Page:A Prisoner of the Khaleefa.djvu/354

Rh confronted with half a dozen Baggara concealed in some hut or room. When some one came staggering along under a particularly heavy load, a Black would assist him with his burden; some of his comrades would join in, and when the looter protested that he did not require any help, a little Soudan horseplay was indulged in, and later on these little pleasantries came up as grave charges of assault.

The only people in Omdurman who had anything worth looting were the real Mahdists themselves — and they deserved to be looted of their ill-gotten gains. In dealing with any claims for compensation for having been looted, three things should be kept in mind — the complainant should prove that he was not a real Mahdist; that what he was looted of on the evening of the 2nd of September was not the proceeds of his own looting during the day; and, having got so far, should reconcile the fact of his having been looted of property and valuables with his tales of abject misery, poverty, and semi-starvation.

It did not take me long to grasp the situation, for after seeing the soldiers posted to the houses of the "Government" people, I started on a voyage of discovery after the houses of the principal Baggara and others, and having had them pointed out to me, I recommended the soldiers to take their cleaning rods and bayonets, and probe the walls of the hareem rooms for hidden valuables. I am pleased to say that the suggested operations were not entirely without some gratifying results; but a very small find indeed gratifies the native troops. Whoever possessed property