s had advanced to
Umdabieh, seven miles nearer; and, on the following morning, the
Dervish camp was disturbed early. There was joy in every face, and
renewed vigour in the bearing of the men. Scouting Dervishes had
brought in word that the infidels had marched, during the night, and
were now halting but a mile and a half away.

The hour had come, at last. They were confident in themselves, and
their trust in their leader was renewed. The fight, two days before,
had shown them that the guns of the white men were terrible on the
plain; and that it was, after all, wise to await them in the position
which had been made impregnable, and against which the foe would hurl
themselves in vain; then they were to pour out, and annihilate them.

The slave came to Gregory's tent, at daybreak.

"Fatma is praying to Allah for your safety," he said.

There was no time for more, for already the tents were being pulled
down, and soon the women were hurried away to the rear. Four men
surrounded Gregory, and led him to the edge of the camp, and there
fastened him to the stump of a tree that had been cut off six feet from
the ground, the upper portion being used in the construction of the
zareba. Ten or twelve men were similarly fastened, in a line with him.
These had been detected in trying to sneak away.

Gregory had not seen anything of the camp before and, as he was taken
along, he was astounded at the amount of work that had been done.
Everywhere the ground was pitted with deep holes, capable of sheltering
from fifteen to twenty men. The hedge was a high one, and was formed
for the most part of prickly bushes. The position was, indeed, a
formidable one; manned, as it was, by nearly twenty thousand desperate
fighters.

At six o'clock the first gun was fired; and, for an hour and a half,
the camp was swept with shell, shrapnel, and Maxim bullets. Most of the
Baggara were lying in the pits. Many, however, walked about calmly, as
if in contempt of the fire. More than half of the wretched men bound to
the trees were killed.

At last the fire of the guns slackened and, on the crest of the
position, in a semicircle round the wood, a long line of steadily
marching men appeared. The assault was about to begin.

The Dervishes sprang from their hiding places, and lined the trenches
behind the zareba. The troops halted, and waited. The Maxims moved in
front of the British brigade, and then opened fire. A bugle sounded,
and the whole line,