he might suitably fill the vacancy in his.Court.

Summoning the Minister whose duty it was to deal with affairs of this nature, he gave instructions that suitable candidates should be produced for inspection. A diligent search was accordingly instituted among the people, and presently a bevy of likely maidens paraded one by one before the despot. He decided that the quality was poor. More samples were brought forward, but without success. His Majesty was wroth, and the Minister trembled.

Now among the lesser wives of this official was a woman who, several years previously, had been captured during a raid on one of the neighbouring mountains. Seeing her lord and master to be troubled, and knowing full well the cause, she approached him towards evening with a jar of merissa of her own contriving, and, when he had tasted and approved, she whispered in his ear a tale of a fair young girl, the daughter of the ruler of her former mountain home, who would, she was certain, find favour in the eyes of the lord Fadl Chippenah, and haply there might be peace once more between the hills.

The tidings pleased the Minister, and on the morrow he bore the story to his master. The King heard him favourably. Had not Bimbashi Budgeon urged upon him the importance of ceasing from intertribal strife? A present should

of the girl and negotiations opened. He was prepared to go as high as six cows and a rifle for a suitable damsel.

Musa, the Minister, was delighted at the success of his suggestion. He assured his master that the Inspector would be very pleased at this alliance between old-standing enemies, and would probably report favourably to the Governor, and then-who could tell?-there might come added honours. Perhaps, even, Bimbashi Budgeon might be induced to start the negotiations himself, "for," added the Minister, apparently as an afterthought, messengers sent direct would be viewed with suspicion, and might even be ill - treated." Chippenah smiled. The difficulty of opening negotiations had occurred to him, and he assured his subordinate that for a mission of such delicacy he would choose his most tactful and trusty messenger; he had, indeed, thought of sending Musa himself. At this the unfortunate Minister grovelled on the earth. The honour was too great, he declared; also, did not his master remember how active he, Musa, had been during the hostilities five years ago? Assuredly, if he was to undertake it, the mission would be doomed to failure. And then, too, think how disappointed Bimbashi Budgeon would be if he had had no hand in cementing the alliance. Even if he had really nothing to do with it, he would like to think that he had done it all

At length the king allowed himself to be talked over, and agreed to the proposition that the Inspector should be entrusted with the delicate task of starting the pourparlers which were designed to furnish a middle-aged reprobate with another candidate for his already well-filled harem.

Not very creditable work for a highly paid British official, perhaps; but we never know really do we ?

Bimbashi Giles Budgeon was a young gentleman of promise. The outbreak of the South African War occurring in the same year in which he left Sandhurst gave him that early experience of active service which is so potent an assistance in subsequent advancement. On being seconded for duty with the Egyptian Army, he served for some time with an infantry battalion, first in Cairo and later in Khartoum. A natural facility in languages and a pleasing exterior soon established him in a satisfactory position with his superior officers, but it was not until he had been flagrantly crossed and badly thrown by an exalted official while playing polo in Omdurman that he was singled out as eminently suited for special employment. It may be, as was stated in some quarters, that Bimbashi Budgeon used his accident skilfully. But even if he did, why not? All that concerns us is that soon after he had recovered sufficiently from his fall to be able

transferred to the Civil Administration, and posted to the Bukra-Malesh Province as an Inspector.

The District of which he was put in charge was an interesting and an important one. The country for the most part consists of bare rugged hills, intersected by dry water-courses and valleys, in which mimosas and wild figs grow thick, while here and there a huge tebelditree stands up as a landmark and a resting-place for travellers.

In

Cattle - owning Arabs pasture their herds in the valleys and on the plains, following the water and the grazing from place to place with the changing seasons; while the mountains harbour a naked race of hillmen, brave and hardy, and full of that sturdy independence which seems to go ever with bare and open hillsides. the days of fierce lawlessness which preceded the present régime, these people found their only refuge in the mountain fastnesses. Descent to the plain was followed all too often by capture and enslavement, and hence, through the years, they grew to be a series of scattered and isolated communities clinging to their rocky homes, and ruled over by petty kinglets, or Meks, as they are called in the local phraseology. The origin of this people is obscure, their dialects unwritten, and almost unknown outside a radius of a few miles. The communities are wonderfully self-supporting. Their wants are few. Each hill has

a fair proportion of rifles in its armament, the weapons being all of the ancient type of Remington which was in use in the Egyptian Army when Gordon was Governor of the Sudan. The best-known vintage of Remington among the hills is the "Hicksowi," or rifle, captured from the troops of General Hicks on that fatal day in '82 when the army under his command was overwhelmed by the Madhi's forces at Sherkeila, and killed or captured to a man. These ancient pieces are cherished with pride, and are priceless heirlooms in the families fortunate enough to possess them. They are uncertain and inaccurate, often as dangerous to their user as to his opponents, but in the hands of brave and resolute men in no wise to be despised at close quarters. Sometimes in the heart of the mountain range there may be an upland valley with a running brook and a stretch of pasture, and in these cases cattle are owned and crops are raised in comfort, but in the majority of the hills, goats and a race of small black pigs alone can be cared for, and the scanty harvests are gathered on carefully terraced hillsides, or are sown precariously within rifle-shot of the rocks.

When Bimbashi Budgeon took up his duties in this interesting neighbourhood, a more or less stable state of affairs had been reached. The nomad Arabs, being dwellers on the plains and owners of flocks and herds, were vulner

able, and had long since welcomed the new Government. The hillmen, secure in their mountain strongholds, were a different matter. As long as they were let alone they were harmless enough, but they suffered visitors unwillingly or not at all. Suspicious of the plain, and of all dwellers on the plain, they clung to their mountains, and refused to be drawn. But as time passed and they were not molested, these shy birds began to grow bolder. Their crops were sown farther and farther from the base of the hills, and now and then a naked warrior would appear at one of the Government posts with some small article for sale or barter. Soon these isolated drops became a trickle, and finally a fairly steady stream. But the current was almost entirely in one direction-most of the hills remained inviolate to strangers.

Then came a time when the Inspectors felt that they were giving all and receiving nothing. Why should the mountain men have the protection of the Government and give naught in return? A cautious levy of tribute was essayed, with varying success. And now, emboldened by their long security, the people of one hill took toll of their old enemies the Arabs. A Baggara family encamped near the foot of a mountain was set upon and murdered, and their cattle driven rapidly into the heart of the hills. The chief of the Arab tribe complained to the Inspector. The Inspector sent his police officer