“Ah! You have seen him?”
“Yes: he rode in last night to see if all was well.”
“What! The Emir came here?”
“Yes, and praised thy servant for all that he had done. He gave him, too, other commands. That the Hakim and his people were to be protected at all costs, for they were friends; and that if there was danger from the wild and fierce dervishes who might attack the palace because it was not strongly enough guarded, the Hakim and his people were to be mounted upon camels and were to be taken away.”
“Where to?” said the doctor.
“To Khartoum, with the Emir’s wives and slaves.”
The officer returned to his duties, and soon after Ibrahim announced that he was making preparations, two score of camels being got in readiness for instant flight if the danger should come.
“Can we escape in the confusion?” said the professor.
“We will try, Excellency. I have, as you know, everything ready, and now I will go and learn all I can about the Egyptian army’s advance up the river, for there is no doubt about its being near. Whether sick or not I cannot say.”
“Sick or well, they will fight,” said Harry, with a warlike flash of the eyes.