of his efforts to appear composed and tranquil, his mouth was twitching and his eyes moist.
'As soon as the bed had been placed by my directions near the open window, the four Dervishes left the room. The hakims were on the point of doing so, when I said:
' I will stay here for a few minutes, and will then come out and talk this matter over with you. I have been fortunate
indeed in remembering so well what I saw. I heard a white hakim explain how he did each thing, and why, to the sheik of the wounded man's party, and I will tell you what I remember of it, and you, with your wisdom in these matters, will be able to do it far better than I.'
' When they had retired, the door leading into the harem opened, and a woman, slightly veiled, followed by a younger woman and two slave girls, came in. I stopped her as she was hurrying towards her son.
'Lady,' I said,I pray you to speak very quietly, and in few words. It is most important that he should not be excited in any way, but should be kept perfectly quiet for the next two or three days.'
' 'I will do so,' she said. 'May I touch him?'
'You may take his hand in yours, but do not let him move. I will leave you with him for a few minutes. Please remember that everything depends upon his not being agitated.'
' I went out and joined the hakims.
'' Truly, Mudil, Allah has given you strange gifts,' one of them said. 'Wonderful is it that you should have remembered so well what you saw, and more wonderful still is it that you should have the firmness to cut and saw flesh and bone as if they were those of a dead sheep, with the Emir standing by to look at you!'
'I knew that his life, and perhaps mine, depended upon it. The Emir would have kept his oath I doubt not, but when it became known in the town that Abu, who is known to all for his bravery and goodness, died in my hands, it would not have been safe for me to leave this house.'
'I then explained the reason for each step that I took. They listened most attentively, and asked several questions, showing that they were intensely interested, and most anxious to be able to perform so wonderful an operation themselves. They were greatly surprised at the fact that so little blood flowed.
''It seems,' I said, 'from what I heard the white hakim say, that the blood flowed through those little white tubes. By twisting the tourniquet very tight that flow of blood is stopped. The great thing is to find those little tubes, and tie them up. As you would notice, the large ones in the inside of the arm could be seen quite plainly. When they cannot be seen, the screw is unloosed so as to allow a small quantity of blood to flow, which shows you where the tubes are. You will remember that I took hold of each with the bent point of a small wire or a pair of these nippers, and, while you held it, tied the thread tightly round it. When that is done, one is ready to cut the bone. You saw me push the flesh back so as to cut the bone as high up as possible; that is because the white doctor said the flesh would shrink up and the bone would project. I cut the flesh straight on one side, and on the other with a flap that will, when it is stitched, cover over the bone and the rest of the flesh, and make what the hakim called a pad. He said all cutting-off of limbs was done in this way, but of course the tubes would not lie in the same place, and the cutting would have to be made differently; but it was all the same system. He called these simple operations, and said that anyone with a firm hand and a knowledge of where these tubes lie ought to be able to do it after seeing it done once or twice. He said, of course, it would not b& so neatly done as by men who had been trained to it, but that in cases of extreme necessity anyone who had seen it done once or twice, and had sufficient nerve, could do it, especially if they had ready at hand this stuff that makes the wounded man sleep and feel no pain. I listened very attentively, because all seemed to me almost like magic, but I certainly did not think that I should ever have to do such a thing myself.'
''But what would be done if they had not that sleep-medicine?'
''The hakim said that in that case the wounded man would have to be fastened down by bandages to the bed and held by six strong men, so that he could not move in the slightest. However, there is enough of that stuff to last a hundred times or more, for, as you see, only a good-sized spoonful was used.'
' The Emir, who had passed through the harem rooms, now opened the door.
'Come in,' he said.My son is quiet, and has not moved. He has spoken to his mother, and seems quite sensible. Is there anything more for you to do to him?'
''I will put a bandage loosely round his arm, and bind it to his body so that he cannot move it in his sleep or on first waking. It will not be necessary for me to stay with him, as the ladies of the harem can look after him; but I must remain in the next room, so as to be ready to run in at once should they see that the wound is bleeding again. I have asked the hakims to make a soothing potion to aid him to sleep long and soundly.'
' As I went up to the side of the bed Abu smiled. I bent down to him, and he said in a low voice:
'All the pain has gone. May Allah bless you!'
'I am afraid that you will feel more pain to-morrow, but I do not think it will be so bad as it was before. Now, I hope you will try to go to sleep. You will be well looked after, and I shall be in the next room if you want me. The hakims will give you a soothing draught soon, and you can have cool drinks when you want them.'
' Things went on as well as I could have wished. In four or five days the threads came away, and I loosened the tourniquet slightly and strapped up the edges of the wound, which were already showing signs of healing. For the first twenty-four hours I had remained always on watch; after that the hakims took their turns, I remaining in readiness to tighten up the tourniquet should there be any rush of blood. I did not leave the Emir's house, but slept in a room close by that of the patient. There was now, however, no longer need for my doing so; the splendid constitution of the young Baggara had indeed from the first rendered any attendance unnecessary. There was no fever and very little local inflammation, and I was able to gladden his heart by telling him that in another fortnight he would be able to be up.
' The day I was intending to leave, the Emir sent for me. He was alone.
'' The more I think over this matter,' he said,the more strange it is that you should be able to do all these wonderful things after having seen it done once by the white hakim; the more I think of it, the more certain I feel that you are not what you seem. I .have sent for Saleh and Abdullah. They have told me what you did for them, and that you gave up your horse to them, and dressed their wounds, and brought them in here. They are full of praise of your goodness, and but few of my people would have thus acted for strangers. They would have given them a drink of water, and ridden on. Now, tell me frankly and without fear. I have thought it over, and I feel sure that you yourself are a white hakim who escaped from the battle in which Hicks's army was destroyed.'
''I am not a hakim. All that I said was true—that although I have seen operations performed, I have never performed them myself. As to the rest, I answer you frankly, I am an Englishman. I did escape when the black Soudanese battalion surrendered three days after the battle. I was not a fighting officer; I was with them as interpreter. I may say that though I am not a hakim, I did for some time study with the intention of becoming one, and so saw many operations performed.'
' I am glad that you told me,' the Emir said gravely. 'Your people are brave and very wise, though they cannot stand against the power of the Mahdi. But were you Sheitan himself it would be nothing to me. You have saved my son's life. You are the honoured guest of my house. Your religion is different from mine, but as you showed that you were willing to aid followers of the Prophet and the Mahdi, although they were your enemies, surely I, for whom you have done so much, may well forget that difference.'
' I thank you, Emir; from what I had seen of you I felt sure that my secret would be safe with you. We Christians feel no enmity against followers of Mahomet—the hatred is all on your side. And yet, 'tis strange, the Allah that you worship and the God of the Christians is one and the same. Mahomet himself had no enmity against the Christians, and regarded our Christ as a great prophet like himself. Our Queen reigns in India over many more Mohamedans than are ruled by the Sultan of Turkey. They are loyal to her, and know that under her sway no difference is made between them and her Christian subjects, and have fought as bravely for her as her own white troops.'
'I had never thought,' the Emir said,that the time would come when I should call an infidel my friend; but now that I can do so, I feel that there is much in what you say. However, your secret must be kept. Were, it known that you are a white man you Avould be torn to pieces in the streets; and even were you to remain here, where assuredly none would dare touch you, the news would speedily travel to my lord the Mahdi, and he would send a troop of horse to bring you to him. Therefore, though I would fain honour you, I see that it is best that you should, to all save myself, continue to be Mudil. I will not even, as I would otherwise have done, assign you a house, and slaves, and horses in token of my gratitude to you for having saved the life of my son. Something I must do, or I should seem utterly ungrateful. I can at any rate give you rooms here and treat you as an honoured guest. This
