last two days. On these they had not, as he noticed by the
sun, followed a straight course, going far to the east of south on the
first day, and to the west of south on the second, having doubtless made
a large detour to avoid the city. During the whole time they had been
travelling over a trackless country, and had met no parties of natives
on the way. They started again before daybreak, and now travelled along
the bank of the river.

Here the country had been cultivated for some distance back, and
villages were scattered here and there. Nevertheless they passed but
few natives, and Edgar saw that many of the houses were roofless, and
that there were signs of fire and destruction everywhere, and understood
that this ruin had been wrought by the hosts of the Mahdi. About mid-day
they arrived at a village on the bank. Its name, Edgar learned by the
exclamations of the Arabs when they caught sight of it, was Gerada. Here
a large native boat was lying moored. Bidding Edgar remain among the
camels the sheik alighted, and was for half an hour engaged in
bargaining with two men, who were apparently owners of the boat.

Terms were at last agreed to, the camels were led down and placed on
board, and the boat pushed off. The sheik made a peremptory sign to
Edgar to lie down and cover his head with his cloth, and Edgar heard him
say to the boatman, "My slave is ill." The river was now at its
shallowest, and the men were able to pole the boat across. Edgar was
hurried ashore with the camels, while the sheik remained behind settling
with the boatman. They were now, he knew, between the two Niles, which
joined their waters at Khartoum. The country here had evidently been
rich and prosperous before the host of the Mahdi passed like a blight
over it. They halted a few miles from the river, near a ruined and
deserted village. Edgar was told to watch the camels while they plucked
heads of corn from the deserted fields, while the Arabs lit a fire and
baked some cakes. None of these were offered to Edgar, who had to
content himself with some heads of dried maize that he picked from the
field.

Two days later they arrived at the bank of the White Nile. They followed
it for upwards of a mile, and then the sheik, who evidently knew the
way, turned off the bank into the river, the others following. The ford,
for such it was, was shallow, the water scarcely coming up to the girths
of the camels. Although the journey had been a short one, the