We had neither eaten nor drunk since the preceding evening, with the
exception of some water that we had procured from a stream at the
extreme limit of the pursuit; where we had lost the enemy, who had
scattered in the forest.
With her usual forethought, my wife had ordered the cook to have
breakfast ready; and having washed hands and faces, we sat down to a
good curry of mutton, and excellent cafe-au-lait, the milk having been
obtained from the captured cows.
We had worked fairly that morning, having marched ten miles from Sharga,
then fought the rebels and run four miles in pursuit, and four miles on
our return, through an exceedingly rough country.
My old friends, Gimoro and Shooli, were delighted to see us again. The
native sheiks thronged round the entrance of our hut to congratulate us
on the defeat of the rebels; and messengers had been already sent off to
Rot Jarma and all the principal headmen of the country.
Wat-el-Mek was safe. I knew that most of the principal officers were
either killed or wounded; but I was anxious to be assured of the fate of
the arch-ruffian, Ali Hussein.
"Where is Ali Hussein?" I asked the natives.
"DEAD!" cried a number of voices.
"Are you certain?" I asked.
"We will bring you his head, for he is not far off," they replied; and
several men started immediately.
We were very hungry; and as curry is quickly eaten, we were not long at
breakfast; this was hardly concluded when some natives rushed to the
open door, and throwing something heavy on the floor of the hut, I saw
at my feet the bloody head of Ali Hussein!
There was no mistake in the person. The villainous expression was as
strongly marked upon the features in death as it had been in life.
The natives had appropriated his clothes, which they described as "a
long white robe and black trousers." Ali Hussein had been struck by two
bullets; one had broken his arm, and the other had passed through his
thigh. He was alive when the natives discovered him; but as he had been
the scourge of the country, he, of course, received no mercy from them.
CHAPTER XXIV.
NO MEDICAL MEN.
The death of the unfortunate Dr. Gedge, my chief medical officer at
Tewfikeeyah, added to the retirement of one of the Egyptian surgeons
from Gondokoro, had left me with so weak a medical staff that I had been
unable to take a doctor from head-quarters. I therefore was compelled to
perform all necessary operations myself, and to attend personally upon
the wounded men. In the late encounter, although I had not actually lost
a soldier, seven were badly wounded. One had a broken thigh, and the
bullet remained in the leg. Two had smashed ankle-joints, in one of
which the ball remained fixed among the bones. Some of the prisoners
were also wounded and one shortly died.
Wat-el-Mek's hand was much lacerated, in addition to the loss of the
middle finger.
I dressed all the wounds with a weak solution of carbolic acid. After
some trouble, I extracted the bullet from the broken thigh, and set the
bone. (This man was one of "The Forty"; and about two months after the
wound he was again on duty, and only slightly lame.)
Wat-el-Mek had two excellent English double-barrelled guns. That
destroyed by the "Dutchman" was a gun by Blissett of London, which had
been given to him by Captain Speke when he parted at Gondokoro: the
other was my own old gun, that I had given to Ibrahim when I travelled
with him during my first journey in Africa.
On the 3rd August I took evidence against Abou Saood. Mohammed
Wat-el-Mek, and a prisoner named Besheer, who was an officer in the same
company, both swore upon the Koran, that in firing at me "they had only
obeyed the orders of Abou Saood, who had instructed them to attack me
and the government troops should I attempt to interfere with their
proceedings."
Wat-el-Mek declared upon oath that he had always wished to serve me, but
he had been prevented by Abou Saood and others; and he had now been
rightly punished. This, he said, was "God's hand." He had been in
countless fights with natives during many years, and he was possessed of
powerful charms and spells, including numerous verses from the Koran
suspended from his arms: these had always protected him until the day
when he had raised his hand against the government. His charms had at
once failed him, and he had lost both his finger and the gun with which
he had fired at me.
My officers and soldiers really believed that I had purposely cut his
finger off, and smashed his gun by a rifle shot, to prove to him what I
could accomplish with a rifle; and thus to warn a man who would be
useful to me, instead of killing him.
Wat-el-Mek now offered to swear upon the Koran fidelity and allegiance
if I would pardon him; and he would at once prove his sincerity by
raising an irregular corps.
This man was a curious character; his superstitious nature had been
seized with the conviction that his present position was a special
visitation of divine wrath. He was a courageous fellow, and he knew the
country and the natives better than any man living. I had always wished
to engage his services, and I considered this an excellent opportunity.
The officers now begged me to forgive him. He was led away to a stream
of clear water, where he went through the process of washing with a cake
of soap, which was sorely needed.
