256 WITH KITCHENEE IN THE SOUDAN And where is the pocket-book now ? ” “ It may be under the rock where I hid it, my lord. I have never thought of it since; it was rubbish.” Can you take me to the place ? ” “ I think so ; it was not far from my house. I pushed it under the first great rock I came to, for I was in haste and wanted to be away before the white soldiers on camels could get here.” . “ Did you hear of any other things being hidden ? ” No ; I think everything was given up. If this thing had been of value I should perhaps have told the sheik, but as it was only written papers and of no use to anyone, I did not trouble to do so.”

“ Well, let us go at once,” Gregory said, rising to his feet. “ Although of no use to you, these papers may be of importance.”

Followed by Zaki and the four men, Gregory went to the peasant’s house, which stood a quarter of a mile away.

“ This is not the house I lived in then,” the man said. The white troops destroyed every house in the village, but when they had gone I built another on the same spot.”

The hill rose steeply behind it. The peasant went on till he stopped at a large boulder. This was the rock,” he said, where I thrust it under as far as my arm would reach. I pushed it in on the upper side.” The man lay down. “It was just about here,” he said. “It is here, my lord; I can just feel it, but I cannot get it out. I pushed it in as far as the tips of my fingers could reach it.” “Well, go down and cut a couple of sticks three or four feet long.” In ten minutes the man returned with them. “Now take one of them, and when you feel the book push the stick along its side until it is well beyond it. Then you ought to be able to scrape it out. If you cannot do so, we shall have to roll the stone over. It is a big rock, but with two or three poles one ought to be able to turn it over.”

After several attempts, however, the man produced the