machine for saddling and unsaddling camels), then a third to carry
provisions and skins of drinking water, very little, since I had taken
pains to locate the stops with reference to the wells.

Some people go equipped for this kind of expedition with a hundred
regulars, and even cannon. I am for the tradition of Douls and René
Callie, I go alone.

I was at that perfect moment when only one thin thread still held me
to the civilized world when an official cable arrived at Wargla.

"Lieutenant de Saint-Avit," it said briefly, "will delay his departure
until the arrival of Captain Morhange, who will accompany him on his
expedition of exploration."

I was more than disappointed. I alone had had the idea of this
expedition. I had had all the difficulty that you can imagine to make
the authorities agree to it. And now when I was rejoicing at the idea
of the long hours I would spend alone with myself in the heart of the
desert, they sent me a stranger, and, to make matters worse, a
superior.

The condolences of my comrades aggravated my bad humor.

The Yearly Report, consulted on the spot, had given them the following
information:

"Morhange (Jean-Marie-François), class of 1881. Breveted. Captain,
unassigned. (Topographical Service of the Army.)"