ritish, and the forces that had been beleaguering it had been
defeated, with heavy loss. Abyssinia had leagued itself against them.
The insurrection of the Jaalin had been crushed, but there were signs
of unrest in Kordofan, and other parts.

Of course, all this would be put right. An army of sixty thousand men
was at Omdurman; and this, with Mahmud's command, would suffice to
sweep away all their enemies. Their enthusiasm would never have
wavered, had they been called upon for action; but these months of
weary waiting, and of semi-starvation, without the acquisition of any
booty or plunder--for little, indeed, had been obtained at the capture
of Metemmeh--sapped their energy; and the force that crossed the Nile
for an advance upon Berber was far less formidable than it would have
been, had it been led forward against Merawi and Dongola directly after
the capture of Metemmeh. Still, it needed only the prospect of a battle
to restore its spirits.

A fortnight after Gregory's capture, the Dervish army was set in
motion. A few thousand men had already been sent forward, along the
banks of the river, to check any advance that might be made from Fort
Atbara. Had it not been for this, Gregory might have attempted to
escape. It would not have been very difficult for him to creep out at
the back of his little tent, unperceived by his guards; but the dangers
to be encountered in making his way to the British fort would have been
immense.

It would have been necessary for him to keep by the river, for from
this source alone could water be obtained. The country had been
stripped of its crops, of all kinds, by the Dervishes; the villages had
been razed to the ground; and the last head of maize, and other grain,
gleaned by the starving people who had taken refuge in the bush and
jungle.

Therefore, although by keeping near the river he could quench his
thirst at will, he would assuredly have to face starvation. Moreover,
he would have no chance of searching for any ears of corn which might
have escaped the eyes of the searchers, for he must travel only by
night and lie up by day, to avoid capture by one or other of the bands
that had gone on; in which case he would at once be killed, being
beyond the influence of Mahmud, and the protection of the harem.

On the other hand, he had nothing to complain of, except the monotony
and uncertainty of his position. Fatma kept him well supplied with
food; and, from the gossip of the slav