ially as
the windows were closed to keep out the dust. In spite of this,
however, it found its way in. It settled everywhere. Clothes and hair
became white with it. It worked its way down the neck, where the
perspiration changed it into mud. It covered the face, as if with a
cake of flour.

At first Gregory attempted to brush it off his clothes, as it settled
upon them, but he soon found that there was no advantage in this. So he
sat quietly in his corner and, like the rest, looked like a dirty white
statue. There were occasional stops, when they all got out, shook
themselves, and took a few mouthfuls of fresh air.

Gregory's plan, for keeping out the dust from the food, turned out a
great success; and the meals were eaten in the open air, during the
stoppages.

On arriving at Assouan, they all went to the transport department, to
get their passes for the journey up the Nile, as far as Wady Halfa. The
next step was to go down to the river for a swim and, by dint of
shaking and beating, to get rid of the accumulated dust.

Assouan was not a pleasant place to linger in and, as soon as they had
completed their purchases, Captain Ewart and Gregory climbed on to the
loaded railway train, and were carried by the short line to the spot
where, above the cataract, the steamer that was to carry them was
lying. She was to tow up a large barge, and two native craft. They took
their places in the steamer, with a number of other officers--some
newcomers from England, others men who had been down to Cairo, to
recruit. They belonged to all branches of the service, and included
half a dozen of the medical staff, three of the transport corps,
gunners, engineers, cavalry, and infantry. The barges were deep in the
water, with their cargoes of stores of all kinds, and rails and
sleepers for the railway, and the steamer was also deeply loaded.

The passage was a delightful one, to Gregory. Everything was new to
him. The cheery talk and jokes of the officers, the graver discussion
of the work before them, the calculations as to time and distance, the
stories told of what had taken place during the previous campaign, by
those who shared in it, were all so different from anything he had ever
before experienced, that the hours passed almost unnoticed. It was
glorious to think that, in whatever humble capacity, he was yet one of
the band who were on their way up to meet the hordes of the Khalifa, to
rescue the Soudan from the tyranny under