THE WEEK BEFORE THE BATTLE _ 153 of its strength and its ability to resist the Dervish assault in the morning. But what if the Khalifa resolved after all to attack our zeriba under the cover of night? When one remembers the thinness of our extended line, our miserably inadequate defences, the stealthiness and rapidity of the Dervish infantry, the impossibility of accurate fire in the darkness, the preponderating numbers of the enemy and their splendid valour,—when one thinks of these and other things which may not be discussed covam populo, one cannot be suffciently thankful that the Khalifa refrained from attacking us on that memorable night! Had such an assault taken place, I feel absolutely certain that of the brave fellows who in the morning advanced unflinchingly against the most terrific fire of the century’s warfare, a vast number would have broken through the zeriba in the darkness. The result would have been terrible beyond words! The cut and thrust of the Dervish sword and spear, with the cross fire of our own men, might have ended in a fulfilment of the Mahdi’s prophecy, instead of a decisive and almost bloodless victory for the British arms!