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

There is grass in abundance there. When the moon rises we can make our way round to avoid Abu Klea, and halt in the middle of the day for some hours. We could then ride on as soon as the sun is low, halt when it becomes too dark to ride, and then start again when the moon rises. In that way we shall reach the river before it is light."

"I think that would be a very good plan, Zaki. We should find it very difficult to explain who we were if we met any Dervishes at Abu Klea. I will have a look at my sketch map; we have found it very good and accurate so far, and with that and the compass the General gave me before starting, we ought to have no difficulty in striking the river, as the direction is only a little to the east of south."

He opened a tin of preserved meat, of which he had four with him, and placed it to warm near the fire. " We should have had to throw the other tins away if we had gone on to Abu Klea," he said; "it would never have done for them to be found upon us if we were searched."

When the meat was hot they ate it, using some biscuits as plates. Afterwards they feasted on a melon they had brought with them, and were glad to hear their horses munching the leaves of some shrubs near. When the moon rose they started. It was slow work at first, as they had some difficulty in passing the rough country lying behind the hill. Once past it, they came upon a level plain, and rode fast for some hours. At ten o'clock they halted and lay down under the shelter of the shrubs, mounting again at four and riding for another three hours.

"How far do you think we are from the river now? By the map, I should think we cannot be much more than twenty miles from it."

" I don't know, my lord. I have never been along here before; but it certainly ought not to be farther than that."

"We have ridden nine hours; we travelled slowly for the first four or five, but we have come fast since then. We must give the horses a good rest, so we will not move on till the moon rises, which will be about a quarter to two. It does not give a great deal of light now, and we shall have to make our way through the scrub; but, at any rate, we ought to be close to the river before morning."

When the sun was low they again lit a fire and had another good nit, giving the greater portion of their stock of biscuits to the horses, and a good drink of water. " We must use up all we can eat before to-morrow, Zaki, and betake ourselves to diet of dried dates. There is enough water left to give the horses a drink before we start, then we shall start as genuin Dervishes."

They found that the calculation they had made as to distance was correct, and before daybreak arrived on the bank of the Nile and at once encamped in a grove. In the morning they could see the houses of Metemmeh rising from the line of sandy soil some five miles away.

" There seems to be plenty of bush and cover all along the bank, Zaki. We will stay here till the evening and then move three miles farther down, so that you may be handy if I have to leave the Dervishes in a hurry."

" Could we not go into the camp, my lord ?"

"It would be much better in some respects if we could; but, you see, you do not speak Arabic."

" No, master; but you could say I was carried off as a slave when I was a boy. You see, I do speak a little Arabic, and could understand simple orders just as any slave hoy would, if he had been eight or ten years among the Arabs,"

"It would certainly be a great advantage to have you and the horses handy. However, at first I will go in and join the Dervishes, and see how they encamp. They are no doubt a good deal scattered, and if we could find a quiet spot where a few mounted men have taken up their station, we would join them. But before we did that it would be necessary to find out whether they came from Kordofan or from some of the villages on the White Nile; it would never do to stumble into a party from El Obeid."

They remained quiet all day. The wood extended a hundred and fifty yards back from the river, and there was little fear that anyone coming down from Omdurman would enter it when within sight of Metemmeh. At dusk they rode on again until they judged that they were within two miles of the town, and then, entering a clump of high bushes by the river, halted for the night.

CHAPTER VIII

AMONG THE DERVISHES

IN the morning Gregory started alone as soon as it was light. As he neared the town he saw that there were several native craft on the river, and that boats were passing to and fro between the town and Shendy on the opposite bank. From the water-side a number of men were carrying what appeared to be bags of grain towards the hills behind the town, while others were straggling down towards the river. Without being questioned Gregory entered Metemmeh, but stopped there for a very few minutes. Everywhere were the bodies of men, women, and children, of donkeys and other animals. All were now shrivelled and dried by the sun, but the stench was almost unbearable, and he was glad to hurry away. Once beyond the walls he made for the hill. Many tents could be seen there, and great numbers of men moving about. He felt sure that among so many no one would notice that he was a new-comer, and after moving among the throng, he soon sat down among a number of Dervishes who were eating their morning meal. Taking some dates out of his bag he munched them quietly. From the talk going on he soon perceived that there was a considerable amount of discontent at the long delay. Some of the men were in favour of moving to Berber, on the ground that they would at least fare better there, but the majority were eager to march north to drive the infidels from Merawi and Dongola.

"Mahmud would do that, I am sure," one of them said, "if he had but his will; but how could we march without provisions'? It is said that Mahmud has asked for a sufficient supply to cross the Bayuda, and has promised to 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 to exterminate them. If we are not to fight, why were we sent here? It would have been better to stay at Omdurman, because there we had plenty of food, or, if it ran short, could march to the villages and take what we wanted. Of course the Khalifa knows best, but to us it seems strange indeed."

There was a general chorus of assent. After listening for some time Gregory rose, and, passing over the ridge, came upon the main camp. Here were a number of emirs and sheiks with their banners flying before the entrance of their tents. The whole ground was thickly dotted with little shelters formed of bushes, over which dark blankets were thrown to keep out the rays of the sun. Everywhere women were seated or standing—some talking to each other, others engaged in cooking; children played about; boys came in loaded with faggots, which they had gone long distances to cut. In some places numbers of horses were picketed, showing where the Baggara cavalry were stationed. In the neighbourhood of the emirs' tents there was some sort of attempt at order in the arrangement of the little shelters, showing where the men of their tribes were encamped.

Beyond, straggling out for some distance, were small encampments, in some of which the men were still erecting shelters with the bushes the women and boys brought in. Most of these were evidently fresh arrivals who had squatted down as soon as they came up, either from ignorance as to where their friends had encamped or from a preference for a quiet situation. This fringe of new arrivals extended along the whole semicircle of the camp, and as several small parties came up while Gregory wandered about, and he saw that no notice was taken of them by those already established, he thought that he could bring Zaki and the horses up without any fear of close questioning. He therefore walked down again to the spot where he had left them, and, mounting, they rode to the camp, making a wide sweep so as to avoid the front facing Metemmeh.