G.A. Henty - With Kitchener in the Soudan - a story of Atbara and Omdurman

" I don't take sugar, sir."

"All the better; there is no better drink than tea poured out and left to cool, and drunk without sugar. You might take a dozen tins of preserved milk, as many of condensed cocoa and milk, and a couple of dozen pots of jam. Of course you could not take all these things on if you were likely to move, but you may be at Dongola some time before there is another advance, and you may as well make yourself as comfortable as you can; and if, as is probable, you cannot take the pots up with you, you can hand them over to those who are left behind. You will have no trouble in getting a fair-sized case taken up, as there will be water carriage nearly all the way. A good many fellows have aerated waters sent up, but hot soda-water is by no means a desirable drink— not to be compared with tea kept in porous jars, so I should not advise you to bother about it. You will want a water-bottle; get the largest you can find. It is astonishing-how much water a fellow can get down in a long day's march. Oh! as to your boots, get the uppers as light as you can—the lighter the better; but you must have strong soles—there are rocks in some places, and they cut the soles to pieces in no time. The sand is bad enough; your foot sinks in it, and it seems to have a sort of sucking action, and very often takes the sole right off in a very short time. I suppose you smoke?"

" Cigarettes, sir,"

"I should advise you to get a pipe in addition, or rather two or three of them. If they get broken or lost in the sand there is no replacing them; and if you don't take to them yourself you will find them the most welcome presentyou can give to a man who has lost his. I should advise you to get a lens; you don't want a valuable one, but the larger the better, and the cheapest that you can buy; it will be quite as good as the best to use as a burning-glass. Matches are precious things out there, and with a burning-glass you will only have to draw upon your stock in the evening. Now, do you ride? because all the white officers with the Egyptian troops do so."

"I am sorry to say that I don't, sir. I have ridden donkeys, but anyone can sit upon a donkey."

"Yes; that won't help you much. Then I should advise you to use all the time that you can spare, after ordering your outfit, in riding. No doubt you could hire a horse."

"Yes; there is no difficulty about that."

" Well, if you will hire one and come round here at six o'clock to-morrow morning, I will ride out for a couple of hours with you and give you your first lesson. I can borrow a horse from one of the staff. If you once get to sit your horse in a workmanlike fashion, and to carry yourself well, you will soon pick up the rest; and if you go out morning and evening for three hours each time, you won't be quite abroad when you start to keep up with a column of men on foot. As to a horse, it would be hardly Avorth your while to bother about taking one with you; you will be able to pick one up at Dongola. I hear that fugitives are constantly coming in there, and some of them are sure to be mounted. However, you had better take up a saddle and bridle with you. You might as well get an Egyptian one, in the first place because it is a good deal cheaper, and in the second because our English saddles are made for bigger horses. You need not mind much about the appearance of 3 T our animal, anything will do for riding about at Dongola, and learning

HIS KEEN GLANCE SEEMED TO GREGORY TO TAKE HIM IN FROM HEAD TO FOOT

to keep your seat. In the first fight you have with Dervish horsemen there are sure to be some riderless horses, and you may then get a good one for a pound or two from some Tommy who has captured one."

" I am sure I am immensely obliged to you, Captain Ewart; that will indeed be an advantage to me."

On leaving the hotel Gregory at once made all his purchases, so as to get them off his mind, and then arranged for the horse in the morning. Then he went home and told the old servant the change that had taken place in his position.

"And now what about yourself, what would you like to do?"

" I am too old to go up with you and cook for you."

" Yes indeed," he laughed, " we shall be doing long marches. But it is not your age so much. As an officer it would be impossible for me to have a female servant. Besides, you want quiet and rest. I have been round to the landlord to tell him that I am going away, and to pay him a month's rent instead of notice. I should think the best way would be for you to take a large room for yourself, or two rooms not so large—one of them for you to live in, and the other to store everything there is here. I know that you will look after them and keep them well. Of course you will pick out all the things that you can use in your room. It will be very lonely for you living all by yourself, but you know numbers of people here, and you might engage a girl to stay with you for some small wages and her food. Now you must think over what your food and hers will cost, and the rent. Of course, I want you to live comfortably; you have always been a friend rather than a servant, and my mother had the greatest trust in you."

" You are very good, Master Gregory. While you have been away to-day, I have been thinking over what I should do when you went away. I have a friend who comes in once a week with fruit and vegetables. Last year, you know, I went out with her and stayed a day. She has two boys who work in the garden, and a girl. She came in to-day, and I said to her:My young master is going away to the Soudan, what do you say to my coming and living with you when he has gone? I can cook, and do all about the house, and help a little in the garden; and I have saved enough money to pay for my share of food.' She said,I should like that very well; you could help the boys in the field.' So we agreed that, if you were willing, I should go. I thought of the furniture; but if you do not come back here to live, it would be no use to keep the chairs, and tables, and beds, and things. We can put all Missy's things, and everything you like to keep, into a great box, and I could take them with me; or you could have them placed with some honest man, who would only charge very little for storage."

"Well, I do think that would be a good plan, if you like these people; it would be far better than living by yourself. However, of course I shall pay for your board, and I shall leave money with you, so that if you are not comfortable there you can do as I said, take a room here. I think you are right about the furniture. How would you sell it?"

" There are plenty of Greek shops. They would buy it all. They would not give as much as you gave for it. Most of them are great rascals."

"We cannot help that," he said. "I should have to sell them when I come back, and at any rate we save the rent for housing them. They are not worth much. You may take anything you like, a comfortable chair and a bed, some cooking things, and so on, and sell the rest for anything you can get after I have gone. I will pack my dear mother's things this evening."

For the next two days Gregory almost lived on horseback, arranging with the man from whom he hired the animals that he should change them three times a day. He laid aside his black clothes and took to a white flannel suit, with a black ribbon round his straw hat, as deep mourning would be terribly hot, and altogether unsuited for riding.

" You will do, lad," Captain Ewart said to him after giving him his first lesson. "Your fencing has done much for you, and has given you an easy poise of body and head. Always remember that it is upon balancing the body that you should depend for your seat, although, of course, the grip of the knees does a good deal. Also remember always to keep your feet straight; nothing is so awkward as turned-out toes. Besides, in that position, if the horse starts you are very likely to dig your spurs into him. Hold the reins firmly, but don't pull at his head. Give him enough scope to toss his head if he wants to, but be in readiness to tighten the reins in an instant if necessary."