CHAPTER VIII
GONE
There was keen curiosity and even jealousy concerning the errand whichsuddenly separated Corporal St. George and his chum Juan Garcia from themarch of the Legion. None of their late comrades knew why they had goneor where, unless it were Four Eyes, who swaggered about lookingsecretively wise.
"I told St. George," said he to such young men of the Tenth as wereadmitted to the honour of speech with the ex-champion, "I told St.George to fire first at an Arab's face if he got any fighting. That'sthe way! The Arab ain't prepared, and he's scared blue for fear of hishead bein' busted off his body. If that happens only his head goes toParadise and can't have any fun. Nobody but old Legionnaires who've seena lot of service have got that tip."
Because of Four Eyes' hints the story went round that St. George andGarcia had been sent off on special reconnaissance duty. And the Legionmarched as only the Legion can, with its heavy kit, its wonderful tricksto cure footsore feet, its fierce individual desire to bear more fatiguethan is human to endure, its wild gayety, its moods of sullen brooding.For a while it expected to see St. George and Garcia appear as suddenlyand mysteriously as they had disappeared. But they did not come back.And days and nights passed by; so at last, as the Legion drew nearer toEl Gadhari, the absent pair were talked of no more. There was much tothink of and to suffer, and it was not strange if they werehalf-forgotten except by two men: one who knew the secret and one whopretended to know: Colonel DeLisle and Four Eyes.
* * * * *
When Corporal St. George arrived at the oasis town of Djazerta he hadwith him in his small caravan no other man in the uniform of the Legion.He had only camel-drivers in white or brown burnouses, nomads who livein tents, and whose womenfolk go unveiled without losing the respect ofmen. They had come from the black tents outside Touggourt, all but one,who joined the party after it had started, following on a fast camel. Hewas a dark-faced man like the rest, and wore such garments as the otherswore, only less shabby than theirs, and none but the leader knew him orwhy he had come. The Arab fashion of covering the body heavily, andespecially of protecting the mouth in days of heat as well as cold, wasobserved religiously by this tall, grave person. The one woman of theband, Khadra, wife of the chief camel-driver, wondered if the strangerhad any disfigurement; but her husband smiled a superior smile,remarking that women have room in their minds only for curiosity aboutwhat can never concern them. As for the newcomer, he was as other men,though not as pleasant a companion as some. According to his ownaccount, he had been born in Djazerta, though he had lived in manyplaces and learned French and Spanish in order to make money as aninterpreter.
When the caravan reached Djazerta they found the oasis town indulging infestivities because of the marriage of the Agha's daughter. Thecustomary week of feasting and rejoicing was at its height, but, to thedisappointment of every one, the bride and all the Agha's family had inthe midst of the celebrations suddenly gone out to the _douar_, thedesert encampment of the tribe over which Ben Raana ruled as chief. Thiswas unprecedented for the wedding of great personages that the end ofthe entertainment should take place in the _douar_; but it was said thatthe bride was ill with over-excitement, and rather than put off themarriage, her father had decided to try the effect of desert air.
This was the news which was told to Max at the Agha's gates after hisforced march from Touggourt. It was translated for him into French byhis interpreter, the dark-faced man who covered his mouth even moreclosely than did the dwellers in the black tents near Touggourt; forMax, though he had studied Arabic of nights in the Legion's library, andtaken lessons from Garcia, could not yet understand the desert dialectswhen spoken quickly. An interpreter was a real necessity for him on adesert journey with Arabs to command, and as the two talked togetheroutside the open gate in the high white wall, discussing the situation,neither the Agha's men nor any man of the caravan could understand aword. The language they used was a mystery. French, English,Spanish--all were jargons to these people of the southern desert.
"At the _douar_!" Max repeated. "Where is it?"
"Not twenty miles away," answered Manoeel, keeping all feeling out of hisvoice, as an interpreter should. "But it's between here and Touggourt.Not exactly on the way, still we could have reached it by taking adetour of a few kilometres off the caravan track and saved hours,precious hours."
"Never mind," said Max, worried though he was because of the delay thatmeant something to him, if not as much as to Manoeel. "Never mind. Weshall be in time yet. They say the festivities are only half over. Thatmeans she isn't married. Buck up! I know this is a shock; but it isn't asurprise that the wedding feast should be on. You've been expectingthat. You've even been afraid it might be all over."
"But something has happened, or they wouldn't have taken her away,"Manoeel said.
"Perhaps she tried to escape," Max suggested. "Would it be harder forher to do that at the _douar_ than here?"
"In a way, yes. Here she might be hidden for a while in some house ofthe village: it's a rabbit warren, as you can see. Whereas, round the_douar_ lies the desert open to all eyes. Still, it's easier to get outof a tent than a house."
"Well, let's be off and see for ourselves, instead of guessing,"proposed his friend with an air of cheerfulness. Manoeel knew the errandwhich had brought Corporal St. George (and incidentally himself) toDjazerta at this eleventh hour, but Max and he had never spoken togetherof Colonel DeLisle's daughter Sanda except casually, as Ourieda's guest.Manoeel, his thoughts centred upon his own affairs, had no idea thatMademoiselle DeLisle was personally of importance in St. George's life.If he had seen that Max was anxious, he would have taken the anxiety forsympathy with him, or else the nervousness of a keen soldier who hadonly eight days' leave and small provision for delays.
Having finished their discussion, they politely refused an invitation,in the absent Agha's name, to spend the night in his guest house, andstarted out to retrace some kilometres of the track they had justtravelled. This, thought the Agha's head gatekeeper, was a foolishdecision, no matter how pressing might be the soldier's business withBen Raana, for already it was past sunset, and there was no moon. Thesemen were strangers, and could not know their way to the _douar_ exceptas it was described to them. But what could one expect? Their leader wasa Roumi, a Christian dog, and all such were fools in the eyes of God'schildren who knew that the lesson of life was patience.
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