The Halalat secretly, and it is necessary that you are one to apprehend them and bring them to us. So I remembered his excellency's promise and returned, not happy with what happened. I promised his excellency that after discussing with his excellency Hussein Pasha Mazhar, I would send him to his excellency the Governor to explain what his excellency sees as an addition to that.

On blessed Saturday, October 27, 1883, at 11 AM, we learned that a force, accompanied by cavalry under the command of his excellency Hussein Pasha Mazhar, had gone towards the Halalat to apprehend whomever they could. He returned at 3:30 PM and explained that he had not seen anyone at all on his way and had not sensed the presence of any Arabs. He was greatly surprised that this was apparently the intention of his excellency the Governor, because it is impossible to apprehend anyone in this manner. If it were possible, we would have apprehended thousands from the direction of our departure from Ludd. I do not know how this idea came about. We only learned that when the discussion with Hussein Pasha Mazhar took place, he expressed his concern about going out at night in this manner, fearing that there might be a large number of Arabs in one area, and in the darkness, he feared that more damage might occur than imagined. It is not appropriate to go out in any formation other than a fortress. If it is necessary, then there is no objection to going out early in the morning, and perhaps the objective will be achieved. Based on this, the matter was settled, and he went and returned with nothing.

At 1 AM, his excellency General Hicks Pasha arrived with his excellency the Governor, and a discussion took place regarding what was necessary. His excellency the Governor was pleased to address his excellency Hicks Pasha, saying that we had complete reliance on the two officers, but what I see is that our current situation necessitates increased caution. Therefore, you should appoint two English staff officers to patrol the Zaria district at night from the inside to check on the soldiers' readiness, as we know, and their conditions and those of their officers, especially since the arrival of the cavalry is imminent. This will not cause discomfort to the English officers, but rather as a [deterrent] for our matter and their attacks. If they knew that your excellency was monitoring them during the night, there is no doubt that they would exert their utmost effort beyond what they are already doing. He emphasized this to the officers.