On making an examination of
the premises, we found a dirty shirt that the thief had in his hurry
left behind him; this was evidently intended to receive the spoil in
lieu of a bag. I could not find the trace of a bullet-mark either upon
the planks or upon the Venetian blinds, therefore, I considered that the
thief must have been hit, or if missed, the ball must have passed out as
he pushed the blinds aside when in the act of springing through.
I suspected the sentry, who was an Egyptian belonging to the "Forty
Thieves." He was stripped and examined, but there was no wound. All the
shirts were alike, therefore the shirt in my possession was no clue. My
wife had been startled, but she quickly recovered herself; the sentry
was flogged, and there the matter ended; we had no London detectives.
CHAPTER VI.
THE START.
December 11. - The first division of the fleet, composed of eight
vessels, had started, according to my previous arrangement, on 1st inst.
Every third or fourth day another division followed the advance, until
on the 11th I brought up the rear, and completed the departure with
twenty-six vessels, including the No. 10 steamer and my diahbeeah. The
wind was fair from the north.
The extensive and neat station of Tewfikeeyah was completely dismantled.
The iron magazines and their contents were now safely stowed in the
various ships, and were already on their voyage towards Gondokoro. The
horses were shipped and the stables had been pulled down, and the wood
cut up for fuel. The long rows of white tents had vanished, and little
remained of the station except a few rows of deserted huts. It seemed
extraordinary that so large a place could be packed up and stowed away
among the fifty-nine vessels of the fleet.
The English shipwrights had constructed three very useful boats, each
exactly the same size, about 16 ft. x 5 ft.; thus we had a total of
seven small boats to assist in the explorations of the obstructed river.
I left the Shillook country at peace. Djiaffer Pacha had paid much
attention to the sons of Quat Kare at Khartoum, and the Khedive, in
reply to my representations, had appointed him chief of the country in
place of the pretender Jangy. The governor of Fashoda had been condemned
to disgrace. I left a handsome present for the old king Quat Kare, and
we departed excellent friends. The English party had been reduced by the
departure of Mr. Wood, Dr. Gedge, and two servants.
We had been deeply grieved by the sad news of the death of Dr. Gedge, at
Khartoum, a few days before we broke up the station of Tewfikeeyah.
