Johnny looked at Derek Mason. The Canadian shook his head. "None of
them spoke French, Johnny. Or if they did, they wouldn't admit it.
When we first came up they looked as though they were going to fight.
Happily, the size of the captain's command made them decide otherwise.
At any rate, they're putting up no resistance. I let them know through
the captain, here, that when they got back to Tissalit, or Timbuktu,
they could put in a demand for reimbursement for their animals--if the
animals were legally theirs."
Johnny looked at the Malian officer again. "How come you've returned to
camp? Shouldn't you be out there with your men?"
"There were a few things to be discussed," the Moslem said. He looked
significantly at the French reporter.
Hélène Desage said, "Let me warn you, I will not tolerate being sent
away. I want to hear this. If I don't, I demand you let me communicate
immediately with my magazine and with the Transatlantic Newspaper
Alliance for whom I am also doing a series of articles on the Sahara
Reforestation _scheme_."
Johnny McCord winced. He said, "There is nothing going on around here,
Miss Desage, that is secret. You won't be ordered away." He turned to
Mohammed Mohmoud. "What did you wish to discuss, Captain?"
"First, what about the camels, asses and horses?"
"Shoot them. Practically the only graze between here and Tissalit are
our trees."
"And how will they get themselves and their property out of this
country?" the reporter snapped.
Johnny said wearily, "We'll truck them out, Miss Desage. They and all
their property. And while we're doing it, we'll feed them. I imagine,
before it's all over it will cost the Commission several thousand
dollars." He turned back to the desert patrol captain. "What else?"
From a tunic pocket Mohammed Mohmoud brought a handgun and handed it to
Johnny McCord. "I thought you might like to see this. They were quite
well armed. At first I thought there might be resistance."
Johnny turned the automatic over in his hands, scowling at it. "What's
there to see that's special? I don't know much about guns."