Except at Abu Hamed, we hear of no other strong Dervish force between this and Omdurman.

If Mahmud thinks himself strong enough, no doubt he will fight; but if he and the Khalifa know their business, he will fall back and, with the forces at Omdurman, fight one big battle.

The two armies together will, from what we hear, amount to sixty or seventy thousand; and there is no doubt whatever that, with all their faults, the beggars can fight.

It will be a tough affair, but I believe we shall have some British troops here to help, before the final advance.

We can depend now on both the Soudanese and the Egyptians to fight hard, but there are not enough of them.