That was the signal for an order to fire on the followers of the Mahdi.
In less than an hour every Egyptian soldier had been annihilated, and all their arms and ammunition fell into the hands of the Arabs, together with the steamer which had brought them down the Nile from Khartoum.
The first blood had been shed, and the alleged Mahdi had been victorious.
The followers of Mohammed went on board the steamer, and sailed down the Nile in the direction of Kordofan.
Long before Kordofan was reached, the people flocked to the standard of the Mahdi, and Mohammed Ahmed was welcomed as the long-promised leader who was to triumph over the Turks and drive them from the Soudan and Egypt.
The Mahdi would raise the crescent above the cross, and the whole world should be subjugated to the faith of Mahomet.
Such was the rise of that wonderful man, and still more remarkable enthusiasm, which caused the plains of the Soudan to be dyed crimson with the blood of Egyptian and Turkish and English soldiers.
Rauf Pasha was alarmed at the enthusiasm of the people, and he sent to the governor of Fashoda stringent orders to crush the Mahdi and his followers.
The orders were welcome, for the governor loved fighting, and his people were fond of plunder.
He therefore gave orders for his soldiers to be in readiness for the march early on the following morning.