III
THE MORHANGE-SAINT-AVIT MISSION
"So I killed Captain Morhange," Andre de Saint-Avit said to me thenext day, at the same time, in the same place, with a calm that tookno account of the night, the frightful night I had just been through."Why do I tell you this? I don't know in the least. Because of thedesert, perhaps. Are you a man capable of enduring the weight of thatconfidence, and further, if necessary, of assuming the consequences itmay bring? I don't know that, either. The future will decide. For thepresent there is only one thing certain, the fact, I tell you again,that I killed Captain Morhange.
"I killed him. And, since you want me to specify the reason, youunderstand that I am not going to torture my brain to turn it into aromance for you, or commence by recounting in the naturalistic mannerof what stuff my first trousers were made, or, as the neo-Catholicswould have it, how often I went as a child to confession, and how muchI liked doing it. I have no taste for useless exhibitions. You willfind that this recital begins strictly at the time when I metMorhange.
"And first of all, I tell you, however much it has cost my peace ofmind and my reputation, I do not regret having known him. In a word,apart from all question of false friendship, I am convicted of a blackingratitude in having killed him. It is to him, it is to his knowledgeof rock inscriptions, that I owe the only thing that has raised mylife in interest above the miserable little lives dragged out by mycompanions at Auxonne, and elsewhere.
"This being understood, here are the facts:"
[NOTE: From this point on begins an extended narrative;indeed it may be most of the remaining book.I was changing the quoting, until I reached the endof the chapter and found that it continued on from there.]
It was in the Arabian Office at Wargla, when I was a lieutenant, thatI first heard the name, Morhange. And I must add that it was for methe occasion of an attack of bad humor. We were having difficulttimes. The hostility of the Sultan of Morocco was latent. At Touat,where the assassination of Flatters and of Frescaly had already beenconcocted, connivance was being given to the plots of our enemies.Touat was the center of conspiracies, of razzias, of defections, andat the same time, the depot of supply for the insatiable nomads. TheGovernors of Algeria, Tirman, Cambon, Laferriere, demanded itsoccupation. The Ministers of War tacitly agreed.... But there wasParliament, which did nothing at all, because of England, because ofGermany, and above all because of a certain _Declaration of the Rightsof Man and of the Citizen_, which prescribed that insurrection is themost sacred of duties, even when the insurgents are savages who cutyour head off. In short, the military authority could only, at its owndiscretion, increase the southern garrisons, and establish new posts;this one, Berresof, Hassi-el-Mia, Fort MacMahon, Fort Lallemand, FortMiribel.... But as Castries puts it, you don't hold the nomads withbordjs, you hold them by the belt. The middle was the oasis of Touat.Their honors, the lawyers of Paris, had to be convinced of thenecessity of taking possession of the oasis of Touat. The best waywould be to present them with a faithful picture of the plots thatwere being woven there against us.
The principal authors were, and still are, the Senoussis, whose ablechief has been forced by our arms to transfer the seat of hisconfederation several thousand leagues from there, to Schimmedrou, inthe Tibesti. They had, I say _they_ through modesty, the idea ofascertaining the traces left by these agitators on their favoriteplaces of concourse; Rhat, Temassinin, the plain of Adejamor, andIn-Salah. It was, you see, at least after leaving Temassinin,practically the same itinerary as that followed in 1864 by GeneralRohlfs.
I had already attracted some attention by two excursions, one toAgades, and the other to Bilma, and was considered by the staffofficers to be one of the best informed on the Senoussis question. Iwas therefore selected to assume this new task.
I then suggested that it would be of interest to kill two birds withone stone, and to get, in passing, an idea of the northern Ahaggar, soas to make sure whether the Tuaregs of Ahitarhen had continued to haveas cordial relations with the Senoussis as they had had when theycombined to massacre the Flatters' mission. I was immediately accordedthe permission. The change in my first plan was as follows: Afterreaching Ighelaschem, six hundred kilometers south of Temassinin,instead of taking the direct road to Touat via Rhat, I would,penetrating between the high land of Mouydir and Ahaggar, strike offto the southwest as far as Shikh-Salah. Here I would turn againnorthwards, towards In-Salah, by the road to the Soudan and Agades. Inall hardly eight kilometers additional in a trip of about sevenhundred leagues, with the certainty of making as complete anexamination as possible of the roads which our enemies, the Senoussisof Tibesti and the Tuareg of the Ahaggar, must follow to arrive atTouat. On the way, for every explorer has his pet fancy, I was not atall displeased to think that I would have a chance to examine thegeological formation of the plateau of Egere, about which Duveyrierand the others are so disappointingly indefinite.
Everything was ready for my departure from Wargla. Everything, whichis to say, very little. Three mehara: mine, my companion Bou-Djema's(a faithful Chaamba, whom I had had with me in my wanderings throughthe Air, less of a guide in the country I was familiar with than amachine for saddling and unsaddling camels), then a third to carryprovisions and skins of drinking water, very little, since I had takenpains to locate the stops with reference to the wells.
Some people go equipped for this kind of expedition with a hundredregulars, and even cannon. I am for the tradition of Douls and ReneCallie, I go alone.
I was at that perfect moment when only one thin thread still held meto the civilized world when an official cable arrived at Wargla.
"Lieutenant de Saint-Avit," it said briefly, "will delay his departureuntil the arrival of Captain Morhange, who will accompany him on hisexpedition of exploration."
I was more than disappointed. I alone had had the idea of thisexpedition. I had had all the difficulty that you can imagine to makethe authorities agree to it. And now when I was rejoicing at the ideaof the long hours I would spend alone with myself in the heart of thedesert, they sent me a stranger, and, to make matters worse, asuperior.
The condolences of my comrades aggravated my bad humor.
The Yearly Report, consulted on the spot, had given them the followinginformation:
"Morhange (Jean-Marie-Francois), class of 1881. Breveted. Captain,unassigned. (Topographical Service of the Army.)"
"There is the explanation for you," said one. "They are sending one oftheir creatures to pull the chestnuts out of the fire, after you havehad all the trouble of making it. Breveted! That's a great way. Thetheories of Ardant du Picq or else nothing about here."
"I don't altogether agree with you," said the Major. "They knew inParliament, for some one is always indiscreet, the real aim ofSaint-Avit's mission: to force their hand for the occupation of Touat.And this Morhange must be a man serving the interests of the ArmyCommission. All these people, secretaries, members of Parliament,governors, keep a close watch on each other. Some one will write anamusing paradoxical history some day, of the French ColonialExpansion, which is made without the knowledge of the powers inoffice, when it is not actually in spite of them."
"Whatever the reason, the result will be the same," I said bitterly;"we will be two Frenchmen to spy on each other night and day, alongthe roads to the south. An amiable prospect when one has none too muchtime to foil all the tricks of the natives. When does he arrive?"
"Day after tomorrow, probably. I have news of a convoy coming fromGhardaia. It is likely that he will avail himself of it. Theindications are that he doesn't know very much about traveling alone."
Captain Morhange did arrive in fact two days later by means of theconvoy from Ghardaia. I was the first person for whom he asked.
When he came to my room, whither I had withdrawn in dignity as soon asthe convoy was sighted, I was disagreeably surprised to foresee that Iwould have great difficulty in preserving my prejudice against him.
He was tall, his face full and ruddy, with la
ughing blue eyes, a smallblack moustache, and hair that was already white.
"I have a thousand apologies to make to you, my dear fellow," he saidimmediately, with a frankness that I have never seen in any other man."You must be furious with my importunity in upsetting your plans anddelaying your departure."
"By no means, Captain," I replied coolly.
"You really have only yourself to blame. It is on account of yourknowledge of the southern, routes, so highly esteemed at Paris, that Iwished to have you to initiate me when the Ministries of Instructionand of Commerce, and the Geographical Society combined to charge mewith the mission which brings me here. These three honorableinstitutions have in fact entrusted me with the attempt tore-establish the ancient track of the caravans, which, from the ninthcentury, trafficked between Tunis and the Soudan, by Toweur, Wargla,Es-Souk and the bend of the Bourroum; and to study the possibility ofrestoring this route to its ancient splendor. At the same time, at theGeographic Bureau, I heard of the journey that you are undertaking.From Wargla to Shikh-Salah our two itineraries are the same. Only Imust admit to you that it is the first voyage of this kind that I haveever undertaken. I would not be afraid to hold forth for an hour onArabian literature in the amphitheatre of the School of OrientalLanguages, but I know well enough that in the desert I should have toask for directions whether to turn right or left. This is the onlychance which could give me such an opportunity, and at the same timeput me under obligation for this introduction to so charming acompanion. You must not blame me if I seized it, if I used all myinfluence to retard your departure from Wargla until the instant whenI could join you. I have only one more word to add to what I havesaid. I am entrusted with a mission which by its origin is renderedessentially civilian. You are sent out by the Ministry of War. Up tothe moment when, arrived at Shikh-Salah we turn our backs on eachother to attain, you Touat, and I the Niger, all your recommendations,all your orders, will be followed by a subaltern, and, I hope, by afriend as well."
All the time he was talking so openly I felt delightedly my worstrecent fears melting away. Nevertheless, I still experienced a meandesire to show him some marks of reserve, for having thus disposed ofmy company at a distance, without consulting me.
"I am very grateful to you, Captain, for your extremely flatteringwords. When do you wish to leave Wargla?"
He made a gesture of complete detachment.
"Whenever you like. Tomorrow, this evening. I have already delayedyou. Your preparations must have already been made for some time."
My little maneuver had turned against myself. I had not been countingon leaving before the next week.
"Tomorrow, Captain, but your luggage?"
He smiled delightfully.
"I thought it best to bring as little as possible. A light pack, somepapers. My brave camel had no difficulty in bringing it along. For therest I depend on your advice, and the resources of Owargla."
I was well caught. I had nothing further to say. And moreover, suchfreedom of spirit and manner had already captivated me.
"It seems," said my comrades, when the time for aperitives had broughtus all together again, "that this Captain of yours is a remarkablycharming fellow."
"Remarkably."
"You surely can't have any trouble with him. It is only up to you tosee that later on he doesn't get all the glory."
"We aren't working with the same end in view," I answered evasively.
I was thoughtful, only thoughtful I give you my word. From that momentI harbored no further grudge against Morhange. Yet my silencepersuaded him that I was unforgiving. And everyone, do you hear me,everyone said later on, when suspicions became rife:
"He is surely guilty. We saw them go off together. We can affirm it."
I am guilty.... But for a low motive of jealousy.... How sickening....
After that, there was nothing to do but to flee, flee, as far as theplaces where there are no more men who think and reason.
Morhange, appeared, his arm resting on the Major's, who was beamingover this new acquaintanceship.
He presented him enthusiastically:
"Captain Morhange, gentlemen. An officer of the old school, and a manafter our own hearts, I give you my word. He wants to leave tomorrow,but we must give him such a reception that he will forget that ideabefore two days are up. Come, Captain, you have at least eight days togive us."
"I am at the disposition of Lieutenant de Saint-Avit," repliedMorhange, with a quiet smile.
The conversation became general. The sound of glasses and laughterrang out. I heard my comrades in ecstasies over the stories that thenewcomer poured out with never-failing humor. And I, never, never haveI felt so sad.
The time came to pass into the dining-room.
"At my right, Captain," cried the Major, more and more beaming. "And Ihope you will keep on giving us these new lines on Paris. We are notup with the times here, you know."
"Yours to command, Major," said Morhange.
"Be seated, gentlemen."
The officers obeyed, with a joyous clatter of moving chairs. I had nottaken my eyes off Morhange, who was still standing.
"Major, gentlemen, you will allow me," he said.
And before sitting down at that table, where every moment he was thelife of the party, in a low voice, with his eyes closed, CaptainMorhange recited the Benedicite.