CHAPTER XXXIX.

"Obeying one common idea, and swayed by one common impulse, we rushed to the rescue of the unfortunate slave. In an instant the man who had struck her was on the ground and disarmed by Delange, or Périères, or myself, or, possibly, by Miss Poles, for I cannot tell you exactly what passed. But the column still moved on, and the woman was dragged along with it. We saw at once that we must not confine ourselves to avenging the poor creature—we must aid her and save her.

"I forced the man to follow me to where she was, and release her from her chains. My revolver had an eloquence of its own, the woman was set free, and Madame de Guéran and the Doctor having dismounted, were soon paying her every possible attention.

"This little scene had not, of course, escaped the notice of the men who composed the escort, nor of the leader at their head. The calm indifference which they had showed towards us was all assumed, for they certainly watched us out of the corners of their eyes and took account of our slightest movement. But the leader of the caravan, an old Portuguese trader turned Mussulman (one of the interpreters had recognized him) thought it more prudent, for commercial reasons, to appear not to see what was going on. What did one half dead slave matter to him? A few miles more, and she would be incapable of walking, and he would be compelled then to leave her to her fate in the desert.

"Consequently, not only did he make no attempt to bear down upon us with his men, but he increased the speed of the column, so as to escape as soon as possible from the small band of Franks. (That is the name given by Mussulmen to all Europeans indiscriminately.)

"But our first success had emboldened us; as far as I was concerned, I was fairly launched, and, in this respect, I bear some resemblance to Miss Poles; when once I am launched, or have started, whichever you like, there is no stopping me. I was, at the same time, struck by one of those ideas which I will modestly describe as sublime. I imparted it to my friends, and the very people who, half-an-hour previously, had overwhelmed me with incontrovertible arguments to prove that we ought not to meddle with the slave trade, but that the dealers in human flesh should be allowed to ply their nefarious traffic unmolested—these very people now adopted my idea enthusiastically, and helped me to put it in force.

"Périères, Delange, and I went off at full speed without any warning whatever, leaving the two interpreters near the ladies as a protection. We three, each taking a separate course, reached the caravan at three different points, and so soon as we could get hold of the long rope to which the slaves were bound, we cut it through with our knives in several places.

"The line had no longer one body and one life, its unity, in which consisted the safety of the escort, had disappeared, the disunited fragments only could be seen of the huge serpent which, a few seconds before, had been tortuously gliding along the sand.

"By this time, as you may well imagine, the chief and his men abandoned their inactivity and thought it was high time for them to interfere, so, after having ordered the slaves to halt, they made straight for us, and, on our side, we awaited them without flinching.

"The party which advanced against us was composed of about ten, the remainder of the escort remaining with the slaves to frustrate any attempt to escape.

"'Why do you attack us?' exclaimed their leader, in a rage, 'we have not done you any harm.'

"Périères was on the point of replying, but I begged him to allow me to speak, and advancing towards the chief, I said—

"'I am carrying out the orders intrusted to me.'

"'What orders? Who are you?' asked the trader.

"'We are officers and friends of General Baker,' I replied with the utmost assurance, 'and we have been delegated by him to put a stop to the slave-trade.'

"'You! it is not true—you are not in uniform.'

"I might have expected this remark, for in these parts great _prestige_ attaches to any uniform, and everybody representing any authority whatever ought either to be decked with lace, or ornaments, or a forage cap, or a fez, or, better still, a sword, which is the insignia of command. But I was not to be frightened.

"'Our uniforms are at Matamma,' I replied, 'we had simply come out for a ride on the sand, without dreaming that you would have the audacity to show yourselves. And in proof of what I say, here is my commission,' and so saying, I took out of my pocket the letter of the Governor of Souakim.

"I had read somewhere, either in Schweinfurth's or Barth's works, that in Africa letters either sealed or stamped have a wonderful effect on the people, an effect which is heightened in proportion to their inability to understand them. So I opened my letter, and instead of reading the contents, I recited from memory, with certain additional and personal details, the latest firman of the Khedive, which I had seen posted up in Cairo.

"'We, Ismael, Khedive of Egypt, considering the savage condition of the tribes who inhabit the Nile Basin, considering that humanity imposes on all the duty of putting down the slave hunters who occupy those countries in great numbers—We have decreed and hereby do decree as follows—An expedition is organized for the suppression of the slave trade, and the introduction of a system of regular commerce.

"'The Command-in-Chief of this expedition is entrusted to Sir Samuel White Baker, for four years, commencing from the 4th April, 1869.

"'And we invest him, and all his officers, with the most absolute power, even that of death, over all slave-traders or slave-merchants who may resist this authority.'

"My reading ended, or, if you prefer it, my lesson recited, I calmly re-folded the letter of the Governor of Souakim, converted under my hand into a firman from the Khedive, put it in my pocket, and looked up to enjoy the effect I hoped I had produced on the bystanders.

"Périères and Delange smiled behind their moustaches, the men of the escort were dumbfounded, but their rascally leader, in his character as a wily old Portuguese, did not appear in the least moved by my reading, either because he did not care two straws for the official document, or because he considered that we were not in sufficient strength to enforce it.

"After a glance around him to assure himself that the slaves were not making any attempt at escape, and after having reckoned up his escort, he complacently stroked his scanty beard land, looking at me with blinking eyes, he said—

"'These slaves are my property. I bought them in Darfour and Kordofan. The Khedive has no right to take them from me, and I will not give them up!'

"'Then,' I replied, without hesitation, 'we shall be obliged to arrest you.'

"'Take care,' said he, falling back a pace or two, 'I shall defend myself.'

"'As you please! But you are acting in disobedience of the orders of the Khedive, and I have a right to put you to death—don't forget that.'

"I was determined, in order to intimidate the escort, to lay hands on their leader, when, suddenly, loud shouts were heard, followed immediately by a series of shots. On turning our eyes in the direction of the caravan, we understood at once what had happened.

"I have already told you that amongst the slaves, there were several whose necks were fastened in a sort of collar or yoke. These were the intractable ones, the incorrigibles, as they say on the hulks, who railed against their fate, and were on the look-out for an opportunity of escape. They were, moreover, robust and stalwart men who would command a good price, but would be dangerous in case of revolt. These men, negroes mostly from Darfour, had perceived that we wished to rescue them. At first they awaited patiently the result of our interview, and then, very likely, they whispered to each other that, as we were not numerous, they had better help themselves and take advantage of such liberty as we had already given them. They had gradually gathered together in one group of about thirty, and by signs, and by words passed from mouth to mouth, they had hit upon a plan of escape.

"The moment they saw me advance towards the leader, a proceeding which rather flurried his escort, they got rid of their loads, and took to flight with marvellous agility. Though their necks and wrists were fettered, their legs were perfectly free, and the negroes have a great reputation as fast runners.

"But the escort had opened fire on the runaways, one of them was hit in the thigh, and already their progress was retarded.

"'Shall we let these people be massacred?' I exclaimed, as I heard the chief order the escort to reload.

"'No,' shouted my friends, 'let us go to their rescue.'

"Périères, Delange, and I galloped off, after having given strict injunctions to the two interpreters to watch over the safety of Madame de Guéran and Miss Poles, who were still on their knees by the side of the slave, in whom they had by this time succeeded in restoring animation.

"We very soon came up with the fugitives, who stopped when they saw who we were, and made us understand that, if we wished to save them, the first thing to do was to remove the yokes which kept their necks fixed in one position, and the chains which fastened them to one another.

"The operation was by no means easy, but Périères and I set to work at once, whilst Delange attended to the wound of the negro who had been hit by a bullet and was bleeding copiously.

"I had just released one of the slaves from both his yoke and chains, when Périères, astonished at not hearing any more firing, looked up towards the place where we had left the escort, and uttered an exclamation of alarm.

"The chief and his men, instead of keeping up a continuous fire on the negroes, and so destroying the human live-stock from which they hoped to net so goodly a haul, turned their attention to the spot where we had left our two companions and the couple of interpreters. Omar and Ali, fearing to draw the fire of the escort upon the two ladies confided to their protection, did not defend themselves, and, as they were knocked down at once, Madame de Guéran was left at the mercy of these wretches.

"You may well imagine, my dear fellow, that it was no question of bursting bonds or binding up wounds—all we had to do was to rush to the rescue of her whom our imprudence and fool-hardiness were exposing to such terrible danger.

"The escort, as soon as we were seen advancing, opened fire upon us. From out ten muzzles fired the messengers of death, and Périères and Delange rolled over at my feet.