sincerity.

In spite, however, of all these solemn oaths, I did not trust the man;
the fate of poor Colonel Stewart and his companions came into my mind,
and I remembered that they had been cruelly done to death by the
cowardly and treacherous Monasir; we therefore hurried forward our
camels with all possible speed, leaving Abu Hamed far away on our left.

The day broke as usual, and soon the sun was risen and burning more
fiercely than ever, but that did not trouble us. We were far too much
absorbed in the momentous event which had just occurred. Our track ran
through a perfectly flat plain, in which not a shrub or blade of grass
was to be seen. We passed the tracks of the captured slave-dealer and
the patrols, and that evening entered on the caravan road leading from
Abu Hamed to Korosko. The track ran through great bare hills and
solitary valleys; the wind had driven the sand almost to the tops of the
hills, and had filled up all the crevices with sand-drifts.

Once within the hills, our courage returned, for we knew we would be
able to defend ourselves; so we dismounted and ate our last mouthful of
biscuit, and now all we had was our water, which, by the way, we
jokingly remarked was somewhat dear, as it had cost us twenty dollars.

After a short rest we set off again, but both we and our camels were
utterly exhausted; my right arm ached from continually whipping up the
poor beast. Our Arab companions lightened the way with hundreds of
interesting anecdotes of their own deserts. They related how, when
Berber fell, an Arab and six Egyptian women had fled; but the man had
brought only a camel or two and very little water, so four of them had
died of thirst. They pointed out the spot which Rundle Bey had reached
when he reconnoitred Abu Hamed in 1885. The road was plainly marked out
by the bones of camels and donkeys, and, prior to the appearance of the
Mahdi, had been a much-used trade route.

Mohammed Ali Pasha had ridden along this road under the guidance of
Hussein Pasha Khalifa. Mohammed Ali had constantly expressed a desire to
halt, but his guide would not allow him to dismount, except at certain
places, saying, "I am commander here;" and to this Mohammed Ali had
willingly consented, for he well knew that a refusal to do as he was
told by the sheikh of the desert, in that awful wilderness, might have
been followed by very serious results.

Our approach to a haven of safety gave us courage to undergo most
te