162 WITH THE CAMEL CORPS UP THE NILE.

After some deliberation, we were halted in a village (or rather collection of mud huts) called Gubat, on a slope some four hundred yards from the river, and part of the Heavies told off to entrench themselves there, and hold it at all risks. The programme was then given out that the wounded were all to be fetched up to the village from the position of the night before, and the Heavies were to defend them, whilst the rest of the advanced force returned with water to the camel-zeriba, and brought up the whole of the stores and troops remaining. There was a question as to whether we ought not to attack Metemmeh at once, and give the Arabs another good hiding before they had recovered from the one of the day before. However, it was deemed too risky ; Metemmeh was just about five times the size it was expected to be ; we could only have mustered some six hundred men, hadn't had any food for just forty-eight hours, and street-fighting would have entailed many wounded, for whom we had no transport. The idea was therefore wisely given up, and we started for the zeriba directly the camel-tanks were brought up filled