"It is not difficult. There are many signs of the passage of caravans. There are skeletons of the camels of the English expedition; there are very many of them. It would not be difficult, even for one who has never passed them, to find the way."
"And there are wells?"
"There are wells at Howeyat and Abu Halfa, at Gakdul and Abu Klea, also at Gubat."
"That is to say, water will be found nearly every day?"
"Quite every day, to one on horseback. The longest distance is from Gakdul to Abu Klea, but that would not be too long for mounted men, and could even be done by a native on foot, in a long day's march."
"Do you know whether Mahmud's army is in Metemmeh, or outside the town?"
"From what I have heard, most of the Dervish force is on the hills behind the town. They say Metemmeh is full of dead, and that even the Dervishes do not care to live there."
"The Baggara are mostly mounted, are they not?"
"Most of them are so, though there are some on foot. The leaders of the tribesmen who fight for the Khalifa are all on horseback, but most of the army are on foot."
"You do not speak the Baggara language, I suppose?"