Chapter 22: The Crowning Victory.
It was eight weeks before he recovered, and even then the doctor saidthat he was not fit for any exertion. He learned that on the 22nd ofOctober, Colonel Lewis, with two companies of the camel corps and threesquadrons of Lancers, had started from Omdurman to visit the variousvillages between the White and Blue Niles; to restore order, andproclaim that the authority of the Khedive was established there. Onthe 7th of November, following the Blue Nile up, he reached Karkoj, buta short distance below the point at which the navigation of the riverceased. He had come in contact with a portion of Fadil's force, butnothing could be done, in the thick undergrowth in which the latter waslurking; and he therefore remained, waiting for the next move on thepart of the Dervish commander, while the gunboats patrolled the Blueriver up to Rosaires.
Six weeks passed. His force, and all the garrisons on the river,suffered severely from heat, thirty percent of the troops being downtogether. The cavalry had suffered particularly heavily. Of the fourhundred and sixty men, ten had died and four hundred and twenty werereported unfit for duty, a month after their arrival at Karkoj; whileof the thirty white officers on the Blue Nile, only two escaped anattack of fever.
At the end of the month, Colonel Lewis was joined by the Darfur Sheikand three hundred and fifty of his men. He had had many skirmishes withDervish parties, scouring the country for food, and his arrival wasvery welcome.
Gregory was recommended to take a river trip, to recover his health;and left on a steamer going up with stores, and some smallreinforcements, to Colonel Lewis. They arrived at Karkoj on the 14th ofDecember, and learned that the little garrison at Rosaires had beenattacked by the Dervishes.
The fifty fever-stricken men who formed the garrison would have had nochance of resisting the attack, but fortunately they had, that verymorning, been reinforced by two hundred men of the 10th Soudanese, andtwo Maxims; and the Dervishes were repulsed, with considerable loss.Two companies of the same battalion had reinforced Colonel Lewis, whomarched, on the day after receiving the news, to Rosaires. The gunboatwent up to that point, and remained there for some days.
Gregory went ashore, as soon as the boat arrived, and saw ColonelLewis, to whom he was well known.
"I am supposed to be on sick leave, sir; but I feel quite strong now,and shall be glad to join you, if you will have me."
"I can have no possible objection, Mr. Hilliard. I know that you didgood service with Colonel Parsons, and it is quite possible that weshall find ourselves in as tight a place as he was. So many of ourwhite officers have been sent down, with fever, that I am veryshort-handed, and shall be glad if you will temporarily serve as myassistant."
On the 20th, the news came that Fadil was crossing the river atDakhila, twenty miles farther to the south. He himself had crossed, andthe women and children had been taken over on a raft. On the 22nd, theDarfur Sheik was sent off up the west bank, to harass the Dervishes whohad already crossed. On the 24th two gunboats arrived, with two hundredmore men of the 10th Soudanese, and a small detachment of the 9th.
On the following day the little force started, at five in theafternoon; and, at eleven at night, halted at a little village. Atthree in the morning they again advanced, and at eight o'clock came incontact with the Dervish outposts. Colonel Lewis had already learnedthat, instead of half the Dervish force having crossed, only onedivision had done so, and that he had by far the greater part ofFadil's army opposed to him.
It was a serious matter to attack some four or five thousand men, withso small a force at his disposal; for he had but half the 10thSoudanese, a handful of the 9th, and two Maxim guns. As to the Darfurirregulars, no great reliance could be placed upon them.
As the force issued from the wood through which they had been marching,they saw the river in front of them. In its midst rose a large island,a mile and a quarter long, and more than three-quarters of a mile wide.There were clumps of sand hills upon it. They had learned that theintervening stream was rapid, but not deep; while that on the otherside of the island was very deep, with a precipitous bank.
It was upon this island that Fadil's force was established. Theposition was a strong one--the sand hills rose from an almost flatplain, a thousand yards away; and this would have to be crossed by theassailants, without any shelter whatever. The Dervishes were bound tofight their hardest, as there was no possibility of escape, ifdefeated.
At nine o'clock the Soudanese and irregulars lined the bank and openedfire, while the two Maxims came into action. The Dervishes repliedbriskly, and it was soon evident that, at so long a range, they couldnot be driven from their position. Several fords were found, and theirregulars, supported by a company of the 10th, crossed the river, andtook up a position two hundred yards in advance, to cover the passageof the rest. These crossed with some difficulty, for the water wasthree and a half feet deep, and the current very strong; and they were,moreover, exposed to the fire of Fadil's riflemen, from the high cliffon the opposite bank.
Colonel Lewis, determined to turn the left flank of the Dervishes, keptalong the river's edge until he reached the required position; thenwheeled the battalion into line, and advanced across the bare shingleagainst the sand hills. Major Ferguson, with one company, was detachedto attack a knoll on the right, held by two hundred Dervishes. Theremaining four companies, under Colonel Mason, kept straight on towardsthe main position.
A very heavy fire was concentrated upon them, not only from the sandhills, but from Fadil's riflemen. The Soudanese fell fast, but held on,increasing their pace to a run; until they reached the foot of thefirst sandhill, where they lay down in shelter to take breath. Aquarter of the force had already fallen, and their doctor, CaptainJennings, remained out in the open, binding up their wounds, althoughexposed to a continuous fire.
This halt was mistaken by the Dervishes, who thought that the courageof the Soudanese was exhausted; and Fadil, from the opposite bank,sounded the charge on drum and bugle; and the whole Dervish force, withbanners waving and exultant shouts, poured down to annihilate theirassailants.
But the Soudanese, led by Colonels Lewis and Mason, who wereaccompanied by Gregory, leapt to their feet, ran up the low bank behindwhich they were sheltering, and opened a terrible fire. The Dervisheswere already close at hand, and every shot told among them. Astonishedat so unlooked-for a reception, and doubtless remembering the heavyloss they had suffered at Gedareh, they speedily broke. Like dogsslipped from their leash, the black troops dashed on with triumphantshouts, driving the Dervishes from sandhill to sandhill, until thelatter reached the southern end of the island.
Here the Soudanese were joined by the irregulars who had first crossed,and a terrible fire was maintained, from the sand hills, upon thecrowded mass on the bare sand, cut off from all retreat by the deepriver. Some tried to swim across, to join their friends on the westbank. A few succeeded in doing so, among them the Emir who had givenbattle to Colonel Parsons' force, near Gedareh.
Many took refuge from the fire by standing in the river, up to theirnecks. Some four hundred succeeded in escaping, by a ford, to a smallisland lower down; but they found no cover there, and after sufferingheavily from the musketry fire, the survivors, three hundred strong,surrendered.
Major Ferguson's company, however, was still exposed to a heavy fire,turned upon them by the force on the other side of the river. Hehimself was severely wounded, and a third of his men hit. The Maximswere accordingly carried over the river to the island, and placed so asto command the west bank, which they soon cleared of the riflemen.
Over five hundred Arabs lay dead on the two islands. Two thousand onehundred and seventy-five fighting men surrendered, and several hundredwomen and children. Fadil, with the force that had escaped, crossed thedesert to Rung, on the White Nile, where on the 22nd of January theysurrendered to the English gunboats; their leader, with ten or twelveof his followers only, escaping to join the Khalifa.
Our casualties were heavy. Twenty-five non-commissioned officers andmen we
re killed; one British officer, six native officers, and onehundred and seventeen non-commissioned officers and men wounded of the10th Soudanese, out of a total strength of five hundred and eleven. Theremaining casualties were among the irregulars.
Never was there a better proof of the gallantry of the black regimentsof Egypt; for, including the commander and medical officer, there werebut five British officers, and two British sergeants, to direct andlead them.
After the battle of Rosaires, there was a lull in the fighting on theeast of the White Nile. The whole country had been cleared of theDervishes, and it was now time for the Sirdar, who had just returnedfrom England, to turn his attention to the Khalifa. The latter wasknown to be near El Obeid, where he had now collected a force, of whosestrength very different reports were received.
Gregory, whose exertions in the fight, and the march through the scrubfrom Karkoj, had brought on a slight return of fever, went down in thegunboat, with the wounded, to Omdurman. Zaki was with him, but as apatient. He had been hit through the leg, while charging forward withthe Soudanese. At Omdurman, Gregory fell into regular work again. Somany of the officers of the Egyptian battalions had fallen in battle,or were down with fever, that Colonel Wingate took him as hisassistant, and his time was now spent in listening to the stories oftribesmen; who, as soon as the Khalifa's force had passed, had broughtin very varying accounts of his strength. Then there were villagers whohad complaints to make of robbery, of ill usage--for this the Arabirregulars, who had been disbanded after the capture of Omdurman, werelargely responsible. Besides these, there were many petitions byfugitives, who had returned to find their houses occupied, and theirland seized by others.
Gregory was constantly sent off to investigate and decide in thesedisputes, and was sometimes away for a week at a time. Zaki hadrecovered rapidly and, as soon as he was able to rise, accompanied hismaster; who obtained valuable assistance from him as, while Gregory washearing the stories of witnesses, Zaki went quietly about the villages,talking to the old men and women, and frequently obtained evidence thatshowed that many of the witnesses were perjured; and so enabled hismaster to give decisions which astonished the people by their justness.
Indeed, the reports of the extraordinary manner in which he seemed ableto pick out truth from falsehood, and to decide in favour of therightful claimant, spread so rapidly from village to village, thatclaimants who came in to Colonel Wingate often requested, urgently,that the young Bimbashi should be sent out to investigate the matter.
"You seem to be attaining the position of a modern Solomon, Hilliard,"the Colonel said one day, with a smile. "How do you do it?"
Gregory laughed, and told him the manner in which he got at the truth.
"An excellent plan," he said, "and one which it would be well to adopt,generally, by sending men beforehand to a village. The only objectionis, that you could not rely much more upon the reports of your spiesthan on those of the villagers. The chances are that the claimant whocould bid highest would receive their support."
Matters were quiet until the Sirdar returned from England, anddetermined to make an attempt to capture the Khalifa, whose force wasreported not to exceed one thousand men. Two squadrons of Egyptiancavalry and a Soudanese brigade, two Maxims, two mule guns, and acompany of camel corps were placed under the command of ColonelKitchener. The great difficulty was the lack of water along the routeto be traversed. Camels were brought from the Atbara and the Blue Nile;and the whole were collected at Kawa, on the White Nile. They startedfrom that point, but the wells were found to be dry; and the force hadto retrace its steps, and to start afresh from Koli, some forty milesfarther up the river.
They endured great hardships, for everything was left behind save theclothes the men and officers stood in, and one hundred rounds ofammunition each; only one pint of water being allowed per head. Thecountry was a desert, covered with interlacing thorn bushes. An eightdays' march brought the force to a village which was considered sacred,as it contained the grave of the Khalifa's father, and the house wherethe Khalifa himself had been born.
Three days later they reached the abandoned camp of the Khalifa, a widetract that had been cleared of bush. A great multitude of dwellings,constructed of spear grass, stretched away for miles; and at the verylowest compilation it had contained twenty thousand people, of which itwas calculated that from eight thousand to ten thousand must have beenfighting men, ten times as many as had before been reported to be withthe Khalifa. A reconnaissance showed that a large army was waiting togive battle, on a hill which was of great strength, surrounded by deepravines and pools of water.
The position was an anxious one. The total force was about fourteenhundred strong, and a defeat would mean annihilation; while even avictory would scarcely secure the capture of the Khalifa; who, with hisprincipal emirs, Osman Digna, El Khatim the Sheik of El Obeid, theSheik Ed Din, and Fadil, would be able to gallop off if they saw thebattle going against them. Colonel Kitchener had the wisdom to decideagainst risking the destruction of his followers by an assault againstso great a force, posted in so strong a position. It was a deepmortification to him to have to retreat, and the soldiers were bitterlydisappointed; but their commander felt that, brave as the Egyptians andSoudanese had shown themselves, the odds against victory were toogreat. After a terrible march, and great sufferings from thirst andscanty food, the force reached Koli on the 5th of February, and wereconveyed in steamers down to Omdurman.
After this somewhat unfortunate affair, which naturally added to theprestige of the Khalifa, the months passed uneventfully; but, late inOctober, preparations were made for an attack upon a large scaleagainst the Khalifa's camp, and eight thousand men were concentrated atKarla, on the White Nile. It was known that the Khalifa was at Gedir,eighty miles away; but after proceeding half the distance, it was foundthat he had marched away, and the column returned, as pursuit through adensely-wooded country would have been impracticable.
The gunboats had gone up the river with a flying column, under ColonelLewis, to check any of the Khalifa's forces that attempted to establishthemselves on the banks. Mounted troops and transport were at onceconcentrated, and Colonel Wingate was sent up to take command. Theforce consisted of a brigade of infantry, under Colonel Lewis, with the9th and 13th Soudanese, an irregular Soudanese battalion, a company ofthe 2nd Egyptians, six companies of camel corps, a squadron of cavalry,a field battery, six Maxims, and detachments of medical and supplydepartments, with a camel transport train to carry rations and threedays' water--in all, three thousand seven hundred men.
On the afternoon of the 21st of November, the column moved forward and,favoured by a bright moonlight, made a march of fifteen miles; thecavalry scouting two miles in front, the flanks and rear being coveredby the camel corps. Native reports had brought in information thatFadil, who had been raiding the country, was now in the neighbourhood,on his way to rejoin the main Dervish army, which was lying near Gadi.
The cavalry pushed forward at dawn, and found that Fadil had retreated,leaving a quantity of grain behind. A sick Dervish who had remainedthere said that the Dervishes had moved to a point seven miles away.The cavalry, camel corps, and some of the guns advanced, and seized aposition within three hundred yards of the Dervish encampment, on whichthey immediately opened fire.
The rest of the guns were at once pushed forward, to reinforce them,and arrived in time to assist them in repulsing a fierce attack of theDervishes. Owing to the nature of the ground, these were able toapproach to within sixty yards of the guns, before coming under theirfire. They were then mowed down by the guns and Maxims, and themusketry fire of the camel corps; to which was added that of theinfantry brigade, when they arrived. This was too much even for Dervishvalour to withstand, and they fled back to their camp.
The British force then advanced. They met with but little oppositionand, as they entered the camp, they saw the enemy in full flight. Theinfantry followed them for a mile and a half, while the cavalry andcamel corps kept up the pursuit for five
miles.
Fadil's camp, containing a large amount of grain and other stores, fellinto the hands of the captors; with a number of prisoners, includingwomen and children, and animals. Four hundred Dervishes had fallen,great numbers had been wounded, while the British casualties amountedto a native officer of the camel corps dangerously wounded, one mankilled, and three wounded.
Gregory had accompanied Colonel Wingate, and acted as one of his staffofficers. He had, of course, brought his horse with him. It was anexcellent animal, and had been used by him in all his excursions fromOmdurman.
"That is rather a different affair from the fight on the Atbara, Zaki,"he said, when the force gathered in Fadil's camp, after the pursuit wasrelinquished; "the Dervishes fought just as bravely, but in one casethey had a strong position to defend, while today they took theoffensive. It makes all the difference."
"I am glad to have seen some fighting again, Master, for it has beendull work stopping ten months in Omdurman, with nothing to do but rideabout the country, and decide upon the villagers' quarrels."
"It has been useful work, Zaki, and I consider myself very fortunate inbeing so constantly employed. I was desperately afraid that ColonelWingate would leave me there, and I was greatly relieved when he toldme that I was to come with him. It is a fortunate thing that we havebeaten our old enemy, Fadil, here. In the first place because, if thethree or four thousand men he had with him had joined the Khalifa, itwould have given us harder work in tomorrow's fight; and in the nextplace his arrival, with his followers who have escaped, at theKhalifa's camp, is not likely to inspirit the Dervishes there."
Gregory was occupied, all the afternoon, in examining the prisoners.They affirmed that they had left the former camp, three days before,with the intention of proceeding to Gedid; where Fadil was to join theKhalifa with captured grain, when the whole Dervish force was to marchnorth.
The troops slept during the afternoon, and in the evening set out forGedid, which they reached at ten o'clock the next morning. A Dervishdeserter reported that the Khalifa was encamped seven miles to thesoutheast. Fortunately, a pool with sufficient water for the wholeforce was found at Gedid; which was a matter of great importance, forotherwise the expedition must have fallen back.
It was hoped that the Khalifa would now stand at bay, as our occupationof Gedid barred his advance north. Behind him was a waterless, anddensely wooded district. The capture of the grain on which he hadrelied would render it impossible for him to remain long in his presentposition, and his only chance of extricating himself was to stand andfight.
After twelve hours' rest the troops were roused, and started a fewminutes after midnight. The transport was left, under a strong guard,near the water; with orders to follow, four hours later. The cavalry,with two Maxims, moved in advance; and the camel corps on the flanks.The ground was thickly wooded. In many places, a way had to be cut forthe guns.
At three o'clock news was received, from the cavalry, that the enemy'scamp was but three miles distant from the point which the infantry hadreached; and that they and the Maxims had halted two miles ahead, atthe foot of some slightly rising ground; beyond which the scouts had,on the previous day, discovered the main force of the enemy to bestationed. The infantry continued to advance, slowly and cautiously,making as little noise as possible.
It was soon evident, however, that in spite of their caution, the enemywere aware of their approach, as there was an outburst of the beatingof drums, and the blowing of war horns. This did not last long, but itwas enough to show that the Dervishes were not to be taken by surprise.When the infantry reached the spot where the cavalry were halted, thelatter's scouts were withdrawn and the infantry pickets thrown out, andthe troops then lay down to await daybreak.
The officers chatted together in low tones. There were but two hourstill dawn, and with the prospect of heavy fighting before them, nonewere inclined to sleep. The question was whether the Dervishes woulddefend their camp, or attack. The result of the battle of Omdurmanshould have taught them that it was impossible to come to closequarters, in the face of the terrible fire of our rifles. Fadil couldgive his experience at Gedareh, which would teach the same lesson. Onthe other hand, the storming of the Dervish camp on the Atbara, and thefight at Rosaires, would both seem to show them that the assault of theEgyptian force was irresistible.
As Gregory had been present at all four of these battles, he was askedto give his opinion.
"I think that they will attack," he said. "The Dervish leaders relyupon the enthusiasm of their followers; and, in almost all the battleswe have fought here, they have rushed forward to the assault. It was soin all the fights down by the Red Sea. It was so in the attacks on LordWolseley's desert column. It succeeded against Hicks's and Baker'sforces; and even now they do not seem to have recognized that theEgyptians, whom they once despised, have quite got over their dread ofthem, and are able to face them steadily."
There was only the faintest light in the sky, when firing broke out infront. Everyone leapt to his feet, and stood listening intently. Was itmerely some Dervish scouts, who had come in contact with our pickets,or was it an attacking force?
The firing increased in volume, and was evidently approaching. Thepickets, then, were being driven in, and the Dervishes were going toattack. The men were ordered to lie down, in the position in which theywere to fight. In five minutes after the first shot all were ready foraction, the pickets had run in; and, in the dim light, numbers of darkfigures could be made out.
The guns and Maxims at once spoke out, while the infantry firedvolleys. It was still too dark to make out the movements of the enemy,but their reply to our fire came louder and louder on our left, and itwas apparent that the intention of the Dervishes was to turn that flankof our position.
Colonel Wingate sent Gregory, to order the guns to turn their fire morein that direction; and other officers ordered our right to advancesomewhat, while the left were slightly thrown back, and pushed fartherout. The light was now getting brighter, and heavy bodies of Dervishes,shouting and firing, rushed forward; but they were mown down by grapefrom our guns, a storm of Maxim bullets, and the steady volleys of theinfantry. They wavered for a moment, and then gradually fell back.
The bugles sounded the advance and, with a cheer, our whole line movedforward down the gentle slope; quickening their pace as the enemyretired before them, and still keeping up a heavy fire towards theclump of trees that concealed the Dervish camp from sight. The enemy'sfire had now died out. At twenty-five minutes past six the "cease fire"was sounded and, as the troops advanced, it was evident that resistancewas at an end.
As they issued through the trees, many Dervishes ran forward andsurrendered, and thousands of women and children were found in thecamp. Happily, none of these had been injured, as a slight swell in theground had prevented our bullets from falling among them. Numbers ofDervishes who had passed through now turned and surrendered, and thecavalry and camel corps started in pursuit.
Gregory had learned, from the women, that the Emir El Khatim, with anumber of his trained men from El Obeid, had passed through the camp ingood order, but that none of the other emirs had been seen; and the 9thSoudanese stated that, as they advanced, they had come upon a number ofchiefs lying together, a few hundred yards in advance of our firstposition. One of the Arab sheiks of the irregulars was sent to examinethe spot, and reported that the Khalifa himself, and almost all hisgreat emirs, lay there dead.
With the Khalifa were Ali Wad, Helu, Fadil, two of his brothers, theMahdi's son, and many other leaders. Behind them lay their dead horses,and one of the men still alive said that the Khalifa, having failed inhis attempt to advance over the crest, had endeavoured to turn ourposition; but, seeing his followers crushed by our fire and retiring,and after making an ineffectual attempt to rally them, he recognizedthat the day was lost; and, calling on his emirs to dismount, seatedhimself on his sheepskin, as is the custom of Arab chiefs who disdainto surrender. The emirs seated themselves round him, and all met their
death unflinchingly, the greater part being mowed down by the volleysfired by our troops, as they advanced.
Gregory went up to Colonel Wingate.
"I beg your pardon, sir, but I find that Khatim, and probably his son,who were so kind to my father at El Obeid, have retired with a fightingforce. Have I your permission to ride forward, and call upon them tosurrender?"
"Certainly, Mr. Hilliard, there has been bloodshed enough."
Being well mounted, Gregory overtook the cavalry and camel corps,before they had gone two miles; as they were delayed by disarming theDervishes, who were coming in in large numbers. Half a mile away, asmall body of men were to be seen keeping together, firingoccasionally. Their leader's flag was flying, and Gregory learned, froma native, that it was Khatim's. The cavalry were on the point ofgathering for a charge, as he rode up to the officer in command.
"I have Colonel Wingate's orders, sir, to ride forward and try topersuade the emir to surrender. He does not wish any further loss oflife."
"Very well, sir. I am sure we have killed enough of the poor beggars. Ihope he will give in."
As Gregory neared the party, which was some five hundred strong,several shots were fired at him. He waved a white handkerchief, and thefiring ceased. Two emirs rode forward to meet him.
"I have come, sir, from the English General, to ask you to surrender.Your cause is lost. The Khalifa is dead, and most of his principalemirs. He is anxious that there should be no further loss of blood."
"We can die, sir, as the others have done," the elder emir, a man ofsome sixty years old, said sternly.
"But that would not avail your cause, sir. I solicited this mission, asI owe much to you."
"How can that be?" the chief asked.
"I am the son of that white man whom you so kindly treated, at ElObeid, where he saved the life of your son Abu;" and he bowed to theyounger emir.
"Then he escaped?" the latter exclaimed.
"No, sir. He was killed at Hebbeh, when the steamer in which he wasgoing down from Khartoum was wrecked there; but I found his journal, inwhich he told the story of your kindness to him. I can assure you thatyou shall be well treated, if you surrender; and those of your men whowish to do so will be allowed to return to El Obeid. I feel sure thatwhen I tell our General how kindly you acted, to the sole white officerwho escaped from the battle, you and your son will be treated with thegreatest consideration."
"I owe more to your father than he did to me," Abu exclaimed. "He savedmy life, and did many great services to us.
"What say you, Father? I am ready to die if you will it; but as theKhalifa is dead, and the cause of Mahdism lost, I see no reason, andassuredly no disgrace, in submitting to the will of Allah."
"So be it," Khatim said. "I have never thought of surrendering to theTurks, but as it is the will of Allah, I will do so."
He turned to his men.
"It is useless to fight further," he said. "The Khalifa is dead. Itwere better to return to your wives and families than to throw awayyour lives. Lay down your arms. None will be injured."
It was with evident satisfaction that the Arabs laid musket and spearon the ground. They would have fought to the death, had he orderedthem, for they greatly loved their old chief; but as it was his order,they gladly complied with it, as they saw that they had no chance ofresisting the array of cavalry and camel corps, gathered less than halfa mile away.
"If you will ride back with me," Gregory said to the emir, "I willpresent you to the General. The men had better follow. I will rideforward, and tell the officer commanding the cavalry that you havesurrendered, and that the men approaching are unarmed."
He cantered back to the cavalry.
"They have all surrendered, sir," he said. "They have laid down theirarms at the place where they stood, and are going back to camp, tosurrender to Colonel Wingate."
"I am glad of it. My orders are to push on another three miles. On ourreturn the camel corps shall collect the arms, and bring them in."
Gregory rode back to the emirs, who were slowly crossing the plain, butwho halted as the cavalry dashed on.
"Now, Emirs," he said, "we can ride quietly back to camp."
"You have not taken our arms," Khatim said.
"No, Emir, it is not for me to ask for them. It is the General to whomyou surrender, not me."
"I mourn to hear of the death of your father," Abu said, as they rodein. "He was a good man, and a skilful hakim."
"He speaks always in the highest terms of you, Emir, in his journal,and tells how he performed that operation on your left arm, which wasnecessary to save your life; but did so with great doubt, fearing that,never having performed one before, he might fail to save your life."
"I have often wondered what became of him," Abu said. "I believed thathe had got safely into Khartoum, and I enquired about him when weentered. When I found that he was not among the killed, I trusted thathe might have escaped. I grieve much to hear that he was killed whileon his way down."
"Such was the will of Allah," Khatim said. "He preserved him at thebattle, He preserved him in the town, He enabled him to reach Khartoum;but it was not His will that he should return to his countrymen. I say,with Abu, that he was a good man; and while he remained with us, wasever ready to use his skill for our benefit. It was Allah's will thathis son should, after all these years, come to us; for assuredly, ifany other white officer had asked us to surrender, I would haverefused."
"Many strange things happen by the will of God," Gregory said. "It waswonderful that, sixteen years after his death, I should find myfather's journal at Hebbeh, and learn the story of his escape after thebattle, and of his stay with you at El Obeid."
Gregory rode into camp between the two emirs. He paused for a minute,and handed over their followers to the officer in charge of theprisoners; and then went to the hut formerly occupied by the Khalifa,where Colonel Wingate had now established himself. Colonel Wingate cameto the entrance.
"These are El Khatim and his son Abu, sir. They surrendered on learningthat I was the son of the British officer whom they had protected, andsheltered, for a year after the battle of El Obeid."
The two emirs had withdrawn their swords and pistols from their sashes;and, advancing, offered them to the Colonel. The latter did not offerto receive them.
"Keep them," he said. "We can honour brave foes; and you and yourfollowers were ready to fight and die, when all seemed lost. Still moredo I refuse to receive the weapons of the men who defended an Englishofficer, when he was helpless and a fugitive; such an act would, alone,ensure good treatment at our hands. Your followers have surrendered?"
"They have all laid down their arms," Khatim said.
"Do you give me your promise that you will no more fight against us?"
"We do," Khatim replied. "We have received our weapons back from you,and would assuredly not use them against our conquerors."
"In that case, Emir, you and your son are at liberty to depart, andyour men can return with you. There will, I trust, be no more fightingin the land. The Mahdi is dead. His successor proved a false prophetand is dead also. Mahdism is at an end, and now our object will be torestore peace and prosperity to the land.
"In a short time, all the prisoners will be released. Those who choosewill be allowed to enter our service. The rest can return to theirhomes. We bear no enmity against them. They fought under the orders oftheir chiefs, and fought bravely and well. When they return, I hopethey will settle down and cultivate the land; and undo, as far as maybe, the injuries they have inflicted upon it.
"I will write an order, Mr. Hilliard, to release at once the men youhave brought in. Then I will ask you to ride, with these emirs, to apoint where there will be no fear of their falling in with ourcavalry."
"You are a generous enemy," Khatim said, "and we thank you. We give inour allegiance to the Egyptian government, and henceforth regardourselves as its servants."
"See, Mr. Hilliard, that the party takes sufficient food with it fortheir journ
ey to El Obeid."
Colonel Wingate stepped forward, and shook hands with the two emirs.
"You are no longer enemies," he said, "and I know that, henceforth, Ishall be able to rely upon your loyalty."
"We are beaten," Khatim said, as they walked away, each leading hishorse. "You can fight like men, and we who thought ourselves brave havebeen driven before you, like dust before the wind. And now, when youare masters, you can forgive as we should never have done. You cantreat us as friends. You do not even take our arms, and we can rideinto El Obeid with our heads high."
"It will be good for the Soudan," Abu said. "Your father told me,often, how peace and prosperity would return, were you ever to becomeour masters; and I felt that his words were true. Two hours ago Iregretted that Allah had not let me die, so that I should not havelived to see our people conquered. Now, I am glad. I believe all thathe said, and that the Soudan will some day become, again, a happycountry."
Khatim's men were separated from the rest of the prisoners. Six days'supply of grain, from the stores found in the camp, were handed over tothem; together with ten camels with water skins, and they started atonce on their long march. Gregory rode out for a couple of miles withthem, and then took leave of the two emirs.
"Come to El Obeid," Khatim said, "and you shall be treated as a king.Farewell! And may Allah preserve you!"
So they parted; and Gregory rode back to the camp, with a feeling ofmuch happiness that he had been enabled, in some way, to repay thekindness shown to his dead father.
Chapter 23: An Unexpected Discovery.
The victory had been a decisive one, indeed. Three thousand prisoners,great quantities of rifles, swords, grain, and cattle had beencaptured; together with six thousand women and children. A thousandDervishes had been killed or wounded. All the most important emirs hadbeen killed, and the Sheik Ed Din, the Khalifa's eldest son andintended successor, was, with twenty-nine other emirs, among theprisoners. Our total loss was four men killed, and two officers andtwenty-seven men wounded in the action.
"I am much obliged to you, Mr. Hilliard," Colonel Wingate said to him,that evening, "for the valuable services you have rendered, and shallhave the pleasure of including your name among the officers who havespecially distinguished themselves. As it was mentioned by GeneralRundle and Colonel Parsons--by the former for undertaking the hazardousservice of carrying despatches to the latter, and by Colonel Parsonsfor gallant conduct in the field--you ought to be sure of promotion,when matters are arranged here."
"Thank you very much, sir! May I ask a favour?
"You know the outline of my story. I have learned, by the papers Iobtained at Hebbeh, and others which I was charged not to open until Ihad certain proof of my father's death, that the name under which hewas known was an assumed one. He had had a quarrel with his family; andas, when he came out to Egypt, he for a time took a subordinateposition, he dropped a portion of his name, intending to resume it whenhe had done something that even his family could not consider was anydiscredit to it. I was myself unaware of the fact until, on returningto Omdurman from Hebbeh, I opened those papers. I continued to bear thename by which I am known, but as you are good enough to say that youwill mention me in despatches, I feel that I can now say that my realname is Gregory Hilliard Hartley."
"I quite appreciate your motives in adhering to your former name, Mr.Hartley; and in mentioning your services under your new name, I willadd a note saying that your name mentioned in former despatches, fordistinguished services, had been erroneously given as Gregory Hilliardonly."
"Thank you very much, sir!"
That evening, when several of the officers were gathered in ColonelWingate's hut, the latter said, when one of them addressed Gregory asHilliard:
"That is not his full name, Colonel Hickman. For various familyreasons, with which he has acquainted me, he has borne it hitherto; buthe will, in future, be known by his entire name, which is GregoryHilliard Hartley. I may say that the reasons he has given me for nothaving hitherto used the family name are, in my opinion, amplysufficient; involving, as they do, no discredit to himself; or hisfather, a brave gentleman who escaped from the massacre of Hicks'sforce at El Obeid; and finally died, with Colonel Stewart, at Hebbeh."
"I seem to know the name," Colonel Lewis said. "Gregory HilliardHartley! I have certainly either heard or seen it, somewhere. May I askif your father bore the same Christian names?"
"Yes, sir."
"I have it now!" Colonel Lewis exclaimed, a minute or two later. "Ihave seen it in an advertisement. Ever since I was a boy, that name hasoccasionally been advertised for. Every two or three months, itappeared in the Times. I can see it plainly, now.
"'Five hundred pounds reward will be given for any informationconcerning the present abode, or death, of Gregory Hilliard Hartley; orthe whereabouts of his issue, if any. He left England about the year1881. It is supposed that he went to the United States, or to one ofthe British Colonies. Apply to Messieurs Tufton and Sons, solicitors,Lincoln's Inn Fields.'
"Do you know when your father left England?"
"He certainly left about that time. I am nineteen now, and I know thatI was born a few weeks after he came out to Alexandria."
"Then there ought to be something good in store for you," ColonelWingate said. "People don't offer a reward of five hundred pounds,unless something important hangs to it. Of course, there may be anotherof the same name, but it is hardly likely that anyone would bear thetwo same Christian names, as well as surname. Is it indiscreet to askyou if you know anything about your father's family?"
"Not at all, sir. Now that I have taken his name, I need have nohesitation in relating what I know of him. Previous to his leavingEngland, he married without his father's consent; and, failing to makea living in England, he accepted a situation in Alexandria; which hegained, I may say, because he was an excellent Arabic scholar, as hehad spent two years in exploring tombs and monuments in Egypt. He wasthe second son of the Honourable James Hartley; who was brother, and Ibelieve heir, of the Marquis of Langdale, and I should think by thistime has succeeded to the title. At his death, my father's eldestbrother would, of course, succeed him."
"Then, my dear fellow," Colonel Mahon said, giving him a hearty slap onthe shoulder, "allow me to congratulate you. I can tell you that thetitle has been in abeyance, for the past fourteen years. Everyone knowsthe facts. Your grandfather died before the Marquis. Your unclesucceeded him, lived only three years and, being unmarried, your fatherbecame the next Earl; and has been advertised for, in vain, ever since.As, unhappily, your father is dead also, you are unquestionably theMarquis of Langdale."
Gregory looked round with a bewildered air. The news was so absolutelyunexpected that he could hardly take it in.
"It seems impossible," he said at last.
"It is not only impossible, but a fact," the Colonel said. "There isnothing very surprising in it. There were only two lives between yourfather and the peerage; and as one was that of an old man, the secondof a man certainly in the prime of life, but unmarried, why, the Jewswould have lent money on the chance.
"I fancy your uncle was a somewhat extravagant man. I remember he kepta lot of race horses and so on, but he could not have dipped veryseriously into the property. At any rate, there will be fourteen years'accumulations, which will put matters straight.
"I hope you have got papers that will prove you are your father's son,and that he was brother of the late Earl."
"I think there can be no difficulty about that," Gregory said. "I haveletters from both my parents, a copy of their marriage certificate, andof the registers of my birth and baptism. There are some persons inCairo who knew my father, and a good many who knew my mother."
"Then I should say that it would be quite safe sailing.
"I don't know, Lewis, whether you are not entitled to that five hundredpounds."
"I am afraid not," the other laughed. "Mr. Hartley; or rather, I shouldsay, the Earl; would have discovered it, himself. I only recogn
ized thename, which plenty of people would have done, as soon as they saw it indespatches."
"It will be a great disappointment to someone," Gregory said; "if theyhave been, for fourteen years, expecting to come in for this."
"You need not fret about that," another officer said. "The next heir isa distant cousin. He has been trying, over and over again, to gethimself acknowledged; but the courts would not hear of it, and told himthat it was no use applying, until they had proof of the death of yourfather. I know all about it, because there was a howling young ass inthe regiment from which I exchanged. He was always giving himself airs,on the strength of the title he expected to get; and if he is still inthe regiment, there will be general rejoicings at his downfall."
"Then I have met him," Gregory said. "On the way up, he made himselfvery unpleasant, and I heard from the other officers that he wasextremely unpopular. The Major spoke very sharply to him, for theoffensive tone in which he addressed me; and an officer sitting next tome said that he was terribly puffed, by his expectations of obtaining atitle shortly, owing to the disappearance of those who stood before himin succession. Some of the officers chaffed him about it, then. Iremember now that his name was Hartley; but as I had no idea, at thattime, that that was also mine, I never thought anything more about it,until now. As he was the only officer who has been in any way offensiveto me, since I left Cairo nearly three years ago, certainly I wouldrather that he should be the sufferer, if I succeed in proving my rightto the title, than anyone else."
"I don't think he will suffer, except in pride," the officer said. "Hisfather, who was a very distant cousin of the Earl's, had gone intotrade and made a considerable fortune; so that the young fellow was agreat deal better off than the vast majority of men in the army. It wasthe airs he gave himself, on the strength of being able to indulge inan expenditure such as no one else in the regiment could attempt--bykeeping three or four race horses in training, and other follies--thathad more to do with his unpopularity, than his constant talk about thepeerage he was so confident of getting."
"Of course you will go home to England, at once," Colonel Wingate said."The war is over now, and it would be rank folly for you to stay here.You have got the address of the lawyers who advertised for you; andhave only to go straight to them, with your proofs in your hand, andthey will take all the necessary steps.
"I should say that it would facilitate matters if, as you go throughCairo, you were to obtain statements or affidavits from some of thepeople who knew your mother; stating that you are, as you claim to be,her son; and that she was the wife of the gentleman known as GregoryHilliard, who went up as an interpreter with Hicks. I don't say thatthis would be necessary at all, for the letters you have would, inthemselves, go far to prove your case. Still, the more proofs youaccumulate, the less likely there is of any opposition being offered toyour claim. Any papers or letters of your mother might containsomething that would strengthen the case.
"It is really a pity, you know, when you have done so well out here,and would be certain to rise to a high post under the administration ofthe province; (which will be taken in hand, in earnest, now), that youshould have to give it all up."
"I scarcely know whether to be pleased or sorry, myself, sir. Atpresent, I can hardly take in the change that this will make, orappreciate its advantages."
"You will appreciate them, soon enough," one of the others laughed. "Aslong as this war has been going on, one could put up with the heat, andthe dust, and the horrible thirst one gets, and the absence of anythingdecent to drink; but now that it is all over, the idea of settling downhere, permanently, would be horrible; except to men--and there are suchfellows--who are never happy, unless they are at work; to whom work iseverything--meat, and drink, and pleasure. It would have to beeverything, out here; for no one could ever think of marrying, andbringing a wife, to such a country as this. Women can hardly live inparts of India, but the worst station in India would be a paradise, incomparison with the Soudan; though possibly, in time, Khartoum will berebuilt and, being situated between two rivers, might become a possibleplace--which is more than any other station in the Soudan can be--forladies."
"I am not old enough to take those matters into consideration," Gregorylaughed. "I am not twenty, yet. Still, I do think that anyonepermanently stationed, in the Soudan, would have to make up his mind toremain a bachelor."
The next morning, the greater portion of the prisoners were allowed toreturn to their homes. All the grain and other stores, found in thecamp, were divided among the women, who were advised to return to theirnative villages; but those who had lost their husbands were told thatthey might accompany the force to the river, and would be taken down toOmdurman, and given assistance for a time, until they could find somemeans of obtaining a subsistence.
On returning to Khartoum, Colonel Wingate, at Gregory's request, toldLord Kitchener of the discovery that had been made; and said that hewished to return to England, at once. The next day, the Sirdar sent forGregory.
"Colonel Wingate has been speaking to me about you," he said, "and Icongratulate you on your good fortune. In one respect, I am sorry; foryou have done so surprisingly well, that I had intended to appoint youto a responsible position in the Soudan Civil Service, which is nowbeing formed. Colonel Wingate says that you naturally wish to resignyour present post, but I should advise you not to do so. The operationof the law in England is very uncertain. I trust that, in your case,you will meet with but small difficulty in proving your birth; butthere may be some hitch in the matter, some missing link.
"I will, therefore, grant you six months' leave of absence. At the endof that time, you will see how you stand. If things have gone on wellwith you, you can then send in your resignation. If, on the other hand,you find yourself unable to prove your claim, it will still be open toyou to return here, and continue the career in which you have begun sowell."
"I am greatly obliged to you, sir, for your kindness; and should I failin proving my claim, I shall gladly avail myself of your offer, at theend of the six months."
"Now, Zaki," he said, on returning to the hut, of which he had againtaken possession, "we must have one more talk. I have told you aboutthe possible change in my position, and that I was shortly leaving forEngland. You begged me to take you with me, and I told you that if youdecided to go, I would do so. I shall be put in orders, tomorrow, forsix months' leave. If I succeed in proving my claim to a title, whichis what you would call here an emirship, I shall not return. If I fail,I shall be back again, in six months. Now, I want you to think it overseriously, before you decide.
"Everything will be different there from what you are accustomed to.You will have to dress differently, live differently, and be amongstrangers. It is very cold there, in winter; and it is never what youwould call hot, in summer.
"It is not that I should not like to have you with me; we have beentogether, now, for three years. You saved my life at Atbara, and havealways been faithfully devoted to me. It is for your sake, not my own,that I now speak."
"I will go with you, Master, if you will take me. I hope never to leaveyou, till I die."
"Very well, Zaki, I am more than willing to take you. If I remain inEngland, you shall always be with me, if you choose to remain. But Ishall then be able to give you a sum that will enable you to buy muchland, and to hire men to work your sakies, to till your land, and tomake you what you would call a rich man here, should you wish to returnat the end of the six months. If I return, you will, of course, comeback with me."
On the following day, after having said goodbye to all his friends,disposed of his horse and belongings, and drawn the arrears of his pay,Gregory took his place in the train; for the railway had now beencarried to Khartoum.
Four days later, he arrived at Cairo. His first step was to orderEuropean clothes for Zaki, and a warm and heavily-lined greatcoat; forit was now the first week in December, and although delightful atCairo, it would be, to the native, bitterly cold in England.
Then h
e went to the bank, and Mr. Murray, on hearing the story, made anaffidavit at the British resident's; affirming that he had, for fifteenyears, known Mrs. Gregory Hilliard, and was aware that she was thewidow of Mr. Gregory Hilliard, who joined Hicks Pasha; and that Mr.Gregory Hilliard, now claiming to be Mr. Gregory Hilliard Hartley, washer son. Mr. Gregory Hilliard, senior, had kept an account at the bankfor eighteen months; and had, on leaving, given instructions for Mrs.Hilliard's cheques to be honoured. Mrs. Hilliard had received a pensionfrom the Egyptian government, up to the date of her death, as hiswidow; he having fallen in the service of the Khedive.
Gregory looked up his old nurse, whom he found comfortable and happy.She also made an affidavit, to the effect that she had entered theservice of Mrs. Hilliard more than eighteen years before, as nurse toGregory Hilliard, then a child of a year old. She had been in herservice until her death, and she could testify that Gregory HilliardHartley was the child she had nursed.
After a stay of four days at Cairo, Gregory started for England. Evenhe, who had heard of London from his mother, was astonished at itsnoise, extent, and bustle; while Zaki was almost stupefied. He took tworooms at Cannon Street Hotel, for himself and servant, and next morningwent to the offices of Messieurs Tufton and Sons, the solicitors. He sentin his name as Mr. Gregory Hilliard Hartley.
Even in the outer office, he heard an exclamation of surprise, as thepiece of paper on which he had written his name was read. He was atonce shown in. Mr. Tufton looked at him, with a little surprise.
"I am the son of the gentleman for whom, I understand, you haveadvertised for a long time."
"If you can prove that you are so, sir," Mr. Tufton said, wearily, "youare the Marquis of Langdale--that is to say, if your father isdeceased.
"May I ask, to begin with, how it is that the advertisement has, for somany years, remained unanswered?"
"That is easily accounted for, sir. My father, being unable to obtain asituation in England, accepted a very minor appointment in the house ofMessieurs Partridge and Company, at Alexandria. This he obtained owing tohis knowledge of Arabic. He had been engaged, as you doubtless know,for two years in explorations there. He did not wish it to be knownthat he had been obliged to accept such a position, so he dropped hissurname, and went out as Gregory Hilliard. As the firm's establishmentat Alexandria was burned, during the insurrection there, he went toCairo and obtained an appointment as interpreter to General Hicks. Heescaped when the army of that officer was destroyed, at El Obeid; was aprisoner, for many months, at that town; and then escaped to Khartoum.He came down in the steamer with Colonel Stewart. That steamer waswrecked at Hebbeh, and all on board, with one exception, weremassacred.
"My mother always retained some hope that he might have escaped, fromhis knowledge of Arabic. She received a small pension from the Egyptiangovernment, for the loss of my father, and added to this by teaching inthe families of several Turkish functionaries. Three years ago shedied, and I obtained, through the kindness of Lord Kitchener, anappointment as interpreter in the Egyptian army. I was present at thefights of Abu Hamed, the Atbara, Omdurman, and the late victory byColonel Wingate. My name, as Gregory Hilliard, was mentioned indespatches; and will be mentioned, again, in that sent by ColonelWingate, but this time with the addition of Hartley.
"It was only accidentally, on the night after that battle, that Ilearned that my father was the heir to the Marquis of Langdale, and Ithereupon obtained six months' leave, to come here."
"It is a singular story," the lawyer said, "and if supported by proofs,there can be no question that you are the Marquis, for whom we havebeen advertising, for many years."
"I think that I have ample proof, sir. Here is the certificate of myfather's marriage, and the copies of the registers of my birth andbaptism. Here is the journal of my father, from the time he was takenprisoner till his death. Here are his letter to my mother, and lettersto his father, brother, and sisters, which were to be forwarded by hershould she choose to return to England. Here are two affidavits--theone from a gentleman who has known me from childhood, the other fromthe woman who nursed me, and who remained with our family till Ireached the Soudan. Here also is a letter that I found among mymother's papers, written from Khartoum, in which my father speaks ofresuming the name of Hartley, if things went well there."
"Then, sir," Mr. Tufton said, "I think I can congratulate you uponobtaining the title; but at the same time, I will ask you to leavethese papers with me, for an hour. I will put everything else aside,and go through them. You understand, I am not doubting your word; butof course, it is necessary to ascertain the exact purport of theseletters, and documents. If they are as you say, the evidence in favourof your claim would be overwhelming.
"Of course, it is necessary that we should be most cautious. We have,for upwards of a hundred years, been solicitors to the family; and assuch have contested all applications, from the junior branch of thefamily, that the title should be declared vacant by the death of thelast Marquis, who would be your uncle. We have been the more anxious todo so, as we understand the next claimant is a young man of extravaganthabits, and in no way worthy to succeed to the title."
"I will return in an hour and a half, sir," Gregory said, rising. "Imay say that the contents of this pocketbook, although intenselyinteresting to myself, as a record of my father, do not bear upon thetitle. They are a simple record of his life, from the time when thearmy of Hicks Pasha was destroyed, to the date of his own murder atHebbeh. The last entry was made before he landed. I mention this, as itmay save you time in going through the papers."
Gregory went out, and spent the time in watching the wonderful flow oftraffic, and gazing into the shops; and when he returned to the office,he was at once shown in. Mr. Tufton rose, and shook him warmly by thehand.
"I consider these documents to be absolutely conclusive, my lord," hesaid. "The letters to your grandfather, uncle, and aunts are conclusiveas to his identity; and that of your mother, strengthened by the twoaffidavits, is equally conclusive as to your being his son. I will takethe necessary measures to lay these papers before the court, which hasseveral times had the matter in hand, and to obtain a declaration thatyou have indisputably proved yourself to be the son of the late GregoryHilliard Hartley, and therefore entitled to the title and estates, withall accumulations, of the Marquis of Langdale."
"Thank you very much, sir! I will leave the matter entirely in yourhands. Can you tell me the address of my aunts? As you will have seen,by my father's letter, he believed implicitly in their affection forhim."
"Their address is, The Manor House, Wimperton, Tavistock, Devon. Theyretired there at the accession of their brother to the title. It hasbeen used as a dower house in the family for many years; and, pendingthe search for your father, I obtained permission for them to continueto reside there. I was not obliged to ask for an allowance for them, asthey had an income, under their mother's marriage settlement,sufficient for them to live there in comfort.
"I will not give you the letter addressed to them, as I wish to showthe original in court; but I will have a copy made for you, at once,and I will attest it.
"Now, may I ask how you are situated, with regard to money? I havesufficient confidence in the justice of your claim to advance any sum,for your immediate wants."
"Thank you, sir! I am in no need of any advance. My mother's savingsamounted to five hundred pounds, of which I only drew fifty to buy myoutfit, when I went up to the Soudan. My pay sufficed for my wantsthere, and I drew out the remaining four hundred and fifty pounds whenI left Cairo; so I am amply provided."
Gregory remained four days in London, obtaining suitable clothes. Then,attended by Zaki, he took his place in the Great Western for Tavistock.Zaki had already picked up a good deal of English, and Gregory talkedto him only in that language, on their way down from the battlefield;so that he could now express himself in simple phrases.
Mr. Tufton had on the previous day written, at Gregory's request, tohis aunts; saying that the son of the
ir brother had called upon him,and given him proofs, which he considered incontestable, of hisidentity and of the death of his father. He was the bearer of a letterfrom his father to them, and proposed delivering it the next day, inperson. He agreed with Gregory that it was advisable to send down thisletter, as otherwise the ladies might doubt whether he was really whathe claimed to be, as his father's letter might very well have come intothe hands of a third person.
He went down by the night mail to Tavistock, put up at an hotel; and,after breakfast, drove over to the Manor House, and sent in a cardwhich he had had printed in town. He was shown into a room where thetwo ladies were waiting for him. They had been some four or five yearsyounger than his father, a fact of which he was not aware; and insteadof being elderly women, as he expected, he found, by their appearance,they were scarcely entering middle age. They were evidently muchagitated.
"I have come down without waiting for an invitation," he said. "I wasanxious to deliver my father's letter to you, or at least a copy of it,as soon as possible. It was written before his death, some eighteenyears ago, and was intended for my mother to give to you, should shereturn to England. Its interest to you consists chiefly in the proof ofmy father's affection for you, and that he felt he could rely on yoursfor him. I may say that this is a copy, signed as correct by Mr.Tufton. He could not give me the original, as it would be required asan evidence of my father's identity, in the application he is about tomake for me to be declared heir to the title."
"Then Gregory has been dead eighteen years!" the elder of the ladiessaid. "We have always hoped that he would be alive, in one of thecolonies, and that sooner or later he would see the advertisement thathad been put in the papers."
"No, madam. He went out to Alexandria with my mother, shortly before Iwas born. He died some three or four years before his brother. It wasseldom my mother saw an English paper. Unfortunately, as it turned out,my father had dropped his surname when he accepted a situation, whichwas a subordinate one, at Alexandria; and his reason for taking it wasthat my mother was in weak health, and the doctor said it was necessaryshe should go to a warm climate; therefore, had any of her friends seenthe advertisement, they would not have known that it applied to her. I,myself, did not know that my proper name was Hartley until a year back,when I discovered my father's journal at Hebbeh, the place where he wasmurdered; and then opened the documents that my mother had entrusted tome, before her death, with an injunction not to open them until I hadascertained, for certain, that my father was no longer alive."
One of the ladies took the letter, and opened it. They read ittogether.
"Poor Gregory!" one said, wiping her eyes, "we were both fond of him,and certainly would have done all in our power to assist his widow. Hewas nearer our age than Geoffrey. It was a terrible grief to us, whenhe quarrelled with our father. Of course our sympathies were withGregory, but we never ventured to say so; and our father nevermentioned his name, from the day he left the house. Why did not yourmother send his letter to us?"
"Because she did not need assistance. She was maintaining herself andme in comfort by teaching music, French, and English to the wives andchildren of several of the high Egyptian officials."
"How long is it since you lost her?"
"More than three years ago. At her death, I was fortunate enough toobtain an appointment similar to that my father had, and at the sametime a commission in the Egyptian service; and have been fortunate inbeing, two or three times, mentioned in despatches."
"Yes; curiously enough, after receiving Mr. Tufton's letter, we sawColonel Wingate's despatch in the paper, in which your name ismentioned. We should have been astonished, indeed, had we not openedthe letter before we looked at the paper.
"Well, Gregory, we are very glad to see you, and to find that you havedone honour to the name. The despatch said that you have beenpreviously mentioned, under the name of Gregory Hilliard. We alwaysfile our papers, and we spent an hour after breakfast in going throughthem. I suppose you threw up your appointment, as soon as youdiscovered that Geoffrey died, years ago, and that you had come intothe title?"
"I should have thrown it up, but Lord Kitchener was good enough to giveme six months' leave; so that, if I should fail to prove my right tothe title, I could return there and take up my work again. He was sokind as to say that I should be given a responsible position, in thecivil administration of the Soudan."
"Well, we both feel very proud of you; and it does sound wonderfulthat, being under twenty, you should have got on so well, withoutfriends or influence. I hope you intend to stay with us, until you haveto go up to London about these affairs."
"I shall be very happy to stay a few days, Aunt; but it is better thatI should be on the spot, as there may be questions that have to beanswered, and signatures, and all sorts of things.
"I have brought my Arab servant down with me. He has been with me forthree years, and is most faithful and devoted; and moreover, he oncesaved my life, at tremendous risk to himself."
"Oh, of course we can put him up! Can he speak English?"
"He speaks a little English, and is improving fast."
"Does he dress as a native?"
"No, Aunt. He would soon freeze to death, in his native garb. As soonas I got down to Cairo with him, I put him into good European clothes.He is a fine specimen of a Soudan Arab, but when he came to me he wassomewhat weakly; however, he soon got over that."
"Where is he, now?"
"He is with the trap, outside. I told him that he had better not comein until I had seen you, for I thought that your domestics would notknow what to do with him, till they had your orders."
"You brought your portmanteau with you, I hope?"
"I have brought it, but not knowing whether it would be wanted; for Idid not know whether you would take sufficiently to me, to ask me tostay."
"The idea of such a thing! You must have had a bad opinion of us."
"No, Aunt. I had the best of opinions. I am sure that my father wouldnot have written as he did to you, unless he had been very fond of you.Still, as at present I am not proved to be your nephew, I thought thatyou might not be disposed to ask me to stay.
"Now, with your permission, I will go and tell Zaki--that is the man'sname--to bring in my portmanteau. I can then send the trap back."
"Do you know, Gregory," one of his aunts said that evening; "evenputting aside the fact that you are our nephew, we are delighted thatthe title and estates are not to go to the next heir. He came down hereabout a year ago. His regiment had just returned from the Soudan. Hedrove straight to the hall, and requested to be shown over it, sayingthat in a short time he was going to take possession. The housekeepercame across here, quite in distress, and said that he talked as if hewere already master; said he should make alterations in one place,enlarge the drawing room, build a conservatory against it, do away withsome of the pictures on the walls; and, in fact, he made himself veryobjectionable. He came on here, and behaved in a most offensive andungentlemanly way. He actually enquired of us whether we were tenantsby right, or merely on sufferance. I told him that, if he wanted toknow, he had better enquire of Mr. Tufton; and Flossie, who is moreoutspoken than I am, said at once that whether we were tenants forlife, or not, we should certainly not continue to reside here, if soobjectionable a person were master at the hall. He was very angry, butI cut him short by saying:
"'This is our house at present, sir; and, unless you leave it at once,I shall call the gardener in and order him to eject you.'"
"I am not surprised at what you say, Aunt, for I met the fellow myself,on the way up to Omdurman; and found him an offensive cad. It has beena great satisfaction to me to know that he was so; for if he had been anice fellow, I could not have helped being sorry to deprive him of thetitle and estates which he has, for years, considered to be his."
After remaining four days at the Manor House, Gregory went back totown. A notice had already been served, upon the former claimant to thetitle, that an application would be made
to the court to hear the claimof Gregory Hilliard Hartley, nephew of the late Marquis, to beacknowledged as his successor to the title and estates; and that if hewished to appear by counsel, he could do so.
The matter was not heard of, for another three months. LieutenantHartley was in court, and was represented by a queen's counsel ofeminence; who, however, when Gregory's narrative had been told, and thevarious documents put in, at once stated that after the evidence he hadheard, he felt that it would be vain to contest the case at this point;but that he reserved the right of appealing, should anything come tolight which would alter the complexion of the affair.
The judgment was that Gregory Hilliard Hartley had proved himself to bethe son of the late Gregory Hilliard Hartley, brother of and heir tothe late Marquis of Langdale, and was therefore seized of the title andestates.
As soon as the case was decided, Gregory went down again to Devonshire,and asked his aunts to take charge for him. This they at first said wasimpossible; but he urged that, if they refused to do so, he should bedriven to go back to the Soudan again.
"My dear Aunts," he said, "what in the world am I to do? I know no one.I know nothing of English customs, or society. I should, indeed, be themost forlorn person in existence, with a large country estate and amansion in London. I want someone to introduce me into society, and setme on my legs; manage me and my house, and preside at my table. I amnot yet twenty, and have not as much knowledge of English ways as a boyof ten. I should be taken in and duped in every way, and be at themercy of every adventurer. I feel that it would be a sacrifice for youto leave your pretty home here, but I am sure, for the sake of myfather, you will not refuse to do so."
His aunts admitted that there was great justice in what he said, andfinally submitted to his request to preside over his house; until, asthey said, the time came when he would introduce a younger mistress.
Zaki, when his six months' trial was over, scorned the idea ofreturning to the Soudan; declaring that, if Gregory would not keep him,he would rather beg in the streets than go back there.
"It is all wonderful here," he said; "we poor Arabs could not dream ofsuch things. No, Master, as long as you live, I shall stay here."
"Very well, Zaki, so be it; and I can promise you that if I die beforeyou, you will be so provided for that you will be able to live in asmuch comfort as you now enjoy, and in addition you will be your ownmaster."
Zaki shook his head.
"I should be a fool to wish to be my own master," he said, "afterhaving such a good one, at present."
Gregory is learning the duties of a large land owner, and is alreadyvery popular in his part of Devonshire. The mansion in London has notyet been reopened, as Gregory says he must learn his lessons perfectly,before he ventures to take his place in society.
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