egretted attack on the white men was
made. When the white army came up, six months afterwards, they blew up
the house, and cut down all the palm trees in the village."

"I was with the force that came up from Merawi, last year. Will you
bring me the three men you speak of? I would question them, one by one.
Assure them that they need not be afraid of answering truthfully, even
if they themselves were concerned in the attack upon the white
officers, and the crew of the steamer, for no steps will be taken
against them. It is eighteen years since then; and, no doubt, their
houses were destroyed and their groves cut down, when the British
column came here and found the place deserted. I am ready to reward
them, if I obtain the information I require from them."

The three men were presently brought to the spot where Gregory had
seated himself, in the shade of one of the huts. Zaki stood beside him,
and the four armed men took post, a short distance away.

The first called up was a very old man. In reply to Gregory's
questions, he said:

"I was already old when the steamboat ran ashore. I took no hand in the
business; the white men had done me no harm, while the followers of the
Mahdi had killed many of my family and friends. I heard what was going
to be done, and I stayed in my house. I call upon Allah to witness that
what I say is true!"

"Do you know if any remains of that expedition are still in existence?"

"No, my lord. When the white troops came here, some months afterwards,
I fled, as all here did; but I know that, before they destroyed Wad
Gamr's house, they took away some boxes of papers that had been brought
ashore from the ship, and were still in the house. I know of nothing
else. The clothes of the men on board the steamboat were divided among
those who took part in the attack, but there was little booty."

Gregory knew that, at Wad Gamr's house, but few signs of the tragedy
had been found when General Brackenbury's troops entered. Bloodstained
visiting cards of Stewart's, a few scraps of paper, and a field glass
had, alone, been discovered, besides the boxes of papers.

The next man who came up said that he had been with the party who fell
upon the engineers and crew of the boat, by the riverside.

"I was ordered to kill them," he said. "Had I not done so, I should
have been killed, myself."

"Do you know whether any booty was hidden away, before the English
came?"

"No, my lord, there was no booty