138 WITH KITCHENER IN THE SOUDAN It was necessary to halt at Abu Hamed until stores came up. Captain Keppel, K.H., and the officers commanding the gun-boats were toiling at the cataracts to bring them up; nevertheless one of these was capsized, and only three got through safely. Major Pink with a large number of troops from Merawi succeeded in hauling the sailing boats through. A large column of laden camels was at the same time being pushed forward by the caravan route from Korosko. It was a time of much anxiety till stores began to arrive, for had Mahmud advanced at once the passage up the river would have been arrested and the land column cut off, in which case the little force would have been reduced to sore straits, as they must have stood on the defensive until reinforcements reached them. There was, too, some anxiety as to the safety of the forces at Ambukol and Korti, for Mahmud, on learning that the garrisons had been weakened by the despatch of troops to Abu Hamed, might have crossed the desert with all his force and fallen upon them. Mahmud had indeed, as it turned out, believed that the expedition to Abu Hamed was only undertaken to cover the flank of the Egyptian army from attack from that quarter, and still believed that it was from Merawi that the main British force would advance against him.

Before the supplies had all arrived the position changed, as news came that Berber was being evacuated by the Dervishes. The information was telegraphed to the Sirdar, who at once ordered that a force of the friendly Arabs, escorted by a gun-boat, should go up to Berber to And if the news was true. One gun-boat had already arrived, and General Hunter decided on going up in her himself. Two hundred of the Arabs, under Ahmed Bey, were to ride along the bank. They were to be mounted on the fastest camels that could be picked out, so that if they encountered the Dervishes they would have a fair chance of escaping and getting under cover of the gun-boats Are.

“Mr. Hilliard,” the General said, “I shall be obliged if