e Mahdi seemed delighted with the news he had received, and ordered a
plate of fried meat to be brought, which he shared with us, eating with
his fingers. It was considered a very high favour when he touched the
plate with his hand, and handed a small piece of meat to those who sat
with him, and this favour he conferred on us. It was rather striking
that he should have done this, for many Moslems consider it wrong even
to eat in the presence of Christians. When the meal was over he
dismissed us, and Klootz was handed over to Stambuli till further
orders.

Just as we got outside the hut, Klootz and I were called in again. The
Mahdi was now quite alone. He ordered us to sit down on the floor, and
then whispered in my ear, "Tell this man he may count on the best of
treatment if he will turn Moslem; if not, he must die." I explained this
to Klootz in German, and he replied that he was quite prepared to do
anything the Mahdi required; whereupon the latter presented him with his
shoes and a jibbeh, and named him "Mustafa," as it struck him that there
was a similarity of sound between Mustafa and Gustav.

When we left the hut we found an enormous crowd of people all clamouring
to know what the Englishman had said. Of course everyone wanted to see
him, and it was impossible for us to move a step. Stambuli, therefore,
procured a horse, mounted Klootz upon it, and in this manner we
proceeded to Stambuli's house.

We did not at first believe in Klootz's statement, and thought that he
must have purposely given the Mahdi false information, so as to gain
favour and save his own skin; but when we were alone together, I bound
him by a solemn oath to tell me the absolute truth, and, to my
astonishment, he told me he had nothing to add to what he had already
said. It is impossible to describe our misery when we heard Klootz's
report. We had counted for months on the success of the expedition to
deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and now all our bright hopes
were rapidly fading away, and again a gloomy future yawned in front of
us.

General Hicks left Rahad on the 26th of October, and arrived at Aluba on
the 29th; here he received the Mahdi's letter summoning him to submit.
Of course this was taken no notice of, and on the 3rd of November the
army advanced towards Kashgeil, which is about twelve miles south of El
Obeid.

In the meantime the Mahdi had been collecting his followers, and doing
all in his power to inspire them wi