SAFELY BACK 137 necessary to bring up the guns and batter an entrance. Many of the houses were found, when the troops burst in, to be tenanted only by dead, for the Soudanese always heralded their attack by firing several volleys, and the bullets made their way through and through the mud walls as if they had been paper. About seventy or eighty horsemen and a hundred Dervish infantry escaped, but the rest were either killed or made prisoners, together with Mahomed Zein, the governor. A quantity of arms, camels, and horses were also I captured. The loss on our side was two British officers killed I and twenty-one of the black troops, and three Egyptian officers and sixty-one men wounded.

When the convoy halted previous to the troops marching I to the attack, Gregory, whose duties with the baggage had now ended, joined the General’s staff and rode forward with them. Hunter had glanced round as he rode up, and answered with a nod when he saluted and asked if he could come. He felt rather scared on the Dervishes opening fire so suddenly, when the General’s impatience had led him to ride forward without waiting for Major Kincaid’s report. After the troops rushed into the town the General maintained his position at the edge of the dip, for the narrow streets were so crowded with men that a group of horsemen could hardly have forced their way in, and it would be impossible to see what was going on and to issue orders.

Mahomed Zein had not followed the example of some of his followers and died fighting to the last. He was found hiding under a bed, and was brought before General Hunter, who asked him why he fought when he must have known that it was useless, to which he replied: knew that you had only three times as many as I had, and every one of my men is worth four of yours. You could not fire till you were quite close up, and at that range our rifles are as good as yours.” The General asked what he thought Mahmud would do, to which he replied: “He will be down here in five days and wipe you out 1 ”