112 THE DOWNFALL OF THE DERVISHES dition and full of “go.” It hated to be alone for a moment, and if in the scrub it found itself separated from the rest of the column, either in the rear or on the flank, and the rein was at all loose, it would suddenly, without any warning, make a clean bolt to rejoin its companions ; and when a borrowed horse tears at full gallop through mimosa bushes and over the rough sandy soil intersected with zx//aks, one is precious glad to be able to return it to its owner in the evening without a couple of broken knees or worse.

The air was delightfully cool, with a pleasant breeze from the river, and this evening ride from Hagir will remain in one’s memory as one of the pleasant experiences of the campaign. The comparative novelty of our surroundings, and the certainty that now at length we were within measurable distance of the enemy, filled one with elation and banished all the petty worries of the morning. As long as one enjoyed good health, nothing could be more delightful than the simple pleasures of our open-air existence, with all its hard work and good-fellowship. But when fever or dysentery gets hold upon a man, all the glamour