human
We know nothing here in this uncivilised oven, the officer said, laughing, and at the same time flicking some dust from off his braided coat-sleeve.
gpt
The Paris papers are always a fortnight to three weeks old, and, there being no postal service, I have to send to Biskra for them.
human
But you have very comfortable quarters here,
gpt
Comfortable! Oh yes, he replied;
human
Have you heard anything of the old chieftain lately?
gpt
No. Since the sharp brush with Deschanel's detachment he seems to have mysteriously disappeared. After the defeat of his band we did our best to capture him, feeling that with his power broken he would fall an easy prey. I at once organised detachments of Spahis, Chasseurs, and Turcos, who for nearly a month patrolled the Desert, made inquiries of all the neighbouring tribes, and did their utmost to discover the direction in which the fugitive had gone. But, as usual, all was in vain.
human
Then he has again escaped you?
gpt
He seems to move from one place to another imperceptibly, for when he flies he leaves not a clue by which he can be traced. Only last week the Sheikh of the Ourlana, who had just returned from Algiers, told me positively that he saw him, dressed as a Jew merchant, enjoying himself at one of the cafes on the Boulevard de la Republique. That, of course, is _un conte en l'air_. The old rascal may be daring, but he would never risk arrest by going to Algiers.