h had been
occupied by one of the black families belonging to the Mission. The
windows of the hut looked into the garden, and Domenico scrambled
through one of these into the room. Here he found one of the women,
Halima, and begged her to give him some bread and water. He questioned
her about the entrance of the Dervishes and the fate of the inhabitants.
She replied in a few words that the town had been stormed, and numbers
of the inhabitants, as well as General Gordon, Consul Hansal, and most
of the Europeans, had been killed.

This was a new shock to the already terror-stricken Domenico. He threw
himself on the bed and begged that Halima would not betray him; but she,
fearing to be found out, crept out of the hut, went up to the Dervishes
who were collected round the camp fire, and told them that there was a
Turk in her cottage. Some of them jumped up, and, following Halima into
the hut, they drove out the unfortunate Domenico with the butt ends of
their lances. He was brought in front of the camp fire and carefully
searched for money; but he at once drew forty pounds out of his pocket,
which he distributed amongst them, and they were satisfied and did not
ill-treat him.

On the following day he was taken before Ahmed Wad Suleiman, the Emin
beit el mal, who made full inquiries of him regarding the Mission money.
Domenico said that when the Mission left Khartum they took all the money
with them, and had left nothing. Domenico was then sent to the garden to
work there for his new master, but soon afterwards was betrayed a second
time, and fell into grievous trouble and danger.

A few days before the fall of Khartum he had buried L150 in the garden,
intending to make use of it when the needful time came; but one of the
blacks who was working at the steam-pump in the garden, to whom
Domenico had confided his secret, and who was one of the garden
labourers who had escaped the massacre, went and told Ahmed Sharfi (one
of the Mahdi's nearest relations) that Domenico had concealed money.
This he did to ensure his own safety, for the Dervishes had been greatly
disappointed in the quantity of loot they expected to find. In the
palace they had discovered only paper money, and in the Mission some
furniture, instead of the treasure they had been led to expect. Ahmed
Sharfi was therefore much pleased with the black's information, himself
came to Domenico and asked to be shown the place where the money was
buried. In vain Domenic