CHAPTER XVIII.

The journal of the European expedition comes to an abrupt close on the 11th December. That is to say, the notes taken by M. Périères are so concise that they are not sufficient for the exigencies of our tale. In order to give a more detailed account of the events which followed on each other with such rapidity, and hastened the _dénouement_ of this lengthy history, we have had recourse to certain information subsequently obtained from those who were best qualified to enlighten us.

M. Périères, as soon as he had satisfied himself about the appearance of the army of the Walindis, hurried himself off to warn MM. de Morin and Delange.

"Bravo!" said the latter. "This style of thing is much more to my taste. There will be an end of the business now."

"We shall be attacked at sun-rise," said de Morin. "That is the way the black tribes, when they make war, love to salute that luminary. Quick, let us rouse the camp and to arms!"

"Then you do not see," asked Périères, "any means of avoiding this battle, which threatens to be a terrible one?"

"I see nothing but fighting for it," replied M. de Morin. "And it is not for want of thinking, I can assure you, because, for a long time, I have foreseen what has come to pass this morning."

"Suppose we send a flag of truce to the Queen?"

"She will receive it with a flight of arrows, and, besides, what are our envoys to say to her?"

"They can say that the army of the Monbuttoos has not been guilty of any excesses in the territory of the Walindis, that it has respected both the inhabitants and their property, that it has behaved more like an ally than an enemy, and that it makes fresh proposals for an alliance."

"Well! I agree to a last attempt, but only on condition that we send our own proper ambassadors. As white men, we may possibly have some influence. But if we are attacked _en route_, if we are killed before we can reach the Queen, or if we are taken prisoners, for we must not place too much reliance on her forbearance, or on her respect for flags of truce—you will admit that, will you not?—what will become of Madame de Guéran, of our caravan, of Munza, and of his army without us?"

"In fact," said the doctor, "the presence of both of you is not only precious in the extreme but also indispensably necessary, for your death or disappearance would spread discouragement through the ranks of the Monbuttoos and the Nubians. But I am not so generally necessary. I could die or be made prisoner without any very great inconvenience, and I offer to make my way to Walinda alone. Oh I don't go into raptures, you may postpone your admiration. At this moment my prevailing feeling is curiosity. I have for a long time been burning with a desire to find myself face to face with this lovely Queen, whose godfather I am, seeing that I have christened her with the name of Venus in ebony. I want, and speedily too, to see her beauty for myself, because one of our bullets may disfigure my godchild at any moment, and convert a pretty woman into a mere corpse. I will therefore set out alone and unarmed; that will be the more prudent course. So let us find out with our telescopes where she is, for I confess to not relishing the idea of searching for her through the ranks of that vast army."

MM. de Morin and Périères did not attempt to turn the doctor from his purpose. Being themselves quite capable of acting as he was doing, they considered his conduct as perfectly natural. Though they did not expect very much from their friend's proceedings, they yet felt that some attempt ought to be made to obviate the frightful massacre, the wholesale butchery that was on the eve of taking place. They gave Delange no instructions whatever, not quite knowing what to tell him to do, and relying on that intelligence and imperturbable coolness of which he had so often given such proofs.

Whilst the bearer of the fresh flag of truce was quietly making his way towards a hillock about five hundred yards distant, lighted up by the earliest rays of the rising sun, and seeming to be the central point of the line of battle arrayed against us, MM. de Morin and Périères, without loss of time, carried out a plan they had just hit upon.

The ground upon which they had passed the night, and which in all probability was destined to serve as the battle-field, resembled a large, oblong amphitheatre, surrounded on the north, east, and west, by gradually sloping hills, and shut in, on the south, by a mountain about eighteen hundred feet high.

Périères had conceived the idea of resting the army against this last mentioned rampart, and cutting a deep trench in front of it. Thanks to this plan of defence, the Walindis would not be able to surround their enemies, as would have been the case had the latter remained in the centre of the open plain. At the same time, the European caravan and a portion of the Monbuttoo army would be protected by a fortification where, should they not succeed in defeating the Walindis, they might make a last desperate stand.

Whilst the soldiers and bearers, and, indeed, everybody who was capable of wielding an axe or tearing up the ground with his hands, were working for the common safety, de Morin was engaged in a careful survey of the mountain which rose up before him.

"What a nuisance it is," said he, "that this splendid wall is insuperable! If we could only get past it we could save ourselves without having to strike a blow, we could escape from the territory of the Walindis, and gain Lake Albert."

"Let us blow it up," replied Périères, laughing. "It is very likely stopping up the mouth of some extensive pass."

"My dear fellow," said de Morin. "I labour under a very decided impression that very soon we shall find another, and a better use for our powder."

The doctor was, meanwhile, composedly continuing his walk across the plain alone and unattended. He had been asked to take Nassar with him, but he distinctly refused, on the ground that if he saw the Queen he should see M. de Guéran also, and that he preferred having the Baron as interpreter.

He was not mistaken; his fellow countryman came to his rescue. Received at first by a heavy shower of arrows, Delange soon noticed that the missiles became fewer and farther between. They ceased at last altogether, and when he was about a hundred yards from the group he was attempting to reach, some one stepped forward and came to meet him.