uproariously, play tricks with each other, and
generally behave. These are all natives of the Soudan, and no small
proportion of them have been followers of the Mahdi, and have fought
against us, so they may be taken as typical of the men you are going
among. It is in all these little matters that you will have to be
careful.

"Now, I will not detain you longer. I suppose your horses are on
board?"

It had been arranged that Gregory should be taken down to Korti, in a
native craft that was carrying some stores required at that camp.

"Yes, sir. My boy put them on board, two hours ago."

"Here is the pass by which you can enter or leave the British lines, at
any time. The boat will be there before daylight, but the landing of
the stores will not, of course, take place until later. Show this pass
to the first officer who comes down. It contains an order for you to be
allowed to start on your journey, at once.

"This other pass is for your return. You had better, at your first
halt, sew it under one of your patches. It is, as you see, written on a
piece of linen, so that however closely you may be examined, there will
be no stiffness or crackling, as would be the case with paper.

"Now goodbye, Hilliard! It is a satisfaction to me that you have
undertaken this journey on your own initiative, and on your own
request. I believe that you have a fair chance of carrying it
through--more so than men with wider shoulders and bigger limbs would
have. If you come to grief, I shall blame myself for having accepted
your offer; but I shall at least know that I thought it over seriously,
and that, seeing the importance of the object in view, I did not feel
myself justified in refusing."

With a cordial shake of the hand, he said goodbye to Gregory. The
latter went off to his hut. He did not leave it until dusk, and then
went down to the boat, where Zaki had remained with the horses.

As soon as it started they lay down alongside some bales, on the deck
of the native craft, and were soon asleep. They did not wake until a
slight bump told them they were alongside the wharf, at Korti.

Day was just breaking, so no move was made until an hour later. An
officer came down, with the fatigue party, to unload the stores that
she had brought down. When the horses were ashore, Gregory handed the
pass to the officer, who was standing on the bank. He looked at it,
with some surprise.

"Going to do some scouting," he muttered, and then