CHAPTER VI 



I travel south again with Captain M'Murdo to become Inspector of the 

 Dinkas in the Fashoda province — Renk — Mosquitoes — I bring rain — 

 My nocturnal visitors — Big game shooting — A waterbuck — Ordered 

 to Taufikia — Fashoda — Fish-spearing — Missionaries — Up the Sobat 

 on an inspection tour — Itang — Giraffe. 



Four months later I found myself again travelling south. 

 For companion I had that indefatigable Nimrod, 

 Captain M'Murdo, D.S.O., the director of the slavery 

 repression department. He was full of anecdote as 

 each village or bend in the river recalled to him some 

 adventure with the dervishes in the days when the 

 " New Army " was being created. Not less interest- 

 ing were his tales of adventure with big game, &c., 

 which included the description of hours spent in 

 watching the herds, their habits, &c., which means 

 so much more to the true sportsman than the mere 

 slaughter. 



Near Abu Hamed my train passed that on which 

 Colonel Wilkinson's successor was. He was going 

 on leave, and just as his train was moving off he said 

 that he had heard a rumour that the Sirdar had selected 

 me for the Civil Administration. To leave my beloved 

 Arabs was a wrench, as was to leave the " Irish " 

 Mudiria, great as had been the changes in both 



since I had joined them. As it turned out it 



170 



