being scrupulously respected
with one exception. The leader of the party considered that, as he was
an invalid, and therefore, for the time being, a non-combatant, he could
have no immediate use for a Remington rifle, or the cartridges belonging
to it, and these he therefore made free to borrow for an indefinite
period. It was a small fee for him to pay, after all, for his life.

The oasis they were taking him to was one not known to European
travellers, and indeed but few native merchants were aware of its
existence, for it was out of the usual caravan routes to El Obeid, from
which place it was not more than two hours' journey distant. It was a
little patch of fertility in the midst of a plain of undulating sand,
and appeared a hundred-fold more luxuriant from the contrast. There was
actual herbage on which some goats were feeding; a small patch was even
under cultivation, and corn grown there. Fine acacias lent a grateful
shade, but not equal to that afforded by a splendid fig-tree which
overhung a deep cool well.

The oasis received its name from its having long been the residence of a
fakir who was accounted a sort of prophet, and commanded great
reverence. His successor, Abdul Achmet, who now lived there, was also
in high esteem among the followers of the Mahdi, to whose cause he had
given his adherence.

There were three houses, all inhabited by priests or dervishes, of whom
Abdul was the chief, and a small mosque, all built of sun-dried bricks,
which, retaining the look of clay, are habitually termed by European
travellers _mud_. But this gives rather a false impression, as a mud
hut properly consists of wattles with mud plastered all over them, which
is a different thing from one regularly built, though the bricks are
sun-dried instead of being baked in a kiln. What is the use of having a
tropical sun if you do not make it do some fire-work for you beyond
nearly roasting you to death?

Abdul Achmet received the party, several of whom he knew, under the
shade of his fig-tree. Harry Forsyth was carefully handed down from the
camel and laid before the dervish, and the signet-ring was shown to him.
Whereupon he said that it was quite right to bring him on to him, and
that he would take care of him; and he had him carried into his house
and attended to.

The travellers watered themselves and their camels, and were then
treated to dates, pipes, and coffee. They rested thus in the oasis, and
benefited,