208 WITH KITCHENEK IN THE SOUDAN material addition to your baggage-train, while as there are thirty or forty of lis it would make a serious item in ours, and the General’s keen eyes would spot them at once.”

Our camels are no burden to the army,” Gregory said ; they only have a few pounds of grain a day, and get their living principally on what they can pick up. When they go on now, they will each carry fifty pounds of private grain. They get five pounds when there are no bushes or grass, so that the grain will last them for a fortnight.”

“T suppose you think that the Dervishes mean fighting ? ” think there is no doubt about it. All the fugitives that come in say that the Khalifa will fight, but whether it will be in the defence of Omdurman, or whether he will come out and attack us at Kerreri, none can say. The Khalifa keeps his intentions to himself.”

“ By the bye, Hilliard, I don’t think you know my righthand neighbour; he only joined us an hour before we started, having been left behind at Cairo sick. Mr. Hartley, let me introduce you to Mr. Hilliard—Ishould say Bimbashi Hilliard; he is on General Hunter’s staff.” The young lieutenant placed an eye-glass in his eye and bowed to Gregory.

“ Have you been in this beastly country long ? ” he asked. “ If you include Lower Egypt, I have been here eighteen years.”

“ Dear me ! ” the other .drawled ; the climate seems to have agreed with you.”

“ Fairly well,” Gregory replied ; “ I don’t mind the heat much, and one doesn’t feel it while one is at work.”

“Hartley has not tried that yet,” one of the others laughed; “ work is not in his line. This most unfortunate illness of his kept him back at Cairo, and he brought such a supply of ice with him when he came up that he was able to hand over a hundredweight of it to us when he arrived.* I don’t think. Major, that in introducing him you should have omitted to mention that but for a temporary misfortune he would