"'How do you know that?' I asked.
"'Free men would not so uselessly brave the hardships of the desert; they would travel nearer to the Nile. Their keeping at such a distance from the stream shows that down south they have heard of General Baker, and they fear an attack and the consequent loss of their slaves.'
"'Suppose,' I exclaimed, with that want of reflection for which you always find so much fault with me, 'suppose we take Baker's place with these poor wretches?'
"'That would be a senseless proceeding,' said Delange. 'We have not come to Africa to fight at every turn, and we five can scarcely set ourselves up to reform the morals of the country.'
"'The Doctor is quite right,' said Madame de Guéran. 'We are, I fear, destined to witness some sad scenes. We must, alas! stand by, and exercise sufficient self-control to abstain from all interference which may seem to us futile and involving too great risk.'
"'And I,' said Miss Poles, 'will add, if you will allow me, that it is not on the Nile, as my fellow countryman, Baker, is doing, nor in the desert, as you propose to do, that the struggle should be made against the slave trade. The blow must be struck at the source—in Turkey, in Asia, Arabia, Persia, and certain places in Egypt. It is the insatiable luxury of these countries which must be put down. If the Sultans, their ministers, their wives, the petty governors of provinces, however small, and every man of more than ordinary wealth, did not make a point of possessing as many slaves as possible, if two thousand wretches in their pay did not continually penetrate into the interior of Africa for the sole purpose of collecting this article of luxury, which is a part of their ambition, the slave trade would have no raison d'être, and civilization might permeate throughout these lands. When I was with poor Alexina Tinne, I studied this question thoroughly, and I assure you that I am not mistaken.'
"Conversing thus, we drew near to the caravan, and saw a long line of beings, who, according to the calculations of our interpreters, must have mustered between two and three hundred.
"'I am more than ever convinced,' said Ali, 'that this is a caravan of slaves.'
"On our asking the reason of his conviction, he replied—
"'I do not see any camels: the slaves take the place of beasts of burden.'