ts, and thus render the work of his getting his
force over slower and more difficult. An entrenchment had been thrown
up at the point where the Dervishes crossed, and this had been manned
by two hundred and fifty riflemen. The Zafir steamed up close to the
bank and opened fire with her Maxims. Another gunboat sank one large
craft and captured two others, and the troops landed and, covered by
the fire of the guns, captured a fourth which had grounded in shallow
water.

A smaller boat was halfway across the river when the gunboats arrived.
It was seen that there were several women on board, and as the capture
would have been of no value, no regard was paid to it. As it would have
been as dangerous to return as to keep on, the boatmen plied their
hardest to get across, but the stream carried them down near the Zafir.
The boat was quite unnoticed, all eyes being intent upon the shore. She
was passing about thirty yards astern of the gunboat, when a badly
aimed shell from a Dervish battery struck her, and she sank almost
instantly.

Gregory, who was superintending the working of the Maxim nearest the
stern, looked round at the sound of the explosion. Several of the
occupants had evidently been killed, but two or three of the boatmen
started to swim to shore. Only two of the women came to the surface,
struggling wildly and screaming for help. With scarcely a thought of
what he was doing, Gregory unclasped his sword belt, dropped his
pistol, and sprang overboard.

One of the women had sunk before he reached them, the other was on the
point of doing so, when he caught her by the arm. She at once clung to
him, and he had hard work to disengage her arm from his neck; then,
after turning her so that her face was above water, he looked round.
The gunboat was already a hundred yards away. Her wheel was revolving,
so as to keep her in her place facing the redoubt, and the stream was
driving him fast away from her.

Within ten yards of him was a black head, and a moment later Zaki was
beside him. He had been working at Gregory's Maxim, and had suddenly
missed his master. Looking round, he had seen him struggling with the
woman in the stream, and without hesitation had leapt overboard.

"I am sorry you came," Gregory said, "for it is only throwing away your
life. It is of no use shouting, for they could not hear us in that din;
and if they happened to catch sight of us, would take us for two of the
black boatmen. I see the stream