repeatedly given orders to Nur Gereifawi to that
effect. This was a fact, but--as it frequently happens--Yakub had taken
it upon himself to give counter-orders; the blame was, of course, laid
on Gereifawi, who was ordered to at once issue 600 dollars to the
widows, half in clothes and half in cash, and so these noble ladies were
for the time being satisfied.

About a month after the meeting I have just described the smouldering
fire broke out with renewed vigour. About two days before the actual
climax, I was told in the greatest secrecy by a friend, that in a few
days a rupture must occur, that Khalifas Sherif and Ali Wad Helu, as
well as the principal Aulad-belad emirs, had solemnly sworn on the Kuran
either to overturn Khalifa Abdullah, or die in the attempt. I could
scarcely credit this news, for Sherif was a young and inexperienced man,
and had hitherto given no proof of any special ability which would
induce the confidence of others; he appeared to me as a man utterly
absorbed in a life of sensual pleasure. But the following day my friend
again told me that his first information was quite correct; however, I
persisted in saying that I would not believe it till I saw it. So well
had the secret been kept, that the Aulad-belad merchants were
unconcernedly taking their goods away from the market as usual, and the
Khalifa and his household knew nothing of it, for one of my friends, who
lived close to the palace, declared to me that the whole matter was pure
invention.

On Tuesday, the 24th of November, 1891, a rumour suddenly spread through
the town that Sherif had decided to resist. The market was at once
closed, and people went to their homes as quickly as possible. The whole
place was in a state of alarm and excitement. Baggaras seized the
opportunity to plunder and rob, and I could not learn the actual
circumstances which led to the outbreak, as all that day I remained in
my hut, and the following day I made my escape.

Some said that the people had risen because the Khalifa intended to
execute Zogal; others, that Abdullah had secretly intended to proclaim
his son as his successor, but that Sherif had violently opposed the
idea. Possibly it may have been that the Khalifa--on the principle of
weakening the power of the Aulad-belad--had ordered that an expedition
of 3,000 of them, under the command of Wad el Ireik, should proceed to
Kassala to fight against the Italians; besides, Abdullah had the
intention of sen