CHAPTER XXXVIII.

"What induced us, I wonder, to venture thus into the open desert? Instead of galloping straight ahead it would have been more according to reason to follow the banks of the Nile and continue on our way towards Khartoum.

"Périères and Delange, recalling their sensations when in pursuit of the Nomads in the valley of El-Hejaz, doubtless longed for another taste of the desert. They set off at full speed, and we followed them without, or, rather, after reflection, to see if we in our turn could enjoy those sensations, whose praises they have so continually sung. Miss Poles, as usual, was actuated by her _amour propre_; she wished to appear and be admired as a horsewoman, and I am bound to confess that, if she did ride in a most break-neck and ungraceful fashion, she was at all events very firm in her saddle and intrepid to a degree.

"Very soon our guides begged us to moderate both our speed and our ardour. We obeyed, under protest, for we had lost all consciousness of time and distance, and we did not think we were as far from Matamma as they pretended we were. Omar, in self-defence, called on us to observe that we were on the direct route of the caravans, and, in support of his assertion, he pointed out to us, in the distance, a long brown streak which stood out in strong contrast against the sun-illumined yellow of the sand and the clear, blue sky.

"'What is that?' asked Madame de Guéran. 'A town or a hillock?'

"'A cloud, more likely,' remarked Périères. 'It is not stationary, but moves in one direction.'

"'It is neither a hill nor a cloud,' replied the interpreter. 'That shadow on the horizon is produced by a long caravan coming from Kordofan, and making its way to Nubia across the desert of Bahiouda.'

"'And it is a caravan of slaves,' added the second interpreter.

"'How do you know that?' I asked.

"'Free men would not so uselessly brave the hardships of the desert; they would travel nearer to the Nile. Their keeping at such a distance from the stream shows that down south they have heard of General Baker, and they fear an attack and the consequent loss of their slaves.'

"'Suppose,' I exclaimed, with that want of reflection for which you always find so much fault with me, 'suppose we take Baker's place with these poor wretches?'

"'That would be a senseless proceeding,' said Delange. 'We have not come to Africa to fight at every turn, and we five can scarcely set ourselves up to reform the morals of the country.'

"'The Doctor is quite right,' said Madame de Guéran. 'We are, I fear, destined to witness some sad scenes. We must, alas! stand by, and exercise sufficient self-control to abstain from all interference which may seem to us futile and involving too great risk.'

"'And I,' said Miss Poles, 'will add, if you will allow me, that it is not on the Nile, as my fellow countryman, Baker, is doing, nor in the desert, as you propose to do, that the struggle should be made against the slave trade. The blow must be struck at the source—in Turkey, in Asia, Arabia, Persia, and certain places in Egypt. It is the insatiable luxury of these countries which must be put down. If the Sultans, their ministers, their wives, the petty governors of provinces, however small, and every man of more than ordinary wealth, did not make a point of possessing as many slaves as possible, if two thousand wretches in their pay did not continually penetrate into the interior of Africa for the sole purpose of collecting this article of luxury, which is a part of their ambition, the slave trade would have no _raison d'être_, and civilization might permeate throughout these lands. When I was with poor Alexina Tinne, I studied this question thoroughly, and I assure you that I am not mistaken.'

"Conversing thus, we drew near to the caravan, and saw a long line of beings, who, according to the calculations of our interpreters, must have mustered between two and three hundred.

"'I am more than ever convinced,' said Ali, 'that this is a caravan of slaves.'

"On our asking the reason of his conviction, he replied—

"'I do not see any camels: the slaves take the place of beasts of burden.'

"'Ah!' I exclaimed, 'I want to be a closer witness of this, and since, Baroness, you say that we must harden our hearts, let us take advantage of this opportunity.'

"I put spurs to my horse, and the whole cavalcade followed me, quite as much to obviate my being left to myself as from motives of curiosity. Once on the move, there was no necessity for a halt; we were not riding haphazard, but we knew where we were going and what was the object of this excursion into the desert.

"After an hour's ride, we came up with the caravan, or, to speak more correctly, we reached a spot where it was bound to pass.

"It advanced slowly, step by step, appearing to wind along like a huge serpent tracing its sinuous course in the sand. At last it defiled in front of us.

"The leader marched at the head, enveloped in a large bûrnus, silently, deliberately, carrying his carbine on his shoulder. Five or six Arabs, clothed and armed like their chief, kept close on his heels, and, every now and then, turned round to take a look at the immense human herd which followed them.

"As they passed us they saluted us courteously, but without stopping or showing the slightest mistrust of us. Behind them the whole caravan wound along, composed of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred persons, marching one behind the other. A long cord, beginning and ending with the column, divided it into two parts, and to this rope each captive was fastened by means of a small iron chain attached to the left arm. Thus chained, and bound to each other, men, women and children appeared to form one and the same body, obeying the same impulse, and having but one life.

"There was a gap of about sixty centimetres between each group, so that the whole of this living cluster extended over a hundred metres. A rear-guard of three or four armed men closed the column, whose flanks were watched by ten more Arabs, five on each side.

"All the slaves, half-naked, had heavy loads on their heads, some laden with durra and rice, others with large leathern bottles filled with water, and a few, whom their masters evidently considered as being too anxious for freedom and thereby liable to punishment, had still heavier loads, although their necks were firmly fixed in a species of large yoke which prevented them even from turning their heads.

"If their masters had passed us in a careless fashion, the slaves, on the contrary, cast on us timid and despairing glances. It was a heart-rending sight, I can tell you, and despite all our efforts to be calm, we could with difficulty restrain our emotion. Périères tugged at his long moustache, Delange stroked his beard. Miss Poles wiped her spectacles, and tears coursed down the cheeks of Madame de Guéran. Nevertheless, we remained motionless and silent. In rear of the column walked the women, the sick and the children, with their left wrists enchained, and loads on their heads. One woman of about twenty, with attenuated frame, haggard face and weary look, attracted our attention. She seemed to bend beneath her burden, which was weighing her down; her limbs tottered, her bosom heaved, and large, scalding tears welled from out her eyes.

"She did not make any effort to arouse our sympathy; on the contrary, she appeared to wish to conceal her weakness, her misery and her degradation; she turned her head as she raised it, and made futile efforts to walk upright. But, when a few paces from us, her strength failed her, her limbs gave way, and she sank to the earth. Her companions did not notice it; the impetus was there, and the fall of one person could not influence the onward march of two hundred others. Fastened by the wrist to her companions, she was dragged along with them, or, rather, by them, and was carried on by the human stream.

"We looked on, still silent and without stirring, but more excited than ever, and trembling in every limb.

"Suddenly, one of the overseers of the caravan caught sight of this slave, whose load had fallen to the ground, and who, instead of walking like the rest, half-fainting, half-dying, allowed herself to be borne onward by the crowd. He went up to her, spoke to her harshly, and, as she did not reply, he uplifted a leathern strap, and struck her.

"At that moment, my dear fellow, we one and all experienced a species of electric shock; a shudder went through our frames, to our silence succeeded shouts of indignation, and from being motionless as statues we became alert with fury. You shall soon know how."