RETIREMENT OF THE DESERT COLUMN. 1 99 fire, but the man died almost directly. On reaching the main body of the convoy and forming square on the left front with the heavy camel regiment, the mounted infantry forming square on the right rear, the force waited expecting a charge from the Arabs, who were howling and yelling their signals for assembling for attack. The mounted infantry were firing volleys, and the faint sound of some bugles was supposed to come from their direction, so that when the men of the left front caught sight of troops moving past an opening in the scrub at about 700 yards distance, they were brought to the " present," and would have fired had not the officer with his field-glass discerned that there were helmets, and a few minutes afterwards Colonel Brabazon of the hussars rode forward with the good news that the light camel regiment, about 300 strong, under Colonel Stanley Clarke, had come up from Abu-Klea en route for Gubat.

The Arabs soon decamped on the arrival of this reinforcement, none of the men of which had been injured though the troops in the rear of the convoy had fired a couple of volleys at them, mistaking them for the enemy, as they passed through the dense bush. It was quite impossible to tell what was the force of the Arabs, nor could any one see in what direction they retreated. Our troops were, however, able to march in extended order till they got clear of the scrub, and after halting for the night, started off early on the morning of the 14th for Abu-Klea, and arrived there before noon. From Abu-Klea the wounded started next day for Gakdul, but they had scarcely left before General Buller and the whole force from Gubat marched in. The uncertainty which had been felt as to the prosecution of the enterprise against Metammeh and Berber was now at an end, and it was known that operations had been abandoned. General Buller had remained at Gubat for some time making demonstrations designed to induce the Mahdi's army there to come out and fight; but though there was evidently a great muster of forces, and much noise and tomtomming, they made no active response; the demonstration, however, kept their attention absorbed while the camp at Abu-Kru was broken up and everything that could not be carried away was