rescue him; but now that he and his companions were dead, and Khartoum
had fallen, she might not feel herself called upon to attempt the
reconquest of the Soudan. It was probable, however, that this would be
the best, and in the end the cheapest way out of the difficulty. Here
was a force that had at an enormous expense been brought up almost to
within striking distance of Khartoum, and which could be relied upon to
make its way thither to defeat the armies of the Mahdi, and to recapture
Khartoum without any very great difficulty. The provisions and stores
had all been purchased and brought up, and scarce any outlay additional
to that already incurred would be entailed by the operation.

Upon the other hand, to retire now would be to leave the whole Soudan in
the hands of the Mahdi and his fanatics. It would mean the destruction
of the settled government established by the Egyptians, and it would
expose Egypt to incessant invasions, which we should be bound to repel.
Common sense, humanity, and even economy seemed to favour the advance of
the force to Khartoum. The British people, roused to anger by the fate
of Gordon, would probably call loudly for the vindication of the
national honour, and for an act of retribution on the murderers of
Gordon.

But Edgar felt that another way out of the difficulty might present
itself to the authorities at home. It was not unlikely that the counsels
of those who, from the first, had been against the expedition would
prevail, and that it would retire to Egypt without striking another
blow. In that case it seemed that there was nothing before him but
lifelong slavery. Edgar, however was at an age when hope is not easily
relinquished.

"I may be a slave a long time," he said, "but sooner or later I will
escape. I will get to speak the language like a native. I am already
almost burnt to their colour, and shall ere long be able to pass as one
of themselves. It is hard indeed if after a time I cannot manage to
escape, and to make my way either back to Egypt or down to the Red Sea,
or into Abyssinia. If I did not feel sure that I could do either one or
the other, I would do something that would make them kill me at once."

CHAPTER XIII.

ABU KRU.

Sergeant Bowen and Edgar were by no means the only men who straggled
away from the main body during that terrible night's march from the
wells of Abu Klea. Many straggled; some managed to rejoin the column in
the morning, others w