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They found that the calculation they had made as to distance was correct and, before daybreak, arrived on the bank of the Nile, and at once encamped in a grove. In the morning they could see the houses of Metemmeh, rising from the line of sandy soil, some five miles away. "There seems to be plenty of bush and cover, all along the bank, Zaki.
"There is no particular reason for hurry, and even if we miss the trail we know that, by keeping straight on, we shall strike the river somewhere near Korti or Ambukol." For an hour they went at a walk, and then the horses broke into their usual pace, of their own accord. It was getting dark, now, and soon even Zaki could not make out the track.
They had ridden but two or three miles, when Zaki exclaimed: "There are some horsemen!" "Eight of them, Zaki, and they are evidently riding to cut us off! As far as I can see, only four of them have guns; the others have spears. "I think we can manage them. With my breech-loader I can fire two shots to their one, and we have pistols, as well."
Returning to his hut, Gregory found that Zaki had already got his bed, and other things, from the store; and he was just about to boil the kettle. "I have breakfasted, Zaki. Here is a dollar. Go to one of those big shops, and buy anything you like, and have a good meal. Then you had better take the camels across to Azim's camp. I shall not want you then, till evening." No time was lost.
Gregory took a gourd, and buried it in the soft soil until the water flowed in over the brim. "Give me the other one down, Zaki. I will fill that, too, and then we will both start drinking together." Five minutes later, the two took a long draught. The scoops were then refilled and carried to the horses, who drank with an eagerness that showed how great was their thirst.
He waved his hand to them and wished them farewell, as they started, and his staff shouted their wishes for a safe journey. The black soldiers, seeing that, whoever these Dervishes might be, they were well known to the General and his officers, raised a cheer; to which Zaki, who had hitherto kept in the background, waved his rifle in reply.
One after another they either shook hands with him, or gave him a quiet pat on the shoulder, with the words "Take care of yourself, lad," or "A safe journey and a speedy return," or some other kind wish. Going to his hut, he was shaved by Zaki at the back of the neck, up to his ears; so that the white, closely-fitting cap would completely cover the hair.
This fringe of new arrivals extended along the whole semicircle of the camp; and as several small parties came up while Gregory wandered about, and he saw that no notice was taken of them by those already established, he thought that he could bring Zaki, and the horses up without any fear of close questioning.
Gregory, whose exertions in the fight, and the march through the scrub from Karkoj, had brought on a slight return of fever, went down in the gunboat, with the wounded, to Omdurman. Zaki was with him, but as a patient. He had been hit through the leg, while charging forward with the Soudanese. At Omdurman, Gregory fell into regular work again.
"Surely I will go with my lord," the native said. "No one has ever been so good to me as he has. If my lord is killed, I am ready to die with him. He may count on me to do anything that he requires, even to go with him into the Dervish camp. I might go as a slave, my lord." "That would not do, Zaki. I do not wish to travel as a person who could ride attended by a slave.
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