His intention, as he had arranged with Royce, was to reach the Tubus' camp north-west of the fort about sunrise, and he felt that there was grave risk in leading an attack in broad daylight. But the thought of Royce's disappointment, of his wonder and dismay when the arrangement was not carried out, nerved him to the task. Impressing on the men that they must march in perfect silence, he drew them up in an orderly column, inspected their arms, and moved off at their head. Some of the best scouts were thrown out ahead and on the flanks to guard against surprise with orders to report at once if they caught sight of the enemy. Challis felt very nervous. Numbers and arms were on the side of the Tubus. He had hoped to counterbalance this disadvantage by the effect of a sudden swoop in the early morning twilight, but that was now impossible. The steadiness of his men, however, at the fight by the swamp, was of good augury, and their belief in white man's magic and trust in their leader were strong. They were full of courage and enthusiasm, and seemed confident that the coming struggle would rid them for ever of the murderous tyranny of their oppressors. They followed a roundabout course, in order to take advantage of all the cover afforded by the numerous clumps of woodland on the western side of the fort. As they passed through the undergrowth and trees, they started many flights of birds, which Challis feared would give warning to the Tubus, from whom he had so narrowly escaped in the night. He was surprised that there was no sign of them. Why had they not followed him up, or at least fetched a body of their comrades to hunt for him? The explanation, which he only guessed at later, was that the Tubus had supposed that the white fugitive was Royce. They reported this to Goruba, who jumped to the conclusion that Royce had left his men in the lurch. The result of this mistaken belief will be seen presently. The column thus advanced unmolested and unseen. After an hour and a half's march, John, who had gone ahead with the scouts, came back to announce that they were now in a line with the fort, which was something less than a mile away. Challis called a halt at the western side, farthest from the fort, of a patch of scrub. Once more he impressed on his men the necessity of silence. He told them also that if they succeeded in putting the Tubus of the north-west camp to flight, they must not carry the pursuit too far, for they would then become dispersed and be unable to deal with the men from the other camps. Wondering doubtfully whether John had made his meaning clear, he was about to lead his men on, when a sound suddenly struck his ear. For the moment he did not recognise it, but hearing it again he knew it to be the sound of horses neighing. The animals were apparently between him and the camp. An idea flashed into his mind.