"We have been of mutual3 assistance," said Gregory. "I have the same reason to be grateful to you, as you have to thank me. I saved your life, and you saved mine. You were very kind to me, when I was a captive--I have done as much as I could for you, since you have been with us. So we are quits. I hope you will be happy with Mahmud. We do not treat our prisoners badly, and except that he will be away from the Soudan, he will probably be more comfortable than he has ever been in his life."
Gregory was now employed in the transport department, and journeyed backwards6 and forwards, with large convoys7 of camels, to the head of the railway. The line was completed to Berber, but the officers charged with its construction were indefatigable8; and, as fast as the materials came up, it was pushed on towards the Atbara. Complete as had been the victory on that river, the Sirdar saw that the force which had been sufficient to defeat the twenty thousand men, under Mahmud, was not sufficiently10 strong for the more onerous11 task of coping with three times that number, fighting under the eye of the Khalifa, and certain to consist of his best and bravest troops. He therefore telegraphed home for another British brigade, and additional artillery12, with at least one regiment13 of cavalry14--an arm in which the Egyptian Army was weak.
Preparations were at once made for complying with the request. The 21st Lancers, 1st battalion16 of Grenadier Guards, 2nd battalion of the Rifle Brigade, 2nd battalion of the 5th Lancashire Fusiliers, a field battery, a howitzer battery, and two forty-pounders, to batter17 the defences of Omdurman, should the Khalifa take his stand, were sent. A strong detachment of the Army Service Corps18 and the Royal Army Medical Corps was to accompany them, but they had yet some months to wait, for the advance would not be made until the Nile was full, and the gunboats could ascend19 the cataract20.
However, there was much to be done, and the troops did not pass the time in idleness. Atbara Fort was to be the base, and here the Egyptian battalions21 built huts and storehouses. The Soudanese brigades returned to Berber, and the transport of provisions and stores for them was thus saved. The British at Darmali were made as comfortable as possible, and no effort was spared to keep them in good health, during the ensuing hot weather. A small theatre was constructed, and here smoking concerts were held. There was also a race meeting, and one of the steamers took parties, of the men who were most affected22 by the heat, for a trip down the Nile. They were practised in long marches early in the morning, and although, of course, there was some illness, the troops on the whole bore the heat well.
Had there been a prospect23 of an indefinitely long stay, the result might have been otherwise; but they knew that, in a few months, they would be engaged in even sterner work than the last battle, that Khartoum was their goal, and with its capture the power of the Khalifa would be broken for ever, and Gordon avenged24.
Early in April the railway reached Abadia, a few miles from Berber, and in a short time a wonderful transformation25 took place here. From a sandy desert, with scarce a human being in sight, it became the scene of a busy industry. Stores were sorted and piled as they came up by rail.
Three gunboats arrived in sections, and these were put together. They were stronger, and much better defended by steel plates than the first gunboats; and each of them carried two six-pounder quick-firing guns, a small howitzer, four Maxims26, and a searchlight. They were, however, much slower than the old boats, and could do very little in the way of towing.
Besides these, eight steel double-deck troop barges27 were brought up, in sections, and put together. Three Egyptian battalions came up from Merawi to aid in the work, which not only included building the gunboats and barges, but executing the repairs to all the native craft, and putting them in a thoroughly28 serviceable state.
In June the railway reached the Atbara, and for the first time for two years and a half, the officers who had superintended its construction had a temporary rest. The stores were now transferred from Abadia to the Atbara, and two trains ran every day, each bringing up something like two hundred tons of stores.
In the middle of July two Egyptian battalions left Atbara and proceeded up the Nile, one on each bank, cutting down trees and piling them for fuel for the steamers. As the river rose, four steamers came up from Dongola, together with a number of sailing boats; and in the beginning of August the whole flotilla, consisting of ten gunboats, five unarmed steamers, eight troop barges, and three or four hundred sailing boats, were all assembled.
By this time the reinforcements from home were all at Cairo, and their stores had already been sent up. It was arranged that they were to come by half battalions, by squadrons, and by batteries, each one day behind the other. To make room for them, two Egyptian battalions were sent up to the foot of the Shabluka cataract.
The six black battalions left Berber on July 30th, and arrived at Atbara the next day. There were now four brigades in the infantry29 divisions instead of three, two battalions having been raised from the Dervishes taken at the battle of Atbara. These were as eager as any to join in the fight against their late comrades.
This was scarcely surprising. The Baggara, the tyrants30 of the desert, are horsemen. The infantry were, for the most part, drawn31 from the conquered tribes. They had enlisted32 in the Khalifa's force partly because they had no other means of subsistence, partly from their innate33 love of fighting. They had, in fact, been little better than slaves; and their condition, as soldiers in the Egyptian Army, was immeasurably superior to that which they had before occupied.
Broadwood, with nine squadrons of Egyptian cavalry, was already on the western bank of the river opposite Atbara; and was to be joined at Metemmeh by the camel corps, and another squadron of horse from Merawi.
On the 3rd of August the six Soudanese battalions left Fort Atbara for the point of concentration, a few miles below the cataract. To the sides of each gunboat were attached two of the steel barges; behind each were two native craft. All were filled as tightly as they could be crammed34 with troops. They were packed as in slavers, squatting35 by the side of each other as closely as sardines36 in a box. The seven steamers and the craft they took with them contained six thousand men, so crowded that a spectator remarked that planks37 might have been laid on their heads, and that you could have walked about on them; while another testified that he could not have shoved a walking stick between them anywhere. White men could not have supported it for an hour, but these blacks and Egyptians had a hundred miles to go, and the steamers could not make more than a knot an hour against the rapid stream, now swollen38 to its fullest.
While they were leaving, the first four companies of the Rifle Brigade arrived. Every day boats laden39 with stores went forward, every day white troops came up. Vast as was the quantity of stores sent off, the piles at Atbara did not seem to diminish. Ninety days' provisions, forage40, and necessaries for the whole force had been accumulated there, and as fast as these were taken away they were replaced by others from Berber.
Like everyone connected with the transport or store department, Gregory had to work from daybreak till dark. Accustomed to a warm climate, light in figure, without an ounce of spare flesh, he was able to support the heat, dust, and fatigue41 better than most; and, as he himself said, it was less trying to be at work, even in the blazing sun, than to lie listless and sweating under the shade of a blanket. There was no necessity, now, to go down the line to make enquiries as to the progress of the stores, or of the laden craft on their way up. the telegraph was established, and the Sirdar, at Atbara, knew the exact position of every one of the units between Cairo and himself; and from every station he received messages constantly, and despatched his orders as frequently.
There was no hitch42, whatever. The arrangements were all so perfect that the vast machine, with its numerous parts, moved with the precision of clockwork. Everything was up to time. For a train or steamer, or even a native boat, to arrive half an hour after the time calculated for it, was almost unheard of.
The Sirdar's force of will seemed to communicate itself to every officer under him, and it is safe to say that never before was an expedition so perfectly43 organized, and so marvellously carried out. At Atbara the Sirdar saw to everything himself. A brief word of commendation, to those working under him, cheered them through long days of toil--an equally curt44 reproof45 depressed46 them to the depths.
Twice, when Gregory was directing some of the blacks piling large cases, as they were emptied from the train; anathematizing the stupid, urging on the willing, and himself occasionally lending a hand in order to show how it should be done; the Sirdar, who, unknown to him, had been looking on, rode up and said shortly, "You are doing well, Mr. Hilliard!"--and he felt that his offence of jumping overboard had been condoned47.
General Hunter, himself indefatigable, had more occasion to notice Gregory's work; and his commendations were frequent, and warm.
The lad had not forgotten the object with which he had come to the front. After Atbara, he had questioned many of the prisoners who, from their age, might have fought at El Obeid; but none of these had done so. The forces of the Khalifa came and went, as there was occasion for them. The Baggara were always under arms, but only when danger threatened were the great levies48 of foot assembled; for it would have been impossible, in the now desolate49 state of the Soudan, to find food for an army of a hundred thousand men.
All agreed, however, that, with the exception of the Egyptian artillerymen, they heard that no single white man had escaped. Numbers of the black soldiers had been made slaves. The whites had perished--all save one had fallen on the field. That one had accompanied a black battalion, who had held together and, repulsing50 all attacks, had marched away. They had been followed, however, and after repeated attacks had dwindled51 away, until they had finally been broken and massacred.
With the Khalifa's army were several emirs who had fought at El Obeid; and these would, no doubt, be able to tell him more; but none of those who were taken prisoners, at the Atbara, had heard of any white man having escaped the slaughter52 of Hicks's army.
Just as the general movement began, the force was joined by three companies of Soudanese. These had marched from Suakim to Berber, two hundred and eighty-eight miles, in fifteen days, an average of nineteen miles a day--a record for such a march, and one that no European force could have performed. One day, after marching thirty miles, they came to a well and found it dry, and had to march thirty miles farther to another water hole, a feat9 probably altogether without precedent53.
"You had better fall back upon your old work, Hilliard," the General said, the day before they started. "As my aide I shall find plenty for you to do, now that I command the whole division."
"Thank you very much, sir! I don't think that I shall find any work hard, after what I have been doing for the past four months."
"You have got your horse?"
"Yes; he is in good condition, for I have had no riding to do, for some time."
"Well, you had better get him on board one of the gyasses we shall tow up, tomorrow. All our horses will embark54 this evening. We shall be on board at daybreak. Our private camels are going with the marching column; you had better put yours with them. No doubt they will join us somewhere. Of course, your kit55 will be carried with us."
It was a delight to Gregory to be on the water again. There was generally a cool breeze on the river, and always an absence of dust. He was now halfway56 between seventeen and eighteen, but the sun had tanned him to a deep brown, and had parched57 his face; thus adding some years to his appearance, so that the subalterns of the newly-arrived regiments58 looked boyish beside him. The responsibilities of his work had steadied him, and though he retained his good spirits, his laugh had lost the old boyish ring. The title of Bimbashi, which had seemed absurd to him seven months before, was now nothing out of the way, for he looked as old as many of the British subalterns serving with that rank in the Egyptian army.
Returning to the little hut that Zaki, with the aid of some of the blacks, had built for him; he gave his orders, and in a short time the camel--a very good one, which he had obtained in exchange for that which he had handed over to the transport--started, with its driver, to join those that were to carry up the baggage and stores of General Hunter, and his staff. These were in charge of a sergeant59 and three privates, of one of the Soudanese battalions. Gregory had got up a case of whisky, one of bottled fruit, and a stock of tea and sugar from Berber. No tents could be carried, and he left his tente d'abri at the stores with his canteen; taking on board, in his own luggage, a plate, knife, fork, and spoon, and a couple of tumblers. When the camels had started, he saw his horse put on board, and then took a final stroll round the encampment.
The change that had occurred there, during the past fortnight, was striking. Then none but black faces could be seen. Now it was the encampment of a British force, with its white tents and all their belongings60.
The contrast between the newly-arrived brigade, and the hardy61 veterans who had fought at the Atbara, was striking. Bronzed and hearty62, inured63 to heat and fatigue, the latter looked fit to go anywhere and do anything, and there was hardly a sick man in the four regiments. On the other hand, the newcomers looked white and exhausted64 with the heat. Numbers had already broken down, and the doctors at the hospital had their hands full of fever patients. They had scarcely marched a mile since they landed in Egypt, and were so palpably unfit for hard work that they were, if possible, to proceed the whole way in boats, in order to be in fighting condition when the hour of battle arrived.
The voyage up the river was an uneventful one. It seemed all too short to Gregory, who enjoyed immensely the rest, quiet, and comparative coolness. The Sirdar had gone up a week before they landed at Wady Hamed. Here the whole Egyptian portion of the army, with the exception of the brigade that was to arrive the next day, was assembled. The blacks had constructed straw huts; the Egyptians erected65 shelters, extemporized66 from their blankets; while the British were to be installed in tents, which had been brought up in sailing boats. The camp was two miles in length and half a mile wide, surrounded by a strong zareba.
The Egyptian cavalry and the camel corps had arrived. On the opposite side of the river was a strong body of friendly Arabs, nominally67 under the Abadar sheik, but in reality commanded by Major Montague Stuart-Wortley. By the 23rd of August the whole force had arrived; and the Sirdar reviewed them, drawn up in battle array, and put them through a few manoeuvres, as if in action. General Gatacre commanded the British division--Colonel Wauchope the first brigade, and Lyttleton the second. As before, Macdonald, Maxwell, and Lewis commanded the first three Egyptian brigades, and Collinson that newly raised, General Hunter being in command of the division.
The force numbered, in all, about twenty thousand; and although destitute68 of the glitter and colour of a British army, under ordinary circumstances, were as fine a body of men as a British general could wish to command; and all, alike, eager to meet the foe69. The British division had with them two batteries and ten Maxims, and the Egyptian division five batteries and ten Maxims.
As Gregory was strolling through the camp, he passed where the officers of one of the British regiments were seated on boxes, round a rough table, over which a sort of awning70 had been erected.
"Come and join us, Hilliard. We are having our last feast on our last stores, which we got smuggled71 up in one of the gunboats," the Major called out.
"With pleasure, sir."
The officer who was sitting at the head of the table made room beside him.
"You men of the Egyptian Army fare a good deal better than we do, I think," the Major went on. "That institution of private camels is an excellent one. We did not know that they would be allowed. But, after all, it is not a bad thing that we did not have them, for there is no doubt it is as well that the soldiers should not see us faring better than they. There is bother enough with the baggage, as it is. Of course, it is different in your case. There are only two or three white officers with each battalion, and it would not strike your black troops as a hardship that you should have different food from themselves. They are living as well as, or better than, they ever did in their lives. Three camels make no material addition to your baggage train, while, as there are thirty or forty of us, it would make a serious item in ours, and the General's keen eyes would spot them at once."
"Our camels are no burden to the army," Gregory said. "They only have a few pounds of grain a day, and get their living principally on what they can pick up. When they go on now, they will each carry fifty pounds of private grain. They get five pounds when there are no bushes or grass, so that the grain will last them for a fortnight."
"I suppose you think that the Dervishes mean fighting?"
"I think there is no doubt about it. All the fugitives72 that come in say that the Khalifa will fight, but whether it will be in the defence of Omdurman, or whether he will come out and attack us at Kerreri, none can say. The Khalifa keeps his intentions to himself."
"By the bye, Hilliard, I don't think you know my right-hand neighbour; he only joined us an hour before we started, having been left behind at Cairo, sick.
"Mr. Hartley, let me introduce you to Mr. Hilliard--I should say Bimbashi Hilliard. He is on General Hunter's staff."
The young lieutenant73 placed an eyeglass in his eye, and bowed to Gregory.
"Have you been in this beastly country long?" he asked.
"If you include Lower Egypt, I have been here eighteen years."
"Dear me!" the other drawled; "the climate seems to have agreed with you."
"Fairly well," Gregory replied. "I don't mind the heat much, and one doesn't feel it, while one is at work."
"Hartley has not tried that, yet," one of the others laughed. "Work is not in his line. This most unfortunate illness of his kept him back at Cairo, and he brought such a supply of ice with him, when he came up, that he was able to hand over a hundredweight of it to us when he arrived. I don't think, Major, that in introducing him you should have omitted to mention that, but for a temporary misfortune, he would be the Marquis of Langdale; but in another two years he will blossom out into his full title, and then I suppose we shall lose him."
Gregory, whose knowledge of the English peerage was extremely limited, looked puzzled.
"May I ask how that is?" he said. "I always thought that the next heir to a title succeeded to it, as soon as his father died."
"As a rule that is the case," the Major said, "but the present is an exceptional one. At the death of the late marquis, the heir to the title was missing. I may say that the late marquis only enjoyed the title for two years. The next of kin5, a brother of his, had disappeared, and up to the present no news has been obtained of him. Of course he has been advertised for, and so on, but without success. It is known that he married, but as he did so against the wish of his father, he broke off all communication with his family; and it is generally supposed that he emigrated. Pending74 any news of him, the title is held in abeyance75.
"He may have died. It is probable that he has done so, for he could hardly have escaped seeing the advertisements that were inserted in every paper. Of course, if he has left children, they inherit the title.
"After a lapse76 of five years Mr. Hartley's father, who was the next heir, and who died five years ago, applied77 to be declared the inheritor of the title; but the peers, or judges, or someone decided78 that twenty-one years must elapse before such an application could be even considered. The income has been accumulating ever since, so that at the end of that time, it is probable that Mr. Hartley will be allowed to assume the title.
"Will the estates go with the title, Hartley?"
"Oh, I should say so, of course!" the other drawled. "The title would not be of much use, without them."
"Nonsense, my dear fellow!" another said. "Why, a fellow with your personal advantage, and a title, would be able to command the American market, and to pick up an heiress with millions."
The general laugh that followed showed that Hartley was, by no means, a popular character in the regiment.
"The fellow is a consummate79 ass4," the man on Gregory's left whispered. "He only got into the service as a Queen's cadet. He could no more have got in, by marks, than he could have flown. No one believes that he had anything the matter with him, at Cairo; but he preferred stopping behind and coming up by himself, without any duties, to taking any share in the work. He is always talking about his earldom--that is why the Major mentioned it, so as to draw him out."
"But I suppose he is really heir to it?"
"Yes, if no one else claims it. For aught that is known, there may be half a dozen children of the man that is missing, knocking about somewhere in Canada or Australia. If so, they are safe to turn up, sooner or later. You see, as the man had an elder brother, he would not have counted at all upon coming to the title. He may be in some out-of-the-way place, where even a colonial newspaper would never reach him; but, sooner or later, he or some of his sons will be coming home, and will hear of the last earl's death, and then this fellow's nose will be put out of joint80.
"I am sure everyone in the regiment would be glad, for he is an insufferable ass. I suppose, when he comes into the title, he will either cut the army altogether, or exchange into the Guards."
The party presently broke up, having finished the last bottle of wine they had brought up. Gregory remained seated by the Major, discussing the chances of the campaign, and the points where resistance might be expected. The other officers stood talking, a short distance off. Presently Gregory caught the words:
"How is it that this young fellow calls himself Bimbashi, which, I believe, means major?"
"He does not call himself that, although that is his rank. All the white officers in the Egyptian Army have that rank, though they may only be lieutenants81, in ours."
"I call it a monstrous82 thing," the drawling voice then said, "that a young fellow like this, who seems to be an Egyptian by birth, should have a higher rank than men here, who have served fifteen or twenty years."
The Major got up, and walked across to the group.
"I will tell you why, Mr. Hartley," he said, in a loud voice. "It is because, for the purpose of the war in this country, they know infinitely83 more than the officers of our army. They talk the languages, they know the men. These blacks will follow them anywhere, to the death. As for Mr. Hilliard, he has performed feats84 that any officer in the army, whatever his rank, would be proud to have done. He went in disguise into the Dervish camp at Metemmeh, before Hunter's advance began, and obtained invaluable85 information. He jumped overboard from a gunboat to save a drowning Dervish woman, although to do so involved almost certain capture and death at the hands of the Dervishes. In point of fact, his escape was a remarkable86 one, for he was tied to a tree in the first line of the Dervish defences at Atbara, and was only saved by what was almost a miracle. He may not be heir to an earldom, Mr. Hartley, but he would do more credit to the title than many I could name. I hear him well spoken of, by everyone, as an indefatigable worker, and as having performed the most valuable services. Captain Keppel, on whose gunboat he served for two or three months, spoke87 to me of him in the highest terms; and General Hunter has done the same.
"I fancy, sir, that it will be some years before you are likely to distinguish yourself so highly. His father was an officer, who fell in battle; and if he happened to be born in Egypt, as you sneeringly88 said just now, all I can say is that, in my opinion, had you been born in Egypt, you would not occupy the position which he now does."
Gregory had walked away when the Major rose, and he did not return to the party. It was the first time that he had run across a bad specimen89 of the British officer, and his words had stung him. But, as he said to himself, he need not mind them, as the fellow's own comrades regarded him, as one of them said, as "an insufferable ass." Still, he could not help wishing, to himself, that the missing heir might turn up in time to disappoint him.
General Hunter started next day, at noon, with two of his brigades and the mounted troops; the other two brigades following, at nightfall. The previous night had been one of the most unpleasant Gregory had ever spent. The long-expected rain had come at last. It began suddenly; there was a flash of lightning, and then came a violent burst of wind, which tore down the tents and the flimsy shelters of the Egyptians and Soudanese. Before this had ceased, the rain poured down in a torrent90; lightning, wind, and rain kept on till morning, and when the start was made, everyone was soaked to the skin. The Egyptian baggage left at the same time, in native craft.
That evening they arrived at the mouth of the Shabluka Cataract. Here it had been expected that the advance would be opposed, as strong forts had been erected by the enemy, the river narrowed greatly, and precipitous rocks rose on either side. Through these the course was winding91, and the current ran with great strength, the eddies92 and sharp bends making it extremely difficult for the gunboats to keep their course. Indeed, it would have been impossible for them to get up, had the forts been manned; as they would have had to pass within two hundred yards of the guns. But although the forts could hardly have been attacked by the gunboats, they were commanded by a lofty hill behind them; and the scouts93 had discovered, some weeks before, that the Dervishes had retired94 from the position, and that the passage would be unopposed.
Maxwell's and Colville's brigades started at four that afternoon, and the next day the whole division was established at El Hejir, above the cataracts95.
Lyttleton's brigade started, at five o'clock A.M. on the 25th, the gunboats and other steamers moving parallel with them along the river. At five in the afternoon the first brigade followed and, two days afterwards, the camp was entirely96 evacuated97, and the whole of the stores well on their way towards El Hejir. On the previous day, two regiments of Wortley's column of friendly natives also marched south. The Sirdar and headquarters, after having seen everything off, went up in a gunboat, starting at nine in the morning.
As usual, the Soudanese troops had been accompanied by a considerable number of their wives, who were heavily laden with their little household goods, and in many cases babies. They trudged98 patiently along in the rear of the columns, and formed an encampment of their own, half a mile away from the men's, generally selecting a piece of ground surrounded by thick bush, into which they could escape, should Dervish raiders come down upon them.
The stores arrived in due course. One of the gunboats, however, was missing--the Zafir, with three gyasses in tow, having suddenly sunk, ten miles north of Shendy, owing to being so deeply loaded that the water got into the hold. Those on board had just time to scramble99 into the boats, or swim to shore. No lives were lost, though there were many narrow escapes. Among these were Commander Keppel and Prince Christian100 Victor, who were on board. Fortunately, another steamer soon came along and took the gyasses, with the ship-wrecked officers and crew on board, and towed them up to El Hejir.
It had been intended to stay here some little time, but the Nile continued to rise to an altogether exceptional height, and part of the camp was flooded. At five o'clock, therefore, the Egyptian brigades started, with the guns on their right and the steamers covering their left, while the cavalry and camel corps were spread widely out, in advance to give notice of any approaching Dervish force. As usual the soldiers' wives turned out, and as the battalions marched past, shouted encouragement to their husbands; calling upon them to behave like men, and not to turn back in battle. The presence of the women had an excellent effect on the soldiers, and in addition to their assistance in carrying their effects, they cooked their rations15, and looked after them generally. The Sirdar, therefore, did not discourage their presence in the field, and even supplied them with rations, when it was impossible for them to obtain them elsewhere.
In the afternoon the two white brigades also moved forward. At nine o'clock they arrived at their camping ground, and the whole army was again collected together. Next morning the four squadrons of Egyptian horse, with a portion of the cavalry, went forward to reconnoitre, and one of the gunboats proceeded a few miles up the river. Neither saw anything of the enemy.
There had been heavy rain during the night. This had ceased at daybreak, and a strong wind speedily dried the sands, raising such clouds of dust that it was difficult to see above a few yards. The storm had also the effect of hindering the flotilla.
On the other side of the river, Stuart-Wortley's friendlies had a sharp brush with some Dervishes, whom they had come upon raiding a village, whose inhabitants had not obeyed the Khalifa's orders to move into Omdurman.
As the rainstorms continued, it was decided, by a council of war, that the health of the troops would suffer by a longer stay. On the 29th, therefore, the army set out in order of battle, ready to encounter the Khalifa's attack, but arrived without molestation101 at Um Teref, a short distance from Kerreri, where it was expected the enemy would give battle.
The camp was smaller than those hitherto made, and was protected by a strong zareba. The sentries102 were doubled, and patrols thrown out. Heavy rain set in after sunset, and almost a deluge103 poured down. The tents had been left behind, and as the little blanket shelters were soon soaked through, their occupants were speedily wet to the skin.
It was still raining when, at half-past five, the force again started. As before, the army was marching in fighting order. The day was cool and cloudy, and at one o'clock they halted at a village called Merreh, or Seg. The cavalry had come into touch with the Dervish patrols, but the latter, although numerous, avoided combat.
In one of the deserted104 villages was found one of Wingate's spies, in Dervish attire105. He had left Omdurman thirty hours before, and brought the news that the Khalifa intended to attack at Kerreri. This place had been chosen because there was current an old prophecy, by a Persian sheik, to the effect that English soldiers would one day fight at Kerreri, and be destroyed there. It had, therefore, become an almost holy place to the Mahdists, and was called the death place of all the infidels; and, once a year, the Khalifa and his followers106 made a pilgrimage to it.
A few shots were fired during the night, and fires blazed on the hills to notify, to Omdurman, our precise position. The troops started again soon after daylight, facing now to the right and marching westward107, to leave the bush and broken ground, and get out in the open desert, stretching away to Omdurman. The cavalry were widely spread out, and the Lancers ascended108 to the top of the hill of El Teb, from which a view of the Dervish camp was obtained.
It lay some ten miles due south. The Dervishes were disposed in three long lines, stretching from within two thousand yards of the Nile out into the desert, being careful to get, as they believed, beyond the range of the four gunboats that steamed quietly up.
After a short march the force halted near the river, two miles north of Kerreri. The place was convenient for camping, but the banks of the river were steep, and there was much difficulty in watering the horses and transport animals.
"We are in for another bad night," one of the General's staff said to Gregory, as the evening approached.
"It looks like it. Clouds are banking109 up fast. If the rain would but come in the daytime, instead of at night, one would not object to it much. It would lay the dust and cool the air. Besides, on the march we have other things to think of; and though, of course, we should be drenched110 to the skin, we should not mind it. But it is very unpleasant lying in a pool of water, with streams running in at one's neck."
"As to one's blanket, it is like a sponge, five minutes after the rain begins," the officer said.
"I am better off in that respect," Gregory remarked; "for, when I left my little tent behind, I kept a waterproof111 sheet instead of my second blanket. I had intended to use it tent fashion, but it was blown down in a minute, after the first storm burst. Now I stand up, wrap my blanket tightly round me, while my boy does the same with the waterproof sheet; and I keep moderately dry, except that the water will trickle112 in at the end, near my neck. But, on the other hand, the wrapping keeps me so hot that I might almost as well lie uncovered in the rain."
The staff had intended taking a few tents with them, but these were practically of no use at all, as all canvas had to be lowered by the time that "lights out" sounded, and after that hour no loud talking was permitted in the camp. This might have been a privation, had the weather been fine, but even the most joyous113 spirit had little desire for conversation, when the rain was falling in bucketfuls over him.
The officers of the white division lay down by their men, in the position they would occupy if an attack by the enemy took place. The officers of the Egyptian regiments lay together, just in rear of their men. As soon as the "last post" sounded, absolute silence reigned114. The sentries, placed a very short distance out, kept their senses of sight and hearing on the alert; and with eye and ear strove to detect the approach of a lurking115 foe. Jaalin scouts were stationed outside the zareba, so as to give an early warning of the approach of the enemy; but no reliance could be placed upon them; for, altogether without discipline, they would probably creep under bushes, and endeavour to find some shelter from the pitiless downpour.
Had the Khalifa known his business, he would have taken advantage of the tempestuous116 night, and launched his warriors117 at the camp. Confident as the officers of the expedition were, in the ability of their men to repulse118 any assault that might be made in the daylight, it was felt that such an attack would cause terrible loss, and possibly grave disaster, if delivered at night. The enemy might not be discovered until within a few yards of the camp. The swish of the rain, and the almost incessant119 crash of thunder, would deaden the sound of their approach; and, long before the troops could leap to their feet and prepare to receive them calmly, the Dervishes would be upon them. As the latter were enormously stronger in numbers, the advantage of superior weapons would be lost in a hand-to-hand fight, and in the inevitable120 confusion, as the troops in reserve would be unable to open fire, while ignorant of the precise position of friends and foes121.
The Khalifa, however, was relying upon prophecy. It was at Kerreri that the infidel army was to be utterly122 destroyed, and he may have thought that it would be tempting123 fate, were he to precipitate124 an action before the invaders125 reached the spot where their doom126 had been pronounced.
Even more miserable127 than night was the hour before dawn. Lying still, drenched to the skin as they were, Nature prevailed, and the men obtained some sleep; but when they rose to their feet, and threw off the sodden128 blankets, they felt the full misery129 of eight hours' drenching130. They were cold now, as well as wet, and as they endeavoured to squeeze the water from their clothes, and to restore circulation by swinging their arms, but few words were spoken; and the rising of the sun, which was regarded as a terrible infliction131 during the day, was eagerly looked for. No sooner did it appear above the horizon than the spirits of the men rose rapidly, and they laughed, joked, and made light of the inconveniences of the situation.
An hour later, their clothes were nearly dry. By that time they were all well on their way, the brigades, as before, marching in echelon--Wauchope's brigade on the left, Lyttleton's farther to the right but more to the rear, the three Egyptian brigades farther out on the plain, the 21st Lancers scouting132 the ground in front of the British division, and the native cavalry and camel corps out beyond the right of the Egyptians.
All expected that, at least, they should have a skirmish before they reached Kerreri, where they were to encamp; but, as they advanced, it was found that the Dervishes had fallen back from that line, and had joined the Khalifa's main force near Omdurman.
By ten in the morning the army had arrived at its camping place, which was in the southern part of the ground occupied by the straggling village. As usual, both extremities133 of the line rested on the Nile, forming a semicircle, in which the baggage animals and stores were placed, in charge of Collinson's brigade. The gunboats took up their position, to cover the ground over which an enemy must approach to the attack.
While the infantry were settling down, the cavalry and camel corps went out scouting. Signallers soon mounted a rugged134 hill, named Surgham, and from here a fine view was obtained of Omdurman, and the Khalifa's army. Omdurman was six miles away, covering a wide tract135 of ground, with but few buildings rising above the general level, the one conspicuous136 object being the great tomb of the Mahdi, with its white dome137.
In the outskirts138 of the town were the white tents of the Dervish army. For the present these were unoccupied, the whole force being drawn up, in regular line, out on the plain; about halfway between the town and Surgham Hill. It was formed in five divisions, each of which was bright with banners of all colours, sizes, and shapes. The Khalifa's own division was in the centre, where his great black banner, waving from a lofty flagstaff, could be plainly made out.
The Lancers, Egyptian cavalry, and camel corps continued to advance, capturing several parties of footmen, principally Jaalins, who probably lagged purposely behind the retiring Dervishes, in order to be taken. At times the cavalry attempted to charge the Dervish horsemen, when these approached, but in no case did the latter await the attack.
Presently, above the occasional musketry fire, came the boom of a heavy gun. There was a thrill of excitement in the camp. The gunboats had arrived opposite Omdurman, and had opened fire upon the Dervish riverside forts. These were strongly constructed; but, as in the forts at Metemmeh and Shabluka, the embrasures were so faultily constructed that the guns could only be brought to bear upon the portion of the river directly facing them, and the four gunboats passed them without receiving any material damage, and were so able to maintain the bombardment without receiving any fire in return. At the same time, they landed the forty-pounder guns on an island but a short distance from the town, and thence opened fire with lyddite shells upon it. The howitzers were trained upon the Mahdi's tomb, and soon great holes were knocked in the dome.
It could be seen, from the top of the hill, that this caused great excitement in the Dervish lines, and a number of their horsemen rode out against the Lancers, and drove in their advance scouts; but, on the main body of the regiment moving forward, they fell back to their line; and almost immediately a heavy body of infantry moved out, their intention evidently being to surround and cut off the regiment, while at the same time a general advance took place. The Colonel of the Lancers dismounted a portion of his men, and these checked the advance of the enemy, until the rest fell back.
The news of the advance was signalled to General Kitchener, and the whole force at once took their position, in fighting order. Believing that a general attack on the camp would now be made, the cavalry fell back on either flank, so as to clear the way for the fire of the artillery and infantry.
The Dervishes had a good view of our camp from the top of Surgham, but the Khalifa apparently139 considered that it was too late in the day for a general attack, and drew off his men to their former position, and the rest of the afternoon and evening passed quietly. As the men ate their meal, of tinned meat and biscuit, they were in higher spirits than they had been since the advance began. Hitherto, they had been in constant apprehension140 lest the Dervishes should shun141 a battle, and would retire across the desert to El Obeid, or elsewhere; and that they would have to perform interminable desert marches, only to find, on arriving at the goal, that the enemy had again moved off. The events of the day, however, seemed to show that this fear was groundless, and that the Khalifa had determined142 to fight a decisive battle for the defence of his capital.
The British soldier is ready to support any fatigue, and any hardship, with a prospect of a fight at the end; and, during the advance, he is always haunted by the fear that the enemy will retire, or give in on his approach. This fear was stronger than usual on this expedition, for there was no question as to the greatly superior mobility143 of the Dervishes; and it was evident that, if they chose to avoid fighting, they had it in their power to do so.
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1
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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2
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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4
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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5
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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6
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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7
convoys
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| n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队 | |
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8
indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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9
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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10
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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11
onerous
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| adj.繁重的 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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13
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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14
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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15
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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16
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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17
batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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18
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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19
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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20
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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21
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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22
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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23
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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24
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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25
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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26
maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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27
barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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28
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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29
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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30
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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31
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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32
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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33
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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34
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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35
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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36
sardines
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| n. 沙丁鱼 | |
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37
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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38
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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39
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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40
forage
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| n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻 | |
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41
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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42
hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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43
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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44
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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45
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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46
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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47
condoned
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| v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
levies
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| （部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队 | |
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49
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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50
repulsing
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| v.击退( repulse的现在分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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51
dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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53
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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54
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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55
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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56
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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57
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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58
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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59
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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60
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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61
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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62
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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63
inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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64
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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65
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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66
extemporized
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| v.即兴创作，即席演奏( extemporize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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68
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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69
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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70
awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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71
smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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72
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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73
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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74
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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75
abeyance
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| n.搁置，缓办，中止，产权未定 | |
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76
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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77
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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78
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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79
consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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80
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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81
lieutenants
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| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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82
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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83
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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84
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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85
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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86
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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87
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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88
sneeringly
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| 嘲笑地，轻蔑地 | |
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89
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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90
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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91
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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92
eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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93
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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94
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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95
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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96
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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97
evacuated
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| 撤退者的 | |
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98
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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99
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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100
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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101
molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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102
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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103
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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104
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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105
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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106
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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107
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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108
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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109
banking
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| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 | |
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110
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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111
waterproof
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| n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水 | |
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112
trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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113
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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114
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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115
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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116
tempestuous
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| adj.狂暴的 | |
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117
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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118
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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119
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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120
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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121
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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122
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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123
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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124
precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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125
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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126
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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127
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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128
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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129
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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130
drenching
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| n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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131
infliction
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| n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚 | |
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132
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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133
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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134
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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135
tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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136
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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137
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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138
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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139
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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140
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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141
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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142
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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143
mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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