Reouf.

"I am," replied Daireh. "I returned from the land of exile to visit my
home, hoping to share my hard-earned gains with my own people, when what
did I find? Ruins in the place of my home, my family dispersed, my
father slain by the English."

"Not so," said Hassib. "I heard of the misfortune; but it was by the
hand of Arabi's soldiers that he fell; not that of the English. Arabi's
soldiers, or plunderers who called themselves such. The English sailors
caught them red-handed, and hung them up for it then and there."

"May their graves be defiled, whoever they were," said Daireh. "I have
no friends now except at Berber."

Harry made out a good deal of this, and his heart bled for the Egyptian,
coming back as he thought to a home, to find nothing but desolation, and
to be driven out again from his native land. For there is nothing in
common between the Egyptian and the Nubian but religion. The former
race affects to despise the latter, and the latter really despises the
former. And with reason.

So when he rose to go back to his diabeheeh (Nile boat), he bade him
good-night in English, and expressed regret for the grievous
disappointment and sorrow he had experienced. And Daireh said of course
it was a great affliction, but he hoped to make a new home in the
Soudan. And so they parted, courteously enough.

The diabeheeh Daireh was travelling by had sustained some injury from a
sharp rock during the process of being hauled up the cataract, and the
crew were going to remain where they were for the purpose of repairs.
So when a sudden red flush burst on the eastern horizon, and spread and
deepened till it seemed as if a large city was on fire, and Hassib,
recognising this as the dawn, began kicking his lazy sailors into
wakefulness, the down-stream boat was the only one which made
preparations for a start.

By the time the anchor was up and the sails hoisted, however, there was
some movement on board the other diabeheeh, and parting greetings were
exchanged. Harry Forsyth, seeing the man who had excited his compassion
the night before on deck, waved his hand to him and shouted good-bye!
And the other returned the salutation. And the local pilot for the
second cataract took the helm, and the vessel entered the boiling
waters, and was whirled in apparent helplessness, though really guided
with great skill amidst innumerable rocks, any one of which would have
crushed her like an egg-shell.

And Harr