of the troops and a
large number of natives. At times, in spite of all the efforts of the
men at the ropes, the boats made no progress whatever, while if the
steersman allowed the stream for a moment to take the boat's head it
would be whirled round and carried down to the foot of the rapid, when
the work had to be recommenced.

The troopers thought, as they watched the exertions of the infantry,
that, rough as was the action of the camels, they had decidedly the best
of it, but such was not their opinion on the following day when, as they
were jogging wearily along, several of the boats passed them running
before a strong wind, with the soldiers on board reclining in
comfortable positions in the bottom or on the thwarts. Again their
opinions changed when, the wind having dropped, they saw the men
labouring at the oars in the blazing sun.

"There are pulls both ways," one of the troopers said philosophically,
"and take it all round I don't know which has got the best of it. If
there are many of these cataracts I should say we are best off, and they
say there are lots of them between this and Khartoum."

"I think we have got the best of it, certainly," Edgar said; "for if it
comes to leaving the river and pushing on we are sure to be in it."

The journey from Wady Halfa to Dongola was 235 miles. The day's march
was generally about twenty miles, the halting-places being made at spots
previously settled upon, where there were depots of provisions formed
for them. The start was made about five o'clock in the morning. For the
first two hours the men walked, leading their camels; then when the sun
became hot they mounted and rode the rest of the distance. At first they
found the monotonous motion very trying, but became accustomed to it in
time, and would even go off to sleep in the saddles, with the result,
however, that they were probably shot off if the camel came upon a
sudden irregularity of the ground.

In the cool of the evening the men bathed in the river, and the officers
often went out in search of game, which was found, however, to be very
scarce. There were many regrets among the men that they had brought no
fish-hooks or lines with them, for these would have furnished not only
amusement during their halts, but might have afforded a welcome change
to the monotony of their diet.

The country bordering the Nile was composed of low rocky hills and hard
gravel, with occasional tufts of dry grass and scrub. Some