140 WITH KITCHENEE IN THE SOUDAN and precipitous this assistance could scarcely avail them in case of an attack, unless the hundred soldiers on board the steamer could be landed.

As they rode along, Ahmed Bey explained to Gregory the plan that he should adopt if they were attacked in such a position and found their retreat cut off. “ The camels will all be made to lie down, and we shall fight behind them, as in an entrenchment. My men are all armed with rifles the government has given them, and we could beat off an attack by a great number, while if we were on our camels and pursued we should soon lose all order, and our shooting would be bad.’

“ I think that would be by far the best plan, sheik. Your two hundred men and the hundred the gun-boat could land ought to be able to make a tough fight of it against any number of the enemy. How long do you think we shall be on the way ? ” About four days. The camels can easily travel thirtyfive miles a day. We have six days provisions with us, in case the gun-boat cannot make its way up. Fortunately we have not to carry water, so that each camel only takes twenty pounds of food for its rider and forty pounds of grain for itself. If we were pursued, we could throw that away, as we should only have to ride to some point where the gun-boat could protect us. We could not hope to escape by speed, for the Dervishes could ride and run quite as fast as the camels could go.”