaged up, remounted his horse, and continued his duties 
 throughout the day. 
 
 Upon getting to a position at the end of the ridge held by 
 the enemy the men were ordered to lie down, while the artil- 
 lery continued their fire against the enemy's batteries. At a 
 quarter to twelve the Arab guns ceased to fire, and the men 
 were ordered to their feet again, and with loud cheers continued 
 the advance. The square moved on until well in rear of the 
 enemy's position, and then marched straight towards it. Owing 
 to this change in the direction of its march the left flank of the 
 square now became its front, and it was the 65th with the Naval 
 Brigade on one flank and the Eoyal Highlanders on the other, 
 who were nearest to the enemy. 
 
 Fast and thick the flashes of musketry broke out from the 
 bushes; but as the square approached the fire ceased, and 
 then groups of black forms sprang to their feet, and with 
 loud yells rushed towards the square, waving their spears and 
 swords. It seemed incredible that these little groups of ten 
 or twelve men each should intend to assail the solid lines of 
 the British, but as fresh parties every moment sprang up and 
 charged down, the order was given to fire. A flash of flame 
 ran along the face of the great square, and then a continuous 
 
A GOUllACiEOUS FUE. 123 
 
 loai- told tli;it the brcccli-loadiiig rillcs were at work, wliile the 
 TiKicliine-guns of the sailors added their rattle to the din of the 
 musketry. 
 
 As if utterly heedless of death the Arabs rushed forward 
 through the leaden storm, but were mowed down like grass 
 bt'fore it. Not one of these intrepid warriors reached the face 
 (if the square, not one turned to fly; but of those who left 
 their shelter to attack the square, every man fell with his face 
 to the foe. AVithout halting for a moment the square kept on 
 its way until the front line reached the bushes. Then with a 
 wild yell a swarm of Arabs sprang to their feet, with so sudden 
 and desperate a rush that they reached the sailors, and for a 
 minute a hand-to-hand struggle took place — bayonet against 
 speai\ But the wild courage of the natives was of no avail 
 against the steady discipline of the sailors. The assailants 
 were swept away, and the square moved on. 
 
 But the ground was now so broken with bush and rock that 
 the even line could no longer be preserved. From every bush, 
 and from ritie-pits dug among them, and from behind rough 
 intrenchments, parties of Arabs leapt to their feet and hurled 
 themselves in vain upon the British bayonets. As the front 
 of the square reached the ridge that had formed the Arab 
 position the fight was most desperate, the enemy throwing 
 themselves furiously on its flanks; and the Royal Highlanders 
 and the sailors had to fight hard to Avin their way through 
 them. But at last the ridge was won. 
 
 Two of the enemy's Krupp guns were captured, and as soon 
 as the square had been formed up again in order these weie 
 turned against the position the Arabs had now taken up in rear 
 of their first line of defence. In the centre of the position they 
 now occupied was a brick building, where an engine for pump- 
 ing up water for irrigation purposes had formerly stood. The 
 Arabs had loopholed the walls and surrounded the building 
 with rifle-pits. Here they made a desperate resistance, until 
 at last the doors were Inu'st in and the buildinir stormed. 
 
 m 
 
124 A CAVALRY CHARGE. 
 
 Several mud huts were defended, with equal obstinacy, and 
 many of our men were wounded by Arabs who lay feigning 
 death in the rifle-pits, and then when the first line of troops 
 had passed leaped out and rushed in among them, cutting and 
 slashing until bayoneted or shot down. 
 
 While the 65th were winning this position the Gordon 
 Highlanders carried the village, while the Eoyal Highlanders 
 captured the redoubt at the extreme right of the position the 
 enemy had first held. The enemy now had been driven from 
 their last line and fled in all directions, at a speed that ren- 
 dered pursuit by the infantry impossible. 
 
 During the early portion of the battle the cavalry had been 
 kept in the rear, out of the range of the enemy's fire, and the 
 men had nothing to do but to sit quiet on their horses and 
 watch the attack of the infantry square upon the enemy's 
 position, fretting and fuming not a little that they were unable 
 to take their part in what was evidently a desperate struggle. 
 But at last bodies of the Arabs were seen streaming out from 
 the position, and General Stewart, who was in command of 
 the cavalry division, gave the order, and, wheeling far round 
 to the right of the infantry, led them against a large body of 
 Arabs in the plain beyond the ridge. 
 
 The enemy did not await their attack, but fled, hotly pursued 
 by the first and second lines for some distance. The order to 
 cease pursuing was sounded, when it was seen that the third 
 line, composed of a hundred men, were attacked by a body 
 of Arabs who had advanced from the left, and the main 
 body M'^heeled round and advanced to assist them. But the 
 ground between was already occupied by the Arabs; these as 
 the cavalry advanced threw themselves down among the tufted 
 hillocks and mounds which covered the whole plain. The 
 horses in their course leaped the hillocks, swerving at the sight 
 of the dark figures lying among them. 
 
 The Arabs sprang instantly to their feet in the intervals 
 between the horsemen and hurled their spears at them, or as 
 
A SERIOUS ENCOUNTER. 125 
 
 they lay tlirust thcni into the horses, and as tliose fell sprang 
 upon the riders and cut them down. At the same moment a 
 small body of mounted Arabs dashed into the fray. Most of 
 them were cut down, but some made their way through the 
 line, and turning the instant they did so fell upon the rear of 
 the charging squadron. Colonel Barrow who commanded it 
 fell, but it still pressed forward, the opposition becoming every 
 moment more severe. General Stewart led the second line to 
 the assistance of the first, but these too were desperately 
 opposed, and had to fight hard before they could reach them. 
 One of the general's orderlies was killed and two others 
 wounded. Major Slade of the 10th Hussars, Lieutenant Free- 
 man of the 19th, and Lieutenant Probyn fell, and twenty men 
 were killed and as many wounded before the enemy retired. 
 
 Colonel Webster's squadron, which made several brilliant 
 charges at the enemy, now joined the rest of the cavalry. But 
 the Arabs were momentarily reinforced, and after what had 
 been seen of the desperation with which they fought it was 
 deemed imprudent to pursue them further. 
 
 With the exception of the losses sustained by the cavalry 
 the total loss at the battle of El-Teb was small, amounting to 
 only thirty killed and one hundred and forty-two wounded. 
 One infantry officer was killed, one mortally wounded, and one 
 severely so, while many received slight wounds. The loss of 
 the Arabs exceeded two thousand. 
 
 Edgar's squadron was among the first line when the charge 
 was made to the assistance of Colonel Webster's squadron. He 
 was in the rear rank and could not well see what was passing 
 in front, and he was astounded upon seeing men spring up 
 apparently from the earth and furiously attack the horsemen 
 with spear and sword. He himself had a very narrow escape. 
 His horse swerved as it leapt a low bush, and almost simul- 
 taneously a native sprang to his feet and lounged at him with 
 his spear. Instinctively he threw himself forward on the neck 
 of his horse, and as he did so felt the spear graze his back 
 
126 IN DEADLY PERIL. 
 
 below the shoulders. The next moment his horse had taken 
 him beyond the Arab's reach; but at that instant he heard a 
 cry and saw Corporal North's horse fall with him, pierced by 
 a spear thrust given by a native lying on the ground. 
 
 Before the corporal could rise the Arab was upon him with 
 his sword, and struck him down with a sweeping cut upon the 
 shoulder. Edgar had wheeled his horse round instantly, and 
 before the blow was repeated was within striking distance of 
 the man and his sword fell upon the uplifted wrist. Drop- 
 ping his sword the Arab sprang upon the horse and strove 
 to tear Edgar from the saddle, while at the same instant the 
 Arab who had first thrust at him ran up. Fortunately he came 
 up at the side on which his comrade was clinging to Edgar, and 
 was therefore unable to use his spear against him; but after a 
 moment's hesitation he plunged it into the horse, which reared 
 high in the air and then fell. Edgar had at the moment rid 
 himself of the man who was grasping him, by shortening his 
 sword and plunging it into his body, and as the horse reared 
 he drew his feet from the stirrups and dropped off over his tail, 
 coming down upon his feet just as the animal rolled over dead. 
 
 The other Arab rushed at him with his spear. Edgar cut at 
 it with his sword and severed the iron head from the staff, and 
 then springing forward ran the Arab through before he could 
 take to his sword. But several others were running up, and 
 Edgar felt that his case was desperate. By this time the 
 corporal, though badly wounded, had freed himself from his 
 fallen horse, and drawing his carbine from the bucket shot the 
 Arab nearest to him. The others, however, came on without a 
 pause. Edgar and his wounded companion made a desperate 
 defence ; but both received several sword-cuts, and Edgar felt the 
 end was at hand, when with a roar like thunder the second line 
 burst down upon them, and the Arabs were instantly cut down. 
 
 "Take those two men up behind you!" an officer shouted. 
 
 Two of the troopers reined in their horses and assisted Edgar 
 and his companion to climb up behind them, and then riding 
 
CORPORAL north's REPORT. 127 
 
 at full speed soon regained the line. In another minute the 
 trumpet sounded for a halt. Edgar and his companion now 
 slii)ped from the horses and joined their own squadron. The 
 cori)oral was scarce able to stand, and Edgar was not in a better 
 plight. Major Horsley rode up to them. 
 
 "Not badly wounded, I hope?" he asked. "It is a miracle 
 your getting in when once dismounted." 
 
 " I think I am pretty nearly done for, sir," the corporal said. 
 "But I wish to report that Trumpeter Smith has saved my 
 life by coming back to my assistance when my horse was 
 stabbed and fell with me. He killed the two men who attacked 
 me, and so gave me time to free myself and to aid him in 
 making a fight of it until the second line came up." As Cor- 
 poral North concluded he fell insensible from loss of blood. 
 
 At that moment the surgeon came up. "Are we going to 
 charge again, major? because if so, these men, with the others 
 badly wounded, had better be sent across at once to the in- 
 fantry. There are too many of these Arab scoundrels about 
 for them to be left behind here. But if we are not going to 
 charge I will give their wounds a first dressing at once." 
 
 " I don't know," the major said. " I will ride to the general 
 and ask him, and speak to him about the wounded. Sergeant 
 Meekings, if the order comes to charge before I return, tell 
 off a trooper to take up each man too badly wounded to ride> 
 and let them carry them straight across to the infantry." 
 
 After giving this order he rode rapidly away, but returned 
 in two or three minutes. "We are not going to charge again, 
 doctor," he said; "they are mustering too strongly for us to 
 attempt it. The general says he will halt where we are until 
 the worst cases of the wounded are attended to. Here, two of 
 you men, dismount and assist the surgeon." 
 
 "Get their jackets off, lads," the doctor said. "Take this 
 corporal first; he is the worst case." 
 
 The other wounded men were now brought up, and their 
 wounds were all bandaged. Those who could sit a horse then 
 
128 EDGAR*S WOUNDS. 
 
 mounted behind other troopers, while a number of soldiers 
 were ordered to dismount and to lay the others upon blankets 
 and carry them in. 
 
 Edgar was one of these. He had received one cut on the 
 top of his head, and his helmet had alone saved his skull from 
 being cleft. He had another gash on the right cheek. His 
 side was laid open with a spear - thrust, the weapon having 
 fortunately glanced from his ribs, and he had another sword- 
 cut on the hip. He was unable to walk from loss of blood, 
 but he felt that none of his wounds were very serious; and 
 the surgeon said to him cheerfully, "You will do, lad. Your 
 wounds are ugly to look at, but they are not serious. You will 
 be on horseback again in another ten days." 
 
 Major Horsley had not spoken to him, but he had given 
 him a little nod of satisfaction when the corporal gave his 
 report. The cavalry moved across at a walk towards the wells 
 of El-Teb, the wounded being carried between the lines, as 
 there was no saying how many Arabs might be lurking among 
 the bushes. On reaching the wells they were taken to the 
 field hospital, which had already been organized. There their 
 wounds were more carefully examined and re-dressed; and 
 after a drink of lime-juice and water, with a little brandy in 
 it, Edgar soon dropped off to sleep. In the morning Major 
 Horsley and Captain Atkinson came round to see how the men 
 of their regiment were getting on. The surgeon's report was 
 favourable except in the case of Corporal North. 
 
 "I think he will pull round, major; but I am sure he will 
 never be fit for service again. That wound on the shoulder, 
 which he tells me is the first he got, has cut clean through 
 the collar-bone and penetrated almost to the upper rib. I 
 doubt whether he will ever have the use of his arm again; 
 but that I cannot say. Anyhow, it will be long before it is fit 
 for hard work. Trumpeter Smith ? There is nothing serious 
 the matter with him, but he has had a marvellous escape. If 
 his helmet had not saved his head, the blow would have cleft 
 
UKCOMMENDED FOR THE CROSS. 129 
 
 right through liis skull; if the wound in his cheek had hecn 
 a couple of inches higher, it would have opened the temporal 
 artery; and if the spear had penetrated instead of gliding off 
 his rihs, that alone would have been sufficient to have done his 
 business. As it is, he is not much the worse except for loss of 
 blood, and with luck will be fit to take his place again in the 
 ranks in a fortnight." 
 
 "I am glad to hear so good an account of you, Smith," the 
 major said as he went up to his bedside. "1 have reported 
 your conduct to General Stewart, and your name will be sent 
 in among those recommended for the Victoria Cross. Mind, I 
 don't say that you will get it, lad, — I don't think you will; for 
 S(i many men distinguished themselves yesterday in that hand- 
 to-hand fight that the names sent in will be very much larger 
 than the number of crosses given. Still, your having been 
 recommended will count in your favour when the time comes." 
 So saying, with a kindly nod he moved on to the next 
 bed. 
 
 At nine o'clock the force moved out towards Tokar, half the 
 Gordon Highlanders being left at El-Teb for the protection of 
 the hospital and stores, and with orders to find and bury the 
 Europeans that had fallen. During the day many of the Egyp- 
 tian garrison of Tokar came into the camp from the surround- 
 ing villages. In the afternoon a mounted orderly brought in 
 the news that the force had met with no resistance whatever 
 on their way. Several parties of the enemy had been seen, 
 but these fled as soon as they saw the troops advancing. In 
 Tokar seventy of the Egyptian garrison were found in a half- 
 starved condition. While their comrades had consented to join 
 the Arabs they had steadily refused to do so, and had been 
 very badly treated in consequence by them and by the inhabi- 
 tants of the town. The arrival of the troops was hailed with 
 great joj\ The inhabitants had had a terrible time during the 
 occupation of the place by the Arabs, and the whole population 
 were preparing to accompany the troops on their march back 
 
130 THE GUNS ALL RECAPTURED. 
 
 to the coast. The cavalry had ridden out to Debbah, where 
 the camp of the force besieging Tokar had been established. 
 
 In the afternoon Edgar was so far recovered that he was 
 able to sit up. His wounds were sore and painful, and the 
 strapping of plaster in which they were enveloped rendered 
 him very stiff and uncomfortable. But, as he said to another 
 soldier, he had been just as stiff and sore after a football match, 
 and felt confident that in a few days he should be as well as 
 ever. 
 
 The next evening the force returned from Tokar, and Edgar 
 and the other troopers who were well enough to go outside the 
 hospital tent to see them come in were amused at their appear- 
 ance, for they had before starting armed themselves with spears 
 taken from the fallen Arabs; for the fight on the previous day 
 had shown them that their swords were of little avail against 
 the tactics of the Arabs in throwing themselves flat upon the 
 ground, and that spears were much better suited for warfare 
 against savages. They were accompanied by the greater por- 
 tion of the population of Tokar, who were to be conveyed in 
 the ships up to Suakim. The cavalry had found that the Arabs 
 had left the camp at Debbah before they arrived. 
 
 The expedition there was, however, by no means useless, for 
 they found an immense quantity of rifles and ammunition, 
 together with a Gatling and mountain gun, all of which had 
 been captured by the Arabs at the rout of Baker Pasha's army, 
 or at the destruction of the force under Colonel Moncrieff some 
 months before. The guns captured in the intrenchments made 
 up the complete number of those that had fallen into the hands 
 of the natives on those two occasions, and so left them without 
 artillery. The work of burying the dead had been carried on 
 by the force left in camp, and by the aid of those who now 
 returned was completed in a short time. 
 
 No less than a thousand Arabs were found to have fallen in 
 and around their intrenchments, and numbers must have got 
 away only to die subsequently from their wounds. It was learned 
 
RKTT'KN TO STTAKTM. 131 
 
 fi'om j^i'isonovs that Osman T)i,unia liad not himself liocii picsfMit 
 at the battle, but had sent a thousand men to reinforce those 
 en^i,^agcd in the siege of Tokar. 
 
 The force now moved down to Trinkitat with three hun- 
 dred men of the garrison of Tokar who had rejoined them, 
 and four or five hundred men, women, and children from that 
 town. The re-embarkation was speedily effected, and a few 
 liours later the ships entered Suakim harbour. 
 
 It was found that the natives of that town had received the 
 news of the victory of El-Teb with absolute incredulity, but 
 the arrival of the Tokar fugitives convinced them that the 
 Arabs had really been defeated. One of the prisoners taken 
 at Sinkat came in a day or two later, having made his escape 
 from Osman Digma's camp. He reported that the news of the 
 battle of El-Teb had arrived there before he left, and that it 
 had been given out that seven thousand of the English had 
 been killed, and that it was only nightfall that saved them 
 all from destruction. 
 
 The first step of Admiral Hewett and General Graham on 
 their arrival at Suakim was to issue a proclamation calling 
 upon all the tribesmen to leave Osman Digma and to come in 
 and make their submission, promising protection and pardon 
 to all who surrendered. This proclamation was backed by a 
 letter by the Sheik Morghani, who was held in the highest 
 estimation for his holiness. He told them that God had sent 
 the English to destroy them because they had forsaken the 
 old religion for a new one, and entreated them to come in and 
 make their peace. 
 
 A fortnight had now passed since the fight at El-Teb. 
 Edgar, who had remained on board the hospital-ship, had made 
 rapid progress towards convalescence, and was now reported 
 by the surgeons as fit to return to duty, which he was most 
 anxious to do, as it was daily expected that the force would 
 move out against Osman Digma, who was at Tamai, a place 
 sixteen miles to the south-west of Suakim. The troops had 
 
132 "YOU ARE GETTING ON." 
 
 been disembarked, and he was delighted when he was again 
 able to join his squadron. Spies came and went daily, and 
 they were unanimous in saying that Osman would fight an- 
 other battle. The news that El-Teb was a disastrous defeat 
 was' by this time known, but his explanation that the misfor- 
 tunes were solely due to his orders having been disobeyed, 
 perfectly satisfied his followers, and their belief that he was 
 invincible was wholly unshaken. 
 
 The most fanatical of the coast tribes still held to him, and 
 on the 9th of March twenty-one of their sheiks sent in a 
 defiant reply to the proclamation, saying that the ten thousand 
 men they commanded would meet us in the field. It was there- 
 fore evident that the struggle to come would be much more 
 serious and determined than that of El-Teb. 
 
 Edgar received qftite an ovation upon rejoining his troop. 
 The manner in which he had defended his wounded comrade 
 had awakened their lively admiration, the more so since the man 
 for whom he had so imperilled his life had but lately been his 
 personal antagonist. 
 
 " Well, young un, you are getting on," a sergeant said to him. 
 " I won't say you are getting all the luck, for luck has nothing 
 to do with it this time, anyhow. You are doing Avell, Smith, 
 and it won't be many months before you are in our mess, and 
 it needs no prophet to see that you have every chance of going 
 higher if you keep on as you began. Here you are only about 
 seventeen years old, and you have made a big mark in the 
 regiment already. You have got the major and the rest of the 
 officers on your side from that affair at Aldershot, then the 
 fact that you are the best cricketer in the regiment counts for 
 a lot, and now you have got wounded and have been recom- 
 mended for the Victoria Cross. 
 
 "If you don't mount up after all that it will be your own fault. 
 You have every advantage. The fact that you have been a 
 gentleman is in your favour, for naturally men are picked out 
 for promotion who are best fitted for the position of ol^cers; 
 
rxooi) Ai)\i(!i<:. 133 
 
 ;iii(I your hiiving \>ccu able to take a first-class certificate in the 
 school in itself brings you into notice. Be careful with your- 
 self, lad. T know you don't drink, so T need not warn you 
 about that. Don't get cocky. I don't think you Avill, for 
 3-ou haven't done so at present, and the notice you have had 
 from your cricket and that Aldershot affair would have turned 
 a good many lads' heads. But it is a thing to be careful about. 
 You know there are a good many old soldiers who are inclined 
 to feel a little jealous when they see a young fellow pushing 
 forward, but if they see he is c|uiet, and gives himself no airs 
 and is pleasant with every one, they get over it in time; and in 
 your case every one will acknowledge that you deserve all the 
 luck that may fall to you. So be careful on that head, Smith. 
 
 "You will find very little jealousy among us sergeants when 
 you once get into our mess, for there are very few of us who 
 have any idea whatever of ever getting a commission, or would 
 take one if it were offered. A sensible man knows when he is 
 well oft', and except for a man who has had the education you 
 have had one is much more comfortable as a sergeant, and better 
 off" too, than one would be as an officer. When one is with 
 other men one wants to do as they do, and an officer who has 
 got to live on his pay finds it hard work and painful work. 
 Of course most men promoted from the ranks — I mean my class 
 of men — get quarter-masterships, but there is no great pull in 
 that. Quarter-masters are neither one thing nor the other. The 
 officers may try to put him at his ease, but his ways are not 
 their ways; and I have known many a quarter-master who, if 
 he had his choice, would gladly come back to the sergeant's mess 
 again." 
 
 " Thank you for your advice, sergeant," Edgar said quietly. 
 " I will follow it to the best of my power. I don't think there 
 is anything to be cocky about; for the thing at Aldershot was 
 pure luck, and so it was the other day. I happened to be next 
 to North when his horse fell, and of course I turned round to 
 help him without thinking who he was or anything about him. 
 
134 RESPECT FOR THE FOE. 
 
 It was just instinct, and it hasn't done him any good after all, 
 for I hear he is not likely to live many days." 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 AEE you sure you feel fit for active work again, Smith 1" 
 Major Horsley said as he met Edgar in camp. 
 
 " Yes, sir," the lad said saluting. " I am a little stiff, and it 
 hurts me if I move suddenly, but I am sure I should not feel 
 it if we were engaged again." 
 
 "Well, do not do anything rash, lad; these fellows are not 
 to be trifled with." That, indeed, was the general opinion in 
 camp. The men were ready and eager for another fight with 
 the enemy, but there was little of the light-hearted gaiety with 
 which the contest had been anticipated before they had met 
 the Arabs at El-Teb. The idea that savages, however brave, 
 could cope with British troops with breech-loaders had then 
 seemed absurd; but the extraordinary bravery with which the 
 Arabs had fought, the recklessness with which they threw 
 away their lives, and the determination with which they had 
 charged through a fire in which it seemed impossible that any 
 human being could live, had created a feeling of respect. 
 There was nothing contemptible about these foes, and it was 
 expected that not only would the force be very much larger 
 than that met at El-Teb, but as it would be composed of Osman 
 Digma's best men, and would be fighting under his eye, the 
 battle would be much more hardly contested than before. 
 The cavalry Avere particularly impressed with the formidable 
 nature of these strange foemeu. While they would have hurled 
 themselves fearlessly against far superior forces of the best 
 cavalry of Europe, they felt that here their discipline and 
 
TlIK 'I'KdOI'KK's UlMNION. 135 
 
 mastery of their lior.ses went for little. They could charge 
 tlirough any number of the enemy, but the danger lay not in 
 the charge but after it. The Arab tactics of throwing them- 
 selves down only to stab the horses as they rode over them, 
 and then rising up cutting and thrusting in their midst, were 
 strange and bewildering to them. 
 
 "I am game to charge a dozen squadrons of cavalry one 
 after the other," a trooper said as they sat round the five on 
 the night of the 9th of March, " and if we had orders to go at 
 a square of infantry I should be ready to go, although I might 
 not like the job; but as for these slippery black beggars, the less 
 we have to do with them the better I shall be pleased. You 
 go at them, and you think you have got it all your own way, 
 and then before you can say knife there they are yelling and 
 shouting and sticking those ugly spears into you and your 
 horses, and dancing round until you don't fairly know what you 
 are up to. There ain't nothing natural or decent about it." 
 
 There was a general murmur of assent. 
 
 " We shall know more about their ways next time," an- 
 other said. "But lancers would be the best for this sort of 
 work. There is no getting at these beggars on the ground 
 with our swords, for the horses will always leap over a body, 
 and so you cannot reach them with your swords; but a lance 
 would do the business well. I don't care much for lances for 
 regular work, but for this sort of fighting there is no doubt 
 they are the real thing. Well, there is one thing, if we get 
 among the niggers this time we know what we have got to 
 deal with, and up or down there will be no mercy shown." 
 
 On the 10th the Royal Highlanders marched out six miles 
 towards Tamai and formed an encampment there, defending it 
 with bushes interlaced with wire, this kind of defence being 
 known among the natives as a zareba. The next afternoon the 
 rest of the infantry marched out and joined them. Next morn- 
 ing the cavalry moved out, and in the afternoon the whole 
 force started, the cavalry thrown out ahead. A few shots were 
 
136 A ZAREBA. 
 
 exchanged with parties of the enemy, but there was no serious 
 fighting. The march was slow, for the ground was thickly 
 covered with bushes, through which the troops with the 
 ambulance and commissariat camels moved but slowly. The 
 sailors had very hard work dragging their guns through the 
 deep sand, and it took four hours before they reached a spot 
 suitable for encampment, within two miles of the enemy's 
 position. 
 
 The spot selected for the halt was a space free from bushes, 
 and large enough to afford room for the encampment and to 
 leave a clear margin of some fifty yards wide between it and the 
 bushes. As soon as the column halted the cavalry and part of 
 the infantry took up their position as outposts to prevent a 
 surprise on the part of the enemy, and the rest set to work to 
 cut down bushes and drag them across the sand to form a fresh 
 zareba. When this was completed the cavalry trotted back to 
 the post held on the previous night, as they would be useless 
 in case of a night attack, and their horses might sufi"er from a 
 distant fire of the enemy. 
 
 Inside the zareba the greatest vigilance was observed. Fully 
 ten thousand determined enemies lay but a short distance awa}^, 
 and might creep up through the bushes and make a sudden 
 onslaught at any time. The moon was full, and its light would 
 show any object advancing across the open space. Had it 
 not been for this the general would not have been justified in 
 encamping at so short a distance from the enemy-. The march 
 had been a short one, but the heat had been great and the 
 dust terrible, and the troops threw themselves down on the 
 ground exhausted when the work of constructing the zareba 
 was completed; but after a short rest they took up their posts 
 in readiness to repel an attack 
 
 During the early part of the night all remained under arms. 
 But Commander Eolfe of the Royal Navy crept out at the rear 
 of the camp, gained the bushes, and crawled among them until 
 he came within sight of the enemy He saw them in great 
 
A NIOIIT ATTACK. 137 
 
 numbers siLling round tlioir lirus or stretched upon the ground, 
 and returned to cam}) with the news that wliatever might be 
 the case hiter on, certainly no attack was meditated at present. 
 The greater jiart of the troops were thereupon allowed to lie 
 down and get what sleep they could. 
 
 The cavalry felt much anxiety respecting those they had left 
 behind them ; but the moon was sufficiently bright to permit 
 signals to be Hashed to them from the camp, and they learnt to 
 their satisfaction that all was quiet. 
 
 Soon after one o'clock in the morning the stillness round the 
 zareba was suddenly broken. A roar of musketry burst from 
 the bushes all round, and it was evident that the enemy were 
 assembled there in great force. The troops were ordered to 
 lie down} and fortunately here, as at El-Teb, the Arab fire 
 was far too high, and the storm of bullets swept for the 
 most part overhead. Many of the camels, mules, and horses 
 were, however, hit, but only one man was killed and an officer 
 and two men wounded. Grasping their rifles the troops lay 
 ready to sijring to their feet and repel the attack should it 
 be made; but the hours passed on slowly without the expected 
 movement taking place, and there was a general feeling of 
 relief when morning at last broke. As the Arabs continued 
 their fire, a nine-pounder and Gatling gun were brought into 
 play upon the bushes, and the fire of the enemy soon died out 
 and they fell back to their camp. 
 
 The troops now had breakfast, and soon after they had 
 finished the cavalry arrived from the other zareba. At eight 
 o'clock the Mounted Infantry moved out, accompanied by a 
 party of Abyssinian scouts. They had gone but a short 
 distance when a very heavy fire was opened upon them, and 
 the officer in command sent back to the general to say that 
 there was a broad ravine stretching across the country a few 
 hundred yards ahead, although hidden by the bushes from 
 observation until closely approached, and that this ravine was 
 held by the enemy in great force. The infantry now moved 
 
138 CHARGED BY THE NATIVES. 
 
 out from the zareba, formed in two squares. The second brigade, 
 composed of the Eoyal Highlanders, the 65th, and the Marines, 
 led the way. It was commanded by General Davis, and in its 
 centre rode General Graham with his staff. 
 
 As soon as this had marched out the first brigade followed, 
 taking its place in echelon a hundred yards on its right rear, so 
 that its fire commanded its right flank and protected it from 
 an attack in the rear. It consisted of the 89th, 75th, and 60th 
 Rifles, under General Buller. The camels and baggage animals 
 remained under a guard at the zareba. 
 
 The Mounted Infantry and Abyssinians fell back as the first 
 brigade advanced, and as soon as they had moved clear of the 
 face of the square the machine-guns at its angles opened fire. 
 The enemy's fire soon ceased, and the brigade again advanced. 
 But the Arabs had simply thrown themselves down and had 
 not retreated, and their fire broke out again as soon as that of 
 the machine-guns ceased. 
 
 General Graham now gave the order for the Highlanders, 
 who formed the front face of the square, to charge. With a 
 cheer they went forward at the double, and sweeping the 
 enemy before them soon reached the head of the ravine. The 
 result of the order was, however, that the square was broken 
 up. Its front face had moved on at a run, while the flanks and 
 rear had continued their march at the same pace as before, and 
 there was consequently a wide gap between the 65 th on the 
 right flank and the Highlanders in front. Orders were given 
 to the 65th to hurry up; but as they did so, masses of the 
 enemy were seen coming on at a run and making for the gap 
 in the square. 
 
 The right companies of the 65th tried to form up to meet 
 them, while Lieutenant Graham, R.N., with the men of the 
 Naval Brigade working the three machine-guns under his com- 
 mand, threw himself into the gap. But the yells of the enemy 
 and the roar of musketry rendered it impossible for the men 
 to hear the orders given, and before the 65th had formed up 
 

 
 
 
 „ '^.;-v /••i» 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^H >lM|n|> MHM 
 
 
 
 •V.V '.:, - Mounted Inr.v 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^i^^s- 
 
 
 
 Royul Marines ' '' / ^^ ^ 
 
 
 MAIN ATTACK ".•.''•'*%' 
 
 K.-:^!^'"- 
 
 Sussex Reg.' 
 
 JJclaila of various Corps- 
 
 .I?!''- Hussars ^ 
 
 
 /^\ N,--"""^ 
 
 N-;^". 
 
 
 Jc^) 
 
 j.^'J^'? Battle of Abu Klea 
 
 
 -^M"^ 
 
 /~^^ JAMUARY 17 V.' 1335 
 
 Battle of tawiai. 
 
 13iH. MARCH 1834 
 
 <;CIullcr} 
 
 jfzABIBA -rM March 
 
 ^pV 
 >* ^^'' ., 
 
 KHOrt 
 
 C«C3 
 
 '"'. 
 
 
 - /-Jo nnn s jr , 
 
A ];i;0KKN s(,)UAi:k. 139 
 
 the cneiny were close at hand. Their fii'C and that of tlic 
 (Jathngs mowed down the Arabs m hundreds, but the wihl 
 mob charged on. Some hurled themselves on to the Goth, 
 others poured like a wave over the little group of sailors, while 
 the rest, dashing through the gap, tiung themselves on the rear 
 of the 42d. 
 
 The sergeants, whose place is in rear of the men, were cut 
 down almost to a man ; and the rear rank, facing round, were 
 at once engaged in a desperate hancl-to-hand fight with the 
 natives. All was now confusion. Fresh masses of the enemy 
 })oured down with exulting shouts, and in a confused crowd 
 the brigade retreated. Had not help been at hand they would 
 probably have met with the same fate that befell Baker's force, 
 and none would have reached Suakim to tell the news of the 
 massacre. The sailors, in vain trying to drag off their guns, were 
 almost all killed, and the guns fell into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 But a check was given to the advance of the Arabs by the 
 cavalry, who had moved forward to the left of the square. The 
 officer in command saw that were he to charge across the 
 broken ground his little force would be lost among the throng 
 of Arabs. He therefore dismounted them, and they poured 
 volley after volley with their carbines into the thick of the 
 enemy. In the meantime General Buller's square was ad- 
 vancing. It had been attacked as desperately as had that of 
 General Davis; but it was well handled, and its formation had 
 not been broken up by any order such as that which had 
 destroyed the formation of the other brigade. So steady and 
 terrible a fire was opened upon the advancing enemy that not 
 one of the assailants reached the face of the square; and having 
 repulsed the attacks, it advanced rapidly to the relief of the 
 shattered brigade ahead, pouring incessant volleys into the 
 ranks of the Arabs as they swept down to its assault. 
 
 Thus, as they advanced, the first brigade cleared the right 
 face of the second from its foes, and as soon as they came up with 
 the retreating force these halted and reformed their ranks 
 
140 DEFEAT OF THE ARABS. 
 
 Both brigades were now formed in line, and advanced steadily 
 towards the ravine. Upon their way they came upon the aban- 
 doned guns, which the enemy had in vain tried to carry off. 
 Sweeping the Arabs before them, the British force reached the 
 edge of the ravine. It was filled by the flying Arabs, and into 
 these a terrible fire was poured by the musketry and guns until 
 the Arabs had gained the opposite side and were concealed 
 among the bushes. The fighting was now over, although the 
 enemy still maintained a distant fire. It was necessary, how- 
 ever, to keep the troops together, for numbers of the Arabs 
 still lay hidden among the bushes, leaping up and flinging 
 themselves desperately upon any who approached them. 
 
 The scene of the conflict was terrible. A hundred and twenty 
 of the British lay dead, of whom more than half belonged to 
 the 42d. Three naval officers and ten sailors were killed, while 
 a large number of ofiicers and men of the 42d and 65th were 
 seriously wounded. The slaughter among the natives had been 
 very great — no less than four thousand of them strewing the 
 ground in all directions. The British wounded were sent back 
 to the zareba, and the force again advanced. Crossing the 
 ravine they made towards three villages in its rear. Here was 
 Osman Digma's camp, and the Arabs mustering in strength again 
 opened a heavy fire. They were, however, unable to with- 
 stand the British guns and the heavy volleys of the infantry, 
 and the troops advanced into the camp. 
 
 It was found filled with property of all kinds; for the Arabs 
 had removed nothing, making perfectly sure that they should 
 be able to repel the English advance. Bags of money, bundles 
 of clothing, Korans, great quantities of grain, and plunder of 
 all kinds were found in the huts. Osman Digma himself had 
 taken no part whatever in the fight. lie had looked on from 
 a distant eminence, and when he saw the repulse of the Arab 
 attack and the flight of his men he at once made off. 
 
 The next day the cavalry went on to a village two or three 
 miles distant. Here they found a great Cjuantity of ammuni- 
 
A sii()HT-si(;iitp:d policy. 141 
 
 tioii for Knipp cannon and otlior loot, wliicli had licon cap- 
 tured from the forces of IJaker and MoncrielF. I'lie vilhige was 
 burnt and the ammunition hlown up. 
 
 The next day the force stai'ted on its return march, after 
 burning and destroying Osman's camp and the three adjoining 
 viUages. Xo attempt was made to pursue Osman Digma or his 
 Arabs. The country beyond was steep and mountainous, and 
 there would have been no chance whatever of overtaking and 
 capturing him, Avhile the troops might have been attacked in 
 difficult positions and have suftered heavily. 
 
 It was supposed that after the two crushing defeats that had 
 been inflicted on the enemy, and the proof so afforded of the 
 falsehood of Osman Digma's pretensions, the tribesmen would 
 no longer believe in him, and that his authority would have 
 been altogether destroyed. The expectation was not, however, 
 justified by events, for two years later the Arabs again mus- 
 tered under him in such formidable numbers, that another 
 expedition was necessary to protect Suakim against the gather- 
 ing of fanatics reassembled under Osman's banner. 
 
 The cavalry had suffered no loss during the operations, and 
 as they had had some share in the fighting, and had materially 
 aided the shattered brigade by their fire upon the Arabs, they 
 were not ill satisfied that they had not been called upon to 
 take a more prominent part in the operations. 
 
 But little time was lost at Suakim. The greater part of the 
 troops were at once embarked on the transports and taken up to 
 Suez, a small body only being left to protect the town should 
 the Arabs again gather in force. The policy was a short-sighted 
 one. Had a protectorate been established over the country 
 to the foot of the hills, and a force sufficient to maintain it 
 left there, the great bulk of the tribesmen would have willingly 
 given in their allegiance, and no further hostile movement 
 upon the part of Osman Digma would have been possible; 
 but the fact that we hastened away after fighting, and afforded 
 no protection Avhatever to the friendly natives, eflfectually 
 
142 FEARS FOR GORDON. 
 
 deterred others from throwing in their lot with lis, and enabled 
 Osman Digma gradually to restore his power and influence 
 among them. 
 
 Short though the campaign had been it had the effect of 
 causing some inflammation in Edgar's wounds, and as soon as 
 the expedition returned to the coast the surgeon ordered him 
 into hospital, and it was six weeks before he again took his 
 place in the ranks. By this time the regiment was re-united 
 at Cairo, and there was for some months nothing to break the 
 even tenor of their way. 
 
 Long ere this Edgar had learnt that his recommendation for 
 the Victoria Cross had not been acceded to. This, however, 
 was no surprise, for after what he had heard from Major 
 Horsley he had entertained but little hope that he would be 
 among the favoured recipients of the cross. 
 
 "Never mind, Ned," a comrade said to him when the list 
 was published and his name was found to be absent. " It is 
 not always those that most deserve the cross who get it. We 
 know that you ought to have had it, if any fellow ever did, and 
 we shall think just as much of you as if you had got it on your 
 breast." 
 
 In spite of the heat cricket matches were got up at Cairo, 
 and the Hussars distinguished themselves here as they had done 
 at Aldershot. The chief topic of interest, however, was the 
 question of the safety of Khartoum, and especially that of 
 General Gordon. He had been sent out bj' the British govern- 
 ment in hopes that the great influence he possessed among the 
 natives might enable him to put a stop to the disorder that 
 prevailed in the Soudan. At the time that he had been in the 
 service of the Egyptian government he had ruled so wisely and 
 well in the Soudan that his prestige among the natives was 
 enormous. He had suppressed slave-trading and restored order 
 throughout the wide province, and by mingling mercy with 
 justice he was at once admired and feared even by those whose 
 profits had been annihilated by the abolition of the slave-trade. 
 
A VACTLLATTNO OOVERNMKNT. 143 
 
 Hut altlionL^h Gordon liad boon raptnronsly received by the 
 inliabitants of Kliartoum, the tribes of the Soudan had not 
 rallied, as it was hoped they would do, in opposition to the 
 Mahdi, whose armies had gradually advanced and had besieged 
 the city. General Gordon with the troops there had made 
 expeditions up the river in the steamers, and brought in pro- 
 visions for the besieged town; he had fought several battles 
 with the Mahdists, in which he had not always been successful, 
 and it was known that unless help arrived the city must finally 
 surrender. Many letters had been received from him asking 
 urgently for aid, but Aveeks and months passed, and the govern- 
 ment who had sent him out were unable to make up their 
 minds to incur the cost necessary for the despatch of so distant 
 an expedition. 
 
 In Cairo public feeling ran very high, and among the troops 
 there the indignation at this base desertion of one of England's 
 noblest soldiers was intense and general. At last the news 
 came that public feeling in England had become so strong that 
 government could no longer resist it, and that orders had been 
 issued to prepare an expedition with all haste. A number of 
 flat-boats were to be built for conveying the troops up the 
 Nile. Canadian boatmen had been sent for to aid in the navi- 
 gation of the river- Camels were to be purchased in Egypt, a 
 mounted infantry corps organized, and stores of all kinds hastily 
 collected. 
 
 People who knew the river shook their heads, and said that 
 the decision had been delayed too long. The Nile would have 
 fallen to a point so low that it would be difficult if not impos- 
 sible to pass up the cataracts, and long before help could reach 
 Khartoum the city and its noble governor would have fallen 
 into the hands of the Mahdi. 
 
 There was much disgust among the troops when it was 
 known that many of them would remain in Lower Egypt, and 
 that of the cavalry especially but a very small force would be 
 taken, while three regiments mounted on camels, two of them 
 
144 PASSED OVER 
 
 consisting of cavalry men from England, would take part in the 
 expedition. 
 
 Some of the soldiers, however, looked at the matter more 
 philosophically. "AYe have had our share," they argued, "and if 
 the Mahdi's men fight as well as Osman Digma's we are quite 
 willing that others should have their whack. There will be no 
 end of hard work, and what fighting they get won't be all one 
 way. Sand and heat, and preserved meat and dirty water out 
 of wells, are not very pleasant when you have to stick to them 
 for months together. Like enough, too, there will be another 
 rumpus down at Suakim while the expedition is away, and then 
 those who are left here now will get some more of it." 
 
 But although these arguments were loudly uttered, there 
 was no doubt that there was considerable soreness, and that the 
 men felt the hardship of favoured troops from England being 
 employed in their stead in a service that, if dangerous, was 
 likely to offer abundant opportunities for the display of courage 
 and for gaining credit and honour. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE CAMEL CORPS. 
 
 TRUMPETER Smith! Trumpeter Smith!" The shout ran 
 through the arched corridor of the barracks, and a soldier 
 putting his head through one of the windows repeated the cry 
 at the top of his voice, for Trumpeter Smith was not in his 
 barrack-room. Edgar, in fact, was walking on the shady side 
 of the great court-yard chatting with two other troopers when 
 his name was shouted. 
 "Hullo! What is it f- 
 " You are to go to Major Horsley's quarter.?." 
 
IS TIIF.RE ANYTHING YOU WANtV 115 
 
 Edgar buttoned up his jacket, ran to tlie washing-place, 
 phinged his head and liands in water and hastily dried them, 
 smoothed down his hair with his pocket- comb at a piece of 
 looking-glass that had been stuck up against the wall above the 
 basins, and adjusting his cap to the correct angle made his way 
 to Major Horsley's quarters, wondering much what he could 
 be wanted for, but supposing that he was to be sent on some 
 message into the town. 
 
 The soldier-servant showed him into the room where Major 
 Horsley and his wife were sitting. 
 
 After a word or two of kindly greeting from the lady, Major 
 Horsley went on •. " I told you a long time back. Smith, that I 
 should not forget the service you did my wife and her sister, 
 and that I Avould do you a good turn if I ever got the chance. 
 Is there anything you particularly want at present V' 
 
 " No, sir, except that I have been thinking that I should be 
 glad to give up my trumpet. I am just eighteen now, and it 
 Avould be better for me, I think, to take my regular place in 
 the ranks. I should be more likely to be promoted there than 
 I am as a trumpeter." 
 
 "Yes, you would be sergeant in a very short time. Smith; 
 after your behaviour at El-Teb you would be sure of your 
 stripes as soon as you were eligible for them. But I should not 
 advise you to give up your trumpet just at the present moment." 
 
 " Very well, sir," Edgar said, somewhat surprised. 
 
 " But there is something else you are wishing for, is there 
 not? I fancy every officer and man in the regiment is wishing 
 for it." 
 
 "To go up the Nile, sir?" Edgar said eagerly. "Yes; I do 
 wish that, indeed. Is there any chance of the regiment going, 
 sir?" 
 
 " No, I am sorry to say there is not," the major said. 
 
 "And a very good thing too, Richard," his wife put in. 
 
 " I do not think so at all. It is the hardest thing ever heard 
 of that the regiments here that have had all the heat and hard 
 
 (650) K 
 
146 "YOU ARE TO GO." 
 
 work, and everything else of this beastly place, are to be left 
 behind, while fellows from England go on. Well, Smith," he 
 went on, turning to Edgar, "I am glad to say I have been able 
 to do you a good turn. When I was in the orderly-room just 
 now a letter came to the colonel from the general, saying that 
 a trumpeter of the Heavy Camel Corps is down with sunstroke 
 and will not be able to go, and requesting him to detail a 
 trumpeter to take his place. I at once seized the opportunity 
 and begged that you might be chosen, saying that I owed you 
 a good turn for your plucky conduct at Aldershot. The ad- 
 jutant, I am glad to say, backed me up, saying that you have 
 done a lot of credit to the regiment with your cricket, and that 
 the affair at El-Teb alone ought to single you out when there 
 was a chance like this going. The colonel rather thought that 
 you were too young, but we urged that as you had stood the 
 climate at Suakim you could stand it anywhere on the face 
 of the globe. So you are to go, and the whole regiment will 
 envy you." 
 
 "I am obliged to you indeed, sir," Edgar said in delight. "I 
 do not know how to thank you, sir." 
 
 " I do not want any thanks. Smith, for a service that has 
 cost me nothing. Now you are to go straight to Sergeant 
 Edmonds. I have sent him a note already, and he is to set 
 the tailors at work at once to rig you out in the karkee 
 uniform. We cannot get you the helmet they are fitted out 
 with. But no doubt they have got a spare one or two; pro- 
 bably they will let you have the helmet of the man whose 
 place you are to take. You will be in orders to-morrow morn- 
 ing, and I have asked Edmonds to get your things all finished 
 by that time. Come in and say good-bye before you start in 
 the morning." 
 
 There was no slight feeling of envy when Edgar's good 
 fortune became known, and the other trumpeters were unani 
 mous in declaring that it was a shame his being chosen. 
 
 "Well, you see, you could not all go," the trumpet-major 
 
"BR A Cr.KDIT TO TIIK RROTMENT." 147 
 
 said, "and if Smith liad not been chosen it would liave hccn 
 long odds against each of you." 
 
 "15ut he is the last joined of the lot," one of the men urged. 
 
 " He can blow a trumpet as well as any of you," the sergeant 
 said, " and that is what he is wanted for. I think that it is 
 natural enough the colonel should give him the pull. The 
 officers think a good deal of a fellow who helped the regiment 
 to win a dozen matches at cricket, and who carried off the 
 long-distance running prize at Aldershot; besides, he behaved 
 uncommonly well in that fight, and has as good a right to the 
 V.C. as any man there. I think that a fellow like that ought 
 to have the pull if only one is to get it, and I am sure the 
 whole regiment will be of opinion that he has deserved the 
 chance he has got." 
 
 By the next morning the suit of karkee was ready, and 
 Edgar was sent for early to the orderly-room and officially 
 informed by the colonel that he had been detailed for service 
 in the Heavy Camel Corps. 
 
 "I need not tell you. Smith, to behave yourself well — to be a 
 credit to the regiment. I should not have chosen you for the 
 service unless I felt perfectly confident that you would do 
 that. I hope that you will come back again safe and sound 
 with the regiment. Good-bye, lad!" 
 
 Edgar saluted and left the room. Several of the officers 
 followed him out and bade him a cheery farewell, for he was 
 a general favourite. All knew that he was a gentleman, and 
 hoped that he would some day win a commission. He then 
 accompanied Major Horsley to his quarters, and there the 
 officer and his Avife both shook hands with him warmly. 
 
 "You will be a sergeant three months after you come back," 
 Major Horsley said; "and your having been on this Nile 
 expedition, and your conduct at El-Teb, will help you on when 
 the time comes, and I hope you will be one of us before many 
 years are over." 
 
 Edgar then went up to his barrack-room to say good-bye 
 
148 THE HEAVY CAMEL CORPS. 
 
 to his friends, and took off his smart Hussar uniform and put 
 on the karkee suit, amid much laughter and friendly chaff at 
 the change in his appearance. The adjutant had ordered a 
 trooper to accompany him to the camp of the Camel Corps, 
 which was pitched close by the Pyramids, and to bring back his 
 horse. He therefore mounted and rode out of the barracks, 
 amid many a friendly farewell from his comrades. He rode 
 with his companion into the town and down to the river, 
 crossed in a ferry-boat, and then rode on to the camp. In- 
 quiring for the adjutant's tent Edgar dismounted and walked 
 up to that officer, and presented a note from the colonel. 
 
 The officer glanced at it. "Oh, you have come to accom- 
 pany us!" he said. "You look very young for the work, lad; 
 but I suppose your colonel would not have chosen you unless he 
 thought you could stand it. I see you have got our uniform, 
 but you want a helmet. We can manage that for you. Ser- 
 geant Jepherson, see if Trumpeter Johnson's helmet will fit 
 this man; he is going with us in his place. Fit him out with 
 water-bottle and accoutrements, and tell him off to a tent." 
 
 The helmet fitted fairly, and only needed a little padding 
 to suit Edgar, who, after putting it on, ran out to where his 
 comrade was waiting for him and fastened his own head-gear 
 to the pummel of his saddle. 
 
 " Good-bye, young un!" the trooper said. " Hold your own 
 with these heavies for the honour of the regiment. They mean 
 well, you know, so don't be too hard upon them." 
 
 Edgar laughed as he shook the man by the hand, and as he 
 rode off" turned to look at the scene around liim. 
 
 There were two camps at a short distance from each other, 
 that of the Heavy Camel Corps to which he now belonged, com- 
 posed of men of the 1st and 2d Life Guards, Blues, Bays, 4th 
 and 5th Dragoon Guards, Eoyals, Scots Greys, 5th and 16th 
 Lancers. The other was the Guards Corps, composed of men 
 of the three regiments of foot guards. Edgar's first feeling as 
 he looked at the men who were standing about or lying in the 
 
"I WILL I>UT IIIM Ul' TO TJIK llUl'KS." II!) 
 
 hIkkIo of tlio littlo triiuigular liidiau iiiouuLuiu-.scrvico tents, 
 was that he had suddenly grown smaller. He was fully up to 
 the average height of the men of his own regiment, Init ho 
 felt small indeed by the side of the big men of the heavy 
 cavalry regiments. 
 
 "This Avay, lad," the sergeant into whose charge he had 
 been given, said. "What is your name]" 
 
 " 1 am down as Nod Smith." 
 
 The sergeant smiled at the answer, for no inconsiderable 
 number of men enlist under false names. He led the Avay 
 tlu'ough the little tents until he stopped before one where a 
 tall soldier was lying at full length on the sand. " Willcox, 
 this man has come to take the place of Trumpeter Johnson. He 
 i>i detached for duty with us from the Hussars. He will, of 
 course, share your tent." 
 
 " All right, sergeant ! I will put him up to the ropes. What's 
 your name, mate?" 
 
 "I go as Ned Smith," Edgar said. 
 
 "So you are going in for being a heavy at present." 
 
 " I don't care whether I am a heavy or a light, so that I can 
 go up the river." 
 
 " Have you been out here longi" 
 
 "About a year; we were through the fighting at Suakim, 
 you knoAv. It was pretty hot down there, I can tell you." 
 
 "It is hot enough here for me — a good deal too hot, in fact; 
 and as for the dust, it is awful ! 
 
 "Yes, it is pretty dusty out here," Edgar agreed; "and of 
 course, with these little tents, the wind and dust sweep right 
 through them. Over there in Cairo Ave have comfortable 
 barracks, and as we keep close during the day we don't feel 
 the heat. Besides, it is getting cooler now. In August it Avas 
 really hot for a bit even there." 
 
 "Where are Ave going to get these camels, do you knoAV?" 
 
 "Up the river at Assouan, I believe; but I don't knoAV very 
 nmch about it. It Avas only yesterday afternoon I got orders 
 
150 THE PYRAMIDS. 
 
 that 1 was to go with you, to take the place of one of your 
 men who had fallen sick, so I have not paid much attention as 
 to what was going on. It has been rather a sore subject with 
 us, you see. It did seem very hard that the regiments here 
 that have stood the heat and dust of this climate all along 
 should be left behind now that there is something exciting to 
 do, and that fresh troops from England should go up." 
 
 " Well, I should not like it myself, lad. Still I am precious 
 glad I got the chance. I am one of the 5th Dragoon Guards, 
 and you know we don't take a turn of foreign service — though 
 why we shouldn't I am sure I don't know — and we are precious 
 glad to get a change from Aldershot and Birmingham and 
 Brighton, and all those home stations. You are a lot younger 
 than any of us here. The orders were that no one under 
 twenty-two was to come." 
 
 " So I heard; but of course as we are out here, and we have 
 got accustomed to it, age makes no difference." 
 
 "What do they send us out here for?" 
 
 " There are no barracks empty in the town, no open spaces 
 where you could be comfortably encamped nearer. Besides, 
 this gives you the chance of seeing the Pyramids." 
 
 "It is a big lump of stone, isn't if?" Willcox said, staring at 
 the Great Pyramid. "The chaps who built that must have 
 been very hard up for a job. AVhen I first saw it I was 
 downright disappointed. Of course I had heard a lot about 
 it, and when we got here it wasn't half as big as I expected. 
 After we had pitched our tents and got straight, two or three 
 of us thought we would climb up to the top, as we had half 
 an hour to spare. Just as we set off one of the officers came 
 along and said, ' Where are you going, lads?' and I said, "The 
 cooks won't have tea ready for half an hour, sir, so we thought 
 we would just get up to the top and look round.' And he said, 
 ' If you do you will be late for tea.' 
 
 "Well, it didn't seem to us as if it would take more than 
 five minutes to get to the top and as much to get down again. 
 
DRILL. 151 
 
 SO ofl" wu went. r>nt directly Ave began to clinil) we found the 
 job w;is not as easy as we had expected. It looked to us as if 
 there was but a hundred steps to go up; but each step turned 
 out to be about five feet high, and we hadn't got up above 
 twenty of them when the trumpet sounded, and we pretty 
 near broke our necks in coming down again. After that I got 
 more respect for that lump of stone. Most of the oflicers 
 went up next day, and a few of us did manage it, but I wasn't 
 one of them. I did try again; but I concluded that if I wanted 
 to go up the Nile, and to be of any good when I got there, I 
 had best give it up, for there would not be anything left of 
 me to speak of by the time I got to the top. Then those 
 Arab fellows got round, and shrieked and jabbered and 
 wanted to pull us up; and the way they go up and down those 
 stones is wonderful. But of course they have no weight to 
 carry. No, I never should try that job again, not if we were 
 to be camped here for the next ten years." 
 
 "I have been up to the top," Edgar said; "but it is certainly 
 a hard pull, and there is nothing much to see when you do get 
 there — only so much more sand in all directions. The view 
 from the great mosque at Cairo is much liner. Do you have 
 much drill?" 
 
 "Morning and evening we work away pretty stiff. It is 
 infantry drill we have. They say we are not going to fight 
 on the camels, but only to be carried along by them and to 
 get off and fight if we see the enemy, and as we are all new to 
 each other there is a good bit of work to be done to get us 
 down to work as one battalion. We and the 4th make a troop 
 together. We have drill in the afternoon, too, for a bit. Of 
 a morning those that like can go across and have a look at the 
 town. I went yesterday. Rum old place, isn't if? The rum- 
 miest thing is the way those little donkeys get about with a 
 fat chap perched on the top of a saddle two feet above them. 
 Never saw such mokes in my life. They ain't bigger than 
 good-sized dogs some of them, and yet they go along with 
 
152 CAMELS. 
 
 fifteen or sixteen stone on their backs as if they did not feel 
 it. Those and the camels pleased me most. Rum beasts those 
 camels. I can't think what it must feel like to be stuck up on 
 top of them, and if one does fall off it must be like coming off 
 a church. Have you tried one?" 
 
 " No. I have never been on a camel. Of course we always 
 have had our horses." 
 
 "Why didn't they get us horses'?" 
 
 " I don't know. They could have bought a couple of thou- 
 sand, no doubt, if they had tried; besides, they could have got 
 some from the Egyptian cavalry. But if they had they would 
 never have sent out you and the Guards; though the horses 
 would have done very well to carry light cavalry. I fancy the 
 idea is that in the first place we have to go long distances 
 without water. Camels can stand thirst for three or four days 
 together, and each camel can carry water for its rider. Then, 
 too, we may perhaps march sometimes, and the camels could 
 carry water and food. So, you see, they will be useful both ways." 
 
 " Well, I suppose it is all right," Willcox said; " and as you 
 say, if they had gone in for horses they could not have carried 
 us heavies. I am precious glad to come. So are we all; though 
 why they wanted to bring us and the Guards — the biggest and 
 heaviest men they could pick out in the army — on a job like 
 this, is more than I can say." 
 
 "It is more than anyone can say, I should think," Edgar 
 said; and indeed no reason has ever been assigned for the 
 singular choice of the heaviest men that could be collected in 
 the service for duty on a campaign such as this was to be, and 
 for which light, active, wiry men were especially suitable. 
 
 "There is the dinner call." 
 
 "What troop are we in?" Edgar asked, seizing his trumpet, 
 and on learning at once gave the troop call. 
 
 " We are in messes of eight," Willcox replied. " We and the 
 three tents to the right have one mess. It is our turn to go 
 over and get the grub." 
 
A COMTAUISON. 153 
 
 Acct)i\liiiij,ly Willcox and Edgar went across to the iiuld- 
 kitclicii and received the rations for their mess, consisting of 
 beef and vegetables — the bread for the day had been served out 
 early. Eeturning to the tents the rations were divided between 
 the party of eight, and Edgar was introduced by Willcox to his 
 now messmates. 
 
 "Your regiment was at Aldcrshot with us eighteen months 
 ago." 
 
 " Yes; but I did not know any of your men. 1 was over 
 one or two evenings at your canteen, which was by a long way 
 the best in the camp." 
 
 " Yes, we used to have some good singing there and no mis- 
 take," one of the men said. 
 
 " The Long Valley is not bad in the way of dust, but this 
 place beats it hollow," another put in. 
 
 " This is a cleaner dust," Edgar said. " The Long Valley dust 
 blackened one; tliis does not seem to have any dirt in it. As 
 far as the uniforms go there is not much difierence, but one 
 doesn't feel so grimy after a charge over this Egyptian sand as 
 one did in the Long Valley." 
 
 " We played you fellows at cricket, I remember," the man 
 said. " I was in our eleven. You beat us, for you had a 
 youngster we could not stand up against, he was a beggar to 
 bowl." 
 
 Edgar laughed. " I rather think I am the fellow," he said, 
 "Trumpeter Smith." 
 
 " It was Trumpeter Smith, sure enough. Well, you can bowl 
 and no mistake, young un. It is rum meeting out here like 
 this. And how have you been getting on since? You fellows 
 were in the thick of it at El-Teb, I saw; and got cut up a bit 
 by those niggers, didn't you?" 
 
 " That we did," Edgar replied. " I am not sorry that we are 
 going to fight as infantry this time, for I can tell you it is not 
 pleasant charging among fellows who throw themselves down 
 and hamstring your horse or drive a spear into him as he passes 
 
154 "WHEN ARE WE GOING TO START?" 
 
 over them; and once down it is likely to go pretty hard with 
 
 you." 
 
 " The infantry had it pretty hot too at Tamanieb] " 
 
 " Yes, they got into one of our squares, and I don't think 
 many of our fellows would have ever got away if it had not 
 been that Buller's square came up to their assistance. Still, I 
 don't suppose that will ever happen again. If the infantry 
 stand firm and shoot straight they ought never to be broken, 
 while that cavalry business was a thing nothing could guard 
 against. The best horseman in the world may go down if a 
 fellow shams dead and then suddenly stabs your horse." 
 
 "There is no doubt the beggars can fight," AVillcox said; 
 " and I expect we shall get some tough work before we get to 
 Khartoum. I only hope they won't catch us suddenly before 
 we have time to get off those camels. Fancy being stuck up on 
 one of those long-legged beasts with half a dozen niggers making 
 a cock-shy of you with their spears." 
 
 " I don't think that will happen," Edgar replied. " We shall 
 have the 19th to act as scouts, and as there will be no woods 
 or thick scrub, from what I have heard of the country, as there 
 was on the plains round Suakim, we ought not to be surprised." 
 
 " This meat is horribly tough," Willcox remarked. " It strikes 
 me they ought to have examined every one's mouth before they 
 sent them out, and to have chosen men with good sets of 
 grinders, for I am sure they will want them for this stuff." 
 
 "The meat is tough out here. You see, it won't keep and 
 has to be cooked pretty nearly warm, but it is better by a long 
 way than that tinned meat which is all we shall get, I expect, 
 when we once start." 
 
 "When are we going to start?" 
 
 "In a few days, I should think. The boats are being taken 
 uj) fast, and I believe a lot of the Canadians went up yesterday. 
 There are two or three infantry regiments up there ready to go 
 on as soon as the boats for them get up; and as most of the 
 camels are up there too, I should think they will push us up as 
 
KXl'LAININO THK UOUTK. 155 
 
 soon as thoy can, as I sui)pose we arc intended to go ahead of 
 the boats and clear the banks." 
 
 Then they l:)egan to talk about the route, and Edgar, who had 
 studied the maps and knew all that was known on the subject 
 of the journey, drew on the sand the course of the Nile with 
 its windings and turnings. 
 
 " You see the river makes a tremendous bend here," he said, 
 " round by Berber. The general idea is that when we get to 
 this spot, Avhere there is a place called Ambukol, if there is 
 news that Gordon is hard pressed and cannot hold out long, a 
 column will march across this neck to Metemmeh, where there 
 are some of Gordon's steamers. I expect that is the work 
 that will fall to the Camel Corps, and that it is specially for 
 this that we have been got up. You see, the rest of the 
 journey is along the water side, and horses would have done 
 just as well as camels, and would be much more useful, for, of 
 course, the infantry will do the main fighting, and the cavalry 
 are only wanted for scouting and pursuit. Camels are no 
 good for either one work or the other, for nothing will persuade 
 the beggars to move out of their regular pace, which is just 
 about two and three-quarter miles an hour. If they did not 
 intend to cut across this neck, I don't see what they wanted 
 more than the boats with the infantry and a regiment or two 
 of light cavalry on these country horses, which are wonderfully 
 hardy and can stand work that would knock English horses to 
 pieces in no time." 
 
 "Well, then, all that I can say is," Willcox put in, " that it 
 is very lucky for us that the river makes that big twist, other- 
 wise we might be all kicking our heels at Aldershot or the 
 Curragh, or in some garrison town. But I thought camels were 
 fast beasts. I am sure I have seen pictures of Arabs riding 
 about in the desert at a tremendous pace." 
 
 " There are some sort of camels called riding camels that are 
 faster than the others, and there are dromedaries, which can trot 
 as fast as a horse and keep it up for a long time; but the riding 
 
156 "ILL-TEMPERED BRUTES." 
 
 camels and dromedaries are both scarce and expensive, and you 
 may be sure we shall not have many of them with us." 
 
 " They are beastly ill-tempered looking brutes," Willcox said. 
 "When I was walking in the streets there the other day a 
 string of them came along, and they grumbled and growled 
 like wild beasts, and one showed his teeth and made as if he 
 was going right at me. If I had not jumped into a shop I 
 believe he would have had my ear off." 
 
 " They can bite, and bite very hard too; but it is very seldom 
 they do, though they do make a wonderful pretence of being 
 fierce. They call them the patient camel, but from Avhat I 
 have seen of them I should say that they are the most impatient, 
 grumbling beasts in creation. It makes no difference what you 
 do for them — whether you load them or unload them, or tell 
 them to get up or lie down, or to go on or stop — they always 
 seem equally disgusted, and grumble and growl as if what you 
 wanted them to do was the hardest thing in the world. Still, 
 they can do a tremendous lot of work, and keep on any number 
 of hours, and I don't know what the people of this country 
 would do without them." 
 
 In the afternoon Edgar paraded with his troop and fell into 
 the usual routine of dutj'-. As he had had a year's campaigning in 
 Egypt he was regarded as an authority, and after three or four 
 days was as much at home with the troop as he had been in his 
 own regiment. He found these big men very pleasant and 
 cheery companions. All had been picked for the service as being 
 men of exemplary character; they were in high spirits at the 
 prospect of the expedition before them, and were like a party 
 of great school-boys out on a holiday. They took to Edgar 
 kindly; belonging, as he did, to the light cavalry, they regarded 
 him as a sort of guest among them, and from his being so much 
 younger and smaller than themselves they looked upon him as 
 a boy, and he quickly got the nickname of "The Kid." 
 
 Many questions were asked him as to the fighting powers of 
 the wild natives. 
 
SAVAOR COURACiE. 15? 
 
 "How they could break rij^lit into a square licats me alto- 
 gether," one of the big trooi^ers said. " Tlicy always tell us that 
 cavalry have no chance nowadays of breaking into a scjuarc, for 
 they would all be shot down by the breech-loaders before they 
 could reach it, and yet these niggers, with nothing but spears, 
 manage to do it. I cannot make head or tail of it; no more I can 
 of you chaps getting cut up by them." 
 
 •' You will understand it when you see it," Edgar said. 
 " They run pretty nearly as fast as a horse can gallop, and 
 they don't seem to fear death in the slightest, for they believe 
 that if they are killed they go straight to heaven. It seems 
 to me that savages must be braver than civilized soldiers. It 
 was the same thing with the Zulus, you know, they came right 
 down on our men at Isandula, and the fire of the breech-loaders 
 did not stop them in the slightest." 
 
 " No more it would stop us, young un, if we got orders to 
 charge. It did not at Balaclava." 
 
 "No, that is true enough," Edgar agreed; "but then we 
 have got discipline. The order is given, and the whole regi- 
 ment goes off together; one could not hold back if one would. 
 But that is a different thing from rushing forward each man 
 on his own account, as they did against us, and running up 
 to what seemed certain death. I know the feeling among our 
 fellows was that they would not have believed it had they not 
 seen it." 
 
 " Well, I hope we shall get a chance of seeing it," the man 
 said, "only I hope that we shall not be atop of them camels 
 when they try it. I have been looking at the beasts over there 
 in the city, and there does not seem to me to be any go about 
 them. Beastly-tempered brutes ! I don't believe you could get 
 a charge out of them if you tried ever so much." 
 
 "No, I don't think you could," Edgar laughed. "But, 
 you see, we are intended to fight on foot. We shall be like 
 the old dragoons, who used their horses only to carry them to 
 the place where they were to fight." 
 
158 GOOD NEWS. 
 
 " No chance of any loot? " another put in. 
 
 " No chance in the world. At the best of times they wear 
 a sort of dirty cotton sheet round their shoulders, but when 
 they go into battle they leave that behind them, and fight only 
 in their loin-cloths." 
 
 " I have heard," an old soldier said, " from some of our chaps 
 who fought in the Indian mutiny, that they often found a 
 lot of money and jewels and things in those loin-cloths of the 
 sepoys." 
 
 " Ah, that was because they had been plundering treasuries 
 and capturing booty of all sorts. But I do not suppose many 
 of these Arabs ever saw a gold coin in their lives. They don't 
 see many silver ones. What wealth they have is in sheep and 
 cattle and horses, and with these they barter for such things 
 as they require. No; if you are fighting out here for a year 
 you will get nothing except a few worthless charms, of no value 
 whatever except as curios." 
 
 "Well, I wish they would let us be off," another said. "I 
 am sick already of these sands and that big lump of stone. 
 I hear the boats are going up every day, and if they do not 
 move us soon the infantry will be there before us." 
 
 " I think we shall travel a good deal faster than they do 
 when we are once off," Edgar said. " They will have rapids 
 and all sorts of difficulties to contend with, while we shall go 
 on steadily, five-and-twenty miles a day perhaps. You may be 
 sure we shall be well in front when the time for work comes. 
 They would never go to the expense of sending you all out, 
 and mounting you on camels, and then keep you behind." 
 
 "Have you heard the news, lads?" a sergeant asked, joining 
 the group. 
 
 "No! What is it?'' 
 
 "We are to strike tents at four o'clock this afternoon, march 
 down to the river, embark in a steamer, and start to-night. '' 
 
 " Hooray ! " the men shouted. " That is the best news we 
 have had since we landed." 
 
ON THR NILE. 159 
 
 In a sliort time most of the men were at work giving a final 
 polish to their arms. By four o'clock the tents were levelled 
 and rolled up, the baggage was packed and sent forward on 
 camels, and the regiment was formed up awaiting the orders to 
 march. The heat of the day had somewhat abated, but the 
 march, short as it was, was a trying one, from the clouds of light 
 sand that rose from beneath the feet of the column, and the men 
 were heartily glad when they embarked, two troops on board 
 the steamer and the rest on large fiats which she was to tow- 
 up the stream. Kits and belts were taken off, and the men 
 made themselves as comfortable as the crowded state of the 
 flats would permit. The officers were on board the steamer. 
 As they started a loud cheer broke from the men. They were 
 fairly off at last. There was no thought of the dangers and 
 difficulties before them. It was enough for them that they 
 were fairly on their way up the Nile to relieve, as they hoped, 
 Khartoum, and to rescue Gordon. 
 
 " If this is campaigning I don't care how much we have of 
 it," the soldier who was sitting next to Edgar said, looking 
 up at the deep blue sky studded with stars. "This suits me 
 down to the ground." 
 
 "You had better make the most of it," Edgar laughed, "it 
 won't last long; and you will have nothing like it again. I own 
 that, at any rate until we reach the highest point to which the 
 boats can go, I think the infantry have got the best of it. Of 
 course they will have hard work in hauling the boats jDast the 
 rapids, and they will have some rowing to do when the wind 
 is too light for the sails to carry them up, but I would rather 
 sit in a boat and row than sit on the back of a camel." 
 
 "But the boats will go all the way, won't they?" 
 
 " It is not known yet. It is possible that when we get to a 
 place named Korti, where the river makes a tremendous bend, 
 some of us may cross the desert to Metemmeh, where Gordon's 
 steamers will meet us. If we do I expect that will be the 
 work of the three Camel Corps, and all the boats will go right 
 
160 THE NEW CHARGERS, 
 
 round the river and join us there; that is, if they can get up 
 the cataracts. I know the Egyptians say the water will be too 
 low for the boats to go up. That may be true enough as to 
 the native boats, but ours draw so little water that I believe 
 there must always be depth enough for them, for there is 
 always a good lot of water coming down here even at the 
 driest season." 
 
 The regiment was disembarked at Assouan, and the next 
 day four companies went up in two steamers to Wady Haifa, 
 a hundred and eighty miles higher up the river. Edgar's 
 troop formed part of the detachment. They had expected to 
 see a place of some size, but found that it consisted only of a 
 few mud huts and some sheds of the unfinished railway. Here 
 for some days the men practised infantry drill and received 
 their equipments and saddles, and then they were marched to 
 the camel depot a mile away. 
 
 The soldiers were immensely amused at the sight of their 
 chargers. These animals had been collected from all parts of 
 Egypt, from Aden and Arabia. As soon as the proper number 
 had been received and told off to the men, the work of fitting 
 on the saddles commenced. This was by no means easy, as 
 the camel humps differed greatly from each other, and a good 
 deal of padding and altering was necessary before the saddles 
 were comfortably fitted. When the men mounted they formed 
 in line, and found that the animals were docile and obedient 
 to the rein, and manoeuvred together without difficulty. 
 Several days were spent in learning to sit the animals, and 
 there were many spills, but as the sand was deep no harm 
 came of them, and they caused great amusement to all except 
 the victims themselves. 
 
 The greatest difficulty was the mounting and dismounting, 
 both of which performances had to be done when the camel 
 was kneeling. In order to make him kneel it was necessary 
 to tug at the head-rope, at the same time making a sound like 
 clearing the throat. Then the rope was pulled at until his 
 
NOT A SOKT KICK. 1 (i I 
 
 licad \vas lirmiglit round to his shoulder. This provontiMl him 
 from getting up again. Tlu' ritlc, Avliich Avas shuig in a Imckct 
 on one side hehind tlie rider, was found to render it inipossihlo 
 to get the leg over, and it consequently became necessary for 
 the man to mount with his ritie in his hand, and to drop it 
 into the bucket afterwards. As the camel always rose and lay 
 (h)\\ u with great suddenness, men were, until accustomed to it, 
 constantly pitched over his head. 
 
 '■ I never want to see a camel again," Edgar grumbled, after 
 (inc or two days' exercise diversified by numerous falls; "they 
 are the most discontented beasts I ever saw." 
 
 "I don't mind their growling," a trooper said; "it is the 
 twistiness of the brutes I hate. When you are looking after a 
 horse you know what he can do and where he can reach you. 
 Of course if you get behind him he can kick, but when you 
 are standing beside him all that you have got to look after is 
 his head, and he cannot bring that round to bite very far. 
 These brutes can reach all over the place; they can kick at 
 you any way. They can scratch their ears with their hind 
 legs, and even rub the top of their humps with it if they are 
 disposed, or scratch themselves under the chin. Their necks 
 are the same, they can twist them anywhere. They can bite 
 the root of their tails, and lay their heads back and give them 
 a rub on the top of their humps. There is no safety with 
 them at all; and when they come at you growling and roaring 
 Avith their mouths open and showing their teeth it is enough 
 to scare you." 
 
 " It is fortunate that their hoofs are soft and spongy, so that 
 they cannot hurt like the kick of a horse," Edgar said. 
 
 "Spongy, be bloAved ! " the trooper replied. "Mine kicked 
 me in the chest yesterday and 1 went flying about ten yards, 
 and the breath was knocked out of my body for a quarter 
 of an hour." 
 
 "That Avas bad, no doubt," Edgar laughed; "but if it had 
 been a horse you Avould be in the hospital-tent noAV Avith some 
 
 (650) L 
 
162 EXASPERATING! 
 
 of your ribs broken, if you hadn't been smashed up alto- 
 gether." 
 
 "They are up to all sorts of tricks," the trooper went on, 
 looking savagely at his growling camel. " There was Eogers, 
 this morning, he was just passing a camel who was kneeling 
 down. Well, who would think that a kneeling camel could 
 do anything except with his head. Rogers swore that he did 
 not go within four yards of him, and the brute suddenly shot 
 out his hind leg and caught him on the knee and cut him 
 clean over, and he thought for some time that his leg was 
 broken. Blow all camels, I say ! " 
 
 As the camels were not to be used for fighting from, in the 
 presence of an enemy the troopers were to dismount and fight 
 on foot. When down the camels were to be knee-haltered, 
 one of the fore-legs being doubled up and strapped, which pre- 
 vented the animal from rising. Each camel received about five 
 pounds of grain night and morning, and the whole were taken 
 down to the river every other day to drink. The conduct of 
 many of them was exasperating in the extreme to their riders. 
 When taken down into the stream they would stand and look 
 about in an aimless way as if wondering what on earth they had 
 been brought there for, and would be sometimes ten minutes 
 or a quarter of an hour before the idea seemed to occur to 
 them that they might as well have a drink. 
 
 Once on the march they went steadily and well, obeying the 
 slightest motion of the halter, and keeping up their regular 
 pace without intermission from the time they started until 
 they were ordered to halt. 
 
 After a week's drill and practice the men became accustomed 
 to the ways of their animals, and were glad when the order 
 came for them to start. By this time the leading regiments of 
 the infantry had begun to go up in their boats. These were 
 broad, flat crafts, which had been specially built in England for 
 the purpose. Each carried twelve men and three months' supply 
 of provisions and stores for them. They were provided with 
 
HEAVY WORK. 163 
 
 sails and oars, and as the direction of the wind was up the 
 river the sails were of great assistance. 
 
 As the cavalry passed the Croat Cataract they had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing the process of getting the boats up. The rush 
 of waters was tremendous, and it seemed well-nigh impossible 
 to force the boats against them. It would indeed have been 
 impossible to row them, and they were dragged up by tow- 
 ropes by the united strength of the troops and a large number 
 of natives. At times, in spite of all the efforts of the men at 
 the ropes, the boats made no progress whatever, while if the 
 steersman allowed the stream for a moment to take the boat's 
 head it would be whirled round and carried down to the foot 
 of the rapid, when the work had to be recommenced. 
 
 The troopers thought, as they watched the exertions of the 
 infantry, that, rough as was the action of the camels, they had 
 decidedly the best of it, but such was not their opinion on 
 the following day when, as they were jogging wearily along, 
 several of the boats passed them running before a strong wind, 
 with the soldiers on board reclining in comfortable positions in 
 the bottom or on the thwarts. Again their opinions changed 
 when, the wind having dropped, they saw the men labouring 
 at the oars in the blazing sun. 
 
 " There are pulls both ways," one of the troopers said philo- 
 sophically, " and take it all round I don't know which has got 
 the best of it. If there are many of these cataracts I should 
 say w'c are best off, and they say there are lots of them between 
 this and Khartoum." 
 
 "I think we have got the best of it, certainly," Edgar said; 
 "for if it comes to leaving the river and pushing on we are 
 sure to be in it." 
 
 The journey from Wady Haifa to Dongola was 235 miles. 
 The day's march was generally about twenty miles, the halting- 
 places being made at spots previously settled upon, where there 
 were depots of provisions formed for them. The start was 
 made about five o'clock in the morning. For the first two 
 
164 THE MARCH. 
 
 hours the men walked, leading their camels; then Avhen the 
 sun became hot they mounted and rode the rest of the 
 distance. At first they found the monotonous motion very 
 trying, but became accustomed to it in time, and would even 
 go olf to sleep in the saddles, with the result, however, that 
 they were probably shot off if the camel came upon a sudden 
 irregularity of the ground. 
 
 In the cool of the evening the men bathed in the river, and 
 the ofiicers often went out in search of game, which was found, 
 however, to be very scarce. There were many regrets among 
 the men that they had brought no fish-hooks or lines with them, 
 for these would have furnished not only amusement during 
 their halts, but might have afforded a welcome change to the 
 monotony of their diet. 
 
 The country bordering the Nile was composed of low rocky 
 hills and hard gravel, with occasional tufts of dry grass and 
 scrub. Sometimes the troops marched four abreast, at other 
 times they had to go in single file across the rocky ground. 
 The fun of the camel -riding very soon passed off, and the 
 men found the marches extremely dull and monotonous, and 
 were heartilj^ glad when they got to Dongola. 
 
 Here the rest of the regiment joined them. Marching 
 twenty miles up the river they crossed the Nile in boats, and 
 another day's march took them to Shabadud; and after a stay 
 there of some days, drilling with other corps, they moved on 
 to Korti, four days' march. The site chosen for the camp de- 
 lighted the men. Groves of palms grew along the steep banks 
 of the river; beyond were fields of grass and broad patches 
 of cultivated land. Here they were to wait until the rest of 
 the mounted troops came up, and a portion, at any rate, of the 
 infantry arrived in the boats. 
 
A I'lllKNULY tSEUUKANT. 165 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 
 
 IT is a nice place for a camp, isn't it, youngster?" 
 " Very nice, sergeant; but it Avill soon be s[)oiled -with 
 all these troops arriving. It is very pretty now with that grove 
 of palm-trees, and the low green bushes that hide the sand, and 
 the river with all the boats with white sails. I have just been 
 counting them, there are thirty-two in sight. But when we 
 get three or four regiments here they will soon cut down the 
 scrub and spoil its appearance altogether." 
 
 " That is so, lad; troops make a pretty clear sweep of every- 
 thing where they settle down." 
 
 Edgar had taken a good deal to Sergeant Boweu, who had 
 shown him many little kindnesses on the way up. He was an 
 older man than most of those engaged in the expedition, and 
 Edgar judged him to be thirty-two or thirty-three years old. 
 He was a fine, tall, soldierly-looking fellow, and had served in 
 various parts of the world. 
 
 "Let us sit down," the sergeant said; "this bush will give 
 us a little shade. How long have you been in the army, ladl" 
 
 " Better than two years. Directly the campaign is over I 
 shall give up my trumpet, and hope I shall get my stripes soon." 
 
 "How old are you — nineteen?" 
 
 "Not for some months yet, sergeant." 
 
 "Hope to get your commission some dayl" the sergeant 
 said. " I suppose that is what you entered the army for." 
 
 "Yes, partly, sergeant; partly because I saw no other way 
 of keeping myself." 
 
 "But what are your friends doing?" 
 
 " I have not any friends; at least none that I care to apply 
 to," Edgar answered shortly. 
 
 " No friends, lad? That is bad. But I do not want to know 
 
166 AN OLD SOLDIER. 
 
 your story if you do not choose to tell it. It is easy to see 
 that you have had a good education. Keep steady, lad, and 
 you will get on. I might have been a quarter-master years 
 ago if it hadn't been for that. Drink and other things have 
 kept me down ; but when I was twenty I was a smart young 
 fellow. Ah! that is a long time back." 
 
 " Why, one would think that you were an old man, sergeant," 
 Edgar said, and smiled, 
 
 " Older than you would think by a good bit. How old do 
 take me to be?" 
 
 "Something past thirty." 
 
 "A good deal past that. I am just forty, though they don't 
 know it, or I should not be here." 
 
 "Why, then, if you enlisted when you were my age, ser- 
 geant, you must have done over twenty years' service." 
 
 "It's twenty-two since I first enlisted. I served eight 
 years in the infantry. I don't know why I am telling you 
 this, but somehow I have taken a fancy to you. I was uncom- 
 fortable in the regiment. It does not matter why. I got 
 my stripes twice, and had to give them up or I should have 
 been put back for drinking. Then I left the regiment without 
 asking leave. I was three or four years knocking about at home; 
 but I had no trade and found it hard to get work, so at last I 
 enlisted again. I was thirty then, but looked years younger 
 than I was. Of course I had shaved off my moustache and put 
 on a smock-frock when I went to enlist, and I gave my age as 
 twenty-two. No one questioned it. I chose the cavalry this 
 time, because I knew that if I entered an infantry regiment 
 again they would spot me as an old soldier at once; but as it 
 was all new in the cavalry I managed to pass it off, and now 
 I have had ten years' service, the last six of them as sergeant. 
 And as I gave up drink years ago I have a good character 
 in the regiment, and when a steady non-commissioned officer 
 was wanted for this business I had the luck to be chosen. 
 Officers coming, lad!" 
 
"TIIKKK WKRE TWO OF TI1EI\1." 1()7 
 
 Tlicy rose to their foet and saluted as three officers passed. 
 They were talking eagerly together, and returned the salute 
 mechanically without glancing at the two soldiers. 
 
 " It is a rum chance, Clinton, onr meeting here. I ran 
 against Skinner at Assouan quite accidentally. I had seen his 
 name in the list of the ofHcers of the Marines going up ; but we 
 met quite by chance, and only forgathered here yesterday, and 
 now here you are turning up as one of Stewart's A.D.C.'s. Who 
 would have thought that we three should meet here, when 
 we have never seen each other since we left Cheltenham'?" 
 
 The sergeant stood looking after them with an air of interest 
 till their voices died away. Then he turned to his companion. 
 
 "Hullo, lad, what is the matter? Are you ill?" 
 
 " No, I am all right," Edgar said huskily. 
 
 "Nonsense! Your colour has all gone, and you are shaking 
 like a leaf. What! did you know any of those officers?" 
 
 " I knew them all once," Edgar said. " We were at school 
 together. I did not know that any of them were out here. I 
 would not have them recognize me for anything." 
 
 "Oh, that is it! I thought you must have run away from 
 school; got into some scrape, I suppose. Well, my lad, as you 
 have made your bed you must lie in it. But it is not likely 
 that any of them would know you even if they ran up against 
 you. Two years' service under this sun changes a lad of your 
 age wonderfully. By the way, one of them called the other 
 Clinton; do you happen to know whether he is the son of a 
 Captain Clinton — Captain Percy Clinton?" 
 
 "Yes, he is." 
 
 "He was captain of my company when I was a young sergeant. 
 Well, well, time flies fast, to be sure. Do you know whether 
 this young fellow has a brother, and, if so, what he is doing?" 
 
 " No, he has no brother," Edgar said shortly. 
 
 "There were two of them," the sergeant said positively. 
 " Perhaps one has died. I wonder which it was," he muttered 
 to himself. 
 
168 "I AM YOUR son!" 
 
 "Do you know the story?" Edgar asked suddenly. 
 
 " Do I know the story!" the sergeant repeated slowly. "What 
 story do you mean?" 
 
 " The story of Captain Clinton's baby being confused with 
 another." 
 
 "Oh, you know about that, do joni" Sergeant Bowen asked 
 in turn. "So they made no secret of it. Ay, lad, I know it; 
 every man in the regiment knew it. And good cause I had to 
 know it, it was that that ruined me." 
 
 "Are j^ou Sergeant Humphreys'?" Edgar asked, putting his 
 hand on the man's shoulder. 
 
 The sergeant started in surprise. 
 
 "Why, lad, how come you to know all the ins and outs of that 
 story'? Ay, I was Sergeant Humphreys, and for aught I know 
 that young fellow who has just passed, whom they call Clinton, 
 is my son." 
 
 "No, he is not, sergeant; I am your son!" 
 
 The sergeant looked at the young trumpeter in bewilder- 
 ment, then his expression changed. 
 
 " You have got a touch of fever, lad. Come along with me 
 to the hospital; I will report you sick. The sooner you are out 
 of the sun the better." 
 
 "I am as sensible as I ever was in my life," Edgar said 
 quietly. " I was brought up by Captain Clinton as his son. I 
 was at Cheltenham with Rupert Clinton, who has just passed 
 us. We believed that we were twins u.ntil the day came when 
 a woman came down there and told me the story, and told me 
 that I was her son and yours; then I ran away, and here I am." 
 
 "My wife!" the sergeant exclaimed passionately. "I have 
 not seen or heard of her for fifteen years. So she came down 
 and told you that. She is a bad lot, if ever there was one. 
 And so she told you you were my soul You may be, lad, for 
 aught I know; and I should be well content to know that it 
 was so. But what did she come and tell you that for'? What 
 game is she up to now? I always knew she was up to some 
 
"A l!OI,n STKOKK THAT." 169 
 
 inischiof. W'liat was her motive in coming down to tell you 
 that'/ Just let me know what she said." 
 
 " She said she hatl deliberately changed mo as an infant for 
 my good, and she proposed to me to continue the fraud, and 
 ollered, if I liked, to swear to Rupert's being her child, so that 
 I might get all the property." 
 
 "And that she might share iu it!" the sergeant laughed 
 bitterlj% "A bold stroke that of Jane Humphreys. And how 
 did she pretend to recognize you as her child more than the 
 other 1" 
 
 " She told me that Captain Clinton's child had a tiny mole 
 on his shoulder, and as Eupert has such a mark, that settled 
 the question." 
 
 "Jane Humphreys told you more than she knew herself. 
 Whether she intended to make the change of babies or not I 
 don't know, but I believe she did; but whether it was done by 
 chance, or whether she purposely mixed them up together, one 
 thing I am certain of, and that is, that she confused herself as 
 well as every one else, and that she did not know which was 
 which. When I came into the room first she was like a woman 
 dazed, and, clever as she was, I am sure she was not putting it 
 on. She had thought, I fancy, that she could easily distinguish 
 one from the other, and had never fancied that she could have 
 been confused as well as other people. She undressed them, 
 and looked them over and over, and it was then she noticed 
 the little mole on the shoulder, and she turned to me and said, 
 'If I had but noticed this before I should always have told 
 them apart.' 
 
 " We had a pretty bad time of it afterwards, for it made me 
 the laugh of the whole regiment, and caused no end of talk and 
 worry, and we had frightful rows together. She taunted me 
 with being a fool for not seeing that there was money to be 
 made out of it. She acknowledged to me over and over again 
 that she had intended to change the children, and had dressed 
 them both alike: and when I asked her what good had come 
 
170 SHE DID NOT KNOW. 
 
 out of her scheming, she said that in the first place we had got 
 rid of the bother of bringing up the boy, and that if I were not a 
 fool we might make a good thing out of it yet. But she was 
 vexed and angry with herself for not having seen this little 
 mark, and for having herself lost all clue as to which was her 
 child. I told her that as she had intended to change them she 
 could have cared nothing for her own boy, and that her only 
 object could have been to make money. 
 
 " She did not deny it, but simply jeered at me for being con- 
 tent to remain all my life a non-commissioned officer when 
 there might be a fortune made out of this. I do not say that 
 if she had been able to tell one child from the other she would 
 have told me, for if she had I should certainly have gone to 
 Captain Clinton and told him ; but she did not know. A woman 
 can act well, but she cannot make herself as white as a sheet 
 and put such a wild look into her eyes as she had when I found 
 her turning those children over and over, and trying to make 
 out which was which. I could take the Bible in my hand and 
 swear in court that Jane Humphreys knew no more than I did 
 which was her child, that she had never noticed the mark until 
 after the change was made, and that to this day she does not 
 know. 
 
 " One of the points we quarrelled on was that I made her 
 start for the captain's quarters in such a hurry. She after- 
 wards said that when it first came across her that she did not 
 know which child was which, her blood seemed to go up into 
 her head, and she lost her power of judgment altogether. She 
 said over and over again that if I hadn't hurried her so, and 
 had let matters be for a day or two, so that she could have 
 slept on it and had looked at them quiet, she would have 
 known which was her child. So that is how it is, lad. You 
 may be Jane Humphreys' child and mine, or you may be Cap- 
 tain Clinton's, but no living soul can decide which. As to Jane 
 Humphreys, she is a liar and a thorough bad un, and if it is 
 only on her word that you have run away you have made a 
 
"THAT IS MY I'RESKNT IDKA." 171 
 
 had niistako of it. Still it is not too late, tt) put that liylit. My 
 word is as good as hers; and as slie swore before she did not 
 know which was which, her swearing now that she does, after 
 all these years, will go for nothing at all." 
 
 Edgar was silent for some time, then he said, " I have thought 
 a gootl many times since I ran away that I was wrong in not 
 ■waiting to hear what Captain Clinton said. But I had no reason 
 to doubt the story she told me, and when she proposed that I 
 should go on with this fraud and cheat Rupert out of his 
 position as heir, it was too horrible, and the thought that such 
 a woman was my mother was altogether too much to bear. I 
 will not make such a mistake again, or act in a hurry. My 
 present thought is that as I have chosen my way I will go 
 on in it. Before, Captain Clinton and his wife did not know 
 which was their child and loved us both equally, now that they 
 beUeve that Eupert is their son and that I was a fraud, they 
 will have come to give him all their love, and I am not going to 
 unsettle things again. That is my present idea, and I do not 
 think that I am likely to change it. 
 
 " I shall be glad to know that I need not consider myself that 
 woman's child, though it would not grieve me, now that I know 
 you, to be sure that you were my father. But Captain Clinton 
 and his wife were a father and mother to me up to the day 
 Avhen I ran away, and I could never think of anyone else 
 in that light." 
 
 " Quite natural, quite natural, lad ! You have never seen me 
 or heard of me, and it would be a rum thing if you could all of 
 a sudden come to care a lot about me. I know that you may 
 be my son, but I don't know that at present 1 like you any the 
 more for that than I did before. So we are quite of one mind 
 over that. But we will be friends, lad, stout friends!" 
 
 " That we will," Edgar said, clasping warmly the hand the 
 other held out to him. " You have been very kind to me up 
 to now, and now that at any rate we may be father and son we 
 shall be drawn very close together. When this campaign is 
 
172 "IF WE HAD BUT EDGAR HERE." 
 
 over it will be time to talk again about the future. I do not 
 think now that I am at all likely to change my mind, or to let 
 the Clintons know what you have told me; but I need not 
 trouble about it in any way until then. I was contented be- 
 fore, and I am contented now. If I have made a fool of myself, 
 as I think I have, I must pay the penalty, I have much to 
 be thankful for. I had a very happy time of it until the day 
 I left Cheltenham. I have had a good education, and I have 
 a first-rate chance of making my way up. I have made friends 
 of some of the officers of my regiment, and they have promised 
 to push me on. I had the luck to attract the colonel's attention 
 at El-Teb, and was among the names sent in for the Victoria 
 Cross; and although I did not get it, the fact that I was re- 
 commended will count in my favour." 
 
 " You are the right stuff, lad," the sergeant said, putting his 
 hand on his shoulder, " whether I or the captain was your 
 father. I reckon that it was he — I don't see where you can 
 have got what there is in you from our side. And now it is 
 time to be going back to camp. Who would have thought, 
 when we strolled out together, that so much was to come out 
 of our walk?" 
 
 While this conversation had been going on, Rupert Clinton 
 and his two old school-fellows were sitting on the ground in the 
 tent which Easton shared with another of General Stewart's 
 aides-de-camp. 
 
 "The scene has changed," Easton said as he handed them 
 each a tumbler of weak rum and water, " otherwise one might 
 imagine that we were in my study at Eiver-Smith's, and that 
 Skinner was about to lay down the law about the next football 
 match." 
 
 "Ah! if we had but Edgar here!" Rupert sighed. 
 
 " I did not like to ask whether you had found him, Clinton; 
 but I guessed you had not by your keeping silence." 
 
 "No, we have heard nothing of him beyond the fact that we 
 have occasionally a letter saying that he is well and comfort- 
 
"THAT IS WHAT I HorK." 17^ 
 
 able. Tlicy -wove all posted in London, but I still bclicvo that 
 he is in the army. My father is as convinced as ever that the 
 statement of that woman I told you of was a false one, and 
 that Kdi^ar is just as likely to be his son as I am. I know I 
 would gladly give up my share of the heirship to find him. 
 However, unless 1 run against him by pure chance I am not 
 likely to do that. We still put in advertisements occasionally, 
 but my people at home are as convinced as 1 am that we shall 
 not iioar from him until he has made his way in some line or 
 other, and he is in an independent position." 
 
 "He always Avas a sticker," Skinner said, "and if he took a 
 thing in hand would carry it through. You remember his rush 
 in our last match with C4reen's, how he carried the ball right 
 down through them all. I should not worry about it, Clinton; 
 it will all come right in time. He will turn up some day or 
 other; and when he finds that matters are just as they were 
 before, and that your people believe him to be just as likely to 
 be their son as you are, he will fall into his old place again — 
 at least that is my opinion of it." 
 
 "Yes, that is what I hope and believe," Rupert said. "Well, 
 Easton, how do you like the Guards, and how do you like 
 campaigning? I see that you have given up white shirts, like 
 the rest of us. I rather expected that if we did meet I should 
 find that, in some miraculous way, you still contrived to get 
 up immaculately.'' 
 
 Easton laughed. " No, I left my last white shirt at Cairo, 
 Clinton. I consulted my soldier-servant about it. He was 
 ready to guarantee the washing, but he did not see his way to 
 starching and ironing; so I had to give them up and take to 
 flannels. They were aAvful at first, and irritated my skin until 
 they brought on prickly heat, and I was almost out of my mind 
 for a few days. However, I have got over it now. What 
 made you go into the Marines, Skinner?" 
 
 "Well, just before the exam, came off an uncle of mine, who 
 is a great friend of the first lord, wrote to say that he could 
 
174 THE LATEST NEWS. 
 
 get me a commission. Well, in the first place I did not feel 
 very sure of passing for the line; in the second place I had a 
 liking for the sea; and in the third place, as my governor's 
 living is not a very large one and I have a lot of sisters, and I 
 thought I had had more than my share already m being sent 
 to Cheltenham — and one can live a good deal cheaper in the 
 Marines than in the line — I concluded the best thing I could do 
 was to accept the offer; and I have not been sorry that 1 did 
 it. It was awful luck my coming out in the Naval Brigade 
 here; it was just a fluke. The man who was going was chucked 
 off a horse and broke his arm the day before the brigade sailed 
 from Suakim, and I was sent up in his place. Well, what is 
 the last news, Clinton? You ought to know, as you are on 
 the staff." 
 
 "They don't intrust aides-de-camp with their secrets," Rupert 
 replied; "but I think it likely there will be a move in a day 
 or two, and that the Camel Corps will push across to Metemmeh 
 and wait there till the boats get round.'' 
 
 "Yes, that is what every one is talking about," Easton said. 
 "The question that is agitating us is whether all the Camel 
 Corps will go; and if not, which will be chosen 1" 
 
 "Ah, that I know nothing about, Easton; but I should think 
 if any go, the Guards would be sure to be in it. But whether 
 the Heavies or the Lights will go, if only two are chosen, I 
 cannot say. I should fancy one will go with the boats any- 
 how, so as to keep along parallel with them and protect them 
 against any sudden attack while they are afloat." 
 
 " Will the chief go on, do you think?" 
 
 "Not if only a small body cross the desert. At least I 
 should think not. I should say he would stay here until 
 Metemmeh is occupied and the boat column is well on its way, 
 and that then he will go on to Metemmeh, and take the com- 
 mand there when the whole force is assembled. In that case 
 Stewart would of course command the desert column, and I 
 should be all right." 
 
THAT IS AIAVAYR A NUISANCE. 175 
 
 "Tlie great question is, will the beggars fight?" Skinner 
 remarked; "and if so, where?" 
 
 " They are sure to fight," Easton said. " I don't think there 
 is the least doubt about that, but I should not think there 
 will be any fighting this side of Metemmeh; it will be some- 
 where between that and Khartoum. The Mahdi cannot help 
 fighting after smashing up Hicks and giving himself out as 
 invincilile. He would lose his hold altogether of the people if 
 he did not come down and fight. Uf course there is no doubt 
 aliout the result; but, judging from the way those fellows 
 fought down by the Red Sea, it is likely to be pretty tough 
 work. I shall be sorry for the poor beggars with their spears 
 against our breech-loaders, but it has got to be done." 
 
 Skinner and Eupert both laughed, for Easton spoke exactly 
 as he used to do with regard to football. 
 
 " It will be a nuisance your having to exert yourself, won't 
 it, Easton?" 
 
 "i'es, that is always a nuisance, and in a climate like this!" 
 Easton said seriously. " Why nature made a place so hot, I 
 cannot make out. I am sure if I were to be weighed I should 
 find I had lost nearly a stone since I came out." 
 
 "You have quite enough flesh on you," Skinner said critically. 
 " If you have lost a stone you must have been getting beastly 
 fat. You fellows in the Guards do not take enough exercise. 
 The time was when the Guards used to row and had a very 
 good eight, but they never do that sort of thing now. It would 
 do you all a lot of good if, instead of wandering between Lon- 
 don and Windsor and Dublin, you were to take your turn for 
 foreign service." 
 
 "But then we should not be Guards, Skinner." 
 
 "Well, you would be none the worse for that," Skinner 
 retorted. 
 
 "He is just as bad as he used to be, Clinton," Easton laughed; 
 " just the same aggressive, pugnacious beggar that he was at 
 River-Smith's." 
 
176 "don't talk about it." 
 
 "He means well, Easton. We never expected more than 
 that from him. He must make himself fearfully obnoxious to 
 the fellows who have the misfortune to be shut up on board 
 ship with him." 
 
 " I shall make myself obnoxious to you, Clinton, if you don't 
 look out. It is only the heat that protects you. Have you 
 met any others of our fellows out here^" 
 
 "iSTot from our house, but I know there are seven or eight 
 fellows of about our own standing out here altogether." 
 
 "If we are up here in the cold weather," Skinner said, 
 " that is, if there ever is any cold weather, we will get a foot- 
 ball made and challenge a team from any other school." 
 
 "Don't talk about it," Easton said plaintively. "It throws 
 me into a perspiration even to think about it. The dust would 
 be something awful. Possibly if we are up here through the 
 winter, or through the period they are pleased to call winter, 
 we might get up cricket; but as for football, it is out of the 
 question. Of course if we were stationed at Dongola, or Berber, 
 or Khartoum, we could get the bats and stumps and things 
 sent up to us. It would be fun if it were only to see how these 
 lazy, squatting beggars would stare when they saw us at it." 
 
 "But you were never enthusiastic about cricket." 
 
 " No. But then, you see, I do not propose to play on our side. 
 My idea is that I should sit down on the sands in the shade of 
 the scrub and smoke my pipe quietly. That is the oriental idea 
 of taking exercise; pay somebody to dance for you, and sit 
 and watch them, but do not think of attempting to take a 
 hand yourself. It would be fatal to any respect these Egyp- 
 tians may feel for us if they were to see us rushing about the 
 sand like maniacs in pursuit of a ball. However, though I 
 should not play myself, I should take a lively interest, Skinner, 
 in seeing you and Clinton working hard. But I must be going, 
 it is near time for us to parade. Come across to my tent at 
 nine o'clock this evening. 1 cannot ask you to dinner — that 
 must be deferred until we get home again — but we can smoke 
 
'THE DIE IS (!AST." 177 
 
 ;i i)ipi> .111(1 talk over old dnj's; and I ran t:;ivo j'ou a t^^lass of 
 good Idandy and water, which is a change from the coiuniis- 
 sariat ruin. 1 managed to smuggle up half a dozen bottles." 
 
 Mdgar Avas much disturbed by the story he had heard so 
 uiie.\i)LH>tcdly from the sergeant. He regretted now that he 
 had acted t^o hastily. Certainly the story put a completely new 
 com})loxioii on the case, and his chance of being Captain Clin- 
 ton's son was just the same as it had ever been. He wondered 
 ^vhotllcr his father and mother— for so in his thoughts he 
 always named them — had doubted the truth of this woman's 
 statement to him, or whether they had believed it as he had 
 (lone, and had put him out of their hearts as one with whom 
 the}' had nothing to do, and who had been already too long 
 imposed upon them. But he felt that this was an unjust view, 
 and that however they might now be confident that Eupert 
 was their son and heir they still cherished an affection towards 
 him. " However," he said, " this will make no difierence to 
 me. The die is cast, and I cannot go back now. Still I shall 
 be happier than I was before. Then I considered that I had 
 been an impostor who had received affection and care and kind- 
 ness to which I had no shadow of right. Now I know that 
 this is not so, and that it is just as likely that I am their son 
 as it is that Rupert is; and I stay away for my own choice, and 
 because, having made them believe that Rupert was their son, 
 T am not going to disturb and make them unhappy again by 
 showing them that this was a mistake, and that everything is 
 as unsettled as before. 
 
 " I told them that they would never hear of me until I had 
 made my own way, and I shall stick to that. Who would 
 have thought of meeting Rupert here? It has been a great 
 piece of luck for him getting out here as General Stewart's 
 aide-de-camp, but I know the general is a friend of my father, 
 and that accounts for it. Perhaps this sei-geant is my father. 
 I did not seem to mind the thought before. I did not even 
 know whether he Avas alive, and never really faced it; and yet, 
 
 (650) M 
 
178 "IT DOES GO AGAINST THE GRAIN." 
 
 if Sergeant Bowen is to be my father, he is as good as another. 
 He seems a fine fellow, and has had no hand in this fraud. 
 I ought, indeed, to think myself lucky; for he is steady and 
 respectable, a good soldier, and I can see liked by the officers 
 as well as the men. It was curious that he should have taken 
 a fancy to me. 
 
 " Still it does go against the grain, though I can see he has 
 no intention of claiming me openly as his son. If he had, I 
 think I should have kicked against it; but as it is, I am sure 
 we shall be very good friends." 
 
 After drill was over next morning, and the camels had been 
 seen to and the men dismissed. Sergeant Bowen came up to 
 him — 
 
 "Let us take another turn together, lad. I have been 
 thinking a lot," he went on when they were beyond the lines, 
 " of our talk yesterday. Now, lad, you have been brought up 
 as a gentleman, and to consider yourself as Captain Clinton's 
 son; remember, I don't want you to think that I expect you 
 to make any change about that. I have done nothing for you 
 as a father; and whether I am your father or not you do not 
 owe me anything, and I want to tell you again that I don't 
 expect in the least that because it is possible you are my son 
 you should regard me in the light of your father. 
 
 "I can understand that after all your life looking at the 
 captain as your father, and after he and his wiie being every- 
 thing to you, you would find it mighty hard to regard me in 
 that way. I don't expect it, and I don't want it. If he is not 
 your father by blood, he is your father in right of bringing you 
 up and caring for you and educating you, and it is quite right 
 and quite proper that you should always regard him so. You 
 can look upon me, lad, just as a foster-father — as the hus- 
 band of the woman who was for a time your nurse, and who 
 would gladly repair the wrongs he did to you. I just say this, 
 lad, to make things straight between us. I want us to be 
 friends. I am an old soldier, and you a young one. We are 
 
THE BARGAIN WAR SEALED. 179 
 
 comrades in this expedition. Wo have taken to each other, 
 and would do each other a good turn if we had a chance. I 
 don't want more tlian that, lad, and I don't expect you to give 
 more. If I can lend you a helping hand on or off duty, you 
 know I shall do so. So let us shake hands on it, and agree to let 
 the matter drop altogether until this campaign is over. Then 
 we will talk over together what had best be done. A few 
 months longer of this life will do you no harm, and you will 
 make all the better officer for having had two or three years in 
 the raidvs. But I will say at once that I think that you are 
 wrong, now you know how the matter stands, in not writing at 
 once to the captain and letting him know the truth. Still there 
 is no harm in its standing over for the present. You must go 
 through the expedition as you are now, and they would be no 
 easier for knoAving that you are exposed to danger out here 
 than they are at present when they know nothing of your 
 wherealiouts." 
 
 Edgar shook the sergeant heartily by the hand, and the 
 bargain was sealed. 
 
 Every day troops kept on arriving, and by the 27th of 
 December there were already at Korti a considerable portion 
 of the Sussex, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, the 
 Essex, Gordon Highlanders, Black Watch, and Staffordshire, 
 all of whom had come up in the whale-boats; a large number 
 of the commissariat, transport, hospital, and engineer train in 
 native boats; the whole of the Guards' Camel Corps, and the 
 greater portion of the Heavy and Light Camel Corps, a hundred 
 men of the Marines, who were provided with camels, and ap- 
 pointed to form part of the Guards' Camel Corps, two sc^uad- 
 rons of the 19th Hussars, and the Mounted Infantry. 
 
 In the few days that had passed since the troops to which 
 Edgar was attached had arrived at Korti the change in the 
 appearance of the place was great. The grove of palm-trees 
 still stood near the bend of the river, but the green fields 
 of grass and the broad patches of growing crops had been 
 
180 "ONLY WHAT WE CAN CARRY." 
 
 either levelled or trampled down, a«d the neighbourhood of 
 the camp presented the appearance of the sandy wastes of 
 Aldershot. 
 
 On the evening of that day Skinner rushed into Easton's 
 tent. 
 
 " I have just seen Clinton," he said, " and the rumours are 
 going to be fulfilled at last. They did not inspect our water- 
 skins, arms, and accoutrements for nothing to-day, We are to 
 start on the 30th across the desert. There is no secret about it, 
 or of course Clinton wouldn't have told me. There are to be 
 our regiment, a squadron of Hussars, the Mounted Infantry, and 
 Engineers. We are to take with us baggage-camels and the 
 camels of the heavy and light regiments. We are going to 
 Gakdul, about a hundred miles off. There all the stores are to be 
 left, and the camels and Mounted Infantry to come back here. 
 We are to remain to guard the stores. As soon as the camels 
 return here, the Heavies are to take their own beasts, and, 
 with the Mounted Infantry, escort every baggage animal that 
 can be got up here, when we shall all go on together. Sir 
 Herbert Stewart commands." 
 
 "What about baggage?" Easton asked, after expressing his 
 deep satisfaction that the advance was about to begin. 
 
 " Only what we can carry ourselves on our camels, and the 
 weight is limited to forty pounds, which is abundant even for 
 sybarites like you guardsmen. A quarter of that would be 
 amply sufficient for me. A couple of blankets, a waterproof 
 sheet, half a dozen flannel shirts, ditto socks, pair of slippers, 
 and a spare karkee suit; sponge, tooth-brush, and a comb. 
 What can anyone want more? " 
 
 "I should like to take my waterproof bath," Easton said. 
 
 " Pooh ! nonsense, man ! Where are you going to get your 
 water from ? " 
 
 " There is water at Gakdul, and there will be plenty when 
 we get to Metemmeh," Easton said. 
 
 "Well, I will grant that," Skinner said; "but anyhow you 
 
IHK DESKRT COLUMN. 181 
 
 can iiuuuii^c very ■well as we do. Make a hole in tlic sand and 
 put your waterproof sheet into it, and there you have got as 
 good a bath as anyone can want. What is the use of lumber- 
 ing yourself up witli things you do not want? Much better 
 take those three bottles of braiady you have got left and a 
 couple of pounds of tobacco. That is the utmost allowance I 
 should give. The camels will have to go a long time without 
 water, and the less you put on their backs the better. You 
 know what a difl'erence a few pounds makes to a horse; and I 
 suppose it must be the same thing with them." 
 
 At three o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th the force 
 intended for the desert march paraded, and after marching 
 past Lord Wolseley moved off in solid formation, thirty camels 
 abreast. The total force consisted of 73 officers, 1212 men and* 
 natives, and 2091 camels. The whole camp had turned out to 
 see the departure of the column, and Edgar, with his helmet 
 pressed down low over his eyes, watched Eupert as he rode 
 after Sir Herbert Stewart, and Easton and Skinner with the 
 Guards Camel Corps. The Heavies had been much disappointed 
 at not forming part of the first advance, and especially at their 
 camels being taken for baggage animals, but they consoled 
 themselves by the fact that the native spies all reported that 
 there were no bodies of the enemy between Korti and Gakdul, 
 and it was not likely therefore that there would be any fighting 
 until the whole force moved forward together from Gakdul to 
 ]\Ietemmeh. 
 
 In front of the column were half a dozen natives on camels. 
 These acted as the guides of the party. They had been ex- 
 tremely unwihing to go, and it was only when the general 
 offered them the alternative of going willingly and receiving 
 good pay for their work, or being lashed to their camels and 
 forced to go without any pay whatever, that they elected the 
 first. The Hussars scouted in front of the column, riding far 
 ahead and scouring the country in search of lurking foes. Two 
 hours after starting there was a halt, fires were lighted from 
 
182 A NIGHT MARCH. 
 
 the dry grass and mimosa bushes, and tea was made and served 
 out. By this time it was five o'clock, and the sun had set. 
 In an hour or two the moon, which was nearly full, rose, and 
 afforded ample light for the journey. 
 
 For a time the silence of the desert was broken by the 
 laughter and talk of the men, but as the time went on the 
 sounds were hushed as sleepiness fell upon them. Short halts 
 were of frequent occurrence, as the baggage animals in the 
 rear lagged behind, or their loads slipped, and had to be re- 
 adjusted. Then a trumpet was sounded by the rear-guard, and 
 it was repeated by the trumpeters along the column, and all 
 came to a halt until the trumpet in the rear told that the camels 
 there were ready to advance again. So the march continued 
 throughout the whole night. 
 
 The ground was of hard sand or gravel, with round smooth 
 hills of dark stone rising from it. Near the hills the ground 
 was covered with low mimosa bushes and long yellow grass, 
 and in some places the mimosa trees rose to a length of ten or 
 twelve feet. At five o'clock day broke, and at half-past eight 
 the column halted at a spot where there were a good many 
 trees. Here they dismounted, breakfasted, and slept for some 
 hours. At three in the afternoon they started again, and at 
 half -past eight arrived at the first wells, those of Hambok; but 
 as they were found to contain very little water, the march was 
 continued to the El Howeiyat Wells, thirteen miles further. 
 Before they got there the watches told that midnight had ar- 
 rived, and the commencement of the new year was hailed with 
 a burst of cheering, and singing broke out all along the line, 
 and was continued for an hour, until they reached the wells. 
 
 There was but little water here, but the men carried theirs 
 in skins. The horses of the 19th Hussars received a bucketful 
 apiece, which exhausted the supply of the wells. At six 
 o'clock in the morning they again advanced, and after a rest of 
 three hours at mid -day continued their way until midnight, 
 when a light being seen at a distance the column was halted, 
 
AT CAKDUL. 183 
 
 uiul the Hussars went out and captured a caravan loaded with 
 dates for tlie use of the Mahdi troops. It was not until eight 
 o'clock in the morning that the weary troops and animals 
 reached the wells of Gakdul. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ALU KLEA 
 
 WHERE on earth are the wells?" Sldnner said to the 
 officer who was riding next to him; and a similar 
 question was asked by scores of others. 
 
 They had advanced through a narrow pass, and were now in a 
 small Hat surrounded apparently on all sides by hills. However, 
 as Major Kitchener, the head of the intelligence department, 
 and the native guides were there, every one supposed it was all 
 right, and set to work to unload the camels. It was not such 
 easy work as usual, for the ground was strewn with large stones, 
 upon which the camels objected strongly to kneel. For a time 
 there was a prodigious din — the camels grumbling and com- 
 plaining, the natives screaming, the soldiers laughing, shouting, 
 and using strong language. At last the loads were all oft', the 
 stores piled, and the din quieted down. 
 
 "Where on earth is this water. Skinner?" Easton asked as 
 the two young officers met after the work was done. 
 
 " I cannot make out, Easton. I hope it is not fai^, for my 
 water-skin has leaked itself empty and my throat is like a 
 furnace." 
 
 "I have some water in mine," Easton said, "but it tastes of 
 leather so strongly that it is next to undrinkable. Oh, here is 
 Clinton. Where is the water, Clinton?" 
 
 "By that rock at the end of the valley. I am just going to 
 have a look at it. Can you come?" 
 
184 THE WELLS. 
 
 " Yes; there is nothing to do here at present." 
 
 They hurried towards the rock that Clinton pointed out, and 
 when they reached it they still saw no signs of water, but on 
 going round it burst into a shout of delight. Before them lay 
 a pool some sixty feet wide by a hundred long. The rocks rose 
 precipitously on each side; it was evident that the water was 
 deep. 
 
 " There are two more pools further up," an officer who had 
 got there before them said. 
 
 "Let us climb up and have a look," Clinton said; and with 
 some difficulty they climbed up to the top of the rock. Going 
 along for some little distance they looked down. Eighty feet 
 below them lay two beautiful pools. They were evidently 
 very deep, for at the edge the water was green, but nearly 
 black in the centre of the pools. 
 
 "This is something like," Skinner said. "There is no fear 
 of running short of water. Come on, let us clamber down and 
 get a drink. Look there, at the rows of camels coming along 
 to the lower pool. I suppose that will be kept for them, and 
 that we shall get our water from these." 
 
 With a good deal of difficulty they got down, but were un- 
 able to reach the edge. However they tied a string round one 
 of their water-bottles, and soon brought it up full. The water 
 was deliciously clear and cool, the high rock completely shelter- 
 ing the pools from the heat of the sun. They indulged in 
 several long draughts before their thirst was satisfied. 
 
 "I shall never say anything against water again," Skinner 
 remarked. " I have always allowed its utility for washing pur- 
 poses, but have considered it a distinct failure as a drink. I 
 recant. While considei'ing that at home beer is good enough 
 for me, I am prepared to maintain that, in the middle of the 
 Bayuda Desert, clear cold water and plenty of it is good enough 
 for anyone. But how in the world are we going to get at this 
 water? Oh, here come the Engineers; they are going to do it 
 somehow." 
 
FORTIFYINl). 185 
 
 A party of Engineers urrivod with some pumps and a huiulred 
 yards of hose. 
 
 " How are you going to take it down ?" 
 
 "We are going to lead the hose right through the lower 
 pool, letting it lie at the bottom. That is the only way we 
 can do it. There is no way of fixing it against that wall of 
 rocks." 
 
 The })umi)S were fixed in a very short time and the hose laid, 
 and in less than an hour the stream of pure water was being 
 })oured into a large trough placed near the lower pool, and from 
 this the cooks of the various companies filled their kettles and 
 boilers. 
 
 Some of the men, in spite of their long and fatiguing jour- 
 ney, had followed the example of the young officers and filled 
 their water-bottles as they had done, but the majority had 
 thrown themselves on the ground and were fast asleep a few 
 minutes after the work of unloading the camels had been 
 completed. For hours the work of watering the camels went 
 on, slowl}^ at first, as only a few could drink at a time, but 
 more rapidly when large troughs were erected, at which thirty 
 could be watered at once. 
 
 As soon as dinner was over the Guards set to work to erect 
 two forts that the Engineers had already marked out. One 
 of these was at the mouth of the pass leading into the little 
 valley, the other was placed just above the pools. The baggage 
 was piled close to the wells. By evening the work was well 
 advanced, and at eight o'clock the Mounted Infantry and the 
 whole of the camels started on their return journey, leaving 
 the Guards, with fifteen Engineers and six Hussars, to hold 
 the wells and guard the great pile of stores that had been 
 brought up. As soon as work was over there was a general 
 movement to the wells, and there were few who did not indulge 
 in the luxury of a bathe in the lower pool. 
 
 liupert Clinton returned with the column to Korti, as General 
 Stewart went back with them to bring out the main body of 
 
186 HEAVY WORK. 
 
 troops. It was calculated that ten days must elapse before 
 these would arrive at Gakdul, and the Guards and Marines set 
 to work in earnest the next morning to get things into order. 
 The work was very heavy, but as the men had plenty to eat 
 and no lack of excellent water they did not mind it, congratulat- 
 ing themselves heartily upon the fact that they had not to make 
 the long and wearisome journey to Korti and back. 
 
 In the course of the ten days the walls of the forts rose to a 
 height of over five feet — a very laborious piece of work, for one 
 fort measured twenty yards by twenty-three : the other thirty 
 yards by fifteen, and the stones had all to be picked up and 
 carried considerable distances, or loosened out of the solid rock 
 by aid of the six pickaxes and four crowbars that were alone 
 available. 
 
 In addition to this the site of a camp was marked out, roads 
 were formed by clearing away the stones, and paths made up 
 to the forts and picket stations. The outpost duty was very 
 severe, two officers and sixty-five men being always on duty, as 
 it was possible that at any time, night or day, an attack might 
 be made. 
 
 " This is awful ! " Easton said to Skinner, as, sitting down on 
 the ground, he mournfully contemplated his boots; "these boots 
 that I relied upon to last me through the campaign are hope- 
 lessly done for." 
 
 "They do look bad," Skinner agreed, "but no worse than 
 mine, or in fact than any one else's. These rocks are awful. 
 If Nature had scattered ten million knives broadcast about this 
 valley they could not have been more destructive to boots than 
 these rocks. I used to think that, although the camels were well 
 enough for taking up the baggage or as a means of conveyance 
 for men, they were a mistake, and that it would be much 
 pleasanter to march than to sit upon these wearisome beasts; 
 but my opinion has been changed by our experience here. If 
 we had to march many miles over such a country as this the 
 whole force would be barefooted. I had a frightful job of it 
 
EASTON's COMl'LAINT. 187 
 
 last ni-lit. I went tlie rounds with tlic ficld-otlicci', and how it 
 was 1 di(hi't l)reak my neck I cannot imagine. I had a dozen 
 tremendous croppers down the rocks. The lantern Avcnt out 
 the first time, and gut smashed tlie second. The major seemed 
 to think that it was my duty to have kept it alight whatever 
 happened to myself, and was as savage as a hear. We lost our 
 way a dozen times, and once came up to a picket on the wrong 
 side, and deuced near got potted." 
 
 " I know all about it," Easton said. " I did it three nights 
 ago, and have no skin at present on my knees or my elbows 
 or my hips, and mighty little on my back. I went down one 
 l)lace fifty or sixty feet deep head-foi'emost, bumping from 
 rock to rock, and it flashed through my mind as I did so what 
 an ass I was to be going through all this when I might be com- 
 fortably in bed at home. They don't tell one of these things," 
 he said plaintively, " when they talk of the advantages of the 
 army." 
 
 "Bosh!" Skinner said wrathfully. "I don't suppose you 
 were a bit more hurt than you would be in a good close rally 
 at football. It is a thousand times better after all than moon- 
 ing about Windsor, or being mewed on board a ship at Suakim. 
 However, I shall be precious glad when the others arrive, and 
 Ave have done with this fatigue work. The men's hands are 
 pretty well cut to pieces getting up and carrying those sharp 
 rocks, and I am heartily tired of acting as a sort of amateur 
 mason, " 
 
 On the 11th of January a convoy of a thousand camels with 
 stores and ammunition arrived, and the next day the troops 
 were delighted at seeing the main body approaching. In addi- 
 tion to the Mounted Infantry and Heavy Camel Corps, 400 men 
 of the Sussex Regiment came up on the camels. They were 
 intended to garrison the forts and protect the wells when the 
 rest of the force moved forward, but a hundred of them were 
 to go forward with the troops. With the new-comers were 
 30 sailors M'ith a Gardner gun, 30 men of the Royal Artillery 
 
188 OVERWORKED AND UNDERFED. 
 
 with three 7-pounder guns, 45 of the Medical and Commissariat 
 Staff, and 120 native drivers for the baggage camels. As the 
 Heavy Camel Eegiment numbered 380 and the Guards 367, the 
 Mounted Infantry 360, and there were 90 men of the 19th 
 Hussars and 100 of the Sussex, the total force which was to 
 advance was about 1500 men, 90 horses, and 2200 camels. 
 
 All the men with the exception of the natives, who were on 
 foot, were mounted on camels, the Hussars of course excepted, 
 as they rode sturdy little Egyptian horses, which, although 
 little larger than ponies, were capable of enduring an amount 
 of fatigue, hardship, and privation, that would in the course of 
 a few days have rendered English horses useless. 
 
 Those who had left Gakdul but ten days before were aston- 
 ished at the change which the labours of the Guards' Camel 
 Corps had effected in it, and great commendation was given 
 them by the general for the zeal with which they had worked. 
 
 Large as was the number of animals to be watered, the work 
 was conducted with far greater speed and ease than had been 
 the case on their former arrival. The arrangements were all 
 excellent, and in a comparatively short time the whole were 
 watered and fed. The troops, however, were dismayed at the 
 change which had come over the camels. These animals are 
 capable of enduring great fatigue and scarcity of water and food, 
 but the authorities had acted as if there were no limits what- 
 ever to those powers, and for a fortnight the camels had been 
 kept at work with only three or four hours' rest out of each 
 twenty-four, with a very scanty supply of food, and a sufficient 
 allowance of water but twice, namely, at Gakdul and Korti. 
 The natural result had followed ; the animals were weak and 
 exhausted, the majority were suffering from sore backs, some 
 had already succumbed, others were absolutely incapable of 
 further work until they had had a rest. In this respect none 
 of the three corps had any advantage over the other, as the 
 camels had all performed the three journeys. 
 
 " If we are only going to Metemmeh, and are to halt there 
 
NKJIIT MAltCIIKS A IMISTAKK. 189 
 
 until the bouts come rouiul, t-Iic poor Ix'.ists will have time to 
 locovcr before wo want them .\^ain," Easton said to Skinner as 
 they were looking ruefully at the condition of the camels who 
 had carried them so well ten days before; "but they certainly 
 won't be fit to advance for some time. I am afraid, Skinner, 
 tliat they must have very bad news from Khartoum, and that 
 every day is of extreme importance. If the matter hadn't 
 been most urgent they Avould never have ruined the whole 
 of our transport as they have done in this way. If the camels 
 had had a couple of days' rest here before starting to go back 
 again, and four or five days' good feeding at Korti before they 
 started up again, it would have made all the diflerence in the 
 world to them. A camel is not a steam-engine, that can take 
 in fuel and water and be off again an hour after it comes in 
 from a journey." 
 
 " I don't like these night marches," Skinner said. " I consider 
 them to be a mistake altogether." 
 
 " So do I, Skinner. It was bad enough when we had the 
 moon, but it will be ten times worse now. As to the heat, that 
 is all rot. We travelled in the daytime coming up by the banks 
 of the Nile, and it is cooler now than it was then. It is all 
 veiy well for men to march at night if they have no animals or 
 baggage-train with them, but it is a different thing altogether 
 on such an expedition as this. To begin with, the delays from 
 falling behind and readjusting baggage are far greater at night 
 than at day; there is much greater difficulty in keeping the 
 column together; the men are in a state of drowsiness the whole 
 time, if they were marching they would keep awake, but sitting 
 on the camels there is nothing to rouse them. Then when they 
 get in camp the heat of the day has just begun, and what with 
 that and the flies it is next to impossible to sleep. What sleep 
 they get does not refresh them. I cjuite dread this march on 
 to Metemmeh. However, it has got to be done; but certainly 
 I should not mind it half so much if we were going to travel 
 by dayhght." 
 
190 FORWARD. 
 
 It was soon known that there was to be no delay at Gakdul, 
 and orders were issued that the start was to be made on the 
 13th; the intervening day being devoted to seeing to the arms 
 and ammunition, issuing stores, and replenishing the water 
 supply. The water-skins were extremely defective, leaking 
 freely, the only exception being the india-rubber bags with 
 which the sailors had been supplied. Every effort was made 
 during the halt to sew up holes and stop leaks, but with poor 
 success. Each man carried on his camel one of these skins in 
 addition to his water-bottle. Strict orders were given that 
 upon the march he was to rely upon the latter alone; the supply 
 in the skins being for general purposes, such as cooking and 
 making tea. 
 
 During the halt Edgar applied himself steadily to the work 
 of repairing the water-skins. The camp of the Heavies joined 
 that of the Guards, and he felt that his danger of being recog- 
 nized by Easton or Skinner was great; but sitting Avith a 
 gi'oup of others sewing, with his face shaded by his helmet, the 
 risk was very much less than if standing up or moving about 
 the camp. At two o'clock in the afternoon the force paraded 
 and moved off in columns of companies. The Heavy Camel 
 Corps led, the Guards followed, the baggage and stores were in 
 the centre, and the Mounted Infantry in the rear. 
 
 Many of the camels had to be left behind, and those that 
 remained were only sufficient to carry the absolutely necessary 
 stores, the rations for the men, and a quantity of corn that 
 would suffice but to give two feeds of eight pounds each to the 
 animals, who were, therefore, obliged to depend almost entirely 
 on such sustenance as they could pluck from the mimosa shrubs 
 and the dry yellow grass. The men carried a hundred and 
 seventy rounds each. There were a hundred rounds per gun 
 for the artillery, but only a thousand rounds were brought for 
 the Gardner gun, a quantity sufficient but for five minutes' work 
 when in action. 
 
 The journey was over a gravelly plain, and the halt was 
 
TROUBLE WITH THE RAOOAOE. 191 
 
 made at six o'clock in the evening. Fires wore lit of the slirulxs 
 and dry grass; the camels were unloaded and fed, and were 
 ranged in such order tliat in case of attack the troops could 
 form siiuare at the angles of the mass, and thus suijport each 
 other and protect the convoy. 
 
 At three in the morning the trumpets and bugles sounded. 
 The fires were soon blazing again, and at half-past four break- 
 fast had been eaten, the camels loaded, and the column on its 
 march again. At ten o'clock there was a halt for two hours 
 for dinner and a short rest; and it was not until just as they 
 were going to start that the rear-guard arrived, having been de- 
 layed by the breaking down of numbers of the camels, many 
 of which had fallen dead as they walked, while others inca- 
 pable of movement had to be left behind to take their chance 
 of recovering sufficiently to browse upon the bushes and make 
 their way back to the wells. As the loads of those that fell 
 had to be distributed among their already exhausted companions 
 the prospect was far from cheerful. 
 
 Starting at twelve, the column passed a conical hill known 
 as Gebel El Nur an hour later, and entered a broad valley 
 covered with grass and trees twenty feet high, and where, 
 doubtless, water could be obtained had the force been provided 
 with little Abyssinian pumps. At five o'clock the column halted, 
 and as the ground was sandy passed a more comfortable night 
 than the one before. Every one was in good spirits. The men 
 found the journeys by day far less fatiguing than those at night, 
 and were able to obtain refreshing sleep in the cool night air. 
 
 Before daybreak they again started over a gravelly plain, hop- 
 ing to reach the wells of Abu Klea that evening. They halted 
 at eleven in a valley flanked by hills. The track, according to 
 the maps, lay over a steep hill in front and then along a pass 
 between two hills, the wells lying some three miles beyond the 
 pass. Dinner was cooked, and as soon as they had finished 
 their meal the Hussars started for the wells, as their horses had 
 had no water since leavins; Gakdul. The rest of the force were 
 
192 THE FOE IN SIGHT. 
 
 stretched vipon the ground taking it quietly when two of the 
 Husscars returned at full gallop with a message to the general, 
 and the order was immediately issued for the men to fall in and 
 for the officers to examine their arms and ammunition. Then 
 the news spread through the force that the enemy had been 
 discovered in large numbers upon the hill, and were evidently 
 prepared to bar the way to the wells. 
 
 The change effected by the news was wonderful. It had 
 been generally supposed that Metemmeh would be reached with- 
 out fighting, all the spies agreeing in saying that there was 
 no force of the enemy near the line of march. In a moment 
 fatigue and thirst were forgotten, and the quiet was exchanged 
 for bustle and animation. Men laughed and joked with each 
 other in the highest spirits, and all prepared for the fray with the 
 most absolute confidence as to the result. As the troops fell in 
 the general with his staff galloped ahead to some rising ground, 
 and with their field-glasses reconnoitred the hills surrounding 
 the pass, upon which numbers of white-robed Arabs could be 
 made out. 
 
 The Hussars speedily reported that there was a considerable 
 force in the pass below. With the fighting men in front and 
 the baggage behind, the troops moved slowly forward up the 
 hill in front, and finally took up their position on a piece of flat 
 ground whence they could see down the pass by which the Arabs 
 expected the advance would be made. On the side of the hills 
 commanding it they had thrown up small stone walls from which 
 to fire. On the hilltops out of range large numbers of Arabs 
 could be seen in constant motion, gesticulating and waving 
 their arms. It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 the general decided that as the real force of the enemy was 
 unknown it would be imprudent to attempt to force the passage 
 with only an hour and a half of daylight before him, conse- 
 quently a halt for the night was ordered. 
 
 A strong detachment of Mounted Infantry and sailors with 
 their Gardner ascended a hill on the other side of the pass and 
 
A TRYING NIGHT. 193 
 
 set to worlc to build a small fort and mount tho gun there. A 
 conii)any from each of the camel regiments extended to cover 
 the front. The camels were all made to kneel, their legs being 
 lashed at the knee so that they could not rise. This done, the 
 Avhole of the troops were set to work to build a wall. There 
 were, however, but few loose stones lying about, and though 
 otHccrs and men alike worked hard the wall in front was but two 
 feet high when the sun went down. A hedge of thorny bushes 
 and wire was raised to protect the flanks as much as possible. 
 
 As twilight fell a numlier of the enemy took possession of 
 the top of a hill some twelve hundred yards away on the right 
 and opened fire, to which the three guns of the artillery 
 replied with shrapnel -shell. The guns ceased firing when 
 darkness came on, but the enemy kept up an occasional fire 
 all night. A drink of lime-juice and water was served out to 
 all the men, who then lay down, with their arms in readiness 
 to repel an attack, by the little wall. All night the enemy 
 kept on beating tom-toms and occasionally yelling, approaching 
 at times comparatively close to the position. Knowing, how- 
 ever, that the sentries were out in front, the men for the most 
 part slept quietly in spite of the noise and firing. As the 
 Arabs could fire only at random but two men were hit during 
 the night. 
 
 In the morning it was found that the number of the enemy 
 on the hilltops had largely increased during the night, and 
 the bullets now flew incessantly round and over the inclosure. 
 Lying under such shelter as the wall afforded, the men eat 
 their breakfast of the tinned meat and biscuits they carried 
 in their haversacks. 
 
 "I must admit. Skinner," Easton said to his comrade, who 
 had come across from his own company to have a chat with 
 him, "that this is more unpleasant than I had expected. 
 This lying here listening to the angry hiss of the bullets is 
 certainly trying; at least I own that I feel it so." 
 
 " It is nasty," Skinner agreed. " I shan't mind it as soon as 
 
 ( ti5U ) N 
 
194 HOT WORK. 
 
 we go at the beggars, but this doing nothing is, as you say, 
 trying. I wish they would make up their minds and come 
 out to us, or if they cannot get up their pluck enough to do it, 
 that we should sally out and attack them." 
 
 " You may be sure we shall before long. Skinner. They know 
 well enough that we cannot stop here, but must move on to the 
 water sooner or later; and knowing that, they would be fools 
 if they were to give up their strong position to attack us here. 
 At any rate I would rather be lying behind this wall than 
 moving about as the general and his staff' are doing. Major 
 Dickson has just been shot through the knee, I hear. There! 
 Look ! there is another officer down. I wonder who he is. I 
 do hope they won't pot Clinton." 
 
 A few minutes later an officer passing by told them that 
 Major Gough of the Mounted Infantry had been knocked sense- 
 less by a bullet which had grazed his forehead, and that an 
 officer of the artillery had been hit in the back. 
 
 "What do you think of it, sergeant]" Edgar asked, as he 
 and Sergeant Bowen were eating their breakfast together 
 under shelter of the wall. 
 
 "I think that it is going to be a hot job, lad. If they had 
 attacked us out in the plain we should have made short work 
 of them, but it is a different thing altogether among these 
 hills. The beggars can run three feet to our one, and if we 
 were to climb one of these hills to attack them, they would be 
 on the top of the next before we got there. I see nothing for 
 it but to move straight for the Avells, and let them do their 
 worst as we go. It would be all right if we hadn't this tre- 
 mendous train of camels; but if they come pouring down while 
 we are on the march we shall have difficulty in protecting 
 them all." 
 
 " I wish Rupert were lying here with us," Edgar said, look- 
 ing anxiously at his brother, whose figure he could perceive 
 among those near the general. " It is horrid lying here in 
 safety while he is exposed to their bullets." 
 
THE SQUARE ADVANCES. 195 
 
 "We numt all take our chances," the sergeant said. "Maybe 
 presently you will be in more danger than he is." 
 
 Half an hour later orders were issued that the men were to 
 prepare for action, and it became known among the officers 
 that the general had determined to leave a small garrison 
 to i)rotect the baggage and camels in the zareba, and to push 
 forward with the rest of the force and capture the wells, 
 and then send back and fetch in the camels and baggage. 
 But the movement was delayed until ten o'clock in hopes that 
 the enemy would attack. As they did not do so, orders were 
 given, and the square formed up. The Guards' Camel Corps 
 formed half the front of the square, and the right flank. The 
 Mounted Infantry filled up the other half of the front, and 
 half the left Hank. The rest of the left flank and the rear 
 were formed by the Heavy Camel Corps and the Naval Brigade; 
 the hundred men of the Sussex taking the right rear corner 
 between them and the Guards, while the Naval Brigade with 
 their Gardner gun were in the centre of the rear line, between 
 the troop of the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards and that of the 
 1st and 2d Life Guards and Blues. 
 
 In the centre behind the fighting line were two guns of the 
 Royal Artillery, the other having been left in the zareba, while 
 the centre of the square was filled with camels carrying water, 
 ammunition, and cacolets or swinging beds for the carriage 
 of the wounded. 
 
 The instant the square was formed and moved out the fire 
 of the enemy redoubled. Swarms of natives appeared on the 
 top of the hills, moving parallel with the advance of the square. 
 The march was taken in slow time to allow the guns and 
 camels to keep up. The ground was extremely difficult and 
 broken, deep water-ruts and rocky hillocks having to be 
 crossed, and the whole very undulating and broken. 
 
 Men fell fast, and frequent halts had to be made to enable 
 the doctors to attend to the wounded, and place them in the 
 cacolets. The front face and sides of the square advanced in 
 
196 THE ARAB ATTACK, 
 
 fair order, but there was much confusion in the rear face, 
 caused by the lagging camels. Skirmishers were thrown out 
 on either side, and these did their best to keep down the fire 
 of the enemy. For an hour the square proceeded, and had 
 nearly emerged from the pass on to the plain beyond, when a 
 number of green and white flags were seen at some distance 
 on the left front. As the firing had principally come from the 
 right, and as it was from that side that an attack was expected, 
 there was considerable curiosity as to the meaning of these 
 seemingly deserted flags; and a small party were about to go 
 out to investigate them, when a great number of other flags 
 suddenly appeared at the same spot, and a moment later a 
 vast mass of Arabs who had been concealed in a gulley sprang 
 to their feet. (See plan on page 138.) 
 
 They were about five hundred yards distant from the square, 
 which was at the moment halted at the foot of a stony knoll. 
 It was moved at once on to the rising ground, and the skir- 
 mishers were called in. The Arabs with wild yells moved 
 across the left front, disappeared for a minute behind some 
 rocks and high grass, and then reappeared close to the left 
 rear, when they wheeled into line, and with wild yells charged 
 down upon the square. So quick were their movements that 
 the skirmishers had hardly time to reach the square, and one 
 man was overtaken and speared before he reached it. 
 
 Several of the exhausted camels with their loads of wounded 
 had been left outside, lying down at the foot of the slope 
 when the square moved up it. Their native drivers rushed 
 into shelter, and the wounded would have fallen into the 
 hands of the enemy had not an officer of the Guards' Camel 
 Corps and several privates of the Heavies rushed out, seized 
 the camels, and by main force dragged them into the square. 
 In the square itself there was a din of voices, the officers 
 shouting to the men to stand steady and reserve their fire 
 until the skirmishers, who were between them and the enemy, 
 had run in. The instant they had done this a roar of mus- 
 
A r-nOKEN SQUARE. 197 
 
 kctiy broke out from the left and rear faces of the square, at 
 first in volleys, then in independent fire as fast as the men 
 could load ; but though scores of the enemy fell, their rush was 
 not checked for a moment, and with wild yells they fell upon 
 the left corner of the square. 
 
 The men were but two deep, and were unable to stand the 
 pressure of the mass of the enemy, and in a moment the rear 
 face of the square was driven in, and a hand-to-hand fight was 
 going on between the soldiers, mixed up with the struggling 
 camels and the Arabs. All order was for a time lost; the 
 voices of the officers were drowned by the din of musketry, 
 the yells of the Arabs, and the shouts of the men. Each man 
 fought for himself; but their bayonets were no match for the 
 long spears of the Arabs, and they were pressed back until the 
 throng of camels pushed hard against the Guards in front of 
 the square. 
 
 The rear ranks of the Mounted Infantry on the left and the 
 Marines on the right were faced round, and opened a terrible 
 fire into the crowded mass of natives, while the Heavies with 
 bayonets and clubbed muskets fought singly, man to man, 
 with their foes. The combat did not last long. Mowed down 
 by the fire on both flanks the assailants withered away, and 
 it was not long before silence succeeded the terrible din of 
 battle. In the interior of the square the last Arab of those 
 who had pierced the square had fallen, and the fire of the out- 
 side faces of the square had prevented them from receiving 
 any reinforcement from their friends, and these now fell back 
 sullenly before the leaden hail. As soon as they had done so 
 there was time to investigate what had taken place in the 
 centre of the square. 
 
 A terrible sight presented itself. The ground was strewn 
 with bodies of the natives, mingled with those of men of the 
 corps that had formed the rear face of the square, the 4th and 
 5th Dragoon Guards, Naval Brigade, 1st and 2d Life Guards, 
 and the Sussex. Among them lay camels which had been 
 
198 A TERRIBLE SCENE. 
 
 hamstrung or speared by the natives, broken cacolets, and 
 water tanks and skins, medical stores, and a confusion of 
 articles of all kinds. 
 
 Although forced back by the sheer weight of the native 
 attack, the Heavies had never been completely broken up. 
 They maintained their resistance to the end, jammed up as 
 they were against and among the camels, and thus enabled the 
 men on the two sides of the square to concentrate their fire 
 on the Arabs. 
 
 A loud cheer had broken from the square as the enemy 
 retreated, and they were prepared to resist another onslaught; 
 for only a portion of their foes had yet been engaged with them. 
 However, the enemy contented themselves with keeping up 
 a distant fire from the hills, and then, doubtless as the news 
 spread how terrible had been the loss of those who had charged 
 the square, they gradually drew ofi" and all became quiet. The 
 square now moved oft' from the rocky knoll upon which they 
 were crowded, and the work of seeing who had fallen and of 
 assisting the wounded began. No less than nine officers had 
 been killed and nine wounded, the greater portion of them 
 belonging to the Heavy Camel Eegiment. Two officers of 
 the Naval Brigade were also among the killed. Eighty of the 
 rank and file were killed, and upwards of a hundred wounded. 
 Among the whites lay hundreds of dead Arabs, while arms of 
 all sorts — spears, javelins, muskets, clubs, hatchets, swords 
 and knives, banners and barmer-staifs — were everywhere scat- 
 tered thickly. 
 
 Among the killed were Colonel Burnaby, Majors Gough, 
 Carmichael, and Atherton, Captain Darley, and Lieutenants 
 Law and Wolfe — all belonging to the Heavies. 
 
 To the survivors of those corps who had formed the rear face 
 of the square, the scene they had gone through seemed a wild 
 and confused dream. Sergeant Bowen and Edgar had been 
 among those who rushed out and hauled in the camels with 
 the wounded just before the Arabs came up. As they got them 
 
"STKADY, LAI), STEADY." ID'J 
 
 inside the ninks the roar of lire broke out and they fell into 
 their i)laces. "Independent firing!" the officer shouted as the 
 first volley had been discharged, but scarcely had the roll of 
 musketry begun than through the smoke a dense mass of 
 black figures appeared. A storm of spears and javelins were 
 poured in upon them, and in an instant there was a crash as 
 club, spear, and sword struck the muskets, and then the Heavies 
 were hurled back. 
 
 Edgar scarce knew what had happened, but the instant the 
 square was broken Sergeant Eowen threw himself beside him. 
 
 "Steady, lad, steadj^," he said, "don't throw away a shot; 
 load and stand ready to shoot the first man who falls on you. 
 That is good!" he said as Edgar shot a tall Arab who was 
 rushing at him with uplifted spear; "load again. Now it is 
 my turn," and he brought down a man; and so firing alter- 
 nately, sometimes defending themselves with their bayonets, but 
 always keeping together, they fell back. Once Edgar stumbled 
 and fell over the body of one of his comrades, but the sergeant 
 seized him by the shoulder and jerked him on to his feet again, 
 and the next moment ran an Arab through who was rushing 
 at them with uplifted hatchet. When they were back among 
 the crowd of camels the fighting became more even. Stubbornly 
 the men made a stand here, for the natives could no longer 
 attack them except in front, while the roar of fire from the 
 troops on the flanks told with terrible effect upon the Arabs. 
 
 "Thank God that is over!" the sergeant said as the fight 
 ended. "Are you badly hurt, lad]" 
 
 "I am not hurt at all," Edgar said. 
 
 The sergeant pointed to Edgar's left arm. The latter uttered 
 an exclamation of surprise. He had bayoneted an Arab in 
 the act of striking at him, and in the wild excitement had for 
 the moment been unconscious that the blow of the native had 
 taken effect. It had missed his shoulder, but had cut a deep 
 gash in the arm, almost severing a strip of flesh down to the 
 elbow. 
 
200 "YOU CAN HAVE A DRINK OF WATER." 
 
 " I had not the least idea I had been touched," he said, " I 
 don't think there is any great harm done; the principal arteries 
 are on the other side of the arm." 
 
 " We must stop the bleeding, anyhow," the sergeant said. 
 " I will soon find a bandage. There are sure to be plenty about, 
 for the surgeons were at work when they broke in." 
 
 He was not long in finding one, and then assisting Edgar 
 ofi" with his coat he bandaged up his arm. 
 
 "You have got a wound on the side, sergeant!" Edgar 
 exclaimed suddenly. 
 
 "It is of no consequence, lad. A fellow threw a spear at me. 
 I tried to dodge it, but was not quite quick enough, and it has 
 grazed my side." 
 
 " It is more than a graze — it looks like a deep cut. Just undo 
 your belt." 
 
 "Well, give me your handkerchief. I will roll that and 
 mine into a pad and shove it in, and put a bandage tightly 
 round my waist to keep it there. That will do for the present. 
 
 " That will do nicely," he said as Edgar fastened the ban- 
 dage round him. " Now we shall both do very well until the 
 surgeons have time to tie us up properly. I am afraid they 
 will have serious cases enough to last them all night. Now, 
 what is the next move, I wonder? I am horribly thirsty." 
 
 " So am I," Edgar agreed. 
 
 "Are you both wounded?" an officer asked, coming up with 
 two men carrying a water-skin.. 
 
 " Yes, sir, but not seriously; but we are awfully thirsty." 
 
 "Then you can have a drink of water," the officer said. 
 "There is httle enough of it, and it is kept strictly for the 
 wounded." 
 
 Many of the men standing near looked on with envious 
 eyes, for all were suffering horribly from thirst. Several 
 fainted, and the men's lips were black and swollen, and in 
 some cases the tongue swelled so that the mouth could not be 
 closed. The 19th were out searching for the wells, but for 
 
AT THE WELLS. 201 
 
 a loii^ while their searcli was in \'ain. Tho general was aljout 
 to give the wurd to retire to the zareha where there was a little 
 water still left, when the Hussars fortunately hit upon the wells. 
 The wounded who were unable to walk were at once carried 
 there, and the troops followed and halted near them, and in 
 a short time the thirst of all was satisfied. Although the 
 water was not to be compared with that at Gakdul, being 
 found in shallow pools one or two feet deep, and stirred up by 
 the ^Vrabs till it was almost of the consistency of thin cream, 
 nevertheless it was water, and was enjoyable indeed. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 METEMMEH. 
 
 AS soon as the thirst of the men was satisfied the troops 
 formed up for the night on some rising ground near the 
 wells, where it was probable that the natives might renew their 
 attack. Volunteers were called for, and three hundred men from 
 the various corps started to march back to the zareba to bring 
 in the baggage before daylight. It was a heavy duty after such 
 a day's work, but those who remained behind had reason almost 
 to envy those engaged in active work, for the night Avas terribly 
 cold. The men had left everything behind as they advanced 
 prepared for action, and had no blankets, and nothing but their 
 shirts and their suits of thin serge to protect them from the 
 cold. 
 
 The surgeons were at work all night attending to the wounded. 
 No alarm was given by the outposts during the night, and as 
 when morning broke there were no signs of the enemy, the men 
 were allowed to fall out. A herd of lean cattle left by the 
 Arabs was discovered not far oft' and the Hussars went out in 
 
202 A NIGHT MARCH. 
 
 pursuit of them; the th'ed horses were, however, no match in 
 point of speed for the cattle, but a few of them were shot, cut 
 up, and a supply of fresh meat for the day secured. At seven 
 o'clock the baggage train came up. The camels were quickly 
 unloaded, and the men set to work to prepare breakfast, 
 having had nothing to eat since the meal they had taken 
 the previous morning under fire in the zareba. 
 
 During the day the dead were buried, the arms left by the 
 natives collected and destroyed, and a stone inclosure com- 
 menced near the wells, for here the wounded were to remain 
 under the protection of a small force of the Sussex. Both 
 Edgar and the sergeant protested that they were perfectly 
 capable of continuing the march, and were permitted to take 
 their place in the ranks again. At four o'clock the force 
 formed up, and half an hour later set out. It was given out 
 that the march would be a short one and they would presently 
 halt for the night, but as the hours went on it became evident 
 that the general had determined to keep straight on for the 
 river, a distance of twenty-six miles from the wells. 
 
 It was known that there was a considerable force of the 
 enemy at Metemmeh, and as this would be augmented by the 
 addition of the thousands of Arabs who had been engaged 
 on the previous day, it was probable that, were the enemy 
 aware of the advance of the force, a battle even more serious 
 and desperate than the first would have to be fought before 
 reaching the Nile. The object of the night march, then, was 
 to reach the river before they were aware that the column 
 had started from the wells. The Nile once gained, and a 
 supply of water ensured, the force would be able to withstand 
 any attack made on it. Nevertheless it would have been 
 far better to have risked another battle in the open than to 
 have made a night march across an unknown country. 
 
 The guides differed among themselves as to the route to be 
 pursued, and more than once the column marched in a com- 
 plete circle, the advance guard coming up to the rear. Thick 
 
STltAVKD I'KOM TllK COLUMN. 203 
 
 gn)\os of iniiiiosa wore passed Llirt>u^li, causing tlie greatest 
 confusion among the baggage animals. Groat numbers of 
 these lay down to die, unable to proceed a step further, and the 
 transport of all kinds got mixed up together in the most utter 
 confusion. The men, who had had but little sleep for two 
 nights, were unable to keep awake on their camels, and in their 
 passage through the bushes many of the animals straggled 
 away from the main body. 
 
 Sergeant Bowen had managed to place Edgar next to him- 
 self upon the plea that being wounded he wanted to keep his 
 eye upon him. Being both weakened by loss of blood, they 
 were less able to resist the pressure of sleep than the others, 
 and when their animals got separated in the passage through 
 the mimosa grove from the main body, and stopped to crop 
 the leaves, they were unconscious of what had happened until 
 Edgar woke with a start as one of the boughs his camel had 
 pushed aside struck him smartly in the face. His exclamation 
 roused the sergeant. " Hullo! what has happened 1 " 
 
 " I don't know what has happened," Edgar said. " But it 
 seems to me that we are alone here. We must both have 
 been asleep, and these brutes must have separated from the 
 column." 
 
 "This is a pretty mess, this is!" the sergeant said. "I 
 cannot hear anything of them, and there was row enough in 
 the rear with the baggage to be heard miles away. What on 
 on earth are we to do, lad? " 
 
 " Well, we were marching nearly south. The Southern Cross 
 was almost dead ahead of us. We had better steer by that, 
 and go on ahead until morning." 
 
 The camels were at once set in motion, and for hours they 
 plodded on. All desire for sleep had been completely dissi- 
 pated by the excitement of the situation, and they talked in 
 low tones as to what they were to do if they could make out 
 no signs of the column when day broke. They agreed that 
 their only plan was to keep on until they got to the river, and 
 
204 WATER. 
 
 that when they arrived there they would water the camels and 
 give them a feed, and after a rest start on foot along the bank 
 one way or the other until they found the column." 
 
 " There is safe to be a lot of firing," the sergeant said; "for 
 even if the Arabs don't discover the force in the morning be- 
 fore they get to the river, they are certain to turn out to attack 
 them as soon as they get there. Judging by the pace we were 
 going, and the constant halts for the baggage to come up, there 
 is very little chance of the column getting to the river before 
 daylight; and as we have nothing to delay us, I expect we shall 
 be there before they are." 
 
 "In one respect that will be all the better," Edgar said; 
 " for as soon as the natives make out the column they will be 
 swarming all over the country to look for stragglers, whereas 
 if we are ahead of them we may get through to the river with- 
 out being noticed. I don't think that it will be very long 
 before morning breaks, and, do you know, sergeant, I think 
 our camels are going faster than they were." 
 
 " I think so too, lad. That looks as if we were getting near 
 the water, and they smell it." 
 
 Just as the first signs of daybreak were apparent in the east 
 the character of the country changed, and they could make out 
 clumps of trees, and, as the light grew brighter, cultivated 
 ground. Ten minutes later they both gave a shout of joy as 
 on mounting a slight ascent the river lay before them. A few 
 minutes later they were on its bank. The camels rushing 
 down put their noses into the water; their riders slipped from 
 their backs regardless of the fact that the water was knee- 
 deep, and wading back to the shore threw themselves down 
 by the edge, and took long draughts of the clear water. Then 
 throwing off their clothes they rushed in and indulged in a 
 bathe. 
 
 The camels, after filling themselves nearly to bursting, lay 
 down in the stream until the sergeant and Edgar went out and 
 compelled them to return to shore, when they set to work 
 
A DISTANT GUN. 205 
 
 croppiiiL;- tlio long grass tliat grow abundantly tlicro, wliilo 
 their riders sat down and made a meal from the contents of 
 their haversacks. 
 
 " Well, at any rate," the sergeant said, " we can do nothing 
 just at present. The troops ma}' be within a mile, and they 
 may be ten miles off; there is no saying. There is nothing for 
 us to do but to wait until we hear something of them. If we 
 do not hear anything of them we shall know that they either 
 have not struck the river, or have struck it so far off that we 
 cannot hear the guns. In that case my opinion is that we may 
 as well rest here for to-day. Before we move I think it will 
 be decidedly better to take the saddles off the camels and 
 hide them in the bushes, and then move away some distance 
 and hide up ourselves. This is evidently a cultivated country, 
 and if there are any natives about they will be sure to see 
 the camels, so we had better not be near them. There is no 
 fear of the animals straying; they will be eating and drinking 
 all day." 
 
 The saddles were accordingly removed from the camels' 
 backs and hidden; the two men went back a few hundred 
 yards from the river and lay down amongst some bushes. 
 Edgar was just dropping off to sleep, when the sergeant 
 exclaimed, "Listen! they are at it." 
 
 Edgar at once roused himself, and distinctly heard the boom 
 of a distant gun. 
 
 "That is one of the seven-pounders," the sergeant said; 
 " and I think I can hear the sound of musketry, but I am not 
 sure about that." 
 
 Presently, however, the wind brought down distinctly the 
 sound of dropping shots. 
 
 " Skirmishing, lad ! I suppose the enemy are hovering about 
 them, Ijut haven't come to close cjuarters yet." 
 
 "It is horrible being here instead of with them!" Edgar 
 exclaimed as he rose to his feet. 
 
 "It is no use thinking of moving, lad; they are four or five 
 
206 "IT IS A BAD JOB, LAD." 
 
 miles away certainly, and as the Arabs are probably all round 
 them, there wouldn't be the slightest chance of our joining 
 them. There is nothing to do but to wait here. The sound 
 comes from inland, so it is certain they have not got to the 
 river yet. As far as I can judge it is pretty nearly behind us, 
 so when they lick those fellows they are likely to come down 
 on the river somewhere near this point. They will be down 
 before evening. You may be sure they had not got water 
 enough to last them through the day, so they must move for- 
 ward however many of the natives may be in their way. It is 
 not like the last business; then they were on us almost before 
 we knew they were coming, but in this flat country we shall 
 have plenty of warning; and I will bet a year's pay they don't 
 get up to our square again. I think, lad, I will get you to 
 set my bandages right again." 
 
 Edgar uttered an exclamation of alarm. There was a large 
 dark patch on the sergeant's trousers. In dressing after their 
 bathe the bandages had shifted a little, and the bleeding had 
 recommenced. It was evident at once to Edgar that a great 
 deal of blood had been lost, for Sergeant Bowen lay faint and 
 exhausted upon the ground. Unknown to himself the action 
 of the camel had set the wound off bleeding during the night, 
 and although he had said nothing to Edgar about it, he had 
 with difficulty walked up from the river to their hiding-place. 
 Edgar ran down to the river with the two water-bottles; when 
 he returned he found his companion insensible. He unbuttoned 
 his tunic and got at the wound, from which blood was still 
 flowing. He washed it, made a plug of wet linen, and with 
 some difficulty bandaged it tightly. After some time the 
 sergeant opened his eyes. 
 
 " Don't try to move," Edgar said. " I have staunched and 
 bandaged the wound, and you will be better soon.'* 
 
 "It is a bad job, lad; just at present when we want to be 
 up and doing." 
 
 "There is nothing to do at present, sergeant. We have 
 
RECONNOTTniNa 207 
 
 only to wait quietly until ouv fellows come down to the river, 
 and then 1 will soon get you assistance." 
 
 "Do you hear the firing still?" 
 
 "It is just as it was," Edgar replied, after listening atten- 
 tively for a minute. 
 
 " Then I expect thoy have formed another zareba, as they did 
 at Abu Klea, and that they will leave the camels there and 
 march straight down to the river." 
 
 " I will steal up to the edge of the desert, if you don't mind 
 being left alone a bit. I shall be able to judge then how far 
 they are off." 
 
 "Do so, lad; I am all right here. But do not be too long 
 away or I shall be anxious." 
 
 Edgar made his way a quarter of a mile back. Some culti- 
 vated fields stretched before him, and beyond them the rolling 
 hillocks of the desert. He could see men on horseback and 
 foot moving about, and looking to the right saw about half a 
 mile distant a place of some extent, which was, he felt sure, 
 Metemmeh. Numbers of men were pouring out from the town. 
 The firing was not straight ahead, but somewhat to the left. 
 "If they attack Metemmeh at once we shall be all right," he 
 said to himself. " If they march straight down to the river 
 we shall be all right still. We shall only have to move along 
 to them. It is lucky we did not strike the river above the 
 town, for it would have been next to impossible to get round 
 to them without being observed." 
 
 He went back to his companion, and told him what he had 
 seen. 
 
 " There is evidently going to be another tough fight before 
 they get down to the water," the sergeant said. "It is very 
 hard our being cut off here. Not that I should be good for 
 any fighting if I were with them." 
 
 " I have no great desire to be in another fight like the last," 
 Edgar said. " One go at that sort of thing is quite enough for 
 me." 
 
208 LISTENING TO THE BATTLE. 
 
 The hours jDassed slowly. The sergeant slept a good deal, 
 and anxious as Edgar was he too several tmies dozed off. 
 Presently he exclaimed, "The fire is become much heavier, 
 sergeant; and it is nearer too. Listen ! " 
 
 "It is the Arabs, lad," the sergeant said, raising himself on 
 his elbow. " It is heavy, but it is nothing like the roll of 
 musketry you hear when our fellows begin. But, as you say, 
 it is much nearer; the column, or part of it, is on its march 
 towards the river." 
 
 Five minutes later a dull continuous rattle came to their 
 ears. 
 
 "They are at it now. They have stopped!" he said a minute 
 later when the roar suddenly ceased. " What has happened 
 now, I wonder? Ah! there they are again. That is more like 
 it — steady and even." 
 
 The musketry came in sudden crashes. "Volleys!" the ser- 
 geant said. "They are near them." 
 
 For three or four minutes the sounds continued, and then 
 there was silence. 
 
 "They have beaten them oft'," the sergeant said. "They 
 didn't let them get near them this time, I expect. If they had 
 there would have been independent firing. As long as you 
 hear volleys you may be sure our felloAvs are not pressed." 
 ' Beyond an occasional shot the firing had ceased. 
 
 "How far do you think they are away now, sergeant?" 
 
 " If they were four miles before I don't think they are more 
 than two now, and a good bit more away to the left. They 
 are making to the river, so as to estabhsh themselves there 
 before they tackle Metemmeh." 
 
 "Then in half an hour they will be down on the river," 
 Edgar said. "I will wait that time, and then start and get a 
 party to bring you in." 
 
 " You had better wait until to-morrow morning, lad. We 
 can do very well until then. I may be able to crawl by that 
 time. Anyhow, they will have their hands full this afternoon. 
 
"YOU MUST T.EAVE MK." 209 
 
 Thoy Avill havo to mnlco a zarcba l)y tlio river, attend to tin; 
 wounded, and perhaps send back a force to bring in the camels 
 and baggage, Avlio wore no doubt left behind at the spot where 
 they were tiring this morning. There is grub enough in the 
 haversacks to last us until to-morrow, and plenty of water for 
 the fetching." 
 
 "Just as you tliink best, sergeant. My shoulder is smarting 
 a good deal, and I shall be all the better for a few more hours' 
 rest myself. It will soon be getting dusk, so I will go down 
 and get another supply of water at once, and then we can do a 
 good twelve hours' sleep without fear of being called up for out- 
 post duty. We have got three or four nights' sleep to make up." 
 
 It was broad da3dight before they awoke. The sergeant got 
 on to his feet, but it was evident to Edgar that he was alto- 
 gether unfit for walking. 
 
 "Shall I saddle your camel for you, sergeant 1" 
 
 "No, lad; I will stay where I am. Like enough the Arabs 
 will be swarming about just within gun-shot of our camp. 
 They are obstinate beggars, and do not know when they are 
 fairly beaten. If I were as active as you are we might manage 
 to get through on foot, but a man on a camel would be sure 
 to be seen. Be very careful, lad, how you go. Remember, if 
 you are seen you are lost; for these fellows could run you down 
 to a certainty, and your only chance is to get through without 
 being noticed." 
 
 "I don't like leaving you, sergeant." 
 
 " But you must leave me, lad. We have no food to speak 
 of left, and it will be just as dangerous to-morrow or next day 
 as it is to-day. Besides, your duty is with the corps. Every 
 musket may be needed, and the sooner you go the sooner I 
 shall be fetched in." 
 
 " Very well, then, I will start at once," Edgar said. 
 
 He first went down to the river, filled the two water-bottles 
 and placed them both by the sergeant's side, and emptied what 
 little food remained in his haversack. 
 
 (050) 
 
210 "GOOD-BYE, lad!" 
 
 " Now you will do for a couple of days if anything should 
 occur to prevent them frona sending out." 
 
 " I shall do very well, lad. It is not of myself I shall be 
 thinking, but of you. The gladdest sound that ever fell on my 
 ears will be the tramp of infantry, for then I shall know that 
 you have got safely through. Good-bye, lad, and God bless 
 you!" 
 
 Edgar wrung the sergeant's hand, and, unable to trust him- 
 self to speak, turned and started through the wood. He had 
 not gone very far when he found that the grove was by no 
 means a large one, for the trees opened before him. He bore 
 to his left, hoping that they would extend along the river 
 bank; but it was not so. The grove was isolated, and a large 
 patch of cultivated land stretched down to the river. Half a 
 mile further there was another grove; but whether this was 
 more extensive than that in which he now was he had no means 
 of telling. Standing at the edge of the trees he could see 
 several figures on horseback moving about, and saw at once 
 that they were natives. 
 
 " The Hussars will want two or three days' rest, I expect," 
 he said, " before their horses are fit to go out and drive these 
 fellows into the town. Well, here goes!" and he descended the 
 bank of the river, which was now low, and kept along under 
 its shelter until he reached the next grove. 
 
 It seemed so much safer where he was than it would be 
 above that he determined to keep under shelter of the bank 
 until he reached the camp. He had gone a hundred yards 
 farther when there was a sudden exclamation on the bank 
 above him, and almost at the same instant a spear struck his 
 helmet from his head. He turned round and brought his rifle 
 to his shoulder, but in a moment the Arab on the bank was 
 joined by a score of others, who with loud yells rushed down 
 upon him. 
 
 He saw that to fire was to ensure his death, and that resis- 
 tance was worse than useless. He therefore threw down his 
 
. r 
 
 GOOD-KVE, LAI), AND GOD BLESS YOU! 
 
capturkd! 211 
 
 gun and held up his arms. The Arabs rushed ujion him in a, 
 body with ui)liftcd spears and swords, but on an order sharply 
 given by one Avho seemed to be their leader they lowered these. 
 Edgar was, however, knocked down, kicked, and beaten, then 
 some cords were placed round his body and arms, and he felt 
 himself lifted up and carried away. 
 
 ITe was thrown down again in the wood, and an animated and, 
 as it seemed to him, angry discussion was carried on some time. 
 He had picked up a good many Arabic words, but not enough to 
 enable him to understand the discussion; but he had no doubt 
 that the subject of dispute was whether he should be killed at 
 once or carried away prisoner. As after a time he was lifted 
 up, the cords round his legs taken off, and he was hurried 
 along with many curses and an occasional sharp prick with a 
 spear, he judged that those in favour of sparing his life for the 
 present had won the day. 
 
 His own jirospects seemed desperate, but for the time he was 
 more concerned at the thought that the man who was perhaps 
 his father was lying helpless in the wood vainly expecting his 
 return. But he did not consider his case altogether hopeless. 
 As soon as the troops were all assembled on the river bank they 
 would be sure to move forward against Metemmeh; and even if 
 they did not pass through the wood the sergeant might gain 
 sufficient strength to reach its edge, get sight of them, and join 
 them. Unless one or other of these alternatives took place, he 
 was lost. As to himself, he could not blame himself for the 
 misfortune that had befallen him. He had taken what seemed 
 by far the safest course, and had it not been for the accident 
 that one of the Arabs had been standing at the moment at the 
 edge of the river, he would have got through safely. 
 
 His captors had evidently no fear of being attacked. Pro- 
 bably the column that had gone out to fetch in the baggage 
 had not yet returned, and the small force left at the zareba on 
 the river bank w^ould certainly not undertake any offensive 
 operation until it came back. He was sorry now that he had 
 
212 IN METEMMEH. 
 
 not persisted in his own opinion and remained with the ser- 
 geant, as in another day or two some scouting party might 
 have passed near the grove in which they were concealed. 
 However, it might have made no difference. The Arabs were 
 evidently swarming about the country, and parties would be 
 likely to occupy that wood just as they occupied the one nearer 
 to the English camp. 
 
 As they approached the village the Arabs raised shouts of 
 triumph, and a crowd gathered as they entered the street, 
 gesticulating and screaming so furiously that Edgar thought 
 he would be torn to pieces. However, his captors forced their 
 way through the crowd, turned off from the street, and entered 
 a court-yard, in the centre of which stood a house of larger 
 size than the majority of those that composed the town. Edgar's 
 legs were again tied, and he was thrown into an outhouse, 
 where he lay for hours. He could hear almost continuous talk- 
 ing in the house, and the voices occasionally rose into angry 
 altercation. 
 
 He was surprised that he had not been killed as he entered 
 the place, for the Arabs, if they fought with the same courage 
 as those engaged at Abu Klea, must have suffered very heavily 
 before they fell back, and the friends and relatives of those who 
 had fallen would be thirsting for vengeance upon any European 
 who fell into their power. Then he considered that it was 
 probable that the people of Metemmeh itself, who lived by the 
 passage of caravans and the river traffic, would at heart be 
 as much opposed to the Mahdi as were those of Khartoum and 
 other cities. 
 
 The force with which the British had fought at Abu Klea 
 was composed partly of the Mahdi's regular followers, partly 
 of wild tribesmen, animated alike by Mahommedan fanaticism 
 and the hope of plunder; and although these might unite in 
 an attack against Christians, they had little love for each 
 other. The band into whose hands he had fallen might be towns- 
 people, but more probably were members of some tribe that 
 
CALOHLATINd HIS ('IIANCKS 213 
 
 luul Ijt'oii 8uiuiuoiiod to arrest the progress of the troops going 
 up to tlio relief of Khartoum. 
 
 Now that he was detained a prisoner instead of being at 
 once killed, Edgar felt that there was a strong chance for him. 
 In a coujjle of da\-s the force might attack Metemmeh, and in 
 that case he might be rescued. It was, however, a place of 
 considerable size, and containing at present a very large num- 
 ber of fighting men; and after the losses the column had suf- 
 fered in the hrst fight and during its subsequent encounters, 
 Cieneral Stewart might well hesitate to risk still greater loss 
 than he had already suffered by an attack upon the place. 
 
 It was probable that the Mahdi would send down a large 
 body of troops from those besieging Khartoum, as soon as he 
 heard of the arrival of the small British force on the river, and 
 e\ery gun might be needed to maintain the position and repel 
 attacks until the arrival of reinforcements across the desert. 
 
 Thus Edgar felt it to be very doubtful whether any attack 
 would be made for the present. Of course as soon as reinforce- 
 ments arrived, or the boat column came up the river, Metemmeh 
 would be captured; but by that time he might be hundreds of 
 miles away. The boat column might not get round for six. 
 weeks, Avhile all reinforcements coming across the desert from 
 Korti would have to march, for Edgar felt sure that it would 
 be a long time before the camels were in a condition for work 
 again. 
 
 It was well that when he filled the two water-bottles for the 
 use of the sergeant Edgar had taken a long drink, for no one 
 came near him until after dark, and he suft'ered a good deal 
 from thirst, and from the pain caused by the tightness with 
 which he was bound. He began to think that he had been 
 altogether forgotten, when the door of the outhouse opened 
 and two Arabs came in, and seizing him as if he had been a 
 package dragged him out into the court-yard. Then he received 
 two or three kicks as an intimation that he could sit up; but 
 this, roped as he was, he was unable to accomplish, and seeing 
 
214 SHEIK BAKHAT, 
 
 this the men pulled him against a wall and raised him into a 
 sitting position against it. 
 
 A fire was burning in the centre of the court-yard. On some 
 cushions in front of it sat a man, whom he recognized as the 
 leader of the party who seized him. Other Arabs were squatted 
 on the ground or standing round. The chief was past the 
 prime of life, but still a powerful and sinewy man. His 
 features were not prepossessing; but Edgar, looking round, 
 thought that the expression of his face was less savage than 
 that of the majority of his followers. 
 
 "Does the Christian dog speak the language of the Prophet?" 
 he asked, 
 
 "I speak a little Arabic," Edgar replied, inwardly congratu- 
 lating himself upon the trouble he had taken to pick up a little 
 of the language during the time he had been in Egypt. 
 
 The answer was evidently satisfactory. The chief bowed his 
 head. 
 
 "It is good!" he said. "The Kaffir is henceforth a slave in 
 the tents of the Sheik Bakhat of the Jahrin tribe." 
 
 As he pointed to himself, Edgar understood that his captor 
 intended to keep him as his own property, at any rate for the 
 present, and bowed his head to signify that he understood. 
 
 "Why are the English foolish enough to come here?" the 
 sheik asked. " They must know that they cannot stand 
 against the power of the Mahdi," 
 
 "They did not come to interfere with the Mahdi, but to 
 bring back their countryman Gordon and his friends from 
 Khartoum." 
 
 "They will never reach Khartoum," the sheik said. "Their 
 bones will whiten in the desert." 
 
 Edgar did not reply, partly because his knowledge of Arabic 
 was insufficient for a discussion, partly because it was not worth 
 while to run the risk of exciting the anger of the chief by 
 pointing out that as they had failed to prevent a thousand men 
 crosbiug the desert to Metemmeh, they might similarly fail in 
 
FOOD AND DUINK. 215 
 
 picvciitiiii;- a t'orco of seven or oiylit times that amount marcli- 
 ing up the banks of the river to Khartoum, lie therefore 
 remained silent. 
 
 '•The Mahdi is invincible," the sheik went on after a pause. 
 " He will coiujuer Egypt, and after that will destroy the Kaffirs 
 and take their city of liome, and will capture Constantinople 
 if tlie Turks deny his authority." 
 
 "The ]\lahdi is a great man!" Edgar said gravely, although 
 with difficulty repressing a smile. "Who can say what may 
 happen?" Then seeing that this answer was also considered 
 satisfactory he went on: "Your slave is hungry and thirsty. 
 He has been wounded, and his bonds hurt him greatly. If he 
 is to be of use to you, will you order that food and drink be 
 given him]" 
 
 The chief nodded, and at a motion of his hand two of his 
 followers freed Edgar from his bonds, and a dish containing 
 some boiled meal and a jug of water were placed beside him. 
 Edgar drank deeply, but was only able to take a few mouthfuls 
 of food as he was feverish and in considerable pain ; for the 
 wound in his arm, which would have been comparatively slight 
 had proper attention been paid to it, was inflamed and angry, 
 and the arm greatly swollen. 
 
 As no further attention was paid to him he returned to the 
 outhouse, took ofi' his karkee tunic, and tearing some strips 
 from it, wetted them and laid them on his shoulder. Presently 
 the door was closed, and he heard a heap of brushwood thrown 
 against it, an effectual way of preventing an attempt to escape, 
 for as the door opened outwards the slightest movement would 
 cause a rustling of the bushes and arouse the Arabs who were 
 sleeping in the court-yard. There was no window. Edgar, 
 seeing that escape was out of the question, laid himself down 
 and tried to sleep, but the pain of his arm was so great that it 
 Avas some hours before he succeeded in doing so. The next 
 morning he was allowed to go out into the yard, and for 
 some time no attention was paid to him. Then a considerable 
 
216 "ONLY A RECONNAISSANCE." 
 
 hubbub was heard in the town, with much shouting and yelling. 
 An Arab ran in at the gate with some news. Edgar could not 
 understand his hurried words, but the effect was evident. The 
 men seized their arms, and then at the sheik's order Edgar was 
 again securely bound and fastened in the outhouse. 
 
 In the course of an hour he heard firing, first dropping shots 
 and then two or three sharp volleys, and knew that the British 
 were advancing against the town, and that the Arabs had gone 
 out to skirmish with them. Then there was a long pause, and 
 he heard the sound of the English field-pieces. He listened for 
 musketry, but in vain. 
 
 "It is only a reconnaissance," he said to himself. "Those 
 little guns would not batter down the mud walls round the 
 town without an expense of ammunition that could not be 
 afforded. No doubt the troops could take it by storm, but surely 
 the general would not risk the heavy loss they would suffer 
 before they got in, especially as the place would be oi no use 
 to them when they took it, and must fall as a matter of course 
 when the rest of the force arrives." 
 
 Such being his opinion, he was but little disappointed when 
 the firing ceased, and he knew by the triumphant yells ot the 
 Arabs that the British force were retiring. In a short time he 
 heard a clamour of voices in the court-yard, and he was pre- 
 sently unbound and released. 
 
 " The Kaffirs did not dare to attack the place," the Arab said 
 exultantly. " They have gone back to their camp. In a day 
 or two there will be forces here from Khartoum and Berber, 
 and then we will destroy or make slaves of them all." 
 
 Four days later there was a great firing of muskets and tri- 
 umphant yelling in the streets. Edgar felt very anxious, fear- 
 ing that the expected reinforcements had arrived, and that a 
 tremendous attack was about to be made upon the camp. He 
 did not believe that it had already taken place, for he felt 
 confident that every pains had been taken to strengthen the 
 position, and that in whatever numbers the assault might be 
 
A TERRir-LE I'.LOW. 217 
 
 made it would bo repulsed. Presently, however, the sheik 
 himself deigned to tell him the cause of the rejoicing. 
 
 "There is news from Khartoum," he said. "The city has 
 been taken, and the Englishman Gordon and all his followers 
 have been killed. The news is certain. It has been brought 
 down to us by tribesmen on both sides of the river. I told 
 you that the Mahdi was irresistible." 
 
 The blow was a terrible one to Edgar. In the first place it 
 was grievous to think that the expedition had been made in 
 vain, and that, owing to those in authority at home delaying 
 for months before making up their minds to rescue Gordon, it 
 had failed in its object, and that the noblest of Englishmen had 
 been left to die, unaided by those who had sent him out. He 
 thought of the intense disappointment that would be felt by 
 the troops, of the grief that there would be in England when 
 the news was known, and then he Avondered what would be 
 done next. It was evident to him at once that his own position 
 was altogether changed. He had before felt confident that 
 unless his captors moved away from the town before the arri- 
 val of the main body of the expedition he should he rescued, 
 but now it seemed altogether uncertain whether the expedition 
 would come at all. 
 
 So long as Gordon was alive England was bound to make 
 every effort to rescue him; but now that he and his comi?anions 
 were dead, and Khartoum had fallen, she might not feel herself 
 called upon to attempt the reconquest of the Soudan. It was 
 probable, however, that this would be the best, and in the end 
 the cheapest way out of the difticulty. Here was a force that 
 had at an enormous expense been brought up almost to within 
 striking distance of Khartoum, and which could be relied upon 
 to make its way thither to defeat the armies of the Mahdi, 
 and to recapture Khartoum without any very great difficulty. 
 The provisions and stores had all been purchased and brought 
 up, and scarce any outlay additional to that already incurred 
 would be entailed by the operation. 
 
218 STILL HOPEFUL. 
 
 Upon the other hand, to retire now would be to leave the 
 whole Soudan in the hands of the Mahdi and his fanatics. It 
 would mean the destruction of the settled government estab- 
 lished by the Egyptians, and it would expose Egypt to inces- 
 sant invasions, which we should be bound to repel. Common 
 sense, humanity, and even economy seemed to favour the 
 advance of the force to Khartoum. The British people, roused 
 to anger by the fate of Gordon, would probably call loudly for 
 the vindication of the national honour, and for an act of retri- 
 bution on the murderers of Gordon. 
 
 But Edgar felt that another way out of the difficulty might 
 present itself to the authorities at home. It was not unlikely 
 that the counsels of those who, from the first, had been against 
 the expedition would prevail, and that it would retire to Egypt 
 without striking another blow. In that case it seemed that 
 there was nothing before him but lifelong slavery. Edgar, 
 however was at an age when hope is not easily relinquished. 
 
 " r may be a slave a long time," he said, " but sooner or 
 later I will escape. I will get to speak the language like a 
 native. I am already almost burnt to their colour, and shall 
 ere long be able to pass as one of themselves. It is hard 
 indeed if after a time I cannot manage to escape, and to make 
 my way either back to Egypt or clown to the Eed Sea, or into 
 Abyssinia. If I did not feel sure that I could do either one 
 or the other, I would do something that would make them 
 kill me at once." 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ABU KRU, 
 
 SEEGEANT Bowen and Edgar were by no means the only 
 men who straggled away from the main body during that 
 terrible night's march from the wells of Abu Klea. Many 
 
SURROUNDED. 219 
 
 straggled; some niuiiagcd to rejoin the column in the morning, 
 others wandered away and were never heard of again. Morning 
 found tlu! exhausted and Avoru-out men and animals still at a 
 distance from the Nile. Some miles away a long line of ver- 
 dure showed where the river lay, but the general felt that at 
 present the men could do no more, and that a halt for some 
 hours was absolutely necessary. Parties of the enemy's horse 
 and foot men could be seen among the sand-hills, and distant 
 shots had already been fired. 
 
 The object of the terrible march had failed; it was no longer 
 possible to reach the river without fighting again, and to fight 
 as they were, encumbered with the baggage train and over- 
 powered Avith fatigue, was but to court disaster. Therefore a 
 halt was ordered. To the soldiers the order Avas unAvelcome; 
 tired as they Avere, they would rather, now that the river Avas 
 but some four miles aAvay, have pushed straight on and have 
 done Avith it. But the condition of the animals positively for- 
 bade this. A camping ground Avas chosen on a bare gravelly 
 })lace on the scrub Avhere the ground rose slightly. The Avork 
 of unloading and arranging the camels at once began, but be- 
 fore it Avas concluded a dropping fire Avas opened by the natives 
 from the long grass and bush in the distance. 
 
 The troops Avere set to work to erect a zareba with the 
 saddles, biscuit-boxes, and other stores, Avhile parties of skir- 
 mishers endeavoured to keep doAvn the fire of the enemy. This, 
 hoAvcver, Avas a difficult task, as the natives were entirely con- 
 cealed, and the men could only fire at the puffs of smoke aris- 
 ing from the grass and bushes. To the Arabs, hoAvever, the 
 camp presented a clear mark, and the sharp rap of the musket- 
 balls as they struck the wall, or the thud Avith Avhich they 
 buried themselves among the croAvd of kneeling camels, was 
 very frequent. Several men were hit, and soon after nine 
 o'clock the report spread through the camp that Sir Herbert 
 Stewart had received a very dangerous if not mortal Avound. 
 
 The neAvs caused deep sorrow throughout the troops. The 
 
220 VOLUNTEERS WANTED. 
 
 general was most popular both with officers and men, and there 
 was not one but felt that his loss would be a personal one. 
 It was, moreover, most unfortunate for the expedition itself at 
 such a moment to be deprived of its leader. Before stax'ting. 
 Colonel Burnaby had been designated to assume the command 
 in case of any accident happening to the general; but Burnaby 
 had fallen at Abu Klea, and it therefore devolved upon Sir 
 Charles Wilson, who was accompanying the force solely in a 
 diplomatic capacity, and who was to push up the river in one 
 of the steamers and communicate with General Gordon as soon 
 as the force reached the Nile. 
 
 Soon afterwards orders were given that a ridge of ground 
 sixty yards distant on the right front should be occupied, as 
 from that point the ground beyond was commanded to a con- 
 siderable distance, and the enemy thus prevented from gathei'- 
 ing for a sudden rush from that direction. Skinner and Easton 
 were lying down together under cover of the wall when the 
 order was given. Skinner was energetically denouncing the 
 night march and the present halt. Easton was smiling quietly, 
 and occasionally pointing out the difficulties which would have 
 ensued had his companion's view of the matter been adopted. 
 
 "It is beastly lying here doing nothing," Skinner finally 
 grumbled. 
 
 " Well, there is no occasion for you to do so," Easton said as 
 an officer passed along saying that volunteers were required to 
 carry boxes to build a small work on the ridge. 
 
 Skinner at once jumped to his feet, ran to the pile of 
 biscuit-boxes, seized two of them, swung them on to his 
 shoulders and started for the ridge. Easton followed in more 
 leisurely fashion, and a number of other officers and men at 
 once set about the work. It was not pleasant. As soon as the 
 concealed enemy saw what was being done they directed their 
 fire upon the party, and the bullets flew fast across the ground 
 that had to be passed over. Several men dropped, but the 
 work was continued vigorously, and in the course of an hour a 
 
A TKYTNO rOSITION. 221 
 
 sinall work was raised upon tlio ri<li;c, and a half-company 
 ])laced there as its garrison. Hour after hour went on, the fire 
 of the enemy getting heavier and heavier, the men dropping fast. 
 
 "Well, Easton, wliat do you think of it now?" Skinner 
 asked. 
 
 ' 1 think it is most annoying," Easton said. " I cannot think 
 why we don't do something. T suppose the general heing hit 
 has upset the arrangements. If we are going to move I don't 
 see what advantage there is in putting it off; it isn't as if we 
 ■were getting any rest here. I hope to goodness w^e are not 
 going to wait here until dark; every hour we stop adds to the 
 casualties. I hear two of the special correspondents have been 
 killed, Cameron of the Standard and St. Leger Herbert of the 
 Foiit. The camels are being killed in scores. Another four- 
 and-twenty hours of this work there won't be enough men left 
 to fight our w\ay down to the river. It has got to be done, and 
 we might just as well do it at once." 
 
 It was not until half-past three that the welcome order was 
 given to prepare to move forward. A portion of the Heavy Camel 
 Eegiment, the Hussars, and Naval Brigade were left behind with 
 the three guns to hold the inclosure, while the rest, formed in 
 square as at Abu Klea, advanced. 
 
 The camels with the wounded were in the centre. The 
 ]\Tarines and Grenadiers formed the front of the square, the 
 Coldstream and Scots Guards were on the right, the Mounted 
 Infantry on the left, the Sussex and the remainder of the 
 Heavies in the rear. The fire of the enemy redoubled as the 
 square set out on its way. Halting occasionally to fire a few 
 volleys at the spots where the enemy's fire was thickest the 
 square made its way gradually onward, keeping as much as 
 possible on ridges so as to avoid being surrounded by the 
 enemy placed in commanding positions. At last the fire of 
 the Arabs suddenly ceased, and a great crowd, several thousand 
 strong, headed by many horsemen, charged down upon the 
 face and left flank of the square. 
 
222 THE CHARGE REPULSED. 
 
 They were some five hundred yards away, and a cheer broke 
 from the British square when it was evident that the long sus- 
 pense Avas over and the supreme moment at hand. Volley after 
 volley was fired, and then, seeing that the fire was taking but 
 little effect, and knowing that nothing discourages men so 
 much as seeing their fire fail to stop the rush of an enemy. Sir 
 Charles Wilson ordered the bugle to sound "Cease firing!" 
 The order was obeyed; the men stood steady until the enemy 
 were within three hundred yards; then the bugle-call "Com- 
 mence firing!" sounded, and from the front and left face of 
 the square sweeping volleys were poured into the crowded 
 mass. 
 
 "Aim low and fire steadily, men!" Avas the shout of the 
 officers; and so well were they obeyed that the front ranks of 
 the Arabs were mown down like grass. For a time they still 
 pushed forward, but the fire was too terrible to be withstood; 
 and although a few of the leaders arrived within fifty yards of 
 the square, their followers hesitated when still at a distance of 
 a hundred. Hesitation in the case of a charge is fatal. The 
 storm of bullets still tore its way through the mass; the Arabs 
 wavered, turned, and were soon in full flight. 
 
 The battle had lasted but a few minutes, but the victory was 
 complete, and three hearty cheers broke from the victors. There 
 was a halt for a few minutes for the men to fill up their pouches 
 from the reserve ammunition and to have a drink of water. 
 They then moved forward again, confidently expecting that the 
 attack would be renewed; but the Arabs had had enough of it, 
 and the square moved on without interruption until, half an 
 hour after sunset, they reached the river. The wounded were 
 at once carried forward to the water, and then the troops were 
 marched up by companies, and each in turn were permitted to 
 drink their fill. Then guards were posted, and the exhausted 
 troops threw themselves down on the ground. 
 
 The object of their long march was attained, the Nile was 
 reached, and thenceforth there would be no further sufFerins: 
 
SKINNKU WOUNDED. 223 
 
 from want of water. The next day communication would hd 
 opened with (Gordon's steamers, their friends would in the 
 niorning be fetched in from the zareba, and then there would 
 be a long rest until the boat column arrived and the remainder 
 of the force from Korti marched across to join them. 
 
 In the morning Easton went across from his own company 
 to the JNIarines. 
 
 "Where is Mr. Skinner?" he asked a sergeant. 
 
 " He is down with the wounded at the river, sir. He had 
 his left arm broken by a bullet just as we left the zareba. He 
 was just in front of me at the time, and I made a shift to 
 bandage his arm and tied it up to his body, and then he took 
 his place in the ranks again and kept on with them until we 
 got here; then when we halted he fainted right off, and we 
 carried him down to the hospital camp by the water." 
 
 Easton at once went down to visit his friend. He was lying 
 on a stretcher. 
 
 " Well, Skinner, 1 am awfully sorry to hear that you got hit. 
 How are you feeling, old man?" 
 
 " I cannot say much for myself just at present; it is only 
 about half an hour since they finished bandaging me up and 
 putting on splints; they just stopped the bleeding last night, 
 and then I asked them to leave me alone until this morning. 
 They had lots of serious cases to attend to, and mine would 
 keep well enough; besides, I was so weak with loss of blood, 
 and so really done up, that I felt that I could not stand any 
 more then, and I was asleep in a very few minutes. However, 
 my arm woke me up before daylight, and I was glad enough to 
 have it put in proper shape, though it hurt me deucedly, I can 
 tell you. However, it is comparatively easy now, and I hope 
 I shall be all right by the time the advance begins. What a 
 blessing it is having shade and water here! " 
 
 " It is, indeed," P^aston agreed. " Now I must say good-bye, 
 for I don't know what is to be done, and we are sure to be 
 under arms directly." 
 
224 BACK AT THE ZAREBA. 
 
 The troops moved off in a few minutes after Easton returned 
 to his company, and after carefully examining the ground a 
 small village named Abu Kru, a few yards from the river on 
 rising ground, entirely deserted by the natives, was selected 
 for a camj). The wounded were at once carried up there and 
 were left in charge of the Heavies, while the Guards and Mounted 
 Infantry started for the zareba, the Sussex being sent out on 
 the right to watch Metemmeh and keep the enemy in check 
 should they advance against the village. The water-skins and 
 camel-tanks were all filled, for but little water had been left at 
 the zareba; and the men, although they had scarcely eaten any 
 food for the last forty-eight hours, started in good spirits, per- 
 fectly ready for another fight should the enemy try to stop 
 them. But although large numbers of them gathered on a hill 
 near the town they abstained from any attack, and the column 
 reached the zareba, where they were received with hearty 
 cheers by its little garrison. 
 
 These had not been attacked during their absence, although 
 a scattered musketry fire had been kept up upon them until 
 dark. To this they replied vigorously, and the guns had done 
 good service to the square while on its march by keeping up a 
 shell fire upon any bodies of the enemy that could be made 
 out on the eminences near it. The garrison had suffered great 
 suspense after the square had disappeared from their sight, for 
 they could see large bodies of men hurrying in that direction, 
 and their anxiety was great when the sudden outburst of 
 musketry told them that the square was attacked. What the 
 issue of the fight had been they knew not, but their hopes that 
 the Arabs had been defeated increased as time went on and 
 no attack was made upon themselves, for had the enemy been 
 successful they would speedily have poured down to the attack 
 of the feebly-defended baggage. 
 
 As soon as the column arrived the work of pulling down the 
 walls of boxes and saddles, getting the camels to their feet and 
 loading them, began. So many of the camels had been killed 
 
" I'LKNTY OK I'LUCK." 225 
 
 tliat the number surviving was insufficient to carry down the 
 stores, therefore the smaller redoubt was loft untouched and a 
 stronger garrison than before placed in it, and the rest moved 
 down to the river. The troops all partook of a hearty meal 
 before the start was made. Sir Herbert Stewart and the rest 
 of the wounded were taken down in the cacolets with the 
 column. 
 
 Tiupert Clinton had remained in the zareba Avhen the square 
 had marched forward. He had been greatly exhausted by the 
 night march and had had a slight sunstroke before the square 
 moved out; the doctors had therefore ordered him not to 
 accompany it, but to stay at the zareba and assist the general 
 and other wounded. 
 
 "You are looking very shaky, Clinton," Easton said when 
 he joined him. 
 
 "I am all right to-day," he replied; "rather heavy about 
 the head; but a bath and a long night's rest will set me up 
 again. Skinner is all right, I hopel" 
 
 " No, I am sorry to say he has got his left arm broken. I 
 saw him for a moment before we started. He got hit just after 
 he left here, but stuck to his company all through. I asked 
 one of the surgeons, and he said that unless fever or anything 
 of that sort came on he was likely to go on all right, and that 
 he did not think that there was much chance of his losing his 
 arm. He has plenty of pluck, Skinner has." 
 
 " I should think so," Rupert said. "A fellow who could play 
 an uphill game of football as he could can be trusted to keep 
 his courage up under any circumstances. Do you know what Ave 
 are going to do, Easton? Are we going to attack Metemmeh?" 
 
 " I have not the least idea. It is a big place, a lot bigger 
 than we expected, and there are a tremendous lot of fighting 
 men there. It is fortunate they did not all make a rush at us 
 together yesterday, although I don't think it would have made 
 any difference. But it would be a very risky thing to attack 
 such a place as that, swarming with fanatics, with our present 
 
 (650) P 
 
226 LONG RANGE. 
 
 force. It would be too big to hold if we took it, and we might 
 lose two or three hundred men in the attack and street fighting; 
 and as it is said that a big force is coming down the river to 
 attack us, it would certainly be a risk, and a big one, to lose a lot 
 of men in an attack on this place, which we shall be able to take 
 without any diflficulty as soon as the rest of the force comes up. 
 I expect we shall try a reconnaissance. If the Arabs bolt, and 
 we find that we can take the place without hard fighting, we 
 shall take it; but if they show a determination to stick there 
 and defend it to the last I think we shall leave it alone." 
 
 The column returned to the river without meeting with any 
 opposition; but it was evident from the number of Arabs 
 who were seen moving about in the direction of Metemmeh that 
 the check of the previous day had by no means disheartened 
 them, and that they were still in very considerable force in 
 and around the town. 
 
 Late at night the orders were issued for the troops to parade 
 at half-past four in the morning; and leaving a small force to 
 guard Abu Kru, or as it was sometimes called Gubat, the rest of 
 the troops marched towards Metemmeh. Two villages deserted 
 by the inhabitants were passed, and then a view was obtained 
 of the town. Crowds of Arabs were seen outside its walls. 
 
 The officer in command of the company of Grenadiers that 
 was marching in extended order in front of the column picked 
 out twenty of the best shots and ordered them to elevate their 
 sights to two thousand yards and fire five volleys. Great as the 
 distance was, the effect was considerable. With the aid of glasses 
 two or three of the enemy were seen to fall, and the rest scat- 
 tered in all directions and speedily took shelter within the 
 walls. The seven-pounders then opened fire, but the shot pro- 
 duced little or no result, simply punching holes in the mud 
 walls. The troops then moved nearer, marching along the 
 southern side to see if any place suitable for an assault could 
 be discovered ; but everywhere the wall was loopholed, and the 
 incessant fire showed that it Avas strongly manned. 
 
A DISCOVERY. 227 
 
 A Krnpp pjnn on the walls i)rc.scntly opened fire with so accu- 
 rate an aim that the cohnnn fell hack a short distance. At this 
 monient a cheer rose as four steamers were seen coming along 
 the river Hying the Egyptian Hag. They ran towards the shore 
 and landed two hundred negro soldiers with some small brass 
 guns. These were speedily placed into position beside the seven- 
 pounders, and the negro infantry, advancing in skirmishing 
 order, opened fire at once. They brought news that Gordon 
 was still holding out, and also that three thousand of the enemy 
 were on their way down and were but two days' march away. 
 
 This news decided Sir Chas. Wilson against running the risk 
 of materially weakening his force by an assault on the town, and 
 the column fell back to Abu Kru. On their way a portion of 
 the C4uards' Regiment was told off to search the groves and 
 plantations to see that there were no Arabs lurking there. 
 Presently they came upon two camels grazing in a grove. 
 "Search about well, men," the officer in command said^ "their 
 owners may be hidden somewhere close." 
 
 In a minute or two one of the men called out, " Here are 
 two saddles, sir, hidden in the bushes; they are scarlet, and 
 belong to one of our regiments." 
 
 The officers speedily gathered to the spot. " They are cer- 
 tainly our saddles," the officer in command said, "how in the 
 world did the camels get here? I suppose they must have 
 wandered away during the night march and been picked up 
 by some of the Arabs and driven on here." 
 
 "But they are riding camels," one of the others put in; " they 
 must have belonged to some of the men who were missing on 
 the night march; the poor fellows were killed, no doubt." 
 
 "They may have ridden them on here," Easton suggested; 
 "after they got separated from the column the camels may 
 have smelt the water and come on here before daylight broke." 
 
 " That IS true, Easton. You see one of these saddles has 
 blood stains on it; perhaps its rider was wounded. We will 
 search the grove thoroughly." 
 
228 THE SEEGEANT FOUND. 
 
 The search was renewed, and in a few minutes a sergeant 
 ran up to the group of officers. "We have found a man, sir; 
 he belongs to the Heavies; he is insensible." 
 
 The officers hurried to the spot. " Yes, the poor fellow is a 
 sergeant of the Heavies. No doubt you were right, Easton. 
 You see he has been wounded in the side. He looks in a bad 
 way." 
 
 "There are two water-bottles by him," Easton said; "one is 
 empty and the other is half full," he added as he took them up 
 and shook them. " He must have a comrade somewhere." 
 
 " No doubt he has, Easton; he could scarcely have been in a 
 condition when he arrived here to take off the saddles and hide 
 them away. What can have become of the other '2" The grove 
 was searched thoroughly from end to end, but no sign found 
 of the missing man. Some boughs were cut down and a rough 
 stretcher made, and upon this the sergeant was laid and the 
 force then moved on, the camels being saddled and mounted by 
 two of the men, and on arriving at the camp the sergeant was 
 taken to the hospital. 
 
 As soon as dinner was eaten the men were paraded again. 
 A council had been held to decide upon the best course to 
 be taken, and it was decided that a fort should be built down 
 by the river, and that the whole force should establish itself 
 there with the exception of the Guards' Camel Regiment, 
 which should remain at G-ubat so as to prevent any body of the 
 enemy posting themselves there and keeping up an annoying 
 fire upon the fort down by the river. 
 
 Gubat had already been roughly fortified, and the whole 
 force was therefore set at work to erect with camel-saddles and 
 boxes a defence for the position by the river. When this was 
 done the wounded were all carried down to the new fort. After 
 the work was over Eupert strolled up through the village to 
 have a chat with Easton. As he was sitting there an orderly 
 came up. 
 
 " Mr. Clinton, the surgeon has sent me up with two letters 
 
THK I'.EST WAY OF FINlUNCi OUT, 229 
 
 that wore found inside the jacket of the wounded sergeant who 
 Avas brought in this afternoon. One is directed to you and the 
 otlicr to Captain Percy CHnton." 
 
 " That is very curious," llupert said, taking the letters and 
 turning them over in his hand. " How is the man going on, 
 orderly?' 
 
 " He is insensible still, sir. I believe the doctors say that 
 it is fever, and that his Avound is not serious. One of the men 
 of his regiment who is in the hospital says he got it at Abu 
 Klea, and that it was attended to there." 
 
 " Thank you, orderly, that will do. What in the world can 
 the man be writing to me about, and to my father, which is still 
 more cmious?" 
 
 " I should say the best way of hndiug out, Clinton, will be to 
 open the letter." 
 
 " "Well, I suppose it will be," Rupert replied. " Still, it is 
 always interesting to guess at a mystery before you find the 
 key." 
 
 " Well, guess away," Easton said, stretching himself out on 
 his back. " I never was a good hand at riddles." 
 
 It was some little time before Rupert, finding himself un- 
 able to find any solution whatever to the mystery, opened the 
 letter. As he did so he stirred the fire by which they were 
 sitting into a fresh blaze. He read a few lines and uttered an 
 exclamation of such intense surprise that Easton sat up with 
 a start. 
 
 "What is it, Clinton f 
 
 "It is the most extraordinary thing I ever came across, 
 Easton. You know the story about Edgar and myself. Well, 
 this wounded sergeant is either his father or mine." 
 
 "Impossible!" Easton exclaimed; "he did not look much 
 above thirty; besides, no soldier of twenty-one years' service — 
 and he must have had fully that — would be out here." 
 
 Rupert made no reply; he was running his eyes rapidly 
 through the letter." 
 
230 "don't be too sanguine. 
 
 "Good heavens!" he exclahned; "Edgar is out here; he is 
 a trumpeter in the Heavies." 
 
 "That is news, Eupert. I congratulate you heartily, old 
 fellow. You are sure that there is no mistake?" 
 
 " No; there cannot be any mistake about that," Eupert said, 
 thrusting the letter into his tunic. "Come along, Easton, let 
 us be off. He goes by the name of Ned Smith." 
 
 "Wait a moment, old man," Easton said, laying his hand 
 kindly on Eupert's shoulder. " Where was the letter written?" 
 
 "At Korti." 
 
 "Well, Clinton, don't be too sanguine. You know how 
 terribly the Heavies suffered at Abu Klea. Don't make up your 
 mind too warmly to see your brother; he may be among the 
 wounded we left behind at Abu Klea; he may — " and he 
 stopped. 
 
 " I won't think it," Eupert said; "it would be too hard, after 
 our searching for him for all these years, to find out that but 
 four or five days since he was in camp with us, and to learn it 
 only too late. I won't think it." 
 
 "I hope to God that it is nut so, Clinton, only I thought it 
 best to prepare you for what may be possible. Which troop 
 did he belong to?" 
 
 " The Dragoon troop." 
 
 Easton was silent, for it was upon this troop that the heaviest 
 loss had fallen. 
 
 " Well," Eupert went on, " let us go down and learn the best 
 or the worst." 
 
 They walked down the slope to the new fort by the river, 
 and finding out whei-e the Heavies were bivouacked soon dis- 
 covered the Dragoons. 
 
 " You go and ask, Easton," Eupert said nervously; " I dare 
 not." 
 
 Easton went on alone and presently accosted a sergeant. 
 
 " Sergeant, can you tell me whether the trumpeter of your 
 troop was wounded at Abu Klea? Is he here now?" 
 
"HAD NEWS." 231 
 
 " He M'iis wounded at Abu Klea, sir, though not seriously; but 
 ho is not hero now, ho was ono of those missing on tho night 
 march, ho and Sergeant Bowen. I hear the sergeant was found 
 and brought in this morning very bad, but I have heard nothing 
 of Smith; but I expect that one of the camels brought in this 
 afternoon was his ; in fact I know it was, for it has got Smith's 
 number on the saddle. It is likely that they would be together, 
 for the sergeant had taken a great fancy to the lad. We all 
 liked him. Ho joined us at Cairo from the Hussars, as our own 
 trumpeter was taken ill; he was a general favourite, but Ser- 
 geant Bowen took to him specially." 
 
 "Thank you, sergeant;" and Easton turned and walked 
 slowly back to where Eupert was awaiting him. 
 
 "You have bad news, Easton," Eupert said huskily. "I 
 could see it as you stood talking to that man." 
 
 " Yes, I have bad news," Easton said, " but hardly the worst, 
 Clinton." 
 
 " He is badly wounded then," Eupert groaned. 
 
 " I am afraid it is worse than that, Clinton; he is missing. 
 It was ho who was the rider of the second camel that we found 
 in the grove this morning. He and the sergeant were both 
 missing on the night march, and evidently found their way down 
 to the river where we discovered the sergeant. What can have 
 become of your brother since I know not. Evidently he left 
 his water-bottle by his comrade and went somewhere, probably 
 to join us. As I was saying to you when we were chatting 
 about it before you opened that letter, he was probably either 
 making his way towards the square on the day of the fight or 
 coming towards our camp after we got in, and was seized by the 
 Arabs. That was the conclusion at which we all arrived, 
 though I had little thought when we were talking it over that 
 the missing man was your brother." 
 
 "Then you think he has been killed'?" Eupert said hoarsely. 
 
 " I don't know that, Clinton. He may have been made a 
 prisoner. You see, we have searched the ground between that 
 
232 "THIS IS AWFUL, EASTON." 
 
 grove and our camp thoroughly to-day, and had he been killed 
 there I think we should certainly have found him. Of course 
 it may have happened further out on the plain if he was making 
 his way out to join our square; but I should think he would 
 never have done that, for the Arabs were swarming all round 
 it. Besides, the Hussars Avere scouting about all over the plains 
 this morning, and if they had seen the body of any of our men 
 would certainly have reported it. The Arabs in fight never 
 show mercy, but if they came upon him by himself they might 
 very well have carried him off as a prisoner, especially if he 
 made no resistance. You see, they are all slave-dealers at heart; 
 besides, they might think that a white prisoner would be an 
 acceptable present to the Mahdi. Of course I know no more 
 about it than you do, but I should say that the chances are quite 
 as great of his being taken prisoner as of his having been killed." 
 
 " One is as bad as the other," Rupert said in a broken voice. 
 "This is awful, Easton. I will walk up to your camp again. 
 Would you mind seeing the colonel of his regiment or the officer 
 of his troop, and find out what you can about him?" 
 
 Easton soon found one of the few surviving officers of Edgar's 
 troop. 
 
 "Can you tell me anything about Trumpeter Smith?" he 
 asked. "I have reason to believe that he was a relative of a 
 friend of mine, and that he ran away and enlisted under a false 
 name." 
 
 " He bore an excellent character," the officer said. " He came 
 to us from the Hussars at Cairo, and no one could behave better 
 than he has done from the time he joined us. They would not 
 have sent him to us if he hadn't been a thoroughly well-conducted 
 young fellow, I was chatting with one of the officers of his 
 regiment on the day we left Cairo ; he spoke in very high terms 
 of him, and said that he was quite a popular character in the 
 regiment. It seems that he was a first-rate cricketer, and 
 especially brought himself into notice by some exceedingly 
 plucky conduct when two ladies belonging to the regiment were 
 
"UK HAD BETTER HAVE T.El'.N KILLED." 233 
 
 attacked by a couple of tramps at Aldeishot; and besides that 
 ho had greatly distinguished himself at El-Teb, where the 
 Hussars got badly mauled. His name was amongst those sent in 
 for tho Victoria Cross, and he was specially chosen to go with 
 us to give him another chance. I never heard a young fellow 
 more warmly spoken of. We were awfully sorry when we 
 heard that he was missing. There is no doubt he was with 
 Sergeant Bowen whom your men brought in this morning. One 
 of the two camels was the one he rode. We have been talking 
 that over to-day, and the general opinion is that he Avas caught 
 by the Arabs as he was trying to rejoin the regiment. It is a 
 thousand pities he did not wait a little longer in that grove, 
 but I have no doubt he was anxious to get assistance as soon as 
 possible for the sergeant. I intend as soon as we are settled 
 here to ask the colonel to let me go out Avith a party to search 
 the plains to see if Ave can find his body." 
 
 " I am more inclined to think that he has been taken prisoner," 
 Easton said; "he would hardly have gone out to meet the 
 square, as he must have seen the plains SAvarming with Arabs 
 and that he had no chance whatever of getting through. He 
 would have known that we were making for the water, and 
 that he would have a far better chance of reaching us by wait- 
 ing until we got there. My OAvn idea is that he did wait, and 
 that the Arabs came upon him someAvhere betAveen that grove 
 and our camp ; if so, they did not kill him, for if they had done 
 so Ave must have found his body to-day, for we searched every foot 
 of the ground. I think that he is a prisoner in their hands." 
 
 " He had better have been killed at once," the officer said. 
 
 " I agree Avith you, except that it is just possible that a slave 
 may escape. You see, on our way up to Khartoum if Ave 
 defeat the Mahdi's troops — which we certainly shall do — all the 
 country Avill no doubt submit, and there Avould be in the first 
 place the chance of his being given up to us, and in the second 
 of his escape." 
 
 "It is possible," the officer agreed, "but I certainly Avould 
 
234 THE START UP THE RIVER. 
 
 not build on that. The probability is that if he is taken prisoner 
 he will be sent to the Mahdi, and if he isn't killed at once 
 when he gets there, he will be when the Mahdi sees that his 
 game is up." 
 
 Easton nodded, and then, thanking the officer for his infor- 
 mation, took his way up to the village, where he repeated to 
 Eupert what he had heard. His own voice faltered as he told 
 the story, while Rupert sobbed unrestrainedly. When he had 
 finished Eupert rose, pressed his hand silently, and then return- 
 ing to his own bivouac threw himself down and thought sadly 
 for hours over the loss of his brother. 
 
 The next day Eupert was busy from morning until night. A 
 portion of the force was employed in strengthening the fortifi- 
 cations of the tAvo posts, and a strong body was at work cutting 
 wood for the use of the steamer in which Sir Charles Wilson 
 was to start next morning for Khartoum. While at work 
 they were guarded by another strong party, lest the enemy 
 should make a sudden attack. All, however, passed off quietly, 
 and on the following morning Sir Charles started with two 
 steamers, taking with him twenty men of the Sussex regiment 
 and one hundred and fifty of the black troops. On the same 
 day three hundred troops selected from the various regiments 
 started on camels, with four hundred baggage camels under 
 their convoy, for Gakdul, in accordance with the orders given to 
 General Stewart by Lord Wolseley at starting, that as soon as 
 he had established himself upon the river he was to send back 
 a convoy for some more stores. 
 
 The convoy was, however, but a small one, for of over two 
 thousand camels which had left Korti, this number alone sur- 
 vived, and most of these were in such a state from exhaustion, 
 starvation, and sore backs, that they were wholly unfit to 
 travel. The force on the river was now reduced to some fifty 
 officers and eight hundred and seventy men, including medical 
 staff, commissariat, natives of all kinds, and the remainder of 
 the black troops and one hundred and twenty wounded. The 
 
WAiTiN(;. 235 
 
 tlcfenco.s wcro greatly sticngthciicil, olliccrs and men both 
 shaving in tho work. 
 
 During the day the Hussars scouted round the camp, frc- 
 ([ucntly exchanging shots with the enemy. At night strong 
 Hues of sentries were posted round the forts. No attack was, ' 
 however, made, although the natives sometimes showed in con- 
 siderable force during the day, and the beating of tom-toms 
 went on day and night round Metemmeh. The hard work 
 upon which tlie troops were engaged kept them for the most 
 part in good health, and the wounded did extremely well, the 
 doctors themselves being surprised at the rapidity with which 
 wounds healed and the men recovered their strength, an effect 
 doubtless due to the clear dry air. 
 
 The troops in the village enjoyed better health than those 
 down by the river, as they obtained the benefit of the air from 
 the desert, while down near the stream heavy dews fell at night 
 and there were several slight cases of fever. All looked eagerly 
 for the return of the steamers from Khartoum with news how 
 things were going on there. As for their own position, no one 
 had the slightest anxiety. No news had been received of the 
 approach of the three thousand troops which had been reported 
 as on their way down against them, and they felt confident in 
 their power to repulse any attack that the enemy at Metemmeh 
 could make against them. They were, too, in hourly expecta- 
 tion of the arrival across the desert of reinforcements from 
 Korti. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 A SLAVE. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Edgar had felt disappointed when the sounds 
 of the firing round Metemmeh died away, and he knew 
 by the triumphant shouts of the Arabs that the British had 
 
236 A TIME OF SUSPENSE. 
 
 retired, he had hardly expected that an attack would be made 
 upon the town until reinforcements came up, and he con- 
 soled himself with the idea that within a few weeks at the 
 utmost the reinforcements would arrive, and that if the Arabs 
 remained in the town until that time he would be rescued. Two 
 or three days later he heard a great hubbub just after nightfall 
 in the streets outside. The Arabs who were in the court-yard 
 snatched up their guns, and the din became louder than before. 
 
 Above the uproar Edgar could catch the words, " Death to 
 the Kaffir!" and "Send him to the Mahdi!" and guessed that 
 his own fate was the subject of dispute. Picking up one of 
 the Arab swords he determined at least to sell his life as dearly 
 as he could. For an hour his fate trembled in the balance. 
 At times there were lulls in the tumult, while a few voices 
 only, raised in furious argument, were heard. Then the crowd 
 joined in again and the yells became deafening, and every 
 moment Edgar expected to hear the clash of weapons, and to 
 see the little party to which he belonged driven headlong into 
 the house followed by the Mahdi's men. But he had before 
 witnessed many Arab disputes, and knew that however furious 
 the words and gestures might be they comparatively seldom 
 came to blows, and though greatly relieved he was not alto- 
 gether surprised when at last the uproar quieted down, and his 
 captors returned into the court-yard and barred the door behind 
 them. 
 
 In a short time an argument broke out, almost as furious 
 and no less loud than that which had taken place outside. The 
 sheik had evidently his own opinion and was determined to 
 maintain it. Two or three of his followers sided with him, 
 but the rest were evidently opposed to it From the few words 
 Edgar could catch in the din he gathered that the sheik was 
 determined to carry him off as his own particular slave, while 
 the bulk of his followers Avere in favour of handing him over 
 to the Mahdi's officers. All Arabs are obstinate, but the sheik 
 happened to be exceptionally obstinate and determined even for 
 
"WE WILL BE FAR AWAY." 237 
 
 an Arab. Had the Maluli's officers recognized his riglit to the 
 captive, and ofrcrcd him some small present in return for his 
 slave, lie would probably have handed him over willingly 
 enough; but that they should threaten him, and insist on his 
 luinding over his property, was, he considered, an outrage to 
 his dignity and independence. 
 
 Was he, an independent sheik, to be treated as if he were a 
 nameless slave, and ordered to surrender his own to the Mahdi 
 or anyone else? Never! He would slay the slave and stab 
 himself to the heart rather than submit to be thus trampled 
 on. If his followers did not like it they were free to leave 
 him and to put on white shirts and follow the Mahdi; he 
 could do without such men well enough. What Avould the 
 ]\Iahdi do for them? He would send them to be shot down 
 by the Kaffirs, as they had been shot down at Abu Klea and 
 outside the town, and someone else would possess their wives 
 and their camels and their fields. If they liked that they 
 could go, and he went to the gate, unbarred and threw it open, 
 and pointed to the street. The effect was instantaneous. The 
 Arabs had no desire whatever to become soldiers of the Mahdi, 
 and they at once changed their tone and assured the sheik that 
 they had no idea of opposing his wishes, and that whatever he 
 said should be done, pointing out, however, that in the morn- 
 ing the Madhists would assuredly come and take the prisoner 
 by force. 
 
 The skeik was mollified by their submission, and ordering 
 Edgar to close and bar the gate again seated himself by the 
 fire. 
 
 "By to-morrow," he said, "we will be far away. I am 
 not a fool; I am not going to fight the Mahdi's army. As 
 soon as tlie town is still we will make our way down to the 
 river, take a boat, and cross. Two days' journey on foot will 
 take us to the village where we sent our camels with the 
 plunder and came on here to fight, believing, like fools, that 
 the Mahdi was going to eat them up. We have seen what 
 
238 FLIGHT. 
 
 came of that, and they say that there are crowds more of 
 them on the way. I am ready to fight; you have all seen 
 me fight over and over again, and all men know that 
 Sheik El Bakhat is no coward; but to fight against men who 
 fire without stopping is more than I care for. They are Kaffirs, 
 but they have done me no harm, and I have no vengeance to 
 repay them. Fortunately we did not arrive till an hour after 
 the fighting was over, or our bones might be bleaching out 
 there in the desert with those of hundreds of others. It is the 
 Mahdi's quarrel and not mine. Let him fight if he wants to, 
 I have no objection. Why should I throw away my life in his 
 service Avhen even the slave we have captured is not to be my 
 own." 
 
 As these sentiments commended themselves to his followers 
 the sheik's plans were carried out. 
 
 The unfortunate trader and his wife, who had been cowering 
 in a little chamber since the sheik and his party had uncere- 
 moniously taken possession of the rest of the house, were called 
 in and informed that their guests were about to leave them, 
 and were ordered to close the gate after them and on no 
 account to open it until morning. The party then set to work 
 to cook a large supply of cakes for the journey. A little before 
 midnight they sallied out, and making their Avay noiselessly 
 through the streets issued out near the river at a point where 
 the walls that surrounded the other sides of the town were 
 wanting. 
 
 There were several boats moored against the banks, and 
 choosing one of them they allowed it to drift quietly down the 
 river until some distance below the town, and then getting 
 out the oars rowed to the other side of the river and landed 
 below the large town of Shendy, They made a wide detour 
 to get round the town, travelling at a long swinging trot that 
 soon tried Edgar's wind and muscles to the utmost. He was 
 not encumbered by much clothing, as before leaving he had 
 been made to strip and to wrap himself up in a native cloth. 
 
A night's run. 239 
 
 Before lie did so, hoAvevor, ho had been rubbed from head to 
 foot with charcoal from the fire, for his captors saw that the 
 whiteness of his skin, which greatly surprised them, for his 
 face and hands were tanned to a colour as dark as that of many 
 of the iV rails, would instantly betray him. 
 
 The perspiration was soon streaming from him at every 
 pore, but he well knew that any display of weakness would 
 only excite the contempt of his captors, and although he was 
 several times well-nigh falling from fatigue he kept on until, 
 when many miles away from Metemmeh, the natives slackened 
 their pace and broke into a walk." 
 
 "I thought," Edgar muttered to himself, "that a good long 
 run with the hares and hounds at Cheltenham was pretty hard 
 work, but it was nothing to this. This climate does take it out 
 of one and no mistake. There is one thing, I have got to get 
 accustouied to it, and am not likely to try any other for some 
 time." 
 
 They continued the journey until morning broke, and then 
 turned off to the left, and after miles of walking halted among 
 some sand-hills outside the zone of cultivated land. Edgar was 
 ordered to go and find some fuel, for the morning was cold, 
 and even the Arabs felt the keen air after their exertions. 
 Edgar at once hurried away, and was fortunate enough to find 
 some dried stalks of maize in a field not far off. Pulling it up 
 by the roots he collected a large bundle and carried it on his 
 shoulder to the point where he had left the Arabs. An ex- 
 clamation of satisfaction greeted his arrival. The sheik pro- 
 duced a box of matches from a corner of his cloth, for European 
 goods were obtainable in Metemmeh, and they had found 
 several boxes in the house that they had occupied. A fire was 
 soon blazing, and the Arabs squatted closely around it, while 
 Edgar, tired out with his journey, threw himself on the ground 
 some distance away. 
 
 The sheik was in high spirits; he was, in the first place, glad 
 that he had had his way, and carried off his captive; and in 
 
240 FOOT-SORE. 
 
 the second, he felt assured by the manner in which Edgar had 
 kept up with them by the way, and by the speed with which 
 he had collected the materials for a fire, that he would turn out 
 a very useful slave. Before starting they had partaken of a 
 good meal, and each of them had carried off a bag of five or six 
 pounds in weight of dry dates from the merchant's store. A 
 few of these were eaten, and then the whole party lay down to 
 sleep, the sheik first rousing Edgar, and ordering him to lie 
 down between him and another Arab, tying a cord from his 
 wrists to theirs, so that he could not move without disturbing 
 one or other of them. 
 
 A few hours' rest was taken, and then, with the sun blazing 
 overhead, the journey was recommenced. They now kept 
 among the sand-hills so as to avoid the villages near the river, 
 in case a party should be sent out from Metemmeh in pursuit of 
 them. Edgar had difficulty in keeping up with the rest, for 
 the hot sand burned his naked feet, and he had to avoid the 
 prickly grass through which his companions walked uncon- 
 cernedly. They continued their journey until nightfall, and 
 then went down to the river for a drink. Edgar had suffered 
 greatly from thirst, which he had in vain endeavoured to 
 assuage by chewing dry dates. His feet were causing him 
 agony, and after satisfying his thirst he sat with them in the 
 water until his companions again moved back into the desert. 
 
 Edgar could not obtain a wink of sleep for the pain of his 
 feet, and in the morning he showed them to the sheik, who 
 only laughed at their raw and swollen condition. As, how- 
 ever, he was desirous that his slave should continue in good 
 condition, he told him to tear off a strip from his cotton cloth, 
 and himself walked down to the river with Edgar. There he 
 allowed him to again bathe his feet, and showed him some 
 broad smooth leaves which he bade him gather; these were 
 placed under his feet, which were then bandaged with the strip 
 of cotton. As soon as this was done they returned to the 
 party, and again set out. 
 
MOUNTED AGAIN. 241 
 
 Edgar found the application greatly relieved tlic pain, and 
 as the leaves and bandages kept the feet from contact with the 
 sand, he was able to get on fairly. He felt, too, the benefit from 
 the drink of water he had obtained from the river, and Avas 
 al)le to keep up with the party until, late in the afternoon, they 
 approached the village where the natives had sent their camels. 
 
 Edgar was left in charge of two of the Arabs half a mile 
 from the village when the others went on, the sheik saying that 
 in the morning they were to await him half a mile on the other 
 side of the village. There was a good deal of grumbling on the 
 part of the men who were left with Edgar, and he saw that 
 nothing would please them better than to cut his throat; but 
 when they looked threatening towards him, he simply laughed, 
 knowing that they dare not use their weapons, and that, did 
 they venture to strike him with hand or stick, he was a match 
 for both of them. 
 
 It was nearly two years now since he had stood up against 
 the two tramps at Aldershot, and in that time he had grown 
 from a lad to a powerful young fellow, with eveiy muscle 
 hardened by exercise. Perhaps the men concluded that the 
 experiment was not worth trying, and presently left him to 
 himself, and entered into an animated conversation together. 
 
 When it became dark they insisted on tying Edgar's legs, 
 and to this he made no objection, for he understood that here 
 they were only obeying the orders of the sheik. A few minutes 
 later he was sound asleep, and did not wake once until he was 
 roused by the Arabs stirring ; they untied his feet, and at once 
 started on their way. In less than half an hour they were at 
 the spot the sheik had named; in a few minutes he came up 
 with six of his men mounted on camels and four spare animals. 
 The two Arabs and Edgar mounted three of these, and the 
 journey was continued. They struck off from the river and 
 journeyed all day among sand-hills, among which they camped 
 for the night. They had brought water-skins with them, and 
 Edgar received his share. 
 
 ' (650) Q 
 
242 ABOVE KHARTOUM. 
 
 They started at daybreak again, and travelling the whole 
 day came down at night upon a small village at a short distance 
 from the river. Here the sheik had evidently friends, for he 
 was warmly greeted as they entered. By the conversation at 
 the camp on the previous evening Edgar had gathered that the 
 rest of the party had gone off to villages to which they be- 
 longed in that neighbourhood, and that those with the sheik 
 belonged to the village of Bisagra, near Khartoum, that word 
 being frequently repeated. Before entering the village a short 
 stay had been made, while some pieces of wood were burned, 
 and Edgar was again rubbed over with charcoal. 
 
 When they arrived at the house at which the sheik intended 
 to stop, Edgar was directed to follow him, while the rest looked 
 after the camels. On entering the house he was told by the 
 sheik to go into a little court-yard, where a negro presently 
 brought him a dish of boiled meal and some water. He heard 
 a great talk inside the house, but could understand nothing of 
 what had been said. Half an hour later two of the Arabs came 
 in, and lay down beside him as before, and in addition his feet 
 were firmly tied. The next morning the party still further 
 divided, the sheik with two men and Edgar starting alone. 
 
 He felt sure that they were now some distance above Khar- 
 toum, as the city lay less than eighty miles from Metemmeh; 
 they had made, he calculated, fully fifteen the first night. 
 They had walked at least five-and-twenty on the second, and 
 had ridden thirty, he calculated, on each of the last two days. 
 On these they had not, as he noticed by the sun, followed a 
 straight course, going far to the east of south on the first day, 
 and to the west of south on the second, having doubtless made 
 a large detour to avoid the city. During the whole time they 
 had been travelling over a trackless country, and had met no 
 parties of natives on the way. They started again before day- 
 break, and now travelled along the bank of the river. 
 
 Here the country had been cultivated for some distance 
 back, and villages were scattered here and there. Neverthe- 
 
BETWEEN THE NTLES. 243 
 
 less thoy passed but few natives, and lulgar saw that many of 
 the houses were rootless, and that there were signs of fire and 
 destruction everywhere, and understood that this ruin had 
 been wrought by the hosts of the Mahdi. About mid-day they 
 arrived at a village on the bank. Its name, Edgar learned by 
 the exclamations of the Arabs when they caught sight of it, 
 was Gerada. Here a large native boat was lying moored. Bid- 
 ding Edgar remain among the camels the sheik alighted, and 
 was for half an hour engaged in bargaining with two men, 
 who Avere apparently owners of the boat. 
 
 Terms were at last agreed to, the camels were led down and 
 placed on board, and the boat pushed off. The sheik made a 
 peremptory sign to Edgar to lie down and cover his head with 
 his cloth, and Edgar heard him say to the boatman, "My slave 
 is ill." The river was now at its shallowest, and the men were 
 able to pole the boat across. Edgar was hurried ashore with 
 the camels, while the sheik remained behind settling with the 
 boatman. They were now, he knew, between the two Niles, 
 which joined their waters at Khartoum. The country here 
 had evidently been rich and prosperous before the host of the 
 Mahdi passed like a blight over it. They halted a few miles 
 from the river, near a ruined and deserted village. Edgar was 
 told to watch the camels while they plucked heads of corn 
 from the deserted fields, while the Arabs lit a fire and baked 
 some cakes. None of these were offered to Edgar, who had 
 to content himself with some heads of dried maize that he 
 picked from the field. 
 
 Two days later they arrived at the bank of the White Nile. 
 They followed it for upwards of a mile, and then the sheik, who 
 evidently knew the way, turned off the bank into the river, the 
 others following. The ford, for such it was, was shallow, the 
 water scarcely coming up to the girths of the camels. Although 
 the journey had been a short one, they halted again for the 
 night in cultivated ground, a mile from the river, and Edgar 
 was ordered to pick corn. The fields had already been ran- 
 
244 ACROSS A DESERT. 
 
 sacked, and it was only here and there that he found a head of 
 maize hidden in its brown cases. 
 
 After a time the two Arabs joined in the search, and by 
 nightfall a good -sized sackful had been collected. At day- 
 break the camels were taken to a well, where the apparatus for 
 drawing the water still stood, with a trough beside it. When 
 Edgar had filled the trough the camels were urged to drink 
 their fill, being taken back once or twice to the trough, until 
 they could drink no more. The water-skins were filled, the 
 Arabs took long draughts from a bucket, and the sheik ordered 
 Edgar to do the same. Then the bag with their maize was 
 fastened on the back of the spare camel, which was already 
 laden with a miscellaneous collection of goods, and the party 
 started. 
 
 Edgar understood by the preparations that had been made 
 that they had still a serious journey before them, and it proved 
 to be so. For eight days they travelled across a desert, their 
 course being to the north of west, marching from early dawn 
 until sunset. The moment the day's journey was over he was 
 set to work to gather tufts of coarse grass growing among the 
 rocks, which cropped out here and there from the sand. Other 
 vegetation there was none, save some low stunted bushes, which 
 he also gathered whenever he came across them. With these 
 and the grass a fire was lighted, and the sheik and two fol- 
 lowers roasted a few heads of maize for their own eating, and 
 with these and a handful of dry dates appeared perfectly 
 satisfied. 
 
 After they had done Edgar was permitted to roast some 
 maize for his own use. The camels had each a dozen heads 
 given to them. Except at one halting-place, where there was 
 a muddy well, they received no water; the Arabs themselves 
 drank sparingly, and Edgar received but a mouthful or two of 
 the precious fluid. Towards the end of the eighth day the Arabs 
 began to hasten their camels, and soon afterwards, on mounting 
 an eminence, Edgar saw some tents standing in a small green 
 
AN OASIS. 215 
 
 vulloy ahead. Tlio Arubs Hied their guns and uttered loud 
 yells, and at once some figures appeared at the entrances of 
 the tents and hastened towards them. In five minutes tlio 
 two parties met. There were a few men among those that 
 came out, but the majority were women and children. All 
 uttered shouts of welcome, and a babel of questions arose. 
 
 Tlie sheik did not alight from his camel, but with his fol- 
 lowers continued his way until he reached the encampment. 
 Here dismounting he entered one of the largest of the tents. The 
 other two Arabs were surrounded by the natives, and Edgar 
 stood by the camels doubtful as to what he was expected to 
 do next. He was not left undisturbed long. The Arabs had 
 evidently told the news that their black comrade was a white 
 slave whom the sheik had captured, and all crowded round 
 him examining him with the greatest curiosity. There was 
 nothing to them remarkable about his colour, for he was darker 
 than any of them; but his hair, closely cropped like that of 
 all engaged in the expedition, evidently amused them much. 
 
 One of the women quickly fetched a large gourd full of 
 water, and made signs to him to wash himself, which he was 
 glad enough to do after his four days' dusty journey, but 
 before commencing he plunged his face into the bowl and took 
 a long drink. Shouts of surprise and amusement arose as with 
 diligent rubbing he gradually got rid of the thickest part of 
 the charcoal, and his skin began to show through. 
 
 " I wish to goodness," he muttered to himself, " I had got a 
 cake or two of soap here, but I suppose it is a thing that 
 they never heard of; even a scrubbing-brush would be a com- 
 fort. I shall be weeks before I get myself thoroughly white 
 again; it is completely ground into my skin." 
 
 He had, however, managed to get rid of the greater part of 
 the charcoal, and was from the waist upward a dingy white, 
 when the sheik came out from his tent. He was followed by 
 a good-looking Arab woman. He called Edgar to him and said, 
 " This is your mistress." Edgar had during the journey guessed 
 
246 LOOT. 
 
 that he was intended as a special present for the sheik's wife, 
 and that his lot would depend in no slight degree upon her, and 
 resolved to do his utmost to earn her good opinion. He there- 
 fore bent on one knee, and taking her hand placed it on his 
 head. The woman laughed good-naturedly, and said some- 
 thing to the sheik which by its tone Edgar felt was an expres- 
 sion of approval. 
 
 The camels had all this time remained kneeling, and the 
 sheik now ordered them to be unloaded. Edgar had wondered 
 what the various bundles might contain, and looked with 
 almost as much curiosity as the expectant Arabs at the process 
 of opening them. 
 
 As their contents were gradually brought to light, he under- 
 stood at once why the sheik and his followers had taken no 
 part in the fight outside Metemmeh. They had evidently been 
 far out in the desert, on the track the column had followed, on 
 the search for loot. The collection was a singular one, and it 
 appeared to Edgar that they must either have got hold of 
 three or four of the camels that had strayed away from the 
 column, or had followed the troops and rifled boxes and cases 
 that had fallen from the backs of the animals on their way 
 through the trees, or that had been left behind when the 
 camels fell. 
 
 Here were articles of clothing of all sorts— shirts, socks, 
 karkee suits, boots, ivory-backed brushes (the property, no doubt, 
 of some ofiicer of the Guards or Heavies), a hand-glass, a case 
 of writing materials and paper, a small medicine-chest, some 
 camp-kettles, two or three dozen tins of cocoa and milk and 
 as many of arrow-root, scores of small tins of Liebig (these 
 three lots clearly forming part of the burden of one of the 
 hospital camels), a handsome field -glass, an officer's sword 
 without a scabbard, a large bundle of hospital rugs, a tin-box 
 marked "tea, 10 lbs.," a number of tin drinking-cups, plates, 
 knives, forks, and spoons, and a strange collection of odds and 
 ends of all sorts. 
 
CHOCOLATE. 247 
 
 Each article that \v;is taken out caused fresh cxcitiaiieut, its 
 uses were warmly discussed, and Edgar was presently dragged 
 forward and ordered to explain. The various articles of cloth- 
 ing particularly puzzled the Arabs, and Edgar had to put on a 
 shirt and pair of trousers to show how they should be worn. The 
 chocolate and arrow-root had apparently been brought cliielly 
 for the sake of their tins, and one of the Arabs illustrated 
 their use by putting one of them doAvn on a rock, chopping it 
 in two with his sword, cleaning out the contents, and then 
 restoring as well as he could the two halves to the original 
 shape. Some of the children were about to taste the arrow- 
 root scattered about the ground, but the sheik sharply forbade 
 them to touch it, evidently thinking that it might be poison. 
 Edgar was consulted, and said that the contents of all the tins 
 were good. 
 
 As they were evidently anxious to know their uses, he took 
 one of the tin pots, filled it with water, and placed it over the 
 fire. Then with one of the Arabs' knives he opened a tin of 
 chocolate, cutting it carefully round the edge so that it should 
 make a good drinking tin when empty. When the water boiled 
 he took out some of the contents of the tin with the spoon 
 and stirred them into the pot, and poured the contents into a 
 dozen of the cups. The sheik still looked a little suspicious, 
 and ordered him to drink one first, which he did with deep 
 satisfaction. The others then followed his example, and evi- 
 dently approved very highly of the compound, and another 
 pot of water was at once placed on the fire. Edgar was then 
 requested to show what were the virtues of the white powder, 
 iand of the little tins. He said that both these were good for 
 people who were ill. The Arabs, however, were not satisfied 
 without making the experiment. 
 
 The arrow-root Avas not approved of, and the chief would 
 have ordered the tins to be all opened and the contents thrown 
 away, but on Edgar continuing to insist that they were good 
 for illness, he told his wife to put them away in the tent. The 
 
248 TEA. 
 
 Liebig was warmly approved of. Edgar explained that it was 
 good for sickness, and good for a journey. The Arabs, seeing 
 how small a quantity was required for making a tin of broth, 
 at once recognized this, and the sheik ordered his wife to take 
 great care of them, and said they were to be used only on a 
 journey. The medicine-chest, with its bottles of various sizes, 
 was also the subject of great curiosity, and one of the women, 
 going into a tent, brought out a girl seven or eight years old, 
 and requested Edgar to say which was the medicines that were 
 suitable for her case. 
 
 Edgar felt the child's pulse, and found that she was in a 
 high state of fever. Quinine was, he knew, a good thing for 
 fever, but whether it ought to be administered to a patient in 
 that stage he did not know. He told the sheik that he was 
 not a Hakim, but that if he wished he would give the child 
 the medicine that he thought was best suited to it, but he 
 could not say for certain whether it would do it good. The 
 sheik, who, like all the rest, was deeply interested in the con- 
 tents of the chest, said he must do his best. He accordingly 
 gave the child a dose of quinine, and told the mother to give 
 her a cup of the arrow-root, and that in two hours she must 
 take another dose of the quinine. 
 
 The last subject of investigation was the tea. There was a 
 small sliding trap at the top of the tin, and when Edgar poured 
 out half a cup of the contents, these were examined with great 
 curiosity. The men took a few grains in their fingers, smelt 
 them, and then tasted them. The result was unsatisfactory, 
 and they were content to watch Edgar's proceedings before 
 they went further. When he had the water boiling, he put 
 the tea into a tin pot and poured the water over it, and when it 
 had stood a few minutes served it out. The verdict was univer- 
 sally unfavourable, and the chief, in disgust at having brought 
 a tin of useless stuff so far, kicked it over and over. Seeing 
 that Edgar had drunk up his portion with satisfaction, the 
 sheik's wife told him that if he liked the nasty stuff he miglit 
 
"IT MIUHT i;ii A GKEAT DKAL WOltSE. H 1 'J 
 
 keep it for himself, a permission of which ho very thankfully 
 availed himself. 
 
 The uses of all the articles being explained, the sheik pro- 
 ceeded to a distribution. He took the lion's share for himself, 
 gave a good portion to the two men who had followed him, 
 and a very small one to each of the other grown-up men and 
 women in the camp. He ordered Edgar to carry his portion 
 into the tent, where, under the instructions of the sheik's wife, 
 the articles were all stowed away. The tent, Avhich was a 
 large one, was constructed of black blanketing woven by the 
 women from camels' hair, and was divided into two portions 
 by a hanging of the same materials. The one next to the 
 entrance was the general living and reception room, that 
 behind being for the use of the sheik's wife and children. 
 
 There were two female slaves who slept in a tiny tent con- 
 structed of a blanket in the rear of that of the sheik, and two 
 negro slaves who looked after the camels, tilled the ground, 
 and slept where they could. 
 
 The sheik's wife was evidently pleased with Edgar, and 
 regarded him as her special property. Darkness had fallen 
 long before the examination of the booty had concluded, and as 
 soon as he had carried the sheik's share into the tent, she gave 
 him a bowl of camel's milk and some meal in a gourd, and 
 also bestowed on him one of the black blankets, and pointed 
 out to him a place where he was to sleep just outside the 
 tent. 
 
 " It might be a great deal worse," Edgar said to himself as 
 he ate his supper; " the sheik himself does not seem to bo a 
 bad fellow; and at any rate I owe him my life for his obsti- 
 nacy in sticking to me, instead of handing me over to the 
 Malidi's people. His wife is evidently disposed to be kind, 
 and my work will be no harder than an agricultural labourer's, 
 at any rate as long as we stay here. This is an out-of-the-way 
 sort of place, and if it does not lie on the route between any 
 two places, is not likely to be much visited. It certainly looks 
 
250 amina's slave. 
 
 as if the sheik regarded it as his private property, which he 
 would not do if it were a regular caravan halting-place. 
 
 "It is likely enough that there are very few people who 
 know of its existence. We travelled something like fifty miles 
 a day, and must be three hundred miles to the west of the Nile. 
 What I have got to do now is to work willingly, so as to keep 
 in the good graces of the sheik and his wife, and to learn the 
 language so as to speak it fluently. It is no use my thinking 
 about escaping until I can pass as a native, unless, of course, 
 I hear that we have gone up and taken Khartoum. I wonder 
 how they are getting on at Metemmeh, and whether they have 
 found the sergeant. If they have, it is likely enough when 
 he finds that I have never reached the camp he will go to 
 Eupert and tell him who the trumpeter of his troop was. I 
 hope he won't; it is much better that they should wonder for 
 some years what has become of me, and at last gradually 
 forget me, than know that I am a slave among the Arabs. I 
 am sure that would be a great grief to them all, and I hope 
 they will not know anything about it until I return some day 
 and tell them." 
 
 He was very glad of his blanket, for the nights were cold; 
 and when he had finished his supper he wrapped himself up in 
 it and was soon asleep. He was awoke at daylight by voices 
 inside the tent, and a few minutes later the sheik and his wife 
 came out, and seeing Edgar standing there the sheik ordered 
 him to go and assist the other slaves; but Amina pouted: "1 
 thought you had brought him home as a present to me; what 
 use will he be to me if he is to work in the field all day with 
 the others?" 
 
 "But the Kaffir must do some work, Amina; he cannot 
 have his food for nothing." 
 
 "Of course he shall work when I don't want him," the 
 woman said, " but I shall find much for him to do. He will 
 draw the water, he Avill fetch the fuel, he will grind the meal 
 when I have anything else for the women to do. When he 
 
FELLOW-SLAVES. 251 
 
 luis done all 1 lenuiro of him, then lie can go and work in the 
 lields. It is no uso your giving nio a slave and then taking 
 him away again." 
 
 "Well, well!" the sheik said, "do with him as you will; 
 women are always pleased with novelties. You will soon get 
 tired of having this Kallir about the tent, but keep him if you 
 will." 
 
 Anrina took one of the large hospital kettles, and putting 
 it into Edgar's hands pointed to the well which lay a hundred 
 yards away and told him to fetch water. When he returned 
 with it she bade him go out and gather fuel. The last order 
 was by no means easy to execute. The Arab fuel consisted 
 almost entirely of dried camels' dung, as the scrub very 
 speedily becomes exhausted for a considerable distance from 
 a camp. Edgar took a rough basket to which Amina pointed 
 and was away for some hours, following the track by which he 
 had arrived and making a circuit of the oasis, and returned 
 with the basket piled up with the fuel. 
 
 Amina was evidently well satisfied with the result of his 
 work, for fuel is one of the great difficulties of Arab life in the 
 desert. She rewarded him with a calabash of meal. 
 
 "Has my lady anything more for me to do'?" he asked 
 when he had finished his food. 
 
 " Not now," she replied. 
 
 "Then I will go out and help the others in the field/' and 
 he walked off to where the negroes were engaged in watering 
 a plantation of maize. The process consisted of drawing water 
 from the well in leathern buckets and pouring it into channels 
 by Avhich it was conducted to the plantation. The negroes 
 looked at him sourly as he took hold of the rope attached to 
 the long swinging beam that acted as a lever to bring the 
 bucket to the surface, and one of them muttered in Arabic, 
 "Kaffir dog!" Slaves as they were they despised this white 
 Christian. 
 
 "Well, look here," Edgar said in English, letting go the 
 
252 A LESSON IN CIVILITY, 
 
 rope, "the sooner we come to an understanding the better. 
 I am not going to stand any nonsense from you fellows; and 
 if you don't keep a civil tongue in your heads I will give you 
 such a licking as will teach you to do so in future." 
 
 Although they did not understand his words they guessed 
 th,e import of them, and the biggest of the men, a powerful 
 negro, repeated the word KaiBr and spat upon him. Edgar's 
 right arm flew out from his shoulder, the blow struck the 
 negro on the nose, and in an instant he was upon his back 
 upon the ground. His comrade stood for a moment stupefied, 
 and then with loud yells ran towards the tents, leaving the 
 negro to pick himself up at his leisure. Edgar continued the 
 work of raising and emptying the bucket until the negro 
 returned, followed by the sheik, his wife, and all the inhabi- 
 tants of the village. By this time the negro who had been 
 knocked down had risen to his feet and was roaring like a bull 
 at the top of his voice, while the blood was streaming from 
 his nose. 
 
 "What is this?" the sheik shouted in great anger. 
 
 The negro volubly explained that the Kaffir slave had struck 
 down their comrade. 
 
 "Why is this?" the sheik demanded of Edgar. 
 
 "I am my lord's slave," Edgar said; "but this fellow is a 
 slave also. He called me a Kaffir dog and spat xipon me. I 
 knocked him down; and if any other slave does the same I 
 will j)unish him also." 
 
 As the woman whose child had been ill had a short time 
 before reported that the fever had left her, and that having 
 drunk two basins of the arrow-root she Avas much better, the 
 sheik had been greatly pleased with the idea that he had made 
 a far more valuable capture than he had anticipated; he 
 therefore received Edgar's explanation in his broken Arabic 
 favourably. 
 
 "The white slave has done right," he said. "Who are you 
 that you are to insult him ? He came to work on my business. 
 
"HE IS WORTH A HUNDRED OF YOU." 2^3 
 
 :iiiil j-ou Avould have interfered with and hindered him. 
 Ihunisli has been rightly punished, tliongh truly the white 
 man nuist have hit hard, for his nose is tiattcned to his face. 
 J\la.sliallah it must have been a wonderful blow. The white 
 men are Kaffirs, but they have marvellous powers. Now go 
 to work again and let me hear of no more quarrels." 
 
 "The white man is my slave," Amina said, stepping forward 
 and addressing the negroes, "and if anyone insults him I will 
 have him Hogged until he cannot stand. He is a Hakim, and 
 his medicines have saved the life of Hamid's child. He is 
 worth a hundred of you." And bestowing a vigorous and unex- 
 })ected box on the ears to the negro standing next to her she 
 tm-ned and walked back to her tent, accompanied by her 
 husband, while the rest of the villagers remained for some 
 time staring at the negro, and commenting upon the wonder- 
 ful effect of the white man's blow. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 BAD NEWS. 
 
 ■VrO sooner was work over in the afternoon of the day after 
 i-^ that on which Rupert had heard of his brother's loss 
 than Skinner came across with Easton to see him. 
 
 "My dear Skinner, surely you are not fit to be walking 
 about," he said as he saw them approaching. 
 
 "Oh! it won't do me any harm, Clinton; my arm is all in 
 splints, and, as you see, bandaged tightly to my side. The 
 doctor seemed to say that I had better not move, but I pro- 
 mised to take care of myself. I should have come, old man, 
 if I had been ten times as bad. Easton has just been telling 
 me of this horrible business, so of course I came over to see 
 you. I think from what he says you take too dark a view of 
 
254 skinner's opinion. 
 
 it. There is no doubt in my mind that he is a prisoner, and 
 that is bad enough; but these Arabs don't slaughter their 
 prisoners in cold blood, they are not such fools as that, they 
 make them useful. I own it must be disgusting to be a slave, 
 especially to these Arabs, and of many fellows I should say 
 they would never stand it any time. Easton wouldn't, for 
 example. In the first place he wouldn't work, and in the 
 next place, if they tried to make him he would be knocking 
 his master down, and then of course he would get speared. 
 But I have great hopes of your brother; he was always as hard 
 as nails, and I should have no fear of his breaking down in 
 health. Then he is a chap that can look after himself. Look 
 how well he has been going on since he bolted from Chelten- 
 ham, Then he is a beggar to stick to a thing, and I should 
 say the first thing he will make up his mind to do will be to 
 escape some day, and he will be content to wait any time till 
 the opportunity occurs. You see he has learnt a lot since he 
 left school. He has been roughing it pretty severely. He 
 has had over a year in this beastly hot climate, and will be 
 able to make himself at home pretty near anywhere. I tell 
 you, Clinton, I would lay odds on his turning up again even if 
 he is left to himself. Besides that, if we go on to Khartoum 
 and thrash the Mahdi, these Arabs will all be coming in 
 and swearmg that they are most grateful to us for freeing 
 them from him, and you may be sure that any slaves they 
 have will be given up at once. I don't say your brother is 
 not in a hole; but I do say that he is just the fellow to get 
 out of it." 
 
 "I have thought of everything you say, Skinner, and I do 
 think that Edgar is as likely to make his escape some day as 
 anyone would be under the circumstances ; but I doubt whether 
 anyone could do it." 
 
 "Why nof?" Skinner asked, almost indignantly. "I don't 
 suppose he could make his way down the Nile, although he 
 mia;ht do that: but there are several caravan routes down to 
 
"WHAT WAS THERE IN THAT LETTEUf 255 
 
 the Ivccl Sea, and then there is Abyssinia. The people are 
 (Christians there, and, they say, fighting against the Mahdi's 
 Arabs now; so if he got there he wonkl be pretty sure to be 
 ti'eatcd well. I should say that there were lots of ways that 
 he could escape. I don't mean now; but when ho has got 
 accustomed to the country, it seems to me a fellow with 
 pluck and energy such as he has got ought to find no great 
 dilliculty in giving the people he is with the slip, and making 
 his way somewhere. I do think, Clinton, there is no occasion 
 to feel hopeless about your brother. It may be a long time 
 before you see him again, but I do honestly believe he will 
 turn up some time or other." 
 
 " I begin to hope he will," Rupert said. " At first I did 
 not think so for a moment; but now I have had time to look 
 at it calmly I think that there is a chance of his getting off 
 some day; besides, when we are once at Khartoum and have 
 scattered the Mahdi's army, I have no doubt General Gordon 
 will send orders through the land for all Egyptian and Euro- 
 pean slaves to be brought in. You know it is still hoped that 
 some of Hicks' officers may be alive, and there is such a feeling 
 for Gordon throughout the country that his orders will be sure 
 to be obeyed." 
 
 "That is right, Clinton," Easton said; "that is the view I 
 take of it myself, and I am very glad to see that you have come 
 to see it in that light. And now will you tell us what there 
 was in that letter that gave us the news of your brother's being 
 out here. How came the sergeant to write to you ? How did 
 he know you were his brother? It seems an unaccountable 
 business all through." 
 
 " I have not looked at the letter since," Rupert said. " It 
 would have been very important if it had not been for Edgar's 
 loss. As it is, it does not seem to matter one way or the 
 other. Still, as you say, it is very singular altogether its 
 coming into my hands;" and he took out the letter. It began: 
 " Sir, two days ago I was with the trumpeter of my troop 
 
256 AN IMPORTANT LETTER. 
 
 when you passed by with two other officers. One of them 
 called you Clinton, and as I had an interest in the name it 
 attracted my attention, and I found that it also attracted the 
 attention of the young fellow with me. I questioned him, and 
 he acknowledged that he had been to school with you and the 
 two officers Avith you." 
 
 "Good heavens!" Skinner broke in; "to think that we three 
 should have passed close to your brother and that none of us 
 should have recognized him! How awfully unfortunate!" 
 
 " It is terrible to think of now," Rupert agreed, and then 
 continued reading the letter: "I then told Smith, which is 
 the name the trumpeter went by, that my interest in you 
 consisted of the fact that for aught I knew I was your father. 
 He exclaimed, that in that case it was probable that I was 
 his father, as he had been brought up with you. He then 
 told me how he came to enlist, namely, that my wife, whom 
 I have not seen since she left India, and who was, I thought, 
 dead long ago, had been to him and had told him all about 
 the change of infants, and said that she had done it on purpose 
 for his good, and that she knew that he was her son because 
 you had a mole on your shoulder; and she wanted him to go on 
 pretending to be Captain Clinton's son, and offered to swear 
 that the other one was hers, so that he might get all the 
 money. 
 
 "That is why I write this. My name is Humphreys. I 
 was a sergeant in the 30th, and it was at Agra, when we 
 were stationed there, that the change of infants took place. 
 My wife went over to England. I took to drink and disgraced 
 myself, and five years afterwards deserted. I stayed in England 
 for some years and then enlisted again in the 5th Dragoon 
 Guards, and being young-looking gave my age as eight years 
 younger than I was. I now go by the name of Bowen, and am 
 a sergeant and bear a good character in the regiment. The lad 
 did not wish me to say anything about this, at any rate until 
 the campaign was over; but as we shall be marching in a day 
 
" r AM STRANGELY PLACED." 257 
 
 or two, ami it may lie tliat I sliall he killed, 1 write a letter to 
 you and one to Captain Clinton, so that in case I am killed the 
 truth may be known. 
 
 " I affirm most solemnly that the statement made by my wife 
 was a lie. Whether she did intend to change the children or 
 not is more than I can say. Sometimes she said she did, some- 
 times she said she didn't; but at any rate, she herself did not 
 know which child was which, and did not discover the little 
 mark on the shoulder until after the babies got mixed up. Over 
 and over again I have seen her cry and wring her hands because 
 she could not say which was which. She acknowledged that 
 she meant to make money out of it, and lamented that she had 
 lost her chance because she could never herself tell which was 
 which. Of this I am ready to take my oath in any court of 
 justice, and if she says she knows now^, she is a liar. I have 
 read this letter over to Troop-sergeant Matthews, and have in 
 his presence sworn on a Bible to its truth. He will place his 
 name by the side of mine as witness to that and to my signa- 
 ture. I remain, your obedient servant, John Humphreys, now 
 known as John Bowen. The letter to your father is word for 
 word the same as this. I have written it in duplicate in case 
 you should be killed before I am." 
 
 " Well, that is plain enough," Easton said when Rupert had 
 finished. " It is just what you said all along. The woman did 
 not know which Avas her son, and you and Edgar stand in the 
 same relation to Captain Clinton that you always did." 
 
 " Thank God for that!" Eupert said. " We Avant no change, 
 and my father has said, talking it over with me again and 
 again, he has two sons and loves us both equally, and it would 
 be a deep grief to him now to know for certain that one of 
 us is not his son. ■ I will walk across to the hospital and 
 ask how the sergeant is going on. I am strangely placed 
 towards him now." 
 
 " It is a curious position," Easton said ; " but in any case you 
 do but stand towards him as a son -would do towards a father 
 
 (650) R 
 
258 "I WILL SWEAR TO IT." 
 
 who had given him up in infancy to be adopted by someone 
 else." 
 
 Rupert did not reply, but, saying, " Wait here until I come 
 back," walked over to the hospital lines. He returned in a 
 few minutes. 
 
 " The doctor says he is sinking," he said gravely. " I shall 
 go over there and remain until all is over." 
 
 "Will he be sensible at the lastf he asked the surgeon as 
 he stood by the litter. 
 
 "Possibly," the surgeon said. 
 
 " I have a great interest in asking, doctor; I am most anxious 
 to have a few words with him if possible before he dies." 
 
 "If you will call me if he opens his eyes," the surgeon said, 
 " I will do what I can to rouse him. His pulse is getting weaker 
 and weaker; I do not think the end is far off." 
 
 Half an hour later the dying man opened his eyes. Eupert 
 beckoned to the surgeon, who came across at once and poured 
 a few drops of spirits between his lips, and moistened his fore- 
 head with a sponge dipped in vinegar and water. 
 
 " Do you know me, Humphreys V Rupert asked. " I am 
 Eupert Clinton." 
 
 The dying man's face brightened. Then his lips moved. 
 " Where is Smith"? He left me to get help; he never returned." 
 
 " He is away now," Eupert said, anxious not to disturb the 
 djang man. "When we got to you you were insensible, that 
 was two days ago. Edgar is not in camp at present." 
 
 " There is a letter for you." 
 
 " Yes, it was found on you and I have read it, and I know 
 how we stand towards each other, and that perhaps you are my 
 father; here is the letter." 
 
 " I will swear to it; get a witness." 
 
 Eupert called the surgeon. "Doctor, the sergeant wishes 
 you to hear him swear that this letter was written by him and 
 that its contents are true." 
 
 "Bible," the sergeant said faintly. 
 
" IT IS A STRANOF, STOUY." 259 
 
 A nililc was l)rouglit and the dying man's hand placed ui)on 
 it. " I swear," he said in a firmer voice than that in which he 
 liad liithorto spoken, " that this letter was written by me and 
 that every word in it is true, and that neither I nor ray wife, 
 nor anyone save God, knows whether Trumpeter Smith or 
 Lieutenant CHnton is my son." 
 
 The eftbrt was made and he closed his eyes. Eupert took 
 his liand and knelt beside him. Once again the sergeant 
 opened his eyes and spoke. " Good lads both," he said; "better 
 as things are." 
 
 A few minutes later he ceased to breathe. The surgeon had 
 retired after hearing the sergeant's declaration. When he saw 
 Ivupert rise to his feet he came up to him. " I have just 
 written down the words," he said, " and have signed my name 
 as a witness to the fact that it was a declaration sworn on the 
 Bible by one who knew that he was dying." 
 
 "Thank you," Eupert said; "it is a strange story, I will 
 tell you it some day." 
 
 After leaving the hospital Eupert went to Easton, in whose 
 judgment he had a great deal of confidence, and after stating 
 what had occurred asked him if in his opinion he could take 
 any steps to learn more about Edgar, 
 
 " I think, Clinton, that were I in your place I should go to 
 the commanding officer and tell him you have learnt that the 
 trumpeter who was with the wounded sergeant of the Heavies 
 found in the grove, and who left him to fetch aid from our 
 camp, was your brother. You can say that on account of a 
 misunderstanding he left home and enlisted under a false name, 
 and beg that a search be instituted for his body, and also that 
 the politicals who are in communication with the natives should 
 make inquiries whether any white captive had been brought into 
 Metemmeh. If you like I will say as much to our colonel, and 
 I am sure that he will give orders that whenever detachments 
 go out strict search will be made of all ground over which they 
 pass. I am afraid that if we do learn from the natives that he 
 
260 "ANYTHING WRONG, MAJOR?" 
 
 is at Metemmeh our chance of getting him back before we take 
 the place is small, for even if the people into whose hands he 
 fell were willing to part with him for a ransom, the fanatical 
 dervishes would not allow it; however, there would be no harm 
 in trying. I know that to-day half a dozen natives came in 
 with some cattle and grain, and no doubt some others will be 
 in to-morrow." 
 
 Rupert took the advice, and at once went over to the quarters 
 of the officer in command and made the statement that Easton 
 had suggested. The colonel expressed great regret, and pro- 
 mised that every step should be taken to ascertain the fate of 
 his brother and to endeavour to recover him if alive. Another 
 party was sent out in the morning, and a further and most 
 minute search made of the ground between the camp and 
 the grove where the sergeant had been found, and the 19th 
 Hussars were directed while scouring the plain to search every 
 depression and to examine every clump of bushes to discover 
 if possible the body of a missing soldier or any signs of his 
 clothes or accoutrements. The political officer closely questioned 
 all the natives who came in, but these came from villages 
 higher up the river, and no news was obtained of what was 
 going on at Metemmeh. The next day there was a great out- 
 burst of firing in Metemmeh, guns and cannon being discharged 
 incessantly for two or three hours, At first it was thought 
 that some dispute might have arisen between the various 
 tribes now occupying the place, but this idea was abandoned 
 when it was seen that the cannon on the walls were discharged 
 not into the town but towards the open country, and it was 
 then concluded that some great festival of the Mahdi was being 
 celebrated. The following day was Sunday. Just as the 
 troops were being formed up for a church parade a staff-officer 
 came up to Rupert and his fellow aides-de-camp as they were 
 buckling on their swords. 
 
 "Is anything wrong, major?" Rupert asked, as he saw that 
 the officer was much agitated. 
 
"KHARTOUM HAS FALLEN!" 2G1 
 
 " Yes, we have ternble news. A boat has just cdiuc down 
 from Wilson with the news that he arrived too kite; that 
 Khartoum has fallen, and that Gordon is murdered." 
 
 An exclamation of horror broke from the two young officers. 
 
 "Do you thiuk it is true, major'?" 
 
 " I fear there is no doubt of it. The steamers got up to the 
 town, and the ]\Iahdi's flags were flying everywhere, and the 
 vessels were peppered with shot from all the batteries. There 
 is other bad news. Wilson's steamers both ran aground, and 
 cannot be got off. Beresford is to go up and bring the party 
 off, that is, if he can fight his Avay past the batteries. You see, 
 that is what the firing in Metemmeh yesterday was about. No 
 doubt a messenger had arrived from the Mahdi with the news 
 of the fall of Khartoum. Don't say anything about it. Of 
 course the news Avill not be kept from the officers, but it is to 
 be kept from the men as far as possible." 
 
 Feeling almost stunned with the news, Rupert and his com- 
 panions joined the rest of the staff and proceeded to the 
 parade-ground. An hour after the service had concluded the 
 terrible intelligence was known to all the officers. The feelings 
 of grief, indignation, and rage were universal. All their efforts 
 and suffering had been in vain, all the money spent upon the ex- 
 pedition entirely wasted. Gordon and his Egyptian garrison 
 at Khartoum had perished, and it seemed not unnatural that 
 the authorities at home should be blamed for the hesitation 
 they had displayed in sending out the expedition to rescue the 
 heroic defenders. Even at the last moment, they had counter- 
 manded their orders for the purchase of camels, which, had 
 they been available, would have enabled General Stewart's 
 desert column to march straight across, instead of being obliged 
 to send the camels baclavards and forwards; and in that case 
 the steamers would have arrived in time to save Gordon, for it 
 was but two days before they reached Khartoum that the town 
 had fallen. 
 
 Never was an expedition so utterly useless, never did brave 
 
262 A TERRIBLE DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 men who had fought then- way through all difficulties find their 
 efforts so completely vain! 
 
 The news could not long be kept from the men. The words 
 of passionate grief and indignation that hurst from their officers 
 were soon caught up and carried through the camp, and the 
 rank and file joined with their officers in a wholesale denuncia- 
 tion of those who were responsible for this disaster which had 
 suddenly overtaken the expedition. The future was warmly 
 debated among the officers. Some maintained that the expedi- 
 tion having come so far, the money having been laid out, it 
 would be allowed to finish its work, to proceed to Khartoum, 
 to recover the city, crush the Mahcli, and restore peace and 
 order to the Soudan. Others asserted that after this failure 
 to carry out the main object of the expedition, the authorities 
 at home might now hasten to Avithdraw an expedition Avhich 
 they had only vnth apparent reluctance sent out at all. Eupert 
 feared that the latter alternative was the most probable, and 
 with it his hopes of seeing his brother before long were dashed 
 to the ground. 
 
 It was maddening to think that he was lying a helpless 
 prisoner in the hands of the Arabs in the mud-walled town 
 but two miles away; for it was now probable that the force 
 would march back, and Edgar be left to his fate. Easton and 
 Sldnner in vain attempted to cheer him. They had, however, 
 no arguments to combat his conviction that the expedition 
 would be abandoned, and could only fall back upon their 
 belief that sooner or later Edgar would manage to make his 
 escape from the hands of the Arabs. To Eupert's distressed 
 mind this, was poor consolation. 
 
 Lord Charles Beresf ord at once started up the river in a small 
 steamer to rescue Sir Charles Wilson's party. As it was known 
 that there was a strong battery below the spot where the 
 steamers had been lost, and that Beresford would have to run 
 the gauntlet of this on his way up, much anxiety was felt as to 
 the result, and a constant and eager watch was kept up for a 
 
KiyruKN OF THE sTioAiNiiaj. 2G3 
 
 sight of tlio stouiucr on her return. When the time ciinic that 
 she was expected to make her ap})carance, and no signs wore 
 visible of her, the anxiety heightened; and when another day 
 passed, and still she did not return, grave fears were enter- 
 tained for her safety. At last the welcome news came that 
 smoke could be seen ascending from the river higher up, and 
 loud cheers burst from the men when the Hag at the masthead 
 was seen above the trees. 
 
 There was a general rush down to the shore of all who were 
 not on duty to hear the news when she arrived; and when she 
 drew up near the bank and the first party landed, it was found 
 that her escape had been a narrow one indeed. In passing the 
 battery she had had a sharp engagement with the artillery 
 there, and a shot had passed through her boiler and disabled 
 her, and she had been obliged to anchor. Fortunately she was 
 a little above the battery when this took place, The guns 
 could not well be brought to bear upon her; and although 
 assailed by a constant fire of musketry, her own guns, her 
 Gardner, and the rifles of the troops had kept the enemy at a 
 distance and prevented them from shifting any of their guns 
 so as to play upon her, until an officer of the Naval Brigade, 
 Avho was acting as her engineer, had managed to repair the 
 boiler. 
 
 While the fight was going on Sir Charles Wilson's party 
 were upon an island, near which the second steamer had sunk, 
 two miles higher up the river, and were hotly engaged with a 
 force upon the bank. They were able to see that the rescuing 
 steamer was disabled, and at night had crossed to the river bank, 
 and marching down it to a point opposite the steamer, opened 
 communication with her by signals, and then did what they 
 could to divert the attention of the enemy from her by opening 
 fire upon the battery with one of their guns, causing the enemy 
 to turn two or three of his pieces of artillery against them. At 
 nightfall they marched down the river to a point where the 
 steamer had signalled she would pick them up. The steamer 
 
264 A RETREAT. 
 
 ran past the battery in the morning and fortunately escaped 
 without serious injury, and then picking up the whole of Sir 
 Charles Wilson's party came down the river without further 
 molestation. 
 
 All this time no despatch of any kind had been received from 
 Korti, although a small reinforcement consisting of a company 
 of the Naval Brigade and half a battery of artillery had arrived, 
 and the camels — or rather a portion of them, for nearly half 
 had died upon the journey — had returned from Gakdul with a 
 supply of stores. The days passed heavily until, on the 10th 
 of February, General Buller and the 18th Eoyal Irish arrived; 
 hopes were entertained, as they were seen approaching, that 
 the appearance of the infantry signified that the expedition was 
 still to continue to advance; but it was very soon known that 
 the Eoyal Irish had merely arrived to cover the retreat. The 
 next morning the whole of the wounded were sent off under a 
 strong escort; then the work of destroying all the stores that 
 had been brought up by the last convoy, except what were 
 needed for the march down to Gakdul, was carried out, and 
 two days later the forts that had been built with so much 
 labour were evacuated, and the whole force set out upon their 
 march down to Korti. 
 
 This time the journey was performed on foot. The camels 
 of the three corps and of the vast baggage train with which 
 they had started were bleaching on the desert, and scarce 
 enough animals remained for the service of carrying down the 
 sick and wounded. Eupert Clinton was among them. His 
 strength had failed rapidly, and a sort of low fever Iiad seized 
 him, and he had for some days before the convoy started been 
 lying prostrate in the hospital lines. Skinner was, at his own 
 request, carried by the same camel that conveyed Eupert, the 
 beds being swung one on each side of it. He had protested 
 that he was perfectly capable of marching, but the doctors 
 would not hear of it; and when he found that he could accom- 
 pany Eupert he was glad that they decided against him, as he 
 
NEWS OF EDGAR. 2G5 
 
 was ablo to look iiftor his friend auJ to keep up bis spirits to 
 11 certain extent by his talk. 
 
 Several of the wounded died on their way down, among them 
 Sir Herbert Stewart, who had survived his Avound a much 
 longer time than the surgeons had at first believed possible. 
 One piece of news that they had learned the day before they 
 left the neighbourhood of Metemineh had some slight efl'ect in 
 cheering Kupert, a native of that town having reported that a 
 white prisoner had been brought in on the day after the battle 
 near the town; he had been captured by some men of the 
 Jahrin tribe and not by the regular troops of the Mahdi; three 
 or four days later there had been a quarrel, the Mahdi's people 
 wanting to take the prisoner and send him up to Khartoum; 
 his captors had objected, claiming him as their private pro- 
 perty; but as they were only a small party he would doubtless 
 have been taken from them by force had they not, during the 
 night, stolen out of the town wdth him, taken a boat, crossed 
 the river, and made offi 
 
 Thus there was evidence that Edgar was still alive, and 
 Skinner endeavoured to impress upon Rupert that in every 
 respect the intelligence was favourable. 
 
 " You see, Clinton, if your brother had been sent up to the 
 Llahdi, the villain would have endeavoured to force him to change 
 his religion. Edgar would never have done that, and in that 
 case it is pretty certain tbat they would have chopped his head 
 off. As it is, the chief of these Arabs who took him evidently 
 means to keep him as a slave for himself. Of course it is not 
 pleasant to be a slave, but it is better than having the choice 
 between worshipping a greasy Arab or having your head 
 chopped off, and it will give him time to learn the language, 
 to make his plans of escape, and to carry them out." 
 
 Rupert was too weak and ill to fully enter into the cjuestion, 
 but he did see that Edgar's position was certainly better under 
 an Arab master than it would have been had he been sent up 
 to Khartoum, and the knowledge that he was alive and was in 
 
2G6 A DULL TIME. 
 
 no immediate danger of his life did much to revive him, and 
 enable him to bear the weary journey down to Korti better 
 than he would otherwise have done. Once there the compara- 
 tively cool air of the hospital tents, the quiet, and the supply of 
 every luxury soon had their effect, and in the course of three 
 weeks he was up and about, though it would be some time 
 before he would be fit for active duty. It was still altogether 
 uncertain what decision would be finally arrived at at home 
 respecting the expedition, but for the present the troops were 
 stationed at various points on the river as far down as Don- 
 gola, and it was hoped that later on the advance against 
 Khartoum would be recommenced. 
 
 Rupert, as soon as he was able to get about, had a long con- 
 versation with Major Kitchener, the political officer who was 
 in charge of all communications with the natives. He related 
 to him the circumstances of his brother's capture, and how he 
 was a prisoner of some men belonging to the Jahrin tribe. 
 Major Kitchener promised that his spies should make every 
 inquiry, and held out hopes that by the offer of a large re- 
 ward his captors might be induced to bring him down to the 
 camp. 
 
 The time passed very slowly, the heat increased in intensity 
 and became intolerable from nine in the morning until five in the 
 afternoon. Between those hours there was nothing to do but 
 to lie still in the mud huts that had now been erected, for it 
 would have been well-nigh impossible to exist in the little tents 
 that the troops had brought with them. 
 
 In the early morning and in the evening every one bathed 
 in the Nile. Then the officers, each of whom had picked up some 
 sort of pony from the natives, went for a ride, chased the wild 
 dogs, or wandered gun on shoulder in search of such game as 
 was to be found. After sunset was the only really pleasant 
 time of day, and when the moon was up both officers and men 
 enjoyed themselves; but on dark nights neither walking nor 
 riding could be indulged in, so broken was the ground, and 
 
" YOU AUK VKUY LUCKY." 1^07 
 
 there was nothing to do but to talk, sing, and vary tho tedium 
 by a game of cards. 
 
 Tho Guards' Camel Regiment were jjosted close to Dongola. 
 liupert, who since the death of General Stewart had no longer 
 any staff duties, was attached to the transport corps and spent 
 a considerable portion of his time going up or down the river 
 in boats. He did not, therefore, see much of his friends, al- 
 though he never passed Dongola without managing to make it 
 a halting-place so as to have a few hours' talk with them. 
 
 " You have thoroughly picked up again, Clinton," Skinner 
 said as he arrived upon one of these visits. " No one would 
 know you to be the same fellow who was brought down to 
 Korti with me on that wretched camel's back. I think you are 
 very lucky to have got put on to that transport work." 
 
 "So do I, Skinner; it gives me little time to sit and think, 
 and though it is terrifically hot in the middle of the day I can 
 always manage to get up some sort of shelter with straw or 
 matting of some kind, and at any rate it is cooler there than 
 on shore." 
 
 " I wish they would give me a turn at it," Skinner said. " I 
 cannot offer to take an oar, for although my arm is going on 
 very well the doctor says it may be months before I can venture 
 to use it in anything like hard work. We get up jolly horse- 
 races here once a week in the evening. The natives enter their 
 animals. Of course we have no chance with them on our little 
 tats, but we sometimes manage to requisition two or three horses 
 from the Hussars. I dare not ride myself, for though the horses 
 and ponies are both very sure-footed these natives ride in the 
 ■wildest way and one might get cannoned over. Still it is an 
 amusement to look on and make small bets and watch the 
 natives; crowds of them come out to see it, and they get tre- 
 mendously excited over it. I wish we could get up a good 
 football match, the Guards against Dongola; it would be awful 
 fun. As far as running goes we should not be in it, and if one 
 of them got the ball he would carry it right through us up to 
 
268 "IT WOULD BE MADNESS." 
 
 the goal, for they are as active and slippery as eels. Of course 
 when it came to a good close fight we should have it our own 
 way." 
 
 "Have you managed to get up football on board ship, 
 Skinner?" Easton, who was stretched at full length on the 
 ground, asked lazily. 
 
 " Not yet," Skinner laughed. " If we played at all we should 
 have to use a cannon-ball, so that it should not be kicked over 
 the sides ; but then, unless we got iron shoes made for the pur- 
 pose, we should all be laid up. But I have got a football in my 
 cabin, and once or twice we have had games at Suakim, and very 
 good fun it was too." 
 
 "No news, I suppose, Clinton?" Easton asked, sitting up. 
 
 Eupert shook his head. " Not a word. We hear very little 
 of what is going on above us, and the natives who do come in 
 lie so, there's no believing a word they say. I have been 
 thinking that if one could trust them I would pay one of the 
 sheiks to dress me up and stain my skin and take me with him 
 on a wandering expedition to Khartoum and over the country 
 on both sides of the river." 
 
 " It would be madness," Easton said. " Of course if you 
 could talk their language perfectly it might be possible to 
 manage it, for I suppose that with dye and false hair one 
 might be got up to pass as far as appearances go, but not being 
 able to speak the language would be fatal." 
 
 " Of course I should have to go as a dumb man. I was ask- 
 ing the surgeon the other day if there would be any great diffi- 
 culty in cutting a fellow's tongue out." 
 
 " In doing what ?" Easton and Skinner asked in astonishment. 
 
 "Cutting my tongue out," Eupert said seriously. "You 
 see, if my tongue was cut out anyone could see at once that I 
 was dumb. Of course it wouldn't be pleasant, but I believe it 
 would be possible to get to talk after some time. If there were 
 no other objections I should not hesitate for a moment; but 
 unfortunately I should have to pass for deaf as well as dumb, 
 
"OF COURSE I AM SERIOUS." 209 
 
 for of I'onvse I should not understand anything that was said 
 to mo. I have been thinking it over in every Hght, and really 
 the only great objection I see to the plan is that though one 
 might depend upon the chiefs being faithful if he were well 
 paid, it would be very doubtful as to his followers." 
 
 "And are you really serious in saying that you would have 
 your tongue cut out, Clinton'?" 
 
 "Of course I am serious," Eupert said, almost angrily. 
 "What is one's tongue in comparison to one's brother? What 
 do you think, Easton? Do you think the idea is at all feasible? 
 I may say that for the last two months I have been working 
 almost night and day at the language. I engaged a fellow the 
 day I came out of hospital. He was working for one of those 
 Greek shopkeepers. He is a native of Dongola, but has been 
 do^\^l in Egypt and picked up a certain amount of French. He 
 goes about with me in the boat, and we talk all day and as long 
 as I can keep him awake at night. Of course I don't think for 
 a moment that I could learn enough to pass as a native for at 
 least a couple of years; but it would be of no use my going up 
 with a party of Arabs if I could not make out what they say 
 and learn what news they pick up, and make arrangements to 
 get Edgar away if we find him." 
 
 "It would be a fearfully risky business, Clinton," Easton 
 said gravely. "The betting would be tremendously against you, 
 but I don't say that it is absolutely impossible that you should 
 be successful. I don't think it would be necessary to cai-ry out 
 the idea of having your tongue cut out. As you sa,y, a tongue 
 is nothing in comparison to a brother, and if I thought that 
 the loss of your tongue would ensure your success I should say 
 nothing against it, it would be a matter for you and you only 
 to decide; but I should think it might be managed in some 
 other way. The fellow you would be with would naturally 
 avoid all large encampments, and would send you off to look 
 after camels or something if other natives arrived at the same 
 encampment." 
 
270 "I SHALL THINK IT OVER." 
 
 "You don't really mean, Easton," Skinner said, "that you 
 seriously think that it might be done; that is, that the betting 
 is not more than ten to one against it?" 
 
 "ISToj I don't think the odds are longer than that. Skinner. 
 You know Burton went to Mecca in disguise, and I believe that 
 it has been done since by somebody else. I grant that Burton 
 could talk the language well, and that having to play the part 
 of a dumb man adds to the risk. Still, I do not think, as I said, 
 that the chances are more than ten to one against it." 
 
 "Well, I shall think it over," Rupert said; "but I must be 
 going now, for the boat will be loaded by this time." 
 
 "Why did you encourage Clinton in this mad idea, Easton?" 
 Skinner asked after Rupert had left them. 
 
 " I don't think I did encourage him. I told him the betting 
 was ten to one against his coming back alive, and I don't call 
 that encouraging; but I believe it is possible, and I am not at 
 all sure that if I were in his place, and the idea had occurred 
 to me, that I shouldn't try to carry it out." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 IN DISGUISE. 
 
 AS long as there was a chance that the expedition might 
 again advance Rupert did nothing farther, and indeed 
 was unable to come to any decision as to his course. He had 
 long since received an answer from Captain Clinton to his letter 
 written as soon as he was well enough to sit up after arriving 
 at Korti, with the news that Edgar had been present with the 
 expedition, and was now a prisoner in the hands of the Arabs. 
 Captain Clinton wrote in great distress himself, and said that his 
 wife was completely prostrated with the news. He said : " I 
 
"WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU T' 271 
 
 know I need not uri;-o you, Ivupcrt, to use every means to 
 obtain some news of Edgar. Draw upon me for any amount, 
 however large, that may be necessary for bribing natives to 
 find, and if i)ossible rescue, him. I fear that the latter is hope- 
 less. Still, if you see even the most remote chance of it, let no 
 question of expense stand in the way." 
 
 But oven the promises of rewards that seemed to them to be 
 fabulous failed in eliciting from the spies any information as to 
 Edgar's whereabouts. He certainly was neither at Berber nor 
 at Khartoum, nor had the people he was with returned to 
 Metemraeh; but beyond this negative information Eupert could 
 learn nothing. He continued to work assiduously with his 
 interpreter, and by the middle of May he had, after three 
 months' work, made such progress that he was able to converse 
 in simple phrases and to understand Avhat was being said by 
 the natives around him. 
 
 In the third week in May, on his arrival at Korti, he learned 
 that orders had that day been received that the whole force 
 was to at once retire, that even Dongola was to be abandoned, 
 and that Wady Haifa was to be the highest point on the river 
 occupied. That evening he went up to General Buller's tent. 
 The general was still at mess, and Rupert waited outside his 
 tent until he returned. He had several times spoken to the 
 general on matters of duty. 
 
 "Who is that?" General Buller asked as he saw a figure 
 standing in front of his tent. 
 
 " Clinton, sir. I am particularly anxious to speak to you if 
 you can spare me a short time." 
 
 "Come in," the general said. "What can I do for you? 
 Take a seat there." 
 
 " You have perhaps heard, sir, that I made the discovery at 
 Metemmeh that a brother of mine who had two years and a half 
 ago run away from school and enlisted, was the trumpeter 
 of the Heavies who was carried off by the Arabs close to 
 ]\Ietemmeh." 
 
272 RUPERT'S PROPOSAL. 
 
 "Yes, I heard that, Clinton, and was very sorry for you. 
 I cannot imagine a more distressing affair," 
 
 "It was really no fault of his that he ran away, general; he 
 was under a misconception altogether, and neither my father 
 nor mother blamed him in the slightest. I only say this to 
 show that he did not run away from wildness. No one could 
 have been steadier than he was. It was a frightful mistake 
 connected with his birth which I need not trouble you about. 
 We were greatly attached to each other, and my father and 
 mother are completely broken down at the thought of his being 
 a slave for life in the hands of the Arabs. Now, sir, for the 
 last three months I have been working almost day and night at 
 the language, and can get on fairly in it." 
 
 "Yes?" General BuUer put in, wondering what was coming 
 next. 
 
 " I have come to ask you if you would be good enough to 
 ask Lord Wolseley to let me have six months' leave. My 
 intention is to disguise myself, and to go up the country with 
 one or two friendly natives. I should pass as being dumb; as 
 although I can make myself understood in simple matters I 
 should, of course, be detected were any native to enter into a long 
 conversation with me. I have seen Major Kitchener to-day, and 
 he says that he has no doubt he could arrange with one of the 
 sheiks for me to go with him, and to travel about the country 
 with him until we found my brother. My father has authorized 
 me to spend any money that may be required, and I could pay 
 high enough to make it well worth the while of any of these 
 natives to be faithful. I do not see any reasons why I should 
 not succeed. I have been speaking to one of the surgeons, and 
 he says that if at any time it is suspected that I am not really 
 dumb, I can in half a minute burn my tongue so with caustic 
 that if I open my mouth anyone would think I have got some 
 disease of the tongue which prevents my speaking. As to the 
 disguise, I got Captain Hunter, who sketches capitally, to make 
 sketches of the heads of some of these Arabs. I sent these 
 
"A TREMENDOUS TUSK." 273 
 
 down to a man at Cairo, and T havo got up from him a wig 
 that will, I think, decoivo anyone." 
 
 " It is a tremendous risk, Clinton," General Jjullor said 
 when ho concluded; " a tremendous risk, and I don't know that 
 Lord Wolselcy would consider himself justified in allowing you 
 to attempt it. The idea does you honour, but upon my word 
 I do not know what to say to it. It seems a mad scheme, and 
 3'Ct I cannot say that it might not succeed. You seem to have 
 worked it all out in your own mind. To carry it through 
 will require not only pluck but unfailing Avatchfulness and 
 presence of mind. A simple word or a gesture might betray 
 you." 
 
 "1 have thought of all that, sir; but I don't see any reason 
 why it shouldn't be done. I am quite sure, general, that if you 
 had a brother a slave among the Arabs you would not hesitate 
 a moment about attempting it." 
 
 General Buller did not reply, but rising put on his helmet. 
 
 "I will go to the chief and ask him," he said; "but I don't 
 think he will feel authorized in letting you go." 
 
 " I don't ask him to authorize it officially, sir. I only ask 
 for six months' leave of absence, or even for a month's leave of 
 absence. At the end of that time of course my name would 
 be removed from the Army List, but I think, if I ever return, 
 I should be reinstated, or if not, I might get a fresh commission 
 granted me." 
 
 " Oh, that would be all right! the general would see to that 
 Wait here until I come back." 
 
 La a cjuarter of a hour General Buller returned. 
 
 " Come with me to the chief's tent," he said. " I think that 
 if you can convince him that you have thought the matter out 
 thoroughly, and are prepared at all points, he will give you 
 three months' leave, and will get it renewed as long as there is 
 a chance of your turning up alive." 
 
 Eupert was most kindly received by Lord Wolseley, who 
 asked him many questions as to his plans. After he had again 
 
274 "I WILL STRAIN A POINT AND LET YOU GO." 
 
 explained them Rupert said: "Major Kitchener has kindly 
 promised that if you give me leave he will buy for me two of 
 the fast camels. He said there was a party came in yesterday 
 with two exceptionally good ones, and that no doulat they 
 would sell if a sufficient price were offered. Of course I should 
 not think of riding on either of these unless I had to run for 
 my life, or until I found my brother, for they would at once 
 attract attention. The natives could ride on them, and I should 
 have an ordinary camel until the time came to use the fleet 
 ones. I have a letter from my father authorizing me to draw 
 to any extent; therefore no question of money would interfere 
 with my carrying out the plan thoroughly." 
 
 " I do not know what your father would say to me on my 
 return to England should you never get back, Clinton." 
 
 " I am sure that if my father were here he would approve, 
 sir. Of course I shall write him a long letter explaining the 
 whole circumstances, and I am as sure as if he stood here that 
 he would say that I was perfectly right in making an effort to 
 rescue Edgar. I should never be happy again were I to turn 
 my face down the river now and leave him to slavery for life 
 among the Arabs." 
 
 " Well, I will strain a point and let you go," Lord Wolseley 
 said. " I don't know whether I am right in doing so, but I 
 cannot resist your desire to carry out your scheme for your 
 brother's rescue. It is a noble attempt, Clinton, and I honour 
 you for undertaking it. When your preparations are complete 
 let me see you again. Consider yourself relieved of all duty at 
 once." 
 
 Thanking Lord Wolseley and General Buller for their kind- 
 ness Rupert left the tent and returned to his quarters. The 
 next morning he went the first thing to Major Kitchener's 
 camp and told him that the question of his leave was settled, 
 and that he should start as soon as the camels were procured 
 and an arrangement could be made with one of the sheiks. 
 
 "Very well, Clinton, I will manage that for you. I expect 
 
ARRANGEMENTS. 275 
 
 a sheik down in tlirec days who has worked faithfully with \is 
 since the beginning of the campaign. He is the man I had in 
 my eye; ho has made journeys to Wady Haifa and to points 
 on the Kcd Sea, and will know that our promises as to pay- 
 ments will be kept, and that whatever sum is agreed upon 
 would l)e handed him over at any place to which he may take 
 } c)u. In order to prevent any difficulty on that score, I will, 
 l)cfore j^ou start, give you letters to merchants at Wady Haifa 
 and all the ports requesting them to pay the sum we may 
 agree upon, upon the presentation of my letter with your sig- 
 nature attached. I put it in that way because it is possible 
 that you may have to make your way alone into Abyssinia, 
 and in that case if you are satisfied with your guide you will 
 put your name to the letter and he may then obtain the money 
 at whichever port he may go to. All this of course I will 
 explain to him. I will get the two camels this morning. They 
 are exceptionally good beasts, and the owner will want a very 
 long price for them. Camels like these are very rare, but 
 they may be the means of saving your life." 
 
 "I will pay whatever he wants me to, sir; I quite see the 
 importance of getting them. I am off duty now, and as the sheik 
 is not to arrive for three days I will go down to Dongola. 
 There is one of the transport boats starting in half an hour. 
 I shall want to lay in a stock of dye. Fortunately, the exact 
 colour is not material, for the natives are any shade between 
 yellow and black." 
 
 When Skinner and Easton came in from an evening ride 
 they got off their ponies, and Skinner entered his hut. He 
 was astonished at seeing a native calmly sitting there with the 
 usual wild tangled hair and a dirty cotton cloth wrapped round 
 him. For a moment Skinner stood astonished. 
 
 "Well, this is cheek!" he exclaimed. "Easton, look here; 
 here is a beast of a native squatting in my hut. Sentry, what 
 the deuce do you mean by letting a nigger come into my 
 hut? Now, then, who are you? What do you want? What 
 
276 "HE IS A MAD NIGGER." 
 
 do you mean by it 1 Out you go sharp, or I will break your 
 neck ! " 
 
 The two young officers, for Easton had joined his friend, 
 stood astounded when the native broke into a yell of laughter. 
 
 "He is mad, Easton; he is a mad nigger who has escaped 
 from a lunatic asylum!" Skinner exclaimed. "Don't go near 
 him; perhaps he bites, and you might get hydrophobia. How 
 is this, sentry?" he asked, turning to the soldier, who had come 
 up to the door. "How is it you let this mad nigger come in 
 here?" 
 
 "I did not see him come in, sir," the sentry said; "he must 
 have slipped in when my back was turned. I saw an officer 
 come in half an hour ago, but I haven't seen anyone else." 
 
 "Well, move him out, sentry; prod him up with your 
 bayonet if he won't go." 
 
 The sentry was about to enter the tent when Rupert gasped, 
 " That is enough, Skinner; order him out. You will kill me 
 with laughing." 
 
 "Clinton!" The Avord broke from the lips of Easton and 
 Skinner simultaneously, while the sentry almost dropped his 
 rifle in surprise at hearing his officer thus addressed in pure 
 English by the native. 
 
 " It is all right, sentry, you can go," Easton said, recovering 
 himself first from his astonishment; and then saying as soon 
 as they were alone: "What on earth does this masquerade 
 mean, Clinton'? have you gone out of your mind?" 
 
 " Then you think I shall do, Easton?" 
 
 " Do!" Easton repeated, the truth dawning upon him. "You 
 don't mean to say that you are going to carry out that scheme 
 yon talked about a month since?" 
 
 " Indeed I do, Easton. I have obtained the chief's permis- 
 sion. Major Kitchener is making the arrangements for me, 
 and I hope in another three days to be out on the desert again. 
 At any rate you will allow that as far as appearances go I can 
 pass fairly as a native." 
 
" ixiN T YOU UNDERSTAND, MAN?" 277 
 
 Skinner had not yot spoken. He now walked round and 
 rounil Kujiort two or three times, and at last gave vent to his 
 feelings: "Well, I am jiggered! There is no doubt about 
 your disguise, Clinton, at least if yoii are Clinton and not a 
 nigger who has stolen his voice. Did you ever see such a head 
 of hair, Easton?' 
 
 "Never mind that," Easton said impatiently; "don't you 
 understand, man, that Clinton is going away among those Arabs 
 to search for his brother?" 
 
 "No, I did not understand j in fact I did not hear a word 
 that was said. I was too much stunned to do anything but 
 stare. And you are really going, Clinton, old fellow ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am off to-morrow at daybreak for Korti. There is 
 a good strong breeze blowing, and I shall go up as quickly as 
 I came down. There was a delay of three or four days before 
 we could get hold of the man I am to go with, if he will take 
 me, so I ran down here partly to get some dyes for my skin 
 in the bazaar here, but principally to say good-bye to you 
 both. My wig, that so astonishes you. Skinner, I had made 
 at Cairo and sent up." 
 
 "Well, there is no fear, Clinton, of anyone recognizing you 
 as an Englishman. You may ride in the middle of them from 
 here to Khartoum, and they would never suspect you as far as 
 looks go. You have abandoned that idea about your tongue, 
 I hope?" 
 
 " Yes. 1 have got a bottle of caustic from one of the sur- 
 geons. He put me up to it. He says if I see that I am sus- 
 pected, if I slip aside and rub one of these little sticks of caustic 
 over my tongue it will make such a sight of it that I have only 
 to open my mouth and let them look at it, and they will 
 believe readily enough that I have got some frightful disease 
 in my tongue and cannot use it. In case of necessity I can 
 mumble out a few words, and the state of my mouth will quite 
 account for any difficulty they may have in understanding 
 me." 
 
278 ■ "WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS T' 
 
 "Will that stuff you have got on your skin wash off?" 
 Easton asked. 
 
 "Yes, this will with a little difficulty; but I have got some 
 other stuff that my interpreter tells me will only want renew- 
 ing once a week or ten days." 
 
 " Then for goodness' sake set to and get it off, Clinton, and 
 jjut on your own clothes and let us see you again as you are. 
 I don't seem to be able to talk to you naturally in that disguise, 
 and it will be a long time before we get another talk together." 
 
 Rupert at once set to work with soap, water, and a nail- 
 brush, and in a quarter of an hour got his face and hands 
 tolerably white. Then he put on his uniform. 
 
 " Now you are yourself again, Clinton. Sit down and tell 
 us all about it. What are your plans?" 
 
 Rupert told him the arrangements that Major Kitchener was 
 making for him, and both his companions greatly approved of 
 the purchase of the fast camels. " That is a capital idea, and 
 if you can get a good start with them you may laugh at 
 Arabs who are mounted on ordinary camels or on foot; but you 
 must mind that there are no fellows with horses about when 
 you make your bolt. You see, all these fellows who led the 
 attacks were mounted, and I suppose you will find that a few 
 of the principal men in every large village have horses. Now 
 a horse will go faster than the fastest camel for a bit, although 
 the camel will beat him in a long-distance race. What are 
 you going to do about arms?" 
 
 "T cannot take any arms, Easton; they would betray me at 
 once." 
 
 "You cannot show any, I grant, but there is no reason in 
 the world Avhy you shouldn't take a brace of revolvers. They 
 could be stoAved away easily enough, with a couple of boxes of 
 cartridges, somewhere in the saddle. There is room to hide 
 anything in one of these great clumsy contrivances. Of course 
 pistols would be of no use to you if you are discovered in the 
 middle of a tribe or a big town; but if you find your bjother, 
 
A DISHONOUrvAr.LK ACITION. 279 
 
 and you make ;i bolt for it together on these camels and are 
 pursued, you could make a pretty good fight against half a 
 dozen mounted men, and the betting is against more than that 
 getting together, if you had a revolver apiece. 1 should advise 
 you most strongly to take them." 
 
 "I think you are right, Eastou: I will certainly do so." 
 
 " Have you got a brace?" 
 
 " No, I have only one." 
 
 "Then you shall have mine, old fellow. What calibre is 
 yours 1 " 
 
 " -45." 
 
 "Ah! that is the same as mine. I have got a couple of boxes 
 of cartridges, and as they are done up in india-rubber they are 
 sure to be all right. By the way, is it true that we are all 
 going down^ There was a rumour last night that orders had 
 come." 
 
 "Yes, we are to retire to Wady Haifa." 
 
 "What! and abandon Dongola?" 
 
 Kupert nodded. 
 
 " Then I call it a beastly shame. More than that, I call it a 
 downright dishonourable action !" Easton said hotly. "Here we 
 are going to abandon a town of some twenty thousand inhabitants 
 to these fanatics. Not only that, but to give up to their ven- 
 geance all the tribes between Wady Haifa and Metemmeh who 
 have trusted in our promises, have thrown in their lot with us, 
 and have for the last four months been doing all our transport. 
 Our fathers used to be proud to call themselves Englishmen, 
 but, by Jove, there is very little reason for us to be. That 
 Boer business was shameful and humiliating enough, but this 
 is worse still. I don't say that we are bound to go on to 
 Khartoum, although it would be the best and cheapest and 
 most satisfactory mode in every way of settling this Mahdi 
 and ensuring order in the Soudan; but I do think that we are 
 bound to hold the river from Korti downwards to protect the 
 tribes that have been friendly to us, and to save this town from 
 
280 RUPERT'S ARABIC. 
 
 ruin and desolation. Not only this town, but all the peaceful 
 villages down the river. Besides, so long as we are here the 
 Arabs will see that the Mahdi is not all-powerful, and may 
 sooner or later rise against his tyranny. Well, I never thought 
 this campaign Avas going to end in the disgraceful abandonment 
 of the Nile Valley from Korti to Wady Haifa. However," he 
 went on, checking himself suddenly, "it is of no use talking of 
 that now; we have got to think about your expedition, which 
 to us three is a far more important business. How does your 
 Arabic get on?" 
 
 " Fairly well. I don't say that I can talk a great deal, but 
 as I have learnt it by ear I speak with a fair accent, at least so 
 Ibrahim says. I have taken particular pains with what you 
 may call salutations, such as one man gives another as they 
 pass each other on a journey, or what one says on entering a 
 house or a village. I can ask for food all right, return thanks 
 for hospitality, ask the way, and all that sort of thing; and 
 Ibrahim said that in all these things I could pass very well as a 
 native, especially as there are slight distinctions and differences 
 between the language of the various tribes. They are a very 
 mixed people, of Arab, Egyptian, and Negro blood. So that as 
 far as it goes my language will pass, and of course every day I 
 travel I shall improve. I intend, as I have said, to pretend to 
 be dumb whenever we come across strong parties of strangers, and 
 my sheik will shield me as much as possible by sending me out 
 to look after the camels and to gather wood and to fetch water, 
 or on other business, whenever we are with strangers. I really 
 think, Easton, I have a very fair chance of getting through it 
 without being found out. Major Kitchener tells me that the 
 sheik only has two or three of his tribesmen with him, and 
 that he has no doubt picked men he can trust to hold their 
 tongues, otherwise he would get into a mess when he went 
 back again among his people. Of course the men will be 
 promised a reward also if I get safely through. The trouble 
 on my mind is more the difficulty there will be in finding 
 
"I SHAT.L STICK TO IT." 281 
 
 Edgar and getting him oli' than about myself. In the first place 
 there is no saying as to the direction in which the men who 
 have got him have gone. They have probably gone to some 
 out-of-the-way place, so as to be out of the way of the Mahdi's 
 people. 
 
 " Ibrahim tells me that there are no people more pig-headed 
 than these Arabs, and if they once make up their mind to a 
 thing nothing will turn them. That is all the better, as far as 
 the risk of Edgar falling into the hands of the Mahdi is con- 
 cerned, only it makes it all the more difficult to find him. 
 There is no saying where he may have moved to ; he may have 
 gone far south of Khartoum, he may have pushed away near 
 the borders of Abyssinia, he may be within a few miles of 
 Suakim, he may be in the desert we crossed. 1 don't disguise 
 from myself that it . is likely to be a long search ; but that is 
 nothing if I am but successful at last. Of course the great 
 thing will be to endeavour to pick up a clue near Metemmeh. 
 
 "The tribe is a very scattered one, and is to be found dis- 
 persed among other tribes all the way from Berber to Khar- 
 toum on the eastern side of the river, and I hear that there is 
 a branch of it who live in the desert to the west. Well, it is 
 likely that Edgar's master will have stopped in some of these 
 villages among his own people, if only for a few hours, and it is 
 from them I hope to get some clue as to the general direction 
 at least in which they were travelling. Unless they disguised 
 Edgar, and wrapped him up as a Avoman, or something of that 
 sort, the fact of a white prisoner passing through is certain to 
 have caused talk. However, it is impossible to say where or 
 how I may find a clue. 
 
 "At any rate I shall stick to it. I shall tell ni)^ father, that 
 as it may take me a year to find Edgar he need not even 
 begin to feel anxious until the end of that time, and that as I 
 shall be continually improving in my knowledge of the lan- 
 guage, the risk of detection will become less and less every 
 month, and that I anticipate no difficulty whatever when the 
 
282 "I HARDLY THOUGHT HE HAD IT IN HIM." 
 
 time comes in passing down to Suakim or Massowah, or 
 should any difficulty arise in that direction, in either working 
 down to Wady Haifa or through Abyssinia." 
 
 They sat and talked until far into the night, and then 
 lay down for a few hours' sleep, and at daybreak Rupert said 
 good-bye to his friends and took his place in the boat, which, 
 spreading its sails, rapidly made its way up stream. The two 
 friends stood for a long time looking after it. 
 
 "By Jove, Clinton has turned out a fine fellow," Skinner 
 said; "a grand fellow! I hardly thought he had it in him. 
 Of course I knew he was plucky, and all that sort of thing; 
 but this is a tremendous undertaking." 
 
 " It is,"- Easton said. " Of course now the die is cast I would 
 not say a word last night to discourage him; but the risk is 
 tremendous. However he is going about it in the right spirit, 
 and somehow I feel almost confident that he will pull through 
 it, and that we shall shake his hand in England again. May 
 God protect him on his journey!" 
 
 Skinner responded with an earnest Amen, and then they 
 walked slowly back to the camp. 
 
 As soon as he arrived at Korti Rupert made his way to 
 Major Kitchener's, and was greeted with a cheery welcome by 
 that officer, 
 
 " Things are going well, Clinton. I have bought the two 
 riding camels. I was a whole day haggling over the price 
 with the chief. I had to pay a stiff price after all, but that I 
 expected. But it won't come quite so heavy, because he 
 wanted to take it out in goods, and as we don't mean to take 
 all the things back to the coast again, I got an order from the 
 chief for our quarter-master's department to sell me a lot of rugs, 
 cooking pots, and tin goods, and also some powder and ball 
 and a dozen muskets. As I get them cheap the camels 
 won't cost you more than half what they would if you had 
 had to pay in silver for them. In the next place, the sheik 
 arrived yesterday afternoon and I had a long talk with him. 
 
" IS IT YOU, CLINTON '!■ " 283 
 
 Ho is willing enough to undcrtcake the business and to wander 
 about with you for as many months as you may choose, and to 
 assist you in getting off your brother if you find him, if he 
 thinks that you can disguise yourself well enough to pass as a 
 native, but of that ho is to be the judge. He won't take you 
 at any price unless you satisfy him in that respect." 
 
 "1 think I can do that, major," Rupert said. "I will go 
 back to my tent and dress now. I took in my two friends of 
 the Guards, and I think I can pass inspection even by a native." 
 In half an hour Rupert returned in his native get-up, carrying 
 as usual a spear and a SAVord and two or three knives stuck 
 into his girdle. Major Kitchener was inside his tent, and 
 Rupert squatted down outside and awaited his coming out. 
 When the major issued from his tent his eye fell upon him. 
 
 "Hullo!" he said in Ai-abic, "what do you want? Where 
 do you come from?" 
 
 " I am my lord's servant," Rupert replied in the same 
 language. 
 
 "Yes, that is all very well; but I suppose you want some 
 thing." 
 
 "I am ready to go for my lord to Khartoum, and to bring 
 him news." 
 
 Major Kitchener shook his head. " I don't want to send 
 anyone up at present," he said; "we know all about it." 
 
 "Then you think I shall do, major?" Rupert said in English. 
 
 "Bless me!" the officer exclaimed; "is it you, Clinton? I 
 did not suspect you for a moment. You will do, lad, you will 
 do. The sheik himself won't know you to be white with that 
 wonderful head of hair of yours. It is a splendid imitation. 
 One would think you had scalped one of these natives and put 
 his hair on. Come along with me. You will see how we shall 
 take in the sheik." 
 
 He went across to a small group of camels by the side of 
 which a sheik and two natives were seated talking and gesticu- 
 lating violently. The sheik rose to his feet as they came up 
 
284 "WHERE ARE THE EYES YOU BOAST OF?" 
 
 and began to talk volubly; he was evidently in a rage with 
 his followers, for he pointed to them with open hand and was 
 complaining of their conduct. Presently they began to inter- 
 ject angry denials, and then sprang to their feet and excitedly 
 poured out their view of the question. Eupert could not 
 catch a word, and had no idea of the subject of the dispute, 
 although he saw that Major Kitchener was listening with 
 some amusement. The combat rose higher and higher. At 
 last, with a sudden gesture, the sheik, who had looked fur- 
 tively at this disguised stranger several times, seized the two 
 men by the arm and whirled them round until they faced 
 Eupert, who was leaning on his spear. " There ! " he shouted. 
 "Where are the eyes you boast of? You say that anyone 
 could in a moment detect a white man through his disguises. 
 What ! are you then blind or idiots that you do not see that 
 this is a white man standing here'?" The Arabs stood motion- 
 less, wondering and incredulous, while the chief broke into a 
 triumphant laugh at his own superior sagacity. 
 
 "Is he white"?" one of the men asked, turning to the major. 
 
 " Yes, this is the officer who is to travel with you." 
 
 "What is it all about, major?" Eupert asked as the three 
 natives proceeded to walk round him and examine him from 
 every point. 
 
 "The sheik was declaiming against the obstinacy of his 
 followers. He really wants to take you, and was in vain try- 
 ing to persuade his men that such clever people as the whites 
 could disguise themselves so that they would not be known. 
 The two men protested against the risk, and maintained that 
 anyone could tell a white from a native a mile off. Eeally the 
 sheik did not suspect you in the slightest, but I thought it 
 was well to let him have a triumph over his followers, and so 
 as he was going on I gave a little nod towards you and he 
 caught it at once; but I could see at first he thought he was 
 mistaken, and while the others were having their say I nodded 
 to him and said, 'Yes it is he.'" 
 
"WHAT IS CALT,ED A \VI(!." 285 
 
 With many interjections: " Ft is wonderful! Can such tilings 
 be! Eyes have never seen it!" the throe Arabs had continued 
 to gaze at Kupert while tho officer was speaking. 
 
 " It is a white man," the sheik said at last; "there is more 
 flesh on his limbs than on those of a young Arab. But who 
 ever saw such hair on a white man; by what miracle did it 
 grow thusf 
 
 "It is what is called a wig," Major Kitchener explained. 
 "It was made for him at Cairo; he can take it off and on. 
 Take it off, Clinton." 
 
 Eupert pulled off his wig and stood before them in his 
 closely-cropped head. The natives made a step or two back- 
 Avards in astonishment and awe. 
 
 " The whites are great people," the sheik said; " they can turn 
 a white man into a black. They can put an Arab's hair on to 
 their heads, so that they can take it on and off like a turban. 
 It is well, my lord, we will take the young officer with us; 
 but he must remember that though when he is standing still 
 he may look so like an Arab that no eyes could detect him, it 
 is the movements and the ways and the tongue, and not the 
 skin and hair only, that make a man. He will have to keep 
 a watch always over himself and be ever careful and prudent, 
 for were he discovered it would cost him his life, and would 
 go hard with us also for bringing him as a spy into the land." 
 
 "We know that, sheik," Major Kitchener said; "and all 
 that has, you know, been considered in the handsome terms 
 we have offered you." 
 
 "If he spoke the language as you do, my lord, it would 
 be easy." 
 
 "It will not be long before he does so, sheik; you will see 
 that he speaks with a fair accent already. Just suppose that 
 you are the sheik of a village and that he has come in to get 
 something. Now, Clinton, begin with the usual Aralnc saluta- 
 tions." 
 
 Rupert at once addressed the sheik, and the usual ceremonial 
 
286 "WE WILL TAKE HIM." 
 
 salutations which precede all conversation were exchanged 
 between them. 
 
 "I have wandered from my camp," Rupert went on; "my 
 camel has travelled far, and I am hungry and athirst. I 
 would buy meal and dates for my further journey, and a feed 
 of grain for the camel," he continued, with a dozen other sen- 
 tences that he had committed to heart and gone over scores of 
 times with Ibrahim. 
 
 The sheik nodded his approval, "It is good," he said. 
 "For a time, as you have said, he will not talk, but will go as 
 an afflicted one who has lost his speech, but even now he 
 could pass through a village with us without exciting suspicion. 
 We will take him. What say you?" he asked his followers, 
 who replied together, "We will take him." 
 
 Then there was a long discussion in Arabic between the 
 sheik and Major Kitchener. " He has seen your camels," the 
 major said turning to Eupert, " and wants them thrown into 
 the bargain when it is all over, I have told him that this is 
 quite out of the question. The terms I have already agreed 
 upon are ten times as high as he could earn with his camels 
 in any other way; besides it is, as I pointed out to him, pro- 
 bable that you and your brother may have to ride away alone 
 on the camels. But I have said that if you should arrive 
 together at any port or place where the sum agreed upon can 
 be paid to him, and if you are thoroughly satisfied with the way 
 in which you have been treated, you will let him have them, 
 deducting from the amount to be paid half the sum that you 
 have just given for them, and as you paid for them in goods 
 that will really be about the price they cost you." 
 
 "That will be an excellent arrangement," Eupert said; "the 
 hope of getting the camels at the end of the journey will 
 certainly be a great inducement to him to be faithful. I 
 know that the Arabs think as much of these fast camels as we 
 do of race -horses at home. And will you tell him too that 
 if we have to leave him and take the camels, I will see that 
 
CONCESSIONS. 287 
 
 they are left, to bo given up to him on his arrival, at some 
 place he may name. I think that it would he as well that he 
 •should feel that ho will get the camels anyhow in addition to 
 payment; otherwise the temptation to seize them might be so 
 great that he might get rid of me on the first opportunity." 
 
 " Yes, that would be as well, Clinton. A pair of such camels 
 as these are certainly a great temptation to an Arab. I have 
 great faith in this man, for he was very highly recommended 
 to me by some Egyptian merchants at Cairo who had travelled 
 with him right down to the great lakes. At the same time 
 it is always better to throw no temptation in people's way. 
 He wanted a portion of the money down, but I would not 
 hear of this. I said that he knew he was certain of it when 
 the duty was performed, and that therefore there was no 
 reason whatever for his making any demand beforehand, 
 except that he should have a sum just sufficient and no more 
 to enable him to pay any expenses he might incur for his own 
 food and that of the camels. That is little enough: dates, 
 meal, a kid sometimes for the men, and an occasional feed 
 of grain for the camels, who as a rule pick up their own living 
 except when engaged on hard work." 
 
 What Eupert had said was explained to the sheik, who, 
 although he showed little outward satisfaction, was evidently 
 pleased with the prospect of some day owning the two fast 
 camels. There was now a long discussion between Major 
 Kitchener and the sheik as to the best route to be pursued, 
 and the probabilities as to the course that Edgar's captors had 
 followed, and then the conference broke up, the sheik saying 
 his camels required another two days' rest, and that on the 
 third day at daybreak he should be ready to start. At the 
 last moment Eupert suggested, that as the Arabs had, they 
 said, two spare camels before, and would now have three, he 
 should present them with a sufficient load of rugs, powder, and 
 other things they valued to form light loads for the three spare 
 animals. There would be nothing suspicious in their possess- 
 
288 "YOU HAVE WON YOUR FELLOWS OVER." 
 
 ing such goods, as many of the loaded camels had, especially 
 on the night march to Metemmeh, strayed away or fallen, and 
 their loads had been plundered by the Arabs. For twenty 
 pounds he could get from the quarter-master's stores plenty of 
 goods for the purpose, and as these could be used for barter 
 it would obviate the necessity of carrying silver. The offer 
 added to the good temper of the sheik and his followers, and 
 as Rupert walked back to Major Katchener's tent with him 
 the latter said, " I think, Clinton, you have Avon your fellows 
 fairly over. I could see by the way they discussed the routes 
 to be followed, that they have got thoroughly interested 
 in the matter themselves, and will throw themselves heartily 
 into it. I really think you have a very fair chance of getting 
 through this business safely. I did not think so when you 
 first proposed it to me, but the difficulties seem to have disap- 
 peared as we have gone on; and now that I have seen you in 
 disguise, I think that, unless from some unforeseen accident, 
 or some forgetfulness on your own part, there is no reason why 
 you should not travel with those Arabs from end to end of the 
 Soudan. " 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A RUNAWAY SLAVE. 
 
 NEGROES have an immense respect for strength, and the, 
 to him, astounding manner in which Edgar had struck 
 down his comrade as by a stroke of lightning completely cowed 
 the other negro, and he resumed his Avork with Edgar with 
 an air of timidity; but he soon recovered from this, and before 
 long was laughing and joking at the speed with which the 
 bucket was being raised and emptied, the water pouring out 
 at a rate vastly exceeding that usually achieved by their 
 
"YOU HAD NO l-.KAUTY TO SPOIL." 289 
 
 leisniel}- movements. Indeed, he entered heartily into tlie fun 
 of the thing, repeating Edgar's English words of " Now, then, 
 up she goes!" "Over with her! "and working until the perspir- 
 ation rolled down his black skin as fast as it did down Edgar's 
 white one. The other man had thrown himself down by the 
 trough, and lay there bathing his face with water till at an 
 angry shout from the sheik ho rose to his feet and joined in 
 the work sullenly and silently. 
 
 "Tliere is no great harm done," Edgar said cheeringly to 
 him. " You had no beauty to spoil, so you will be none the 
 worse that way. You have had a lesson, and it will do you 
 good. I daresay we shall get on very well together in future." 
 Hamisli gave an angry growl ; he was in no mood for a recon- 
 ciliation, and continued to work silently until the sun went 
 down. As soon as it sunk below the sand-hills the negroes 
 ceased work, and signified to Edgar that their time of labour 
 was over. 
 
 The sheik had several times looked out from his tent to see 
 how the work was getting on. "My capture was indeed a 
 fortunate one, Amina," he said. " Never did I see men work 
 as they have done this afternoon. Three times the usual 
 amount of water 4ias been poured over the field; truly he is a 
 treasure." 
 
 When the slaves had ceased work they went to the lower 
 end of the valley, where, on some ground covered with coarse 
 grass, separated from the growing crops by a thorn hedge, a 
 herd of goats and some twenty camels were grazing, and pro- 
 ceeded to milk the females. Edgar was a passive spectator, 
 for the animals all showed their aversion to his white skin, and 
 would not let him approach them. When the work was over 
 they returned to the tents with the calabashes of milk, and 
 were rewarded for their extra work with large platefuls of 
 meal. Before eating his share Edgar filled a tin pannikin 
 Amina had given him for his special use with water, boiled it 
 over the fire, and dropped in a spoonful of tea, and going up 
 
 (G50) T 
 
290 TREATING A PATIENT. 
 
 to Amina asked for a little milk, which she readily gave him, 
 surprised that a spoonful or two was all that he required. 
 
 "If I use it sparingly," he said to himself as he sat down to 
 his meal, "that ten pounds of tea will last me over a year, 
 and before it is gone I hope I shall see some way of getting 
 off." As soon as he had finished it the woman whose' child 
 was ill came to him and took him off to see her. She was, 
 as even Edgar could see, better; her skin was soft and her 
 pulse was quieter, but she was evidently very weak. The 
 woman held out a bowl of the arrow-root, and signified that 
 she would not eat it, which Edgar was not surprised at, for it 
 was thick and lumpy. 
 
 " I suppose the water didn't boil," he said to himself. " No 
 wonder the poor little beggar cannot eat that stuff. I should 
 think the Liebig would be the best for her, at any rate better 
 than this stuff. I will get a tin or two from Amina, or rather 
 she had better get it; I don't want to be always asking for 
 things," 
 
 He had noticed where he had thrown the little pot the even- 
 ing before, brought it to the woman, and then pointing to the 
 sheik's tent said, "You fetch." 
 
 The woman understood and went off, and presently returned 
 with two of the pots. Boiling water was required. This is 
 not an item to be found in an Arab tent. Edgar therefore 
 boiled some in his own tin over the fire in front of the sheik's 
 tent, and showed the woman how much of the paste was to be 
 used and how much water. When this was made he asked 
 her for milk; this also he boiled and made some arrow-root, 
 and told the woman to give that and the Liebig alternately 
 every three or four hours. The benefit the child had received 
 had created a most favourable impression towards Edgar in 
 the community, and several of them came round him as he left 
 the tent to ask for medicine. Edgar was sorely puzzled, and 
 determined that if he could do no good he would certainly 
 do no harm. He thought it likely that most of the illnesses 
 
A TROUBLESOME flASR 291 
 
 were imaginary, "For wliy," he said to liiniself as he lookol 
 at three of them Avho were all i)lacing their hands on their 
 stomachs and twisting about to show that they were suflering 
 great pain, "should they be all bad together 1" There was 
 in the chest a large bottle of pills marked "blue-pills," and 
 of these he gave two to each applicant. 
 
 One case of those who applied was of a very different char- 
 acter. It was a boy some fifteen years old. He crawled 
 up on his hands and knees, and sitting down took off some 
 bandages and showed him his leg. It was terribly inflamed 
 from the instep up to the knee, with a great sloughing wound 
 that showed the bone for two or three inches. It was evi- 
 dently the result of a serious graze, perhaps caused by falling 
 on to a sharp rock. Had it been attended to at first it would 
 have been trifling, but doubtless the boy thought nothing of it 
 and had continued to get about as usual. The sand and dirt had 
 got into the wound, inflammation had set in, and the leg was 
 now ill a very serious state. 
 
 Edgar felt a little more certain of his ground this time, for 
 he remembered that one of the fellows at Eiver-Smith's house 
 had had a bad leg after a severe kick on the shin at football, 
 and he knew what had been done for it. The lad's father, 
 who was one of the elderly men who had remained in camp, 
 had accompanied him. Edgar told him that, in the first place, 
 he wanted a good deal of water made hot. The chest con- 
 tained a half-gallon bottle of carbolic acid, and searching among 
 the smaller bottles Edgar found one containing caustic. When 
 the lad's father returned with the hot water, Edgar bathed the 
 wound for a long time; then he poured a little of the acid into 
 a calabash of cold water, dipped a piece of cotton cloth into it, 
 folded it several times, and laid it on the wound, then wrapped 
 another cloth soaked in water round and round the limb, and 
 explained as well as he could to the father that as often as the 
 bandage became dry the one must be dipped in the calabash 
 with the lotion, the other in water, and applied again. For 
 
292 A HAKIM. 
 
 two or three days this treatment was continued, and then 
 Edgar burned the unhealthy surfaces with caustic, continuing 
 the carbolic poultices. 
 
 In a week the inflammation had greatly abated, and the sore 
 assumed a healthy aspect. The process of healing would in 
 England have been a long and tedious work, but in the dry 
 air of the desert it healed with a rapidity that surprised 
 Edgar, and in a fortnight the boy was able to walk again. 
 The girl too had gained strength rapidly, and Edgar was 
 regarded in the encampment as a Hakim of extraordinary skill; 
 and even the children who had at first shouted Kaffir after 
 him, and thrown stones at him whenever they could do so 
 unobserved, now regarded him with something like awe, while 
 the friends of the boy and girl showed him- many little kind- 
 nesses, often giving him a bowl of camels' milk, a handful of 
 dates, or a freshly-baked cake of meal. With one of the negro 
 slaves he got on very well. He could not be persuaded to 
 continue to work with the energy which he had displayed the 
 first afternoon, but he seconded Edgar's efforts fairly, and his 
 merry talk and laughter, although he could understand but a 
 small portion of what he said, cheered Edgar at his toil. 
 
 The other negro remained sullen and hostile. For some days 
 after his encounter with Edgar his face was so SAvollen up that 
 he was scarcely able to see. He would have been compelled 
 to work as usual, for humanity is not a characteristic of the 
 Arabs; but Edgar told the sheik's wife that if the man was 
 forced to work at present he would be very ill, and that he 
 must for a time remain quiet and apply bandages soaked in hot 
 water to his face. Under this treatment the swelling gradually 
 abated, but the nose did not resume its normal shape, the 
 bridge having been broken by Edgar's blow. Any presents 
 that the latter received in the way of milk or other articles of 
 food he shared with the negroes, the allowance of food served 
 out being very scanty and of the coarsest description. 
 
 " Kaffirs are dogs," the sheik said to his wife as he one day 
 
iiK r.itiN<;s cooD iiiok." 293 
 
 saw Ei.lg;ir JiviiliiiL;- some milk and dates with thu others; "but 
 there is good in Ihem. Tliat Muley," for so they had named 
 Edgar, "divides all that is given him Avith the others, even 
 giving 1 lamisli a share. I could understand his giving it to 
 the otluT, so that h(> miglit do some of his work for him, but 
 not to llamisli, who I can see has not forgiven him that 
 blow." 
 
 " I don't think the otlicr does his work for him," Atnina said. 
 "He works for me of a morning and then goes into the fields; 
 and when I watch them to see that they are doing their work 
 it seems to me that he does more than an}' of them." 
 
 "He does," the sheik agreed; "he is a willing slave. I am 
 glad I did not give him up to the Mahdi. Kaffir as he is, I 
 think ho brings good luck to the village. If he would change 
 his religion and follow the Prophet I would adopt him as my 
 son, seeing that you have only girls." 
 
 Edgar made very rapid progress with the language. It was 
 well for him that he had picked up a few words and sentences 
 at Suakim. and Cairo, for this enabled him to make far more 
 rapid progress than he would have done had he been ignorant 
 of the language. He attempted to keep up a constant con- 
 versation with the negro, and although the latter often went 
 into screams of laughter at his mistakes he was ready to helj) 
 him, correcting his errors and repeating sentences over and 
 over again until he was able to pronounce them with a proper 
 accent. In two months he was able to converse with tolerable 
 fluency, and the sheik was meditating broaching the subject of 
 his conversion to him Avhen an event occurred that for a time 
 gave him other matters to think of. 
 
 One morning when the encampment woke Hamish was found 
 to be missing, and it was ere long discovered that the best 
 camel in the encampment had been stolen, and that two water- 
 skins had been taken from the sheik's tent, and a perfect hubbub 
 arose in the village when this became known. The sheik 
 seizing a stick fell upon the other negro and showered blows 
 
294 "IT IS WORSE THAN THAT." 
 
 Upon him, exclaiming that he must have known of and aided 
 his companion in his flight, although he declared he had not 
 the least idea of his intentions. As soon as his first burst of 
 rage was over the sheik ordered four of the best camels to be 
 saddled and water-bottles to be filled. 
 
 "The fellow must be mad," he said as he walked up and 
 down before his tent; "he must know that he cannot escape; 
 he would be known as a slave by the first people he comes 
 upon, and it would only be a change of masters, and he would 
 be long before he finds one so gentle as I have been with 
 him." 
 
 "I do not think he has gone away to make a change in 
 masters," Amina said. "It is worse than that, I fear." 
 
 "What is it, Amina? What do you mean?" 
 
 " I fear that he has made for Khartoum to report that you 
 have a white slave here. He hates Muley, and I think that it 
 is to obtain vengeance on him that he has fled." 
 
 " You are right, Amina; that is what the son of Sheitan in- 
 tends to do. Quick! bring up those camels," he roared. 
 
 Three of the men were ordered to accompany him. Then 
 he gave orders that the rest of the camels should be loaded at 
 once with his goods, the valuables of the village, and a portion 
 of the crops, and that they should start without delay to the 
 oasis of Wady El Bahr Nile, or the valley of the Dry Eiver, 
 two days' journey to the west, driving with them the herd of 
 goats. 
 
 "If I do not catch him we must break up the douar," he 
 said, " and all who do not Avish to be found here by the Mahdi's 
 men had best be in readiness to start when we return. Let 
 half a dozen men and women go to the wady to look after the 
 goats and guard the property. The camels must be brought 
 back as soon as they get there." 
 
 Ten minutes later he and his three companions had disap- 
 peared from sight over the brow of the nearest sand-hill, while 
 all in the encampment were busy in preparing for their depar- 
 
PltKrAUATIONS FOR A MOVE. 295 
 
 tare. A camel was allotted to each of the ten tents of which 
 the camp consisted; three camels were claimed by Amina for 
 the sheik's possessions; the remaining six were to carry the 
 food. All who were not engaged were at once set to work 
 gathering the maize that was fit to pluck and cutting and tying 
 up into bundles the forage for the camels. 
 
 In three hours a great change had been effected in the ap- 
 pearance of the little valley. The sheik's tent and three others 
 remained standing, but the rest were levelled to the ground, 
 their occupants preferring to start at once rather than risk 
 being caught by the IMahdists. It was mid-day when the party 
 started. Edgar could hardly help smiling at the appearance 
 the camels presented, each animal being almost hidden by the 
 pile of baggage, bundles, cooking-pots, and articles of all kinds, 
 at the top of which were perched a woman and two or three 
 children. The men walked, as did many of the younger women 
 and boys and girls. 
 
 It would be a fatiguing journey, for they would travel with- 
 out a halt until morning, then rest until the sun was low again, 
 and again journey all night, when they would reach the wells 
 soon after daybreak. As it was but a two days' journey the 
 camels carried far heavier loads than would have been placed 
 upon them had it been one of longer duration. Amina took 
 the lead in the whole matter. She gave orders to the men, 
 scolded the women, and saw that everything was done in 
 order. 
 
 " Do you think that the sheik has any chance of catching 
 Hamish?" Edgar asked her as they stood together watching the 
 retreating line of camels. 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " Very little," she said, " unless the camel breaks down, which 
 is not likely, or he misses the track. When he once gains the 
 cultivated land he will turn the camel adrift and will make his 
 way on foot to Khartoum. He will avoid all villages where he 
 might be stopped and go straight to the city, where he will tell 
 
296 "HE WILL NEVER GO BACK." 
 
 his story to the first officer of the Mahdi he meets. If the 
 sheik does not overtake him before he gets beyond the limit of 
 the desert he will pursue no further. It would be useless. 
 He would never find him in the fields, where he might lie down 
 among the crops. It would only be waste of time to search for 
 him." 
 
 "Does Hamish know of the other wady?" 
 
 She nodded. " It may be that the Mahdists will not follow 
 further. It will depend upon the orders they have received. 
 Of course we shall leave someone here to watch, and if they 
 start for the wady he will bring us news before they get there." 
 
 "Are there any other wells'?" 
 
 " Xone nearer than six days' journey to the south. Then 
 there is a great cultivated country with many villages and 
 towns, but the journey would be terrible. I do not know what 
 Ave shall do. But do not be afraid, Muley; whatever we do 
 you will not be given up until the last thing. When my lord 
 once sets his face one way he never turns it. He has said the 
 Mahdi shall not have you, for you are his captive and none 
 other's, and he will never go back from that." 
 
 " You have been very good to me," Edgar said, " and I would 
 rather run my own risk than that suffering and perhaps death 
 should fall upon the women and children of the douar." 
 
 " My lord will never hear of it," she said. " When he has 
 said a thing he has said it. There is nothing to do now but 
 to wait until we learn what force is coming against us. There 
 is another encampment of the tribe in a wady two days' jour- 
 ney to the north, and we may summon help from there if the 
 party is not too strong. The great thing will be to kill Hamish, 
 for the Wady El Bahr Nile is known only to a few of our own 
 trilDO, and were he not with them they would not be able to 
 find their way there. Even this wady is known to few, for it 
 lies altogether beyond the track of caravans. But now there 
 is nothing to do but to wait until my lord returns. It will be, 
 I think, on the fourteenth day. You were eight days coming 
 
"ir WAS TiiK wrr.L of allaii." 297 
 
 across the desert. They will do it in six but will be eight uu 
 their return, for there will be no occasion for haste. Hamish 
 will take two more days to get to Khartoum; it may bo a day 
 or two before a party is sent out from there, and they will take 
 ten days getting here, so that it should be some days at least 
 afler my lord's return before tney appear." 
 
 "I am sorry, indeed, to have been the cause of so much 
 trouble falling upon you," Edgar said. 
 
 " It is not your fault. It was the will of Allah that you 
 should be brought here. But anyhow we should not have 
 stopped here much longer. We have been here six months 
 now, and my lord Avas saying but a few days since that as soon 
 as the rest of the crops were gathered he should send those who 
 are not fit to travel to El Bahr Nile, and should leave you there 
 and should start with the camels to Khartoum, sell our crops 
 there, and then carry merchandise to El-Obeid or some other 
 distant place. He has been waiting for things to settle down; 
 we have only been stopping here so long because trade has 
 been stopped by the siege of Khartoum, and since then he has 
 not ventured to go there lest his camels should be seized by the 
 Mahdi; but, as he said, he must risk something. Of what use 
 is it to have camels if you do not employ them. They are 
 getting fat and lazy; never have they had so long a rest before. 
 It matters nothing our having to leave this wady. The worst 
 is that the ]\Iahdi will be set against us, and that we shall have 
 to move away far from here to get trade." 
 
 '' It is possible that at the present time Khartoum is in the 
 hands of the English," Edgar said. " We have heard no news 
 from without since I came here three months ago now, and by 
 this time our expedition may have arrived there and the 
 ]\Iahdi's power may be altogether broken." 
 
 "I hope it may be so," the woman said; "before the Mahdi 
 came the country was peaceful and prosperous; there was 
 employment and trade for our camels, and all Avent about their 
 occupations unmolested. Now everything is changed; trade is 
 
298 "I AM BUT A WOMAN." 
 
 at an end, the villages are destroyed, and the fields deserted. 
 I know not how it will end. If the tribes would all turn to- 
 gether against them they would soon drive them out of the 
 land. But there is no hope of this ; we have our own quarrels, 
 and cannot unite even when everything is at stake. The Mahdi 
 may be the Mahdi, but what is that to us? He tells his 
 followers that he will lead them to conquer Egypt, and to go 
 to Jerusalem and Roum (Constantinople). But how is he to 
 do it when a handful of white soldiers defeated thousands of 
 his men in the desert? What would it be were he to meet 
 a great army of them ? It is one thing to fight the Egyptians 
 as they did at El-Obeid, but another when it is your soldiers. 
 I hear that multitudes of Osman Digma's men were slain down 
 by the sea, and yet they say they fought well." 
 
 "They did fight well," Edgar said. "I was there and saw 
 it; no men could have been braver; but we have terrible 
 weapons, and it was impossible for them to stand against them. 
 The Mahdi may say what he likes, but there is no more chance 
 of his taking Egypt as long as we stay there than there is of 
 his flying." 
 
 "Well, well!" the woman said, "it will be as Allah chooses. 
 You do not believe in Allah, Muley, you are a Kaffir." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," Edgar said; "we and you worship the 
 same God. We call him God, and you call him Allah; but 
 it is the same. Your Prophet acknowledges Moses and Christ 
 to be prophets. The only difference between us is that you 
 believe that Mohammed was also a prophet, and the greatest 
 of all, while we do not acknowledge that, but in other respects 
 there is no great difference between us." 
 
 " My lord will talk to you, Muley; I am but a woman, and 
 these things are not for us." 
 
 Each morning one of the boys remaining at the douar was 
 sent up to the crest of the sand-hills, and there remained all day 
 on watch. At the end of the thirteenth day the sheik's wife 
 gave orders that everything should be in readiness for instant 
 
UNSUCCESSFUL. 209 
 
 dopurturc. The ciuucls had returned on tlic previous day from 
 El Lahr Nile, having made two journeys there and back, and 
 were now ready for a fresh departure. There was a further 
 cutting of the crops until as much was gathered as would, 
 with the remaining tents and goods, make up a full load for 
 the camels, for as the party had not arrived it was almost 
 certain that they had not succeeded in overtaking the fugitive. 
 On the evening of the thirteenth day a shout from the boy on 
 the hill proclaimed that he saw figures coming. 
 
 "How many of them?" one of the men shouted to him. 
 
 " There are five camels, but only four of them are ridden." 
 
 There was a shout of satisfaction. This looked as if the 
 party had overtaken the fugitive, in which case they would 
 have brought the camel back and left the body of Hamish in 
 the desert. 
 
 A shout of welcome greeted the chief as he rode up. " You 
 have overtaken him, El Bakhat, I see; Bishmillah, God be 
 praised, we are safe from the trouble the treacherous dog 
 Avould have brought upon us ! " 
 
 The sheik shook his head. " The son of Sheitan has escaped. 
 We caught sight of him just at the edge of the desert, having 
 ridden with scarce an hour's rest from the time we started. 
 As soon as we did so Aboo and myself dismounted and started 
 in pursuit; but he must have seen us as soon as we cauglit 
 sight of him, for Avhen we came up to his camel it was alone. 
 We followed him to the edge of the cultivated lands, but the 
 grass was long and the crops stood in some places as high as 
 our heads, and it would have been useless searching for him, so 
 we brought the camels on, gave them water and a night's 
 halt to fill themselves in the fields, and then started back. 
 Has all been well?" 
 
 "All has been well," his wife replied. "The camels made 
 three journeys, have rested, and are ready to start afresh. We 
 have cut down as much as they can carry, and have indeed 
 left but little remainiu"." 
 
300 THE WADY DESERTED. 
 
 "We will start the day after to-morrow," the sheik said. 
 " Our camels need a rest, and time does not press. Before we 
 leave the wady we will set fire to the dry stalks and grass. 
 There is little that will not burn. We must destroy all that 
 we can, so that when they arrive here in search of us they shall 
 not be able to sit doAvn here, but must turn and travel back 
 with all speed, unless they decide to push on in pursuit of us 
 to Wady El Bahr Nile." 
 
 Two days later the tents were struck and the camels loaded 
 up; then when they had moved away, the dried grass and corn 
 stalks were fired at the windward end of the valley and in a 
 few minutes the flames swept along in a broad sheet, and in a 
 quarter of an hour a coating of gray ashes covered the soil 
 where lately the encampment with its surroundings of cultiva- 
 tion stood. Two of the men were left behind with fast camels. 
 They were to leave the animals a mile from the camp on its 
 northern side, so that they would neither be on the line by 
 which the enemy would come or that leading to the wady. 
 They had forage for their camels and food for themselves for 
 a fortnight. One was to remain by the camels, the other to 
 keep watch concealed among the sand-hills near the well. 
 
 If an enemy was seen approaching the watcher was to return 
 at once to the camels, take his own animal, and ride to the 
 wady Avith news as to their strength; the other was to remain 
 on watch until they either retired or set out on the track of 
 the fugitives, when he was to push forward with all sj)eed with 
 the news. A messenger was also sent off to the douar to the 
 north saying that an expedition of the Mahdi's men was on its 
 way out to plunder and destroy the encampments of the tribe, 
 and begging them to send to El Bahr Nile all their fighting 
 men in order that the dervishes should have such a lesson 
 that they would be well content to leave the tribes alone in 
 future. 
 
 As before, the women and children were perched on the 
 summit of their household goods on the top of the camels. 
 
"(iAN YOU SHOOT?" 301 
 
 r'oiitvary to tlieir usual custom most of tlio men walked, as the 
 camels wcro loaded to the full extent of their powers. 
 
 ]*]dgar had manufactured for himself, soon after liis aviival 
 at the camp, a pair of sandals from the skin of a goat that had 
 been killed for food, and lie was therefore able to keep up with 
 the camels with comfort. As it was considered that there was 
 no occasion for hurry, and as the camels were very heavily laden, 
 three days instead of two were devoted to the journey, and 
 even then it was a very fatiguing one for those on foot. On 
 arriving at El Bahr Nile Edgar found that the oasis was much 
 smaller than that they had quitted. The soil was rocky, and 
 although there were two large pools of clear water there was 
 but little ground round them in any way suitable for cultiva- 
 tion. Acacias and other shrubs, however, grew thickly down 
 the valley, showing that there was a certain amount of moisture 
 below the surface. The tents were soon erected by the side of 
 those of the first party, and when the fires were lighted and 
 the camels unloaded, taken to the water and then turned loose 
 to browse among the trees, the place assumed a home-like 
 appearance. 
 
 "You can shoot, Muley," the sheik said to Edgar. "If I 
 give you a gun will you fight against these dervishes 1 " 
 
 "Certainly I will, sheik." 
 
 " Your guns carry a long way; they are wonderful weapons. 
 At Metemmeh men were killed two miles away." 
 
 " Yes, they are good weapons, sheik, and I wish I had one 
 of them here, for I am afraid I should not be able to do much 
 ■\lljth your guns." 
 
 The sheik turned to his wife: "Fetch out that Kaffir gun, 
 Aniina." And to Edgar's surprise she brought out from the 
 tent a Martini rifle and a pouch filled with cartridges. This 
 gun had been found strapped on to one of the camels that had 
 been captured, and the sheik had appro})riated it for his own 
 use, concealing it in one of the bales, so that Edgar had not 
 noticed it when the camels were unloaded. 
 
302 A WONDERFUL GUN. 
 
 " I do not understand it," the sheik said; " it is much stranger 
 to me than our guns would be to you. I tried to put these brass 
 things with the bullet sticking out into it, but they would not 
 go into the barrel. You shall show me how to use it, but if 
 the dervishes come I will hand it to you, for you understand 
 it and will do much better with it than I should; but show 
 me how it works." 
 
 The sheik's astonishment was great when Edgar pushed the 
 lever, opened the breech, inserted a cartridge, and closing the 
 breech said that it was now loaded and could be fired at once. 
 
 "Fire at that rock," he said, " and then load again as quickly 
 as you can." 
 
 Edgar did so, and in a few seconds was again ready to fire. 
 
 " Inshallah!" the sheik exclaimed, "but it is wonderful. No 
 wonder that they tell me that the roar of the guns was like 
 never-ceasing thunder, and that the sound of one shot could 
 not be heard from another. Can you take out the cartridge 
 without firing?" 
 
 Edgar showed him how this was done, and the sheik then 
 repeatedly loaded and unloaded the gun until he could manip- 
 ulate it quickly. "And what is this thing ?" he asked, touching 
 the back sight. 
 
 Edgar explained to him that the sight was raised or lowered 
 according to the distance of the object to be aimed at. 
 
 "The Franks are wonderful men," the sheik said gravely; 
 " if they had but the true faith, and Allah was with them, no 
 one could stand against them. When the ammunition is used 
 up can you make morel" 
 
 Edgar shook his head. 
 
 "If I had caps to fit in here and a mould for the bullets I 
 could refill these cases two or three times, but after that the}'' 
 would be useless. Powerful machinery is used for making 
 these cases. It might be possible to have them made by hand 
 by a skilled worker in brass in Khartoum, but it would be very 
 expensive, and I am afraid, sheik, wlien the ammunition is 
 
HAD NEWS. 303 
 
 gone tlio gun would be useless unless you can procure some more 
 cartridge's from traders in Egypt; unless, indeed, my country- 
 men have retaken Khartoum, in which case I could obtain for 
 j'ou any quantity of cartridges." 
 
 " Your countrymen have retired to Korti," the sheik said. 
 
 Edgar gave a cry of disappointment. He had feared that 
 ■when the news of Gordon's death was known the expedition 
 might be abandoned; but he had still retained some hope that 
 it might advance to Khartoum. The news that they had already 
 fallen back to Korti came as a shock. 
 
 ^' How did you learn the news, sheik?" he asked presently. 
 " You did not say that 30U had spoken to anyone." 
 
 " Yes, we went a little way into the fields in hopes of catch- 
 ing sight of Hamish, and came upon two peasants who Avere 
 gathering the crop. They had seen nothing of the negro. 
 Upon questioning them as to what was going on at Khartoum 
 they said that the Mahdi was still all-powerful; that the Kaffirs 
 had fallen back from Mctemmeh and were scattered along the 
 river between Korti and Dongola; and that the Mahdi had an- 
 nounced that his forces would ere long advance, conquer Egypt, 
 and destroy the Kaffirs." 
 
 " Do you mean to wait for the attack of the Mahdi's men 
 here or to go to meet them?" Edgar asked after a long pause. 
 
 "If they come here too numerous to fight we must fly; but 
 if they are not too strong we will give them battle here. Why 
 should we go to meet them?" 
 
 " It is for you to decide," Edgar said. " I know nothing of 
 your Arab ways of fighting. But it seemed to me that it might 
 be better, if they are not altogether too strong, to meet them 
 as near the other wells as we can." 
 
 " But why so, Muley ? They would have water close to them 
 and we should have none. If one was wounded he would have 
 to be carried a long distance. Why do you advise that we 
 should fight them there?" 
 
 " You told me, sheik, that the existence of this well was only 
 
304 "YOUR PLAN IS A GOOD ONE." 
 
 known to you and your people and a small section of the 
 tribe." 
 
 " That is so, Muley. It is a secret that has been well guarded. 
 The Avady has served as a retreat many times in our history." 
 
 "If they come on and any of them go back again the secret 
 will be a secret no longer," Edgar said. "It is for this reason 
 that I thought that we had better go out and meet them. 
 There is but one man with them who knows the way hither, 
 and against him our balls should be all directed. If we kill 
 him they would be without a guide and would be unable to find 
 the way, for they would never venture into this desert knowing 
 that if they failed to find our well they might all perish for 
 want of water." 
 
 "You speak well," the sheik said. "I had not thought of 
 this; but I see that your plan is a good one. As soon as 1 learn 
 that they have arrived at the wells we will set out to meet them 
 unless their force is altogether too strong for us." 
 
 On the seventh day after their arrival at the wady the mes- 
 senger who had been despatched for aid returned. His news 
 was that the greater part of the men were away; they were ex- 
 pected in a few days, but it might be a week or more before 
 they came back. The sheik was unwilling to send off the few 
 men at the douar, but promised that as soon as his main force 
 returned he would set out with the whole strength of his fight- 
 ing men to their assistance. 
 
 Upon the following morning one of the men left to watch 
 the wells also returned. He had come through without stop- 
 ping, and reported that late in the evening before he left he 
 and his companions had seen a line of camels with some horse- 
 men coming towards the wells. He had waited until morning 
 in order to discover their force; he put it down as forty men. 
 
 "That is very bad news," the sheik said. "We can only 
 muster eighteen fighting men, and some of these are old and 
 others mere lads. They are two to one against us, and if we 
 were beaten and forced to fly their horsemen would overtake 
 
" I CARE NOT FOR DANGEK." 305 
 
 US and destroy us. Think it over, Mulcy; you :irc full of ex- 
 pedients." 
 
 "How many men do you expect to get from the other 
 douar?" 
 
 "Their encampment is the same size as ours; they are sure 
 to leave some of the old men to guard it, perhaps fifteen Avill 
 come. That will make our force nearly equal to theirs, and we 
 might defend this wady, though I doubt it, but I am sure that 
 they would beat us easily in the desert. They are almost all 
 armed with the rifles that they took at El-Obeid from Hicks 
 Pasha's men, and will have found an abundance of arms at 
 Khartoum; besides, these dervishes fight desperately. The 
 faith they have in the Mahdi gives them strength and courage ; 
 they do not care whether they die or live, and doubtless picked 
 men have been sent on the expedition. I fear there is nought 
 liefore us but flight, unless you with your knowledge of the 
 Frank method of war can hit upon some plan." 
 
 " I will think it over, sheik, but at present I see no way in 
 which we can withstand them. We might, of course, cut down 
 trees and make so strong a fort here that we might beat them 
 off; but in that case they might return in much greater numbers, 
 therefore it seems to me that if we fight we must fight at the 
 other wady." 
 
 "Then we cannot fight at all," the sheik said decisively. 
 " There are two to one against us, and it would be madness to 
 attack them Avhen they could with their horsemen cut off all 
 retreat." 
 
 " I will think, sheik," Edgar said, rising and walking away. 
 
 In half an hour he returned. " I have thought of a plan, 
 sheik, but it is not without great danger." 
 
 " I care not for danger," the sheik said, " so that it be but 
 possible." 
 
 "My idea is this: that we should load up all your camels 
 with closely -pressed bundles of forage; then that we should 
 advance a day's march across the desert; and there that we 
 
306 " WE WILL DO IT ! " 
 
 should form a zareba. With the forage we should, of course, 
 take water-skins with us, with sufficient to -last for at least a 
 week. I should send the camels back again as soon as they are 
 unloaded, and should order those w?io remained behind to load 
 all their goods upon them and to set out either for the other 
 douar of your tribe or for the villages to the south. I should 
 send a messenger to the other douar to say that we are going 
 to defend the zareba to the last and praying them to come at 
 once to our rescue, promising the moment they appear to sally 
 out and fall upon the dervishes while they attack them in rear. 
 Your messenger should point out that before they arrive a 
 number of the enemy will certainly have fallen in their attack 
 upon us, and we shall, therefore, be decidedly superior to them 
 in point of numbers." 
 
 "The plan is a bold one," the sheik said; "but do you think 
 that it would be possible for us to defend the zareba?" 
 
 " I think so, sheik. It need be but a small one some twelve 
 feet square inside. They will have to cross the open to attack 
 us, and outside we can protect it by a facing of prickly shrubs." 
 
 "We will do it!" the sheik said in a tone of determination, 
 springing to his feet. " One can but die once, and if we succeed 
 it will be a tale for the women of our tribe to tell for all time." 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE ZAREBA. 
 
 NO sooner had the sheik decided to carry out Edgar's plan 
 than he rapidly issued his orders. In five minutes the 
 whole of the inhabitants of the douar were at work, the boys 
 going out to fetch the camels, the men cutting down the long 
 grass near the well and laying it in great bundles very tightly 
 pressed together, the women cooking a large supply of flat 
 
A DESERT FORT. 307 
 
 cakes for tlio party. In two hours the preparations were com- 
 pleted and the twenty men mov^d off from the oasis. Thoy 
 travelled until ten o'clock in the evening. By the light of the 
 moon, which was four days short of full, the sheik and Edgar 
 selected a point for the erection of the zareba. It was a patch 
 of rock cropping up from the summit of a sand-hill that 
 fell away from it on all sides, and was just about the size re- 
 quired for the zareba. The camels were unloaded and the 
 bundles of forage laid down side by side and formed into a 
 square, the wall being some four feet thick and two feet high. 
 The whole party, including the boys who were to take back the 
 camels, then set to work to cut thorny bushes. These were 
 piled thickly at the foot of the rock all round, being kept in 
 their places by stakes driven into the sand and by ropes inter- 
 lacing them. The work was only completed just as daylight 
 broke. 
 
 " I don't think," Edgar said, walking round the little fort, 
 " that any men can get through this hedge of thorns until they 
 have pulled it away piece by piece, and that, with us lying in 
 shelter above and firing down upon them, will be a difficult task 
 indeed." 
 
 The Arabs, who had obeyed the chief's orders with reluctance 
 and had been very silent upon the journey out, were now jubi- 
 lant, feeling convinced that they could beat off the attack of 
 such a force as that which they heard was advancing. The 
 camels were now sent off, and they had scarcely disappeared 
 among the sand-hills when an Arab was seen approaching on a 
 camel. 
 
 "It is our scout," the sheik said; "he brings us news." 
 
 He tied a cloth to the end of a spear and waved it. A minute 
 later the camel's course was changed and the rider soon arrived 
 outside the fort. 
 
 " What is your news, Yussuf ?" 
 
 "They are going to start this morning," the man said. " I 
 crept in as soon as it became dark last night and made my way 
 
308 THE JIAHDISTS. 
 
 close up to them, and I gathered that they have decided to 
 march this morning on to Wady El Bahr Nile. They could not 
 stay where they were any longer as they had only brought with 
 them sufficient food for the camels for the march to the wady, 
 where they made sure they should find an abundant supply, 
 and having given them a day's rest they were going to push 
 forwards at once to the next wady, where they made certain 
 of finding the fugitives." 
 
 "Will they be here to-night ?" Edgar asked the sheik. 
 
 " I should think not, Muley. The regular halting-place is 
 five miles away, and as that is about half-way they will probably 
 stop there and start perhaps an hour before daybreak." 
 
 The scout was sent off to the wady with the news, and the 
 little garrison spent the day in strengthening their fort, 
 making another hedge of bushes three or four yards beyond 
 the other, and gathering a large number of the heaviest stones 
 they could find. These were laid on the grass rampart, which 
 was thus raised in height nearly a foot, openings being left in 
 the stones through which the defenders could thrust their guns 
 and fire without exposing their heads to the shots of the assail- 
 ants. This still further added to the confidence of the Arabs, 
 and when all was completed they indulged in defiant gestures 
 and wild yells signifying contempt, in the direction from which 
 the enemy would probably advance. 
 
 At nightfall two of the men were posted as sentries, as it 
 was possible the Mahdists might push straight forward. There 
 was, however, no alarm during the night; but just as day 
 broke the sentries reported that there were horsemen to be 
 seen in the distance. As there was no object in concealment 
 all leapt to their feet. Nine horsemen were seen on the brow 
 of a sand-hill some two miles away. They were presently lost 
 sight of as they descended into a dip, and a minute or two 
 later the line of camels was seen following in their steps. The 
 spear with the cloth was elevated as a flag; and when the 
 horsemen appeared on the next sand-hill, it was evident by the 
 
RECONNOITKING. 309 
 
 suddciiiioss with which they puUod up their horses that they 
 saw it. 
 
 Half a minute Uxtor they started again, this time at a canter. 
 When they came within half a mile the sheik asked, "Why do 
 you not tire, Muley; your gun will carry that distance easily'?" 
 
 " Double that distance if necessary, sheik. It is better not 
 to let them know that we have such a gun here until they get 
 close. It will be better for you to fire." 
 
 The sheik levelled his long gun and fired, and the horsemen 
 at once drew up, and after a little consultation two or three of 
 them rode off on each flank so as to make a circuit of this 
 unlooked-for obstacle, while one of the others rode back at 
 full speed to meet the camel train. As soon as it arrived the 
 riders, of whom there were two on each animal, dismounted. 
 The camels were led back to a hollow where they would be 
 safe from any stray bullet, and after a short pause one of the 
 horsemen again advanced and at a rapid pace made a circle 
 round the fort at a distance of two or three hundred yards 
 only. A scattered fire was opened by the defenders, but the 
 speed at which he was riding disconcerted their aim, and 
 having completed the circuit he rode off with a yell of defiance 
 to rejoin the party. 
 
 For half an hour no move was made. It was evident that 
 the strength of the position had disconcerted the dervishes, 
 who had expected to gain an almost bloodless victory. As, 
 however, Hamish assured them that at the very utmost the 
 sheik could put but twenty men in the field, including several 
 boys and old men, it was finally decided to attack, and 
 headed by the horsemen the dervishes started forward at a 
 run, uttering shrill yells as they did so. Edgar had persuaded 
 the chief that it would be useless to open fire until they were 
 within two or three hundred yards, as but few shots would 
 tell, and the men would be discouraged by finding that their 
 fire did not check the advance. The sheik therefore com- 
 manded tiis followers on no account to fire until he gave the 
 
310 THE ATTACK. 
 
 order. The dervishes, however, were not sparing of their 
 ammunition, and fired as they ran, the balls going for the most 
 part wide, although a few whistled over the heads of the de- 
 fenders and two or three struck the rampart. 
 
 "Now I think they are near enough, sheik," Edgar, who 
 had levelled his rifle at one of the horsemen, said. As he 
 spoke he pulled the trigger, and simultaneously with the sharp 
 crack of the piece the Arab threw up his arms and fell from 
 his horse. The sheik and five of his men fired almost at the 
 same moment. Kneeling as closely as they could, there was room 
 for but seven along the face of the fort fronting the enemy, 
 and at Edgar's suggestion the chief had divided the men into 
 three parties, each of which after firing was to fall to the rear 
 and reload, their places being taken by the others in succession. 
 Thus there would always be a reserve and the fire could be 
 kept up without interruption. Volley after volley was fired, 
 Edgar loading quickly enough to repeat his fire with each 
 squad. 
 
 So rapidly did the Arabs pass over the intervening ground 
 that they reached the outside hedge of thorns just as the party 
 who had first fired had again taken their places in front. Five 
 of the dervishes had fallen and several were wounded, but this 
 had not checked their speed for a moment, and under the 
 orders of their leaders they at once fell to work with their 
 swords and knives to destroy the hedge. The work was done 
 far more rapidly than Edgar had thought possible, and they 
 then fell upon the more formidable obstacle piled up against 
 the rocks, attacking it on three sides simultaneously. The 
 defenders now fired independently, each as fast as he could 
 load, Edgar shouting continuously "Steady ! steady! take a good 
 aim each time," and the sheik re-echoing his words. 
 
 The Arabs, however, were too excited to obey, and the 
 greater part of their shots were thrown away. Several of the 
 dervishes had fallen, but the process of clearing away the hedge 
 proceeded with alarming rapidity. The work was, however, 
 
r.KATRN OFF. 311 
 
 Speedily al)aiuloiiC(l ;it the face whcru E(lii,ar was stationed, tor 
 at each crack of his ritio a dervish foil. Leaving three of the 
 men to defend that face the rest joined the defenders at the 
 sides, the sheik taking the command on one side, Edgar on the 
 other. The fire now became more steady, the sheik enforcing 
 his orders by vigorous blows with the staff of his spear, while 
 Edgar's rifle on his side more than made up for his want of 
 influence with the men. 
 
 In their fury several of the dervishes sprang boldly into the 
 midst of the thorns and strove to climb up, but they were met 
 by the spears of the defenders, and not one gained an entrance. 
 It was less than ten minutes after the first shot had been fired 
 when the leader of the dervishes, seeing how fast his men were 
 falling and that they would soon be no stronger than the 
 defenders of the fort, called them off from the attack. As they 
 turned and ran the defenders leapt to their feet with yells of 
 triumph; but the dervishes, turning round, fired several shots. 
 The sheik received a ball in his shoulder and two of his com- 
 panions fell dead. The others at once took to their shelter 
 again, and kept up their fire until long after the last of the 
 dervishes was out of range. The moment the retreat began 
 Edgar looked out for his man, of whom he had not hitherto 
 caught a glimpse in the heat of the conflict. He soon caught 
 sight of him, and taking a steady and careful aim with his rifle 
 on a stone, fired, and Hamish fell headlong forward, the ball 
 having struck him fair between the shoulders. 
 
 A yell of triumph rose from the Arabs. The traitor wlio 
 had brought the Mahdists down upon them was punished; 
 the one man who could guide the foe to the wady was 
 killed. As soon as the enemy got out of reach of shot they 
 gathered in consultation. The defenders could see that the 
 discussion was excited and violent; they waved their arms, 
 stamped, and seemed on the point of coming to blows with 
 each other. While they were so engaged the garrison looked 
 out at the field of battle round the fort. No less than fifteen 
 
312 A CONSULTATION. 
 
 of the assailants had been killed, while of the defenders but 
 two, the one an old man and the other a boy, had fallen. 
 The sheik begged Edgar to bandage his shoulder; he seemed 
 to feel the pain but little, so delighted was he with the issue 
 of the contest. Edgar soaked a pad of the cotton cloth and 
 laid it on the wound, and then with long strips of the same 
 material bandaged the arm tightly to the side, and with other 
 strips fastened as well as he could the pad in its place. 
 
 " They are scattering over the sand-hills," one of the Arabs 
 said just as he had finished, and in a short time a dropping 
 fire was opened at the fort. 
 
 The Arabs would have replied, but the sheik said that it was 
 a waste of powder, for their guns would not carry as far as the 
 rifles in the hands of the dervishes, and it was better that they 
 should lie quiet behind their shelter and allow the enemy to 
 throw away their fire. 
 
 "AVhat will they do next, do you think, sheik'?" 
 
 "I do not think they will make another attack, Muley; at 
 any rate not in the daytime. They must know they are not 
 greatly superior to us in force, being now but twenty-five to 
 our eighteen, and no doubt many of them are wounded. They 
 may try to besiege us. They will know that we have a supply 
 of water — we should never have shut ourselves up here with- 
 out it — but that will fail in time." 
 
 " But their own supply will fail," Edgar said. " Probably 
 they have only brought enough Avith them for what they sup- 
 posed would be a two days' march to the wady." 
 
 " I should think, Muley, they will send all their camels back 
 to the wells, perhaps with one of their wounded men and 
 another. The wounded man will remain there in charge of 
 them, the other will bring two or three of them out with full 
 water-skins; he can make the journey there and back every 
 two days and can bring enough water for the men and horses. 
 I don't think they will send the horses away. They will do 
 with a small portion of water, and if greatly needed they 
 
'I HAVE AN IDEA, SIIKIK." 313 
 
 could start from hero at sunset, Icceiiiug among the sand-hills 
 until out of sight, reach the wells, drink their fill, and bo back 
 in the morning. If they attack at night it will bo between the 
 setting of the moon and daybreak." 
 
 "I should hardly think they would do that," Edgar said. 
 "We shall soon restore the thorn hedge, and they would 
 scarcely be mad enough to attack us when they know that we 
 have that })rotection and are almost as strong as they are. 
 If it were not that we do not want them to know the way to 
 the wady I should say that we could venture to sally out and 
 march back, but that would cost us a good many lives, for the 
 horsemen could ride on ahead, dismount, open fire on us from 
 the sanddiills, and be off again on their horses when we went 
 up to attack them. No, I think we cannot do better than 
 follow our original plan. Our water will hold out for a week, 
 and by putting ourselves on short allowance at the end of a 
 day or two if we find that they are determined to wait, we can 
 make it last for nearly a fortnight, and long before that your 
 tribesmen ought to be here, and in that case only the mounted 
 men will escape us. Three of their horses lie dead outside, so 
 there are but five left." 
 
 "Ah! if we could but cut them all off," the sheik said in a 
 tone of fury, "then we might be safe for a long time. If any of 
 them get back to tell the tale the Mahdi will send a force next 
 time that there will be no resisting." 
 
 Edgar sat thinking for a minute or two. 
 
 "I have an idea, sheik," he said at last. "Send off one of 
 your boys as soon as the moon sets, let him go to El Bahr 
 Nile. When your friends arrive he will tell them of the 
 repulse we have given the dervishes, and that there are now 
 but twenty-five of them, several of whom are doubtless wounded. 
 Tell them that if but ten men come to aid us we can defeat 
 them; let the other ten, that is if twenty arrive, start first, and 
 turning off the track make a detour and come down at night 
 upon the wady. There they will find but one man with the 
 
314 " HE WAS A GREAT MAN." 
 
 camels; but they must not show themselves, but must hide 
 close at hand. Then when the horsemen arrive they must 
 make an ambush, and either shoot them down as they pass or 
 let them go through to the wells. They are sure to wait there 
 for a few hours, and they can fall upon them there. Let the 
 men be ordered to fire only at the horses; they can deal with 
 the men after they have dismounted. The great thing is to 
 prevent the horsemen getting away." 
 
 " Mashallah, Muley, your plan is a grand one. Had j^ou 
 been bred in the desert you could not have better understood 
 our warfare. What a pity it is that you are a Kaffir ! You 
 would have been a great sheik had you been a true believer." 
 
 "Gordon Pasha was a Kaffir," Edgar replied, "but he was 
 greater than any sheik." 
 
 "He was a great man indeed," the sheik said; "he was a 
 very father to the people; there was no withstanding him. 
 We fought against him, for our interest lay with the slave- 
 dealing, but he scattered us like sheep. Yes, Gordon was a 
 great man though, as you say, he was a Kaffir;" and the sheik 
 sat in silence, meditating upon what seemed to him an inscru- 
 table problem. 
 
 While the conversation had been going on, the bullets of the 
 enemy continued to whistle round the zareba. 
 
 "I will try and put a stop to that," Edgar said; "we have a 
 rifle here as much better than theirs, as theirs are superior to 
 the guns of your tribesmen." 
 
 The nearest hill was some four or five hundred yards away, 
 and on this several of the Arabs could be seen. Sure that 
 they were nearly out of gun-shot, they took but little pains to 
 conceal themselves. Edgar rested his rifle on a stone and took 
 a steady aim at three of them who were sitting together. He 
 fired. A yell of dismay came across the air; two of the figures 
 leapt to their feet and ran back. A moment later four or five 
 others who had been firing from among the bushes also dashed 
 away, while a triumphant yell rose from the zareba. 
 
A MESSENGER CETS AWAV. 315 
 
 "Tliat is ono ciieiuy the less," Edgar said, "and 1 don't 
 think tho otliers will trouble us much in future. They nmst 
 know that they can be doing us no harm, and now they discover 
 they are not going to have it all their own way we sliall not 
 hear much more of them." 
 
 Shots were indeed fired occasionally from the bashes and 
 eminences, but the discharges were far apart, and seemed to 
 be intended rather to show the defenders of the zareba that 
 they were surrounded than for any other purpose. The day 
 passed without any further event. As soon as the sun had 
 fairly set the defenders sallied out and repaired the hedge. 
 The enemy probably guessed that they were so employed, and 
 kept up a much heavier fire than they had done during the day. 
 Edgar, lying in the zareba, replied, steadily firing at the 
 flashes, and after a time the firing of the enemy slackened, and 
 the defenders, Avhen they had completed the hedge, re-entered 
 the zareba through a very narrow gap that had been left for the 
 purpose, carrying with them one of their number whose leg 
 had been broken just above the ankle by one of the enemy's 
 bullets. Under the sheik's instructions some rough splints 
 were made to keep the bone in its proper position, and ban- 
 dages were then applied. 
 
 Four sentries were posted, one at each corner of the fort, and 
 the rest of the garrison lay down to sleep. Twice during the 
 night they sprang to their feet at the discharge of the gun of one 
 of the sentries, but as no movement of the enemy followed they 
 soon lay down again, supposing that either the alarm had been 
 a false one, and that the sentry had fired at some low bush, or 
 that, if he had really seen a man, the latter had made off as 
 soon as he had discovered that the garrison were awake and 
 vigilant. As soon as the moon set the sheik despatched one of 
 the young men to the wady. His instructions were to crawl 
 carefully, taking advantage of every bush until he deemed him- 
 self well beyond any of the enemy who might be watching, and 
 then to start at full speed. If he were fired at, he was, if the 
 
316 THE FALLEN. 
 
 enemy were still in front of him, to run back to the zareba; if 
 they were behind him, to press forward at full speed. 
 
 For an hour after he had left the garrison listened anxiously. 
 They were all under arms now, lest the enemy should try and 
 attack during the darkness. No sounds, however, broke the 
 stillness of the plain, and they were at last assured that their 
 messenger had got safely through. For four days the blockade 
 continued, an occasional exchange of shots being kept up. 
 The dervishes, however, since they had learnt the range of 
 Edgar's rifle, seldom showed themselves, but crept among the 
 rocks and bushes, fired a shot, and then crawled off again to 
 repeat the operation fifty or a hundred yards away. When the 
 hedge had been repaired on the night after the fight the defen- 
 ders buried their own dead in the sand a short distance off, 
 and had dragged the bodies of their fallen enemies fifty yards 
 away, as, had the siege lasted many days, the fort would have 
 otherwise become uninhabitable. 
 
 In the moi'ning one of the Arabs had yelled to the besiegers 
 that the bodies were lying fifty yards away in front of the fort, 
 and that four of them were free to come and carry them away 
 or bury them as they chose. The invitation passed unregarded, 
 but during the next night the bodies were all removed. The 
 sentries were ordered not to fire if they heard any noise in that 
 direction, for, as Edgar pointed out to the sheik, it was impor- 
 tant that the bodies should be carried away. The next day 
 several of the Arabs went out and raised heaps of sand over the 
 horses that still lay just outside the hedge. 
 
 The fourth night after his departure the messenger returned 
 with the news that the tribesmen, eighteen in number, had 
 arrived in the afternoon. They would carry out the sheik's 
 orders. They were mounting fresh camels just as he started. 
 Nine of them would hide among the sand-hills two or three 
 miles away, and would there remain for twenty-four hours so as 
 to give time for the others to get up to the wells. The sheik 
 commanding the party had suggested that soon after daybreak 
 
A SOUTIK 317 
 
 tlio (lefciidcrs of the fort should sally out and advance in the 
 direction where the dervishes' camp was situated, as if intend- 
 ing to make an attack. This would bring in all the enemy who 
 niight be scattered among the sand-hills near the zareba. As 
 soon as the engagement began he, with his men, would fall 
 upon the rear of the dervishes. 
 
 "Do you think that that is a good plan, Muley?" 
 
 "I think so, sheik. You see, if we merely wanted to defeat 
 them one would not wish them to rally into one body; but as 
 our groat object is to prevent any from returning, it is much 
 better to do as the sheik suggests and let them get all 
 together." 
 
 The day passed as usual, and the next morning^ shortly 
 before sunrise the defenders of the fort issued out. The 
 assailants were on the watch, and from four or five different 
 points round the zarelm shots were fired. Taking advantage 
 of every bush the Arabs advanced slowly under the direction 
 of their sheik. The dervishes, believing that the garrison must 
 have been driven from their defences by thirst, and that they 
 were now in their power, rapidly gathered their force and ad- 
 vanced to meet their opponents. At first they did so carelessly, 
 but they were checked by the fall of one of their leaders by 
 a ball from Edgar's rifle. They then advanced a little more 
 cautiously. Edgar kept close to the sheik. 
 
 "They will make a rush soon," he said; "tell the men not 
 to fire till they rise to their feet." 
 
 " Where are the others ? " the sheik growled; " if they do not 
 come we shall be outnumbered." 
 
 "Not by much, sheik; one or two of their men are certainly 
 away with the camels, and we shall drop two or three more of 
 them at least when they make their rush; the others are sure 
 to be up directly. There, look ! There they are on the top of 
 the sand-hills the dervishes have been fix'ing from." 
 
 The enemy had now approached to within a hundred yards, 
 and were just preparing for a rush when a shout of welcome 
 
318 A HAND-TO-HAND FIGHT. 
 
 broke from the party in front of them and was at once echoed 
 from the re^. The dervishes sprang to their feet in surprise 
 and alarm, but one of their leaders exclaimed, " There are but 
 a few of them! Slay these in front first, then we will destroy 
 those in our rear!" 
 
 With a yell of defiance the dervishes dashed forward. The 
 sheik's party poured in a volley as they did so, and then 
 grasping their spears sprang to their feet, Edgar alone remain- 
 ing prone, and firing four more shots as the dervishes traversed 
 the intervening space. There was little disparity of numbers 
 when the parties met. The sheik had, at Edgar's suggestion, 
 ordered his men to form in a compact group with their spears 
 pointing outward, as the great point was to withstand the rush 
 until their friends came up. But the dervishes recklessly threw 
 themselves upon the spears, and in a moment all were engaged 
 in a hand-to-hand fight. Edgar, feeling that with a clubbed 
 rifle he should have no chance against the spears and swords 
 of the Arabs, kept between the sheik and two of his most 
 trusted followers, and loading as quickly as he could throw out 
 and drop in the cartridges, brought down four men who rushed 
 one after another upon them. 
 
 It seemed an age to him, but it was scarce more than a 
 minute after the combatants had closed that, with a shout, the 
 ten new-comers arrived on the scene. Edgar dropped a fresh 
 cartridge into his rifle and stood quiet; he had no wish to join 
 in the slaughter. The dervishes fought desperately, and none 
 asked for quarter, and in two or three minutes the combat was 
 over and all had fallen, save three or four men who had extri- 
 cated themselves from the fight and dashed ofi" at the top of 
 their speed, quickly pursued by the exultant victors. To 
 Edgar's surprise they did not run in the direction of the sand- 
 hill behind which he had thought their camp was made, but 
 bore away to the south. 
 
 Pursuers and pursued were soon out of sight, and Edgar 
 turned to see how his companions had fared. Three of them 
 
"IT HAS BEEN A GREAT DAY." 319 
 
 li;i<l 1)0011 killed ami six of the others had received spear-thrusts 
 or sword-cuts more or less severe. 
 
 "It would have gone hard with us, sheik, if our friends had 
 not come up." 
 
 "We sliould have beaten them," the sheik said. "That gun 
 of yours would have turned the scale. Had it not been for 
 that they would have been too strong for us, for they were all 
 fighting men in their prime, and five or six of my men were 
 no match for them in a hand-to-hand fight. Mashallah ! it has 
 been a great day; it will be talked of long in our tribe, how, 
 with but twenty men, and many of these not at their best, we 
 withstood forty dervishes, and so beat them that when a rein- 
 forcement of eight men came to us we destroyed them alto- 
 gether." 
 
 "Four may have got away," Edgar said; "they must have 
 left their horses in the direction in which they fled. I sup- 
 pose they feared that some of us might crawl out and ham- 
 string them did they picket them near their camp. When I 
 first saw our friends on the hill my first thought was that we 
 had done wrong not to bid them secure the horses before they 
 attacked. Now I see that they could not have found them; 
 and it was well you sent no such orders, for had you done so 
 they might have lost time looking for them and have arrived 
 late." 
 
 For half an hour those unwounded of the party were 
 occupied in bandaging up the wounds of the others. At the 
 end of that time the men who had pursued the fugitives had 
 arrived. 
 
 "Have you caught them?" the sheik asked as they ap- 
 proached. 
 
 " We overtook two and killed them, but the others reached 
 the horses. A man was waiting there in charge of them, and 
 the three rode off leading the fourth horse ; but never fear, our 
 men will catch them at the next wells. 
 
 The bodies of the fallen dervishes had been examined, and 
 
320 THE RETURN OF THE VICTORS. 
 
 it was found that among the fallen were all the leaders, these 
 being distinguishable by their gay garments from the others, 
 who simply wore the long white shirt that formed, with a coloured 
 straw skull-cap, the uniform of the Mahdi's men. The two 
 men who had escaped belonged to the rank and file. The joy 
 of the Arabs was extreme. They loaded and fired ofi" their 
 muskets, yelled, danced, and gesticulated. They did not 
 believe in the Mahdi, but his followers had come to be con- 
 sidered among them as invincible. It was therefore a triumph 
 indeed for the tribe that this invading party had been annihi- 
 lated. 
 
 The new-comers were surprised at finding a white man 
 among the defenders of the fort; and the sheik was so proud 
 of his possession that he did not hesitate to say that their 
 successful defence was chiefly due to the advice of this slave, 
 whom he described as being, although so young, a great cap- 
 tain. Preparations were now made for a start. The camels 
 of the new-comers were brought up from the spot where they 
 had left them on advancing to take part in the fight. The six 
 wounded men each mounted a camel behind its rider. The 
 sheik and three of his principal followers mounted behind the 
 riders of the other four camels. The rest proceeded on foot, 
 two men being left behind at the fort with instructions that 
 when the eight men who had gone on to the other wady 
 returned with their own camels and the seventeen camels of 
 the dervishes, all were to be loaded up to the extent of their 
 power with the bundles of forage that had done such good 
 service as the basis of the fort, for the supply at the wady 
 had been very nearly all cut down, and food would be required 
 for the camels until a fresh supply sprang up. 
 
 The wady was reached at sunset, and a messenger was at 
 once sent off to the spot where, in accordance with the sheik's 
 orders, the women and children with the camels were halted 
 until news should arrive of the result of the fight. It was six 
 miles away, and it was midnight when the party arrived. 
 
REJOICINGS. 321 
 
 Great fires had been lighted, and tlicre was a scene of the 
 liveliest rejoicing as the women and children arrived. There 
 was no thought of sleep that night. The story of the battle 
 was told over and over again, every incident l^eing rehearsed 
 with apjiropriate gesture, and even the friends of the six who 
 had fallen restrained their grief for the time, partly from pride 
 that they had died so honourably, partl}^ because any show of 
 grief would have been out of place amid the rejoicings for so 
 great an exploit. 
 
 With the exception of the children Edgar was the only 
 occupant of the douar Avho closed an eye that night. He had 
 waited up until the return of the camels and women, had 
 assisted to unload the animals with the eheik's tent and bag- 
 gage, and to put things into something like order, and had 
 then withdrawn himself from the groups of excited talkers by 
 the fire, and thrown himself down among the bushes some 
 distance away. 
 
 He had had but little sleep from the time the party had 
 marched to meet the dervishes. It was upon his advice that 
 they had gone, and he felt himself to some extent responsible 
 for the result. During the time the siege had lasted scarce 
 half an hour had passed without his rising to see that the 
 sentries were vigilant, and to assure himself that the silence 
 of the desert was unbroken. The night before he had not 
 thought of sleep. He had no doubt that the Arabs who were 
 coming to their assistance would do their best to arrive at the 
 right moment; still, something might occur to detain them a 
 little, and although the Arabs had behaved with great bravery 
 hitherto, he felt sure that in a fight in the open they would be 
 no match against the fanatical dervishes, who always fought 
 with a full assurance of victory, and were absolutely indifterent 
 as to their OAvn lives. He had seen them three times at work, 
 and held their courage in the deepest respect. 
 
 The next day there was a grand feast, several kids being 
 slaughtered for the purpose. The following morning a cara 
 
 (G50) X 
 
322 THE SPOIL DIVIDED. 
 
 van was seen approaching, and the whole encampment turned 
 out to meet it, the men discharging their guns and shouting 
 cries of triumph and welcome, to which the new-comers replied 
 with many shouts. In front of the caravan two horses were 
 led; then followed the camels of the dervishes, behind which 
 came those of their captors. 
 
 The sheik pressed forward to the leader of the party. 
 
 "There were four horses and three men," he said; "have 
 you them all?" 
 
 "Two of the horses and the men were killed," he replied. 
 "The others, as you see, we captured." 
 
 "Allah be praised!" the sheik said fervently; "then not 
 one of the dervishes has escaped, and the secret of our place 
 of refuge here is preserved." 
 
 Some more kids were killed and another grand feast was 
 held. The captured camels were divided between the two 
 parties. The sheik took one of the horses and the leader of 
 the other party the second, and on the following morning the 
 rescuing party started on their return journey to the wady 
 they had left a week before, greatly satisfied with their jour- 
 ney. They had lost three men in the fight with the dervishes, 
 but were the richer by eight camels, a horse, and the arms 
 and ammunition of ten of the dervishes, that being the num- 
 ber they had accounted for, while thirty had been killed by 
 the defenders of the zareba. 
 
 Edgar had been fully occupied during those days assisting 
 the negro slave who had remained with the party left behind 
 in looking after the camels, drawing water, and fetching wood 
 for the fire. The sheik had spoken little to him since his 
 return, being busied with the duties of entertaining his guests ; 
 but it was evident that he had highly commended him to his 
 wife, who bestowed upon him night and morning a bowl of 
 camel's milk in addition to his ordinary rations. After the 
 caravan had started the sheik called him into his tent. 
 
 " Muley," he said, "you have done us great service. I acted 
 
THE sheik's offer. 323 
 
 upon 3'onv advico and it has turned out well; and you have 
 shown that you are a brave fighter as well as one strong in 
 counsel. I have no son, and if you are willing -to accept the 
 true faith I will adopt you as my son, and you will be no 
 longer a slave but one of the tribe." 
 
 Edgar was silent for a minute or two, thinking over how 
 he had best couch his refusal in terras that would not anger 
 the sheik. Then he said, "I am indeed grateful for your offer, 
 sheik, which does me great honour, but were I to accept it 
 I know that even in your eyes I should be viewed with con- 
 tempt. Had our people captured Metemmeh when you were 
 there, and carried you off a prisoner, I know well that you 
 Avould have treated with scorn any offer my people might have 
 made you of a post of honour and wealth among us if you 
 would have abjured Mohammed and become a Christian. You 
 would have died first." 
 
 " That would I indeed ! " the sheik exclaimed hotly. 
 
 " Honourable men do not change their religion for profit, 
 sheik. You were born a follower of the Prophet, I was born 
 a Christian. We both believe what we were taught as chil- 
 dren; it is in our blood and cannot be changed. Were I to 
 say the words that would make me a Mohammedan, you know 
 well that I should say them with my lips and not with my 
 heart, that I should be a false Mohammedan as well as a false 
 Christian. I could as easily change the colour of my skin as 
 my religion, and you in your heart would be the first to con- 
 demn and despise me did I do so." 
 
 The sheik sat for some time stroking his chin in silence. 
 "You are right, Muley," he said at last; "a man cannot change 
 his religion as he can his coat. I did not think of it when I 
 made the offer; but as you say, I would rather die a thousand 
 deaths than abjure Mohammed; and though I now think you 
 worthy to be my son, and to become a sheik after me, I might 
 not think you worthy did you become a renegade." 
 
 " Believe me, sheik," Edgar said, rising, " I feel deeply the 
 
324 "I AM SORRY." 
 
 kindness of your offer, and so long as I remain with you I 
 shall take as much interest in the tribe as if I were a member 
 of it, and I shall do my best to prove myself your faithful 
 slave. You saved my life by refusing to hand me over to the 
 Mahdi. I shall never forget it, and shall be ready at all times 
 to risk it for you, for my kind mistress, and for the tribe." 
 
 "You have spoken well, Muley, and although I am sorry, 
 I cannot feel angered at your decision." 
 
 Edgar saw that the interview was over, and left the tent, 
 well content that he had been able to refuse the offer without 
 exciting the anger of the sheik. For another two months 
 the tribe remained in the wady. By that time forage was 
 running short, and the sheik announced his intention of leav- 
 ing it for a time and of going to El-Obeid, where he might 
 obtain employment for his camels by some trader. Edgar was 
 pleased at the news. His chances of escape from their present 
 position in the desert were small indeed, but opportunities 
 might present themselves during a trading journey. 
 
 He knew that some time must yet elapse before he could 
 speak the language sufficiently well to hope to pass as a native, 
 although he could make himself understood fairly and com- 
 prehend the purport of all that was said to him; still he would 
 gain an acquaintance with the country and learn more of its 
 peoples. He saw that he could not hope to pass as one of 
 the Arab tribesmen, but that if his escape was to be made at 
 all it must be in the disguise of a trader in one of the towns. 
 Four days later the tents were levelled, the belongings of the 
 tribes packed on the camels, and the caravan left the wady 
 on its march across the desert. 
 
THE START. 326 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A LONG SEARCH. 
 
 IT was Avith mixed feelings that Rupert turned on his camel 
 to take a last view of the camp at Korti. When should 
 he see his countrj^men againi Should he ever see them? His 
 journey was sure to be a long one, and there would be the 
 constant danger of discovery. He had to trust entirely in 
 tlie fidelity of the three men riding ahead of him. It was 
 true that their love of gain was also enlisted on his side, 
 but it might well be that they would in time conclude it 
 would be as Avell to be contented with the goods they had 
 already received in part payment and with the two valuable 
 camels, instead of continuing to run the risk of a prolonged 
 journey in his company in order to earn the sum promised 
 upon his arrival in Egypt or at a port on the Red Sea. How- 
 ever the die was cast, and he had no wish to withdraw from 
 the task he had undertaken; and, with a wave of his hand 
 towards the distant camp, he turned and set his face forwards 
 to the desert. 
 
 The sheik was seated upon one of the heiries, two laden 
 camels followed, each tied with his head-rope to the tail of the 
 one in front. Then followed one of the tribesmen on the other 
 heirie with two laden camels; three more were led by the 
 other Arab. Rupert himself and Ibrahim brought up the rear 
 of the procession, each with three loaded camels following that 
 upon which he was riding. He wore a cotton cloth which 
 passed over one shoulder and was wrapped round the waist, 
 while a second formed a sort of petticoat. The sheik would 
 have preferred that he should have dispensed with the cloth 
 over his shoulder, but Rupert pointed out that this was really 
 essential to him, as he could while travelling wrap it round 
 both shoulders and so protect his skin from the rays of the sun, 
 
326 THE FIRST HALT. 
 
 which, were he naked from the waist, would in a very short 
 time raise blisters over the whole of his body. His wig, with 
 its wild tangle of long hair, acted as a capital protection to his 
 head. 
 
 On the saddle was fastened a long Arab gun, a sword and 
 knife were stuck into his girdle, and he carried a long spear in 
 his hand. One of the baggage camels was laden with stores 
 for his personal use on the journey, consisting of a number 
 of jars of Liebig, cocoa, and milk, some tins of tea, a box or 
 two of biscuits, some tins of preserved vegetables, a case or 
 two of arrow -root, and a store of medicine, chiefly saline 
 draughts, quinine, and ipecacuanha. The eatables he calculated 
 would afford him a morning meal for many months — for the 
 main articles of his diet, he depended of course upon such food 
 as the Arabs would obtain — by the end of which time he hoped 
 to have fallen completely into native habits, and to be able to 
 content himself with such food as his guides might subsist 
 upon. 
 
 At nightfall they halted at some wells. These were farther 
 to the east than those which the desert column had used in its 
 march to Metemmeh. Rupert had observed that a short time 
 after they had got fairly into the desert the sheik had altered 
 the line on which he was proceeding. He had had but little 
 talk with him since the bargain had been concluded, as the 
 Arab had considered it better that they should not be seen 
 together, as some of the other natives in camp might notice 
 it, and should they meet afterwards the circumstance might 
 lead to his detection. 
 
 To Eupert the course taken was absolutely indifferent. He 
 knew that the journey must be a very long one, and as he had 
 only to trust to chance and the sagacity of his companions, 
 there had been no discussion whatever as to the route to be 
 taken. After a time Ibrahim, weary of the silence, urged his 
 camel on until he came up level with that of Rupert. 
 
 " Well, Ibrahim, we are fairly on our way." 
 
ii;i;aiiim is j'uz/lki*. 327 
 
 " Vcs, my lord, we Ikivh cut onr stick and no niistalvc." 
 
 Ivupert smiled. Ibrahim had picked up his knowledge of 
 English at Alexandria, and his conversation abounded with 
 slang phrases which he used in perfect seriousness. 
 
 " There is no objection to your calling me my lord when avc 
 speak in English, Ibrahim, but when we are talking in Arabic 
 be sure you always call me Hamza; that is what I am now. 
 AVliat do you think of this journey, Ibrahim?" 
 
 Ibrahim shrugged his shoulders. "It is all the same to 
 me , better here than in boat. Soldier man good to fight, but 
 very rough in tongue; call Ibrahim all sorts of names, some- 
 times Darkie, sometimes Mate, sometimes call him Nigger, that 
 very bad, sah. One man call him Cockalorham. What is 
 Cockalorham, sah 'i " 
 
 Rupert laughed. "Cockalorum means nothing in particu- 
 lar, Iljrahim; it is rather a friendly sort of address: it means 
 good sort of fellow. That wasn't so bad." 
 
 " No. That not so bad. Then one soldier call him Jocko; 
 that name for a monkey, sah; these things very unpleasant." 
 
 "But they don't mean anything, Ibrahim. They call each 
 other all sorts of names too." 
 
 "That so," Ibrahim said, nodding his head, "very funny 
 names; often call each other blooming something or other. 
 Ibrahim always carry a dictionary; he look out blooming; 
 blooming same as blossoming, means plants out in flower, 
 Ibrahim could not make head or tail of them. Lots of other 
 words, bad words, Ibrahim could not understand." 
 
 "They do not mean anything, Ibrahim; it is just an ugly 
 way of talking. They all mean the same, 'very much' or 'very 
 great,' nothing more or less. Now we had better go on talking 
 Arabic." 
 
 " No words like those in Arabic," Ibrahim said. " Arab 
 man say what he wants to say, proper words." 
 
 "I don't know, Ibrahim. When I have seen Arabs cjuar- 
 relling they shout and scream at each other, and though I 
 
328 ROUND BY BERJ'.ER, 
 
 don't know what they say I should think they were using 
 pretty strong expressions whatever they may be." 
 
 " Yes, when angry call bad names, one understand that, my 
 lord; but white soldier and sailor use bad words when not 
 angry at all." • 
 
 "It is habit, Ibrahim, and a very bad habit; but, as I tell 
 you, it doesn't really mean anything. You see we have turned 
 east," he went on in Arabic. 
 
 Ibrahim nodded. " Not go straight to Metemmeh," he said. 
 "I expect the sheik is going round by Berber." 
 
 Such proved to be the case, for when they halted for the 
 night the sheik explained to Rupert, by means of Ibrahim, 
 that he intended to follow the course of the river for the 
 present. He should keep on the edge of the desert until they 
 had passed the point at which the boat expedition had arrived. 
 There would be no chance of the prisoner having been brought 
 down anywhere in the neighbourhood of the British, but as 
 most of the tribes had sent contingents to fight the whites as 
 they advanced against Metemmeh, the captive might be any- 
 where beyond the point reached by the expedition, and it 
 would be better to search regularly on their way up, as they 
 might otherwise leave him behind them. 
 
 Another advantage was that the regular caravan track left 
 the Nile a hundred miles below Dongola, and struck across the 
 desert to the elbow of the river below Berber, and that when he 
 got upon that route it would be supposed that he had travelled 
 all along by it, and he would thereby avoid the suspicion of 
 having been trading with the British camp. Rupert quite agreed 
 with the justice of this reasoning. The sheik selected a route 
 that led them through a desolate country, and they reached the 
 elbow of the Nile without encountering any natives, save two 
 or three small parties at wells, from the time they left camp. 
 This course was dictated not only by the reason that he had 
 given Rupert, but by a fear for the safety of the caravan. 
 
 The tribes along the main routes of travel respected the 
 
TRADING. 329 
 
 traders that passed along them; free passage was essential to 
 all the towns and peo})les lying further in the interior, and any 
 interferouce Avith the caravan routes would have been resented 
 and punished; but the tribes lying within the great loop 
 formed by the bend of the river were true Ishinaelites, whose 
 hand was against every one, and who regarded all passing through 
 their territory as lawful prey. The sheik therefore conducted 
 the march by routes but little traversed even by the natives, 
 avoiding all localities where they Avere likely to be met with, 
 and he was greatly pleased when, after ten days' travel, they 
 encamped on the banks of the river just above the elbow. The 
 main caravan track lay upon the opposite side, but at this 
 season of the year, when the Nile was very low, it was fordable 
 at several points, and caravans often selected the western bank 
 of the river for their passage. They were now again in a 
 comparatively populous country; villages surrounded by belts 
 of cultivated land occurred at short intervals, and at these they 
 were received with a hearty welcome, for since the war had 
 begun trade had come almost to a stand-still. 
 
 Two or three of the camels were loaded with merchandise 
 specially fitted for the wants of the natives : cheap cottons, tin- 
 ware, trinkets, iron heads of tools, knives, cheap silk handker- 
 chiefs and scarves for the women. These had been bought from 
 some entei^prising traders who had set up a store at Korti. A 
 few of the bales were unpacked at the first village at which 
 they arrived; small presents were given as usual to the chief 
 man of the place, and a brisk trade at once commenced. As 
 the camels were fully loaded, Eupert Avondered Avhat the sheik 
 would do with the goods he obtained in exchange, which con- 
 sisted chiefly of native cottons and other articles considerably 
 more bulky than those Avhich he gave for them; but he found 
 that he had entered into an arrangement Avith the head of the 
 village by A\diich the latter agreed to take charge of all the 
 merchandise until his return. 
 
 " It will be perfectly safe," the sheik said, " if I do not 
 
330 FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE. 
 
 return for a couple of years. If I never return it will be no 
 great loss, since I have purchased the goods with the monies 
 I have received from you. If I return this way my camels 
 will be unloaded, and I shall pick up the goods at the various 
 villages through which I pass and bring them all down here, 
 and then sell them to some trader who has boats in which he 
 will take them down the river." 
 
 Rupert was now called upon to play his part in earnest. 
 He and Ibrahim were treated by the sheik when in the villages 
 as two slaves, and while he and his companions exhibited their 
 goods and drove bargains with the villagers, Eupert and 
 Ibrahim unloaded the camels, drove them out to pasture, 
 and took them down to the river to drink, taking their meals 
 as they could ajjart from the rest. On these occasions the 
 stores were untouched, and Rupert and his companion made 
 their meals on dry dates and cakes of coarse flour baked in the 
 ashes of their fire. Ibrahim was fortunately a light-hearted 
 fellow and made the best of matters, joking at the idea of the 
 Arabs feasting upon their stew of kid or mutton while they 
 had to content themselves with coarse fare. 
 
 Eupert cared nothing about the food one way or the other. 
 He was now really engaged in the search for Edgar. There 
 was, moreover, the excitement caused by the risk of discovery. 
 When in the villages he seldom opened his lips except to reply 
 briefly to his companion's talk, for a chance word might be 
 overheard. When he spoke it was in a guttural voice, as if he 
 sufi"ered from some aff'ection of the tongue or malformation of 
 the mouth which prevented him speaking clearly; and thus, 
 had any villager overheard the conversation between him and 
 Ibrahim, his defective Arabic would pass unnoticed. Each 
 day after getting away from their halting- place he learned 
 from the sheik what he had gathered in the village. The 
 natives were all heartily sick of the present state of affairs. 
 They had no market for their goods, and were deprived of the 
 trade upon which they had hitherto relied. A few restless 
 
A IIUINKI) LAN]). 331 
 
 spirits had joined the Mahdi's people and had gone to the 
 war; but tlie cultivators in general sighed for a return of the 
 old state of things, and of the peaceful days they enjoyed while 
 under the rule of Egypt. 
 
 Even the tribesmen of the interior were highly dissatisfied. 
 None had gained anything from the war except those who had 
 taken an actual part in the capture of Berber, Kharto'ira, or 
 other cities. These had obtained a considerable amount of 
 plunder. But beyond this all were worse off than before. 
 There was no longer any profitable employment for their 
 camels for trade purposes, and the promises of the Mahdi had 
 been altogether falsified. Many of the tribes on the other side 
 of the river had gone down to fight under Osman Digma at 
 Suakim, but instead of the promises of victory being fulfilled 
 they had suffered terribly, had lost vast numbers of men, and 
 Suakim was as far ofi" being taken as ever. Berber itself, the great 
 market and centre of trade of that part of the country, was, all 
 said, like a dead city. The shops were closed, the traders had 
 been either killed or fled, the markets were empty; the Mahdi's 
 soldiers treated the inhabitants as slaves. The sheik satisfied 
 himself that there was no rumour current of there being any 
 white prisoners in the hands of the tribesmen. 
 
 " There are white prisoners at Khartoum," the people said. 
 " Gordon was killed, and great numbers with him; but others 
 of the Egyptian officers and traders with their Avives and 
 families were made slaves and divided among the Mahdi's 
 oflacers. But of the white soldiers who had come across the 
 desert, they had heard of no prisoners being taken." 
 
 " Why should there be'? " they asked. " They beat the Arabs 
 in two battles, they carried off their wounded on their camels, 
 and had any been left behind them they Avould have been killed 
 at once. Why do you ask?" 
 
 The sheik had replied that the merchant far down the river 
 from whom he had purchased his goods had told him that the 
 whites were always ready to pay a good ransom to recover any 
 
332 MAKING INQUIRIES. 
 
 of their colour who might have been taken captive, and had 
 advised him if he should hear of any prisoners in the hands of 
 the Arabs to ask what they would sell them for, so that on his 
 next journey he might bring money or goods to redeem them. 
 
 The villagers had told him that this could not be, for that 
 the Mahdi required all captives to be sent to him, and that all 
 who refused to acknowledge him as the Prophet were at once 
 put to death. He had always appeared perfectly satisfied 
 with this explanation, and had tui^ned the conversation to 
 other topics. 
 
 " This does not show," he said to Rupert, " that there are no 
 captives in the hands of the tribesmen in the interior. If they 
 had them they would keep it secret, at any rate as long as the 
 white troops are on the river. They can only be holding 
 them for the sake of obtaining a ransom, but I do not think 
 that there would be much chance that your brother is in these 
 parts, for had he been his captors would before now have sent 
 in a messenger to one of your camps saying that he was in 
 their hands and asking what ransom would be given for him. 
 It is far to the south that we must look for him; but at the 
 same time it is wise to make every inquiry 'as we go along, so 
 that we shall be always looking before us and not wondering 
 whether we have left him behind." 
 
 When the}'' reached a village a few miles below Berber thej'' 
 stopped for three or four days. The sheik's two followers went 
 alone into the city to make inquiries. They returned after 
 being absent for three days, saying that it was certain that 
 there was no white captive in the hands of the Mahdi's 
 people there. They had talked to several tribesmen who had 
 fought at Metemmeh. These knew that a white prisoner had 
 been taken by a party of Arabs of the Jahrin tribe. Trouble 
 had arisen owing to the sheik refusing to give him up, and he 
 had fled in the night with his party, taking the prisoner with 
 him; but beyond the fact that he had crossed the river none 
 had heard anything of him. 
 
TIIK .TOUUNEY CONTINUKU. 333 
 
 As thcro was now no motive for going to Lcrljer, and permis- 
 sion to trade could only bo obtained by a largo present to the 
 Mahdi's governor, the party started early the next morning, 
 struck out into the desert, and made a long detour before, 
 two days later, they came down again upon the river bank 
 above the city. Then they continued their journej^, and some 
 days later crossed the river at a ford some miles below Metem- 
 meh. It Avas certain, wherever Edgar might be, it would not 
 be in the neighbourhood of that town. 
 
 For some weeks the journey continued. At times they left 
 the river bank and journeyed considerable distances to visit 
 tribes or villages situated in the interior. Sometimes the 
 caravan was divided in two, a portion remaining in charge of 
 one of the sheik's followers with Ibrahim and Eupert with the 
 bulk of the camels and baggage, while the sheik with his other 
 follower and two or three camels made excursions to villages 
 at a distance. In that case he took but few goods with him, so 
 as not to tempt the cupidity of the tribesmen or of any parties 
 of the Mahdi's men he might come across. 
 
 By this time Rupert had made considerable progress in 
 Arabic, thanks to his continually conversing in that language, 
 and his risk of detection had greatly decreased. Once or twice 
 a week fresh dye was applied to him from head to foot. He 
 was now accustomed to the scantiness of his clothing, and had 
 completely caught the manners and gestures of the natives. 
 The colour of his eyes was the sole point that even a close 
 observer Avould detect as being peculiar in his appearance, and 
 he had fallen into the habit of keeping them partly closed 
 and the darkened eye-lashes greatly lessened the chance of their 
 colour being noticed. He had, moreover, by the advice of one 
 of the doctors before leaving, taken with him a bottle of bella- 
 donna, and a small dose of this prior to entering any populous 
 village had the effect of enlarging the pupils and thus of dark- 
 ening the general effect of the eyes. The sheik frequently 
 crossed the river with one of his followers and made excursions 
 
334 AT KHARTOUM. 
 
 among the tribes on the opposite bank, but with all their 
 inquiries no news whatever was obtained of any white captive. 
 
 It was not until three months after leaving Korti that the 
 caravan approached Khartoum. It was more likely that news 
 would be obtained here than elsewhere, but the sheik had been 
 unwilling to enter the town until Eupert's Arabic would fairly 
 pass muster; but even he now agreed that there was little 
 chance of his detection in any sort of casual conversation. In 
 Khartoum there would be people from all parts of the Soudan, 
 and any slight peculiarity of accent would be little likely to be 
 noticed; besides, in a city there would be less chance of any- 
 one closely questioning the slave of a passing merchant than 
 would be the case in a village. Before going into the town one 
 of the sheik's followers was sent on ahead with a camel with 
 presents for some of the Mahdi's officials, and upon his return 
 with a document authorizing the sheik to enter the city and 
 dispose of his merchandise the caravan set forward. 
 
 It was with mingled emotions that Eupert entered the town. 
 Here perhaps Edgar was a captive, or had possibly been put to 
 death for refusing to acknowledge the Mahdi. Here Gordon 
 had fallen a victim to fanatical zeal, the hesitation of the Eng- 
 lish government, and the treachery of some of the troops he 
 had led to victory. Here hundreds of Egyptian men, women, 
 and children had been slain. Here were the head-quarters of 
 the false Prophet who had brought such ruin and destruction 
 over fertile provinces. 
 
 Upon showing the pass to the officials at the ferry leading 
 across to the city a soldier had been told off to accompany 
 them, and he conducted them to an empty caravansary in the 
 city. One of the Arabs was despatched with two unladen 
 camels to the market-place, where he bought a store of proven- 
 der brought in by the country people. On his return Eupert and 
 Ibrahim fed the animals, which were fastened by ropes from 
 their head-stalls to rings in the wall of the court-yard, and then 
 sallied out with one of the Arabs into the town. 
 
TTNPEU TIIK YdKE. 335 
 
 It was still a, busy place, although its aspect liad greatly 
 changed since its capture. There were no J*]gyptian soldiers in 
 their gray cotton uniforms and fezes, no officials or traders in 
 European costume in the streets, and the shops which had for- 
 merly held large assortments of goods brought up from Egypt 
 were occupied by natives vending the absolute necessaries of 
 life. The Mahdi's soldiers in their cotton shirts, decorated 
 with rags of coloured cloth, and carrying guns, lounged about the 
 streets, and the poorer part of the native population went about 
 with a cowed and dejected air. Food was scarce and dear, for 
 although the Mahdi by promising protection to all coming in 
 to trade had endeavoured to induce the agricultural population 
 to bring in their produce for sale, the invitation was very par- 
 tially accepted. The country round, indeed, had been swept 
 clean of its grain during the progress of the siege, and the fear 
 of the Mahdi's followers was so great that the peasants con- 
 tented themselves with tilling only sufficient for their needs. 
 The Arab muttered curses beneath his breath as he walked 
 along, while Rupert and Ibrahim followed in silence, seemingly 
 l)aying no attention to what was going on around them, 
 
 AVhen they returned to the caravansary they found the sheik 
 with several of the native shop-keepers engaged Avith him in 
 conversation. At his orders Rupert and Ibrahim at once began 
 to undo some of the bales and held up the goods for inspection. 
 The sheik named the prices he required. These were at once 
 declared by the natives to be impossible. The sheik simply 
 ordered his assistants to fasten up the bales again. " I have 
 brought them all the way from Egypt and I am not going to 
 give them away. It is not every one in times like this Avho 
 will risk his beasts and his goods on such an adventure. The 
 traders have all gone down the river with the white men. It 
 may be months or years before a caravan route is open again. 
 Who is going to bring up goods to sell when there is nothing 
 for his camels to carry down again and when the whole country 
 is disturbed ? There is neither law nor order in the land. I 
 
336 SECRET TRADING. 
 
 shall journey on to El-Obeid or Kassala; I shall get what price 
 I like to ask there." 
 
 The traders poured out a torrent of expostulation. They 
 would see the goods again; doubtless they were of a better 
 quality than they supposed; and so the bargain was recom- 
 menced, and after some hours a considerable portion of the 
 goods that had been brought up were disposed off. In each 
 case the traders arranged to come late in the evening with 
 their servants to fetch away the goods they had bought. 
 
 "It would never do," one said, "to let it be known that 
 we had money sufficient to make such purchases. It is only 
 by assuming the greatest poverty that we can carry on our 
 business unmolested, and only a few of the cheapest goods can 
 be displayed to the eyes of the public, the rest being hidden 
 away to be brought out privately for the benefit of some special 
 customer." 
 
 The sheik was well pleased with the result of his traffic. 
 The prices he had charged were five or six fold more than 
 those that the goods had cost, and he sent out one of his fol- 
 lowers to purchase a kid, which was presently converted into a 
 stew. After this was eaten he went out with one of his fol- 
 lowers, leaving the other to deliver the goods to their pur- 
 chasers. When it became quite dark the traders arrived one 
 by one, each with one or two porters to carry away the goods. 
 These were paid for in cash drawn from buried hoards. 
 
 The sheik was late before he returned. He told Rupert 
 that he had met a kinsman of his who was now an officer of 
 the Mahdi, and had had a long conversation with him. " He 
 believes in the Mahdi," he said, " and has faith that he is going 
 to conquer the world. I told him that finding no traders 
 would hire my camels I had this time brought up a load on 
 my own account, and that it seemed to me there was money 
 to be made if one could purchase some of the people who had 
 been enslaved when the city was taken. He said that this could 
 not be, that the greater part of the traders had been killed. 
 
TIDINGS AT LAST. 337 
 
 and that all who remained were now zealous followers of the 
 !Mahdi. Lupton Bey was held as a slave by the Mahdi himself, 
 and had to run before him when he rode. There would be 
 no possibility of releasing him or the others in the Mahdi's 
 hands. 
 
 "I inquired whether any of the Kaffirs who had come to 
 Metemraeh had been taken prisoners. He said they had heard 
 of but one, who was reported by a black slave to be in the 
 hands of a petty sheik who was living at an oasis in the desert 
 some nine days' journey from here. It had already been re- 
 ported to the Mahdi that this man had taken a KafKr prisoner 
 at Metemmeh and had refused to give him up, and had escaped 
 with the Kaffir in the night; and strict orders had been issued 
 for his arrest, but nothing had been heard of him until the 
 slave brought the news. The Mahdi sent off three officers and 
 forty men on camels with orders to destroy everything, and to 
 kill all they found with the exception of the sheik himself and 
 his white captive, who were to be brought here to await his 
 pleasure. They went, but though this is two months ago they 
 have never returned. 
 
 "Another party was sent three weeks later to the place to 
 order them to return instantly, but when they arrived there 
 they found the oasis deserted. Two skeletons were found, 
 but the sun and the vultures had done their work, and 
 whether they had belonged to the troop that went or to the 
 Arabs there none could say. It may be they found that this 
 sheik and his party had travelled to El-Obeid or elseAvhere and 
 had pursued them, but so far no news has been heard of them 
 and the whole matter is a mystery." 
 
 "What do you think has happened, sheik'?" 
 
 "I know not what to think. My kinsman said that the 
 black slave reported there were but twenty men in all with the 
 sheik, and not more than half of these could be considered as 
 fighting men, therefore they could not have resisted for a 
 moment the force against them. It is possible they may have 
 
338 WHERE HAS HE GONE] 
 
 fled into the desert. The tribes know of wells whose existence 
 is kept a secret from all, and it may be that such a well was 
 known to the sheik and that he has made for it. It may be 
 that the negro guide led the party in pursuit. Misfortune may 
 have happened; they may have lost their way and all perished 
 from thirst, though it would be strange indeed were none able 
 to make their way back to the oasis." 
 
 "What think you we had better do, sheik? This gives us 
 some indication at least of a direction in which my brother 
 was taken." 
 
 The sheik sat for some minutes without answering. " It is 
 difficult," he said at last; "this sheik El Bakhat is, as I have 
 told you, a wanderer. I have heard of him though I have 
 never met him. His father was a powerful sheik, but as a 
 young man El Bakhat killed the son of another sheik of the 
 same tribe and fled. Later on he gathered a few followers 
 and was in the service of the slave-dealers who go down to 
 the great lakes. Of late years, since Gordon broke up the 
 slave-trade, he has returned at times and remained for weeks 
 and sometimes for months in the part of the country occupied 
 by his tribe, for it is so many years now since he killed his 
 man that vengeance is no longer hot against him. He has the 
 name of being a headstrong man, and indeed he must be so 
 or he would never have embroiled himself with the Mahdi's 
 people, for if he had been driven out of his oasis he would know 
 that there is no safety for him anywhere near here; but where 
 he has gone to no man could say. One might as well try to 
 follow the flight of a vulture. He may have gone down near 
 the coast; he may have made his way to the confines of Abys- 
 sinia; he may have journeyed aAvay towards the lakes where 
 Emin Pasha still rules in the name of Egypt. There is just 
 one chance, he may be hiding in the desert, and before he starts 
 on a long journey he may return to the oasis or may send a 
 messenger to see if it is still occupied by the Mahdi's men. 
 I think that our best chance is to proceed thither at once, and 
 
REST IN CAMP. 339 
 
 to wait tlicro for a wliilc to soo if any come from him. If 
 at the end of a fortnight or three weeks none conio wo can 
 then decide in wliich direction to set out upon the search 
 again." 
 
 This proposal seemed to Rupert to offer more prospect of 
 success than any other, and on the following morning the 
 caravan started, the camels now carrying scarce half the weight 
 with which they had left Korti. As the sheik had learned 
 from his kinsman the name of the oasis to which the trooj) had 
 been sent, he had no difficulty in obtaining from some of the 
 tribesmen in the city precise directions as to the route to be 
 pursued, and ten days after leaving Khartoum they arrived 
 there. The place was absolutely deserted, but they established 
 themselves near the well, and the camels found abundant 
 grazing, as the crops had shot up again with great vigour 
 during the time that had elapsed since they had been cut. 
 
 The sheik at once pointed out to Rupert that although El 
 Bakhat and some of his followers were down at Meiemmeh, 
 the probability was that his people had occupied the place for 
 some time, as cultivation had been carried on to a considerable 
 extent. "Here are where the tents stood," he said; "and see, 
 he evidently brought back a good deal of plunder, for here are 
 some empty tins and jars scattered about." 
 
 They remained for three weeks in camp. One of the party 
 had been always on the watch, but no human being had been 
 seen to approach. During that time the sheik and Rupert had 
 many discussions as to the direction in which the fugitives had 
 probably travelled, and finally decided that the probabilities 
 were in favour of his having taken the southern route and 
 made for the country ruled over by Emin. In the first place he 
 was familiar with this line, and in the second he would be safe 
 from the Mahdi when he reached Emin's country. 
 
 " It is rich and fertile" he said; "and probably Emin when 
 he finds he is altogether cut off from the north will try to open 
 a way down to Zanzibar, and El Bakhat may find good em- 
 
340 A FRESH DISGUISE. 
 
 ployment for his camels." As, at any rate, there were reasons 
 why the fugitives should have chosen this route more than 
 any other, it was decided to follow it. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 FOUND ! 
 
 BEFOEE starting upon their journey the sheik said to Edgar, 
 " On our journey here we travelled by unfrequented 
 tracks, and it was sufficient to cover you up so that none who 
 passed us should notice you; but it will be different now, there- 
 fore we must dress you in our own fashion. Your hair can 
 never be made to look like ours and must be bound in a turban. 
 With that and a burnoose your face and hands only will be 
 visible. These are now so darkened by the sun that their fair- 
 ness will scarce be noticed, but the women will prepare a dye 
 which will darken you to our shade. I wish you to dress like 
 us for another reason. You have done us great service, and 
 though you will not change your religion I regard you almost 
 as one of the tribe, and do not wish you henceforth to consider 
 yourself as a slave. You are improving fast in our language, 
 and if you speak but little you will pass unnoticed. vSome 
 men are more silent than others, and you need speak but little 
 when strangers are with us. As one of ourselves you will 
 attract less notice than as a slave. None will say, 'Where 
 did you get that fellow? To what part did he belong'? Was 
 he brought from the Great Lakes'? Are you inclined to sell 
 him 1 He is a likely youth. What will you take for him'?' " 
 
 "I am ready to do what you think best, sheik," Edgar said, 
 " and indeed there can be no doubt that I am far less likely to 
 be noticed if wrapped up in your fashion than if I went half 
 clothed as a slave." 
 
150UN1) FOR THK SOUTH. 341 
 
 Accordingly a low close -lilting turban was wound round 
 Edgar's head, and he was Avrapped up in loose cotton gar- 
 ments covered with a burnoosc, tlie hood of which came over 
 his head. His face, hands, and neck were slightly stained, and 
 when this was done the Arabs admitted that they would not 
 for a moment have suspected him of being other than he 
 seemed. ]\Iost of the women, children, and old men were left 
 behind at the wady; the goats and sheep would supply them 
 with milk and cheese; there was a sufficient supply of grain 
 for their use until the crops that had been sown as soon as 
 they arrived should come into bearing; and when all prepara- 
 tions were complete the party started on its way. 
 
 It consisted of twelve men mounted on camels, while two 
 other animals followed behind each of these. The sheik rode 
 at the head of the party upon the horse that had been cap- 
 tured from the Mahdists. Amina also had a camel to herself, 
 while the four other women who accompanied the party rode 
 two on a camel. Yussuf and five or six lads of from fifteen to 
 seventeen years old walked by the side of the camels. The led 
 camels were but lightly loaded, carrying only the tents, cook- 
 ing utensils, provender for the journey, and food and water for 
 the party; and Edgar could see no reason why Yussuf and the 
 boys should not have ridden, except that it was the custom for 
 slaves and lads to walk. 
 
 It was a six days' journey to the point they aimed at, and 
 the marches were long ones. The supply of water carried was 
 ample for the wants of the party, and the camels were given a 
 good drink before starting on the fourth day's journey. They 
 were turned loose each evening on arriving at a halting-place, 
 and left to pick up what subsistence they could from the 
 bushes, a good feed being given to them each morning from 
 the provender they carried. As they could have carried much 
 more, Edgar inquired Avhy enough had not been brought to give 
 them a feed at night as well; but the Arab of Avhom he had 
 asked the question said that it was better for them to browse 
 
342 A BATTLE-FIELD, 
 
 at night, as the moisture in the herbage enabled them to do 
 with much less water than if they had been fed entirely upon 
 grain. 
 
 Edgar was very glad when the desert journey was over. 
 The glare of the sun from the sand and the rocks was almost 
 blinding, and the wraps in which he was muffled up greatly 
 added to his discomfort. On arriving at the cultivated land 
 the same picture presented itself that he had seen near Khar- 
 toum. Everywhere the villages were almost entirely deserted 
 and the fields lay waste; the blighting influence of the Mahdi 
 seemed to weigh upon the whole country. The few natives that 
 remained fled in fear at the sight of the strangers, and the old 
 people they met with in the villages were crushed with grief 
 and despondency. Of what use to cultivate the land when the 
 Mahdists might at any moment sweep off the crops ? Even 
 should they gather the grain, where could they sell it? 
 There were markets indeed still open, but the Mahdi's tax- 
 gatherers would demand a proportion of the proceeds, which 
 would sweep away all their profits. What was to become of 
 them Allah alone knew. 
 
 Edgar was filled with pity for these poor creatures, and over 
 and over again thought with astonishment of the policy which, 
 after sending a force to within a short distance of Khartoum 
 amply sufficient to have crushed the Mahdi and to have 
 restored peace and comfort to the population of the Soudan, 
 had withdrawn them when the goal was all but reached, and 
 left the unhappy people to their fate. 
 
 After journeying for some days they passed a plain strewn 
 with skeletons. 
 
 "You see these," the sheik said; "they are the remains of 
 the army of Hicks Pasha. Here they were attacked by the 
 Mahdi's army. They defended themselves bravely, but they 
 could neither advance nor retreat, and at last they were van- 
 quished by thirst and fatigue. They were slaughtered as they 
 stood. Hicks Pasha and a band of officers rode right into the 
 
A QUESTION OF RACE. 
 
 343 
 
 midst of the Mahdists, and died fighting there. There were, 
 I heard, two or three Kailirs with him, Ijesides many Egy[)tian 
 oliicers. The bhick troops fought splendidly, but the Egyptians 
 made a poor stand; but it came to the same in the end. What 
 could they do against the followers of Allah ! " 
 
 "But the Egyptians are followers of Allah too," Edgar said, 
 " and yet, as you say, they are but poor fighters. No, no, 
 sheilc; I admit the extraordinary bravery of the tribesmen. 
 I fought against them at Sualdni and saw them charge down 
 upon our square at Abu Klea. They had no fear of death, and 
 no men ever fought more bravely. But it was a matter of race 
 rather than religion. Your people have always been free, for 
 the rule of Egypt was after all a nominal one. The Egyptians 
 have been slaves for centuries and have lost their fighting 
 power. In the old, old days, thousands of years ago, of which 
 we have records in our sacred book, and which we have learned 
 from other sources, the Egyptians were among the most Avar- 
 like of people and carried their arms far and wide, but for 
 many hundreds of years now they have been ruled hy strangers. 
 It was not very long ago that our people fought a great tribe 
 in the south of Africa — a tribe who knew nothing of Allah, 
 who had in fact no religion at all, and yet they fought as 
 stoutly and as well as your people have done here. It is a 
 matter of race. They were just as ready to die as were your 
 tribesmen, and that not because they believed, as you do, that 
 death in battle would open the gates of paradise to them, but 
 simply because it was the will of their king." 
 
 "Mashallah!" the sheik said, stroking his beard, "they must 
 have been brave indeed to throw away their lives if they knew 
 nothing of paradise, merely at the will of one man. That was 
 folly indeed. A man has but one life, it is his all; why should 
 he part Avith it 1 Did they love this king of theirs 1 " 
 
 " I do not know that they loved him," Edgar said, " but they 
 feared him. Their laws were very cruel ones, and it Avas death 
 to turn back in battle." 
 
344 "YOU MUST GO NO NEARER." 
 
 " They had better have cut his throat and have gone about 
 their own business," the sheik said. "Why should one man be 
 master of the lives of all his people. Is this so among the 
 whites'?" 
 
 "It is so in some countries, but not in others," Edgar said. 
 " Some countries are ruled over by men chosen by the people 
 themselves, and the power of peace and war and of making 
 laws of all kinds is in the hands of these men, and the king 
 has very little power. In other countries the king is absolute; 
 if he says it is war, it is war." 
 
 The sheik was silent. 
 
 " But why should people fight and die because one man tells 
 them?" he said after a pause; "it is astonishing." 
 
 "But it is just the same thing with the people here and the 
 Mahdi," Edgar said; "he tells them to fight, and they fight; if 
 he told them to scatter to their homes they would do so." 
 
 The sheik made no further remark, but it was evident to 
 Edgar that he was thinking out the problems that had pre- 
 sented themselves to him, for some hours afterwards he sud- 
 denly remarked, " We who live in tents and wander where we 
 will are the only free men; it is more clear to me than 
 ever." 
 
 When they were within a day's journey of El-Obeid they 
 met one of the sheik's followers who had left the wady four 
 days before the rest with instructions to go to the city and find 
 out wliether it would be safe to enter. He halted his camel 
 when he reached that of the sheik. 
 
 " You must go no nearer the city, my father," he said. " I 
 have learned that orders have been received by the Mahdi's 
 governor to arrest you and all with you should you present 
 yourselves there. There is much talk about a party of soldiers 
 Avho went into the desert to arrest you having disappeared 
 altogether; others have been sent to find them, but have dis- 
 covered no traces of them, so there are orders that any of our 
 tribe from the desert are to be closely questioned. Any who 
 
"Tins CANNOT (!() ON FOU KA'KU." 345 
 
 admit a knowledge of you are to bo sent to Khartoum. 1 was 
 questioneil at the gates, but as I said that I had come straight 
 from Khartoum and knew nought of what was passing in the 
 desert I was passed in without further inquiry. I took up my 
 al^ode with the people you told me of, and they have found out 
 for me what I have told you. It is but three days since the 
 orders concerning you w^ere received." 
 
 '• 1 thought there might be danger at El-Obeid," the sheik 
 said calmly. " We will turn off so as to avoid the city, and 
 Avill make south to join the white pasha. For a while it would 
 not be safe anywhere here." 
 
 Without further words he turned his camel from the track 
 they had been following, and bore away more to the south. 
 
 " Think you that the white pasha will be able to maintain 
 his position 1 " 
 
 The sheik shook his head. 
 
 "For a time he maj^, but in the end he must cither sur- 
 render or try to strike down to the sea. His troops will weary 
 at last even if they are not beaten by the army the Mahdi will 
 send against them. They will say, 'Why should we go on 
 fighting? What good can come of our holding out when no 
 aid can possibly reach us from Egypt 1' The Mahdi will be 
 glad to come to terms Avith them and allow them to live there 
 in quiet with their wives and families and their possessions, if 
 they will acknowledge him and hand over the white pasha with 
 the two or three white officers he has with him. But that will 
 make no difference to me. I know all the country by the Great 
 Lakes. There are Arab traders there in plenty who buy slaves 
 and ivory and take them down to the coast. I can find employ- 
 ment with them for my camels, and can stay Avith them until 
 it is safe to return. This cannot go on for ever. Besides, in 
 times of trouble events pass quickly out of men's minds, and in 
 a year the ]\Iahdists Avill have forgotten my name. As to the 
 loss of their forty men, what is it 1 They have lost thousands 
 since the war began." 
 
346 "YOU ARE UNGRATEFUL." 
 
 " When we get to the white pasha, sheik, would you hand 
 me over to him if he offered you a ransom for me?" 
 
 "No," the sheik said decidedly, "I should not take you near 
 him. Why should I part with you? You have brought us 
 good fortune. Thanks to you we defeated the Mahdists and 
 captured their camels and all that they had. Besides, I like 
 you. Why should I part with you? What good would it do 
 you? With me you are no longer treated as a slave, but as 
 one of my own people. What would you be with the white 
 pasha? An officer of his troops, getting no pay, and running 
 the risk of being one day seized and sent with the others a 
 prisoner to Khartoum." 
 
 "I have no desire to stay with the white pasha," Edgar 
 said; "I would rather be with you than in so hopeless a posi- 
 tion as he is; but I might make my way down to the coast?" 
 
 "Never," the sheik said; "at least never alone. There are 
 fierce tribes between the lakes and the sea. No white man 
 could get through alone. He could only do it by going with 
 a great band of fighting men and carriers, and by buying his 
 way by presents through the great tribes and fighting his way 
 through the small ones. You may travel down to the sea some 
 day with me if I join the caravans of the Arabs, and then if 
 there are countrymen of yours on the coast, as I have heard^ 
 and they would pay me a good ransom for you, we may see 
 about it. You are ungrateful to wish to leave me." 
 
 "Not ungrateful, sheik, for you and your wife have treated 
 me with great kindness; but it is natural that one should wish 
 to go to one's own people. Had you been taken a prisoner 
 and carried to England, however well you were treated you 
 would sigh for your free life in the desert, for your people and 
 friends, and would escape if you saw a chance. It is human 
 nature to love the land where one was born, whatever that 
 land may be." 
 
 "That is true," El Bakhat admitted; "but you cannot 
 escape now; there is nowhere for you to go to." 
 
"YOU SPEAK IIOLDLY." 347 
 
 "That is true, sheik; and I shouhl be well content did I 
 know that you were travelling straight either for Suakimi or 
 Zanzibar, for at either place I know that I could obtain from 
 my countrymen money to pay any ransom you might set upon 
 me, even a sum that would buy you fast camels and much 
 goods, and make you a wealthy man in your tribe; but I am 
 not content to wait for years." 
 
 "You are not thinking of making your escape now?" El 
 Bakhat asked, looking scrutiuizingly at Edgar under his heavy 
 eyebrows. 
 
 "No, sheik," Edgar answered. "From the day that you 
 captured me I made up my mind that I would escape sooner 
 or later, whatever the risk; but I knew well that I could 
 never traverse the country until I could speak the language 
 like a native. I have made great progress, and can now 
 understand all that is said and can talk freely and easily, but 
 not so that I could travel alone as a native. It will be months 
 yet before I can do that. Nor, after the kindness with which 
 you have treated me, would T leave you suddenly without 
 warning. When I feel that I can safely travel alone I shall 
 give you fair warning, I shall say to you. Sheik, if you will 
 now travel with me to Suakim or some other port where I can 
 obtain money for paying you a fair ransom I will remain with 
 you until such ransom is paid into your hands; if you will 
 not do so I shall consider myself free to escape when I can. 
 Of course it will be open to you to treat me again as a slave, 
 and to use all vigilance to prevent my leaving you, but I shall 
 consider that by giving you fair warning I shall be free to use 
 my best endeavours to get away." 
 
 "You speak boldly," the sheik said, "but you speak fairly. 
 Do you give me your promise not to attempt to escape until 
 after warning me?" 
 
 " Yes, I give you that promise, sheik." 
 
 "It is well," El Bakhat said gravely. "I know that you 
 would not lie to me. After you have given me warning I shall 
 
348 AMONG THE MAHDISTS. 
 
 know what to do." So saying he got up and walked away to 
 his tent. 
 
 Three days later, as the caravan was halting at a well, 
 Yussuf, who had gone out with the camels, ran in. 
 
 " There is a large body of men, some on foot and some on 
 horses, approaching from the south." 
 
 "How far are they off'?" the sheik asked as he leapt to his 
 feet. 
 
 " Scarce half a mile," the negro replied. 
 
 "Then it is too late for flight," the sheik said, reseating 
 himself; " they would be here long before we could saddle our 
 camels. It is doubtless a body of the Mahdi's troops, but if 
 they come from the south they will have heard nothing against 
 us." 
 
 When the Mahdists rode up the sheik rose and saluted their 
 commander, 
 
 "Who are joni" the officer asked. 
 
 "I am an humble person, one El Bakhat of the Jahrin tribe, 
 travelling with my camels and some little mei'chandise." 
 
 "Have you the permit of one of the Mahdi's officers to 
 trade 1 " 
 
 " No, my lord, I did not know that it was needful." 
 
 " Assuredly it is needful," the officer said. " Your camels 
 and goods are forfeited, and you yourself and your people 
 must travel with us to El-Obeid, where inquiries will be made 
 about you." 
 
 "My lord," the sheik said, "I am a poor man and have 
 done no harm. After fighting against the infidels I went 
 back to my people with such spoil as we had taken and have 
 dwelt there quietly, and was ignorant that it needed a per- 
 mission for me to journey with my camels." 
 
 " Well, if you can prove that when you get to the city," the 
 officer said, " the governor may take a lenient view of the case, 
 and may content himself by taking a portion only of your 
 camels as a fine; but if you are lying it will be worse for you. 
 
"THE POSITION IS FULL OF DANHFR." 340 
 
 Komcnibor now tliat you arc prisonci's, and will bo shot flown 
 if one of yon attempts to escape." 
 
 The sheik bowed submissively. Tlic officer ordered some 
 of his men to keep a rigid Avatch over the prisoners, and then 
 paid no further attention to them. 
 
 The sheik re-entered his tent and sat down stern and silent 
 without speaking. Amina, who had heard what had passed, 
 was in the greatest state of alarm, but saw that her husband 
 was not to be spoken to at present. She went to the door of 
 her tent and beckoned to Edgar, in Avhom she felt the most 
 implicit confidence. 
 
 " You heard what has passed, Muley]" 
 
 "I heard, lady; the position is full of danger." 
 
 " You are fertile in expedients. Can you not suggest some- 
 thing? l''ou see if we are taken to El-Obeid, where they have 
 had news of the expedition sent from Khartoum, and its dis- 
 appearance in the desert, my husband would be sent in chains 
 to the Mahdi, and you know what his fate would then be, 
 while the least that will befall us all will be to be sold into 
 slavery. What then do you advise"?" 
 
 "With your permission I will think it over," Edgar replied. 
 "The position is a difficult one; the danger is, as you say, 
 great." 
 
 "Go, then, and think it over, Muley." 
 
 Edgar went out of the tent and squatted down (a position 
 which had at first been very fatiguing, but to which he was 
 now accustomed) by the embers of the fire before it, and 
 thought over what had best be done. For himself, he felt 
 sure that he could make his escape, for though a general watch 
 might be kept, one man could doubtless crawl away in the 
 darkness; but he felt that he could not abandon the sheik 
 in a moment of danger. It was, in fact, owing to himself 
 that the sheik was now in his present position. It was true 
 that the Arab had refused to give him up to the Mahdi's 
 people at Metemmeh, not from any love towards him, but of 
 
350 A PLAN OF ESCAPE. 
 
 his own obstinate and headstrong disposition. However, that 
 refusal, whatever its motive, had undoubtedly saved his life; 
 and, moreover, the sheik had behaved with great kindness to 
 him since, and he felt that it was clearly his duty to do all in 
 his power to assist him now; but how? 
 
 It was upwards of an hour before he rose from the fire and 
 again entered the sheik's tent. The sheik was sitting smoking 
 gravely. Amina was baking some bread over the embers in 
 the middle of the tent. 
 
 "What is your counsel, Muley"?" she asked. 
 
 " I see no plan," he said, " by which my lord can get away 
 with all his followers and camels. One or two might steal out 
 from the camp, and I thought at first that if Yussuf and my- 
 self — who would not be so closely watched as he will be, for 
 there are two sentries outside the tent — could manage to steal 
 out with our guns and to open fire in the darkness upon the 
 camp, the Mahdists, thinking they were attacked, would seize 
 their arms and run out, and in the confusion my lord and you 
 and some of the others might make their escape. But this 
 plan is full of danger, and it might not succeed, for they might 
 suspect that those who attacked them were of your party, and 
 a portion would remain to keep guard over you. This, then, 
 should be the last resource, for if the attempt was made and 
 failed, escape would be more difficult than ever. 
 
 " It appears to me that the first thing to do is to try and 
 bribe the chief. At present he only suspects you of trading 
 without a license, and were my lord to see him and to offer 
 him half the camels and the burdens, to let him go free with 
 the remainder, he might accept it. If that failed, we can still 
 try my plan. I would take my gun and crawl out with Yussuf. 
 I would go two or three hundred yards away to the right, and 
 would then fire as quickly as I could, moving while I did so; 
 so that they might think that there were many attacking them. 
 Then, my lord, in the confusion you and your wife with the 
 child should try to make your escape. As soon as the camp is 
 
"WE COULD NEVER GET THERE." 351 
 
 aroused and thoy are advancing against us wc would move 
 round to the loft of the camp, and you would join us there and 
 make straight across the country and be far away by daylight." 
 
 "But how could we travel without camels?" the sheik broke 
 in impatiently; "they would surely overtake us before long." 
 
 "There are deserted villages in which we might hide until 
 the pursuit is over," Edgar said. " As they would gain all the 
 cancels and goods it would matter little to them that three or 
 four persons had escaped." 
 
 "Not until they reached El-Obeid," the sheik said. "Then 
 they would learn who we were, and would scour the country 
 for us. Camels we must have if we are to escape. Besides, 
 I should be a ruined man, and might as well be killed at once." 
 
 " Not altogether ruined, sheik," Edgar said. " You remem- 
 ber that we buried many of your valuables and arms at the 
 wady." 
 
 " We could never get there without camels," the sheik said 
 gloomily. 
 
 " It might be done, sheik. Several men accompanied the camels 
 on foot, and we could perform the journey so on our way back; 
 but I should not counsel that. My idea was that we should 
 get as far away from here as possible, and should then leave 
 your wife and child in some village. We could take with us 
 goods which would be quite sufficient to ensure a welcome for 
 her until you return. Then I should propose that you and I mth 
 Yussuf, who is certainly faithful, should make our way do-wn 
 on foot as Arab fighting men to Berber, and then on to Osman 
 Digma, who is, we know, close to Suakim. Thence we might 
 readily find means of escaping him and entering the town, and 
 then, as I told you, I can promise you a ransom that would 
 enable you to buy more camels and goods than you have lost 
 here, to return to your wife and child and take them with you 
 to your wady. As to camels, I do not altogether despair of 
 getting some. They are, as usual, grazing outside the camp, 
 they know Yussuf's voice and mine, and when we first escape 
 
352 "I MUST PAY FOR MY FAULT," 
 
 we might lead four of them away and take them to the left of 
 the camp, where you are afterwards to meet us. Before mor- 
 ning we could be very many miles away." 
 
 "Ah! if you could do that!" the chief said, showing for the 
 first time a lively interest in the matter, "it might be possible. 
 However, I will try first of all if the officer will accept a bribe. 
 If jhe will do so it will give us two days' start, and we can then 
 arrange matters as you say." 
 
 Without another word he rose and went to the door of the 
 tent. The two sentries placed there stepped forward and told 
 him that their orders were that he was not to leave it. 
 
 "I wish not to leave it," he said; "I desire only to speak to 
 your commander. I have something of importance to say to 
 him. Will you pray him to come to mel" 
 
 One of the sentries at once went across to the commander's 
 tent and shortly returned with him. 
 
 "Master," the sheik said, "I have done wrong in journeying 
 without a license, but I came from the desert and did not know 
 the law. I must pay for my fault, though I cannot think that 
 the commander at El-Obeid would be hard upon one who has 
 erred from ignorance. However, as it is urgent for me to press 
 on my journey, I will relinquish to you one-third of my camels 
 and their burdens if you will let us travel on with the others, 
 and give us a permit from yourself so that none may molest us 
 in future." 
 
 As the ofiicer had no suspicion that the Arab's first story 
 was untrue he hesitated; then he said, "Not so; all your 
 camels are forfeited for breaking the laws of the Mahdi." 
 
 "But those who err in ignorance are surely not punished 
 like those who err wilfully," the sheik urged. "But I am 
 pressed for time. I am journeying south to the tents of my 
 wife's father, who has sent to say that he is sick unto death 
 and wishes to see her before he dies. Be content, my lord, and 
 take half the camels." The officer thought that the offer was 
 a good one. It was probable that the governor of El-Obeid 
 
" SEE THAT YOU CHEAT ME NOT." 353 
 
 Avoiild not lino the Arab more than half his camels, seeing that 
 ho had broken the law inadvertently, and in that case he 
 himself would have but a small share in the spoil; whereas if 
 he consented to the proposal, the camels would all fall to himself, 
 saving one or two he might give to his officers to induce them 
 to kecj) silence as to the affair. 
 
 "I will be more merciful than you deserve, Arab," he said; 
 "1 will take half your camels with their loads; but see that 
 }'0U cheat me not; if you do, it will be worse for you. Divide 
 the animals and goods to-morrow morning in two equal parts. 
 I will take that which pleases me most. I have spoken;" and 
 turning upon his heel he went l>ack to his tent. 
 
 Edgar, standing within, heard the conversation. "You have 
 heard," the sheik said when he had entered; "half my property 
 is gone, but I have freedom and the other half. I have had 
 worse misfortunes than this. So far your counsel has turned 
 out well, Muley. Now about the future. We shall have but 
 four days' start. He will reach El-Obeid by evening the day 
 after to-morrow. There he Avill hear that he has let slip through 
 his fingers the man for whom all the country is in search, and 
 horsemen will be despatched instantly in pursuit; probably 
 they will be here the next evening; it is but a reprieve. Jour- 
 ney as fast as we will they will soon overtake us." 
 
 "Yes, if we pursue our course in the same direction, sheik, 
 but this we must not do. I should say that as soon as the 
 division is made we should start south; it is as well that they 
 should see the direction in which we are travelling. Then as 
 soon as we are well out of sight of the camp I should say let 
 us break up the party into six or eight parts and bid them 
 travel in different directions east and west, and then make to 
 the point where we arrived from the desert, and strike across 
 to the wady. A party like ours would be noticed at once, 
 but two or three persons each with a camel carrying their 
 belongings would be scarce observed; and the Mahdi's horse- 
 men, asking if a caravan of ten camels had passed, would be 
 
 (650) Z 
 
354 "THE MATTER IS SETTLED." 
 
 told that no such party had been seen. At any rate most of 
 your men would be able to regain the wady and there to await 
 your return. Then I should propose that you on one camel 
 and your wife and child on another, with such goods as you 
 require to pay your way, with myself on foot dressed as for- 
 merly as a slave, should strike in the direction of Khartoum, 
 but keeping this side of the river until we reach Berber. Of 
 course you could take Yussuf with you or not as you might 
 choose; but I think that you would find him useful." 
 
 "You would like him to gol" the sheik asked in a tone of 
 suspicion, for it flashed across him that if Edgar and Yussuf 
 made common cause he would be at their mercy, 
 
 " I should like him to go, sheik. The negro has always been 
 civil and obliging to me from the day when I thrashed his 
 companion, and if when we arrive at a port on the Ked Sea 
 you are willing to part with him I will gladly arrange to buy 
 him of you at any reasonable price that you might name.' 
 
 " So be it," the sheik said; "the matter is settled." 
 
 jSText morning the sheik and his followers were on foot early. 
 They divided the camels with the greatest care into two poi'- 
 tions, debating earnestly on the merits of each animal; then 
 the goods, which were of but trifling value, were also divided. 
 When all was done the Mahdi's officer came down and closely 
 inspected both lots of animals. 
 
 "There is nothing to choose between them," he said; "you 
 have made a just division. I will take the right-hand lot, and 
 the horse is of course mine;" and to the disgust of the sheik 
 he ordered one of the followers to take it to his tent. " Here 
 is a permit for you to journey and trade as you will." The 
 soldiers were already under arms, the Arabs hastily packed 
 their tents and cooking-pots on the camels that remained to 
 them, and the two parties set off almost at the same instant in 
 two opposite directions. When they had travelled for an hour 
 the sheik halted his caravan and explained the situation to his 
 followers. 
 
SCATTRRINO. 355 
 
 "As soon as the Malulists reach the town they will hear of 
 us, and hot pursuit will be instantly set on foot; therefore it 
 is necessary for the present to abandon our plans and for you 
 to return at once to the wady from which we started. But if 
 our pursuers obtain news of a caravan of our size they will be 
 sure to overtake us; therefore it is also necessary that we should 
 separate at once. Let each man, therefore, take his camel, his 
 wife, and his belongings, and journey singly. Let some go 
 east and some west, and making a circuit to avoid El-Obeid 
 reach the edge of the desert as best you may. Do not wait 
 there for each other, but let each as he reaches it strike across 
 to the wells. When you reach the wady wait there for me. 
 I go with my wife and IMuley and Yussuf. We shall take two 
 camels and journey north. There I hope to obtain a sum for 
 the surrender of Muley, which will more than repay us the loss 
 we have suffered to-day." 
 
 The Arabs at once obeyed the orders of the sheik and in a 
 few minutes were speeding across the country. • 
 
 "We will go on for another three or four hours' march," the 
 sheik said, " before we turn to the east. Our pursuers will be 
 sure to inquire for us at every place they pass, and if they hear 
 that solitary camel-men have been seen making their way across 
 the country they will turn off at once in pursuit. It is therefore 
 better that they should move off some distance before we turn 
 oflF." The sheik had chosen two camels which, though not 
 remarkable for their looks, were of better blood than the rest, 
 and more capable of performing long journeys. He and 
 his wife and child rode on one of the animals, Edgar with 
 Yussuf behind him on the other. At noon they turned off 
 from the southern course they had before been pursuing. They 
 continued their journey until long after sunset, and then halted 
 for a few hours to rest the camels. 
 
 The moon rose at eight o'clock, and as soon as it was up 
 they started again, travelling now in a north-easterly direction 
 in order to throw their pursuers off their track. At daybreak 
 
356 PURSUERS. 
 
 they halted again, this time in a gi'ove. A fire was lit and 
 Yussuf cooked some meal cakes, and a bountiful feed of grain 
 was given to each animal. As speed was less an object than 
 secrecy no move was made until nightfall, in order that they 
 might pass through the villages unobserved. The journey was 
 continued until the following morning, when they again halted. 
 They were now following a track which would, the sheik said, 
 lead them after a few miles into the main road between El- 
 Obeid and Khartoum. 
 
 This time the halt was of but a few hours' duration, as they 
 hoped that they had baffled their pursuers and could now travel 
 without attracting any special attention. They had reached 
 the road and were proceeding along it when Yussuf saw dust 
 rising in the distance. He called the attention of the sheik to 
 it, and the camels were pressed forward to their utmost speed. 
 But camels will seldom go far beyond their accustomed walk; 
 and it soon became apparent that they were being rapidly 
 overtaken by the strangers who were pressing on behind. By 
 this time it could be seen that the party following them were 
 also mounted on camels. Two riders had detached themselves 
 from the main body and were coming on at a rapid pace. 
 
 "They must be mounted on heiries," the sheik said; "see 
 how they come along! There is no avoiding them." 
 
 "They are not the Mahdi's men," Yussuf said presently; "I 
 can see by their dress that they are in Arab robes." 
 
 " They are riding for a purpose," the sheik said, " or they 
 would not travel so fast, and yet if their purpose were hostile 
 they would hardly leave their followers so far behind. If 
 they know aught of El Bakhat they will know that he is not 
 a man to surrender without resistance. Prepare your gun, 
 Muley. Methinks there are but two men with the four camels 
 behind, and if we slay these first we shall have no difficulty 
 with them." 
 
 The strangers came rapidly up, and as they approached the 
 sheik saw that they were an Arab trader and a wild-looking 
 
IT I^ RUPERT b VOICE, BUT IT CAM.OT BE RL PERT 
 
>• 
 
THE RECOGNITION. Sf)? 
 
 Tuitive. As they came up they reined in their camels and the 
 t rader gave the usual Arab salutation, which was responded to 
 by the sheik. Two or three of the usual ceremonial sentences 
 were repeated on both sides. 
 
 "My brother's name is El Bakhat?" the new-comer said. 
 
 "My name is my own," the sheik replied, "and is no con- 
 cern of strangers." 
 
 " I come as a friend," the Arab said. " I arrived at El-Obeid 
 yesterday and heard that a body of horsemen had set out 
 in pursuit of you. Yesterday evening some returned with 
 a prisoner, who said that your party had separated and that 
 you were travelling north. Two parties of horsemen were 
 ordered to start at daybreak. Thinking that you might make 
 for Khartoum, I set out at once to warn you." 
 
 By this time the wild-looking young native had slipped 
 from his camel and walked up to Edgar, staring fixedly at 
 hun. Edgar, not knowing what to make of the movement, 
 sliifted his ritie forward, when the native gave a wild cry, 
 "Edgar!" 
 
 Edgar gazed at him with stupefaction. It was Eupert's 
 voice; but how could this wild figure be Eupert? how could 
 he be here] 
 
 "Edgar, do you not know me? I am Eupert!" 
 
 Edgar could doubt no longer. He flung himself from his 
 camel and rushed into his brother's arms. 
 
 "Am I mad or dreaming?" he exclaimed, as he still failed 
 altogether to recognize Eupert in his disguise. " It is Eupert's 
 voice surely, but it cannot be Eupert." 
 
 "It is me, sure enough, Edgar; and you are neither mad 
 nor dreaming." 
 
 "But this hair?" Edgar said, still bewildered, gazing at the 
 wild, unkempt locks. 
 
 "It is a wig, neither more nor less, Edgar, made for me at 
 Cairo; and a first-rate job too." 
 
 Edgar could doubt no longer, but with the certainty and joy 
 
358 "HE HAS DONE WELL." 
 
 a strange weakness seemed to come over him, and he would 
 have fallen had not Kupert seized him. 
 
 "Stand up, old boy; it is all right, and natural enough. We 
 heard at Metemmeh of your having been carried away, and as 
 of course I wasn't going to let you remain a slave among these 
 fellows, I got leave of absence from Wolseley, got a disguise 
 smd a first-rate guide, and, thank God, I have come to you at 
 last." 
 
 The surprise of El Bakhat at seeing this meeting between 
 Muley and this young native was much greater than that of 
 the other Arab, who had heard at El-Obeid the evening before 
 that the white slave was journeying in disguise with his captor. 
 
 "This is my brother, sheik," Edgar said to him. "He has 
 come all this way in disguise to look for and rescue me." 
 
 "He has done well," the sheik said warmly, while Amina 
 clapped her hands in pleasure. 
 
 " Is the story about the pursuit after us true 1 " Edgar asked. 
 
 " Yes, quite true. The horsemen will not be many hours 
 before they overtake us." 
 
 A hurried consultation was held between the two sheiks, and 
 it was decided to strike off to the south-east again, and as soon 
 as the followers arrived with the camels the united parties left 
 the road and made across the country, Edgar taking his place 
 on the camel behind Eupert. He still felt like one in a dream, 
 and even now could scarce believe that it Avas really Rupert 
 who was riding before him. The latter, who had been looking 
 forward to the meeting, was yet scarcely less surprised at Avhat 
 had taken place. It had seemed such a hopeless task looking 
 for Edgar over so wide an expanse of country that he could 
 scarcely credit that he had succeeded in finding him, and for a 
 time the feelings were so deep on both sides that hardly a word 
 was spoken. It was not, indeed, until the camels came to a 
 halt late in the evening that they began to talk naturally. 
 
ALL WELL AT IIOMk" 359 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 YOU are a nice fellow, ain't you, Edgar, to give us all tliis 
 trouble," liupert said, as he held him at arm's-length and 
 gazed at him in the light of the fire that Yussuf had lighted. 
 
 " I see now that I made an awful ass of myself," Edgar said; 
 "but I think you would have done the same if you had been 
 in my place, Eupert, and had heard what I heard." 
 
 "I have no doubt I should," Eupert agreed; "it must have 
 been an awful thing to hear. Still you must have seen by the 
 advertisements that father did not believe the woman's story." 
 
 " I did not see the advertisements," Edgar said. " I would 
 not look at a paper, because I thought he would advertise for 
 me to come back, and I felt I could not do so, and it would 
 have been harder to keep away if I had seen them. You told 
 me they were all well at home." 
 
 This was the first question he had asked after he had mounted 
 Eupert's camel. 
 
 " Quite well when I last heard. I wrote and told them all 
 about you." 
 
 " Then the sergeant was found, and did not die 1 " 
 
 "He died the first day after we found him," Eupert said 
 gravely. "He was insensible when we discovered him; and I 
 should have known nothing about him if they hadn't found 
 two letters upon him, one to me and one to father, saying that 
 his wife's story was a lie, and that he could swear that neither 
 of them could in any way identify either of us from the other. 
 He recovered consciousness before he died, and signed in the 
 presence of witnesses a deposition to the same effect. So you 
 
360 "THE MOST PIG-HEADED FELLOW." 
 
 saw me at Korti, Edgar, and would not make yourself known] 
 I would not have believed it of you." 
 
 "Well, you see, Eupert, I did not know at the time that the 
 sergeant was Avho he Avas, and still believed the woman's story 
 to be true. Besides, I had gone my own way, and did not 
 mean to see any of you again until I had got on and could do 
 without assistance. It seemed to me to be like asking for help, 
 and after all that I had had under false pretences I would 
 have rather died than do that." 
 
 "But you see it wasn't under false pretences, Edgai^, and 
 you had as much right to consider yourself father's son as I had. 
 You must have known that from the sergeant afterwards." 
 
 "Yes, I did learn that," Edgar allowed, "but I think that 
 made me even more disinclined than before to show myself; it 
 would have looked as if I had come back only to put in a claim." 
 
 "You are the most pig-headed fellow I ever saw, Edgar. 
 However, I hope you have got out of all that feeling now," 
 
 " Quite, Eupert; I am quite ready to go back with you 
 and beg their pardon at home for all the trouble I have given 
 them. And to think that you have run all this awful risk to 
 find me!" 
 
 "Stuff and nonsense, Edgar! When I found that you had 
 been carried away as a slave, as a matter of course I deter- 
 mined to get you out as soon as possible, just as you would 
 have done had I been caught by them; but I could have done 
 nothing if it hadn't been for this Arab I am travelling with. 
 Of course he will be well paid; but still men are often tempted 
 to be unfaithful however well they are paid;" and then he 
 went on to tell Edgar of the arrangement that had been made 
 with the sheik. Edgar in return gave him a short sketch of 
 his life since they had parted at Cheltenham, and told him of 
 the promises he had made to El Bakhat if he would take him 
 down to one of the Eed Sea ports. 
 
TERMS ARE ARRANGED. 3G1 
 
 " I suppose thoy aro discussing the matter together," lie said, 
 ghuiciiig at the two Arabs, who were deep in conversation on 
 the other side of the fire. "Well, slieik, wliat plan have you 
 deterniiued upon?" 
 
 " We both think that it will be impossible fur us to travel 
 north either to Egypt, or to Berber and thence to Suakim. They 
 will be on the watch for us everywhere. Our best plan will be 
 to make for Massowah," 
 
 " Well, sheik, you have heard that Ben Ibyn has agreed to 
 deliver us at one of the ports for a handsome reward. Ho 
 knows that Englishmen's words can be relied upon, and that 
 there is no fear of his not getting the amount promised him. 
 ]\Iy brother and I agree to give you an equal sum to that which 
 he will receive there." 
 
 " He has not told me the sum," El Bakhat said. 
 
 "Tell him the terms, Ben Ibyn," Eupert put in. "Not of 
 course those you have already received for your expenses, but 
 the sum that is to be paid you when you arrive at a port." 
 
 The sheik repeated the terms to El Bakhat, who at once 
 expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with them. 
 
 " The English are rich and generous," he said. " El Bakhat 
 will do his best to take them where they wish to go." 
 
 " Are you thinking of travelling with all this train'? " Eupert 
 asked Ben Ibyn. 
 
 "No, there is no occasion to do so. 1 have friends at a 
 village on the Nile, and there my followers and their camels 
 will remain, and El Bakhat's wife and child will remain with 
 them also. We four will then ti'avel on alone, taking with us Yus- 
 suf to cook for us and look after the camels. "We shall separate 
 from the others at once, as it will be much safer to travel in 
 two small parties. There will be no fear as to their safety, as 
 they will take my regular permit to trade, and no one will con- 
 nect them in any way with El Bakhat. You and your brother 
 
362 SEPARATION. 
 
 will ride the heiries. I have a half-bred camel that will carry 
 me well, although it will not compare in speed with yours. 
 El Bakhat's camel is also a good one. If we are pursued, we 
 have agreed that our best plan will be to turn off and find a 
 hiding-place, and for you to push on alone. On those camels you 
 may defy pursuit. If pushed they will travel a hundred and 
 fifty miles a day. When you get to Massowah you Avill wait 
 until we join you there. We are content to trust to your 
 word. Still we hope that we may keep together; for although 
 your brother now speaks Arabic so well that he could pass as a 
 native in casual conversation, it is better that we should be 
 together, in which case it will be we who will do the talking." 
 
 "Have you two heiries?" Edgar asked Eupert. 
 
 " They are not quite full bred. It is very rare to meet with 
 them, and the price is extremely high; but these are nearly 
 full bred, and can swing along as fast as a horse can trot, and 
 keep it up for twelve hours at a stretch." 
 
 The march was resumed at midnight. The two sheiks rode 
 ahead, Edgar and Rupert followed on the heiries, while Yussuf 
 was mounted on one of the spare camels, and rode with the 
 other Arab in the rear. The two brothers talked by turns, and 
 both were surprised when the first streak of daylight appeared. 
 The party now separated, the sheik's wife and child taking 
 their seats on one of the camels. She took a warm farewell of 
 Edgar. 
 
 " Amina will never forget the young white man who has lived 
 in her tents," she said, "He is brave in war, and is a wise 
 counsellor; he will be a great man among his own people." 
 
 " And I shall never forget you," Edgar replied, " and your 
 kindness to the white slave. When the sheik returns from Mas- 
 sowah he shall bring with him tokens of my remembrance." 
 
 As soon as the party had separated the sheiks put their 
 camels to their best speed. Yussuf had been taken up by 
 
BEYOND I'UIISUIT. 3G3 
 
 Edgar and rode behind liim, the lieirios carrying the duublc 
 weight with ease. At sunset they halted. 
 
 " Wo are now," El Bakhat said to Edgar, " beyond the reach 
 of pursuit. We may be stopped and arrested by others, but 
 those from El-Obeid will never see the tails of our camels." 
 
 " I wish," Edgar said as they Avere riding along the next 
 morning, " that you could get rid of that wig and your dye for 
 five minutes, Rupert, so that I could see what you really look 
 like. You are such an awful object with that bush of hair 
 that I do not seem to recognize you at all. It is ditferent with 
 me. I am only brown, while you are a sort of dirty black, 
 and when this cloth round my head is off you really see me as 
 I am." 
 
 " We should not have known each other by our figures. It 
 is nearly three years since you left Cheltenham, and of course 
 we have both widened out a lot since then. You have widened 
 more than I have, but I have grown most." 
 
 " Yes, you are quite two inches taller than I am, Eupert. 
 What are you — six feet?" 
 
 "About half an inch under." 
 
 " Ah ! then you are just the two inches taller. I am forty, 
 chest measurement." 
 
 "I am not more than thirty-seven, Edgar." 
 
 "Ah! I expect you will be forty before you have done, 
 Eupert; you see neither of us is anything like his full width 
 yet, I have had harder work than you have." 
 
 "Ah! Edgar, if we could both play in the house team now 
 it would make a difference, wouldn't if? You remember how 
 Skinner was always lamenting our want of weight." 
 
 "I don't think," Edgar said with a laugh, "that he has gained 
 much in weight. He Avas about our size before, but he looked 
 to me quite a little chap when I saw him on the march." 
 
 " He is tough," Eupert said; "he is like whip-cord all over; 
 
364 ON THE WAY. 
 
 he is a capital fellow, not a bit changed. Easton has turned 
 out first-rate; he was awfully good to me after you went away, 
 and took no end of pains to cheer me up, had me clown to his 
 place in the holidays, and was a real friend. He is a big fellow 
 now, and in another two or three years will make a splendid 
 man. They will be delighted when we both turn up again. I 
 don't think either of them thought, when they said good-bye 
 to me, that I should ever get back. They thought the language 
 would floor me, I think. You have got on wonderfully that 
 way. I thought I had picked it up pretty quickly, but you 
 jaw away as if you had been years at it." 
 
 " I have been more with them, Eupert; besides, I had 
 picked up a little in the year I was at Cairo. You see I 
 had nearly four months start of you, and in the life I led 
 among them of course I had a lot more occasion to talk than 
 you have had, always on camel back and only talking in the 
 encampment at night. El Bakhat says that in a casual conver- 
 sation now no one would notice that I was not a native. So 
 if we do get into any mess and have to ride for it by ourselves, 
 we shall have no difficulty in making our way across the 
 country; but I do not see much chance of that. If we should 
 fall in with the Mahdists your sheik can give his name and 
 appear to be the head of the party, and as there is nothing 
 against him I don't see why we should have any trouble." 
 
 "I daresay we shall fall in with some Mahdists," Eupert 
 said. "I got up the maps thoroughly before I started, and 
 specially studied the routes leading to the coast. I fancy the 
 line we shall travel will take us down by Kassala. The 
 Mahdists were besieging it, but I don't know whether it has 
 fallen or not. The safest route would certainly be to go through 
 Abyssinia, but the Arabs wouldn't like to travel that way if 
 they could help it. There have been troubles for years between 
 Abyssinia and the Soudan, and it is by no means certain what 
 
wrj'iiouT auvkntui:k. .■}(>;") 
 
 sort of treatment we should iiicet if we got tliorc. Mas,so\v;ili 
 is certainly the best place to strike for. Suakim would have 
 been the best place in some respects, because there are lots of 
 English there and we should have no difficulty in getting 
 money to pay the sheiks; but after all it is only a question of 
 a week or two's delay at the most. I have letters from my 
 father authorizing me to draw upon him for any amount, and 
 if we cannot get it at JMassowah we shall only have to send up 
 to the officer in command at Suakim; he would cash a draft 
 out of the pay-chest; or if he could not do it that way, would 
 get some merchant there to do it." 
 
 They no longer hurried, but made moderate marches, stop- 
 ping only at small villages. There was no difficulty in obtain- 
 ing food and shelter, as Eupert's conductor had brought on 
 with him a sufficient store of merchandise to pay their way 
 down to the coast. On these occasions Edgar and Rupert kept 
 in the background looking after the camels, while Vussuf 
 Avaited upon the sheiks, and afterwards cooked a meal for the 
 two Englishmen. He did most of the talking with the poorer 
 villagers, gossiped with them about the state of the country, 
 the chance of peace being re-established, and retailed all sorts 
 of wonderful stories of the doings of the Mahdists. 
 
 Both branches of the Nile were crossed in their journey, 
 but no incident of any kind occurred until they had passed 
 the eastern arm. They were now getting into a more dangerous 
 country. Bodies of the Mahdi's troops going to and from 
 Kassala, which had, they learned, at last surrendered, were 
 encountered, and questions were asked as to where they were 
 going and what was the object of their journey. 
 
 Upon these occasions Ben Ibyn acted as spokesman and 
 represented that they had friends among the Hadendowah 
 tribesmen, and wished to learn Avhether any trade could be opened 
 with the coast. When within a day's march of Kassala they 
 
366 EL BAKHAT RECOGNIZED. 
 
 met a number of camels laden with spoil from that town on 
 their way to Khartoum, accompanied by a number of foot 
 soldiers and ten or twelve horsemen. Riding twenty or thirty 
 yards behind the sheiks Edgar saw one of the horsemen look 
 earnestly at El Bakhat, and then spur forward to speak to the 
 others who were a short distance ahead. 
 
 "That fellow has recognized El Bakhat!" he exclaimed; 
 "ride on, Rupert!" 
 
 They both shook the halters and the heiries broke into a 
 trot. 
 
 "Ride, sheiks!" Edgar exclaimed as he came up to the 
 others; "one of the horsemen has recognized El Bakhat." 
 
 A minute or two later they heard a shout behind them, but 
 paid no attention. 
 
 "We have got four or five hundred yards start," Rupert 
 said, looking back, "but the horsemen will overtake us; they 
 can go faster than the camels for a burst. Ride, sheik," he 
 said; "push on to the utmost. If we can get a mile away from 
 the footmen before they come up to us we can thrash the 
 horsemen." 
 
 The start they had obtained while the man who had recog- 
 nized El Bakhat was explaining to the others who he was and 
 how much his capture was desired at Khartoum, was invalu- 
 able to the fugitives, and the horsemen started in a body, 
 shouting and yelling and firing their guns. The bullets whistled 
 harmlessly round the fugitives. 
 
 "Make for that clump of trees on rising ground," Edgar 
 said; "then spring off the camels and fight them on foot. 
 What arms have you, Ruperts" 
 
 " I have two revolvers besides this rifle. You take one of 
 them; we shall beat them off easily enough, they are only 
 about two to one." 
 
 When they reached the trees they were but a hundred yards 
 
A SMART REPULSE. 367 
 
 alioad and less tlian a mile from tlio caravan, which had lialtcd 
 when the horsemen commenced the })ursuit. Tliey leapt from 
 their camels. 
 
 "Do you hold their bridles, Yussuf," Edgar said; "we will 
 beat them ofT," and steadying his ritle against the trunk of a 
 tree he tired at the nearest horseman, who fell instantly from 
 the saddle. 
 
 Ivupert's rifle cracked a moment later, and the two sheiks 
 added their fire. Had the horsemen been coming up in a close 
 body they Avould have gained the wood, for the leader was but 
 fifty yards away when Edgar fired; but they were scattered, 
 and the leaders being shot down the others wheeled their 
 horses and galloped back towards the caravan at full speed. 
 
 " Now we will be off again," Rupert said, and in a minute 
 they had mounted and continued their flight, 
 
 "There is no fear of the footmen overtaking us," Ben Ibyn 
 remarked. " Our camels are not like yours, but they can trot 
 at a good pace for forty miles. It is fortunate we had them, for 
 they would soon have been up to them had we only had common 
 camels. Of course we must strike off straight for Massowah 
 now. The danger is not over; some of the horsemen will bear 
 the news to Kassala and a troop will be sent out in pursuit of 
 us. It is well that we have journeyed quietly and that the 
 beasts are in good condition." 
 
 Hour after hour passed. The camels kept on with un- 
 swerving gait until long after nightfall. 
 
 " My beast smells water," Ben Ibyn said as his camel, after 
 waving his head backwards and forwards, suddenly quickened 
 its pace. 
 
 Another cjuarter of an hour they stopped at a small pool in 
 what during the rainy season was the bed of a river, and here 
 they halted. The camels having drunk their fill were given 
 an ample allowance of corn from the saddle-bags, and were then 
 
368 THE COUNTRY AHEAD. 
 
 picketed close at hand, while Yussuf prepared a meal for their 
 masters. 
 
 " What is the country like that we have to traverse?" Edgar 
 asked, 
 
 "By to-morrow night," Ben Ibyn said, "we shall have 
 reached the mountains. We are on very high land now, and 
 havje a great descent to make to reach the coast. We must 
 inquire the way to the pass by which the road from Kassala 
 descends to Massowah, If we strike it Avithout failure we 
 shall be safe; but if we miss our way, and the horsemen from 
 Kassala get there first, we shall be in a bad position. They 
 will have heard of our arms and strength, and are sure to have 
 too strong a force for us to attack. If we fail to find the road 
 at once, our best plan would be to turn and travel north until 
 we reach a road going down to Suakim." 
 
 "Would that one of us had travelled here before!" El 
 Bakhat said. "If we could but have continued our journey 
 to-night we should be safe. Upon the desert one can travel by 
 the stars, but the ground is getting far too broken to cross at 
 night; we should only weary our camels in vain." 
 
 "How far is it to the gorge you speak of. El Bakhat?" 
 
 "I know not for certain. Those who travel the road have 
 told me that it is three or four days' journey with laden camels 
 from Kassala. Our camels can easily do three days' march in 
 one, and if we have the good fortune to strike the road near 
 the mouth of the pass we may pass through it before dark to- 
 morrow; but by that time they may be there from Kassala." 
 
 " Well, I suppose we must take our chances," Eupert said. 
 
 He and Edgar soon lay down and were fast asleep, but the 
 two Arabs talked together for a long time before they fol- 
 lowed their example. At daybreak the party were on their 
 feet. 
 
 "We talked it over last night," Ben Ibyn said; "and we 
 
THE ROUTE CHANGED. 369 
 
 both tliiiik that it wore best not to proceed. The horsemen 
 woukl have readied tlie town with the news three hours after 
 noon, and had they sent oil" at once horsemen and fast camel- 
 men down the road to Massowah, we think that they would be 
 at the pass before we could possibly reach it. Had we known 
 the country and could have travelled all night, we should have 
 been there long before them. As it is, the risk would be too 
 great. We are already some distance north of the Massowah 
 road, and it will not be so many days longer a journey to Suakim 
 than to Massowah. Osman Digraa is lying at Handoub and 
 Tamai, so we cannot come down by the Berber road ; but there 
 are passes by which we can descend to the low country near 
 Tokar. Once down there we can cross from the foot of the 
 hills to the sea by night, and then follow the coast until we 
 arrive at Suakim." 
 
 "I think that is the best plan, sheik," Edgar said. "A few- 
 days will make no difference, and it would be as well to avoid 
 all risks." 
 
 Accordingly, on mounting, the camels' heads were turned to 
 the north-east. Yussuf rode behind Rupert and Edgar by 
 turns, so as to divide the labour between the two heiries. A 
 few villages were passed, but the inhabitants fled into their 
 houses or into the fields on seeing the approach of the party, 
 the arrival of strangers meaning extortion and demands for 
 tribute. So they journeyed for several days, until one aftei'- 
 noon they came to a large village, which was evidently in- 
 habited. They alighted and knocked at the door of the prin- 
 cipal house. No answer was at first returned, but on El Bakhat 
 shouting that he would break down the door if it was not 
 opened, bolts were heard to unfasten. The door opened, and 
 an old man presented himself. 
 
 "Why did you not reply to our knocking?" El Bakhat 
 asked angrily. "Is this your hospitality to strangers?" 
 
 (650) 2A 
 
370 HOSPITABLY RECEIVED. 
 
 "My lord must pardon me," he said submissively; "but it 
 was but last week that a party of the Mahdi's soldiers came 
 along here and stripped the village of all it possessed, and 
 drove off its bullocks and sheep. Save our grain, we have 
 nought that we can call our own." 
 
 "AVe do not belong to the Mahdi," Ben Ibyn said, "but are 
 peaceful travellers. We desire only to fill our bags with grain 
 for the animals, for which we will pay you the full value. For 
 ourselves we need nothing, although, if you have peradventure 
 a kid or a sheep left among you we will gladly purchase it." 
 
 "Enter, my lord," the old man replied briskly, evidently 
 much relieved at the announcement; " all that the village still 
 possesses is at your service." 
 
 He gave an order, and a boy brought out a basket of grain, 
 which he emptied before the camels, while the two Arabs, 
 Edgar, and Rupert entered the house. Ten minutes later a 
 villager brought in a freshly-killed kid, which Yussuf, after 
 lighting a fire in the court-yard, proceeded to cut up and cook. 
 In the meantime the Arabs had entered into a conversation 
 with the peasant as to the routes down to the sea. They 
 learned that so far they had been coming in the right direction, 
 and that some thirty miles farther they would come upon a 
 track leading down to Tokar. 
 
 "You must look well for it," he said; "it is never greatly 
 traversed, and since the troubles all trade has ceased, and you 
 may well cross the track without noticing it." 
 
 "Have you any in the village who know the track?" Edgar 
 
 " There are several here who have been down to Tokar, my 
 lord." 
 
 "We will give ten yards of good cloth to one who will go 
 and set us on the road. We will take him behind one of our 
 camels, and as we shall start at daybreak he can be back here 
 
A GUIDE. 371 
 
 before nightfall. I suppose when we once find the track it 
 will not be dillioult to follow it." 
 
 "I can doubtless find a guide," the peasant said; "he can 
 give you instructions as to the path, or he could go with you, 
 if you choose, still further, to show you the way. I will go 
 and find you such a man." 
 
 An active-looking young native presently arrived, and said 
 that he was willing to be their guide to the point Avhere the 
 track left the high lands and entered the gorges leading down 
 towards the sea. It was, he said, four days camels' march 
 beyond the point where they would strike the track, and he 
 would accompany them this distance for forty yards of cotton 
 cloth. The bargain was struck at once, and the following 
 morning they started, the guide riding behind Edgar. 
 
 As there was no occasion for haste, and the camels might be 
 required to exert their utmost speed when they reached the 
 low country, the journey was performed by three easy stages, 
 the distances being about forty miles each day. It was well 
 that they had a guide with them, for the track was in most 
 places entirely obliterated. 
 
 " You cannot miss your way now," the native said at their 
 last halting-place by some shallow wells. "This depression 
 leads straight down to the pass. It is two days' march hence 
 to the lower plains. When the valley at last opens on them 
 you will be about ten miles west of Tokar." 
 
 The next morning the guide started on his return journey. 
 The cloth had been given to him before starting, and he now 
 carried a few pounds of grain and a small bag full of dried 
 dates for his five days' journey back to his village. 
 
 The journey down the gorges was an arduous one. The 
 path had been swept away by the last season's rains, and in 
 some places where the valley narrowed to a gorge but a few 
 yards wide, with the rocks rising sheer up hundreds of feet on 
 
372 DOWN THE PASS. 
 
 either side, the bottom was filled with large blocks of stone 
 brought down by the floods, whose highest level could be seen 
 forty or fifty feet above them on the rocks. Occasionally it 
 was necessary to build a sloping platform with small boulders 
 of stones to enable the camels to get over the vast blocks that 
 filled the space between the walls. 
 
 It took them three days of arduous labour; but the valley 
 at last opened out, and they saw a broad expanse of country 
 stretching before them. No one had either met or passed 
 them on the way down; but here in the lower valley there 
 were several flocks of sheep and goats watched over by Arab 
 boys. These, at the sight of strangers, hastily collected their 
 animals and drove them up the hillside, but at a shout from 
 Ben Ibyn, saying that they were friends and would do them 
 no harm, two of them presently came down. 
 
 On hearing that the travellers intended to camp for the 
 night they led the way to the wells, and for three yards of 
 cotton killed and broiight in a sheep. Presently the rest 
 of the lads came down and squatted near the fire that Yussuf 
 had kindled, and after the party had dined were rejoiced by 
 the present of some wheaten cakes and a portion of the cooked 
 meat. They now became very communicative. They belonged 
 to the Hadendowah tribe. There were three or four hundred 
 of the dervishes at Tokar. Osman Digma had in all four or 
 five thousand men at Handoub, and was soon going to drive 
 the Kafiirs into the sea. Many of their tribe were with him, 
 but others were disheartened at the long delay to carry his 
 promise into effect. They had lost, too, a great many of their 
 best fighting men in the battles with the Kaffirs, but no doubt 
 when Osman Digma announced that the favourable time had 
 arrived, all would again join him in order to have their share 
 of the plunder of Suakim. 
 
 The next day they stopped at the wells, telling the boys 
 
AMONG FRIENDS. 373 
 
 that tho camels wore sorely wearied by their journey down the 
 gorge, and that they needed a day's rest. In the evening as 
 soon as the meal was over they mounted their camels, much 
 to the surprise of the native boys, and started. Edgar could 
 judge of the general position, for though he had not been as 
 far as Tokar he could tell pretty well the line they should 
 take to come down upon Trinkitat. As soon as they were 
 fairly out of the valley the camels were put to their full speed, 
 and in four hours the sea shining in the bright moonlight lay 
 before them. Crossing a shallow lagoon they were upon the 
 sandy beach. 
 
 The pace of the camels was now slackened, as it was useless 
 to arrive at Suakim before daybreak, as they would have been 
 liable to be shot by the sentries in the forts if they approached 
 in the darkness. When day broke Edgar and Rupert gave a 
 shout of joy, for three or four miles away could be seen the 
 masts of shipping. Again the camels broke into a trot, and in 
 half an hour they approached the forts raised to defend the 
 town on the land side from the attacks by Osman Digma's 
 followers. No questions were asked them, for natives belonging 
 to friendly tribes frequently entered or left the town. 
 
 As they crossed the ground between the forts and the town 
 they saw a party of marines marching out to relieve those who 
 had occupied the fort at night. They reined in their camels, 
 and Rupert addressed the officer marching at the head of the 
 party. 
 
 " Can you tell me, sir, if Lieutenant Skinner is at Suakim at 
 present 1 " 
 
 The officer was astounded at being thus addressed in pure 
 English by a wild-looking native, and the men following him 
 were no less astonished. 
 
 " Is it possible." the officer exclaimed, " that you are Mr. 
 Clinton?" 
 
374 A JOYFUL MEETING. 
 
 "That is my name," Eupert replied. 
 
 The officer advanced and grasped his hand warmly. " I am 
 glad indeed to see you," he said; "Skinner is my subaltern, 
 and has often spoken to me of what he considered your hope- 
 less journey to try to find your brother, and said that if you 
 did get through it alive you were as likely as not to turn up 
 here. I congratulate you indeed. Have you been successful?" 
 and he looked doubtfully at Rupert's companions. 
 
 "Yes, thank God, I have succeeded. This is my brother 
 Edgar." 
 
 The officer shook hands warmly with Edgar, and even the 
 men who had heard what was said raised a shout of welcome. 
 
 "I forgot; Skinner is in the rear," the officer said; and 
 raising his voice shouted his name. 
 
 Skinner came running up. He had been wondering what 
 the halt was for. Edgar and Eupert had dismounted by this 
 time and ran forward to meet him. He stopped in surprise 
 and then recognized Eupert, whom he had already seen in his 
 present disguise. 
 
 "Clinton!" he exclaimed with a joyous shout; "is it really 
 you? Thank God, you have got back again, and — and — " 
 
 " And this is Edgar," Eupert put in. 
 
 For a minute or two the three stood shaking each other's 
 hands, too excited and joyous to speak, while the soldiers 
 cheered lustily. The captain in command came up. 
 
 "Look here. Skinner; it would be too bad to take you away 
 from your friends now, so I will take it upon myself to give 
 you leave off duty. I will get Thomson to stay out until 
 to-morrow morning in your place. He won't mind when I 
 tell him why, and you can take his turn on duty on shore 
 next time." 
 
 Talking excitedly together they entered the town, the Arabs 
 following on their camels and Yussuf leading the two heiries. 
 
IN SUAKIM. 375 
 
 "Tlic first thing to do," Skinner said, "is to get you rigged 
 out decently. I su})poso it will be some time before you can 
 get rid of your dye, but at any rate you can get dressed like 
 Christians; and you can get rid of that fearful wig, Kupert. 
 I will send off a boat to my ship with a note, and they will 
 soon send you on shore a couple of suits of clothes. ]\Iine 
 would be of no use ; you could not get into them. This is the 
 only hotel in the place." 
 
 "First of all we must see about these Arabs being made 
 comfortable. Where can they put up their camels'?" 
 
 "Oh! that will be all right," Skinner said; "one of the 
 fellows here will take them under his charge." 
 
 Skinner entered and came out with a servant. 
 
 "You can put your camels in the court-yard here, El Bakhat," 
 Edgar said after speaking to the men. "Yussuf will look 
 after them. You had better find a lodging for yourselves. 
 You will be more at home there than you would here. Get 
 everything you want; you will have no difficulty in finding 
 everything in the Arab quarter. Skinner, lend me a sovereign, 
 will youl We have been living on barter for a long time, 
 but they will want money here." 
 
 "This is worth five dollars," he said as he handed the 
 money to El Bakhat; "but, ah! I forgot, Ben Ibyn knows 
 about the value of English money. If you will come here at 
 noon I may be able to tell you something about the money." 
 
 They then entered the hotel with Skinner. 
 
 "Get breakfast, the best you can get," Skinner ordered; 
 "and show me to a room where there is plenty of water and 
 towels. These are Englishmen, though you would not think 
 so from their appearance." 
 
 The young fellows enjoyed a thorough wash, and Rupert 
 got rid of his wig, but they had to attire themselves in their 
 former garments for breakfast. After existing for months 
 
376 SQUAEING ACCOUNTS. 
 
 upon native fare the breakfast was a luxury indeed. By the 
 time they had finished, the messenger Skinner sent off returned 
 with two suits of clothes sent ashore by the officers of his ship, 
 and having attired themselves in these they went with Skin- 
 ner to the political officer. When he understood who they 
 were he received them with much warmth. 
 
 " I have had letters from Captain Clinton," he said, " respect- 
 ing you; saying that it was possible that you might turn up 
 here, and requesting me to assist you in getting any bills you 
 might draw on him cashed. I will go with you to the prin- 
 cipal merchant here. No doubt he will do it, but if not I can 
 manage the affair with one of the ships' paymasters." 
 
 The merchant, however, was perfectly willing to honour 
 their draft upon their father for a thousand pounds upon the 
 statement of the officer that he would himself guarantee its 
 payment, and he told them that his servants should bring the 
 money in silver to the hotel. Four hundred pounds was the 
 amount that Ben Ibyn had been promised on delivering Kupert 
 in safety at one of the ports, and an equal sum was to be given 
 to El Bakhat. This left them two hundred pounds for getting 
 to England, for Edgar had learned that his regiment had a 
 month previously sailed for India, and he considered that 
 under the circumstances he was perfectly justified in reporting 
 himself at the depot at home. 
 
 The sheiks on their arrival at the hotel received with great 
 satisfaction the bags of money containing the stipulated amount. 
 To these were added a brace of revolvers each, being the two 
 Eupert had carried and two they had purchased in Suakim, 
 together with ten boxes of ammunition. Edgar also gave to 
 El Bakhat a set of jewellery and several silk scarves for 
 Amina, 
 
 "Now, sheik," he said, "I should like to purchase the free- 
 dom of Yussuf. What do you value him at?" 
 
"HE IS YOURS." 377 
 
 "I will give him to you," tho sheik said. " You have treated 
 me well and honourably," 
 
 "No, I will not have that, sheik; he is your property, and 
 is a very useful slave. 1 will give you two hundred dollars 
 for him." 
 
 " It is well," El Bakhat said; " he is yours." 
 
 "Now," Eupert said, "there are the two heiries; they are 
 yours by right, Ben Ibyn, but I would fain give one to El 
 Bakhat. I will give you three hundred dollars to forego your 
 claim to it. I know the beast is worth more; but if you possess 
 one of them it will suffice for your needs, and you will oblige 
 me if you will part with the other." 
 
 "I can refuse my lord nothing," Ben Ibyn said, "and the 
 possession of two such heiries might well draw envy and enmity 
 upon me. I will accept his offer." 
 
 "Then the other heirie is yours. El Bakhat," Rupert said, 
 " as a special present from me for the kindness you have shown 
 my brother. What do you both mean to do now?" 
 
 "We have agreed to journey up the coast together and 
 then to travel across the mountains to Assouan, and there 
 buy camels and goods, or we may buy them here if we see 
 bargains to suit us. Then we shall turn south. I shall go 
 on alone to Khartoum; I know many of the Mahdi's officers, 
 and shall by presents to them obtain a pardon for El Bakhat, 
 and permission for him to return to his tribe. Money will 
 do as much among the Mahdi's people as elsewhere." 
 
 "We shall see you again to-morrow, sheiks. A steamer 
 sails in the afternoon for Suez, and we shall go in her. Come 
 here to say good-bye to us in the morning." 
 
 When the sheiks had left Yussuf was called in, and Edgar 
 told him that he had purchased his freedom from El Bakhat. 
 The negro threw himself on his knees in an ecstasy of delight 
 and poured out his thanks. 
 
378 "COME HOME AT ONCE." 
 
 "Now, what would you like to do, Yussuf ?" Edgar went on 
 when the negro had quieted down. " I can recommend you 
 here to some merchant as a faithful man whom he can trust, 
 or if you would like to set up a shop here I will give you two 
 hundred dollars with which to trade. Or I can take you up 
 with us to Suez and give you strong letters of recommendation 
 with which you can obtain employment there." 
 
 "No, my lord," Yussuf cried, "none of these things. I 
 would go with you and be your servant; I will never leave 
 you." 
 
 "But I don't want a servant, Yussuf," Edgar said. "As 
 I have told you, I am a soldier, and soldiers do not have 
 servants." 
 
 "Oh, that is nonsense!" Rupert put in. "You are not 
 going on as a private soldier. You know you need not reckon 
 upon that, Edgar. You like the fellow, and there is no doubt he 
 would make you a faithful servant; and anyhow they could 
 find something to do for him at home." 
 
 Edgar pointed out to Yussuf that the life would be strange 
 to him, the climate altogether different to that to which he was 
 accustomed, and that he would find no one who could speak his 
 language. But Yussuf was unmoved, and entreated so ear- 
 nestly to be taken that Edgar gave in, saying that after all, if 
 he repented afterwards, he could be sent back to Egypt. 
 
 Just as this was settled a messenger entered with a telegram 
 from Captain Clinton in answer to that they had despatched 
 before they had sat down to breakfast announcing their safe 
 arrival. It contained simply the words, "Thank God! Come 
 home at once." 
 
 They went off to dinner with Skinner on board ship, and 
 the story of their adventures excited immense interest among 
 the officers. Skinner returned with them on shore, and 
 remained with them until the steamer left in the afternoon. 
 
home! 379 
 
 Yussuf, who liad been rigged out in whito trousers and jacket, 
 a checked shirt, and straw hat, accompanying them. The two 
 slieiks saw them off, and stood looking after them with grave 
 regret until the steamer was far from land. At Suez Edgar 
 and Eui^ert provided themselves with a stock of linen and 
 clothing; two days later they took passage to Brindisi in a 
 P. and O. steamer, and travelled rapidly across Europe. 
 Their colour excited much surprise among the passengers on 
 board the steamer, but as they had no wish to keep on tell- 
 ing their story they kept themselves apart, and made no 
 acquaintances during the short voyage. Yussuf was astounded 
 at everything he saw: the ship and her machinery, the trains, 
 the fertile country through which they travelled, the frequent 
 villages, and great towns. There was no stay in London. 
 They drove across from Charing Cross to Paddington, and 
 went down by the first train. A telegram had been despatched 
 from Dover, and a carriage was at the station to meet them, 
 and the servant handed Rupert a note. It contained a few 
 Avords from his father, saying that he had not come to meet 
 them, as he thought it better that they should all meet together 
 at home. It was Edgar who received the first greeting from 
 father, mother, and sister, while Eupert stood by, well content 
 that his brother should on this occasion come first. It was 
 little over a year since he had said good-bye to them, while it 
 was more than three since Edgar had seen them, and his own 
 greeting, though delayed for a moment, was no less warm than 
 that of Edgar. 
 
 " Father and mother," Edgar began as soon as they turned 
 again from Eupert, " I want to say that I feel how wrong I 
 was — " 
 
 " Then don't say it," Captain Clinton broke in. " We won't 
 talk about that time at all. You suffered, and we have all 
 suffered; but good has come out of it. Thank God the matter 
 
380 "I HAVE SOME NEWS FOR YOU." 
 
 is settled now for ever, and we know there is nothing more 
 to be found out about it, and that there is no fear of our ever 
 having to look at one or other of you in a different light to 
 that with which we regard you, as our two sons, of both of 
 whom we have every reason to be proud. There now, let us 
 talk of other things. You have both gone through wonderful 
 adventures, which we are burning to hear about." 
 
 " You have changed a great deal, Edgar," Mrs. Clinton said. 
 "Of course we have seen Rupert comparatively lately; but I 
 think that you have changed more than he has from what you 
 both were three years ago. You look older than he does, and 
 your figure is more set." 
 
 " He has gone through so much more," Rupert said; "he has 
 been doing man's work for three years. I have only had a 
 year and a half of it." 
 
 " You need not be in a hurry to look old, Rupert," Captain 
 Clinton laughed; "that will come soon enough, and you have 
 widened out a good deal in this last year. You had got very 
 weedy, and I am glad to see that you are filling up. 
 
 " I have some news for you, Edgar. I saw Lord Wolseley 
 on his return to England, and he spoke very kindly of you 
 both, and when I got your telegram from Suakim I wrote to 
 him again and received a very warm letter of congratulation 
 from him in reply. He told me that he had received a most 
 favourable report of you from your colonel, who said that your 
 conduct had been most exemplary since you had entered the 
 regiment, and that as you had been recommended for the Vic- 
 toria Cross he had intended to recommend you for a commis- 
 sion as soon as you had served a qualifying time as a sergeant. 
 But Lord Wolseley said that he thought it would be a great pity 
 for you to lose four or five years' seniority by waiting to get your 
 commission from the ranks, and that he had that morning 
 spoken to the Duke of Cambridge about you, and that the 
 
EDGAR PASSES. 381 
 
 latter had put your nauie down for a Queen's Cadetsliip, so 
 that if you could pass the mere qualifying examination you 
 could have a commission at once. There will be an exami- 
 nation in two months' time, and if you go up to a crammer 
 and work hard you will be able to brush up your school work 
 and get through; if not, of course you can go in again six 
 months later. I am afraid you will hardly get ready in time 
 for the first." 
 
 "I don't know, father," Eupert said; while Edgar expressed 
 his lively satisfaction. "Edgar speaks Arabic like a native, 
 and if he takes that up as a subject he is sure to get full marks 
 for it, and that will help him tremendously. Of course he 
 would have no chance of getting through if he had to go in 
 for the competition; but something like half the number of 
 marks are enough for the qualifying examination." 
 
 "Well, we mustn't be too sanguine," Captain Clinton said; 
 " and eight months' quiet study won't hurt him after campaign- 
 ing in Egypt for two years. By the way, Edgar, I paid in the 
 money for you to buy out, and sent in an application in your 
 name. These things take some little time before they are 
 carried out, but no doubt we shall soon hear. But in the 
 jneantime you had better write at once to the officer command- 
 ing your depot, saying that you have returned home, and ask- 
 ing for a month's leave of absence. You are sure to get your 
 discharge before that is over." 
 
 Edgar remained at home for a week, spending much of his 
 time, however, over his old school-books. Then he went up 
 to town and worked at a crammer's until the examination 
 came off, when, thanks in no small degree to the number of 
 marks he obtained for his Arabic, he just managed to get the 
 number necessary to qualify him. To his great satisfaction 
 he was at once gazetted to a regiment as if he had been pro- 
 moted from the ranks, instead of having to go through the 
 
382 THE CLOUDS CLEARED AWAY, 
 
 course at Sandhurst, and thus gained several months' seniority. 
 Three months' leave was granted him, and at the end of that 
 time he joined his regiment, which was stationed at Malta. 
 
 No question as to which of the Clintons is the legitimate 
 son of the captain and his wife has ever again troubled them. 
 Edgar and Rupert know that they are equally dear to those at 
 home, and all are happy in the knowledge that nothing hence- 
 forth can break the closeness of their tie, and that it can never 
 be known which is the lawful heir of the estates. What is 
 much more important to them both, neither of them can say 
 which has the first claim on the love and affection of Captain 
 and Mrs. Clinton, and of their sister. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 General Gordon. For, in the difficulties which the expedition encountered, 
 in the perils which it overpassed, and in its final tragic disappointments, 
 are found all the excitements of romance, as well as the fascination which 
 belongs to real events. It is this memorable campaign, then, which Mr. 
 Henty has chosen as the central theme of his romance, and it is his con- 
 summate skill in the presentation of the actual vivid facts which constitutes 
 its chief interest. This is a book which will hold the boy spell-bound who 
 loves daring- deeds, and danger, and the clash of deadly fight. 
 
BLACKIE cfc SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 ' Mr. Henty is one of the best of story-tellers for young people." — Spectator. 
 
 By England's Aid: Or, The Freeing of the Netherlands 
 (1585-1604). By G. A. Henty. With 10 full-page Illustrations 
 by Alfred Pearse, and 4 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 
 olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "Boys know and love Mr. Henty's books of adventure, and will welcome his 
 'tale of the Freeing of the Netlierlauds." — Athenceuni. 
 
 "The story is told with great animation, and the historical material is most 
 effectively combined with a most excellent plot. The maps and woodcuts are 
 excellent illustrations."— Satwrday Review. 
 
 "Here you have wars and rumours of wars, the defence of Sluys, the capture 
 of Breda by a marvel of stiategy, and the battle of Ivry, with sliipwrecks and 
 escapes from the Barbary corsairs, and the abduction of the loveliest hehess in 
 Spain." — National Observer. 
 
 By Right of Conquest: Or, With Cortez in Mexico. By 
 G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by W. S. Stagey, and 
 2 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "Mr. Henty's skill has never been more convincingly displayed than in this 
 admirable and ingenious story."— Saturday Review. 
 
 ' ' By Right of Conquest is the nearest approach to a perfectly successful histori- 
 cal tale that Mr. Henty has yet published."— ^cadewii/. 
 
 " The best of Mr. Henty's books published this season,— picturesque and warm 
 in colouring, as the country it describes, with just the right proportion of history 
 and roniance. "—Graphic. 
 
 With Lee in Virginia: A story of the American Civil 
 War. By G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by Gordon 
 Browne, and 6 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 " The story is a capital one and full of variet.v, and presents us with many 
 picturesque scenes of Southern life. Young Wingfield, who is conscientious, 
 spirited, and 'hard as nails,' would have been a man after the very heart of 
 Stonewall Jackson."— 3'wnes. 
 
 " This is one of the best stories for lads which Mr. Henty has yet written. The 
 picture is full of life and colour, and the stirring and i-oniantic incidents which 
 marked the struggle are most skilfully blended with the personal interest and 
 charm of the &toTy."— Standard. 
 
 By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Else of the Dntch Ee- 
 public. By G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by Maynaed 
 Brown, and 4 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "Tlie mission of Ned to deliver letters from William the Silent to his adherents 
 at Brussels, the fight of the Good Venture with the Spanish man-of-war, the battle 
 on the ice at Amsterdam, the siege of Haarlem, are all told with a vividness and 
 skill, which are worthy of Mr. Henty at his he^t."— Academy. 
 
 " Ned Martin comports himself throughout the struggle as a hero should. The 
 story has, of course, plenty of life, and the maps and plans are excellent." — 
 
 Athenceuni. 
 
BLACKIE i- soys BOOKS FOR YOUXQ PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 "Suiuly Mr. ILeuty should uiuluistancl boys' tiistcs better than any man living." 
 
 — The Times. 
 
 With Clive in India: Or, Tlie Beginnings of :in Empire. 
 By (i. A. Henty. Witli 12 full-page Illustrations by (JdUDoN 
 Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth eleyaut, olivine edges, t)s. 
 
 " In this book Mr. Henty has contrived to exceed himself in stirring adventures 
 and thrillinj; situations. The pictures add greatly to the interest of the book."— 
 Saturday lieoiew. 
 
 " Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very 
 first rank, 'riio.se who know something about India will be the most ready to 
 thank Mr. lleiity fur .giving them this instructive volume to place in the hands 
 of their children."— ..icaifcz/iJ/. 
 
 The Lion of St. Mark: A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth 
 Century. By G. A. Henty. With 10 full-page Illustrations by 
 Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 " Every boy should read The Lion of St. Mark. Mr. Henty has never produced 
 any story more delightful, more wholesome, or more vivacious. From first to 
 last it will be read with keen enjoyment."— 27ie Saturday Bevieiv. 
 
 " Mr. Henty has probably not published a more interesting story than The 
 Lion of St. Mark. He has certainly not published one in which he has been at such 
 pains to rise to the dignity of his subject."— 37ie Academy. 
 
 Under Drake's Flag-: a Tale of the Spanish Main. By 
 G. A. Henty. Illustrated by 12 full-page Pictures by Gordon 
 Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "There is not a dull chapter, nor, indeed, a dull page in the book; but the 
 author has so carefully worked up his subject that the exciting deeds of his 
 heroes are never incongruous or absurd. "—Obnerver. 
 
 '•Just such a book, indeed, as the youth of this maritime country are likely to 
 prize highly." — Daily 'Telegraph. 
 
 Bonnie Prince Charlie : A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. 
 By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon 
 Browne. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, Os. 
 
 " Ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of Qucntin Durward. The lad's 
 journey across France with his faithful attendant Malcolm, and his hairbreadth 
 escapes from the machinations of his fatlier's enemies, make up as good a 
 narrative of the kind as we have ever read. For freshness of treatment and 
 variety of incident, Mr. Henty has here surpassed \\\n.\%e\i."— Spectator. 
 
 "A historical romance of the best quality. Mr. Henty has written many more 
 sensational stories, but never a more artistic one." — Academy. 
 
 For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By 
 G. A. Henty. With 10 full-page Illustrations by S. J. Solojion, 
 and a Coloured Map. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 " Mr. Henty's graphic prose pictures of the hopeless Jewish resistance to Roman 
 sway adds another leaf to his record of the famous wars of the world. The book 
 is one of Mr. Henty's cleverest effovts."— Graphic. 
 
 " The story is told with all the force of descriptive power which has made the 
 author's war stories so famous, and many an 'old boy' as well as the younger 
 ones will delight in this narrative of that awful page nf history."— Church Times. 
 
BLACEIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR TOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 "Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very 
 first rank." — Academy. 
 
 The Lion of the North : A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and 
 the Wars of Religion. By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Pictures 
 by J. ScHONBERG. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "As we might expect from Mr. Henty the tale is a clever and instructive piece 
 of history, and as boys may be trusted to read it conscientiously, they can hardly 
 fail to be profited as well as pleased."— T/ie Times. 
 
 , "A praiseworthy attempt to interest British youth in the great deeds of the 
 Scotch Brigade in the wars of Gustavus Adolphus. Mackay, Hepbui-n, and Munro 
 live again in Mr. Henty's pages, as those deserve to live whose disciplined bands 
 formed really the germ of the modern British -drmy. "—Athenoeum. 
 
 The Young" Carthaginian: A story of the Times of 
 
 Hannibal. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by 
 C. J. Staniland, E.I. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 " The effect of an interesting story, well constructed and vividly told, is en- 
 hanced by the picturesque quality of the scenic background. Erom first to last 
 nothing stays the interest of the narrative. It bears us along as on a stream, 
 whose current varies in direction, but never loses its totce." Saturday Review. 
 
 "Ought to be popular with boys who are not too ill instructed to be affected 
 by a graphic picture of the days and deeds of 'Rs.mi\haX."—AthencBum. 
 
 With Wolfe in Canada: Or, The Winuiug of a Continent. 
 By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon 
 Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "A model of what a boys' story-book should be. Mr. Henty has a great power 
 of infusing into the dead facts of history new life, and as no pains are spared by 
 him to ensure accuracy in historic details, his books supply useful aids to study 
 as well as amusement."— ^/iooZ Guardian. 
 
 " It is not only a lesson in history as instructively as it is graphically told, but 
 also a deeply interesting and often thrilling tale of adventure and peril by flood 
 and field. " — Illustrated London News. 
 
 In Freedom's Cause: a story of Wallace and Bruce. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 ' ' Mr. Henty has broken new ground as an historical novelist. His tale of the 
 days of Wallace and Bruce is f uU of stirring action, and will commend itself to 
 boys. " — A thenceum. 
 
 " Scarcely anywhere have we seen in prose a more lucid and spirit-stiiTing 
 description of Bannockburn than the one with which the author fittingly closes 
 his volume. " — Dumfries Standard. 
 
 True to the Old Flag": A Tale of the American War of 
 Independence. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations 
 by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "Does justice to the pluck and determination of the British soldiers. The son 
 of an American loyalist, who remains true to our flag, falls among the hostile red- 
 skins in that very Huron country which has been endeared to us by the exploits 
 of Hawkeye and Chingachgook."— r/ie Times. 
 
 " Mr. Henty's extensive personal experience of adventures and moving incidents 
 by flood and field, combined with a gift of picturesque narrative, make his books 
 always welcome visitors in the home circle."— DaiZs/ News. 
 
BLACKIE d: SOS'S ROOKS FOR YOUSG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 " Mr. Ileiity is one of our most successful writers of historical iaXei."— Scotsman. 
 
 ThPOUg"h the Fray: A story of the Luddite Eiots. By 
 G. A. IIenty. With Vl full -page Illustrations by H. M. Paget. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine etlges, 6.9. 
 
 " Mr. Ileiity inspires a love and admiration for straightforwardness, trutli, and 
 courage. Tliis is one of the best of the many good books Mr. Henty luis iiroduLcd, 
 and deserves to be classed with his Facing Death."— Standard. 
 
 " Tlic interest of the story never flags. Were we to propose a competition for 
 the best list of novel writers for boys we have little doubt that Mr. Henty's name 
 would stand f[vs,t." —Journal of Education. 
 
 Captain Bayley'S Heir: a Tale of the Gold Fields of Cali- 
 fornia. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by 
 H. M. Paget. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "A Westminster l)oy who makes his way in the world by hard work, good 
 temper, and unfailing courage. Tlie descriptions given of life are just what a 
 healthy intelligent lad should delight in."— St. James's Gazette. 
 
 "The portraits of Captain Bayley, and the head-master of Westminster school, 
 are admirably drawn; and the adventures in California are told with that vigour 
 which is peculiar to Mr. Henty."— The Academy. 
 
 BY GEORGE MAC DONALD. 
 
 A R0Ug"h Shaking". By George Mac Donald. With 
 12 full-page Illustrations by W. Parkinson. Crown 8vo, cloth 
 elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "It would be impossible to read one of Dr. Mac Donald's books without getting 
 therefrom some noble lessons of trutli, honour, and charity for man, and the 
 authcir will thank us for adding— beast also. A Rough Shaking is a very liappy 
 specimen of his woY\i."— Spectator. 
 
 "One of Mr. Mac Donald's wonderful and charming %toY\eB."—Athci}<xnm. 
 
 "One of the very best books for boys that has been written. It is full of mate- 
 rial peculiarly well adapted for the young, containing, as it does in a marked 
 degree, the elements of all that is necessary to make up a perfect boys' book. It 
 is absorl)ingly interesting, not one dull page in all the 400 of which the volume is 
 made up."— Teachers' Aid. 
 
 BY S. BARING-GOULD. 
 
 Grettir the Outlaw: A story of Iceland, By S. Baring- 
 GoULD, author of "John Herring," "Mehalah," &c. With 10 full- 
 page Illustrations by M. Zeno Diemer, and a Coloured Map. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6.9. 
 
 "A foremost place in the boys' fiction of the season must be given to Grettir 
 the Outlaw." — Globe. 
 
 " Is the boys' book of its year. That is, of course, as much as to say that it 
 will do for men grown as well as juniors. It is told in simple, straightforward 
 English, as all stories should be, and it has a freshness, a freedom, a sense of sun 
 and wind and the open air, which make it irresistible."— Scote Observer. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR TOXTNG PEOPLR 
 
 BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. 
 
 " Mr. Fenn stands in the foremost rank of writers in this department."— i)a% 
 News. 
 
 Quicksilver: Or, A Boy with no Skid to his Wheel. By 
 George Manville Fenn. With 10 full-page Illustrations by 
 Frank Dadd. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 " Quicksilver is little short of an inspiration. In it that prince of story-writers • 
 for boys — George Manville Fenn — has surpassed himself. It is an ideal book for 
 a boy's lihrary."— Practical Teacher. 
 
 " The story is capitally told, it abounds in graphic and well described scenes, 
 and it has an excellent and manly tone throughout."— T/ie Guardian. 
 
 Dick O' the Fens: A Romance of the Great East Swamp. By 
 G-. Manville Fenn. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Frank 
 Dadd. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "We conscientiously believe that boys will find it capital reading. It is full 
 of incident and mystery, and the mystery is kept up to the last moment. It is 
 rich in effective local colouring; and it has a historical intei'est."— rimes. 
 
 " Deserves to be heartily and unreservedly praised as regards plot, incidents, 
 and spirit. It is its author's masterpiece as yet."— Spectator. 
 
 Devon Boys: A Tale of the North Shore. By G. Manville 
 
 Fenn. With 12 full - page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "An admirable story, as remarkable for the individuality of its young heroes 
 as for the excellent descriptions of coast scenery and life in North Devon. It is 
 one of the best books we have seen this season."— ^i/ienoBMm. 
 
 The Golden Magnet : A Tale of the Land of the Incas. By 
 
 G. Manville Fenn. Illustrated by 12 full-page Pictures by Gor- 
 don Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "There could be no more welcome present for a boy. There is not a dull page 
 in the book, and many will be read with breathless interest. 'The Golden Mag- 
 net' is, of course, the same one that attracted Baleigh and the heroes of West- 
 ward Ho ! " — Journal of Education. 
 
 In the King's Name : Or, The Cruise of the Kestrel. By 
 G. Manville Fenn. Illustrated by 12 full-page Pictures by 
 Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "A capital boys' story, full of incident and adventure, and told in the lively 
 style in which Mr. Fenn is such an adept."— Globe. 
 
 " The best of all Mr Fenn's productions in this field. It has the great quality 
 of always 'moving on,' adventure following adventure in constant succession."^ 
 Daily News. 
 
 Bunyip Land: The story of a Wild Journey in New Guinea. 
 
 By G. Manville Fenn. With 12 full -page Illustrations by 
 
 Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 " Mr. Fenn deserves the thanks of everybody for Bunyip Land, and we may ven- 
 ture to promise that a quiet week may be reckoned on whilst the youngsters have 
 such fascinating literature provided for their evenings' amusement." — Spectator. 
 
BLACKIE <t SOil-S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PKOPLE. 
 
 NEW EDITION OF THE UNIVERSE. 
 
 The Universe: Oi/riio Intinitely Givataml the lutiuitely Litlle. 
 A Sketfli (if Contrasts in Creation, and Marvels revcalud ami 
 explained by Natural Science. By F. A. Pouchet, m.d. Witli 
 272 Engravings on wood, of which 55 are full-page size, and a 
 Coloured Frontispiece. Tenth Edition, medium 8vo, cloth elegant, 
 gilt edges, 7.s'. 6f/. ; also morocco antique, Kis. 
 
 " We can honestly CDiiinieiKl Professor Pouuhet's book, wliitli is admirably, as 
 it is copiously illustrated."— 77ie Times. 
 
 "This book is as iiitcrestiiij,' as the most exciting romance, and a great deal 
 more likely to be rememhcred to good X)\\Y\>os,e."— Standard. 
 
 "Scarcely any book in French or in English is so likely to stimulate in the 
 young an interest in the physical phenomena." — FortnUjhtbj lieview. 
 
 Two Thousand Years Ag-O: Or, The Adventures of a Roman 
 Boy. By Professor A. J. Church. With 12 full-page Illustrations 
 by Aprien Marie. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, Qs. 
 
 "Adventures well worth the telling. The book is extremely entertaining as 
 well as useful, and there is a wonderful freshness in the Roman scenes and 
 characters. " — The Times. 
 
 " We know of no l)ook which will do more to make the Romans of that day live 
 again for the English tqaAqv."— Guardian. 
 
 The Log- of the "Flying" Fish:" A story of Aerial aud 
 
 Submarine Peril and Adventure. By Harry Collingwood. With 
 
 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth 
 
 elegant, olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "The Flying Fish actually surpasses all Jules Verne's creations; with incred- 
 ible speed she flies through the air, skims over the surface of the water, and darts 
 •along the ocean bed. "We strongly recommend our school-boy friends to 
 themselves of her log."— Athencfum. 
 
 Under False Colours. By Sarah Doudney. With 12 f nil- 
 page Illustrations by G. G. Kilburne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 
 olivine edges, 6s. 
 
 "A charming story, abounding in delicate touches of sentiment and pathos. It 
 will be read with a warm interest by every girl who takes it n\>."— Scotsman. 
 
 ".Sarah Doudney has no superior as a writer of high-toned stories— pure in 
 style, original in conception, and with skilfully wrought-out plots; but we have 
 seen nothing from her pen equal in dramatic energy to this book." — Christian 
 Leader. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe. By Daniel Defoe. Illustrated by 100 
 Pictures by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 6s. 
 
 "One of the best issues, if not absolutely the best, of Defoe's work which has 
 ever appeared."- T/ie Standard. 
 
 " The best edition I have come across for years. If you know a boy who has 
 not a 'Robinson Crusoe,' just glance at any one of these hundred illustrations, 
 and you will go no further afield in search of a present for him." — TriUh. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR TOTING PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 " The brightest of all the living writers whose office it is to enchant the boys." 
 
 —Christian Leader. 
 
 Held Fast for England: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar. 
 
 By G. A. Hentt. With 8 page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 This story deals with one of the most memorable sieges in history — the 
 siege of Gibraltar in 1779-83 by the united forces of France and Spain. 
 With land forces, fleets, and floating batteries, the combined resources of 
 two great nations, this grim fortress was vainly besieged and bombarded. 
 The hero of the tale, an English lad resident in Gibraltar, takes a brave 
 and worthy part in the long defence, and it is through his varied experi- 
 ences that we learn with what braveiy, resourcefulness, and tenacity the 
 Rock was held for England. The interest of the narrative shifts from land 
 to sea, and furnishes a fit record of one of the most notable events in 
 English history. 
 
 One of the 28th: a Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. Henty. 
 With 8 full-page Illustrations by W. H. Overend, and 2 Maps. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " Written with Homeric vigour and heroic inspiration. It is graphic, pictur- 
 esque, and dramatically effective . . . shows us ilr. Henty at his best and 
 brightest. The adventures will hold a boy of a winter's night enthralled as he 
 rushes through them with breathless interest 'from cover to cover.' " — Observer. 
 
 " Contains one of the best descriptions of the various battles whicli raged round 
 Waterloo which it has ever been our fate to Tead."— Daily Telegrajyh. 
 
 The Cat of Bubastes: A story of Ancient Egyjot. By 
 G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by J. E,. Weguelin. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "The story is highly enjoyable. We have pictures of Egyptian domestic life, of 
 sport, of religious ceremonial, and of other things which may still be seen vividly 
 portrayed by the brush of Egyptian artists."— r/ic Spectator. 
 
 " The story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred cat to the 
 perilous exodus into Asia witli which it closes, is very skilfully constructed and 
 full of e.xciting adventures. It is admirably illustrated."— Saf^o-daj/ Review. 
 
 " Jlr. Henty has fairly excelled himself in this admirable story of romance and 
 adventure. We have never examined a story-book that we can recommend with 
 more confidence as a boy's reward." — Teachers' Aid. 
 
 Maori and Settler: A story of the New Zealand War. By 
 G. A Hentt. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Alfred Pearse, 
 and a Map. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "It is a book which all young people, but especially boys, will read ivith 
 avidity. ' ' — A thenceuin. 
 
 " An admirable book for boys." — Academy. 
 
 "A flrst-rate book for boys, brimful of adventure, of humorous and interesting 
 conversation, and of vivid pictures of colonial Ufe."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 " Shows that the author is as versatile as he is skilful in the provision of healthy 
 and interesting tales for boys. The voyage nut is full of incident, and the reader 
 will learn from the book much of the natural history of New Zealand." — School 
 Guardian. 
 
DLACKIK <0 SOXS BOOKS FOR YOUXG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 Mr. Iloiity is tlic kiii^,' of story-toIIiTs for hi>ya."—Swonl and Truwel. 
 
 St. Georg"e for Eng"land: A Tale of Cressy and iV.itici'.s. 
 By (}. A. Hknty. With 8 full-page Illustrations hy GouuoN 
 BuoWNE. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, fjs. 
 
 " Arr. Ileiity's historical novels for boys biil fair to stipiilenient, on their behalf, 
 the historical laboin-s of Sir Walter Scott in tlu' land of lic-tJon."-,5/«w/orrf. 
 
 "A story of very tjrcat interest for l)oys. In bis own foreiljle style the author 
 has endeavoured to show tbat detcrniination anil cntlmsiasni can acconiitlish mar- 
 vellous results; and that eouiaL'c is generally accompanied by magnanimity and 
 gentleness." Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 The Bravest of the Brave: With Peterborough in Spain. 
 
 By G-. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Pictures by H. M. Paget. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " 5Ir. Henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work— to enforce the 
 doctrine of courage and truth, mercy and lovingkindness, as indispensable to the 
 making of an English gentleman. British lads will read The Bravest of the 
 Brave with pleasure and profit; of that we are quite sme."— Daily Telegraph. 
 
 For Name and Fame: Or, Through Afghan Passes. By 
 G-. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Bbowne. 
 Crown Svo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " The best feature of the book, apart from its scenes of adventure, is its 1 
 effort to do justice to the patriotism of the Afghan people."— jDa% ^''e^vs. 
 
 "Not only a rousing story, replete with all the varied forms of excitement of a 
 campaign, but, what is still more useful, an account of a territory and its Inhabi- 
 tants which must for a long time possess a supreme interest for Englishmen, as 
 being the key to our Indian Empire." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 In the Reig-n of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster 
 
 Boy. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full -page Illustrations by J. 
 
 SchoNBEEG. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "Karry Sandwith, tlie Westminster boy, may fairly he said to beat JMr. Henty's 
 record. His adventures will delight boys by the audacity and peril tliey depict. 
 The story is one of Jlr. Henty's bust."— Saturday Review. 
 
 Orang-e and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. 
 By G. A. Henty. With 8 full -page Illustrations by Gordon 
 Browne. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "An extremely spirited story, based on the struggle in Ireland, rendered 
 memorable by the defence of 'Derry and the siege of Limerick." — Sat. Review. 
 
 ".The narrative is free from the vice of prejudice, and ripples with life as 
 vivacious as if what is being described were really passing before the eye. . . . 
 Should be in the hands of every young student of Irish history." — Belfast News. 
 
 By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G. A. 
 Henty. With 8 full-page Pictures by Gordon Browne. Crown 
 Svo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "By Sheer PlncJr will be eagerly read. The author's personal knowledge of the 
 west coast has been turned to good advantage."— .4 f/ien(rj«7n. 
 
 "Morally, the book is everything that could be desired, setting before the boys 
 a hright and bracing ideal of the English gentleman."— C^)-is<ia» Leader. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 ' Mr. Henty is the king of story-tellers for boys."— Sword and Trowel. 
 
 The Drag-on and the Raven: Or, The Days of Kiug 
 
 Alfred. By G-. A. Henty. With 8 page Illustrations by C. J. 
 Staniland, E.I. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "We know of no popular book in which the stirring incidents of Alfred's reign 
 are made accessible to young readers as they are here." — Scotsman. 
 
 "A story that may justly be styled remarkable. Boys, in reading it, will be 
 surprised to find how Alfred persevered, through years of bloodshed and times 
 of peace, to rescue his people from the thraldom of the Danes. We hope the 
 book will soon be widely known in all our schools." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 A Final Reckoning": a Tale of Bush Life in Australia. 
 By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by W. B. 
 WoLLEN. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " Exhibits Mr. Henty 's talent as a story-teller at his best. . . . The drawings 
 possess the uncommon merit of really illustrating the text."— Saturday lieview. 
 
 " All boys will read this story with eager and unflagging interest. The episodes 
 are in Mr. Henty's very best vein — graphic, exciting, realistic; and, as in all Mr. 
 Henty's books, the tendency is to the formation of an hon(nirable, manly, and 
 even heroic character."-— Birmingham Post. 
 
 Facing- Death: Or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of 
 the Coal Mines. By G-. A. Henty. With 8 page Pictures by 
 Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " If any father, godfather, clergyman, or schoolmaster is on the look-out for a 
 good book to give as a present to a boy who is worth his salt, this is the book we 
 would recommend." — Standard. 
 
 "The hero starts life as a 'gate-boy,' and, after years of hard work, makes 
 a fortune and becomes a famous mining expert. The descriptions of pit life are 
 extremely graphic. A thoroughly good hook."— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 BY F. FRANKFORT MOORE. 
 
 Hig-hwayS and Hig"h Seas: Cyril Harley's Adventures on 
 both. By F. Frankfort Moore. With 8 full-page Illustrations 
 by Alfred Pearse. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "This is one of the best stories Mr. Moore has written, perhaps the very best. 
 The exciting adventures among highwaymen and privateers are sure to attract 
 boys. " — Spectator. 
 
 "It is pleasant to come across such honest work as F. Frankfurt Moore's High- 
 ways and High Seas, especially as he breathes a vein of genuine humour, his 
 Captain Chink being a real achievement in characterization."— Scots Observer. 
 
 Under Hatches: Or, Ned Woodthorpe's Adventures. By F. 
 Frankfort Moore. With 8 full-page Illustrations by A. Fores- 
 tier. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 "Mr. Moore has never shown himself so thoroughly qualified to write books 
 for boys as he has done in Under Hatches." — The Academy. 
 
 "The story as a story is one that will just suit boys all the world over. The 
 characters are well drawn and consistent; Patsy, the Irish steward, will be found 
 especially amusing."— Sc/jooZ/jias^er. 
 
BLACKIE X- SONS BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY ROBERT LEIGHTON. 
 
 The Pilots of Pomona: A Stciy of the Orkney Islands. 
 Jiy KniiKKT l.KiciiruN-. With 8 piiye lllustnitioiiH hy J.uin I^kigii- 
 TuN, and a Mup. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, elivine edges, 5^. 
 
 The seono of this story is laid in the Orkney Islands. Halcro Ericson, 
 the hero, who tells his story with preat simplicity and directness, liappens 
 upi>n many excitin<:: adventuics and hardy cxpcricneos, through whieii he 
 carries himself with quiet courage. Tiic tiiidiuL;' of treasure-trove, tiie 
 cliti'-cliinhini,' adventia-cs, the tishiut;- expoilition, the escape from drowning, 
 the lonely Arctic voyage, the experiences with smugglers, and the trial for 
 murder on a false accusation, all servo to show the spirit of the lad, while 
 they carry forward a breathless narrative. And not the least charm of the 
 story is its vivid presentation, incidentally, of the fisher-folk and tiieir 
 ways in these far northern islands. This is the kind of story whicli a boy 
 would read and re-read with increasing pleasure. 
 
 BY DR. GORDON STABLES. 
 
 'Twixt School and CoUeg-e : a Tale of Self-reliance. By 
 GoRiX)N Stahles, cm., M.D., R.N. With 8 full-page Illustrations 
 by W. Parkinson. Grown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "One of tlie l)est of a prolific writer's hooks for boys, being full of practical 
 instructions as to keeping pets, from white mice upwards, and inculcates in a way 
 which a little recalls Miss Edgeworth's 'Frank' the virtue Of self-reliance, 
 though the local colouring of the home of the Aberdeenshire boy is a good deal 
 more picturesque."— /K/iotreKHt. 
 
 " Who is anxious to mnke a present to a good boy? Here is the very book for 
 liim to get. — Newberry llouse Magazine. 
 
 BY G. NORWAY. 
 
 Hussein the H0Stag"e : Or, a Boy's Adventures in Persia. 
 By G. Norway. With 8 full-page Illustrations by John Schon- 
 BERG. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "The lad who gets Hussein the Hostage will have a real prize, for the story is 
 one of the best and most original boys' books of recent seasons."— Gra^ftic. 
 
 " Hussein the Hostage is full of originality and vigour. The characters are life- 
 like, there is plenty of stirring incident, the interest is sustained throughout, and 
 every boy will enjoy following the fortunes of the hero."— Journal of Edrication. 
 
 The Loss of John Humble: What Led to it, and what 
 
 Came of It. By G. Norway. With 8 full-page Illustrations by 
 John Schonbehg. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "This story will place the author at once in the fnnit rank. It is full of life 
 and adventure. He is equally at home in his descriptions of life in Sweden and 
 in the more stirring passages of wreck and disaster, and the interest of the story 
 is sustained without a lireak from first to \a.?,t." —Standard. 
 
 "Since the days when we read Rnblnsnn Crusoe no book of its kind has 
 delighted us more. It is just the gift-book for boys." — Schoolviaster. 
 
 "Among hooks of stirring adventure we can highly commend The Loss of John 
 Humble."— Guardian. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. 
 
 "No one can find his way to the hearts of lads more readily than Mr. Fenn."— 
 Nottingham Guardian. 
 
 YuSSUf the Guide: Being the Strange Story of Travels in 
 
 Asia Minor. By G. Manville Fenn. With 8 page Illustrations 
 
 by J. ScHoNBERG. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " The narrative will take its readers into scenes that will have great novelty 
 and attraction for them, and the experiences with the brigands will be especially 
 .delightful to boys." — Scotsman. 
 
 MenhardOC: A story of Cornish Nets and Mines. By G. 
 
 Manville Fenn. With 8 full-page Illustrations by C. J. Stani- 
 
 LAND. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " They are real living boys, with their virtues and faults. The Cornish fisher- 
 men are drawn from life, they are racy of the soil, salt with the sea-water, and 
 they stand out from the pages in their jerseys and sea-boots all sprinliled with 
 silvery pilchard scales."— Speciaf or. 
 
 Mother Carey's Chicken: Her Voyage to the Unknown 
 
 Isle. By G. Manville Fenn. With 8 full-page Illustrations by 
 A. Forestier. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "Jules Verne himself never constructed a more marvellous tale. For anything 
 to matcli his realistic touch we must go to Daniel Defoe."' — Christian Leader. 
 
 " Wlien we get to the ' Unknown Isle,' the story becomes e.xciting. Jlr. Fenn 
 keeps his readers in a suspense that is not intermitted for a moment, and the 
 denouement is a surprise which is as probable as it is siaxiXm^."— Spectator. 
 
 Patience Wins: Or, War in the Works. By G. Manville 
 
 Fenn. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " Mr. Fenn is at his best in Patience Wins. It is sure to prove acceptable to 
 youtliful readers, and will give a good idea of that which was the real state of 
 one of our largest manufacturing towns not many j'ears ago."— Guardian. 
 
 Nat the Naturalist: A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern 
 
 Seas. By G. Manville Fenn. With 8 full-page Pictures. Cro%vn 
 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " Among the best of the many good books for boys that have come out this 
 season." — Times. 
 
 "This sort of book encourages independence of character, develops resource, 
 and teaches a boy to keep his eyes open."— Saturday Review. 
 
 Gulliver's Travels, illustrated by more than 100 Pictures 
 by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " By help of the admirable illustrations, and a little judicious skipping, it has 
 enchanted a family party of ages varying from six to sixty. Which of the other 
 Christmas books could stand this test?" — Journal of Education. 
 
 "Mr. Gordon Browne is, to my thinking, incomparably the most artistic, 
 spirited, and brilliant of our illustrators of books for boys, and one of the most 
 humorous also, as his illustrations of 'Gulliver' amply iehiity."— Truth. 
 
BLACKIE ds SOJN'S BOOKS FOR YOUyU PEG I'LL'. 
 
 BY GEORGE MAO DONALD. 
 
 At the Back of the North Wind. v>y Gkorge Mac 
 
 Donald, ll.1). With 75 lUiistratidiis by Authuu Hugiiks. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "In At the Back of the North Wind wo stand with one foot in fairyliind and 
 one on coinnion earth. The story is thorouf,'hIy original, full of fancy and pathos, 
 and underlaid with earnest but not too olitrusive teachiiib'." — The Tiiiien. 
 
 Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood. By Geuuue Mac Donald, 
 
 LL.D. With 36 Illutitrations by Akthuk Hughes. Crown 8vo, 
 
 cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "The sympathy with boy-nature in Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood is perfect. 
 It is a beautiful picture of childhood, teaching hy its impressions and suggestions 
 all noble ihmgs."— British Quarterly Review. 
 
 The Princess and the Goblin. By George Mac Donald, 
 LL.1). With 30 Illustrations by Arthur Hughes, and 2 full- 
 page Pictures by H. Petherick. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, Zs. 6d. 
 
 "Little of what is written for children has the lightness of touch and play of 
 fancy which are characteristic of George Mac Donald's fairy tales. Mr. Artliur 
 Hughes's illustrations are all that illustrations should he."— Manchester Guardian. 
 
 "A model of wiuit a child's book ought to be— interesting, instructive, and 
 poetical. We cordially reLnnnnend it as one of the very best gift-books we have 
 yet come a«ross. "— i'^f/t/t Coiirant. 
 
 The Princess and Curdie. By George Mac Donald, 
 
 LL.D. With 8 full-page Illustrations by James Allen. Crown 
 
 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6f/. 
 
 " There is the finest and rarest genius in this brilliant story. Upgrown people 
 would do wisely occasionally to lay aside their newspapers and magazines to 
 spend an hour with Curdie and the Princess. "— Sheffield Independent. 
 
 BY ROSA MULHOLLAND. 
 
 Giannetta: A Girl's story of Herself. By EosA Mulholland. 
 With 8 full-page Illustrations by Lockhart Bogle. Crown 8vo, 
 cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "Giannetta is a true heroine— warm-hearted, self-sacrificing, and, as all good 
 women nowadays are, largely touched with the enthusiasm of humanity. One 
 of the most attractive gift-books of the season."— T/ie Academy. 
 
 " No better book could be selected for a young girl's reading, as its object is 
 evidently to hold up a mirror, in which are seen some of the brightest and noblest 
 traits in the female character." — Schoolmistress. 
 
 The Seven Wise Scholars. By Ascott e. Hope, with 
 
 nearly 100 Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Cloth elegant, 5s. 
 
 "As full of fun as a volume of Punch; with illustrations, more laughter- 
 provoking than most we have seen since Leech died. "—Sheffield Independent. 
 
 "The tale would put the sourest-tempered boy into a good humour, and to 
 imaginative young folks would be a source of keen delight." — Scotsman. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD. 
 
 The Pirate Island: a story of the South Pacific. By 
 Hakry Collingwood. With 8 full-page Pictures by C. J. Stani- 
 LAND and J. K. Wells. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "A capital story of the sea ; indeed in our opinion tlie author is superior in some 
 respects as a marine novelist to the better known Mr. Clark Russell."— TAe Times. 
 
 '■ Told in tlie most vivid and graphic language. It would be difficult to find a 
 more thoroughly delightful gift-hook."— Guardian. 
 
 The Missing" Merchantman. By Harry Collingwood. 
 With 8 full-page Illustrations by W. H. Oveeend. Crown 8vo, 
 cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " Mr. Collingwood is facile princeps as a teller of sea stories for boys, and the 
 present is one of the best productions of his pen." — Standard. 
 
 "This is one of the author's best sea stories. The hero is as heroic as any boy 
 could desire, and the ending is extremely h&ppy."— British Weekly. 
 
 The Congo Rovers: A Story of the Slave Squadron. By 
 
 Harry Collingwood. With 8 full -page Illustrations by J. 
 
 ScHONBERG. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 " No better sea story has lately been written tliau the Congo Hovers. It is as 
 original as any boy could desiTe."— Morning Post. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 A Chapter of Adventures: Or, Through the Bombard- 
 ment of Alexandria. By G. A. Henty. With 6 full-page Illus- 
 trations by W. H. OvEKEN'D. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d. 
 
 " If Mr. Henty takes to writing sea-stories of this kind with so much vigour and 
 dash in them, it is clear that Mr. Clark Russell will have to look to his laurels." — 
 Spectator. 
 
 "The experience of Jack Robson and his two companions in the streets of 
 Alexandria when Arabi's rioters filled the city is capitally told. Tliey have their 
 fill of excitement, and their chapter of adventures is so brisk and entertaining we 
 could liave wished it longer than it is." — Saturday Review. 
 
 Self-Exiled: A story of the High Seas and East Africa. By 
 
 J. A. Steuart. With 6 full-page Illustrations by J. Schonberg. 
 
 Crown Svo, cloth elegant, 3s. Qd. 
 
 "It is cram full of thrilling situations. The number of miraculous escapes 
 from death in all its shapes which the hero experiences in the course of a few 
 months must be sufficient to satisfy the most voracious appetite." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 Reefer and Rifleman: a Tale of the Two Services. By 
 
 J. Percy - G-roves, late 27th Inniskillings. With 6 full -page 
 
 Illustrations by John Schonberg. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6c?. 
 
 " A good, old-fashioned, amphibious story of our fighting with the Frenchmen in 
 the beginning of our century, with a fair sprinkling of fun and frolic."— Times. 
 
BLACK IE .0 SOSS BOOKS FOR YOU NO PEOPLE. 
 
 BY EDGAR PICKERING. 
 
 Silas Verney: a Tale of tlie Time of Charles II. By Edgau 
 
 I'lCKEUiNG. With 6 page Illustrations by Alfked Pkausk. Orowii 
 
 Svo, cloth elegant, Zs. tid 
 
 The startling mishaps and hairbreadth escapes of 8ihis Verney and his 
 
 companion, Dick Waller, form the main interest of this vigorous story. 
 
 In London, at sea, but chietiy in Holland, they are beset by divers strange 
 
 perils which they, at last, happily overpass and return safely to England. 
 
 The story is told with a cpuiint old-world charm, and realizes the customs 
 
 and manners of the Restoration period with great vividness. 
 
 BY ANNIE E. ARMSTRONG. 
 
 Three Brig-ht Girls: A story of Cliance and Mischance. 
 By Annie E. Akmsthong. "With 6 page Illustrations by W. Par- 
 kinson. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, 3s. Qd. 
 By a sudden turn of fortune's wheel the three heroines of this story are 
 brought down from a household of lavish comfort to meet the incessant 
 cares and worries of those who have to eke out a very limited income. 
 And the charm of the story lies in the practical helpfulness of spirit 
 developed in the girls by their changed circumstances; while the author 
 finds a pleasant ending to all their happy makeshifts. The (piality of 
 brightness which belongs to the heroines will be found diffused throughout 
 this whole story. 
 
 BrOWnsmith's Boy: A Romance in a Garden. By G. Man- 
 VILLE Fenn. With 6 page Illustrations. New Edition. Crown 
 Svo, cloth elegant, 3s. Qd. 
 
 "Mr. Fenn's books are among the best, if not altogether the best, of the stories 
 for boys. Mr. Fenu is at liis best in Brownsmith's Boy."— Pictorial World. 
 
 " Browmmith's Boy must rank among the few undeniably good boys' books. 
 He will be a very ilull boy indeed who lays it down without wishing that it had 
 gone on for at least 100 pages raova."— North British Mail. 
 
 Thorndyke Manor: a Tale of Jacobite Times. By Mary 
 C. EowsELL. With 6 full-page Illustrations by L. Leslie Brooke. 
 Crown Svo, cloth elegant, 3s. Qd. 
 "It is a good story, with plenty of 'go' in \i."— Times. 
 
 "Miss Rowsell has never written a more attractive book than Thorndi/ke 
 Manor."— Belfast News-Letter. 
 
 Traitor or Patriot? a Tale of the Rye-House Plot. By 
 Mary C. Rowsell. With 6 full-page Pictures by C. 0. Murray 
 and C. J. Staniland, r.i. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6f/. 
 " Here the Rye-House Plot serves as the groundwork for a romantic love epi- 
 sode, whose true characters are lifelike beings, not dry sticks as in many histori- 
 cal tnles."—Grapliic. 
 
BLACKIE S SO^'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY JOHN C. HUTCHESON. 
 
 Afloat at Last : A Sailor Boy's Log of his Life at Sea. By 
 John C. Hutcheson. With 6 full-page Illustrations by W. H. 
 OvEREND. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6rf. 
 
 "As healthy and breezy a book as one could wish to put into the hands of 
 a boy. "—Academy. 
 
 " A tale of seafaring life told with fire and enthusiasm, full of spirited incident 
 and well-drawn character." — Obaer-ver. 
 
 Picked up at Sea: Or, The Gold Miners of Minturne Creek. 
 By J. C. HuTCHESON. With 6 full-page Pictures. Cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 
 " The autiior's success with this book is so marked that it may well encourage him 
 to further efforts. The description of mining life in the Far-west is true and accu- 
 rate." — Staiidard. 
 
 The White Squall: A Story of the Sargasso Sea. By John 
 C. HuTCHESON. With 6 full-page Illustrations by John Schonberg. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d. 
 
 " Few writers have made such rapid improvement in the course of a few years 
 as has the author of this capital story. . . . Boys will find it difficult to lay 
 down the book till they have got to the end." — Standard. 
 
 "The sketches of tropical life are so good as sometimes to remind us of ToTn 
 Cringle and the Cruise of the Midge."— Titaes. 
 
 The Wreck of the Nancy Bell: Or, Cast Away on Ker- 
 guelen Land. By John C. Hutcheson. Illustrated by 6 full-page 
 
 Pictures. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 
 
 " A fall circumstantial narrative such as boys delight in. The ship so sadly destined 
 to wreck on Kerguelen Land is manned by a very lifelike party, passengers and 
 crew. The life in the Antarctic Iceland is well treated." — Atlienceum. 
 
 Sir Walter's Ward: A Tale of the Crusades. By William 
 
 Everard. With 6 full-page Illustrations by Walter Paget. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 
 
 "This book will prove a very acceptable present either to boys or girls. Both 
 alike will take an interest in the career of Dodo, in spite of his unheroic name, 
 and follow him through his numerous and exciting adventures." — Academy. 
 
 Stories of Old Renown: Tales of Knights and Heroes. 
 
 By AscoTT E. Hope. With 100 Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 
 New Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6cZ. 
 
 " A really fascinating book worthy of its telling title. There is, we venture to 
 say, not a dull page in the book, not a story which will not bear a second read- 
 ing." — Guardian. 
 
 Brother and Sister: Or, The Trials of the Moore Family. 
 By Elizabeth J. Ltsaght. With 6 full -page Illustrations. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 
 " A pretty story, and well told. The plot is cleverly constructed, and tne moral 
 is excellent." — Atkenaum. 
 
BLACKIE <t- SOX'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY ALICE CORKRAN. 
 
 Meg''S Friend. By Alice Corkran. With 6 full-page 
 
 Jllustr;iti(ins by lloBKUT FoWLER. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3.1. 6d. 
 
 " AiiiitluT iif Miss Corkrnn's clmrniiiiK books for girls, narrated in that simple 
 
 and i)ietures(iiie style which marks the authoress as one of the first amongst 
 
 writers for joan<; i)eople."— jT/ie Spectator. 
 
 Marg'ery Merton's Girlhood. By Alick Corkran. With 
 
 t'l full-pauf rirtinvs liy (Jiirdon liunwNE. Cr. 8vo, cloth extra, 3.v. iJ<L 
 "Aiiotlier bonk fur girls we can warmly commend. There is a delightful 
 picjuancy iu the experiences and trials of a ynung Knglish girl who studies 
 painting in I'aris." — Saturday Review. 
 
 Down the Snow Stairs: (h-, From Good-night to Good- 
 moriiiiiL,'. V>y Alice CdUKKAN. With 60 character Illustrations 
 by Gordon Browne. New Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 
 olivine edges, 3s. 6(/. 
 "A fascinating w-onder book for children." — Athenanun. 
 
 "A gem of the first water, bearing upon every page the mark of genius. It is 
 indeeil a Little rilgrim's Progress."— C/irw<M»i. Zcader. 
 
 Laugh and Learn: The Easiest Book of Nursery Lessons 
 and Nursery Games. By Jennett Humphreys. Profusely Illus- 
 trated. Square 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6f/. 
 
 "Laugh and Learn instructs and amuses; it is the very book for a wet day 
 in the nursery, for besides solid instruction, admirably given, it contains number- 
 less games and contrivances, with useful and amusing illustrations TJie musical 
 drill is remarkably good." — Athenceivm. 
 
 "One of tlie best books of the kind imaginable, full of pi'actical teaching in 
 word and picture, and helping the little ones pleasantly along a right royal road 
 to learning "-Graphic. 
 
 " Every motlier of children should have Lavgh and Learn, and go through 
 with tlKiii the excellent course it contains."— JouraaZ of Education. 
 
 The Bubbling" Teapot. A Wonder story. By Mrs. L. W. 
 
 CH.vjirNEY. With 12 full-page Pictures by Walter Satterlee. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3.s'. 6d. 
 "Very literally a 'wonder story,' and a wild and fanciful one. Nevertheless 
 it is made realistic enough, and there is a good deal of information to be gained 
 from it. The steam from the magic teapot bubbles up into a girl, and the little 
 girl, when tlie fancy takes her, can cry herself back into a teapot. Transformed 
 and enchanted she makes the tour of the globe."— T/ic Times. 
 
 Silver Mill: A Tale of the Don Valley. By Mrs. E. H. Read. 
 
 With 6 full-page Illustrations by John Schonberg. Crown 8vo, 
 
 cloth elegant, 3s. 6d. 
 "A good girl's story-book. The plot is interesting, and the heroine, Ruth, a 
 lady by birth, though brought up in a humble station, well deserves the more 
 elevated position in which the end of the book leaves hev."— Saturday Review. 
 
 Dora: Or, A Girl without a Home. By Mrs. R. H. Read. With 
 6 full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. Gd. 
 "It is no slight thing, in an age of rubbish, to get a story so pure and healthy 
 as this." — The Academy. 
 
BLACKIE tfc SOX'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY CAROLINE AUSTIN. 
 
 Cousin Geoffrey and I. By Caroline Austin. With 6 
 page Illustrations by W. Parkinson. Cr. 8vo, cloth extra,, 3s. 6rf. 
 
 "Miss Austin's story is bright, clever, and well developed."— Saiin-do)/ Revieiv. 
 
 " A powerfully written and realistic story of girl life. . . . U'he tone of the 
 book is pure and gooi\."— Practical Teacher. 
 
 Hug-h Herbert's Inheritance. By Caroline Austin. 
 With 6 full-page Illustrations by C. T. Garland. Crown 8vo, 
 cloth elegant, 3s. 6d. 
 
 "Will please by its simplicity, its tenderness, and its healthy interesting 
 motive. It is admirably written." — Scotsman. 
 
 " Well and gi-acefully written, full of interest, and excellent in tone."— S(,7iooZ 
 Guardian. 
 
 Storied Holidays: a Cycle of Eed-lettei- Days. By E. S. 
 
 Brooks. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Howard Pyle. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d. 
 " It is a downright good book for a senior boy, and is eminently readable from 
 first to last." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 "Replete with interest from Chapter I. to Finis, and can be confidently recom- 
 mended as one of the gems of Messrs. Blackie's collection."- TeacTiers' Aid. 
 
 ChivalriC Days: Stories of Courtesy and Courage iii the 
 
 Olden Times. By E. S. Brooks. With 20 Illustrations by 
 
 Gordon Browne and other Artists. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 
 
 "We have seldom come across a prettier collection of tales. These charming 
 
 stories of boys and girls of olden days are no mere fictitious or imaginary sketches, 
 
 but are real and actual records of their sayings and doings." — Literary World. 
 
 Historic Boys: Their Endeavours, their Achievements, and 
 
 their Times. By E. S. Brooks. With 12 full-page Illustrations by 
 
 R. B. Birch and John Schonberg. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6rf. 
 
 " A wholesome book, manly in tone, its character sketches enlivened by brisk 
 
 dialogue and high-class illustrations; altogether one that should incite boys to 
 
 further acquaintance with those rulers of men whose careers are narrated. We 
 
 advise teachers to put it on their list of prizes."— Enoioledge. 
 
 Dr. Jolliffe'S Boys: A Tale of Weston School. By Lewis 
 Hough. With 6 full-page Pictures. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 
 "Young people who appreciate Tom Brown'.i Schol-days will find this story a 
 worthy companion to that fascinating book. There is the same manliness of tone, 
 truthfulness of outline, avoidance of exaggeration and caricature, and healthy 
 morality as characterized the masterpiece of Mr. Hughes."- Netocat'tle Journal. 
 
 The Search for the Talisman: a story of Labrador. 
 
 By Henry Erith. With 6 full-page Illustrations by J. Schonberg. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. Qd. 
 " Mr. Frith's volume will be among those most read and highest valued. The 
 adventures among seals, whales, and icebergs in Labrador will delight many a 
 young reader."— i'aJ^ Mall Gazette. 
 
ULACKIE A soys LOOKS foil VOVyo PEOPLE. VJ 
 
 BLACKIE'S NEW THREE-SHILLING SERIES. 
 
 JJoaulifiiUy lllustnitu.l uiid Jl;iii(lsoiufly Buiuid. 
 
 The Rover's Secret: a Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons 
 
 of Cuba. By Hakuy Oollingwood. With G page Illustrations by 
 
 \V. C. Symons. Ncxo Edition. Crowu 8vo, clotli elegant, 3s. 
 
 " The Hovel's Secret is l)y fiU' the best sea story we liave read for years, and is 
 certain to give unalloyed pleasure to boys. The illustratious are fresli and 
 vigorous. "—Satunlaij lieview. 
 
 The Wig'wam and the War-path: stories of the Red 
 
 Intliaus. By A.scott 11. Hdi'K. With (a page Illustrations. Ncic 
 Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 
 
 •■ All the stories are told well, in siinide spirited language and with a fulness of 
 detail that makes them instructive as well as interesting." — Journal of Education. 
 
 " The Wigioam and the War-path is notably good. It gives a very vivid pictui'e 
 of life among the Indians, which will delight the heart of many a schoolboy." — 
 Spectator. 
 
 Perseverance Island: or, The Robinson Crusoe of the 19th 
 
 Century. By Douglas Frazab. With 6 jjage Illustrations. Neiv 
 
 Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 
 
 "This is an interesting stoiy, written with studied simplicity of style, much in 
 Defoe's vein of apparent sincerity nnd scrupulous veracity; while for practical 
 instruction it is even better than Jiobinson Crxmoe." — Illustrated London Nejvs. 
 
 Girl Neighbours: or, The Old Fashion and the New. By 
 
 Sarah Tytler. With 6 page Illustrations by C. T. Garlanix 
 
 iVciw Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 
 
 " One of the most effective and quietly humorous of Miss Sarah Tytler's stories. 
 Girl Neighbours is very healthy, very agreeable, and very well written."— TAe 
 Spectator. 
 
 BLACKIE'S HALF-CROWN SERIES. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In crowu 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 StimSOn'S Reef: A Tale of Adventure. By C. J. Hyne. 
 
 Illustrated by W. S. Stagey. 
 
 This is the extended log of a fifteen-ton cutter, which sailed from the 
 Clyde to the Amazon in search of a gold reef. It relates how the crew of 
 the cutter weathered an Atlantic gale, discovered the buccaneer's treasure 
 in the Spanish Main, fought the Indians with a machine-gun, turned aside 
 the liver Jamary by a blasting operation, and so laid bare the hidden gold 
 of Stimson's Beef. All is told in such racy fashion that no boy who enjoys 
 a rattUng sea-story will lay the narrative aside until he has finished it. 
 
20 BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUSG PEOPLE. 
 
 HALF-CROWN SERIES-Continued. 
 
 Marian: or, The Abbey Grange. By Annie E. Armstrong, 
 Illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke. 
 
 In this story there is .shown the effect of adverse circumstances upon 
 a family of four, of whom Marian is the eldest girl. She and her sister 
 are dragged away from school, her brother is disinherited and sent from 
 the house, and the household reduced to a condition of makeshift poverty 
 by a miserly father. It is through these hard dealings that the blight 
 helpfulness of Marian's nature finds its trial and its triumph. 
 
 Gladys Anstruther: or, The Young stepmother. By Louisa 
 Thojip.son. Illustrated by F. H. Townsend. 
 
 The main interest of this story lies in the contrasted characters of two 
 little girls, one of whom is kind and forgiving, while the other is unusually 
 mischievous. These two characters are developed in a series of tragic in- 
 cidents, by which the love of the children's parents for each other is tried 
 so as by fire. Apart from the story, there is an interesting glimpse into 
 the methods by which children are caught young and trained for the stage. 
 
 The Secret of the Old House. By Evelyn Everett- 
 
 Green. 
 
 "Miss Everett-Green's stories are always attractive, and there is an abundance 
 of innocent sensation. "—Times. 
 
 "Tim, the little Jacobite who asks his grandmother if she can remember 
 Charles I., is a charming creation. So original a child as Tim must win the 
 hearts of all who read the pleasant tale." — Academy. 
 
 Hal Hung-erford. By J. E. Hutchinson, b.a. 
 
 "A good book for boys; well told, lively, full of humour." — Athenceum. 
 
 " There is no (juestion whatever as to the spirited manner in which the story is 
 told ; the death of the mate of the smuggler by the teeth of the dog is especially 
 effective. Altogether, Hal Hungerford is a distinct literary success." — Spectator. 
 
 The Golden Weathercock. By Julia Goddard. 
 
 " A cleverly conceived quaint story, in which the golden cock on the church 
 spire is the recipient of enchanting stories of enchanted people and places. Full of 
 pretty and ingenious ideas, prettily and ingeniously WTitteu."— Saturday Review. 
 
 White Lilac : Or, The Queen of the May. By Amy Walton. 
 
 "One of the most charming stories of the year."— PaZZ Mall Gazette. 
 
 "Every here and there we are reminded of Mrs. Tulliver and Sister Pullet in 
 the fiuaint dialogue of the story. . . . Every rural parish ought to add White 
 Lilac to its library." — Academy. 
 
 Miriam's Ambition. By Evelyn Everett-Green. 
 
 "A high-minded, simple story, such as Miss Everett-Green can tell so well."— 
 Academy. 
 
 "Miss Green's children are real British boys and girls, not small men an4 
 women. Babs is a charming little one,"— Liverpool Mercury, 
 
a LACK IK X- SUXS nuOKS FOlt YOUNG PEOPLE. 21 
 
 HALF-CROWN SERIES Continued. 
 
 Little Lady Clare. By Evelyn EverettGuekn. 
 
 "Certiiinly one of the prettiest, reiniiuling us in its (|u:iiMtiicss and teniler 
 pathos of Mrs. EwiiiR's deliKhtful tales. This is (iiiito one of tlie Ijcst stories Miss 
 Green's clever pen has yet given us." — Literary World. 
 
 The EvePSley Secrets. By Evelyn Everett-Green. 
 
 " A cluvoi- :iiHi w.ll-tuUl story. Roy Eversley ia a very touching picture of liigli 
 pnnciplo and unshrinking sclt'-dovotion in a good purposB."— ffit((/-c(Ja)i. 
 
 The Hermit Hunter of the Wilds. By G. Stables, r.n. 
 
 •• I'iratLS and punnis, mutiny and nierrinieiit, a castaway and a cat, furnish 
 tlic materials for a tale that will gladden the heart of many a briglit boy." — 
 Methodist liecorder. 
 
 The Brig" "Audacious." By Alan Cole. 
 
 "A real hoys' liook. We have pleasure in recommending \\.."~Eii(jlish Tcachnr. 
 " Bright and vivacious in style, and fresh and wholesome as a breatli of sea air 
 mioi\e."— Court Journal. 
 
 The Saucy May. By IIenry Frith. 
 
 "Tile book is certainly l)oth interesting and exciting." — Spectator. 
 " ilr. Frith gives a new picture of life on the ocean wave which will be acceptable 
 to all young yi:oi>\c."—SlicjJicld Independent. 
 
 Jasper's Conquest. By Elizabeth J. Lysaght. 
 
 " One of the best boys' books of the season. It is full of stirring adventure and 
 stai-tling episodes, and yet conveys a splendid moral throwghoxit."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 Sturdy and Strong". By G. A. Henty\ 
 
 " Tlie history of a hero of everyday life, whose love of truth, clothing of 
 modesty, and innate pluck carry him, naturally, from poverty to affluence. He 
 stands as a good instance of chivalry in domestic life." — 'The Empire. 
 
 Gutta-Percha Willie, The Workiug Genius. By George 
 Mac Donald. 
 
 " Had we space we would fain quote page after pag;. All we have room to say 
 is, get it for your boys and girls to read for themselves, and if they can't do that 
 read it to them." — Practical Teacher. 
 
 The War of the Axe: Or, Adventures in South Africa. By 
 J. Percy-Grovks. 
 
 " The story of their final escape from the Caffres is a marvellous bit of writing. 
 . . . The story is well and brilliantly told, and the illustrations are especially 
 good and elfective." — Literary World. 
 
 The Lads of Little Clayton. By e. Stead. 
 
 "A capital book for lioys. They will learn from its pages what true boy cour- 
 age is. They will learn further to avoid all that is petty and mean if they read 
 the tales aright. They may be read to a class with great \)Vofii." —Schoolmaster. 
 
BLACKIE lO SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 HALF-CROWN SERIES-Continued. 
 
 TgII Boys who lived on the Eoad from Long Ago to Now. 
 
 By Jane Andrews. With 20 Illustrations. 
 
 " 'J'he idea of this book is a very liappy one, and is admirably carried out. We 
 have followed the whole course of the work with exquisite pleasure. Teachers 
 should find it particularly interesting and suggestive."— Practical Teacher. 
 
 A Waif of the Sea: Or, The Lost Found. By Kate Wood. 
 
 " Written with tenderness and grace, the story will appeal to nK)tliers who 
 have felt the pain of being parted from their children, as powerfully as to the 
 hearts and sympathies of younger readers." — Moniiufj Advertiser. 
 
 Winnie's Secret: a Story of Faith and Patience. By Kate 
 
 Wood. 
 
 " One of the best story-books we have read. Girls will be charmed with the 
 tale, and delighted that everytliing turns out so well." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 Miss WillOWburn'S Offer. By Sarah DouDJsEy. 
 
 " Patience Willowburn is one of Miss Doudney's best creations, and is the one 
 personality in the story which can be said to give it the character of a book not 
 for young ladies but for girls. " — Spectator. 
 
 A Garland for Girls. By Louisa M. Alcott. 
 
 "The Garland will delight our girls, and show them how to make their lives 
 fragrant with good deeds." — British Weekly. 
 
 "These little tales are the beau ideal of girls' stories."— C/iristiau World. 
 
 Hetty Gray: Or, Nobody's Bairn. By Rosa Mulholland. 
 
 "A charming story for young folks. Hetty is a delightful creature— piquant, 
 tender, and true— and her varying fortunes are perfectly realistic." — World. 
 
 Brothers in Arms: A story of the Cmsades. ByF. Bay- 
 
 FORU Harrison. 
 
 " Full of striking incident, is very fairly illustrated, and may safely be chosen as 
 sure to prove interesting to young people of both sexes." — Guardian. 
 
 The Ball of Fortune: Or, Ned Somerset's Liheritauce. By 
 Charles Pearce, 
 " a capital story f<ir boys. It is simply and brightly written. There is plenty 
 of incident, and the interest is sustained thToiighont."— Journal of Ediication. 
 
 Miss Fen wick's Failures: Or, "Peggy Pepper-Pot." By 
 
 EsMi^ Stuart. 
 
 "Esme Stuart may be commended for producing a girl true to real life, who 
 will put no nonsense into young hends."— Graphic. 
 
 Gytha'S Message: A Tale of Saxon England. By Emma 
 
 Leslie. 
 
 '■'This is a charminsly told story. It is the sort of book that all girls and some 
 bovs like- and can onlv L'et cood from." — Journal o# Education- 
 
BLACK IE .fc soys BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 23 
 
 HALF-CROWN SERIES -Continued. 
 
 My Mistress the Queen: ATaiooftiie ntii cvntmy. Uy 
 
 M. A. r.VULL. 
 
 " The stylo is pure and gnvcefiil, the presentation of nianners and chanutur 
 has l)cen well studied, and tlie story is full of interest."— .'^'c»^s■(;l«;l. 
 
 The Stories of Wasa and Menzikoff : The Deliverer of 
 
 Sweden, and the Favourite of Czar Putur. 
 
 " Both are stories worth telling more than once, and it is a happy thought to 
 Iiave put tlieni side hy side. Plutarch himself has no more suggestive com- 
 parison."— Specfo tor. 
 
 Stories of the Sea in Former Days. 
 
 "Next to an original sea-tale of sustained interest come well-sketched collec- 
 tions of maritime peril and suffering whicli awaken the sympathies l)y the realism 
 of fact. Stories of the Sea are a very good specimen of the kind."— 27w; Tiinen. 
 
 Tales of Captivity and Exile. 
 
 "It would be difficult to place in tlie hands of young people a l)Ook which 
 combines interest and instruction in a higlier degree." — Manchester Courier. 
 
 Famous Discoveries by Sea and Land. 
 
 "Such a volume may providentially stir up some youths by the divine fire 
 kindled by these 'great of old' to lay open other lands, and show their vast 
 resources. "—Perthshire A dvertiser. 
 
 Stirring- Events of History. 
 
 "The volume will fairly hold its place among those which make the smaller 
 ways of history pleasant and attractive. It is a gift-book in wliich tlie interest 
 will not be exhausted with one reading."— Guardmn. 
 
 Adventures in Field, Flood, and Forest. 
 
 "One of tlie series of books for young people which Jlessrs. Blackie excel in 
 producing. The editor has beyond all nuestion succeeded admirably. The pre- 
 sent l)ook cannot fail to be read with interest and advantage." — Academy. 
 
 Jack O' Lanthorn: A Tale of Adventure. By Hknry Frith. 
 
 "The narrative is crushed full of stirring incident, and is sure to be a prime 
 favourite with our Iioys, who will be assisted by it in mastering a sufficiently 
 exciting chapter in the history of England."— C^rti<Mi)i Leader. 
 
 The Family Failing". By Darley Dale. 
 
 "At once an amusing and an interesting story, and a capital lesson on the 
 value of contentedness to young and old alike." — Aberdeen Journal. 
 
 The Joyous Story of TotO. By Laura E. Eichards. 
 
 With 30 humoroiLs and fanciful Illustrations by E. H. Garrett. 
 
 "An excellent book for children who are old enough to appreciate a little 
 delicate linmour. It should, take its place beside Lewis Carroll's unique works, 
 and And a special place in the affections of boys and !i\rls."~Birininahavi Gazette. 
 
24 BLACEIE cfc SO^'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BLACKIE'S TWO-SHILLING SERIES. 
 
 Illustrated by emiueut Artists. In. crowu 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 The Lonely Pyramid: A Tale of Adventures. By J. H. 
 YoxALL. Illustrated by W. S. Stacet. 
 When General Gordon set out for Khartoum to overthrow the power 
 of the Mahdi, Major Lefevre and his son Roy were travelling in the 
 Soudan. One night the Major mysteriously disappears, and the lad with 
 the negro servant, left to journey across the desert, come at last to the 
 Lonely Pyramid of the Lost Oasis. The interior of this most wonderful 
 pyramid affords a secure place of retreat when the Mahdi appears. Ulti- 
 mately, the Major is found, and all ends happily. 
 
 Bab: or, The Triumph of Unselfishness. By Ismay Thorn. 
 Illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke. 
 The story of a holiday visit which Bab paid to her cousin Gladys. Gladys 
 was an only child and a selfish child, so it fell out that she treated Bab 
 with great unkindness. At first this was readily forgiven, for Bab was 
 good-natured, but after a time there was much unhappiness between them. 
 In the end, however, the steady unselfishness of Bab prevailed. 
 
 Climbing- the Hill, and other Stories. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 In this story there are set forth the difficulties which meet a lad in his 
 efforts to climb the hill of life by honest paths. How these difficulties are 
 successfully overcome by the earnest perfonnance of humble duties is the 
 chief lesson which it teaches. The whole three stories are healthy in tone 
 and skilful in treatment. 
 
 Brave and True, and other stories. By Gregson Gow. 
 
 The happy ending of the first of these stories is dependent upon a small 
 act of kindness performed by a brave little girl. This story has a pleasant 
 simplicity which will please little readers, and the others are like unto it. 
 
 The Lig-ht Princess, and other Fairy Stories. By George 
 Mac Donald. New Edition. 
 "Graceful, fantastic, delicately didactic in its playfulness, this volume is likely 
 to give as much pleasure to the elder folk as to the younger. "—Daily News. 
 
 Nutbrown Roger a,nd I: A Eomance of the Highway. 
 By J. H. YoxALL. 
 "The pictures of manners is perfect, the excitement, of the healthiest kind, 
 goes on increasing to the last: It is one of the very best and most delightful 
 story-books of the season." — Tablet. 
 
 A Rash Promise. By Cecilia Selby Lowndes. 
 
 "A carefully told story ; and Meg Clifford is a delightful and natural little girl." 
 — Spectator. 
 
 Warner's Chase : Or, The Gentle Heart. By Annie S. Swan. 
 "In ililly AVarren, the heroine, who softens the hard heart of her rich uncle, 
 and thus unwittingly restores the family fortunes, we have a fine ideal of real 
 womanly goodness. " — Schoolmaster. 
 
BLACKIE .L- SOS'S BOOKS FOll YOUSG PEOPLE. 
 
 TWO-SHILLING SERIES Continued. 
 
 Sam Silvan's Sacrifice. By Jesse Colman. 
 
 "Tliero is a spirit of gentleness, liindliness, and tenderness manifest in eveiy 
 lesson, in every illustration, and we might say in evei'y page of this little vohinie, 
 wliich will uialie it an influence for good."— Chrintian Union. 
 
 Insect Ways on Summer Days in Garden, Forest, Field, 
 
 ami Stream. By Jennett IIumimikev.s. With 70 Illustratiuns. 
 
 "This book will prove not only instructive but delightful to every cliild whose 
 mind is beginning to imiuire and relleet upon the wonders of nature. It is 
 capitally illustrated and very tastefully bound."— ./Icarfemj/. 
 
 Susan. By Amy Walton. 
 
 •'A cliver little story, written with some liumour. TIio authoress shows a 
 great deal uf insight into children's feelings and motives."— /'a» Mall (JazeUe. 
 
 "A Pair of Clogs." By Amy Walton. 
 
 "Decidedly interesting, and unusually true to nature. For cliililreTi between 
 nine and fourteen this book can be thorouglily mnmitiuded."— Academy. 
 
 Tlie Hawthorns. By Amy Walton. 
 
 "A remarkably vivid and clever study of child-life. At this species of work 
 Amy Walton has no superior."— C/i/ti><(a/i Leader. 
 
 Dorothy's Dilemma. By Caroline Austin. 
 
 "An exceptionally well told story, and will be warmly welcomed by children. 
 The little heroine, Dorotliy, is a charming creation."— CoMri Joxirnal. 
 
 Marie's Home. By Caroline Austin. 
 
 "An ex(iuisitely told story. The Iieroine is as fine a type of girlhood as one 
 could wisli to set lief ore our little British damsels of to-day."— C/tyts(('a;i Leader. 
 
 A Warrior King-: The Story of a Boy's Adventures in 
 Africa. By J. Evelyn. 
 
 "The friendship formed between tlie African Prince and Adrian Englefleld will 
 remind the reader of tlic old story of the ' wonderful love' wliich existed long ago 
 when .Junatlian and David made a covenant." — Dundee Advertiser. 
 
 Aboard the "Atalanta." By Henry Frith. 
 
 "The story is very interesting and the descriptions most graphic. We doubt 
 if any boy after reading it would be tempted to the great mistake of running 
 away from school under almost any pretext whatever."— Pmcttcai Teacher. 
 
 The Penang" Pirate and The Lost Pinnace. By John C. 
 
 HUTCHESON. 
 
 "A book which boys will thoroughly enjoy: rattling, adventurous, and romantic, 
 and the stories are thorouglily healthy in tone." — Aberdeen Journal. 
 
 Teddy: The story of a " Little Pickle." By John C. Hutcheson. 
 
 "He is an amusing little fellow with a rich fund of animal spirits, and when at 
 length he goes to sea witli Uncle Jack he speedily sobers down under the discip- 
 line of Mic."— Saturday Review. 
 
BLACRtE S SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 TWO-SHILLING SERIES-Continued. 
 
 Linda and the Boys. By Cecilia Selby Lowndes. 
 
 " The book is essentially a child's book, and will be heartily appreciated by the 
 young folk." — The Academy. 
 
 Swiss Stories for Children. From the German of Madam 
 
 Johanna Spyri. By Lucy Wheelock. 
 
 " Charming stories. They are rich in local colom-ing, and, what is better, in 
 genuine patlios." — The Times. 
 
 The Squire's Grandson: a Devonshire Story. By J. M. 
 
 Callwell. 
 
 " The lessons of courage, filial affection, and devotion to duty on the part of the 
 young hero cannot fail to favourably impress all young rendeTS."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 Mag-na Charta Stories. Edited by Arthur Oilman, a.m. 
 
 "A book of special excellence, which ought to be in the hands of all boys."— 
 
 Ecbtcational News. 
 
 The Wing's of Courag'e; and The Cloud - Spinner. 
 
 Translated from the French of George Sand, by Mrs. Cokkean. 
 
 " Mrs. Corkiau lias earned our gratitude by translating into readable English these 
 two charming liltle stories." — Athenmum. 
 
 Chirp and Chatter: Or, Lessons from Field and Tree. 
 
 By Alice Banks. With 54 Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 
 "We see the humbling influence of love on the haughty har\'est-niouse, we are 
 touched by the sensibility of the tender-hearted ant, and may profit by the moral 
 of ' the disobedient maggot.' The drawings are spirited and tmmy."—The Times. 
 
 Four Little Mischiefs. By Eosa Mulholland. 
 
 " Graphically written, and abounds in touches of genuine humour and innocent 
 ian."— Freeman. "A charming bright story about real children."— ira^c/iiJian. 
 
 New Light throug-h Old Windows. By Oregson Oow. 
 
 "The most delightfully- written little stories one can easily find in the literature 
 of the season. Well constructed and brightly told." — Gla.yow Herald. 
 
 Little Tottie, and Two Other Stories. By Thomas Archer. 
 
 "We can warmly commend all three stories; the book is a most alluring prize 
 
 for the younger ones."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 Naughty Miss Bunny. By Clara Mulholland. 
 
 "This naughty child is positively delightful. Papas should not omit Naughty 
 Mis.i Bunny from tlieir list of juvenile presents." — Land and Water. 
 
 Adventures of Mrs. Wishing-to-be. By Alice Corkran. 
 
 "Simply a charming book for little g\r\r.."— Saturday Review. 
 
 "Just in tlie st.yle and spirit to win the hearts of children."— DaVy Neivs. 
 
ULAfKlH A- :^OS:i liOOK^ i'OJi YOU SO PEOPLE. 
 
 27 
 
 TWO-SHILLING SERIES— Continued. 
 Our Dolly: Iler Words and Ways. By Mrs. R. H. Rkad. 
 
 '■ Prettily told iiiiil prettily illustrateil." — &!((uv/i»ji. 
 
 '■ Siiio to lio a great favourite witli young cliililreu." — Sch' ol Ouwdian. 
 
 Fairy Fancy: What she Heard aud Saw. By Mrs. Bkao. 
 
 "All is pleasant, nice reailinj,', with a little knowledge of natural liiKtory anil 
 other matters gently introduced and divested of dryness." — Practical Teacher. 
 
 BLACKIE'S EIGHTEENPENNY SERIES. 
 
 With Illustrations in Colour, and black and tint. In crown y\'( 
 cloth eleuant. 
 
 LittlebOUrne Lock. By r. Bayford Harrison. 
 
 There is here brought into strong contrast the ijuiet beauty of the river 
 Thames, in its upper reaches, and the noisome squalor of a London slum. 
 And it is skilfully shown in this story that there is a kind of redemption, 
 both physical and spiritual, when young people are transplanted from the 
 sordid city into the open healthfulness of the country. 
 
 Wild Meg" and Wee Dickie. By Mary e. Ropes. 
 
 This is the story of a wild, mischievous, but good-hearted London waif, 
 whose life was redeemed and her feet set in straight paths by her love of 
 a little child. The author has a familiar knowledge of poor people, which 
 lends vividness to the narrative. 
 
 Grannie. A story by Elizabeth J. Lysaght. 
 
 For all boys and girls who know, or have known, the tender solicitude 
 of a grandmother this story will start happy memories. It deals with 
 a little lad and lass, and moves from town to country. Thus the interests 
 are as varied as the naiTative is excellent. 
 
 The Seed She Sowed: a Tale of the Great Dock Strike. 
 
 By Emma Leslie. 
 
 " a very true picture of the life and pain and patlids of outcast London." — Pall 
 Mall Gazette. 
 
 Unlucky : A Fragment of a Girl's Life. By Caroline Austin, 
 
 "The heroine is a finely-drawn character. Through much domestic difficulty 
 at the hanils of a stepmotlier, she holds on in the right path, and exhil)its a self- 
 sacrificing n.iture that all would do well to copy."— Teachers' Aid. 
 
 Everybody's Business. By Ismay Tuorn. 
 
 "Ismay Thorn has again given ns one of her delightful children's hooks. The 
 story is simply and cleverly written, and doubly attractive by ending so happily." 
 — Saturday Review. 
 
28 BLACKIE <£■ SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BLACKIE'S EIGHTEENPENNY SERIES— Continued. 
 
 Tales of Daring and Danger. By G. A. Henty. 
 
 "Mr. Henty's heroes are brave and upright, quick and lieen, and their doings 
 make capital reading for hoys."— Athenmum. 
 
 " 'White-Faced Dick' is a sketch worthy of Bret Harte at his best. Just the 
 sort of tales to read aloud by the fireside on a winter's night."— Pracf. Teacher. 
 
 Yarns on the Beach. By G. A. Henty. 
 
 "Should find special favour among boys. The yarns are full of romance and 
 adventure, and are admirably calculated to foster a manly spirit."— i'Ae Echo. 
 
 The Seven Golden Keys. By James E. Arnold. 
 
 " No better fairy book than this has come our way for a long time. It is written 
 with singular grace and skill; so perfect is the illusion, no child will doubt for 
 a moment that it is all a true story." — Christian Leader. 
 
 The Story of a Queen. By Mary C. Kowskll. 
 
 "Hiss Rowsell is an excellent story-teller; she is especially successful in 
 historical tales; her chronicle of Marie and her trials is ihiiWlw^." —Guardian. 
 
 Joan's Adventures, At the North Pole and Elsewhere. By Alice 
 
 CORKKAN. 
 
 "This is a most delightful fairy story. The charming style and easy prose 
 narrative makes its resemblance striking to Hans Andersen's." — Spectator. 
 
 Edwy : Or, Was He a Coward? By Annette Lyster. 
 
 " This is a charming story, and sufficiently varied to suit children of all ages." 
 
 — The Academy. 
 
 Filled with Gold. By Jennie Perrett. 
 
 " The tale is interesting, and gracefully told. Miss Pcrrett's description of life 
 on the quiet Jersey farm will have a great charm." — Spectator. 
 
 The Battlefield Treasure. By r. Bayford Harrison. 
 
 " Jack Warren is a lad of the Tom Brown type, and his search for treasure and 
 the sequel are siure to prove interesting to hoys."— English Teacher. 
 
 By Order of Queen Maude. By Louisa Crow. 
 
 "The tale is brightly and cleverly told, and forms one of the best children's 
 books which the season has produced." — Academy. 
 
 Our General : A story for Girls. By Elizabeth J. Lysaght. 
 
 "A young girl of indomitable spirit, to whom all instinctively turn for guid- 
 ance—a noble pattern for girls."— Guardian. 
 
 Aunt Hesba's Charge. By Elizabeth J. Lysaght. 
 
 "This well-written book tells how a maiden aunt is softened by the influence 
 of two Indian children who are unexpectedly left upon her hands." — Academy. 
 
 Into the Haven. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 "No story more attractive, by reason of its breezy freshness, as well as for the 
 practical lessons it conveys."— Christiati Leader. 
 
BLACKIE .C- soys BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 29 
 
 BLACKIE'S EIGHTEENPENNY SERIES-Continued. 
 
 Our Frank : and other Stories. By Amy Walton. 
 
 " These .stories are of the sort tliat children of the clever kind are sure to like." 
 —Acadcmit. 
 
 The Late Miss Hollingford. By \ioi^\ Mulhom.anp. 
 
 " No l)ook fur Kirl.s published this season approaches this in the charm of its 
 telling', whiili will be e(iually appreciated by persons of all ages."— Standard. 
 
 The Pedlar and His Dog. By Mary C. Rowsell. 
 
 " The oiH'iiiiitr chapter, with its description of Necton Fair, will forcibly remind 
 nianv readers of Geonje Eliot. Taken altogether it is a delightfnl story."— 
 W<'.'<tem Momiiuj News. 
 
 A Teppible Coward. By G. Manville Fenn. 
 
 ".lust such a tale as boys will delight to read, and as they are certain to profit 
 hy."— -Aberdeen Journal. 
 
 Tom Finch's Monkey : and other Yarns. By J. C. HuTCHESON. 
 
 "Stories of an altogetlier unexceptionable character, with adventiu'es suflicient 
 for a dozen books of its size."— ff. Service Gazette. 
 
 Miss Grantley's Girls. By Thomas Archer. 
 
 '■ For flvo';iile reading more wholesome and highly entertaining reading for young 
 people could not be UmmV— Northern Chronicle. 
 
 Down and Up Again. By Gregson Gow. 
 
 "The story is very neatly told, with some fairly dr.amatic incidents, and cal- 
 culated .altogether to please young people."— Scofe/yKui. 
 
 The Troubles and Triumphs of Little Tim. A City story. 
 By Gregson Gow. 
 
 " An undercurrent of sympathy with the struggles of the poor, and an ability 
 to describe their feelings, eminently characteristic of Dickens, are marked fea- 
 tures in Mr. Gow's story." — N. B. Mail. 
 
 The Happy Lad : A Story of Peasant Life in Norway. From the 
 Norwegian of Bjornson. 
 
 "This pretty story has natural eloquence which seems to carry us liack to some 
 of the love stories of the Bible." — Aberdeen Free Press. 
 
 The Patriot Martyr : and other Narratives of Female Heroism. 
 
 "It should be read with interest by every girl who loves to learn what her sex 
 can accomplish in times of iXunger."— Bristol Times. 
 
 Madge's Mistake. By Annie E. Armstrong. 
 
 " We cannot speak too highly of this delightful little tale. It abounds in 
 interesting .and laughable incidents." — Bristol Times. 
 
 Box of Stories. Packed for Young Folk by Horace Happyman. 
 
 When I was a Boy in China. By Yan Phod Lee. 
 
 "Has been written not only by a Chinaman, but by a man of culture. His 
 book is as interesting to adults as it is to children."— T/i? Guardiqii. 
 
30 
 
 BLACKIE d; SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 THE SHILLING SERIES OF BOOKS 
 FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 Square 16mo, Illustrated, aud ueatly bound iu clotli extra. 
 
 A Parliament of Pickles. By Cora Langton. 
 
 Sharp Tommy: A Story for Boys and Girls. By E. .1. Lysaght. 
 
 The Strange Adventures of Nell, Eddie, and Toby. 
 
 MOCKLEK. 
 
 Freda's Folly. By M. S. Haycraft. 
 
 Philip Danford : A Stury of School Life. By Julia Goddard. 
 
 The Youngest Princess. By Jennie Cuappell. 
 
 Arthur's Temptation. By Emma Leslie. 
 
 A Change for the Worse. By M. Harriet M. Capes. 
 
 Our Two Starlings. By Christian Redford. 
 
 By Geraldine 
 
 Mr. Lipseombe's Apples. By Julia 
 Goddard. 
 
 Gladys : Or, The Sister's Charge. By 
 E. O'Byrne. 
 
 A Gypsy against Her Will. By 
 
 Emma Leslie. 
 
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 LE.JLIE. 
 
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 M. Capes. 
 
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