Howard had been a bit wild, perhaps, before he passed the College of Surgeons, and did not see any opening afterwards; he had no money or professional interest. So he had gone into the Turkish service, and, thinking himself ill-treated, had passed into that of the Khedive, and had lately volunteered to accompany Hicks Pasha’s expedition.
“I have made a regular hash of it, as usual,” he said; “for my great wish is to study gun-shot wounds, and for that purpose I should have taken service with the Mahdi; for almost all our fellows are hurt with spears or swords, while all their wounded are shot. But now tell me what extraordinary chance has brought you out here.”
Harry told his story, leaving out, however, all that part about his uncle, the Tipperary Sheikh, who was now in all probability in the ranks of the enemy Hicks Pasha’s force was about to attack.
When he had done, Howard said—
“I remember that fellow Daireh; he would have had a short shrift if we had caught him! It was unlucky, though, that he was found out before you came; he could not have done us much more harm, and the finding him here would have done you a great deal of good. By George! You are a nasty fellow to have for an enemy, Forsyth! What a sticker you are—a regular sleuth-hound. Fancy following your enemy to the very end of the world! Such a little innocent chap as I remember you, too. I don’t think I bullied you much, did I? By George, I should have thought twice about offending you if I had known what a Red Indian I had to deal with!”
“I did think you rather a beast sometimes,” said Harry, laughing; “and I took it out of the next generation, when I had a fag in my turn. But there is no revenge or vice in my present journey; it is simply to get my money. I had been a good bit of the way already on other people’s business, and that put me up to coming on my own. Do you remember Kavanagh?”
“Very slightly; he was a little fellow—Brown’s fag.”
“He is not a little fellow now!” said Harry, laughing. “I should say he would weigh down the pair of us.”
“And you can talk the lingo!” said Howard, admiringly. “It is very few words that I have been able to pick up. But what are you going to do now?”
“That is just what I was wondering when that row took place, and sent all my ideas and reflections spinning. I must sleep on it.”