148 THE SIRDAR DIRECTING THE BATTLI CHAPTER XXVII.

THE BATTLE OF OMDURMAN THE Sirdar had timed his advance so as to arrive before Omdurman whenthe moon wasnear the full. To havebright nights was a doubleadvantageto him. It enabledsome of the marching to be done in the cool moonlight, and it minimised the danger of attacks by the enemy.

The night before the great battle was clear and bright, and, to give additional security to the riverside camp, the gunboats, moored close to theNilebank, swept its flanks and front with the broad white beams from their electricsearchlights. To some of the wild tribesmen in the Dervishbivouac on the hillsit must have seemed some strange magic, this lighting up of the desert with the giant rays ofdazzling brightness. And it is even saidthat some of them refused to remain with the Khalifa's standard, declaring that if the invaders could thus control the sunlight, Allahmust surely be withthem.

Along the front of the Sirdar's camp watchful sentinels were on the alert, ami the fnendlies had scouts out towards the Dervish bivouacs, and a post on the slope of Jebel Surgham. These friendly scouts had been warned to move in couples when the)- approached our sentry line, and the sentinels were told to let men running back two and two pass in without a challenge. They were to fire on any large body and challengemenapproaching singly. During thenight desertersfrom the enemy caused some alarms. Once the whole of the British second brigade was on its feet for a few minutes. One of the deserters whoarrived was anEmir with a few ofhis followers.

Shortly before midnight some of Colonel Wingate's spies got back from the Mahdist lines and brought the news that the Khalifa would attackbefore dawn, if not earlier in the night. It is certain, however, that, whatever may have been his intentions, he sent nothing more than a few scouts towards the Anglo-Egyptian camp during the hours of darkness. One reason for his inactivity was the false impression con to him of the Sirdar's plans by some fnendlies from the neighbourhoodof Agaiga, whom Wingate had sent out in the evening with orders to prowl round the Dervish camp and spread the report that the Sirdar was going to repeat the tactics of Ferkeh and the Atbara, marching in the darkness andattacking in the grey of the morning. Thus the Khalifa wasinduced to wait during the night for the expected attack. It ii is only when he found that the invaders were