of retaining them all under his own eye
in Omdurman, and thereby he rendered us an immense service; his main
idea was to lighten the Mahdiist yoke and relieve the oppression of the
people.

But this growing contentment gradually began to be displeasing to
Abdullah, whose main object was to reduce every one to poverty and to
enrich his own tribe, the Baggara; thus his and Adlan's views frequently
clashed, but Adlan was most prudent, and knew when to give way. What
displeased the Khalifa most was to see numbers of people assembling
every morning outside Adlan's door waiting for him to go to the beit el
mal, where they would lay their complaints before him.

The honour they paid and the praises they heaped upon him excited the
Khalifa's jealousy, and the latter frequently rebuked him sharply; but
he took no notice of these outbursts, and in a fit of anger he was, on
one occasion, thrown into chains for fourteen days. On his release Adlan
now thought that the Khalifa could not get on without him, and began to
show less submission to his master's will than before. This still
further widened the breach between him and Abdullah, which was made
worse by Adlan's many enemies, who envied him his high position.

The Khalifa's brother Yakub was his most dangerous rival, as Adlan's
popularity had rather detracted from his authority. He and others
represented him to the Khalifa as a dangerous man, who might at any
moment bring his influence to bear in direct opposition to the Khalifa.
It is therefore not to be wondered at that Abdullah grew suspicious, and
one day, when Adlan was presenting his daily report, the Khalifa took
occasion to tell him that he was far from pleased with him, and blamed
him for his delay in sending corn to the starving Dervishes in Dongola.
Adlan answered: "What can I do? The people won't have Mahdiism any
longer, and that is why I meet with so much opposition." Some say that
he even said much more than this; but the Khalifa was not accustomed to
be talked to in this way, so he ordered Adlan to give up his sword, and
the same night he sent him to prison. This gave his rivals ample
occasion to speak against him, and Yakub insisted that he should suffer
death.

Adlan was very heavily chained, and forbidden all intercourse with the
outside world. His arrest did not at first create much excitement, but
this was due to the many false reports which were circulated regarding
the cause. On the following day it wa