CHAPTER XL.

"When I saw my two friends fall I cast an anxious glance in the direction of Madame de Guéran and Miss Poles, but I saw at once that they were in no immediate danger, the escort having left them for a moment, in order to unite all their force against us and put an end to us as quickly as possible. Reassured on that point, I dismounted to assist my friends. They, however, were already struggling to rise, and I found to my great joy that they were not hurt. Their horses had been hit, one in the head and the other in the chest, and had fallen, dragging their riders down with them into the sand.

"But just as Delange and Périères were getting on their legs I put my two hands on their shoulders and held them down.

"'What are you doing?' asked Périères.

"'Hush!' I said, in a whisper as I knelt beside them, 'I am saving you, and re-establishing the balance of the struggle. These wretches have us within range of their guns, as the two poor horses fully prove, but they are themselves out of pistol-shot. Let them believe that we are wounded; they will come on then to put an end to us, and we can at all events defend ourselves.'

"'But Madame de Guéran—' murmured Périères.

"'At this moment,' replied I, 'she does not run the slightest risk, and if she should be again menaced we shall know what to do with our lives.'

"Anybody seeing me lying alongside my friends would have believed that I had been wounded by the same volley which had brought them down. The two horses, one of which was dead and the other in his last agony, served as a rampart for us, and enabled us to follow all the movements of the enemy.

"They advanced towards us, exulting in, as they fondly believed, their complete success, but as soon as they were within range of our pistols we, without raising our bodies, let fly.

"Three men fell, and the remainder recoiled, but the old chief rallied the latter, pointing out to them that they were still numerically stronger, and they advanced once more.

"We were just going to fire again when we heard loud shouts on our right.

"The negroes whom we had set free were running towards us. Do not, my dear fellow, allow yourself to be deluded into the idea that, actuated by gratitude, they were coming to our aid. If, perchance, there were one or two of them who were acted upon by such a sentiment, the remainder thought, first of all, of revenge. For a long time they had submitted with resignation to a thousand and one tortures and indignities, for were they not the weaker? But, thanks to the man whose fetters we had struck off, the others now forced themselves free. They called the roll, found that they had now become the stronger party, armed themselves with their yokes, which, in their hands, were converted into formidable clubs, and, shouting their war-cry, and yelling like wild beasts, they rushed on the foe.

"The old chief saw the danger that threatened him, and attempted to break ground towards the left. He advanced a few paces in that direction, but was obliged to fall back, for the whole of his slaves had crowded together in one impenetrable mass. Several amongst them had succeeded in bursting their bonds, and incited by the cries and gesticulations of the women, appeared anxious to take part in the battle. The rebellion was a terrible one on this side, too. There were so many old scores to wipe off, and the victims had for so long a time craved to play the part of executioners!

"In this way the chief and his escort saw themselves confronted by us, and they dared not advance within range of our revolvers. The strongest and most dangerous of their slaves, the only ones whom they had up to this time feared, held them in check on the right, and, on the left, an enormous crowd, hostile and already threatening danger, barred every avenue of escape.

"Their only plan, therefore, was to fall back to their rear and so endeavour to get away, and that was the course they adopted. But here they were stopped by the two interpreters, who, by this time, were on their feet again, by Miss Poles, armed with a pistol, which she seemed bent on using, and by Madame de Guéran, who, calm and determined, surveyed the field of battle, like a regular commander-in-chief.

"This last was our weakest point, I admit, and the escort could have easily broken down all opposition from that quarter, but instead of acting at once, they made the mistake of hesitating, and of so allowing the two wings to join hands. They were, in consequence, very soon hemmed in on all sides by the terrible circle of enemies.

"And now our beloved Sultana thought it high time to interfere, and she directed the interpreters to step to the front and inform the chief that she would answer for his life and those of his men, if they all would lay down their arms at once, but if, on the contrary, they fired a single shot, she would leave them to the mercy of their revolted slaves.

"The chief looked long and anxiously around him, and, after a careful survey of his position, he threw his gun down on the sand, with a gesture of despair, an example which was followed by his men.

"Périères, Delange, and I, as you may well imagine, lost no time in joining Madame de Guéran and Miss Poles. But we were soon brought sadly down to earth again, and had to ask ourselves if it was wise to act on every good impulse, if sometimes it was not necessary to stifle our generous feelings, and if it was not dangerous to let loose the passions of the people of Africa.

"For as long as our black friends of Darfour and Kordofan saw their whilom masters fighting or defending themselves, they contented themselves with threats and a cautious advance. But as soon as they beheld them, on the contrary, disarmed and capitulating, they rushed on them, eager for their prey. At one and the same time the whole caravan—the two hundred and odd slaves, of every age and sex, the weak and the strong, the hale and the sick, rushed forward brandishing their yet chain-bound wrists, and giving tongue like a pack of hounds at the death.

"Ought we to allow these fifteen men to be massacred under our very eyes? We had attacked them in the first instance; they had not provoked us in any way, and had only defended themselves. Three of them were already wounded, and not one of us had been hit. They were, it is true, wretched slave-drivers, gaol-birds, renegades, degraded traffickers in human flesh; but Madame de Guéran had promised, in our name, that if they laid down their arms their lives should be spared. And were these negroes, of whom we had constituted ourselves the champions, any better than their masters? A short time ago they were unhappy, and oppressed, and we were moved with compassion for them; but now that they were restored to liberty, they seemed so bent on abusing it that they no longer inspired us with much sympathy. In short, we were tempted to ask ourselves whether we had any right to sacrifice the lives of fifteen persons for the sake of resisting the slave trade and rescuing a few men from bondage.

"These reflections (we imparted them to each other later on, in our moments of confidence) occurred to us all simultaneously, but this was no time for bothering our heads with the solution of a philosophical problem. We had acted on impulse, and on impulse we must rely for escape, by deeds and not arguments, from the sad position in which we were placed.

"Each of us, without consulting his neighbour, and yielding to the thoughts which I have endeavoured to explain to you, drew nearer to the captured escort for the purpose of protecting them.

"The slaves continued to shout and threaten, and Périères then hit upon the plan of directing the interpreter, Ali, who knew all the dialects current in Darfour and Kordofan, to step forward, restore order and silence, and make them understand that he wished to speak to them in our name.

"The interpreter obeyed, and the negroes ceased their clamour sooner than we anticipated. They said to themselves, no doubt, that the whites were about to propose the infliction of some novel torture on their enemies, and their condemnation to some punishment unknown to them, but in common use amongst the Franks. From this impression they drew a premature pleasure, opened their eyes and lent their ears. However, when Ali set himself to repeat an old-fashioned discourse, prompted by Miss Poles, of which the duties one owes to one's neighbour, humanity, and religion form the staple commodity, the slaves, after having given evident signs of indifference, commenced to manifest a spirit of discontent, and we had evidently fallen in their esteem.

"I then advanced with the second interpreter, and, following out my little idea, I spoke of General Baker, the liberator of the blacks. 'He has sent us,' I exclaimed, 'to the rescue of all slave caravans, but with a positive order, after freeing the captives, to bring their masters to him for punishment.'

"This speech, and I say it with pride, produced more effect than its predecessor, but I must also modestly confess that it was very far from bringing conviction home to my audience. These people, without exception, were blind to every feeling except that the pleasure of revenge was being withheld from them, and that the victors in the fray, instead of themselves killing their prisoners, wished to relegate that duty to a third person, and give him all the enjoyment. Their shouts recommenced, and the circle contracted itself more and more.

"To Madame de Guéran alone belongs the credit of having caught the public ear and touched the right chord. She ordered one of the interpreters to simply tell the blacks that they would be acting unfairly if they deprived the white people of prisoners whom they hoped to sell in their own country for a good round sum. This argument, my dear fellow, like all arguments suited to the particular audience to which they are addressed, produced an instantaneous effect. The negroes looked at each other, wagged their heads, and seemed to say—'they are right.' At war from their infancy, one tribe against another, for the sole purpose of taking as many prisoners as possible and selling them to the slave-dealers, would they not be very likely to think it natural that we should share their instincts and their tastes?

"Madame de Guéran had summed up the situation admirably. She saved the escort, and, perhaps, saved us also, for we were determined to defend these men, even at the risk of our own lives.

"The blacks stepped back a few paces to consult, and then, suddenly, returned towards us shouting as loudly as ever."