hr plainly began to fear and hate him to the
extent that they would have killed him with the captured rifle, were it
not that they desired to bring this extraordinary animal to Smain, and
were it not also that they had already passed Assuan.

They had passed Assuan! Stas thought of this continually, and doubt
that the pursuit would ever overtake them stole gradually into his
soul. He knew, indeed, that not only Egypt proper, which ends at Wadi
Haifa, that is, at the Second Cataract, but the whole of Nubia was up
to that time in the hands of the Egyptian Government, but he also
understood that beyond Assuan and particularly Wadi Haifa the pursuit
would be more difficult and the commands of the Government would be
executed carelessly. His only hope was that his father with Mr.
Rawlinson, after making arrangements for the pursuit from Fayum, would
go to Wadi Haifa by steamer, and there securing troops of the
camel-corps, would endeavor to intercept the caravan from the south.
The boy reasoned that if he were in their place he would do just this,
and for that reason he assumed that his supposition was very probable.

He did not, however, abandon the thought of a rescue on his own
account. The Sudanese wanted to have powder for the captured rifle and
with this object decided to disjoin a score of the rifle cartridges, so
he told them that he alone was able to do that, and that if any one of
them should undertake the task unskilfully, the cartridge would explode
in his fingers and tear off his hands. Idris, fearing English
inventions and unknown things generally, determined finally to entrust
the boy with this undertaking. Stas went at it willingly, hoping in the
first place that the powerful English powder at the first shot would
burst the old Arabian rifle to pieces, and, again, that he might be
able to hide a few cartridges. In fact, he succeeded more easily than
he expected. Apparently they watched him at the work, but the Arabs
began at once to talk among themselves and soon they were more occupied
with their conversation than with their supervision. Finally this
loquacity and inbred carelessness permitted Stas to conceal in his
bosom seven cartridges. Now all that was necessary was to secure the
rifle.

The boy judged that beyond Wadi Haifa, the Second Cataract, this would
not be a very difficult matter as he foresaw that as they drew nearer
to their destination the Arabs' vigilance would relax. The thought that
he w