GEEGOEY YOLUNTEEES 91 Although scarcely up to the standard of a mess dinner at home, it was by no means a bad one, consisting of soup, fish from the river, a joint of beef at one end and of mutton at the other, curried kidneys, sweet omelettes and cheese, whisky with water or soda to drink at dinner; and after the meal four bottles of claret were placed on the table, and cigars or pipes lit. Half an hour later four of the party sat down to whist, and the rest, going outside the tent, sat or threw themselves down on the sand, and smoked or chatted till it was time to turn in. Gregory’s first' step next morning was to buy a horse. This he purchased from some fugitives who had come down from Kordofan. It was a good animal, though in poor condition, and would soon pick up flesh when well attended and fed. To accustom himself to riding, Gregory went out on it for a couple of hours every morning, getting up before daybreak, so as to take exercise before the work of the day began. He also followed the example of the officers of the Egyptian regiments, and purchased a camel for the conveyance of his own baggage.

“ You will find it a great advantage,” one of them said to him. “ Of course times may arrive when you will have to leave it behind, but as a rule there is no trouble about it at all. You hire a native driver, who costs practically nothing, and he keeps with the baggage; no one asks any questions, and when you halt for a day or two you have comforts. Of course with a British regiment you are cut down to the last ounce, but with us it is altogether different. There being only three or four white officers to each regiment, the few extra camels in the train make no appreciable difference.

Besides, these black fellows consider it quite natural and proper that their white officers should fare in a very different way from themselves, whereas a British Tommy would be inclined to grumble if he saw his officers enjoying luxuries while he himself had to rough it.”

As the horse only cost three pounds and the camel only five, Gregory’s store of money was not seriously affected by