第92章

Gordon， accompanied by Colonel Stewart， who was to act as his second-in-command， tripped on to the platform. Lord Granville bought the necessary tickets； the Duke of Cambridge opened the railway-carriage door. The General jumped into the train； and then Lord Wolseley appeared， carrying a leather bag， in which was ā200 in gold， collected from friends at the last moment for the contingencies of the journey. The bag was handed through the window. The train started. As it did so， Gordon leaned out and addressed a last whispered question to Lord Wolseley. Yes， it had been done. Lord Wolseley had seen to it himself； next morning， every member of the Cabinet would receive a copy of Dr. Samuel Clarke's Scripture Promises. That was all. The train rolled out of the station.

Before the travellers reached Cairo， steps had been taken which finally put an end to the theory-- if it had ever been seriously held-- that the purpose of the mission was simply the making of a report. On the very day of Gordon's departure， Lord Granville telegraphed to Sir Evelyn Baring as follows： 'Gordon suggests that it may be announced in Egypt that he is on his way to Khartoum to arrange for the future settlement of the Sudan for the best advantage of the people.' Nothing was said of reporting. A few days later， Gordon himself telegraphed to Lord Granville suggesting that he should be made Governor-General of the Sudan， in order to 'accomplish the evacuation'， and to 'restore to the various Sultans of the Sudan their independence'.

Lord Granville at once authorised Sir Evelyn Baring to issue， if he thought fit， a proclamation to this effect in the name of the Khedive. Thus the mission 'to report' had already swollen into a Governor-Generalship， with the object， not merely of effecting the evacuation of the Sudan， but also of setting up 'various Sultans' to take the place of the Egyptian Government.

In Cairo， in spite of the hostilities of the past， Gordon was received with every politeness. He was at once proclaimed Governor-General of the Sudan， with the widest powers. He was on the point of starting off again on his journey southwards， when a singular and important incident occurred. Zobeir， the rebel chieftain of Darfur， against whose forces Gordon had struggled for years， and whose son， Suleiman， had been captured and executed by Gessi， Gordon's lieutenant， was still detained at Cairo. It so fell out that he went to pay a visit to one of the Ministers at the same time as the new Governor-General. The two men met face to face， and， as he looked into the savage countenance of his old enemy， an extraordinary shock of inspiration ran through Gordon's brain. He was seized， as he explained in a State paper， which he drew up immediately after the meeting， with a 'mystic feeling' that he could trust Zobeir.

It was true that Zobeir was 'the greatest slave-hunter who ever existed'； it was true that he had a personal hatred of Gordon， owing to the execution of Suleiman--'and one cannot wonder at it， if one is a father'； it was true that， only a few days previously， on his way to Egypt， Gordon himself had been so convinced of the dangerous character of Zobeir that he had recommended by telegram his removal to Cyprus. But such considerations were utterly obliterated by that one moment of electric impact of personal vision； henceforward，there was a rooted conviction in Gordon's mind that Zobeir was to be trusted， that Zobeir must join him at Khartoum， that Zobeir's presence would paralyse the Mahdi， that Zobeir must succeed him in the government of the country after the evacuation. Did not Sir Evelyn Baring， too， have the mystic feeling？ Sir Evelyn Baring confessed that he had not. He distrusted mystic feelings. Zobeir， no doubt， might possibly be useful； but， before deciding upon so important a matter， it was necessary to reflect and to consult.

In the meantime， failing Zobeir， something might perhaps be done with the Emir Abdul Shakur， the heir of the Darfur Sultans. The Emir， who had been living in domestic retirement in Cairo， was with some difficulty discovered， given ā2，000， an embroidered uniform， together with the largest decoration that could be found， and informed that he was to start at once with General Gordon for the Sudan， where it would be his duty to occupy the province of Darfur， after driving out the forces of the Mahdi.

The poor man begged for a little delay； but no delay could be granted. He hurried to the railway station in his frockcoat and fez， and rather the worse for liquor. Several extra carriages for his twenty-three wives and a large quantity of luggage had then to be hitched on to the Governor-General's train； and at the last moment some commotion was caused by the unaccountable disappearance of his embroidered uniform. It was found， but his troubles were not over. On the steamer， General Gordon was very rude to him， and he drowned his chagrin in hot rum and water. At Assuan he disembarked， declaring that he would go no farther. Eventually， however， he got as far as Dongola， whence， after a stay of a few months， he returned with his family to Cairo.