noon
At any rate he was not so wild as the other Dongolese of the Sudân , and captivity in his house would be more endurable . The only concern now was whether they would find him in Omdurmân . Of this Idris spoke with Nur el-Tadhil , who at last recollected that a year before , while tarrying by the order of the caliph Abdullahi in Kordofân , far from Khartûm , he had heard of a certain Smain , who taught the dervishes how to fire from the cannons captured from the Egyptians , and afterwards became a slave hunter . Nur suggested to Idris the following method of finding him : `` At noon , when you hear the sounds of the umbajas , * -LSB- * Umbajas -- big trumpets of ivory tusk . -RSB- be with the children at the place of prayer , to which the Mahdi repairs daily to edify the faithful with an example of piety and to fortify them in the faith . There besides the sacred person of the Mahdi you will behold all the ` Nobles ' and also the three caliphs as well as the pashas and emirs ; among the emirs you may find Smain . '' `` But what am I to do and where shall I stay until the time of the afternoon prayer ? ''