sell them for, so that on
his next journey he might bring money or goods to redeem them.

The villagers had told him that this could not be, for that the Mahdi
required all captives to be sent to him, and that all who refused to
acknowledge him as the Prophet were at once put to death. He had always
appeared perfectly satisfied with this explanation, and had turned the
conversation to other topics.

"This does not show," he said to Rupert, "that there are no captives in
the hands of the tribesmen in the interior. If they had them they would
keep it secret, at any rate as long as the white troops are on the
river. They can only be holding them for the sake of obtaining a ransom,
but I do not think that there would be much chance that your brother is
in these parts, for had he been his captors would before now have sent
in a messenger to one of your camps saying that he was in their hands
and asking what ransom would be given for him. It is far to the south
that we must look for him; but at the same time it is wise to make every
inquiry as we go along, so that we shall be always looking before us and
not wondering whether we have left him behind."

When they reached a village a few miles below Berber they stopped for
three or four days. The sheik's two followers went alone into the city
to make inquiries. They returned after being absent for three days,
saying that it was certain that there was no white captive in the hands
of the Mahdi's people there. They had talked to several tribesmen who
had fought at Metemmeh. These knew that a white prisoner had been taken
by a party of Arabs of the Jahrin tribe. Trouble had arisen owing to the
sheik refusing to give him up, and he had fled in the night with his
party, taking the prisoner with him; but beyond the fact that he had
crossed the river none had heard anything of him.

As there was now no motive for going to Berber, and permission to trade
could only be obtained by a large present to the Mahdi's governor, the
party started early the next morning, struck out into the desert, and
made a long detour before, two days later, they came down again upon the
river bank above the city. Then they continued their journey, and some
days later crossed the river at a ford some miles below Metemmeh. It was
certain, wherever Edgar might be, it would not be in the neighbourhood
of that town.

For some weeks the journey continued. At times they left the river bank
and journeyed consi