CHAP. 111.] 
DISARM THE MUTINEERS. 
125 
And at the sharp click of the locks, as I quickly cocked 
the rifle that I held in my hands, the cowardly muti¬ 
neers widened their line and wavered. Some retreated 
a few paces to the rear ; others sat down, and laid 
their guns on the ground; while the remainder slowly 
dispersed, and sat in twos, or singly, under the various 
trees about eighty paces distant. Taking advantage 
of their indecision, I immediately rose and ordered my 
vakeel and Richarn to disarm them as they were thus 
scattered. Foreseeing that the time had arrived for 
actual physical force, the cowards capitulated, agreeing 
to give up their arms and ammunition if I would give 
them their written discharge. I disarmed them imme¬ 
diately, and the vakeel having written a discharge for 
the fifteen men present, I wrote upon each paper the 
word “ mutineer ” above my signature. None of them 
being able to read, and this being written in English, 
they unconsciously carried the evidence of their own 
guilt, which I resolved to punish should I ever find 
them on my return to Khartoum. 
Thus disarmed, they immediately joined other of 
the traders’ parties. These fifteen men were the 
“ Jalyns ” of my party, the remainder being Dongo- 
lowas : both Arabs of the Nile, north of Khartoum. 
The Dongolowas had not appeared when summoned 
by the drum, and my vakeel being of their nation, 
