t near the market-place lay the decaying heads of all
his principal enemies, the Sultan Yusef, Abu Gemaizeh, the Abyssinians,
Sayidna Isa, all huddled up together in a heap, and I could not help
reflecting deeply on all these strange events every time I passed that
pit. Gradually the skin and hair dropped off, leaving only the bare
white skulls, deep eye-holes, and grinning teeth, and yet these were the
skulls of crowned heads, prophets, and patriarchs gathered together in a
narrow pit from far-distant countries--a solemn evidence indeed of the
far-reaching power of Mahdiism. Passers-by struck them with their
sticks, and yet for what thousands of lives had these now empty
brain-pans been responsible, which lay rotting on far-distant
battlefields--proof in truth of God's judgment on the Sudan!

Abdullah now thought himself master of the whole world. In his moments
of wildest enthusiasm he had never dreamt of gaining such a tremendous
victory over the Abyssinians, and yet another such victory would have
almost destroyed his power; he had lost thousands of his best warriors,
and the women and cattle captured could never compensate him for such a
loss. Of course Zeki and his emirs did not always adhere to the truth in
writing to the Khalifa, nor was the latter anxious they should do
so--indeed, it would have been tantamount to a crime on Zeki's part to
report that the Galabat garrison was weak; had he done so, and even if
he had been the Khalifa's own relative, he would probably have been
relegated to prison. It would have been treason to have said anything
which would detract from the Khalifa's idea of his own power, and he was
surrounded by wretched flatterers and trimmers who were the last to tell
him the truth.

But all these wars and disturbances had now almost completely ruined the
country, and then came the terrible famine, which lasted almost a year
and brought untold sufferings on the people. The Khalifa, however, was
blind to all this misery and distress. His only idea was
self-aggrandisement, and he did not realize that hunger was likely to
prove by far the worst and most dangerous enemy with which Mahdieh had
to cope; but this he eventually learnt by bitter experience.

After the death of King John there was a certain amount of intercourse
between the Dervishes and Abyssinians, and not a few of the latter used
to come to Galabat and promise to lead Zeki to where the late king's
treasures had been hidden; but t