compact in a bottle of wine, which our good friend the Khojur
greatly enjoyed.

We lived in this state of uncertainty and fear for upwards of five
months, not knowing what the next day would bring forth; we were
entirely cut off from the rest of the world, and our peaceful work and
occupations were all disturbed. We now no longer dared to expose
ourselves on the plains, but confined ourselves to the hills, where we
sometimes hunted the koodoo. On one occasion, when we went to the Dogman
mountain, our suspicions were aroused by the way in which the people
gathered round us, and showed a curious desire to examine our arms. As
we were returning, the former sheikh of this district--a man named
Isa--warned us not to come to the mountain again, as some of the men
intended to kill us, and would have done so had they not been afraid of
our arms. Roversi's rifle had a magazine for sixteen cartridges.

Early in September our position became very critical. The Mahdi, having
quitted Gedir, had advanced into Kordofan; his adherents gathered round
him at Birket from all directions, and from here he despatched a certain
Mek Omar with letters and a small band of followers to take possession
of Delen. Mek Omar arrived, and encamped on the hill with his friend
Dogman, and planting his standard, he beat his war-drum incessantly, day
and night. He then sent us a letter saying that the Mahdi had captured
El Obeid, and that all the inhabitants had joined him, with the
exception of Mohammed Said Pasha and a few soldiers who still held out
in the Mudirieh buildings; at the same time Omar urged us to submit, as
resistance was useless. The fact that Omar, with only fifty men,
possibly less, had the audacity to pitch his camp under our very eyes,
rather induced us to believe in the truth of his assertions. Roversi,
however, determined to attack him, but was dissuaded from doing so by
the captain.

We then held a council to consider what would be the best course to
follow. After much deliberation (which is always the case in dealing
with Arabs) it was unanimously decided to attempt a flight to Fashoda.
The Nubas also, who offered us their services as guides, advised us to
take this course. It is very probable we should have succeeded in this
attempt, as almost all the Arabs who wanted to fight had followed the
Mahdi to El Obeid, in anticipation of the booty which they thought would
so soon be theirs.

The route to Fashoda lay far to the south