He therefore drew off the column towards the desert, and halted on
a comparatively dry spot. Some muddy pools, which were luckily discovered,
enabled the bottles to be filled and the horses to be watered. Then, having
posted many sentries, the exhausted pursuers slept, waking from time to
time to listen to the intermittent firing which was still audible,
both from the direction of Omdurman and from that in which
the Dervish army was flying.
At 3 A.M. on the 3rd Colonel Broadwood's force moved on again.
Men and horses seemed refreshed, and by the aid of a bright moon
the ground was covered at a good pace. By seven o'clock the squadrons
approached the point on the river which had been fixed for meeting the
steamer. She had already arrived, and the sight of the funnel in the
distance and the anticipation of a good meal cheered everyone, for they had
scarcely had anything to eat since the night before the battle. But as the
troopers drew nearer it became evident that 300 yards of shallow water and
deep swamp intervened between them and the vessel. Closer approach was
prevented. There was no means of landing the stores. In the hopes of
finding a suitable spot further up the stream the march was resumed.
The steamer kept pace along the river. The boggy ground delayed the columns,
but by two o'clock seven more miles had been covered. Only the flag at the
masthead was now visible; and an impassable morass separated the force from
the river bank.
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