land ought to be able to make a tough fight of it against any number of the enemy. How long do you think we shall be on the way?'
'About four days. The camels can easily travel thirty-five miles a day. We have six days' provisions with us, in case the gun-boat cannot make its way up. Fortunately we have not to carry water, so that each camel only takes twenty pounds of food for its rider and forty pounds of grain for itself. If we were pursued, we could throw that away, as we should only have to ride to some point where the gun-boat could protect us. We could not hope to escape by speed, for the Dervishes could ride and run quite as fast as the camels could go.'
CHAPTER X
AFLOAT
THE first three days' journey passed without any adventure. From the natives who still remained in the little villages ihey passed, they learned that the report that the Dervishes had left Berber was generally believed; but whether they had marched for Metemmeh or for some other point was unknown. The people were delighted to see the gun-boat, as until its arrival they had been in hourly fear of raiding parties. They had heard of the capture of Abu Hamed by the British from horsemen who had escaped, but all these had said confidently that Mahmud would speedily drive them out again, and they had been in hourly fear that the Dervishes would swoop down upon them and carry off the few possessions still remaining to them. When within thirty miles of Berber the Arabs had halted on the bank, watching the gun-boat as, with great difficulty, it made its way up a cataract. Suddenly it was seen to stop, and a great bustle was observed on board. An exclamation of grief burst from the Arabs.
' She has struck on a rock!' Ahmed Bey exclaimed.
'I am afraid she has,' said Gregory, who had all along ridden by his side at the head of the party. 'I am afraid so; I hope she is not injured.'
Unfortunately the damage was serious. A hole had been knocked through her side under water, and the water poured in in volumes. A rush was made by those on board, and beds, pillows, and blankets were stuffed into the hole. This succeeded to some extent, and she was brought alongside the bank. The sheik and Gregory went down to meet her. General Hunter came to the side.
'A large hole has been knocked in her,' he said to the sheik; 'we shall have to get the guns and stores on shore to lighten her, and then heel her over to get at the hole. It
will certainly take two or three days; by that time I hope the other gun-boat will be up. In the meantime, you must go on to Berber. I think there can be no doubt that the Dervishes have all left, but it is most important that we should know it for certain. You must push straight on, and as soon as you arrive there, send word on to me by the fastest camel you have. If you are attacked, you will, of course, defend yourselves. Take up a position close to the river, and hold it until you are relieved. If you can send off news to me by a camel, do so; if not, seize a boat—there are some at every village—and send the news down by water. I will come on at once with everyone here to assist you.'
'I will do as you order,' the sheik said, 'and if you see us no more, you will know that we died as brave men.'
'I hope there is no fear of that,' the General said cheerfully. ' You will defend yourselves as brave men if you are attacked I am sure; but as I am convinced that the Dervishes have left Berber, I think there is little fear of your falling in with them.'
Then he went on in English to Gregory.
' Keep them moving, Mr. Hilliard. Let them go as fast as they can; they are less likely to get nervous if they are riding hard than they would be if they dawdled along. If they press their camels they will be in Berber this afternoon. See that a man starts at once to bring me the news.'
'Very well, sir; I will keep them at it if I can.'
The sheik rejoined his band, which gathered round to hear the result of his interview with the white general.
'The steamer is injured,' he said, 'but she will soon be made right and will follow us. We are to have the honour of going on and occupying Berber, and will show ourselves worthy of it. There is little chance of our meeting the Dervishes; had they been in Berber we should have heard of them before this. If we meet tham we will fight, and you, Abu, who have the fastest camel among us, will ride back here at all speed, and the General and his soldiers will come up to help us. Now, let us not waste a moment, but push forward. In five hours we shall be at Berber, and throughout your lives you will be proud to say that you were the first to enter the town that the Dervishes have so long held.'
A few of the men waved their guns and shouted; the rest looked grave. However, they obeyed their chief's orders, and the cavalcade at once started. As they did so, Gregory drew his horse up alongside Zaki.
'Look here,' he said, 'if we see the Dervishes coming in force, I shall come to you at once. You shall take my horse, it is faster than yours. I shall give you a note for the General, and you will ride back at full gallop and give it to him. The horse is fast, and there will be no fear of their catching you even if they chase, which they will not be likely to do, as they will be thinking of attacking us,'
'Very well, master; I will do as you order me, but I would rather stop and fight by your side.'
'That you may be able to do some other time, Zaki; this time you have got to fetch aid.'
Then he rode on to join the chief. There was no talking along the line, every man had his rifle unslung and in his hand, every eye scanned the country. Hitherto they had had unlimited faith in the power of the gun-boat to protect them; now that they might have to face the Dervishes unaided, they felt the danger a serious one. They had come to fight the Dervishes, and were ready to do so in anything like equal numbers, but the force they might meet would possibly be greatly stronger than their own,—so strong that although they might sell their lives dearly they would in the end be overpowered. For the first three hours the camels were kept going at the top of their speed, but as they neared Berber there was a perceptible slackness. Ahmed Bey and Gregory rode backwards and forwards along the line, keeping them together and encouraging them.
'We shall get in without fighting,' the Bey said, 'we should have heard before this, had they been there. Do you think that they would have remained so long in the town if they had learned that there are but two hundred of vis and one steamer? Mahmud would never have forgiven them had they not fallen upon us and annihilated us. I only hope that two hundred will have been left there; it will add to our glory to have won a battle as well as taken the town. Your children will talk of it in their tents, your women Avill be proud of you, and the men of the black regiments will say that we have shown ourselves to be as brave as they are. We will halt for half an hour, rest the camels, and then push on at full speed again; but mind, you have my orders: if you should see the enemy coming in force, you are to ride at once to the river bank, dismount, and make the camels lie down in a semicircle; then we have but to keep calm and shoot straight and we need not fear the Dervishes, however many of them there may be.'
After the halt they again pushed forward. Gregory saw with pleasure that the Arabs were now thoroughly wound up to fighting point. The same vigilant watch was kept up as before, but the air of gloom that had hung over them when they first started had now disappeared; each man was ready to fight to the last. As the town was seen, the tension was at its highest, but the pace quickened rather than relaxed.
'Now is the moment!' the Bey shouted. 'If they are there they will come out to fight us; if in five minutes they do not appear, it will be because they have all gone.'
But there were no signs of the enemy, no clouds of dust rising in the town that would tell of a hasty gathering. At last they entered a straggling street; the women looked timidly from the windows, and then, on seeing that their robes did not bear the black patches worn by the Dervishes, they broke into loud cries of welcome.
'Are the Dervishes all gone?' Ahmed Bey asked, reining in his camel.
'They are all gone, the last left four days ago.'
The sheik waved his rifle over his head, and his followers burst into loud shouts of triumph and pressed on, firing their muskets in the air. As they proceeded, the natives poured out from their houses in wild delight. The Arabs kept on till they reached the house formerly occupied by the Egyptian governor.
' I should say that you had better take possession of this, Bey. There seems to be a large courtyard where you can put your camels. It is not likely that the Dervishes will return, but it is as well to be prepared. The house is strong, and we could hold out here against a host unless they were provided with cannon. I have money, and you had better buy up as much food as possible, so that we could stand a siege for some time. I shall give my horse a
