“No!” replied the leader. “The Mahdi let the Dschalno, Berbers, and Dadschim tribes and thirty thousand of his best warriors commanded by Musa, the son of Helu, take the field against them. At Abu Klea a terrible battle was fought, in which God gave the victory to the unbelievers. Musa, the son of Helu, fell, and only a small remnant of his army returned to the Mahdi. The souls of the rest are in Paradise and their bodies lie in the sand, awaiting the day of resurrection. The news of this battle was soon spread along the banks of the Nile. Then we thought that the English would advance further south and release Khartum. The people cried ‘The end! The end!’ Meanwhile it pleased God to make other plans.”
“How? What has happened?” asked Idris, feverishly excited.
“What has happened?” continued the leader, his face beaming. “Meanwhile, the Mahdi took Khartum, and during the battle Gordon’s head was cut off, and as the English were only interested in Gordon, when they heard of his death they returned to the north again. Allah! We saw ship-loads of soldiers going up the river, but we did not know what that meant. The English naturally only spread good news; bad news they keep to themselves. Therefore some of our party said that the Mahdi had fallen. But in the end the truth came to light. It is a fact that this land where we are still belongs to the government. In Wadi Halfa, and as far south as the third and perhaps the fourth cataract, the Khedive’s soldiers may still be seen, but now that the English have retreated we firmly believe that the Mahdi will conquer not only Nubia and Egypt, Mecca and Medina, but the whole world. And instead of taking you prisoners and giving you over to the government, we are going to accompany you to the prophet.”
“So then orders have been given to capture us?”
“In every village, to all the sheiks, and at all military stations. To places that could not be reached by the copper wire along which the orders from Cairo were sent, policemen were ordered to make the announcement that whoever captured you would receive a reward of a thousand pounds. Maschallah! That is a large fortune! A large one!”
Idris looked suspiciously at the speaker.
“And you prefer the blessing of the Mahdi?”
“Yes, and besides, he has captured so much spoil and so much money in Khartum that he shovels out Egyptian pounds by the bagful and divides it among the faithful——”
“But if the Egyptian soldiers are still in Wadi Halfa, and further south, they may capture us on the road.”
“No! But we must be quick, before they get their bearings; for since the English have retreated they all have lost their senses, sheiks loyal to the government as well as the soldiers and police. Every one believes that the Mahdi will appear at any minute, and so those of us who are secretly his followers are fleeing to him; no one hinders us, for there is so much confusion that no one gives orders, and no one knows whom to obey.”