ne so quickly in all my life; it
was like magic.

"There was a clever old soldier who was not to be done that way; when he
saw he could not get at his Arab, he slipped off his horse before you
could say `knife,' parried his spear-thrust, ran him through the body,
and was up again like a shot. But it was heart-breaking business
altogether; you should have seen the horses afterwards, cut about
awfully, poor things; and we lost heavily in men too. The Colonel has
had the dead Arabs' spears collected, and armed his regiment with them;
and if they get another chance, you will see much more satisfactory
business, I expect. But I must be off."

And off accordingly he went, his horse seeming pleased and proud to
carry and obey him. And on went the brigade also towards Tokar.

Oracle number two proved the correct one; the enemy made no stand at the
place, but streamed away at their approach, while the inhabitants came
out to greet them with every demonstration of joy and gratitude.

Interpreters were few, and apt to be absorbed by senior officers, but it
was gathered afterwards that the Tokarites were denouncing the Mahdi as
a false prophet and heretic, whose soldiers had despoiled them of their
goods, and only spared their lives on condition of their believing in
him, and this condition they had thought it best to pretend to comply
with, though their consciences rebuked them sorely for the pretended
apostacy.

But though our friends of the First Blankshire could not understand all
this, whatever officers of other corps may have done, the pantomime of
the men, women, and children was unmistakable, and was only intended to
express the most enthusiastic delight.

"I shall never make it out," said Green. "Have we relieved the place
after all, then?"

"Cannot say; we shall find out, perhaps in general orders."

"Catch a newspaper correspondent; he will tell you all about it."

"At any rate, the gratitude of the poor people is quite touching."

"Not quite, thank goodness!" cried Fitzgerald; "at any rate so far as I
am concerned; though a horrid old woman who cannot have washed for
years, and who tainted the air with the rancid fat in her hair for yards
round, tried to kiss me. But I dodged round the major's horse, and left
her to him. In my humble opinion, we want the square formation quite as
much to meet our native friends as our enemies."

Major Elmfoot got away from his demonstrative female, and rode up to the