is taking us nearer to the bank."

Zaki had taken hold of the woman while he was speaking.

"We might swim a long way down, master, if we let go of her."

"I won't do that, Zaki. I know now that I was a fool to jump overboard;
but now that I have done so, I will save her life. Besides, I could not
swim very far even without her. I am feeling the weight of my boots and
clothes.

"Will you swim with us till I can touch the ground, and then leave us?
Strike right into the river again--I know that you are a good
swimmer--and drop down the stream until you reach one of the islands,
and then you can land and hail the gunboats as they come down. Tell
Captain Keppel why I jumped over."

"I am not going to leave you, master. No doubt the Dervishes will shoot
me, but my life is of no consequence, and I shall be glad to die by the
side of so good a master."

The woman, who had ceased to struggle when Gregory shook off her grasp,
was now conscious; as, with one of them supporting her on each side,
her head was above water.

"They will not kill you," she said. "You have saved me, and they will
be grateful."

Gregory had no faith whatever in Dervish gratitude.

"Well, Zaki," he said, "if you will not leave us, we will strike at
once for the shore. The gunboats are nearly half a mile away now. There
is just a chance that we may not have been noticed by the Dervishes,
and may be able to hide in the bushes till the gunboats return. When
they see me, they will at once send a boat ashore, under cover of their
fire, and take us off."

"There is a good chance of that, master," Zaki said cheerfully, "and
the Dervishes are busy up there fighting, and will not think much of a
little boat."

Three or four minutes later they were in shallow water. As soon as they
landed, Gregory threw himself down, utterly exhausted; and the woman
sank down beside him, but not before hastily rearranging her veil. In a
couple of minutes, Gregory roused himself.

"I can climb the bank, now," he said, "and the sooner we are hidden
among the bushes, the better."

But as he spoke he heard the sound of galloping horsemen, and almost
immediately an Emir, on a magnificent animal, followed by a dozen
Dervishes, dashed up.

"Mahmud!" the woman cried, as she rose to her feet; "it is I, Fatma!"

Mahmud gave a cry of joy, and waved his hand to his followers, who had
already pointed their rifles at Gregory.

"These have saved me, my lord," the woman went