by G. A. Henty
Chapter 12: The Battle Of Atbara.
Gregory had little sleep that night. It was clear to him that there wasabsolutely no chance of making his escape. Even were his two guardswithdrawn, it would not improve his position. He had no means ofdisguise, and even if he had an Arab dress and could stain his face, hecould not hope to make his way through the crowds of sleeping men, thepitfalls and trenches, and pass out through the jealously guardedzareba. There was nothing, for him, but to wait till the end.
He could not blame Mahmud. A leader on the eve of a great battle couldnot, for the sake of a single captive, risk his influence and opposethe wishes of his followers. It was much that he had, for his wife'ssake, postponed the fulfilment of his oath; and had so long withstoodthe wishes of his most influential emirs. More could not be expected.At any rate, he was better off than others who had been in the sameposition. He had not, so far as he knew, a relation in the world--noone who would be anywise affected by his death; and at least he wouldhave the satisfaction of knowing that it was a kind action which hadbrought him to his end. He prayed earnestly, not that his life might bespared, but that his death might be a painless one; and that he mightmeet it as an English officer should, without showing signs of fear.
The next day he heard orders given, and a great stir in camp; and hegathered, from those who passed near the tent, that the enemy's cavalrywere again approaching; and that the mounted men were to ride out andcut them off from retreating, while the dismounted men were to pour outand annihilate them. Then, for a time, all was silence in the camp.
Suddenly an outburst of shouts and cries broke out and, almostsimultaneously, he heard the rattle of Maxim guns--the fight had begun.Would the Egyptian horsemen stand firm, or would they give way topanic? If they broke and fled, none whatever would return to their campthrough the host of Baggara horsemen.
For a time, the roll of the fire from the machine guns was incessant.Then there was a pause. Two or three minutes later it broke out again,but it was evidently somewhat farther off; and so it went on, withintervals of silence, but ever getting farther away. It was clear thatthe horsemen had not been able to bring the cavalry to a standstill,and that these were steadily falling back, covered by the fire of theMaxims. At last the sound grew faint in the distance and, soonafterwards, the noise in the camp showed that the infantry werereturning.
It was not till two hours later that he heard the mounted men ride in;and gathered, from the talk outside, that they had lost nearly twohundred men, and had been unable to prevent the Egyptian cavalry fromreturning to camp. Towards evening he heard angry talking, and coulddistinguish Mahmud's voice. Then the blanket was pulled off itssupports, and two men ordered him to follow them.
This was doubtless the end, and he nerved himself for what was to come;and, with head erect and a steady face, he accompanied the men to thefront of Mahmud's tent. The chief was standing, with frowning face; andseveral Emirs were gathered in front of him, while a number oftribesmen stood a short distance away.
"Now," Mahmud said, "let one of you speak."
One of the Emirs stepped forward.
"I, Osman Digna, demand that this infidel be put to death. Hiscountrymen have slain many of my men, and yours."
Feeling now that Mahmud, after doing his best, had ceased to strugglefor him, and that his death was certain, Gregory took a step forwardtowards the speaker, and said scornfully:
"So you are Osman Digna! I am one of the first of my countrymen to seeyour face, though many have seen your back, at a distance."
Instead of provoking a pistol shot, as he had intended, his remark wasfollowed by a roar of laughter from the emirs; for Osman's cowardicewas a byword among them, and his nickname was "One who always runs."
Osman, indeed, had put his hand on the stock of one of the pistols inhis belt, but Mahmud said imperiously:
"The man's life is mine, not yours, Osman Digna. If you shoot him, Ishoot you!"
The fearlessness of the lad had pleased the other emirs; for,recklessly brave themselves, the Baggara appreciated and esteemedcourage and honour. One of the others said:
"This is a brave young fellow and, infidels as his people are, we admitthat they are brave. Were it for ourselves only, we would say let himlive, until we see what comes of it. But our people complain. They sayhis folk, with whom we had no quarrel, come here and aid the Egyptiansagainst us. They slew many yesterday. It is not right that this manshould be living among us, when his countrymen are fighting againstus."
There was a murmur of assent among the others, then Mahmud spoke.
"I have promised that he should not be killed, unless by order of theKhalifa. But this I will do: he shall be placed in the front rank. IfAllah wills it, he will be killed by the bullets of his countrymen. If,when the fight is over, he is unharmed, you shall all agree that thematter be left for the Khalifa to decide. But, mind, I wash my hands ofhis death. On the eve of a battle, it is not for me to set my wishesabove those of my emirs and my tribesmen; and I yield to your demands,because it is necessary that all be of one mind. If he is killed, whichsurely he will be, unless Allah protects him, his blood be upon yourheads!"
He waved his hand, and the men came forward and again took Gregory tohis tent.
The latter was well contented with the decision that he should bekilled. He had no doubt that, at least, his death would be swift andsudden; he would not be speared, or cut to pieces with knives. He wouldsee his countrymen advancing. He would know that he would be speedilyavenged.
Two days passed, when the news came that the Egyptians had advanced toUmdabieh, seven miles nearer; and, on the following morning, theDervish camp was disturbed early. There was joy in every face, andrenewed vigour in the bearing of the men. Scouting Dervishes hadbrought in word that the infidels had marched, during the night, andwere now halting but a mile and a half away.
The hour had come, at last. They were confident in themselves, andtheir trust in their leader was renewed. The fight, two days before,had shown them that the guns of the white men were terrible on theplain; and that it was, after all, wise to await them in the positionwhich had been made impregnable, and against which the foe would hurlthemselves in vain; then they were to pour out, and annihilate them.
The slave came to Gregory's tent, at daybreak.
"Fatma is praying to Allah for your safety," he said.
There was no time for more, for already the tents were being pulleddown, and soon the women were hurried away to the rear. Four mensurrounded Gregory, and led him to the edge of the camp, and therefastened him to the stump of a tree that had been cut off six feet fromthe ground, the upper portion being used in the construction of thezareba. Ten or twelve men were similarly fastened, in a line with him.These had been detected in trying to sneak away.
Gregory had not seen anything of the camp before and, as he was takenalong, he was astounded at the amount of work that had been done.Everywhere the ground was pitted with deep holes, capable of shelteringfrom fifteen to twenty men. The hedge was a high one, and was formedfor the most part of prickly bushes. The position was, indeed, aformidable one; manned, as it was, by nearly twenty thousand desperatefighters.
At six o'clock the first gun was fired; and, for an hour and a half,the camp was swept with shell, shrapnel, and Maxim bullets. Most of theBaggara were lying in the pits. Many, however, walked about calmly, asif in contempt of the fire. More than half of the wretched men bound tothe trees were killed.
At last the fire of the guns slackened and, on the crest of theposition, in a semicircle round the wood, a long line of steadilymarching men appeared. The assault was about to begin.
The Dervishes sprang from their hiding places, and lined the trenchesbehind the zareba. The troops halted, and waited. The Maxims moved infront of the British brigade, and then opened fire. A bugle sounded,and the whole line, black and white, advanced like a wall. When withinthree hundred yards, the men knelt down and opened fire, in volleys ofsections. At the same instant the Dervishes, with
difficulty restraineduntil now, opened fire in return.
The Maxims, and the storm of British bullets swept the wood, fillingthe air with a shower of falling leaves. Gregory murmured a prayer,shut his eyes, and awaited death.
Suddenly he felt his ropes slacken and fall from him, and a voice said,"Drop on your face, master!"
Almost mechanically he obeyed, too astonished even to think what washappening; then a body fell across him.
"Lie still and don't move, master. They must think you are dead."
"Is it you, Zaki?" Gregory said, scarcely able, even now, to believethat it was his faithful follower.
"It is I, master. I have been in the camp three days, and have neverhad a chance of getting near you, before."
"Brave fellow! good friend!" Gregory said, and then was silent.
Speech was almost inaudible, amid the roar of battle. The pipes of theCamerons could, however, be heard above the din. The men advancedsteadily, in line, maintaining their excellent volley firing. The threeother regiments, in close order, followed; bearing away farther to theright, so as to be able to open fire and advance. On that side theblack regiments were advancing no less steadily, and the half brigadeof Egyptians were as eager as any. Steadily and well under control, allpushed forward at a run; firing occasionally, but thirsting to get handto hand with those who had desolated their land, destroyed theirvillages, and slain their friends.
The British were suffering, but the blacks suffered more; for thevolleys of the Camerons kept down the fire of those opposed to them,better than the irregular fire of the Soudanese. The latter, however,first reached the zareba; and, regardless of thorns or of fire, dashedthrough it with triumphant shouts, and fell upon the defenders.
It was but a minute or two later that the Camerons reached the hedge.Formidable as it looked, it took them but a short time to tear downgaps, through which they rushed; while close behind them the Seaforths,the Lincolns, and the Warwicks were all in, bursting through the lowstockade and trenches behind it, and cheering madly.
Now, from their holes and shelters, the Dervishes started up. Bravethough they were, the storm that had burst upon them with suchsuddenness scared them, and none attempted to arrest the course of theHighlanders and red coats. Firing as they ran, the Dervishes made forthe river. Many remained in their pits till the last, firing at thesoldiers as they rushed past, and meeting their death at the point ofthe bayonet.
Hotly the troops pursued, often falling into the pits, which were halfhidden by thorns and long grass. There was no attempt at regularity inthese holes--nothing to show where they were. It was a wild andconfused combat. The officers kept their men as well together as it waspossible, on such ground; but it was sharp work, for from flank andrear, as well as in front, the shots rang out from their hidden foes,and these had to be despatched as they pushed forward.
As the troops burst through, Gregory sprang to his feet, seized a riflethat had dropped from the hands of a Dervish who had fallen close byand--shouting to Zaki "Lie still as if dead!"--joined the first line oftroops. No questions were asked. Every man's attention was fixed on thework before him, and no thought was given to this white officer, whosprang from they knew not where. He had no cartridges, and theDervishes did not carry bayonets; but, holding the rifle club-wise, hekept in the front line, falling into pits and climbing out again,engaged more than once with desperate foemen.
Striking and shouting, he fought on until the troops reached the riverbank; and, having cleared all before them, poured volleys into the massof fugitives crossing its dry bed. Other hordes were seen away to theleft, similarly driven out by Lewis's Egyptians, by whom a terriblefire was kept up until the last of the fugitives disappeared in thescrub on the opposite bank, leaving the river bed thickly dotted withdead bodies; while, on the right, Macdonald's and Maxwell's blackssimilarly cleared the wood.
Then the Soudanese and whites alike burst into cheers. Men shook eachother by the hand, while they waved their helmets over their heads. TheSoudanese leapt and danced like delighted children. Presently anofficer left a group of others, who had been congratulating each otheron their glorious victory, and came up to Gregory.
"May I ask who you are, sir?" he said, courteously but coldly.
"Certainly, sir. My name is Hilliard. I have been a captive in thehands of the Dervishes; who, when you attacked, tied me to the stump ofa tree as a target for your bullets; and I should certainly have beenkilled, had not a faithful servant of mine, a black, taken theopportunity, when the Dervishes rushed into the trenches and openedfire upon you, to cut my ropes.
"I have no doubt, sir," he went on, as he saw the officer look somewhatdoubtful, "that General Hunter is here. I am known personally to him,and served for a time on his staff."
"That is quite sufficient," the officer said, more cordially. "Icongratulate you on your escape. I confess it astonished us all, when astrange white officer, whom none of us knew, suddenly joined us. Youwill find General Hunter somewhere over on the left. He is certain tohave led the charge of the Soudanese."
"Thank you! I will go and find him; but first, I must return to where Ileft my man. He had, of course, the Mahdist's patch on his clothes; andI told him to lie still, as if dead, till I came for him; as, in themelee, it would have been impossible for me to have protected him."
Gregory found Zaki still lying where he left him, head downward andarms thrown forward; in so good an imitation of death that he feared,for a moment, the lad had been shot after he left him. At the sound ofhis master's voice, however, the native sprang to his feet.
"You have saved my life, Zaki," Gregory said, taking his hand. "I musthave fallen--every man tied to a tree is, as you see, dead; but beforewe say anything else, cut that patch off your clothes, or you might beshot as a Dervish by the first man you come across.
"Keep close to me. I am going to General Hunter. At present, I knownone of the officers of the white regiments. When I get among theSoudanese, I shall be more at home."
In ten minutes, he came to where General Hunter was speaking to theSirdar. Gregory stopped at a short distance, before the general's eyesfell upon him, and he gave an exclamation of pleasure.
"That is Hilliard, General; the young fellow who jumped from one of thegunboats, off Metemmeh, to rescue the woman. The act was unnoticed atthe time, but a black he had with him was released, and brought wordthat his master was a prisoner in their camp."
"I heard of it, at the time," the Sirdar said, and motioned to Gregoryto come up. "I am glad to find that you have escaped the fate we fearedhad befallen you, but your action was altogether wrong. An officer'slife is no longer his own, but belongs to the country he serves; andyou had no right whatever to risk it when on duty, even in an actionwhich, at any other time, would do you great credit."
He spoke sharply and sternly. Gregory again saluted.
"I knew afterwards that I had done wrong, sir; but I did not stop tothink, and acted on the impulse of the moment."
"That may be," the Sirdar said; "but officers should think, and not acton the impulse of the moment."
Gregory again saluted, and fell back. Three or four minutes later, thetwo generals separated. General Hunter came up to him, and shook himwarmly by the hand.
"You must not mind what the Sirdar said, Hilliard. It was a very nobleaction, and did you credit, and I can assure you that that was theopinion of all who knew you; but to the Sirdar, you know, duty iseverything, and I think you are lucky in not being sent down, at once,to the base. However, he said to me, after you had left him:
"'I shall be too busy this evening, but bring the young fellow withyou, tomorrow evening. I must hear how it was that Mahmud spared him.'
"I told him that I understood, from your black, that the woman wasMahmud's favourite wife, and that she took you under her care.
"By the way, have you heard that Mahmud is captured? Yes, he is caught,which is a great satisfaction to us; for his being sent down, aprisoner, will convince the tribesmen that we have gain
ed a victory, asto which they would otherwise be incredulous. I hear that the Egyptianbrigade, which was to the extreme left, has captured Mahmud's wife, anda great number of women."
"With your permission, sir, I will go over there at once, and askColonel Lewis that she may receive specially good treatment. She hasbeen extremely kind to me, and it is to her influence over Mahmud thatI owe my life. Up to this morning Mahmud would have spared me, butOsman Digna insisted that I should be killed, and he was obliged togive way. They fastened me to a tree behind the trench, just inside thezareba, and I should certainly have been killed by our own musketryfire, had not my boy, who had come into the camp in disguise, cut mycords. I fell as if shot, and he threw himself down on me; until theCamerons burst in, when I at once joined them, and did what little Icould in the fight."
"I will give you a line to Colonel Lewis, to tell him that Mahmud'swife, whom you will point out, is to be treated with respect; and thather people may be allowed to make her an arbour of some sort, until theSirdar decides what is to be done with her. Probably she will be sentdown to Berber. No doubt we shall all fall back."
"Then you will not pursue, sir?"
"No. The cavalry have already gone off in pursuit of their horsemen,but they are not likely to catch them; for we hear that Osman Digna iswith them, and he seems to enjoy a special immunity from capture. Asfor the other poor beggars, we could not do it if we wanted to. Iexpect the campaign is over, for the present. Certainly, nothing can bedone till the railway is completed; then the gunboats can tow thenative craft, abreast of us, as we march along the river bank.
"Shendy has been captured, and we found twelve thousand Jaalinprisoners there, women and children, and a large quantity of stores.That is what makes the position of the Dervish fugitives so hopeless.There is nothing before them but to find their way across the desert toOmdurman, and I fancy that few of them will get there alive.
"No doubt some will keep along by the Atbara, and others by the Nile.The latter will have the best chance, for the friendlies at Kassalawill be on the lookout for fugitives. I am sorry for the poor wretches,though they richly deserve the worst that can befall them. They havenever shown mercy. For twenty years they have murdered, plundered, anddesolated the whole land, and have shown themselves more ferocious andmerciless than wild beasts."
He took out his pocketbook, wrote the order to Colonel Lewis; and then,tearing the leaf out, handed it to Gregory, who at once made his way,followed closely by Zaki, to the spot where two Egyptian battalions hadhalted. They had no difficulty in finding Colonel Lewis, who wasreceiving a report, from the officers of the two battalions, of thecasualties they had sustained. Gregory had met the Colonel severaltimes, at Berber, and the latter recognized him at once.
"Ah! Major Hilliard," that officer said, as he came up; "I am glad tosee you. I heard that you had been captured by the Dervishes, andkilled; but I suppose, as I see you here, that it was only the usualcanard."
"No, sir. I was captured; but, as you see, not killed, though it hasbeen a pretty close thing. This is a note, sir, that General Hunterrequested me to give you."
Colonel Lewis read the order.
"The women are down over there, a couple of hundred yards away," hesaid. "I will send a sergeant and four men with you. If you will pointout Mahmud's wife, I will see that she is made as comfortable aspossible."
"Thank you, sir! It is to her I owe my life, and I am most anxious todo all I can to repay the debt."
"You came along through the other brigades. Do you know what theirlosses have been?"
"The British losses are not heavy, sir, considering the fire they havebeen exposed to. Macdonald's brigade suffered most, I believe."
"Yes; I saw one of the officers just now. It seems they came down uponMahmud's picked bodyguard, and these fought desperately. They foundMahmud in the usual attitude in which the Dervish emirs await death,when they are conquered. He was sitting quietly on his mat, with hisarms laid down beside him; and was, I should imagine, somewhatsurprised at finding that he was not cut to pieces, at once."
"I am glad he was not, sir, for he certainly behaved well to me. It wasthrough the influence of his wife, I admit; but in sparing me he reallyrisked serious disaffection among his followers, and at last gave wayonly to coercion."
The sergeant and men had now come up, and Gregory went off with them.Three or four hundred women were seated on the ground together, withhalf a dozen Egyptian soldiers standing as sentry over them. More orless closely veiled as they were, Gregory could not distinguish Fatmaamong them; and indeed, except when he first reached her in the water,he had not got a glimpse of her features. The question, however, wasspeedily settled when a woman rose, in the middle of the group, with acry of gladness.
"So you are saved!" she exclaimed, "I have feared so that you werekilled. Have you news of Mahmud?"
"Yes, lady. He is a prisoner, but well and unharmed. I have obtained anorder, from the General, that you are to be treated with honours, ashis wife. We cannot do much for you, at present, but all that ispossible will be done. I have represented your kindness to me, andthese soldiers will at once erect an arbour for you, and food will bebrought for you all, as soon as matters have settled down a little."
The Egyptian soldiers had already begun to cut down saplings.Accustomed as they were to the work, in half an hour they had erectedan arbour. Fatma was then assisted into it, with the other women of theharem. The sergeant gave orders, to the sentries, that no one was to beallowed to interfere in any way with them; and then Gregory took hisleave, saying that he would return, later on.
He again joined General Hunter, who seemed to be his natural chief, nowthat his service in the gunboat was over.
The list of casualties was now being brought in. The Camerons, who hadled the attack in line, had lost most heavily. They had fifteen killedand forty-six wounded, among them being two officers killed, and onemortally wounded. The Seaforths had one officer killed and one mortallywounded, and four others less severely; in all, six killed andtwenty-seven wounded. The Lincolns had one killed and eighteen wounded;the Warwicks two killed and eighteen wounded. Many of the woundedafterwards died.
The Egyptians had lost more heavily. The casualties among them werefifty-seven killed; and four British and sixteen native officers, andthree hundred and sixty-seven non-commissioned officers and men,wounded.
The Dervish loss was terrible. Three thousand men were killed, amongwhom were nearly all the emirs; and two thousand were taken prisoners.The rest were hopeless fugitives, and a vast number of these must havebeen wounded.
There was but a short rest for the troops. When the wounded had beencollected, and carried to a neighbouring palm grove, where the surgeonsdid all that could then be done for them; and the trophies of thefight--banners and spears, guns of all sorts, swords and knives--hadbeen gathered, principally by the exultant Soudanese and Egyptians, theforce prepared for a start.
"May I ask, General, what is to be done with the women?" Gregory said.
"I have been speaking to the Sirdar about them, and I was just going toask you to go with me to them. They are, of course, not to beconsidered as prisoners. They cannot stay here, for they would die ofhunger. Therefore they had best follow the troops, at any rate as faras the Atbara camp. They will have food given them, and must thendecide for themselves what they are to do. It is a difficult question,altogether. The only thing that can, at present, be settled is thatthey mustn't be allowed to die of hunger, and they must be protectedagainst molestation.
"The troops will march at four o'clock. The Egyptian brigade havevolunteered to carry the wounded. They will start later. The women hadbetter follow them. No doubt, some of them will find their husbandsamong the prisoners, so that there will be no trouble about them."
"What will be done with the men, sir?"
The General smiled.
"Tomorrow they will probably enlist in our service, to a man, and willfight just as sturdily as the other Soudanese battalions, against
theirbrethren in Khartoum. All the prisoners we have hitherto taken who arefit for the work have done so; and, as has been shown today, are justas ready to fight on our side as they were against us. They are afighting people, and it is curious how they become attached to theirwhite officers, whom formerly they hated as infidels."
When the matter was explained to them, the women accepted the situationwith the resignation that is natural to the Mahometan woman. Gregorywas able to assure Fatma that, in a short time, she would undoubtedlybe allowed to join Mahmud, and accompany him wherever he was sent.
"But will they not kill him?" she said.
"We never kill prisoners. Even the bitterest enemy that may fall intoour hands is well treated. Mahmud will doubtless be sent down to Cairo,and it will then be settled where he is to be taken to; but you may besure that, wherever it may be, he will be well treated and cared for."
"In that case, I shall be happy," she said. "When you saved me, I sawthat the ways of you Christians were better than our ways. Now I see itstill more. To be always raiding, and plundering, and killing cannot begood. It used to seem to me natural and right, but I have come to thinkdifferently."
At four o'clock the troops marched. At Gregory's request, he wasallowed to remain behind and accompany the Egyptians. He had bought fora few shillings, from the soldiers, a dozen donkeys that had been foundalive in some of the pits. These he handed over to Fatma, for herconveyance and that of the wives of some of the emirs, who were of theparty.
The Egyptians started at half-past eight, carrying their own woundedand those of the British. By the route by which the army had marched,the night before, the distance was but nine miles; but there had beensome rough places to pass, and to avoid these, where the wounded mighthave suffered from jolting, they made a circuit, thereby adding threemiles to the length of the march; and did not reach Umdabieh camp untiltwo o'clock in the morning. General Hunter, who never spared himself,rode with them and acted as guide.
During the fight he, Colonel Macdonald, and Colonel Maxwell had riddenat the head of their brigades, the white regimental officers being onfoot with the men, as was their custom; and it was surprising that thethree conspicuous figures had all come through the storm of fireunscathed.
The next morning was a quiet one, and in the afternoon all marched offto the old camp, at Abadar. On Sunday they rested, and on Monday theBritish brigade marched to Hudi, and then across the desert to Hermali,where they were to spend the summer. The Sirdar rode, with the Egyptianbrigades, to Fort Atbara. Macdonald's brigade was to go on to garrisonBerber, Maxwell's to Assillem, and that of Lewis to remain at Atbara.
The question of the prisoners was already half solved. Almost all ofthem willingly embraced the offer to enlist in the Egyptian army. Manyof the women found their husbands among the prisoners. Others agreed,at once, to marry men of the Soudanese battalion. The rest, pendingsuch offers as they might receive in the future, decided to remain atAtbara. At Berber their lot would have been a hard one, for they wouldhave been exposed to the hatred and spite of the Jaalin women there,whose husbands had been massacred at Metemmeh.
Fatma, with two attendants only, accompanied Macdonald's brigade toBerber. On arriving outside the town, the force encamped. Next day theSirdar, with his staff and General Hunter, came up; and, on thefollowing morning, made a triumphant entry into the town, followed bythe Soudanese brigade.
Berber was prepared to do honour to the occasion. Flags waved, colouredcloths and women's garments hung from the windows, and the wholepopulation lined the streets, and received the conquerors with cries ofwelcome and triumph. They had anticipated a very different result, andhad fully expected that the army would have been well-nigh annihilated;and that, again, the triumphant Dervishes would become their masters.But the sight of Mahmud walking, a prisoner, with two guards on eachside of him, convinced them that the reports that had reached them weretrue, that the Dervishes had been signally defeated, and that there wasno fear of their ever again becoming lords of Berber.
The Sirdar, by whose side General Hunter rode, headed the procession,followed by his staff. Then, leading his brigade, came Macdonald--sternand hard of face, burnt almost black with years of campaigning in thedesert--and his staff, followed by the black battalions, erect andproud, maintaining their soldierly bearing amid the loud quaveringcries of welcome from the women.
Gregory had, on his arrival with the brigade the day before, gone intothe town; and engaged a small house, in its outskirts, as the abode ofFatma and her two attendants, purchased suitable provisions, and madewhat arrangements he could for her comfort. Late in the evening he hadescorted her there, and left Zaki to sleep in an outhouse attached toit, to secure them from all intrusion.
Then he went down to the river and, finding the Zafir lying there, wenton board. He was received as one returned from the dead by CaptainKeppel, Lieutenant Beatty, and Lieutenant Hood--the commanders of theother gunboats--who had been dining on board. He had become a generalfavourite, during the time he had spent with them, and theircongratulations on his safe return were warm and hearty.
"You may imagine our surprise when, after the fight was over," saidCaptain Keppel, "it was discovered that you were missing. No one couldimagine what had become of you. One of the blacks who had been workingyour Maxim said they had not noticed your leaving them; and that, whenthey found you were not there, they supposed you had come to conferwith me. Then I sent for your man; but he, too, was missing. Wesearched everywhere, but no signs of you, dead or alive, and no marksof blood were to be found. So it seemed that the matter must remain amystery. Early the next morning, however, we saw a white rag waving onthe bank, and then a black entered the water and swam out towards us. Isent the boat to meet him, and when he came on board I found that hewas your man, and the mystery was explained. I fancy I used some stronglanguage; for I never before heard of a man being so hare-brained as tospring overboard, in the middle of a battle, and pick up a woman,without saying a word to anyone of what he was doing, and that with theboat still steaming ahead. Of course, your man told us that it wasMahmud's wife you had saved, and that she had taken you under herprotection; but I did not expect that, among those fanatics, your lifewould be spared.
"Now, tell us all about your adventures, and how you got down here justin time to see our fellows enter, in triumph. I suppose you managed togive them the slip, somehow?"
Gregory then told his story. When he had concluded, Captain Keppelsaid:
"Well, you have the luck of the old one! First, you have got hold of asfaithful a fellow as is to be found in all Egypt, or anywhere else;and, in the second place, you have been in the battle of Atbara, whilewe have been kicking our heels here, and fuming at being out of italtogether, except for our bloodless capture of Shendy.
"So you say the Sirdar blew you up? I am not surprised at that. Youknow the story of the man who fell overboard, in the old flogging days,and the captain sentenced him to two dozen lashes, for leaving the shipwithout orders."
"I don't think he was really angry; for when I went to him, the nextevening, he was a good deal milder. Of course, he did say again that Ihad done wrong, but not in the same tone as before; and he seemed agood deal interested in what I told him about Mahmud, and how my boyhad risked his life to rescue me, and had succeeded almost by amiracle. He said there is a lot of good in these black fellows, if onecould but get at it. They have never had a chance yet; but, given goodadministration, and the suppression of all tribal feuds with a sternhand, they might be moulded into anything."
"And are you coming back to us now, Mr. Hilliard?"
"I have no idea. I don't suppose anything will be settled, for a time.There is not likely to be much doing, anyway, except on the railway;and even your gunboats will have an easy time of it, as there is not anenemy left on this side of the sixth cataract.
"The Dervishes who escaped are pretty sure to cross the Atbara. Thereare enough of them still, when they rally, to beat off any attacks thatmight be made by our tribesme
n from Kassala."