eight brave
sons. Now they have all gone before me. Four of them fell in the
assaults at El Obeid, two at Baria, and the last two have now been
killed. I shall meet them all again, in the abode of the blessed; and
the sooner the better, for I have no one left to care for.'

"Others had tales of the loss of relations and friends, but I did not
wait to listen further. Taking up a large water gourd, that stood empty
at the foot of one of the trees, I boldly walked to the well, descended
the rough steps at the water's edge, and drank till I could drink no
longer; and then, filling the gourd, went up again.

"No one noticed me. Had they looked at me they would have seen, even in
the darkness, the great patches down the front of the robe; but I don't
think anyone did notice me. Other figures were moving about, from group
to group, and I kept on through the grove, until beyond the trees. I
came out on the side opposite to that which I had entered, and, as I
expected, found some of the Dervish horses grazing among the bushes.

"No guard was placed over them, as they were too well trained to wander
far. I went out to them and chose the poorest, which happened to be
farther among the bushes than the others. I had thought the matter well
over. If a good horse were taken, there would be furious pursuit, as
soon as it was missed; and this might be soon, for the Arabs are
passionately fond of their favourite horses--more so than they are of
their families. While I had been waiting at the edge of the wood, more
than one had come out to pat and fondle his horse, and give it a
handful of dates. But a poor animal would meet with no such attention,
and the fact that he was missing was not likely to be discovered till
daylight. Probably, no great search would be made for it. The others
would ride on, and its owner might spend some hours in looking about,
thinking it had strayed away, and was lying somewhere among the bushes.

"I had no thought of trying to return to Khartoum. The wells were far
apart, and Dervish bands were certain to be moving along the line. It
seemed to me that El Obeid was the safest place to go to. True, it was
in the hands of the Mahdists, but doubtless many wounded would be
making their way there. Some, doubtless, would have wives and children.
Others might have come from distant villages, but these would all make
for the town, as the only place where they could find food, water, and
shelter.

"Riding till mor