"This last was our weakest point, I admit, and the escort could have easily broken down all opposition from that quarter, but instead of acting at once, they made the mistake of hesitating, and of so allowing the two wings to join hands. They were, in consequence, very soon hemmed in on all sides by the terrible circle of enemies.
"And now our beloved Sultana thought it high time to interfere, and she directed the interpreters to step to the front and inform the chief that she would answer for his life and those of his men, if they all would lay down their arms at once, but if, on the contrary, they fired a single shot, she would leave them to the mercy of their revolted slaves.
"The chief looked long and anxiously around him, and, after a careful survey of his position, he threw his gun down on the sand, with a gesture of despair, an example which was followed by his men.
"Périères, Delange, and I, as you may well imagine, lost no time in joining Madame de Guéran and Miss Poles. But we were soon brought sadly down to earth again, and had to ask ourselves if it was wise to act on every good impulse, if sometimes it was not necessary to stifle our generous feelings, and if it was not dangerous to let loose the passions of the people of Africa.
"For as long as our black friends of Darfour and Kordofan saw their whilom masters fighting or defending themselves, they contented themselves with threats and a cautious advance. But as soon as they beheld them, on the contrary, disarmed and capitulating, they rushed on them, eager for their prey. At one and the same time the whole caravan—the two hundred and odd slaves, of every age and sex, the weak and the strong, the hale and the sick, rushed forward brandishing their yet chain-bound wrists, and giving tongue like a pack of hounds at the death.
"Ought we to allow these fifteen men to be massacred under our very eyes? We had attacked them in the first instance; they had not provoked us in any way, and had only defended themselves. Three of them were already wounded, and not one of us had been hit. They were, it is true, wretched slave-drivers, gaol-birds, renegades, degraded traffickers in human flesh; but Madame de Guéran had promised, in our name, that if they laid down their arms their lives should be spared. And were these negroes, of whom we had constituted ourselves the champions, any better than their masters? A short time ago they were unhappy, and oppressed, and we were moved with compassion for them; but now that they were restored to liberty, they seemed so bent on abusing it that they no longer inspired us with much sympathy. In short, we were tempted to ask ourselves whether we had any right to sacrifice the lives of fifteen persons for the sake of resisting the slave trade and rescuing a few men from bondage.
"These reflections (we imparted them to each other later on, in our moments of confidence) occurred to us all simultaneously, but this was no time for bothering our heads with the solution of a philosophical problem. We had acted on impulse, and on impulse we must rely for escape, by deeds and not arguments, from the sad position in which we were placed.
"Each of us, without consulting his neighbour, and yielding to the thoughts which I have endeavoured to explain to you, drew nearer to the captured escort for the purpose of protecting them.
"The slaves continued to shout and threaten, and Périères then hit upon the plan of directing the interpreter, Ali, who knew all the dialects current in Darfour and Kordofan, to step forward, restore order and silence, and make them understand that he wished to speak to them in our name.
"The interpreter obeyed, and the negroes ceased their clamour sooner than we anticipated. They said to themselves, no doubt, that the whites were about to propose the infliction of some novel torture on their enemies, and their condemnation to some punishment unknown to them, but in common use amongst the Franks. From this impression they drew a premature pleasure, opened their eyes and lent their ears. However, when Ali set himself to repeat an old-fashioned discourse, prompted by Miss Poles, of which the duties one owes to one's neighbour, humanity, and religion form the staple commodity, the slaves, after having given evident signs of indifference, commenced to manifest a spirit of discontent, and we had evidently fallen in their esteem.