“Yes,” she answered gravely. “I know thou hast done thy best. Yet there are still means by which thou canst ascertain the truth, and elucidate the Great Mystery.”
“How?”
“By becoming one of us; by bearing arms under the green banner of Hadj Absalam, and accompanying us to Agadez.”
“Art thou actually on thy way thither?” I asked, amazed. “Surely it is dangerous?”
“Dangerous only for the Sultan of the Ahír,” she laughed.
“I cannot understand,” I said. “What is the object of thy journey?”
“The same as the object of all our expeditions,” she answered, the smile dying from her lips. “The trade of the Ennitra is marked always by rapine and murder, plunder and bloodshed;” and she shuddered.
“Do thy people intend fighting?” I asked.
“Hearken, and I will give thee explanation,” she said excitedly. “For many moons hath Hadj Absalam contemplated an attack upon the Sultan of the Ahír, and the looting of the great Fáda wherein thou wert held a slave. At last the expedition hath been arranged, and is now being carried out. Divided into four sections, our people, mustering all their strength for the supreme effort, have stealthily moved hither, and are now encamped at various points on the border of the Sultan’s territory, ready to advance upon Agadez like swarms of locusts at the moment the drum of victory is conveyed unto them. Armed to the teeth, and eager for a struggle that must be brief though deadly, they are awaiting the completion of our plans. Two days hence all will be ready, the drum that beateth us to arms will be carried forth, our tents will be packed, and, acting in conjunction with the three other forces of our fighting men, we shall advance, dealing blows swift and terrible among a people who little dream of the approach of an enemy, and are entirely unprepared.”
“Hast thou actually a sufficient force to attack the almost impregnable kasbah of Agadez?” I asked incredulously.