hese latter and the British and
Egyptian troops occurred in December the same year at Giniss. El Kheir
was defeated, and fixed his advanced camp at Kerma.

The fall of Sennar enabled the Khalifa to send forward more troops for
his operations against Egypt, and the Mahdi's prophecy that the conquest
of Egypt was to be carried out by Sherif's flag, entirely fell in with
his own arrangements, for he entrusted the command of the advanced force
to Wad En Nejumi, who belonged to Sherif's raya (flag), and thus
succeeded in keeping this powerful emir, whom he regarded with great
fear and jealousy, as far away from him as possible.[K]

Nejumi set out from Omdurman in November 1885, and marching along the
river bank to Berber, robbed and pillaged as if he were advancing
through an enemy's country. He seized the goods of merchants at Berber,
giving them receipts signed to the effect that they should receive
payment when he had taken Assuan. He captured two Egyptian spies, one of
whom he decapitated, and the other had his hand and foot cut off. During
his stay at Berber he robbed and pillaged in all directions, and used to
boast of his approaching conquest of Egypt. He stopped all trade with
the north, and drove on the entire population towards Dongola.

It was not, however, until the end of November 1886, that he reached
Dongola, and there he began to organize his fighting force, which was
continually increased by reinforcements sent from Omdurman.

Early in 1887 four messengers were despatched with letters to Her
Majesty the Queen of England, His Majesty the Sultan of Turkey, and His
Highness the Khedive. These envoys were permitted to come to Cairo, and
to personally deliver their letters; but when they were opened, perused,
and found only to contain a summons from the Khalifa to adopt Mahdiism,
and submit to him, or the recipients would suffer the same fate as
Gordon and Hicks, the messengers were at once sent back without any
reply being given to them, and this was considered by Abdullah to be the
greatest insult that could have been offered to him.

The Dervish advanced-guards continued to creep on towards the Egyptian
Frontier, whilst Hassan Khalifa, the nephew of the former Mudir of
Berber, occupied the desert wells, and made several incursions on the
river to the north and south of Korosko. Mounted on dromedaries, these
bold raiders made sudden descents on defenceless villages, carried off
quantities of booty, and then