of a white prisoner passing through is certain to have caused talk.
However, it is impossible to say where or how I may find a clue.

"At any rate I shall stick to it. I shall tell my father, that as it may
take me a year to find Edgar he need not even begin to feel anxious
until the end of that time, and that as I shall be continually improving
in my knowledge of the language, the risk of detection will become less
and less every month, and that I anticipate no difficulty whatever when
the time comes in passing down to Suakim or Massowah, or should any
difficulty arise in that direction, in either working down to Wady Halfa
or through Abyssinia."

They sat and talked until far into the night, and then lay down for a
few hours' sleep, and at daybreak Rupert said good-bye to his friends
and took his place in the boat, which, spreading its sails, rapidly made
its way up stream. The two friends stood for a long time looking after
it.

"By Jove, Clinton has turned out a fine fellow," Skinner said; "a grand
fellow! I hardly thought he had it in him. Of course I knew he was
plucky, and all that sort of thing; but this is a tremendous
undertaking."

"It is," Easton said. "Of course now the die is cast I would not say a
word last night to discourage him; but the risk is tremendous. However
he is going about it in the right spirit, and somehow I feel almost
confident that he will pull through it, and that we shall shake his hand
in England again. May God protect him on his journey!"

Skinner responded with an earnest Amen, and then they walked slowly back
to the camp.

As soon as he arrived at Korti Rupert made his way to Major Kitchener's,
and was greeted with a cheery welcome by that officer.

"Things are going well, Clinton. I have bought the two riding camels. I
was a whole day haggling over the price with the chief. I had to pay a
stiff price after all, but that I expected. But it won't come quite so
heavy, because he wanted to take it out in goods, and as we don't mean
to take all the things back to the coast again, I got an order from the
chief for our quarter-master's department to sell me a lot of rugs,
cooking pots, and tin goods, and also some powder and ball and a dozen
muskets. As I get them cheap the camels won't cost you more than half
what they would if you had had to pay in silver for them. In the next
place, the sheik arrived yesterday afternoon and I had a long talk with
him. He is willing enough to u