to the standard of a mess dinner at home, it was
by no means a bad one; consisting of soup, fish from the river, a joint
of beef at one end and of mutton at the other, curried kidneys, sweet
omelettes and cheese, whisky with water or soda to drink at dinner;
and, after the meal, four bottles of claret were placed on the table,
and cigars or pipes lit. Half an hour later four of the party sat down
to whist, and the rest, going outside the tent, sat or threw themselves
down on the sand, and smoked or chatted till it was time to turn in.

Gregory's first step, next morning, was to buy a horse. This he
purchased from some fugitives, who had come down from Kordofan. It was
a good animal, though in poor condition, and would soon pick up flesh,
when well attended and fed. To accustom himself to riding, Gregory went
out on it for a couple of hours every morning; getting up before
daybreak, so as to take exercise before the work of the day began. He
also followed the example of the officers of the Egyptian regiments,
and purchased a camel for the conveyance of his own baggage.

"You will find it a great advantage," one of them said to him. "Of
course, times may arrive when you will have to leave it behind; but, as
a rule, there is no trouble about it at all. You hire a native driver,
who costs practically nothing, and he keeps with the baggage. No one
asks any questions, and when you halt for a day or two, you have
comforts. Of course, with a British regiment you are cut down to the
last ounce, but with us it is altogether different. There being only
three or four white officers to each regiment, the few extra camels in
the train make no appreciable difference. Besides, these black fellows
consider it quite natural and proper that their white officers should
fare in a very different way from themselves; whereas a British Tommy
would be inclined to grumble if he saw his officers enjoying luxuries,
while he himself had to rough it."

As the horse only cost three pounds, and the camel only five, Gregory's
store of money was not seriously affected by the purchases. For both
animals, although in poor condition from their journey from Kordofan, a
fortnight's rest and good feeding did wonders.

Zaki had not much to do, but Gregory was well satisfied with the
selection he had made. He looked after and groomed the horse, saw that
the native with the camel took care of it, and went down regularly to
the river to water it every evening,