Meanwhile, to return to the Somaliland Camel Corps and the friendlies, the latter of whom were watching the gates of Tale, where the Mullah was now definitely located. On the night of the 5/6th February, in a fight outside the walls, Haji Sudi and Ibrahim Boghl, two of the dervish leaders, right-hand men of the Mullah, were killed. No serious attack was made on the forts by our mounted men, as, had they been seriously held, the Government troops must have suffered heavy casualties; a most serious matter in a country like Somaliland, owing to the lack of conveniences and difficulty of transport. The Camel Corps policy was to play a waiting game, and on Monday, the 9th February, when it was some miles away at a water hole, the dervishes, seizing their opportunity, launched an attack on the friendlies watching them. During the fighting the Mullah escaped, and shortly before the Camel Corps arrived on the scene, by which time it was too dark to follow on his tracks. Dismounted scouts were sent out and next morning, at dawn, the mounted troops picking up the tracks from the friendlies some four or five miles on, turned North East towards Lower Halin, which they passed, and arrived, on Tuesday evening, at an unknown well some forty-eight miles from their starting point. Starting early on Wednesday they arrived, at three-forty-five p.m., at Bihan on a hot scent, having captured en route the Mullah's wives, children and near relatives, during a sharp running fight with the escort of thirty mounted men, all of whom were killed, their ponies and rifles being captured. It had been ascertained at Halin, on the previous day, that a party of dervishes had branched off from the main body; the Camel Corps therefore detached a party of fifteen rifles in pursuit. On Thursday, having no information of the Mullah, a strong reconnaissance was made towards Gerrowei, and a patrol sent out to the South East. This latter party reported a body of dervishes advancing on Gerrowei; so the Camel Corps, leaving twenty rifles at Bihan, moved quickly out, and coming up with the dervishes in broken ground North of Gerrowei, attacked at once. The mounted dervishes fled; the footmen showed fight, and were galloped down by a pony company who were joined by the reconnoitring party from Gerrowei. The enemy horsemen were pursued, rounded up, and their horses captured, although some of the riders succeeded in escaping on foot. But few of the footmen, who broke at the first charge, escaped. Shortly afterwards, before midday, a small party of enemy horsemen, with a few camels, moving towards the Haud were reported by scouts, so leaving the main body to mopping-up operations, the fittest ponies of the Camel Corps were sent in pursuit, a difficult one over rough country. This party accounted for the remainder, eight men killed and two captured, one of the former being an Abyssinian of some rank.