pleased not to let you run sure risks alone."

"I have a guide," he said with his adorable naiveté.

Eg-Anteouen, in the same squatting position, kept on patching his old
slipper.

I took a step toward him.

"You heard what I said to the Captain?"

"Yes," the Targa answered calmly.

"I am going with him. We leave you at Tit, to which place you must
bring us. Where is the place you proposed to show the Captain?"

"I did not propose to show it to him; it was his own idea," said the
Targa coldly. "The grottos with the inscriptions are three-days' march
southward in the mountains. At first, the road is rather rough. But
farther on, it turns, and you gain Timissao very easily. There are
good wells where the Tuareg Taitoqs, who are friendly to the French,
come to water their camels."

"And you know the road well?"

He shrugged his shoulders. His eyes had a scornful smile.

"I have taken it twenty times," he said.

"In that case, let's get started."