dark the first part of the night, as the moon did not rise
till late, but there was quite enough light to enable them to proceed
with caution, though not enough to prevent their taking an occasional
bush or stump for an advancing foe. All went well, however, until dawn
the following morning, when they began to look about for a suitable
clump of bushes, in which to conceal themselves. No such spot could
they find.

"Never mind, lads," said the inexhaustible Molloy, "we'll just go on
till we find a place. We're pretty tough just now, that's one comfort."

They were indeed so tough that they went the whole of that day, with
only one or two brief halts to feed. Towards evening, however, they
began to feel wearied, and, with one consent, determined to encamp on a
slight eminence a short way in advance, the sides of which were covered
with low scrub.

As they approached the spot an unpleasant odour reached them. It became
worse as they advanced. At last, on arriving, they found to their
surprise and horror that the spot had been a recent battle-field, and
was strewn with corpses and broken weapons. Some days must have elapsed
since the fight which strewed them there, for the bodies had been all
stripped, and many of them were partially buried, while others had been
hauled half out of their graves by those scavengers of the desert,
hyenas and vultures.

"Impossible to halt here," said Armstrong. "I never witness a sight
like this that it does not force on me the madness of warfare! What
territorial gain can make up for these lost lives--the flower of the
manhood of both parties?"

"But what are we to do?" objected Molloy. "Men must defend their
rights!"

"Not necessarily so," said Stevenson. "Men have to learn to bear and
forbear."

"I have learned to take advantage of what luck throws in my way," said
Rattling Bill, picking up a rifle which must have escaped the
observation of the plunderers who had followed the army.

The body of the poor fellow who had owned it was found concealed under a
bush not far off. He was an English soldier, and a very brief
inspection showed that the battle had been fought by a party of British
and Egyptian troops against the Soudanese.

It seemed as if the plunderers had on this occasion been scared from
their horrible work before completing it, for after a careful search
they found rifles with bayonets, and pouches full of ammunition, more
than sufficient to arm the whole