, confessed his crime,
and was then taken off to the parade-ground, where the Khalifa ordered
him to be beheaded. Ahmed el Talia was the executioner, but he made a
false stroke and only gashed the youth's shoulder, but with the second
blow the head was clean severed from the body.

Abdullah's jealousy and alarm for the safety of his kingdom now induced
him to turn his attention to Wad Adlan. As I have already narrated,
Adlan had rendered the Khalifa great services: he had put the beit el
mal in good order, had regulated the accounts on the old Government
system, and in order to increase the revenue without having recourse to
force, he had persuaded him to open trade with Egypt.

It had been the Khalifa's original idea to erect a sort of great wall of
China between Egypt and the Sudan, to prevent all ingress into his
newly-acquired dominions; but Adlan was a very tactful man, and by
degrees he induced the Khalifa to agree to his proposal. Ivory and gum
were declared to be the monopoly of the beit el mal. Ivory comes in
small quantities from Regaf and Lado, while gum, which is purchased by
the beit el mal for five dollars a hundredweight, is sold out by the
beit el mal to merchants for twenty dollars; the beit el mal will also
accept gum as payment in lieu of money. A lively trade soon sprang up
between Berber, Sawakin, Assuan, and Korosko; and Omdurman merchants
were allowed to come to Sawakin and purchase goods; the beit el mal made
considerable profits, and the people were less oppressed than before.

Thus did Adlan render a great service to the inhabitants of the Sudan,
and through his influence many of the cruel measures of the Khalifa were
altered. As long as he was in charge of the beit el mal he was very
popular with all, the capital was in good hands, the markets throve, and
even when the funds in the exchequer were low he had no difficulty in
raising loans from rich merchants on payment of bills of exchange.
Usually a loan of 5,000 to 6,000 dollars could be raised between fifteen
or twenty merchants with ease, because of the feeling of security which
Adlan's presence induced. The white people also owe him a deep debt of
gratitude, for he gave them continuous protection.

On one occasion, when it was rumoured that the Sudan was to be invaded
by Egypt, the Khalifa proposed separating all the whites and scattering
them amongst the Arabs in various parts of the country, but Adlan
impressed upon him the necessity