again by
to-morrow night."

The Colonel could not follow it all, but he understood enough to set a
little spring of hope bubbling in his heart. The last terrible day had
left its mark in his livid face and his hair, which was turning rapidly
to grey. He might have been the father of the spruce well-preserved
soldier who had paced with straight back and military stride up and down
the saloon deck of the Korosko.

"That is excellent," said he. "But what are we to do about the three
ladies?" The black soldier shrugged his shoulders. "Mefeesh!" said he.
"One of them is old, and in any case there are plenty more women if we
get back to Egypt. These will not come to any hurt, but they will be
placed in the harem of the Khalifa."

"What you say is nonsense," said the Colonel sternly. "We shall take
our women with us, or we shall not go at all."

"I think it is rather you who talk the thing without sense," the black
man answered angrily. "How can you ask my companions and me to do that
which must end in failure? For years we have waited for such a chance
as this, and now that it has come, you wish us to throw it away owing to
this foolishness about the women."

"What have we promised you if we come back to Egypt?" asked Cochrane.

"Two hundred Egyptian pounds and promotion in the army--all upon the
word of an Englishman."

"Very good. Then you shall have three hundred each if you can make some
new plan by which you can take the women with you."

Tippy Tilly scratched his woolly head in his perplexity.

"We might, indeed, upon some excuse, bring three more of the faster
camels round to this place. Indeed, there are three very good camels
among those which are near the cooking fire. But how are we to get the
women upon them?--and if we had them upon them, we know very well that
they would fall off when they began to gallop. I fear that you men will
fall off, for it is no easy matter to remain upon a galloping camel; but
as to the women, it is impossible. No, we shall leave the women, and if
you will not leave the women, then we shall leave all of you and start
by ourselves."

"Very good! Go!" said the Colonel abruptly, and settled down as if to
sleep once more. He knew that with Orientals it is the silent man who
is most likely to have his way.

The negro turned and crept away for some little distance, where he was
met by one of his fellaheen comrades, Mehemet Ali, who had charge of the
camels. The