parte himself had managed to get through the blockading force in a
small craft, and had arrived in France, and that, therefore, the French
army would not have the benefit of his leading, or be animated by his
presence among them.

Edgar found himself brought unexpectedly into notice. The fleet was
entirely unprovided with reliable maps of Egypt, and none of the
officers had any previous knowledge of it beyond the port of Alexandria.
Sir Sidney Smith was able to give every information regarding the coast,
but had never set foot on shore.

"It is most unfortunate," General Abercrombie said, when he, Lord Keith,
and Sir Sidney Smith were discussing the matter. "Here we are about to
land in a country of which we know absolutely nothing. If we had, as
originally intended, landed at Jaffa and marched through El A'rich with
the Turks, we should have had the benefit of their knowledge and that of
the Arabs of the country. As it is, we are totally ignorant of its
features, while the enemy are thoroughly acquainted with them. It is
like a blind man fighting in the dark against one who can see
perfectly."

"By the way," Sir Sidney exclaimed suddenly, "I have a young officer who
knows the country well. He has been a resident at Alexandria for years,
and, riding about, knows every foot of the country within many miles of
it. He has been up to Cairo, was with the Arabs who harassed the French
march, was present at the battle of the Pyramids, and at the fighting in
Cairo, and knows the position of all the French forts round that city.
He was on his way to England when I overhauled the craft he was in, on
my way out, and as he speaks Arabic perfectly, to say nothing of French
and Italian, I offered him a berth as midshipman and to act as my
interpreter. In the latter capacity he was invaluable both in
Constantinople and at the siege of Jaffa. He is, moreover, a most
gallant young officer, and was second in command of the _Tigress_ when
she did such good service in eradicating piracy among the islands,
capturing and destroying over a hundred piratical craft."

"That is good news indeed!" the general said. "Will you send for him
now? His knowledge would be invaluable to me."

A boat was sent off at once to the _Tigre_ with an order for Edgar to
come on board the flagship immediately. Much surprised, but supposing
that he was wanted to act as interpreter between Sir Sidney and some
Turkish official who had come on board, he at once t