"I am," replied the doctor, as he also uncovered, "for I presume I have the honour of addressing the Baron de Guéran?"
"Yes, I am, indeed, the Baron de Guéran, though," he added with a slight smile, "my dress might lead you to doubt that assertion. And now, may I in turn enquire to whom I am speaking? I must needs know your name, if only that I may ever cherish it in my memory."
"Dr. Delange, a Frenchman, and a Parisian."
"And your friends?"
"M. de Morin and M. Périères."
"Thank you; those names are graven on my heart. But permit me to come straight to the point without further delay, for time presses. It has been a difficult matter to obtain even this short interview with you. In spite of my advice you have persisted in your idea of rescuing me. Well! I should, perhaps, have done the same in your place. But what is your present object, and why have you ventured here alone?"
"I want to see the Queen, and, through your mediation, make proposals of peace to her, so that, if possible, we may avoid a bloody battle."
"You will not succeed, for the Queen is furious against the Monbuttoos for having invaded her territory, and in her anger she mixes you up with her enemies. For the last fortnight, ever since she was warned of your arrival in Ulindi, she has been eager to come to blows. The whole tribe is equally anxious; her sorcerers and fetish-mongers have declared in favour of war, and preach it as the crusades used to be preached in olden days, and I, alas! am powerless to ward off from you the evils which menace you."
"But," asked the doctor, "is it, as you wrote, absolutely necessary that we should be conquered?"
"Yes, I believe so firmly. The force at Walinda's disposal is considerable. Ah! you will do me justice at least," added M. de Guéran, seizing the doctor's hand. "I have done all in my power to prevent your coming here—and now, I cannot even fight by your side!"