Atlantida

"Well, then?"

"Well," said Ceghéir-ben-Cheikh, "you must not rejoin the road from

Timissao to Timbuctoo until you are four hundred miles from here

toward Iferouane, or better still, at the spring of Telemsi. That is

the boundary between the Tuareg of Ahaggar and the Awellimiden

Tuareg."

The little voice of Tanit-Zerga broke in: "It was the Awellimiden Tuareg who massacred my people and carried me

into slavery. I do not want to pass through the country of the

Awellimiden."

"Be still, miserable little fly," said Ceghéir-ben-Cheikh.

Then addressing me, he continued: "I have said what I have said. The little one is not wrong. The

Awellimiden are a savage people. But they are afraid of the French.

Many of them trade with the stations north of the Niger. On the other

hand, they are at war with the people of Ahaggar, who will not follow

you into their country. What I have said, is said. You must rejoin

the Timbuctoo road near where it enters the borders of the

Awellimiden. Their country is wooded and rich in springs. If you reach

the springs at Telemsi, you will finish your journey beneath a canopy

of blossoming mimosa. On the other hand, the road from here to Telemsi

is shorter than by way of Timissao. It is quite straight."

"Yes, it is direct," I said, "but, in following it, you have to cross

the Tanezruft."

Ceghéir-ben-Cheikh waved his hand impatiently.

"Ceghéir-ben-Cheikh knows that," he said. "He knows what the Tanezruft

is. He who has traveled over all the Sahara knows that he would

shudder at crossing the Tanezruft and the Tassili from the south. He

knows that the camels that wander into that country either die or

become wild, for no one will risk his life to go look for them. It is

the terror that hangs over that region that may save you. For you have

to choose: you must run the risk of dying of thirst on the tracks of

the Tanezruft or have your throat cut along some other route.

"You can stay here," he added.

"My choice is made, Ceghéir-ben-Cheikh," I announced.

"Good!" he replied, again opening out the roll of paper. "This trail

begins at the second barrier of earth, to which I will lead you. It

ends at Iferouane. I have marked the wells, but do not trust to them

too much, for many of them are dry. Be careful not to stray from the

route. If you lose it, it is death.... Now mount the camel with the

little one. Two make less noise than four."

We went a long way in silence. Ceghéir-ben-Cheikh walked ahead and his

camel followed meekly. We crossed, first, a dark passage, then, a deep

gorge, then another passage.... The entrance to each was hidden by a

thick tangle of rocks and briars.