"'My journey is well-nigh ended,' he said. 'I had hoped to reach El Obeid, but I know that I shall not arrive at the well, which lies three miles away. I have already fallen three times; the next will be the last. Would that the bullet of the infidel had slain me on the spot!'
"The poor fellow spoke with difficulty, so parched were his lips and swollen his tongue. I went to the bush where I had left the gourd half-full of water. The man was still standing where I had left him, but when he saw the gourd in my hand he gave a little cry and tottered feebly towards me.
"' Let my friend drink,' I said. I held the gourd to his lips. 'Sip a little first,' I said; 'you can drink your fill afterwards.'
" 'Allah has sent you to save me,' he said; and after two or three gulps of water he drew back his head.Now I can rest till the sun has set, and then go forward as far as the well, and die there.'
'"Let me see your wound,' I said, 'it may be that I can relieve the pain a little.'
" He had been shot through the body, and it was a marvel to me how he could have walked so far; but the Arabs, like other wild creatures, have a wonderful tenacity of life. I aided him to the shelter of the thick bush, then I let him have
"TAKING THE BRIDLE I LED THE HORSE TOWARDS THE WELL'
another and longer drink, and bathed his wound with water. Tearing off a strip from the bottom of his robe, I bound it round him, soaking it with water over the wound. He had been suffering more from thirst than from pain, and he seemed stronger already. 'Now,' I said, 'you had better sleep.'
"' I have not slept since the last battle,' he said.I started as soon as it was dark enough for me to get up without being seen by the Turks. I have been walking ever since, and dared not lie down. At first I hoped that I might get to the town where my wife lived, and die in my own house. But that hope left me as I grew weaker and weaker, and I have only prayed for strength enough to reach the well, to drink, and to die there.'
"Sleep now,' I said.Be sure that I will not leave you. Is it not our duty to help one another? When the heat is over we may go on. I have a horse here which you shall ride. How far is it from the well to El Obeid?'
" It is four hours' journey on foot.'
" Good! Then you shall see your wife before morning. We will stop at the well to give my horse a good drink, and then, if you feel well enough to go on, we will not wait above an hour.'
" 'May Allah bless you!' the man said, and he then closed his eyes and at once went to sleep. I lay down beside him, but not to sleep. I was overjoyed with my good fortune. Now I could enter El Obeid boldly, and the wounded man being a native there, no questions would be asked me. I had a house to go to and shelter for the present. As to what might happen afterwards I did not care to think. Some way of escape would surely occur in time. Once my position as a Mahdist was fully established, I should be able to join any party going towards Khartoum, and should avoid all questioning; whereas if I were to journey alone I should be asked by every band I met where I came from, and might at any moment be detected if there happened to be any from the village I should name as my abode. It was all-important that this poor fellow should live until at least I had been with him two days in the town.
"From time to time I dipped a piece of rag in the gourd, squeezed a few drops of water between his lips, and then laid it on his forehead. When the sun began to get low I went out and caught the horse. As I came up the Dervish opened his eyes. 'I am better,' he said. 'You have restored me to life. My head is cool, and my lips no longer parched.'
"Now,' I said,I will lift you into the saddle. You had better ride with both legs on the same side, it will be better for your wound. There is a mound of earth a few yards away; if you will stand up on that I can lift you into the saddle easily. Now put your arms round my neck and I will lift you in the standing position; if you try to get up yourself your wound might easily break out again.'
"I managed better than I had expected, and, taking the bridle, led the horse towards the well.
"You must tell me the way,' I said,for I am a stranger in this part, having come from the Blue Nile.'
"'I know it perfectly,' he said, 'having been born in El Obeid. I fought against the Mahdists till we were starved out, and then as we all saw that the power of the Mahdi was great, and that Allah was with him, we did not hesitate to accept his terms and to put on his badges.'
"In less than an hour we saw the trees that marked the position of the well, and in another half-hour reached it. At least a score of wounded men were there, many of them so sorely hurt that they would get no farther. They paid little attention to us. One of them was known to Saleh—for the wounded man told me that that was his name—he also was from El Obeid. He was suffering from a terrible cut in the shoulder which had almost severed the arm. He told my man that it was given by one of the infidel officers before he fell. I thought it was as well to have two friends instead of one, and did what I could to bind his wound tip and fasten his arm firmly to his side. Then I said to him,My horse, after ihree hours' rest, will be able to carry you both. You can sit behind Saleh and hold him on with your unwounded arm.'
"' Truly, stranger, you are a merciful man and a good one. Wonderful is it that you should give up your horse to men who are strangers to you, and walk on foot yourself.'
"' Allah commands us to be compassionate to each other. What is a walk of a few miles? It is nothing, it is not worth speaking of. Say no more about it, I beseech you. I am a stranger in El Obeid, and you may be able to befriend me there.'
"Three hours later Abdullah, which was the name of the second man, mounted and assisted me to lift Saleh in front of him, and we set out for El Obeid. We got into the town at daybreak. There were few people about, and these paid no attention to us. Wounded men had been coming in in hundreds. Turning into the street where both the men lived, we went first to the house of Saleh, which was at the farther end, and was indeed quite in the outskirts of the place. It stood in a walled enclosure, and was of better appearance than I had expected. I went to the door and struck my hand against it. A voice within asked what was wanted, and I said, 'I bring home the master of the house; he is sorely wounded.'
" There was a loud cry, and the door opened and a woman ran out.
'"Do not touch him,' Abdullah exclaimed. 'We will get him down from the horse, but first bring out an angareb. We will lower him down on to that.'
" The woman went in and returned with an angareb. It was the usual Soudan bed, of wooden framework, with a hide lashed across it. I directed them how to lift one end against the horse so that Saleh could slide down on to it.
" 'Wife,' the Arab said when this was done, 'by the will of Allah, who sent this stranger to my aid, I have returned alive. His name is Mudil. I cannot tell you now what he has done for me. This house is his. He is more than guest, he is master. He has promised to remain with me till I die or am given back to life again. Do as he bids you in all things.'
"Abdullah would have assisted to carry the bed in, but I told him that it might hurt his arm, and I and the woman could do it. 'You had better go off at once to your own people, Abdullah. There must be many here who understand the treatment of wounds; you had better get one at once to attend to your arm.'
" 'I will come again this evening,' the man replied. 'I consider that I also owe my life to you; and when you have stayed a while here you must come to me. My wives and children will desire to thank you when I tell them how you brought me in here.'
" 'Is there any place where I can put my horse V I asked.