ve been
killed, had not a faithful servant of mine, a black, taken the
opportunity, when the Dervishes rushed into the trenches and opened
fire upon you, to cut my ropes.

"I have no doubt, sir," he went on, as he saw the officer look somewhat
doubtful, "that General Hunter is here. I am known personally to him,
and served for a time on his staff."

"That is quite sufficient," the officer said, more cordially. "I
congratulate you on your escape. I confess it astonished us all, when a
strange white officer, whom none of us knew, suddenly joined us. You
will find General Hunter somewhere over on the left. He is certain to
have led the charge of the Soudanese."

"Thank you! I will go and find him; but first, I must return to where I
left my man. He had, of course, the Mahdist's patch on his clothes; and
I told him to lie still, as if dead, till I came for him; as, in the
melee, it would have been impossible for me to have protected him."

Gregory found Zaki still lying where he left him, head downward and
arms thrown forward; in so good an imitation of death that he feared,
for a moment, the lad had been shot after he left him. At the sound of
his master's voice, however, the native sprang to his feet.

"You have saved my life, Zaki," Gregory said, taking his hand. "I must
have fallen--every man tied to a tree is, as you see, dead; but before
we say anything else, cut that patch off your clothes, or you might be
shot as a Dervish by the first man you come across.

"Keep close to me. I am going to General Hunter. At present, I know
none of the officers of the white regiments. When I get among the
Soudanese, I shall be more at home."

In ten minutes, he came to where General Hunter was speaking to the
Sirdar. Gregory stopped at a short distance, before the general's eyes
fell upon him, and he gave an exclamation of pleasure.

"That is Hilliard, General; the young fellow who jumped from one of the
gunboats, off Metemmeh, to rescue the woman. The act was unnoticed at
the time, but a black he had with him was released, and brought word
that his master was a prisoner in their camp."

"I heard of it, at the time," the Sirdar said, and motioned to Gregory
to come up. "I am glad to find that you have escaped the fate we feared
had befallen you, but your action was altogether wrong. An officer's
life is no longer his own, but belongs to the country he serves; and
you had no right whatever to risk it when on duty, even in a