THEADVANCETOLOBORE。
Idetermineduponanewplan。IknewthedirectionofLobore，asIhadbeenthereduringmyformerexpedition；thedistancecouldnotexceedsixtymiles。
Ifthesoldierscoulddrawthecarts，Imightyetmanagetoadvance，asIshouldbeabletoprocurecarriersonarrivalatLobore；providedalwaysthatthenativeswereasfriendlyaswhenIleftthemsomeyearsago。
Itwouldbeimpossibletoconveythesteamer，asIcouldnotexpecttoprovide2，000carriers；butImightbeabletopenetratesouth，suppresstheslave-hunters，establishthegovernment，andopenupalegitimatetrade。
Thefirststepnecessarywastoconveythelargeherdofcattleacrosstheriver，whichwasabout400yardsinwidth，withaveryrapidstream。
Ifullyexpectedthatweshouldbeattackedbythenativesingreatforceduringthisoperation，whichnecessitatedadivisionofmyforceuponbothbanksoftheNile。
Thesheepweretakenacrossinvessels，butthecowswereobligedtoswim。Thispassagewasverytedious，astheanimalswerenecessarilytakeninsmallbatches，guidedbymenwhoswambytheirsideinthemanneralreadydescribedatGondokoro。
Althoughthenativeswereavowedlyhostile，theydarednotfaceusintheopen。Theymadeanotherattemptbynighttosurprisethecattlekraal，butColonelAbd-el-Kaderimmediatelysetfiretoafewvillagesasaresponseandwarning。
Wewereoccupiedfourdaysinpassingthecattleacrosstheriver。
Duringthepassage，welostonetakenbyacrocodile，andthreecowswerewantonlyseizedanddrownedbyhippopotami。Aherdofthesecreatureshappenedtobeinthewayasthecowswerefloatinginlargenumbersdownthestream，andseveralwereseentoattackthecattleandseizethemintheirjaws。Asthehippopotamusisnotcarnivorous，thiswasanunexpectedattack。
MyEnglishmenhadbeenbusilyengagedinerectingthecarts，greasingthewheels，andattachingtheropesnecessaryforhauling。Theywereallloaded，andwerearrangedtobedrawnbyfifteenmeneach。
Ontheeveningofthe5thFebruary，whilewewereatdinner，Iwasastonishedbytheunexpectedmusteringofmywholeforce，exceptingthe”FortyThieves。”Themenwerewithoutarmsorofficers，buttheymarchedtothemarginoftheriverandformedalinetwodeepalongsidethediahbeeah，whichlaycloseagainstthebank。
Iknewatoncewhatallthismeant，butIpretendedtotakenonotice，andIcontinuedeatingmydinner。
Iwasquicklyinterruptedbyloudcriesfromthemen。”Wecan’tdrawthecarts！that’snottheworkforsoldiers；we’llfight，ordoanythingelseyoumaydesire，butwearenotcamelstodragthewaggons。”
The”FortyThieves”immediatelyseizedtheirarms，andmarchingquicklytothespot，theyformedinlineuponthebank，betweenthediahbeeahandthemenwhothusmutinouslyhadappearedwithouttheirofficers。
Iatonceorderedthebuglecallforallofficers，andatthesametimeIsentfortheEnglishmentocometothediahbeeah。
Whenallhadarrived，andtheshoutsstillcontinued，IrosefromthetableandaddressedthetroopsinArabic，fromthepoop-deckofthediahbeeah。
IrecalledtotheirrecollectionhowIhadalwaysledthemsuccessfullythrougheverydifficulty，andIassuredthemthatthedistancetoLoborewastrifling，andthatweshouldfindgoodandwillingnativestoconveythebaggage，ifwecouldonlyoncereachthedesiredtribe。
Criesof”therearenogoodnegroes-theyareallbad，”interruptedmydiscourse。Ineverthelesscontinued；buthavingathoroughknowledgeoftheAfricancharacter，andknowingthatifanegrogetsanideaintohishead，thatideacanonlybeeradicatedbycuttingtheheadoff，Iwasnotfoolenoughtopersistinswimmingagainstatorrent。The”FortyThieves”nowjoinedthetumultbydeclaringthat”THEYwoulddrawthecarts，ordoanythingthatIshouldcommand。”
Itookimmediateadvantageoftheoccasion，andexclaimed，”YouSHALLdoallthatIcommand。Ihavechangedmyplans，andIorderyoutotakethecartstopiecesatsunriseto-morrowmorning。AllthosewhoareafraidtofollowmeshallreturnwiththevesselsandcartstoGondokoro。I
neverturnback；andmyladyandIwillgoonalonewithMr。Baker。I
onlyrequireorderlysoldiers，whoknowtheirduty；ifyouhaveforgottenyourduty，youshallreturnatoncetoGondokoro。”
Thisdeclarationwasfollowedbyloudshouts——”Wewon’tletyougoalone；thenativesaretreacherous；wewillfollowwhereveryoulead。
ArewenotsoldiersoftheSultan?areyounottheSultan’sPacha?”
Ihadtheminhand；thereforeIatonceterminatedthescenebycommandingsilence。Ithengaveanorderaloudtotheofficers：”Returncartsandallbaggageonboardvesselsatsunriseto-morrow。Alltroopstobereadyfortheadvance。””Bugler！soundtheretreat。”
Thatpeculiarhabitofdisciplineyieldedinstinctivelytothesoundofthebugle。Theofficergavetheorder，”Right，turn，”andthelatetumultuouscrowdmarchedquietlytotheirquarters。Thiswasended；atthesametimeitwasnotcheering。
MyEnglishmen，whohadbeenwitnessesofthisscene，werefilledwithindignation。TheyweremenwhothoroughlyrepresentedEnglishdetermination，andtheyatoncevolunteeredtocarrytheirownbaggageifIwouldonlypermitthemtoaccompanyme。
HowoftenmyhearthasbeatenwithpridewhenIhaveseentheunconquerablespiritofthecountryburstforthlikeanunextinguishableflameinanygreatemergency！
Inowhadtoquelltheeagernessofmyowngoodfellows，asIknewthatif”thespiritwaswilling，thefleshwasweak，”anditwouldbeimpossibleforEnglishmentocarryloadsthroughajourneyinatropicalcountry。
Isawthenecessityoftheoccasionataglance；andIgavethenecessaryorders。
TheEnglishmen，togetherwiththesteamersections，machinery，&c。，mustreturntoGondokoro。TheymustimmediatelycommencetheconstructionoftheNo。2steamerof108tonsand20-horsepower，asthisvessel，beingprovidedwithtwinscrewsinsteadofpaddles，wouldbeabletopassthroughthenarrowchannelsoftheBahrGiraffe，andcommunicatewithKhartoum。
Igavetheordertoprepareto-morrowforareturntoGondokoro。
On6thFebruary，atsunrise，allhandswereatworkdismountingthecarts，andreturningonboardthevesselsallmaterialconnectedwiththesteamer，&c。Ialteredtheloads，andmadearrangementsforanewplanofaction。
IhaddeterminedtopushontoLoborewithonehundredmen，inheavymarchingorder，ifIcouldonlyengageafewnativestocarrythenecessariesfortheroad。AtLoboreImightbeabletoengageafewhundredportersthatIshouldsendbacktothevesselswithanescortoffiftysoldiers，tobringupsufficientammunitionandmaterialforanadvancesouth。Iknewtheroute。
Itwasthereforenecessarytoassortthebaggage：muchhadtobereturnedtoGondokorowiththeEnglishmen。
Ihadasmallinvoice-bookthathadbeencarefullypreparedbyMr。
Marcopolo，whichgavethenumbersandcontentsofeverybox；thereforethedifficultyofassortmentwasnotgreat。
Alltheboxeswereofblocktin，painted；thustheycouldbepiledlikebricksoneupontheothertoformawall。Iarrangedabout400loadswhichweresetapartforthecarriers，shouldIbefortunateinprocuringthatnumberfromLobore。
On7thFebruarythecartswereshipped。Alltheloadswereperfectedandreadyforastartonthefollowingday。Someofmymenwereendeavouringtotrainafewoxentocarrytheirbaggage。
On8thFebruarytheEnglishmen，inverylowspirits，startedforIsmailiaGondokorointwovessels，withninetyurdepsofdhurraconsignedtoMr。Marcopolo。
Ihadarrangedthattwenty-twoboatmenshouldaccompanymetoLobore，carryingsuchloadsaswereabsolutelynecessaryforourparty。Theywouldthenreturntogetherwiththefiftysoldierswhowouldescortthenativecarrierstothevessels。
IhadgiventheEnglishmeninstructionstocommencethebuildingofthesteamerimmediately，andtoconfinetheirworktothisvesseluntilsheshouldbecompleted。
HavingcountedalltheloadsthatwereleftinchargeofMajorAbdullah，Itookareceiptforthem，andgavethatofficerbothclearandpositiveordersforhisconduct。
Ileftwithhim120men，togetherwiththefield-pieceandeightartillerymen。InadditiontothesemenwasthecrewoftheNo。10
steamer，allofwhomweretrainedassoldiers。Thuswiththearmedcrewsofthedifferentvesselshewouldhaveaforceofabout145muskets。Itwashighlyprobablethatthenativeswouldattackthevesselsandthecattleinmyabsence，astheywouldhaveremarkedthegreatreductionofforce。Althoughthecountrywasperfectlyopen，thegroundwashighandrocky，andrapidlyrosetoabout200feetabovetheleveloftheriverwithinadistanceofamile；thusthenativesscatteredabouttheheightscouldalwaysobserveourproceedings。
BeforeIquittedthevessels，Imadeeverypreparationfortheirsecurity。Allthemetalboxeswerebuiltintoaquadrangularbreastwork，thatwouldformalittlefortforadozenpeople。
Imooredthevesselsinlineclosetothemouthofadeepflat-bottomedravine，which，althoughnowdryandaboutthirtypaceswide，hadformedthebedofariverduringthewetseason。Theperpendicularbanksofthisfossewouldmakeagrandprotectionforthecattle；Ithereforeorderedafenceofthornstobeconstructedacrosstheravineaboutahundredyardsfromtheriver，soastoformakraal，inwhichthecowswouldbeconfinedbelowthelevelofthecountry。
Sixtymenweretoguardthecattleatnight；thirtyuponeitherbank。Asthisravineranatrightangleswiththeriver，thesixtymenwouldenfiladeanenemyattackingthevessels，andtheguardofthevesselswouldatthesametimeenfiladeanenemyshouldheattackthecattleonthenorthside。
Iplacedtheguninaconvenientpositionabouttwentyyardsfromthemarginoftheriver，onapieceofhard，flatground，exactlyoppositethecentreofthelineofvessels。Thiswouldsweeptheapproachinfrontandupontheleftflank。
Iorderedtheofficertoloadwithcanistercontaining250smallmusketballs。HavingservedoutadozenWoolwichtubes，insteadoftheuncertainEgyptianarticles，Igavepositiveordersthatthegunwastobelaidforapoint-blankrangeof200yardseveryeveningatsunset，withthetubeinitsplace，thelanyardattachedandcoiled。Apieceofrawhidewastocoverthebreechoftheguntoprotectitfromthenightdew。
Havinggiveneveryinstruction，andimpresseduponofficersandmenthenecessityofvigilance，IorderedMajorAbdullah，incommand，toremaininchargeofthevesselsandcattleuntilIshouldeithersendhimcarriersforanadvance，orfallbackmyself，shouldIbeunabletoobtainthem。
Atalloldmanofaboutseventy，orperhapseightyyears，hadpaidusavisit。Fromhisappearance，andthenumerousspellshungabouthisperson，Ijudgedhimtobearain-maker。Hisfacewassmearedwithwoodashes，andtherewasagooddealoftheidealdemoninhispersonalexterior。
Igavehimablueshirt，andaglassofMarsalawine，thusappealingatoncetohisexteriorandinterior。
Itisalwaysadvisabletomakefriendswiththerain-makers，astheyareregardedbythenativesaspriests，andareconsideredwithacertainrespect。Ithereforegivehimanotherglassofwine；or，tobecorrect，hedrankitfromatinthathadcontainedpreservedprovisions。
Thiscausedhimtoblinkhiseyesandsmackhislips，andtheoldrain-makergrinnedaghastlysmileofadmiration。Hiswoodash-smearedfeaturesrelaxedintoanexpressionthatdenoted”morewine。”Ithoughthehadenough，andtherewasnonetospare；therefore，havingopenedhisheart，Ibegantoaskhimquestions。
Thatunfailingkey，liquor，hadestablishedaconfidentialflowofconversation。Theoldfellowexplainedthatheknewtheentirecountry，andhehadnoobjectiontoaccompanyustoLoboreforasmallconsiderationintheshapeofacow。Heassuredmethatifhewerewithus，thenativeswouldbecivilthroughoutthejourney。Beddenhadbehavedverybadly，buthehadgottheworstofit，andthenewshadspreadupthecountry。