e him something to-night, doctor."

Morris bowed his head solemnly, as if he were playing Hakim still to his
friends, and Frank made an angry gesture.

"Look here," continued the professor; "you can ask old Ibrahim again if
you are in doubt. He'll tell you that it would have been impossible to
have got on at such a rate as we have come, and that the difficulties
over supplies would have been insurmountable at times. While here,
though we have often been scarce of water, we have never wanted once for
food."

"And how has it been obtained?" said Frank bitterly.

"I don't know--I don't want to know."

"You do know!" cried Frank angrily.

"I tell you I won't know!" said the professor, almost as shortly. "I
know that we have done nothing but good all the way--that we could not
have done it without food--and that it was given to us in payment for
what we have done. Be sensible, my lad. We did not let loose these
murderous human beasts who have made us prisoners, and whether we eat or
starve ourselves it will make no difference to their actions. Go on
eating, then? Why, of course we do. You talk as if it were our mission
as Christians when we came upon a wounded man to put him out of his
misery."

"No, no!" cried Frank.

"But you and Bob Morris seem to think so. You can't take one of his
bottles of hydrocyanic acid and pour it into one of the desert wells,
and then call the whole band up to drink, can you?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Landon!" said Frank angrily.

"Then don't you, my dear boy. Can't you see that this is all outside of
our plans?"

"Yes, of course," said the doctor.

"We never meant to be taken prisoners and to be forced to be chief
surgeon-physician to a band of murderous cut-throats."

"No," said Frank, "but we are."

"Granted; but is it our fault?"

"No," said the doctor firmly.

"Can we escape from them, Frank?"

There was no reply, and the professor repeated his question.

"I do not see how."

"Neither do I, and if I did I wouldn't try it now that we are so near
the brave old lad we came to save.--Oh, here's Ibrahim."

"Your Excellency wanted me?" said the Sheikh.

"Yes. How far do you think we are now from Omdurman?"

"As far as I can make out, Excellency, by asking some of the
camel-drivers, about four days' journey."

"Hah! That is getting near. But have you found out yet whether we are
really going there or farther on to Khartoum?"

"No, Excellency, and I have tr