and most of those strong and
healthy men whose fortunes we have followed thus far.

Then came the bustle and excitement of preparation to go out and attack
the enemy, and in the midst of it all the air was full of conflicting
rumours--to the effect that Osman Digna was about to surrender
unconditionally; that he would attack the town in force; that he was
dead; or that he had been summoned to a conference by the Mahdi!

"You may rest assured," said Sergeant Hardy one day to his comrades, as
they were smoking their pipes after dinner, "that nobody knows anything
at all for certain about the rebel chief."

"I heard that a spy has just come in with the information that he has
determined not to wait for our attack, if we go out, but to attack us in
our zereba," said Miles. "He is evidently resolved not to commit the
same mistake he made last year of letting us attack _him_."

"He has pluck for anything," remarked Moses.

Osman proved, that same evening, that he had at least pluck enough to
send a pithy defiance to his foes, for an insulting letter was received
by General Graham, in which Osman, recounting the victories he had
gained over Hicks and Baker Pasha, boasted of his having destroyed their
armies, and dared the general to come out and fight him. To this the
British General replied, reminding Osman of our victories of El-Teb and
Tamai, and advising him to surrender unless he wanted a worse beating
than he had got before!

Mutual defiance having been thus comfortably hurled, the troops were at
once detailed for service in the field, and the very next day set forth.
As our hero did not, however, accompany that expedition, and as it
returned to Suakim without doing anything remarkable--except some
energetic and even heroic fighting, which is by no means remarkable in
British troops,--we will pass on to the expedition which was sent out
immediately after it, and in which Miles Milton not only took an active
part, but distinguished himself. With several of his comrades he also
entered on a new and somewhat unusual phase of a soldier's career.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

THE EXPEDITION--ENEMY REPORTED--MILES IN A DILEMMA.

Every one has heard of the expedition, sent out under Sir John McNeill,
in which that gallant general and his brave troops fought with
indomitable heroism, not only against courageous foes, but against
errors which, as a civilian, we will not presume to criticise, and
against local difficultie