274 WITH KITCHENEK IN' THE SOUDAN" Let my friend drink,’ I said. I held the gourd to his lips. Sip a little first,’ I said ; ‘ you can drink your fill afterwards.’

“ ‘ Allah has sent you to save me,’ he said ; and after two or three gulps of water he drew back his head. Now I can rest till the sun has set, and then go forward as far as the well, and die there.’

“ ‘ Let me see your wound,’ I said, it may be that I can relieve the pain a little.’

“ He had been shot through the body, and it was a marvel to me how he could have walked so far; but the Arabs, like other wild creatures, have a wonderful tenacity of life. I aided him to the shelter of the thick bush, then I let him have another and longer drink, and bathed his wound with water. Tearing off a strip from the bottom of his robe, I bound it round him, soaking it with water over the wound. He had been suffering more from thirst than from pain, and he seemed stronger already. Now,’ I said, you had better sleep.’

have not slept since the last battle,’ he said. ‘I started as soon as it was dark enough for me to get up without being seen by the Turks. I have been walking ever since, and dared not lie down. At first I hoped that I might get to the town where my wife lived, and die in my own house. But that hope left me as I grew weaker and weaker, and I have only prayed for strength enough to reach the well, to drink, and to die there.’

“ ‘ Sleep now,’ I said. Be sure that I will not leave you. Is it not our duty to help one another? When the heat is over we may go on. I have a horse here which you shall ride. How far is it from the well to El Obeid ?

’ “‘It is four hours’ journey on foot.’ “‘Good! Then you shall see your wife before morning. We will stop at the well to give my horse a good drink, and then, if you feel well enough to go on, we will not wait above an hour.’