by G. A. Henty
Chapter 11: A Prisoner.
Rather than remain unoccupied on board the gunboat, Gregory went toColonel Wingate's headquarters and said that he should be very glad ifhe would allow him, while the flotilla remained at Berber, to assist ininterrogating the fugitives who arrived from the south, and the spiesemployed to gain early information of the intentions and movements ofthe enemy. The position of the Dervishes at Metemmeh was becomingcritical. The Khalifa was desirous that Mahmud should return with hisforce to Omdurman, there to take part in the battle in which, as he wasconvinced, the invaders would be annihilated. Mahmud, who was of aneager and impetuous disposition, was anxious to take the offensive atonce, and either to march upon Merawi and Dongola, or to drive theBritish out of Berber.
There could be no doubt that his view was a more sagacious one thanthat of his father; and that the best tactics to be adopted were toharass the British advance, fall upon their convoys, cut theircommunications, and so oblige them to fall back for want of supplies.The Khalifa's mistake was similar to that made by Theodore inAbyssinia, and Koffee Kalkalli in Ashanti. Had either of these leadersadopted the system of harassing the invaders, from the moment they leftthe coast, it would have been next to impossible for the latter toarrive at their destination. But each allowed them to march on,unmolested, until within striking distance; then hazarded everything onthe fortune of a single battle, and lost.
Mahmud made no movement in obedience to the Khalifa's orders to retireto Omdurman, and the latter thereupon refused to send any furthersupplies to him, and Mahmud's army was therefore obliged to rely uponraids and plunder for subsistence. These raids were carried out withgreat boldness, and villages situated within a few miles of Berber wereattacked. The Dervishes, however, met with a much warmer reception thanthey had expected, for rifles and ammunition had been served out freelyto the villagers; and these, knowing the fate that awaited them werethe Dervishes victorious, offered so obstinate a resistance that thelatter fell back, discomfited.
Early in January, the Sirdar learned that the Khalifa had changed hismind, and had sent peremptory orders to Mahmud to advance and drive theBritish out of Berber, and destroy the railway. Mahmud had now beenjoined by Osman Digna, with five thousand men; and as the Egyptiantroops, well as they had fought, had never yet been opposed to soformidable a force as that which Mahmud commanded, the Sirdartelegraphed to England for white troops.
His request was at once complied with. The Warwickshires,Lincolnshires, and Cameron Highlanders were ordered to proceed fromCairo and Alexandria to the front; and the Seaforth Highlanders atMalta, and the Northumberland Fusiliers at Gibraltar were alsodespatched, without delay. Major General Gatacre was appointed to thecommand of the brigade.
At the end of the third week in January, the three regiments from LowerEgypt had arrived at Wady Halfa, and the Seaforths at Assouan. At thebeginning of February the British brigade was carried, by railway, toAbu Dis. Here they remained until the 26th, when they marched toBerber, and then to a camp ten miles north of the Atbara, where theyarrived on the 4th of March, having covered a hundred and forty-fourmiles in six days and a half, a great feat in such a climate.
Mahmud had made no movement until the 10th of February, when he beganto cross the Nile to Shendy. This movement had not been expected by theSirdar, and was hailed by him with satisfaction. Had Mahmud remained atMetemmeh he could, aided by the forts, his artillery, and the walledtown, have offered a very formidable resistance. Had he marched alongthe banks of the Nile, he would have been exposed to the fire of thegunboats, but these could not have arrested his course. The countryround Berber was favourable to the action of his cavalry, and ifdefeated he could have fallen back, unmolested, through Metemmeh onOmdurman; but by crossing the river he practically cut himself off fromthe Dervish base, and now had only a desert behind him; for we hadtaken over Kassala from the Italians, and the Egyptian battalion there,and a large force of friendly Arabs, would prevent him from retiring upthe banks of the Atbara.
Mahmud's plan was to march along the Nile to Ahab, then to cross thedesert to Hudi, at an angle of the river; whence a direct march, oftwenty-five miles, would take him to Berber, and in this way he wouldavoid our strong position at the junction of the Atbara and the Nile.It would have been easy for the gunboats to prevent Mahmud fromcrossing the Nile, but the Sirdar was glad to allow him to do so. Themovement afforded him time to concentrate his force, and to get uplarge supplies. For, each day, the distance that these could betransported by the railway had increased; and he saw that, when thetime for fighting came, the victory would be a decisive one; and thatfew, indeed, of Mahmud's men would ever be able to make their way toOmdurman, and swell the Khalifa's force there.
On one occasion, however, the gunboats went up to watch what was goingon, and take advantage of any opportunity that might offer to destroysome of Mahmud's boats, and thus render the work of his getting hisforce over slower and more difficult. An entrenchment had been thrownup at the point where the Dervishes crossed, and this had been mannedby two hundred and fifty riflemen. The Zafir steamed up close to thebank and opened fire with her Maxims. Another gunboat sank one largecraft and captured two others, and the troops landed and, covered bythe fire of the guns, captured a fourth which had grounded in shallowwater.
A smaller boat was halfway across the river when the gunboats arrived.It was seen that there were several women on board, and as the capturewould have been of no value, no regard was paid to it. As it would havebeen as dangerous to return as to keep on, the boatmen plied theirhardest to get across, but the stream carried them down near the Zafir.The boat was quite unnoticed, all eyes being intent upon the shore. Shewas passing about thirty yards astern of the gunboat, when a badlyaimed shell from a Dervish battery struck her, and she sank almostinstantly.
Gregory, who was superintending the working of the Maxim nearest thestern, looked round at the sound of the explosion. Several of theoccupants had evidently been killed, but two or three of the boatmenstarted to swim to shore. Only two of the women came to the surface,struggling wildly and screaming for help. With scarcely a thought ofwhat he was doing, Gregory unclasped his sword belt, dropped hispistol, and sprang overboard.
One of the women had sunk before he reached them, the other was on thepoint of doing so, when he caught her by the arm. She at once clung tohim, and he had hard work to disengage her arm from his neck; then,after turning her so that her face was above water, he looked round.The gunboat was already a hundred yards away. Her wheel was revolving,so as to keep her in her place facing the redoubt, and the stream wasdriving him fast away from her.
Within ten yards of him was a black head, and a moment later Zaki wasbeside him. He had been working at Gregory's Maxim, and had suddenlymissed his master. Looking round, he had seen him struggling with thewoman in the stream, and without hesitation had leapt overboard.
"I am sorry you came," Gregory said, "for it is only throwing away yourlife. It is of no use shouting, for they could not hear us in that din;and if they happened to catch sight of us, would take us for two of theblack boatmen. I see the stream is taking us nearer to the bank."
Zaki had taken hold of the woman while he was speaking.
"We might swim a long way down, master, if we let go of her."
"I won't do that, Zaki. I know now that I was a fool to jump overboard;but now that I have done so, I will save her life. Besides, I could notswim very far even without her. I am feeling the weight of my boots andclothes.
"Will you swim with us till I can touch the ground, and then leave us?Strike right into the river again--I know that you are a goodswimmer--and drop down the stream until you reach one of the islands,and then you can land and hail the gunboats as they come down. TellCaptain Keppel why I jumped over."
"I am not going to leave you, master. No doubt the Dervishes will shootme, but my life is of no consequence, and I shall be glad to die by theside of so good a master."
The woman, who had ceased to struggle when Gregory shook
off her grasp,was now conscious; as, with one of them supporting her on each side,her head was above water.
"They will not kill you," she said. "You have saved me, and they willbe grateful."
Gregory had no faith whatever in Dervish gratitude.
"Well, Zaki," he said, "if you will not leave us, we will strike atonce for the shore. The gunboats are nearly half a mile away now. Thereis just a chance that we may not have been noticed by the Dervishes,and may be able to hide in the bushes till the gunboats return. Whenthey see me, they will at once send a boat ashore, under cover of theirfire, and take us off."
"There is a good chance of that, master," Zaki said cheerfully, "andthe Dervishes are busy up there fighting, and will not think much of alittle boat."
Three or four minutes later they were in shallow water. As soon as theylanded, Gregory threw himself down, utterly exhausted; and the womansank down beside him, but not before hastily rearranging her veil. In acouple of minutes, Gregory roused himself.
"I can climb the bank, now," he said, "and the sooner we are hiddenamong the bushes, the better."
But as he spoke he heard the sound of galloping horsemen, and almostimmediately an Emir, on a magnificent animal, followed by a dozenDervishes, dashed up.
"Mahmud!" the woman cried, as she rose to her feet; "it is I, Fatma!"
Mahmud gave a cry of joy, and waved his hand to his followers, who hadalready pointed their rifles at Gregory.
"These have saved me, my lord," the woman went on. "They jumped fromtheir boat, and reached me just as I was sinking, and have borne me up.For my sake you must spare their lives."
Mahmud frowned. He dismounted and went up to his wife.
"Have I not sworn, Fatma," he said, "that I would slay every unbelieverwho falls into my hands? How, then, can I spare even one who has savedyour life?"
"Others have been spared who have been of service, my lord," she said."There are Greeks and Egyptians who work your guns, and they werespared because they were useful. There is Neufeld, who lives under theprotection of the Khalifa. Surely these men have done far more todeserve, not only life, but honour at your hands. They risked theirlives to save mine. What follower of the Prophet could do more? Theycould not have known who I was, a woman they saw drowning. Are thereany among the bravest of the tribes who would have done the same?"
"I have sworn an oath," Mahmud said, gloomily.
"But you have not sworn to slay instantly. You can keep them, at least,until you can take them before the Khalifa, and say to him:
"'Father, I have sworn to kill unbelievers, but these men have savedFatma's life; and I pray you to absolve me from the oath, or order themto be taken from me, and then do you yourself pardon them and set themfree for the service that they have rendered me.'
"If he refuses, if these men are killed, I also swear that, as my lifeis due to them, I myself will perish by my own hands, if they die forsaving it!"
"It needs not that, Fatma. You think that I am ungrateful, that I donot feel that these men have acted nobly, thus to risk their lives tosave a strange woman whose face they have never seen. It is my oaththat lies heavily upon me. I have never been false to an oath."
"Nor need you be now," Fatma said earnestly. "You swore to slay anyunbeliever that fell into your hands. This man has not fallen into yourhands. I have a previous claim to him. He is under my protection. Icover him with my robe"--and she swept a portion of her garment roundGregory--"and as long as he is under it he is, according to triballaws, safe even from the vengeance of my husband!
"As to the other, he is not an unbeliever. Your oath concerns him not.Him you can honour and reward, according to the value you place upon mylife."
The Arab's face cleared.
"Truly you have discovered a way out of it, Fatma, at any rate for thepresent."
He turned to Gregory for the first time.
"Do you speak our tongue?" he asked.
"Yes, Emir, as well as my own."
"Then you understand what we have said. Had I not been bound by myoath, I would have embraced you as a brother. We Arabs can appreciate abrave deed, even when it is done by an enemy. When one of the boatmenran into the battery where I was directing the guns against your boat,and said that the boat in which my wife, with other women, werecrossing had been sunk, by a shell from our batteries on the otherside, I felt that my blood was turned to water. He said he believedthat all had been killed or drowned, but that he looked back as heswam, and saw a white man jump overboard, and a short time afteranother followed him; and that, when he reached the shore, they weresupporting a woman in the water.
"I rode hither, having but small hope indeed that it was my wife, butmarvelling much that a white officer should thus risk his life to savea drowning woman. My oath pressed heavily upon me, as I rode. Even hadit been but a slave girl whom you rescued, I should no less haveadmired your courage. I myself am said to be brave, but it would neverhave entered my mind thus to risk my life for a stranger. When I foundthat it was my wife who was saved, I still more bitterly regretted theoath that stood between me and her preserver, and truly glad am I thatshe has herself shown me how I can escape from its consequences.
"Now I see you, I wonder even more than before at what you have done;for indeed, in years, you are little more than a boy."
"What I did, Emir, I believe any white officer who was a good swimmerwould have done. No Englishman would see a woman drowning withoutmaking an effort to save her, if he had it in his power. As to the factthat she was not of the same race or religion, he would never give it athought. It would be quite enough for him that she was a woman."
"And you," Mahmud said, turning to Zaki, "you are a Jaalin, are younot?"
"I am."
"Jaalin or Baggara, you are my friend," Mahmud said, placing his handon Zaki's shoulders. "And so you, too, leapt overboard to save awoman?"
"No, Emir," he replied, "I jumped over because my master jumped over. Ihad not thought about the woman. I jumped over to aid him, and it wasto give him my help that I took my share in supporting the woman. TheBimbashi is a good master, and I would die for him."
Mahmud smiled at this frank answer.
"Nevertheless, whatever may have been your motive, you were enabled tosave the life of my wife, and henceforth you are my friend."
Then he turned to the horsemen, who were still grouped on the bankabove.
"You have heard what has been said? The white man is under theprotection of my harem; the Jaalin is henceforth my friend."
Mahmud was a fine specimen of the tribesmen of the Soudan--tall, wellbuilt, and with pure Arab features. He was the Khalifa's favourite son;and was generous, with kindly impulses, but impatient of control. Oflate, he had given way to outbursts of passion, feeling acutely theposition in which he was placed. He had advanced from Omdurmanconfident that he should be able to drive the infidels before him, andcarry his arms far into Egypt. His aspirations had been thwarted by theKhalifa. His requests for stores and camels that would have enabled himto advance had been refused, and he had been ordered to fall back. Histroops had been rendered almost mutinous, from the want of supplies.
He had seen the invaders growing stronger and stronger, andaccomplishing what had seemed an impossibility--the bringing up ofstores sufficient for their sustenance--by pushing the railroad forwardtowards Berber. Now that their forces had been very greatly increased,and the issue of the struggle had become doubtful, he had received theorder for which he had been craving for months; and had been directedto march down and attack the Egyptian army, drive them across the Nile,and destroy the railway.
By means of spies he had heard that, ere long, a large force of Britishsoldiers would come up to reinforce the Egyptians; so that what mighthave been easy work, two months before, had now become a difficult anddangerous enterprise. The manner in which the Dervishes had beendefeated in their attacks upon Wolseley's desert column, and in theengagements that had since taken place, showed how formidable was thefighting power, not
only of the British troops, but of the native armythey had organized; and his confidence in the power of the tribesmen tosweep all before them had been shaken.
The Dervishes scowled, when they heard that they were not to have thesatisfaction of massacring this Englishman, whose countrymen were stillkeeping up a terrible fire on their redoubt. It was not one of theirwives who had been rescued, and Gregory's act of jumping overboardseemed to them to savour of madness; and if that plea had beenadvanced, they would have recognized it as rendering the person of theman who had performed it inviolable. However, as he was under theprotection of their leader's harem, there was nothing more to be said;and at an order from Mahmud all but four of them rode off, while theothers fell in behind him.
Mahmud did not mount again, but walked with his wife to a deserted mudhut, two hundred yards away. There he left her, telling Gregory andZaki to sit down outside, and placing the four men on guard.
"I must rejoin my men," he said, as he mounted. "When your vessels havegone, I will return."
Half an hour later, the fire ceased. Soon afterwards Mahmud rode upwith a score of men, followed by some dozen women, and a slave leadinga donkey. On this Fatma took her seat, and the women surrounded her.Gregory and Zaki walked close behind them. Mahmud, with his horsemen,rode in front.
After proceeding for a mile, they came upon a group of tents. Mahmud'sbanner was flying on a pole in front of the largest of these. Behind,and touching it, was another almost as large. This was the abode of theladies of Mahmud's harem. The other tents were occupied by hisprincipal Emirs. A hundred yards away was the encampment of the army,which was sheltered in hastily constructed huts, or arbours, made ofbushes.
By Mahmud's order, a small tent was erected, with blankets, close tothe after entrance into the harem tent, for Gregory's use; so that,should he be attacked by fanatics, he could at once take refuge in theharem, whose sanctity not even the most daring would dare to violate.
A handsome robe was brought for Zaki; and as Mahmud presented it tohim, he said:
"You are my friend, but you must now go back to your vessels, or toBerber. My orders were to kill all the Jaalin, and we have spared nonewho fell into our hands, at Metemmeh or since. I cannot keep you here.As long as you stay by my side, you will be safe; but you could notleave me for a moment. It is as much as I can do to save the life ofthis infidel officer, and it is to him that I owe most, for it was hewho first leapt into the river.
"The white men's boats have already fastened up, behind the islandwhere they before stationed themselves. Make your way down there, atdaybreak, and wave a white cloth. Doubtless they will send a boatashore, thinking that you bear a message from me; or if you see they donot do this, you can swim out to them."
"I would rather stay with my master. Cannot you let him go, too?"
"That is impossible," Mahmud said shortly. "It is known throughout thecamp that I have a white man here. The news will travel fast to theKhalifa. My actions have already been misrepresented to him, and were Ito let this officer go, my father might recall me to Omdurman and sendanother to command here.
"He must stay, but you may go without harm. You can scarcely have beennoticed yet, and I can well declare, should the Khalifa hear of you,that you have escaped."
"May I speak with my master?" Zaki said. "If he says stay, I shallstay, though it might cost me my life. If he says go, I must go."
"You may speak to him," Mahmud said.
Zaki went round to Gregory's tent, and told him what Mahmud had said.
"Go, certainly, Zaki. You can do me no good by remaining here, andmight even do me harm; for if you were killed I also might be murdered.Moreover, I wish to send the news of my capture, and how it occurred. Ido not think any, save yourself, noticed that I was missing; and whenthe fight was over, and they found that I was absent, they mightsuppose that I had been shot and had fallen overboard.
"I will write a note for you to carry. It is, in all respects, betterthat you should go. Were we to be seen talking together, it might besupposed that we were planning some way of escape, and I should be moreclosely watched. As it is, I see that Mahmud will have difficulty inprotecting me. Were you to ride about with him, as he says, yourpresence would remind his followers that he has a white man a captivehere; whereas, if I remain almost in concealment near the harem, thefact that there is a white man here will pass out of the minds of thosewho know it, and will not become the common talk of the camp.
"Mahmud is running some risk in having spared my life, and I do notwish to make it harder for him. Go, therefore, and tell him that youwill leave tonight. I cannot write now; my pocketbook is soakedthrough. But I will tear out some leaves and dry them in the sun; andwrite what I have to say, before you start. I shall speak highly of youin my letter, and recommend you to Colonel Wingate; who will, I have nodoubt, give you employment.
"I hope I shall see you again, before long. I am very sorry that wemust part, but it is best for us both."
Very reluctantly, Zaki returned to Mahmud.
"My master says I must go, Emir; and I must obey his orders, though Iwould rather stay with him. Tonight, I will leave."
"It is well. I would that I could let him go, also, but my oathprevents me from giving him his freedom. I trust, however, that whenthe Khalifa hears of his noble action, and how he has made me hisdebtor, he will say that Allah himself would not blame me for that.Gratitude is even more binding than an oath.
"Still, until I hear from him, I can do nothing. We have not seenmatters in the same light, for some time. When I wanted to strike, hewas unwilling that I should do so. Now, when it seems to me that thetime for that has passed, and that I had best retire on Omdurman, hesays go forward and fight. It is not for me to question his commands,or his wisdom. But I may not give him cause for anger.
"My advice to you is, when you get to Berber, do not stay there. Weshall assuredly be there before long, and as none would know that youwere under my protection, you would be slain. Go straight to Abu Hamed;and when you hear that we have defeated the infidels, and have enteredBerber, leave by this road they have made, upon which, as they tell me,carriages run without horses, and stay not until you reach Cairo.
"There you can live quietly, until you hear that the Khalifa's army isapproaching. After that, fly. I cannot say whither, but seek a shelteruntil the black flag waves over the whole of the land. When there is nomore fighting, then come to me and I will give you a post of honour."
"I will do so, Emir. When the time comes, I will remind you of yourpromise."
"I have neither silver nor gold with which I can reward you, now; butwe shall gather these things in Egypt, and I will make you wealthy."
Zaki thought that it would be unwise to wander from Mahmud'sencampment, and he accordingly sat down by his tent. Presently, one ofthe slaves came out, with a large dish of food that Mahmud had senthim. As evening approached, he went round to Gregory's little tent,with the intention of trying to persuade him to attempt to escape withhim; but two of the tribesmen, with rifles in their hands, werestationed there. They offered no opposition to his entry, but theirpresence showed that Mahmud was determined that his master shouldappear to be a close prisoner; as, indeed, his escape might welljeopardize the Emir's position, even among his followers.
Gregory had a letter ready for him to carry to Captain Keppel. It ranas follows:
"Dear Captain Keppel,
"I am a prisoner in Mahmud's hands. This is the result of my ownimpetuosity--I will not say folly, for I cannot regret that I yieldedto the sudden impulse that seized me. A boat containing some women wassunk by a shell, when but a few yards astern of the gunboat. Most ofits occupants were killed, but I saw a woman struggling in the waterand, without thinking of the consequences, jumped overboard to saveher, my servant following me. When we reached her, we found that thecurrent was too strong to regain the gunboat, and so landed about halfa mile down, hoping to find shelter in the bushes until the boat camedown the stream. What I did, however, had bee
n observed by theDervishes; and as soon as I landed a party rode up, headed by Mahmudhimself, who was aware that his favourite wife was in the boat that hadsunk.
"Most fortunately, it turned out that she was the woman I had saved.Upon her appeal Mahmud spared our lives. He has released my man, whowill carry this to you; but, having sworn that he would spare no whiteman, he retains me in his hands as a prisoner, until he can lay thefacts before the Khalifa and obtain his permission to let me go. Itrust that all will be well, and that some day I may rejoin the army.However, there is no saying how matters may turn out.
"I am happy in knowing that there is no one who, if the worst comes tothe worst, will grieve over my loss. I recommend my faithful servant toyou. I should wish the balance of pay coming to me to be handed to him,as well as my camel and horse, and all other belongings. By the sale ofthese he would be able, at the end of the war, to buy a piece of landand settle down among his own people.
"Will you kindly report my capture to Colonel Wingate or GeneralHunter? Thanking you for your kindness to me, I remain,
"Yours faithfully,
"Gregory Hilliard.
"P. S. In my cabin is a tin box containing documents of importance tome. I shall be greatly obliged if you will take charge of these,until--as I hope will be the case--I rejoin you."
He handed the paper to Zaki, who took his hand and raised it to hisforehead, with tears in his eyes.
"I go because you order me, master," he said, in a broken voice; "but Iwould a thousand times rather remain, and share your fate, whatever itmight be."
Then he turned, and abruptly left the tent.
Twice that day, Gregory had received food from a female slave of theharem. Although he knew that he should miss Zaki greatly, he was veryglad that he had been sent away; for he felt that, although for thetime he had been reprieved, his position was very precarious, and thathis servant's would have been still more so. A white prisoner was apersonage of some consequence, but the death of a Jaalin was a matterthat would disturb no one. Thousands of them had been massacred; andone, more or less, could not matter at all. But, however much theDervishes might hate a white infidel, it would be a serious matter foreven the most powerful Emir to harm a prisoner under the protection ofthe harem of the Khalifa's son.
Mahmud had been very popular among them, but his position had beengravely shaken by the events of the last six months. Having unlimitedconfidence in themselves; the Baggara had seen, with increasing fury,the unopposed advance of the Egyptians. They could not understand whythey should not have been allowed, after the capture of Metemmeh, tomarch across the desert to Merawi, and annihilate the infidelsassembled there. It was true that these had repulsed the forcedefending Dongola, but this was a comparatively small body; and it wasthe gunboats, and not the Egyptian troops, who had forced them toevacuate the town.
The fall of Abu Hamed had added to their discontent, and they wereeager to march with all speed to Berber, to join the five thousand mencomprising its garrison, and to drive the invaders back across theNile.
But they had been kept inactive, by the orders of the Khalifa and bythe want of stores. They had, for months, been suffering greatprivations; and while remaining in enforced inactivity, they had knownthat their enemy's strength was daily increasing; and that what couldhave been accomplished with the greatest of ease, in August, had nowbecome a very serious business.
Mahmud had chafed at the situation in which he found himself placed, byhis father's refusal to support him or to allow him to take any action.This had soured his temper, and he had taken to drinking heavily. Hehad become more harsh with his men, more severe in the punishmentinflicted for any trifling disobedience of orders. Although no thoughtthat the rule of the Khalifa could be seriously threatened enteredtheir minds, fanatical as they were, they could not but feel someuneasiness at the prospect.
A great army was gathering at Berber. Kassala was in the hands of theBritish, and the forces that had been beleaguering it had beendefeated, with heavy loss. Abyssinia had leagued itself against them.The insurrection of the Jaalin had been crushed, but there were signsof unrest in Kordofan, and other parts.
Of course, all this would be put right. An army of sixty thousand menwas at Omdurman; and this, with Mahmud's command, would suffice tosweep away all their enemies. Their enthusiasm would never havewavered, had they been called upon for action; but these months ofweary waiting, and of semi-starvation, without the acquisition of anybooty or plunder--for little, indeed, had been obtained at the captureof Metemmeh--sapped their energy; and the force that crossed the Nilefor an advance upon Berber was far less formidable than it would havebeen, had it been led forward against Merawi and Dongola directly afterthe capture of Metemmeh. Still, it needed only the prospect of a battleto restore its spirits.
A fortnight after Gregory's capture, the Dervish army was set inmotion. A few thousand men had already been sent forward, along thebanks of the river, to check any advance that might be made from FortAtbara. Had it not been for this, Gregory might have attempted toescape. It would not have been very difficult for him to creep out atthe back of his little tent, unperceived by his guards; but the dangersto be encountered in making his way to the British fort would have beenimmense.
It would have been necessary for him to keep by the river, for fromthis source alone could water be obtained. The country had beenstripped of its crops, of all kinds, by the Dervishes; the villages hadbeen razed to the ground; and the last head of maize, and other grain,gleaned by the starving people who had taken refuge in the bush andjungle.
Therefore, although by keeping near the river he could quench histhirst at will, he would assuredly have to face starvation. Moreover,he would have no chance of searching for any ears of corn which mighthave escaped the eyes of the searchers, for he must travel only bynight and lie up by day, to avoid capture by one or other of the bandsthat had gone on; in which case he would at once be killed, beingbeyond the influence of Mahmud, and the protection of the harem.
On the other hand, he had nothing to complain of, except the monotonyand uncertainty of his position. Fatma kept him well supplied withfood; and, from the gossip of the slaves who brought this to him, helearnt how matters were progressing. He was longing for the Dervisharmy to make a move, for he felt that when they neared the Britishposition, the greater would be the chance of escape; and none among thefollowers of Mahmud rejoiced more than he did, when he knew that thelong-expected advance was about to take place.
Once in motion, the spirits of the Dervishes revived. At last they weregoing to meet these insolent invaders, and none doubted that they wouldeasily defeat them. The greater portion of the harem and attendantswere left behind, at Shendy, for but few camels were available. Fatmaand another of Mahmud's wives rode on one. A tent was carried byanother. Half a dozen slaves followed, and Gregory walked with these.
He could not help admiring the attitude of the tribesmen--tall,powerful men, inured to hardship, and walking or riding with an air offierce independence, which showed their pride in themselves, and theirconfidence in their prowess.
The party always started early in the morning, so as to get the tentserected at the halting place before the main body of the Dervishes cameup. On the march, they kept some distance from the river and, being buta small group, the gunboats did not waste their shot upon them; buteach day there was a sharp exchange of fire between them and Mahmud'sforce.
Gregory supposed that Mahmud's plan was to cross the Atbara, which wasfordable at several points, and to attack the fort there; in whichcase, he had no doubt the Arabs would be driven off, with much loss.The Sirdar was of the same opinion, and in order to tempt them to doso, he maintained only one Egyptian brigade in the fort, the remainderof the force being concentrated at Kennur, four miles away. From thispoint they would be able to advance and take the Dervishes in flank,while they were engaged in the attack of the fort.
Mahmud, however, was kept well informed of the movements of the troops,and instead of contin
uing his course down the river bank when hereached Gabati, he struck across the desert; and, after two days'march, crossed the Atbara at Nakheila. From this point, owing to thebend in the river, he would be able to march direct to Berber, avoidingthe Atbara fort and the force gathered round it.
Altogether the desert march, although only lasting two days, was atrying one. The heat was overpowering, and even the ladies of the haremhad the scantiest supply of water. They had, at starting, given Gregorya gourd of water for his own use. This he had taken sparingly, and itlasted him until they reached the Atbara.
It was now dead low water, and the river offered no obstacle tocrossing, as the bed was for the most part dry, with pools here andthere. The Arab encampment was formed in a thick grove of trees, whichafforded some shelter from the sun.
Day after day passed. Mahmud was now informed as to the strength of theforce he should have to encounter, and for the first time felt somedoubt as to the issue of the fight. He determined, therefore, to standon the defensive. This decision, however, he kept to himself. TheDervishes were burning to be led to the assault, and became almostmutinous, on account of the delay. Mahmud was obliged to take thestrongest measures, and several of those who were loudest in theirdissatisfaction were summarily executed. The rest were pacified withthe assurance that he was only waiting for a fortunate day.
In the meantime, the men were employed in fortifying the position. Deepholes were dug along the edge of the wood, and behind these weretrenches and pitfalls. Mahmud's own temper grew daily more sullen andfierce. His own fighting instinct was in favour of the attack hisfollowers longed to deliver, but in his heart he was afraid that theresult might be fatal. It was not the rifles of the infantry that hefeared--of these he had no experience--but the artillery, which he hadlearned, already, could be used with terrible effect.
As Mahmud was drinking heavily, and as the fact that the white soldierswere near at hand added to the fanatical hatred of the emirs andtribesmen, Fatma sent a message by a slave to Gregory, warning him notto show himself outside the little shelter tent, composed of a singleblanket, in which he now lived.
At length it became known that the English host was approaching. Assoon as the gunboats brought down news that the Dervishes were nolonger following the river bank, but were disappearing into the desert,the Sirdar guessed their intentions. Nothing could have suited himbetter. A battle now must be a decisive one. There was no way ofretreat open to the Dervishes, except to cross the waterless desert; orto fly south, keeping to the course of the Atbara, which would takethem farther and farther from the Nile with every mile they marched.
Bringing up all his force, therefore, from Kennur and the Atbara fort,which one battalion was left to guard, the Sirdar took up his post atHudi. The position was well chosen. It lay halfway between Mahmud'scamp at Nakheila and the Atbara fort, and left Mahmud only the optionof attacking him; or of making a long detour, through the desert to theeast, in order to reach Berber. The British, on the other hand, couldreceive their supplies by camels from the Atbara fort.
The cavalry went out to reconnoitre, and had constant skirmishes withthe enemy's horse; but when day after day passed, and Mahmud did notcome, as the Sirdar had expected, to attack him, it was determined totake the offensive. General Hunter was ordered to move forward, withthe whole of the cavalry and a Maxim-gun battery, to discover the exactposition of the enemy.
The camp had been well chosen; for, like Abu Hamed, it lay in adepression, and could not be seen until an enemy came within sixhundred yards of it. Thus the superiority of range of the Britishrifles was neutralized, and their guns could not be brought into playuntil within reach of the Dervish muskets. The wood was surrounded by ahigh zareba, behind which a crowd of Dervishes were assembled. They hadanticipated an attack, and held their fire until the cavalry shouldcome nearer. This, however, General Hunter had no intention of doing,and he retired with the information he had gained. His account of thestrength of the position showed the difficulty of taking it by assault.
Next day he again went out with the same force, but this time theDervishes were prepared. Their mounted men dashed out from the wood,and galloped round to cut off the cavalry; while the footmen crowdedout to attack them in front. The cavalry fell back in perfect order,and one squadron charged forty of the Dervish cavalry, who barred theline of retreat. These they drove off, but the main body still pressedforward, and the Maxims opened upon them. The hail of bullets was toomuch for the horsemen, and they drew off. Several times they gatheredagain for a charge, but on each occasion the Maxims dispersed them. Theunmounted Dervishes were soon left behind, but the horsemen, in spiteof the lesson they had received, followed almost to the camp.
On the afternoon of the 7th of April, the Anglo-Egyptian force marchedout. They started at five in the afternoon, and halted at seven. Thehorses were first taken down to water, the infantry by half battalions;all then lay down to sleep. At one o'clock the word to advance waspassed round quietly. The moon was full and high overhead, so there wasno difficulty in avoiding obstacles. Each brigade marched in square,accompanied by the guns and the Maxims, and the camels with provisionsand spare ammunition.
At four o'clock they halted again. They had been well guided, and werenow but a short distance from the enemy's position. At sunrise the menwere again on their feet, and advanced to within two hundred yards ofthe position from which they were to deliver their attack. The Britishbrigade--the Camerons, Warwicks, Seaforths, and Lincolns--were on theleft. Next to them came Macdonald's brigade--the three Soudaneseregiments in front, the 2nd Egyptian in support. Farther still to theright, and touching the river, was Maxwell's brigade, comprising alsothree Soudanese regiments and an Egyptian one. Two of the threeEgyptian battalions of Lewis's brigade were placed on the left rear ofthe British brigade, the third battalion was in square round thecamels. Two field batteries were in front of the infantry, and two tothe right of Maxwell's brigade.
Half a mile from the zareba the infantry halted, and the artillery andMaxims opened fire. For an hour a tremendous fire was poured into theenemy's position, but not a shot was fired in reply, although theDervishes could be seen moving among the trees, apparently unconcernedat the storm of shell and bullets.
Gregory's position had been growing more critical every day. Food wasextremely short; the scanty supplies that the force had brought withthem had been long since exhausted, and they were now subsisting uponpalm nuts. Of these, two were served out daily to each man, a quantitybarely sufficient to keep life together. In spite of the vigilant watchkept by the more fanatical of Mahmud's followers, desertions had becomefrequent, notwithstanding the certain death that awaited those who wereovertaken.
The evening after the cavalry made their first reconnaissance, theslave who brought Gregory's food told him that Fatma wished to speak tohim. It was but three paces to the entrance of the tent, and his guardsmade no objection. The entrance was closed as the slave entered, buthalf a minute later it was opened an inch or two, and, without showingherself, Fatma said:
"Listen to me."
"I am listening," Gregory replied.
"I am in great fear for you. You are in much danger. The Emirs say toMahmud that you ought to be killed; their followers are well-nighstarving--why should an infidel prisoner be eating? His friends are nowclose to us, and there will be a battle. None will be spared on eitherside--why should this man be spared?
"Mahmud has many cares. The men are furious because he will not leadthem out to fight. Even the emirs are sullen; and Osman Digna, who wason bad terms with him a short time ago, and who, Mahmud suspects, isintriguing with them against him, is foremost in urging that an attackshould take place; though everyone knows he is a coward, and nevershows himself in battle, always running away directly he sees thatthings are going against him. Still, he has five thousand followers ofhis own.
"Mahmud told me today that he had done all in his power but, placed ashe was, he could not withstand the words of the emirs, and thecomplaints of the
tribesmen. When the battle comes--as it must come ina day or two--it will need all his influence and the faith of the menwith him to win; and with so much at stake, how can he risk everythingfor the sake of a single life, and that the life of an infidel? If youwould agree to aid in working his guns, as the Greeks and Egyptians do,it would content the emirs."
"That I cannot do," Gregory said. "If I am to be killed, it is the willof God; but better that, a thousand times, than turn traitor!"
"I knew that it would be so," Fatma said sorrowfully. "What can we do?At other times, the protection of the harem would cover even one whohad slain a chief; but now that the Baggara are half starving, and madwith anger and disappointment, even that no longer avails. If theywould brave the anger of the son of the Khalifa, they would not regardthe sanctity of the harem. I wish now that I had advised you to try andescape when we left Shendy, or even when we first came here. It wouldhave been difficult, but not impossible; but now I can see no chance.There is the thorn hedge round the wood, with few openings, and withmen on watch all round to prevent desertion. Several tried to escapelast night--all were caught and killed this morning. Even if it werepossible to pass through, there are bands of horsemen everywhere out onthe plain, keeping watch alike against the approach of the enemy andthe desertion of cowards.
"I have been in despair, all day, that I cannot save the life of onewho saved mine. I have told Mahmud that my honour is concerned, andthat I would give my life for yours. Months ago, he would have bravedthe anger of all his army for me, but he has changed much of late. Itis not that he loves me less, but that he has been worried beyondbearing, and in his troubles he drinks until he forgets them.
"My only hope is that your people will attack tomorrow. Mahmud saysthat they will assuredly be beaten; they will be shot down as theyapproach, and none will ever be able to get through the hedge. Then,when they fall back, the Baggara will pour out, horse and foot, anddestroy them. They will then see how right he has been in not lettingthem go out into the plain to fight. His influence will be restored,and your life will be safe.
"We are to be removed to the farther side of the wood, when thefighting begins; and there all the women are to be gathered, and wait,till the infidels are utterly destroyed.
"If your people come tomorrow morning, you may be saved. Otherwise Ifear the worst."
"I thank you for what you have done for me," replied Gregory, "andwhatever comes of it, be sure that I shall feel grateful to you, andshall not blame you for not having been able to do what was impossible.I hope my friends may come tomorrow, for, whatever my fate may be,anything is better than uncertainty."
"May Allah protect you!" the woman said, with a sob; "and go now. Ihear Mahmud calling me."