ired why enough had not been brought to give them a feed at night as
well; but the Arab of whom he had asked the question said that it was
better for them to browse at night, as the moisture in the herbage
enabled them to do with much less water than if they had been fed
entirely upon grain.

Edgar was very glad when the desert journey was over. The glare of the
sun from the sand and the rocks was almost blinding, and the wraps in
which he was muffled up greatly added to his discomfort. On arriving at
the cultivated land the same picture presented itself that he had seen
near Khartoum. Everywhere the villages were almost entirely deserted and
the fields lay waste; the blighting influence of the Mahdi seemed to
weigh upon the whole country. The few natives that remained fled in fear
at the sight of the strangers, and the old people they met with in the
villages were crushed with grief and despondency. Of what use to
cultivate the land when the Mahdists might at any moment sweep off the
crops? Even should they gather the grain, where could they sell it?
There were markets indeed still open, but the Mahdi's tax-gatherers
would demand a proportion of the proceeds, which would sweep away all
their profits. What was to become of them Allah alone knew.

Edgar was filled with pity for these poor creatures, and over and over
again thought with astonishment of the policy which, after sending a
force to within a short distance of Khartoum amply sufficient to have
crushed the Mahdi and to have restored peace and comfort to the
population of the Soudan, had withdrawn them when the goal was all but
reached, and left the unhappy people to their fate.

After journeying for some days they passed a plain strewn with
skeletons.

"You see these," the sheik said; "they are the remains of the army of
Hicks Pasha. Here they were attacked by the Mahdi's army. They defended
themselves bravely, but they could neither advance nor retreat, and at
last they were vanquished by thirst and fatigue. They were slaughtered
as they stood. Hicks Pasha and a band of officers rode right into the
midst of the Mahdists, and died fighting there. There were, I heard, two
or three Kaffirs with him, besides many Egyptian officers. The black
troops fought splendidly, but the Egyptians made a poor stand; but it
came to the same in the end. What could they do against the followers of
Allah!"

[Illustration: THE ARMY OF HICKS PASHA ON THE MARCH.]

"But the Egyp