CHAPTER III
IN THE HANDS OF THE DERVISHES
I was handed over to two men, who were held responsible for my well-being; Hasseena and Elias were placed together in the charge of others, and we were ordered to seat ourselves a little distance away. The dervishes had with them military tents which must have been taken at Khartoum, and one was soon pitched. Here the Emirs and principal men met to hold a conference and inquiry. Darb es Safai and others were taken up one by one, and the question put to them direct, "Where are the rifles and the cartridges?" for no case had, of course, been brought on with us to the wells. They denied any knowledge of them; then replied Farag, "We will find them for you, and show you how they are used." My turn came, and in reply to the usual question, I said that I knew nothing at all about them; questioned still further, I admitted that I had seen a number of boxes, but I could not pretend to know what was inside of them. Asked then as to where they were, I said I could not tell — in the desert somewhere; they had been thrown away, as the camels, being tired and
