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

"If you send in word to him that his messenger has returned, I am sure he will see me."

"You can sit down here then," the sentry said. "When the officer with him comes out, I will give your message to his orderly."

Gregory, however, was in no humour to be stopped, and in an authoritative voice called, " Orderly!" A soldier came down directly from the guard-room. " Tell the General at once that Mr. Hilliard has returned."

With a look of wonder the orderly went into the tent. Half a minute later he returned. " You are to come in," he said.

As the General had seen Gregory in his disguise before starting, he of course recognized him. "My dear Hilliard," he said, getting up and shaking him cordially by the hand, " I am heartily glad to see you back. You have been frequently in my thoughts, and though I had every confidence in your sharpness I have regretted more than once that I allowed you to go. I suppose you failed to get there. It is hardly possible that you should have done so in the time. I suppose when you got to Gakdul you learned that the Dervishes were at Abu Klea."

" They were at Abu Klea, General, but I made a detour and got into their camp at Metemmeh."

"You did, and have returned safely! I congratulate you most warmly. I told you, Macdonald," he said, turning to the officer with whom he had been engaged, " that I had the greatest hope that Mr. Hilliard would get through. He felt so confident in himself that I could scarce help feeling confidence in him too."

"He has done well indeed!" Colonel Macdonald said. "I should not have liked to send any of my officers on such an adventure, though they have been here for years."

"Well, will you sit down, Mr. Hilliard," the General said, " and give us a full account. In the first place, what you have learned, and in the second, how you have learned it."

Gregory related the conversations he had heard among the soldiers, and then that of Mahmud's brother and the commander of the Dervish cavalry. Then he described the events of his journey there, his narrow escape from capture, and the pursuit by the Dervishes at Abu Klea; how he gave them the slip, struck the Ambukol caravan road, had a fight with a band of robber Arabs, and finally reached the Egyptian camp.

"An excellently-managed business!" the General said warmly. "You have certainly had some narrow escapes, and seem to have adopted the only course by which you could have got off safely. The information you have brought is of the highest importance. I shall telegraph at once to the Sirdar that there will assuredly be no advance on the part of Mahmud from Metemmeh, which will leave him free to carry out the plans he has formed. I shall of course, in my written dispatch, give him full particulars of the manner in which I have obtained that information."

"It was a very fine action," Macdonald agreed. "The lad has shown that he has a good head as well as great courage. You will make your way, Mr. Hilliard,—that is, if you don't try this sort of thing again. A man may get through it once, but it would be just tempting providence to try it a second time."

" Now, Mr. Hilliard," the General said, "you had best go to your quarters. I will ask the surgeon to attend to you at once. You must keep quiet and do no more duty until you are discharged from the sick list."

Ten days later orders were issued that the brigade under Macdonald, consisting of the 3rd Egyptians, and the 9th, 10th, and 11th Soudanese, together with a mule battery, were to move forward the next day to Kassinger, the advanced post some ten miles higher up the river. This seemed only a preliminary step, and the general opinion was that another fortnight would elapse before there would be a general movement. A reconnaissance with friendly Arabs had, however, been made ahead towards Abu Hamed, and had obtained certain information that the garrison at that place was by no means a strong one. The information Gregory had gathered had shown that Mahmud had no intention of advancing against Merawi, and that no reinforcements had as yet started to join the force at Abu Hamed, the Dervish leader being convinced that the Nile was not yet high enough to admit of boats going up the cataract. Thus everything favoured the Sirdar's plan to capture Abu Hamed, and enable the railway to be constructed to that place before Mahmud could receive the news that the troops were in motion. He therefore directed General Hunter to push forward with only one brigade, leaving the rest to hold Merawi, and ordered the camel corps and the friendly Arabs to advance across the desert as far as the Gakdul wells, where their appearance would lead Mahmud to believe that they were the advance-guard of the coming army. Two days later Gregory, on going to the head-quarters tent, was told that General Hunter and his staff would start in an hour's time to inspect the camp at Kassinger.

"Do you think you are fit to ride?" the chief of the staff asked him.

" Perfectly, sir. The doctor discharged me yesterday as fit for duty, but advised me to keep my arm in a sling for a time."

" In that case you may accompany us. It is a little uncertain when we shall return," the officer said with a smile, " therefore I advise you to take all your belongings with you. Have them packed up quietly; we do not wish any suspicions to arise that we are not returning this evening."

* c Thank you, sir!" Gregory said gratefully; "I shall be ready to start in an hour."

He returned in high glee to his hut, for he felt certain that an immediate advance was about to take place. "Zaki," he said, "I am going to ride with the General; and as it is possible I may be stationed at Kassinger for a short time, you had better get the camel brought up, and start as soon as you have packed the things on it. I am going to ride over with the staff in an hour, and shall overtake you by the way. How long will you be?"

" Half an hour, bey."

"I will be here by that time, and will take my horse; then you can go on with the camel."

Behind the head-quarter camp the work of packing up was also going on, the camels being sent off in threes and fours as they were laden, so "as to attract no attention. Half an hour later the General came out, and without delay started with the staff, Captain Fitton remaining behind to see that the rest of the stores were sent off and a small tent for the use of the General. All heavy packages were to be taken up by water. The arrival of the General at Kassinger excited no surprise, as he had ridden over the day before; but when in the afternoon orders were issued that the camels should all be laden in preparation for a march that evening, the Soudanese could with difficulty be restrained from giving vent to their exuberant joy that at length their long halt was at an end, and they were to have another chance of getting at the enemy.

A large train of camels had been quietly collected at Kassinger, sufficient to carry the necessary supplies for the use of the column for some three weeks' time, and it was hoped that before long the gun-boats and many of the native craft with stores would join them at Abu Hamed. The force started at sunset. The distance to be travelled was a hundred and eighteen miles, and the road was a very difficult one. The ground rose steeply almost from the edge of the river, and at times had to be traversed in single file. As night came on,

the scene was a weird one. On one side the rocky ascent rose black and threatening; on the other, the river rushed foaming, only broken by the rocks and little islands of the cataract.

Gregory had been ordered to remain with the camel train, to keep them as much as possible together, and prevent wide gaps from occurring in the ranks. It was tedious work, and the end of the train did not arrive until broad daylight at the spot where the infantry halted. He at once told Zaki to pitch his little tent, which he had already shown him how to do, while he went to see if there were any orders at head-quarters. He found the staff were just sitting down to a rough breakfast. Being told after the meal that he would not be wanted during the day, but that at night he was to continue his work with the camels, he went back to his tent and threw himself on his bed. But, in spite of the fly being fastened up and a blanket thrown over the tent, the heat was so great that he was only able to doze off occasionally.