And now that we are speaking of gambling, we ought to mention that M. Delange had by no means given up the parties prescribed by his contract. Only, because M. de Morin had of late shown himself disinclined both for baccarat and écarté, the Doctor, not to drive him to desperation, had offered him credit for a few weeks, on condition that he would wipe off the score later on. They were already twenty _parties_, of a thousand francs each, behindhand, and that alone held out to M. Delange an agreeable prospect for the future; for, adding these twenty to the one per diem agreed upon, he saw before him a gambling horizon of stupendous proportions. Africa and its dreaded tribes disappeared, and he only saw cards, nothing but cards, strewing his onward path. They smoothed away all the rough places, and levelled all the precipices on the road. And we may as well add that the exploration fever, confessed to by so many others, had seized upon him, and had awakened in him the hitherto lalent instincts of a traveller. MM. de Morin and Périères were consequently accompanied by Dr. Delange, when, on the following day, they betook themselves to Madame de Guéran. She had herself summoned to the conference Miss Beatrice Poles, and the Dinka Nassar, who had brought her the letter from her husband, as well as the two Arab interpreters, whose devotion had been so conspicuous during the first portion of the expedition. The trusty Joseph, also summoned, responded to the call. It had been vainly expected that he would have resolved upon returning to France, but he persisted in being one of the party with an obstinacy, of which Miss Poles, who could not bear the sight of him, had divined the real motive. Joseph hoped to make a rapid fortune in Africa, and to find an opening for two branches of industry—ivory and slaves. In his idea, these two businesses were inseparable; ivory and slaves were one and the same thing. He had read that a few pieces of copper, or a yard or two of calico, or a packet of needles, would, in certain regions, buy a young girl, about fifteen, who would be easily exchanged in another tribe for an elephant's tusk. The copper, calico, or needles represented a value of four or five francs, whereas tusks would be sold in Europe at a rate of from five hundred to seven hundred and fifty francs. The business, conducted on a large scale, was therefore magnificent, and Joseph did not feel inclined to forego it. In addition to this, he was rather pleased with the idea of becoming for some time the proprietor of a certain number of slaves, and he proposed, by means of them, to relieve himself of a portion of his work, and to enjoy all the advantages of a servant free from all expense, and a master who had nothing to do.