f the encampment."

"Thank you very much, sir! It would indeed be pleasant, and I was
beginning to feel that I was very useless here."

"You have not been useless at all, Mr. Hilliard. The Sirdar asked me
about you, and I was able to give him a very favourable report of your
readiness to be of service, for whatever work I have found for you to
do. I have told him that I had great doubts whether Ahmed Bey would
have pushed forward to this place, after he had lost the protection of
the gunboats, if you had not been with him."

Gregory at once went to the quarters of Colonel Wingate, and sent in
his name. In two or three minutes he was shown in. A naval officer was
in the room with the colonel.

"You have come at the right time, Mr. Hilliard. I was just speaking of
you to Captain Keppel. I suppose General Hunter has told you how I
proposed utilizing your services?"

"Yes, sir, he was good enough to tell me."

"You speak both Arabic and the Negro dialect perfectly, I am told?"

"I speak them very fluently, almost as well as English."

"Just at present, you could not be of much use to me, Mr. Hilliard. Of
course, I get all my intelligence from natives, and have no occasion to
send white officers out as scouts. Otherwise, from the very favourable
report that I have received from General Hunter, I should have been
glad to have you with me; but I have no doubt that you would prefer to
be in one of the gunboats. They are certain to have a more stirring
time of it, for the next few weeks, than we shall have here."

"I should like it greatly, sir, if Captain Keppel thinks I shall do."

"I have no doubt about that," the officer said, with a smile. "I shall
rate you as a first lieutenant and midshipman, all in one; and I may
say that I shall be very glad to have a white officer with me. There
are one or two spare cabins, aft, and you had better have your traps
moved in, at once. I may be starting tomorrow."

"Shall I take my servant with me, sir?"

"Yes, you may take him if you like. I suppose you have a horse?"

"Yes, sir, a horse and a camel; but I shall have no difficulty in
managing about them. Excuse my asking, sir, but I have a few stores.
Shall I bring them on board?"

"No, there is no occasion for that. You will mess with me. Thank
goodness, we left naval etiquette behind us when we came up the Nile,
and it is not imperative that I should dine in solitary state. Besides,
you have been on Hunter's staff, have