human
So the _homards_ have gone south to overtake the Chasseurs, Captain Carmier said, as he struck a match on his heel and lit his cigarette after I had told him how valiantly my companions had fought.
gpt
How aggravating it is that Hadj Absalam always escapes us!
human
Extraordinary! remarked the lieutenant, a thorough Parisian, who had just been grumbling at his lot, he having been sent to the desert for three years, instead of to Tonquin, where he might earn distinction and the yellow and green ribbon, as he had expected.
gpt
Nothing would please me better than to command an expedition in search of him.
human
Search? What's the use? asked the commandant.
gpt
The rapidity with which the old scoundrel travels is simply miraculous. To-day he's here, to-morrow he disappears, and on the third day he is reported completely out of our reach. As on previous occasions, he has, I suppose, retreated beyond Mount El Aghil, and there, idling in his harem, is snapping his fingers and defying us. It is always the same--always.
human
Are his headquarters on Mount Aghil, then?
gpt
It is said that his stronghold is perched on an almost inaccessible rock not far from Tiouordeouin, and that his household consists of nearly a thousand persons.
human
Of whom about half are inmates of his harem, added the lieutenant, smiling.
gpt
According to report current among the neighbouring tribe, the Tedjehe N'ou Sidi, the ladies of his household include a number of Europeans who have from time to time fallen into his merciless clutches. The favourites are surrounded by every luxury, the proceeds of his raids, while those who fall into disfavour, or whose personal charms deteriorate by age, are disposed of in the very simple method of being thrown over the cliff and dashed to pieces upon the rocks beneath.
human
Horrible! I exclaimed.
gpt
But why does not the Government send a sufficient force to follow him into his fastness and capture him?
human
For several reasons, answered the commandant.
gpt
Firstly, because that portion of the Ahaggar where he has his abode has never been explored; secondly, because, by reason of the zealously-guarded mountain pass by which it is approached, access is impossible except by a strong column, who would meet with a most desperate resistance, and would have to take it by storm. The third, and perhaps most important, reason is, because the region of the Ennitra is declared by all the neighbouring nomad tribes to be a sacred place, where several miracle-working marabouts are buried, and any attempt at desecration by Europeans would certainly cause a holy war all through the Sahara. Therefore the War Department, although the General has urged them times without number to send a column in pursuit of Hadj Absalam, prefer to wait and capture him when in the act of plunder.
human
That will never be, it seems,
gpt
No. _Il sait le fin des fins_, laughed Carmier.
human
It is said that he attributes his extraordinary success in evading us to a woman who is gifted with second sight.
gpt
A woman? I exclaimed, surprised.
human
She's believed to be a witch, I suppose?
gpt
Yes, and a young and very pretty one, too. They say her beauty is marvellous, and her power supernatural. While I was in command of the advanced post at Tihodayen, near the salt mines of Sebkha d'Amadghor, three Spahis ventured into the Ikerremoin Oasis in search of forage, and they declare that they came across her. She was surrounded by a number of slaves, and was lying unveiled under a canopy of white and gold. According to their account, she possesses the _beaute du diable_, her women make obeisance to her, and the men who approach fall upon their knees before her, kiss the ground, and ask her blessing. It is said, too, that Mulai Hassan, Sultan of Morocco, saw her on one occasion when he crossed the frontier, and offered Hadj Absalam an enormous sum for her, but the superstitious Ennitra threatened a revolt if she were sold. Whether that's true I don't know, he added, shrugging his shoulders and sipping his cognac.
human
She is evidently Queen of the Desert, and I merely tell you what's rumoured.
gpt
But is she Moorish, Arab, or a Negress? I asked.
human
What is her name?
gpt
She is from the mountains, they say, and the Ennitra know her as Daughter of the Sun.
human
Daughter of the Sun?