by G. A. Henty
Chapter 8: Among The Dervishes.
In the morning Gregory started alone, as soon as it was light. As heneared the town, he saw that there were several native craft on theriver; and that boats were passing to and fro between the town andShendy, on the opposite bank. From the water side a number of men werecarrying what appeared to be bags of grain towards the hills behind thetown, while others were straggling down towards the river.
Without being questioned, Gregory entered Metemmeh, but stopped therefor a very few minutes. Everywhere were the bodies of men, women, andchildren, of donkeys and other animals. All were now shrivelled anddried by the sun, but the stench was almost unbearable, and he was gladto hurry away.
Once beyond the walls he made for the hill. Many tents could be seenthere, and great numbers of men moving about. He felt sure that, amongso many, no one would notice that he was a newcomer; and after movingamong the throng, he soon sat down among a number of Dervishes who wereeating their morning meal. Taking some dates out of his bag, he munchedthem quietly.
From the talk going on, he soon perceived that there was a considerableamount of discontent at the long delay. Some of the men were in favourof moving to Berber, on the ground that they would at least fare betterthere; but the majority were eager to march north, to drive theinfidels from Merawi and Dongola.
"Mahmud would do that, I am sure," one of them said, "if he had but hiswill; but how could we march without provisions? It is said that Mahmudhas asked for a sufficient supply to cross the Bayuda, and has promisedto drive the infidels before him to Assouan; but the Khalifa says no,it would be better to wait till they come in a strong body, and then toexterminate them. If we are not to fight, why were we sent here? Itwould have been better to stay at Omdurman, because there we had plentyof food; or, if it ran short, could march to the villages and take whatwe wanted. Of course the Khalifa knows best, but to us it seemsstrange, indeed."
There was a general chorus of assent. After listening for some timeGregory rose and, passing over the ridge, came upon the main camp. Herewere a number of emirs and sheiks, with their banners flying before theentrance of their tents. The whole ground was thickly dotted withlittle shelters, formed of bushes, over which dark blankets were thrownto keep out the rays of the sun. Everywhere women were seated orstanding--some talking to each other, others engaged in cooking.Children played about; boys came in loaded with faggots, which they hadgone long distances to cut. In some places numbers of horses werepicketed, showing where the Baggara cavalry were stationed.
In the neighbourhood of the emirs' tents there was some sort of attemptat order, in the arrangement of the little shelters, showing where themen of their tribes were encamped. Beyond, straggling out for somedistance, were small encampments, in some of which the men were stillerecting shelters, with the bushes the women and boys brought in. Mostof these were evidently fresh arrivals, who had squatted down as soonas they came up; either from ignorance as to where their friends hadencamped, or from a preference for a quiet situation. This fringe ofnew arrivals extended along the whole semicircle of the camp; and asseveral small parties came up while Gregory wandered about, and he sawthat no notice was taken of them by those already established, hethought that he could bring Zaki, and the horses up without any fear ofclose questioning. He therefore walked down again to the spot where hehad left them; and, mounting, they rode to the camp, making a widesweep so as to avoid the front facing Metemmeh.
"We could camp equally well, anywhere here, Zaki, but we may as well goround to the extreme left; as, if we have to ride off suddenly, weshall at least start from the nearest point to the line by which wecame."
There was a small clump of bushes, a hundred yards or so from thenearest of the little shelters. Here they dismounted, and at oncebegan, with their knives, to cut down some of the bushes to form ascreen from the sun. They had watered the horses before they left theriver, and had also filled their water skins.
"I don't think we could find a better place, Zaki," Gregory said, when,having completed their shelter and thrown their blankets over it, theylay down in the shade. "No doubt we shall soon be joined by others; butas we are the first comers on this spot, it will be for us to askquestions of them, and, after, for them to make enquiries of us.
"I shall go into the camp as soon as the heat abates, and people beginto move about again. Remember our story--You were carried off from aJaalin village, in a raid. Your master was a small sheik, and is nowwith the force at El Obeid. You had been the companion of his son, andwhen the latter made up his mind to come and fight here your mastergave you your freedom, so that you might fight by his son's side. Youmight say that I have not yet settled under whose banner I shall fight.All I wish is to be in the front of the battle, when we meet theinfidels. That will be quite sufficient. There are men here from almostevery village in the Soudan, and no one will care much where hisneighbours come from.
"Mention that we intend to fight as matchlock men, not on horseback, asthe animals are greatly fatigued from their long journey, and willrequire rest for some time; and, being so far from home, I fear that wemight lose them if we went into the fight with them; and in that casemight have to journey on foot, for a long time, before we could getothers.
"I don't at all suppose that it will be necessary for you to say allthis. People will be too much occupied with their own affairs to caremuch about others; still, it is well not to hesitate, if questioned."
Talk and laughter in the great camp ceased now, and it was not untilthe sun lost its power that it again began. Gregory did not move, tillit began to get dusk.
"I shall be away some time," he said, "so don't be at all uneasy aboutme. I shall take my black blanket, so that I can cover myself with itand lie down, as if asleep, close to any of the emirs' tents where Ihear talk going on; and so may be able to gather some idea as to theirviews. I have already learned that the tribesmen have not heard of anyimmediate move, and are discontented at being kept inactive so long.The leaders, however, may have their plans, but will not make themknown to the men, until it is time for action."
The camp was thoroughly alive when he entered it. Men were sittingabout in groups; the women, as before, keeping near their littleshelters, laughing and chatting together, and sometimes quarrelling.From the manner of the men, who either sat or walked about, it was notdifficult for Gregory to distinguish between the villagers, who hadbeen dragged away from their homes and forced to enter the service ofthe Khalifa, and the Baggara and kindred tribes, who had so long heldthe Soudan in subjection. The former were quiet in their demeanour, andsometimes sullen in their looks. He had no doubt that, when thefighting came, these would face death at the hands of the infidels asbravely as their oppressors, for the belief in Mahdism was nowuniversal. His followers had proved themselves invincible; they had nodoubt that they would destroy the armies of Egypt, but they resentedbeing dragged away from their quiet homes, their families, and theirfields.
Among these the Baggara strode haughtily. Splendid men, for the mostpart, tall, lithe, and muscular; men with the supreme belief inthemselves, and in their cause, carrying themselves as the Normanbarons might have done among a crowd of Saxons; the conquerors of theland, the most trusted followers of the successor of the Mahdi, men whofelt themselves invincible. It was true that they had, so far, failedto overrun Egypt, and had even suffered reverses, but these the Khalifahad taught them to consider were due to disobedience of his orders, orthe result of their fighting upon unlucky days. All this was soon to bereversed. The prophecies had told that the infidels were about to beannihilated, and that then they would sweep down without opposition,and possess themselves of the plunder of Egypt.
Gregory passed wholly unnoticed among the crowd. There was nothing todistinguish him from others, and the thought that an Egyptian spy,still less one of the infidels, should venture into their camp hadnever occurred to one of that multitude. Occasionally, he sat down neara group of the Baggara, listening to their talk. They were impatient,too, but th
ey were convinced that all was for the best; and that, whenit was the will of Allah, they would destroy their enemy. Still, therewere expressions of impatience that Mahmud was not allowed to advance.
"We know," one said, "that it is at Kirkeban that the last greatdestruction of the infidel is to take place, and that these madmen arecoming to their fate; still, we might move down and destroy those atDongola and along the river, and possess ourselves of their arms andstores. Why should we come thus far from Omdurman, if we are to go nofarther?"
"Why ask questions?" another said contemptuously. "Enough that it isthe command of the Khalifa, to whom power and knowledge has been givenby the Mahdi, until he himself returns to earth. To the Khalifa will berevealed the day and the hour on which we are to smite the infidel. IfMahmud and the great emirs are all content to wait, why should we beimpatient?"
Everywhere Gregory went, he heard the same feelings expressed. The menwere impatient to be up and doing, but they must wait the appointedhour.
It was late before he ventured to approach the tents of the leaders. Heknew that it was impossible to get near Mahmud himself, for he had hisown bodyguard of picked men. The night, however, was dark and,enveloping himself from head to foot in his black blanket, he crawledout until well beyond the line of tents, and then very cautiously madehis way towards them again. He knew that he should see the whitefigures of the Dervishes before they could make him out; and hemanaged, unnoticed, to crawl up to one of the largest tents, and liedown against it. He heard the chatter of the women in an adjoiningtent, but there was no sound in that against which he lay.
For an hour all was quiet. Then he saw two white figures coming fromMahmud's camp, which lay some fifty yards away. To his delight, theystopped at the entrance of the tent by which he was concealed, and onesaid:
"I can well understand, Ibrahim Khalim, that your brother Mahmud issorely vexed that your father will not let him advance against theEgyptians, at Merawi. I fully share his feelings; for could I not, withmy cavalry, sweep them before me into the river, even though no footmencame with me? According to accounts they are but two or three thousandstrong, and I have as many horsemen under my command."
"That is so, Osman Azrakyet. But methinks my father is right. If wewere to march across the desert, we would lose very many men and greatnumbers of animals, and we should arrive weakened and dispirited. If weremain here, it is the Egyptians who will have to bear the hardships ofthe march across the desert. Great numbers of the animals that carrythe baggage and food, without which the poor infidels are unable tomarch, would die, and the weakened force would be an easy prey for us."
"That is true," the other said, "but they may come now, as they came toDongola, in their boats."
"They have the cataracts to ascend, and the rapid currents of the Nileat its full to struggle against. There is a strong force at Abu Hamed,and our Governor at Berber will move down there, with all his force,when he hears that the Egyptians are coming up the cataracts. Should itbe the will of Allah that they should pass them, and reach Berber, weshall know how to meet them. Mahmud has settled this evening that manystrong forts are to be built on the river bank here, and if theinfidels try to advance farther by water, they will be all sunk.
"I agree with you and Mahmud, and wish that it had been otherwise, andthat we could hurl ourselves at once upon the Egyptians and preventtheir coming farther--but that would be but a partial success. If wewait, they will gather all their forces before they come, and we shalldestroy them at one blow. Then we shall seize all their stores andanimals, cross the desert to Dongola, march forward to Assouan, andthere wait till the Khalifa brings his own army; and then who is tooppose us? We will conquer the land of the infidel. I am as eager forthe day of battle as you are, but it seems to me that it is best towait here, until the infidels come; and I feel that it is wise of theKhalifa thus to order. Now I will to my tent."
As soon as Ibrahim Khalim had entered his tent, Gregory crawled away,well satisfied that he had gained exactly the information he had cometo gather. He had gone but a few paces when he saw a white figurestriding along, in front of the tents. He stopped, and threw himselfdown.
Unfortunately, the path taken by the sheik was directly towards him. Heheard the footsteps advancing, in hopes that the man would pass eitherin front or behind him. Then he felt a sudden kick, an exclamation, anda heavy fall. He leapt to his feet, but the Arab sheik was as quickand, springing up, also seized him, at the same time drawing his knifeand uttering a loud shout.
Gregory grasped the Arab's wrist, and without hesitation snatched hisown knife from the sash, and drove it deep into his assailant's body.The latter uttered another loud cry for help, and a score of men rushedfrom behind the tents.
Gregory set off at the top of his speed, dashed over the brow of thebridge, and then, without entering the camp there, he kept along closeto the crest, running at the top of his speed and wrapping his blanketas much as possible round him. He heard an outburst of yells behind,and felt sure that the sheik he had wounded had told those who hadrushed up which way he had fled. With loud shouts they poured over thecrest, and there were joined by others running up from the camp.
When Gregory paused for a moment, after running for three or fourhundred yards, he could hear no sound of footsteps behind him. Glancinground, he could not see white dresses in the darkness. Turning sharplyoff, he recrossed the crest of the hill and, keeping close to it,continued his flight until well past the end of the camp.
The alarm had by this time spread everywhere, and a wild medley ofshouts rose throughout the whole area of the encampment. He turned now,and made for the spot where he had left Zaki and the horses. In fiveminutes he reached it.
"Is that you, my lord?" Zaki asked, as he came up.
"Yes, we must fly at once! I was discovered, and had to kill--or atleast badly wound--a sheik, and they are searching for me everywhere."
"I have saddled the horses, and put the water skins on them."
"That is well done, Zaki. Let us mount and be off, at once. We willlead the horses. It is too dark to gallop among these bushes, and thesound of the hoofs might be heard. We will go quietly, till we are wellaway."
Not another word was spoken, till they had gone half a mile.
"We will mount now, Zaki. The horses can see better than we. We will goat a walk. I dare not strike a light to look at the compass, but thereare the stars. I do not see the north star, it must be hidden by themist, lower down; but the others give us the direction, quite nearenough to go by.
"It is most unfortunate that the fellow who rushed against me was asheik. I could see that, by the outline of his robe. If it had been acommon man, there would not have been any fuss over it. As it is, theywill search for us high and low. I know he wasn't killed on the spot,for he shouted after I had left him; and they are likely to guess, fromhis account, that I had been down at one of the emirs' tents, and wasprobably a spy.
"I know that I ought to have paused a moment, and given him anotherstab, but I could not bring myself to do it. It is one thing to stab aman who is trying to take one's life, but it is quite another when hehas fallen, and is helpless."
Zaki had made no reply. He could scarcely understand his master'srepugnance to making matters safe, when another blow would have doneso, but it was not for him to blame.
They travelled all night and, when the moon rose, were able to getalong somewhat faster; but its light was now feeble and uncertain. Assoon as day broke, they rode fast, and at ten o'clock had left behindthe range of hills, stretching between the wells of Abu Klea and JebelSergain.
"We ought to be safe now," Gregory said, as they dismounted. "At anyrate, the horses must have a rest. We have done over forty miles."
"We are safe for the present, my lord. It all depends whether or notthey think you are a spy. If they come to that conclusion, they willsend at once to Abu Klea; and if a strong body is stationed there, theymay have sent a party on to Gakdul, or even to El Howeyat, for theywill feel sure that w
e shall make for one of the wells."
"How much water have you got in the bags?"
Zaki examined them.
"Enough for ourselves for five or six days; but only enough for twodrinks each, for the horses and for ourselves, for a couple of days."
"That is bad. If we had had any idea of coming away so soon, we wouldhave filled the large bags yesterday. I had intended to send down thehorses in the morning, therefore left them only half full, and theymust have leaked a good deal to get so low. See if one leaks more thanthe other."
It was found that one held the water well, but from the other there wasa steady drip. They transferred the water from this to the sound bag.
"We must drink as little as we can, Zaki, and give the horses only amouthful, now and then, and let them munch the shrubs and get a littlemoisture from them. Do you think there is any fear of the Dervishesfollowing our tracks?"
"No, my lord. In the first place, they do not know that there are twoof us, or that we are mounted. When those who camped near us notice,when they get up this morning, that we have moved; they will only thinkthat we have shifted our camp, as there was no talk of horsemen beingconcerned in this affair. No, I do not think they will attempt tofollow us, except along the caravan road, but I feel sure they willpursue us on that line."
They rested for some hours, in the shade of a high rock, leaving thehorses to pick what herbage they could find. At four o'clock theystarted again. They had ridden two hours, when Zaki said:
"See, my lord, there are two men on the top of Jebel Sergain!"
Gregory gazed in that direction.
"Yes, I can notice them now, but I should not have done so, if you hadnot seen them."
"They are on watch, my lord."
"Well, they can hardly see us, at this distance."
"You may be sure that they see us," Zaki said; "the eyes of an Arab arevery keen, and could not fail to catch two moving objects--especiallyhorsemen."
"If they are looking for us, and have seen us, Zaki, they would not bestanding stationary there."
"Not if they were alone. But others may have been with them. When theyfirst caught sight of us, which may have been half an hour ago, theothers may have gone down to Abu Klea, while those two remained towatch which course we took. The Arabs can signal with their lances, orwith their horses, and from there they would be able to direct anyparty in pursuit of us."
"Well, we must keep on as hard as we can, till dark; after that, we cantake it quietly. You see, the difficulty with us will be water. Nowthat they have once made out two horsemen riding north, they must knowthat we have some special object in avoiding them; and will, no doubt,send a party to Gakdul, if not farther."
They crossed the rough country as quickly as they could, and then againbroke into a canter. An hour later, as they crossed a slight rise, Zakilooked back.
"There are some horsemen in pursuit, my lord. They have evidently comefrom Abu Klea."
Gregory looked round.
"There are about fifteen of them," he said. "However, they are a goodthree miles behind, and it will be dark in another half hour. As soonas it is so, we will turn off to the right or left, and so throw themoff our track. Don't hurry your horse. The animals have made a verylong journey, since we started, and we shall want them badly tomorrow."
In another half hour the sun went down. Darkness comes on quickly inthe Soudan, and in another quarter of an hour they had lost sight oftheir pursuers, who had gained about a mile upon them.
"Another five minutes, Zaki, to allow for their eyes being better thanours. Which way do you think we had better turn?"
"I should say to the left, my lord. There is another caravan route fromMetemmeh to Ambukol. It cannot be more than fifteen miles to the west."
"Do you know anything about it?"
"I have never been along there. It is a shorter route than the one toKorti, but not so much used, I believe, because the wells cannot berelied upon."
"Well, I feel sure we shall not be able to get at the wells on theother line, so we had better take that. As we shall be fairly safe frompursuit, we may as well bear towards the northwest. By doing so weshall be longer in striking the track, but the journey will be a goodbit shorter than if we were to ride due west.
"Now we can safely dismount. It is getting pitch dark, and we will leadour horses. I can feel that mine is nearly dead beat. In a few minuteswe will halt, and give them half a gourd full of water, each. Afterthat, we had better go on for another six or seven miles, so as to bewell out of sight of anyone on the hills."
Ten minutes later they heard the dull sound of horses' hoofs on thesand. They waited five minutes, until it died away in the distance, andthen continued their course. It was slow work, as they had to avoidevery bush carefully; lest, if their pursuers halted, they should hearthe crackling of a dry stick in the still air. Zaki, who could see muchbetter in the dark than his master, went on ahead; while Gregory ledthe two horses.
A good hour passed before they stopped. They gave the horses a scantydrink, and took a mouthful or two each; and then, throwing themselvesdown, allowed the horses to crop the scanty herbage.
After four hours' halt they pursued their way on foot for three hours,laying their course by the stars. They calculated that they must havegone a good fifteen miles from the point where they turned off, andfeared that they might miss the caravan track, if they went on beforedaybreak.