Chapter 10 Chapter 10 The New Guard

Excerpt from Floras' Travel Diary that night No, I dare not look at such a person in the dark.But here's the thing: not only do we have to be together in the dark, but in the bushes.How bad it is! I feel bewildered.Could it be that these people are robbers?But there is no doubt about the order signed by the head of Nasette Abang himself!It is true that the order left me without grounds for confirming the foregoing supposition, but the new Guard and its commander made a very bad impression on me. The first thing that made me suspicious was this: It is true that these people, including the two sergeants, were all dusty, just like people who have driven twenty days away; Well-dressed.His shirt was white, his shoes were shiny, his beard was oiled.As you can well imagine, he was always ready to go to the ball.It was rare to come across a man dressed like this in the bush.

Lieutenant Lacourt was very small, and I felt that he was a very opinionated man.He has a pair of pale blue eyes with malicious intentions, he is silent and withdrawn.He came out of his tent only twice this afternoon, and only to check on his team. I didn't see Moerna all day, and Chu Mugeng didn't see her shadow either.So my newsletter is still tucked away in the duffel bag. February 15 In the morning, I found that our team was not at all ready to start.After inquiring about Dongjiale, I realized that I would stay here for another day.It was a little strange that I had already rested for a day yesterday and still didn't start today.

By chance, I met Lieutenant Lacourt, who was still so well-dressed, and I asked him why he was still here today. This was M. Balsac's order, and he answered it very politely.Then he gave me a salute and turned back.It seems that Lieutenant Lacourt is indeed a character who does not want to talk to people. Had our expedition leader decided not to go any further after the guard had been reduced to a fifth of its original size?I also have this desire.But if this is the case, wouldn't my sensational news report just end here?This made me uneasy again. Around ten o'clock, I bumped into Balsac.He was walking around with his hands behind his back, his head down, and striding forward.It seemed that he was in a very unhappy mood.This does not hinder me, I decided to ask him about it.

Balsac was not angry.He stopped and stared at me for a while, finally happy: A few days ago, Mr. Floras, you put a question to me, which I did not answer.Today I tell you: how to answer your question, honestly, I don't know! That said, you haven't made any decisions yet, Mr. Congressman? Nothing has been decided.I pondered for a long time, carefully considered whether to agree or disagree with him, and fell silent again.Then he suddenly said, why not ask everyone to discuss it together?You are an able man, well organized (thank you for the compliment, Monsieur Barsac), give me an idea.

I bowed deeply. At your service, Mr. Congressman. So I gave my opinion of the new guard and its commander.In the end I say with some uncertainty that if these men were not real soldiers, they were probably sent by our enemies. Balsac laughed. This is the plot in the novel!"You have a rich imagination, Mr. Floras," he cried. But I muttered. There is nothing wrong with this, we must rely on the facts to speak.The order signed by the head of the group, Set Abang, is a fact. That could also be faked. Impossible, Barsac retorted, didn't Captain Martharei think it was completely reliable, and did he resolutely implement it?

Orders may be stolen or snatched. Another plot in the novel!Balsac said, tell me, how can you replace all the members of the entire guard?If the facts are what you imagine, they must first prepare a large army.Because, number one, they had to wipe out the guards that were actually sent in, you understand?They must be wiped out completely, leaving no one behind!Second, to get an order, use a fake guard to pretend to be the original guard, with the same number of people and the same clothing. It is difficult for outsiders to know the composition of the new guard and the fact that it was signed by the head of Sett Abang. .None of Lieutenant Lacourt's troops were wounded, which is enough to prove their large number, because the guards who were actually sent would never stand still and make no resistance.In this region, news travels from village to village like telegraphs.Under such circumstances, if such a large group of gangsters really had a big fight, wouldn't the news not reach our ears at all?You are thinking too far.

Barsac was right, orders cannot be taken away.I backed down cautiously, because my original opinion had indeed been shaken. There's always something about this Lieutenant Lacourt Oh, this man is very polite?Balsac smiled and admired, he was careful to restrain his subordinates and his appearance.However, there is nothing to blame for this. In a last-ditch attempt, I said: That uniform is totally new, always a little weird Because he put the old one in the bag.Balsac explained that he was capable of answering any questions, and Lieutenant Racourt carefully groomed himself before meeting us.I had a long conversation with him yesterday afternoon, and he was a delightful man, in spite of his love of beauty.Polite, well educated, even respectable.

Lieutenant Lacourt sees no disadvantage in continuing our journey under the present circumstances?I asked. Not at all. But you're a little shaken, Mr. Congressman. I am not wavering!Balsac said solemnly, as if convincing himself, that we will start tomorrow. After lunch, Dong Galle accompanied me out for a walk.He rode Chumugeng's horse because it was better than his own.Our mounts roamed the fields at a leisurely pace.Suddenly Dong Galle said: It doesn't matter if Chu Mugeng escaped, Chu Mugeng is a hateful traitor. how?Chu Mugeng also betrayed us?I asked in feigned surprise.

You mean Molly, right?Of course Moliere was very bad.Dongjiale said vigorously that Chumugeng and Molile are the same.He said to the black people: Don't go too fast?And gave them a lot of soju, a lot of silver, a lot of gold. You mean they used kauri to buy black people? [Note] Kauri: a shell.Some countries in Africa use it as currency. Not Kauri.Dong Galle sticks to the original statement, is gold.And added details that surprised me, a lot of British gold coins. So you know the British gold coin, East Galle? know.He replied, I know Forsling. I know the Forsling in East Galle, which refers to the pound.Gold coins, British gold coins!Moriler and Chumgeng have British gold coins!

I am very excited.Of course, I still pretended not to care about what he said. You're a good fellow, Tongale, I said to him, since you know the pound, I'll give you a French ducat as a souvenir.As he spoke, he threw a gold coin at him. great!Dong Galle squealed with joy, caught the gold coin in the air, and stuffed it into the saddle bag. Suddenly an expression of great amazement came over his face, and he held in his hand a roll of papers which he had drawn from his saddlebag.I also cried out in surprise, and quickly snatched the roll of paper that was very familiar to me from his hand.

My newsletter!Those excellent newsletters of mine were still in Chumgeng's bastard's saddle bag!I checked it out, it's really bad, from the fifth chapter onwards, it's all here.How will the editorial staff of Les Expanses reproach me this time!It's over!My reputation is ended forever! While I pondered this desperately, our horses kept going.When I was about six kilometers away from the campsite, I stopped suddenly. Almost on the side of the road, a piece of grass about seven meters wide and fifty meters long was flattened, and in some places the weeds were almost cut away by a huge scythe.In those conspicuous places the pit-like parallel tracks of the kind we saw near Konkang were clearly recognizable. What is the connection between the sounds in the sky, the paired ruts, and the wizard Genyela in Cankang City? I don't see the inner connection between this.However, such a link should exist.When I saw these mysterious grooves, I subconsciously remembered that nasty black wizard. Three of the four things predicted by this guy have come true! Thinking of this, and being alone with a black companion in this endless wasteland, I shivered from head to toe. A little timidity for the time being in such an environment is forgivable.However, this mood did not last long, and was gradually replaced by curiosity.My shortcoming is that I am too curious.On the way back to camp, I was so engrossed in thinking about these nerve-wracking problems that I paid no attention to anything around me. When he walked near the camp, Dong Galle said straight to the point: The lieutenant was not a nice guy, with a nasty monkey head. right.I replied without thinking. February 17 I walked a long way today, even farther than I walked yesterday.A total of fifty kilometers were walked in two days.Chu Mugeng still didn't see the rascal Shadow!This is also good, under the leadership of Dong Galle, the porters and donkey drivers can create miracles. In the past two days, to be honest, my fear has gradually disappeared.The new Guard is taking its task very seriously (not a difficult task, however), and there's not much to say.However, something new happened again. This happened around nine o'clock in the morning.As we passed a small, almost completely deserted village, we heard moans from a mud hut. The guards stopped in accordance with Barsac's order, and Doctor Shadore, accompanied by Lieutenant Lacourt and two sergeants, entered the house to find out the situation.Of course, I, who was shaking the pen, also followed in. What a scene!Two people were dead and one living person was also seriously injured.The two corpses were a man and a woman, and their limbs were already incomplete. It was simply horrible. Because the room was too dark, the injured man was carried outside by two sergeants according to the doctor's instructions.It was an old black man, and he was wounded in the shoulder so badly that the bones were showing.I'm guessing: What kind of weapon was used to kill this wound? The doctor washed his wound clean and took out countless lead flakes from it.Then, he carefully wrapped the wound with the bandage that Lacourt handed him.The wounded man moaned loudly in despair.But after the wound was bandaged, his pain seemed to ease a lot. However, the doctor was full of worries.He re-entered the earthen house and examined the two dead bodies in detail.When I came out, I was even more worried.He approached the injured person and inquired about the situation in detail, and Dong Galle translated for them. The poor negro said that on the eleventh of February, three days before our new guard arrived, the village was ransacked by a band of black bandits under two white men.Except for the dead man and woman (that is, the two bodies in the house), all the residents of the village fled to the bushes outside the village.The wounded man also ran away with the others, but unfortunately a bullet hit him in the shoulder as he ran away.However, he still struggled to hide in the bushes, and finally survived.After the robbers left, everyone returned to the village, but ran away after seeing our team, because the direction we came was the direction the robbers left. This remark made us very worried. It is not a good thing for robbers to harass this area. The poor wounded man expressed his heartfelt thanks to Dr. Sartore.But suddenly he shut his mouth and stared at something behind us with infinite terror in his eyes. We turned around and saw a sergeant of the new guard standing there.The way he looked frightened the Negroes. But the sergeant remained unperturbed.He felt uneasy only when Lieutenant Lacourt's icy eyes cast him a reproachful and threatening glance.He touched his forehead with his hand, trying to explain to us that the black man was insane, and then he went back to the line. We go again to the wounded.Now he sees us with eyes of terror, and never a word comes out of his mouth again. I don't know what my friends think.I was thinking about this question: Why did the sergeant's face scare the old man like that?Why did he not care about Lieutenant Lacourt? In the evening, we camped next to a small village called Kadu.Miss Morena and De.It's time for Sunberling to part with us here.We have to continue towards Ouagadougou and the direction of the Niger River.They then headed north towards their destination on the upper reaches of the Niger.It should be said that in order to persuade them to give up that meaningless plan, we did our best.But to no avail. The tent is already set up.I was about to walk into my residence when Dr. Shadolei stopped me: I want to tell you something, Mr. Floras.What kills black people is the explosive flowering bullet. He left without waiting for my response. Blossom bullet?How can there be such a bullet in this area?Who uses this bullet? In my accumulated questions, two more whys have been added, but the answers have not increased at all. February 18 The latest news: Our guards have run away.I repeat: the guard ran. For what reason, I don't know, but I firmly believe that they ran away. We didn't see them when we woke up at three or four o'clock in the night.Even the porters and donkey drivers ran away without leaving. Understand?The departure of Lieutenant Lacourt, his two sergeants and twenty soldiers was not to go for a morning walk and return for breakfast, but gone forever. So, we were in this desolate bush, accompanied by horses, self-defense weapons, thirty-six donkeys, enough food for five days, and a Dong Galle. Ha ha!I hope there will be more thrilling plots to happen!