Clouds were now beginning to gather on our political horizon. Our prolonged sojourn at Rhergo, where we waited in vain for letters from Abiddin, must have seemed very strange to the Tuaregs, who can have had no inkling of the reason. Moreover, a courier had come down in a canoe from Timbuktu to see us, and though I sent him away immediately, I felt sure that he had been seen. Putting myself in the place of Sakhaui, and knowing the distrustful nature of the Tuaregs, I was convinced that in his mind we were the advance guard of a more numerous party who were to come from Timbuktu, and of whom he stood in dread. The arrival of the courier would be enough to confirm his suspicions. It was very evident that we ought to start at once, if indeed there was still time for us to open really cordial relations with the Igwadaren. Between two aims of an importance so unequal I thought it would be wise to make a final choice. Now to us French the Igwadaren were really not worth much, and besides, had not they also a protectorate treaty with Timbuktu? whilst, as I have said before, the good-will of the Awellimiden would be of vital value to us, and I would not, if I could possibly avoid it, lose the advantages which Abiddin’s visit to them might win for our expedition. On the evening of the 10th, however, all my fine plans were completely upset. Sidi Hamet, who had been to the village, came back with a letter for me, which had been brought by a Tuareg and given to a slave belonging to one of the sheriffs. Strange postal arrangements indeed! Taken in connection with the news brought to us by Sidi Hamet, the letter was perfectly incomprehensible. In it Sakhaui begs me to return to Timbuktu, where he says I shall find all that I could hope to meet with further away; indeed, he pledges himself to secure my success. At the same time, if we choose to go on he will watch over us, but towards the end his letter becomes almost threatening, for he says, “Take care, above all things beware of doing any harm to any of my people!” The next day Sidi Hamet started with a letter, and he returned at midnight not alone, but accompanied by a big Igwadaren of manly bearing and intelligent countenance, who answered to the name of R’alli. The letter from Sakhaui, he now explained to me, had been written for him, as, like all Tuaregs, he did not know how to write himself, by a marabout named Kel es Suk, and his meaning had been completely distorted. Sakhaui was perfectly well-disposed towards us, he was impatiently awaiting us, etc., etc. Of course I only half believed what our friend R’alli said. Moreover, he added that the marabouts, especially one who was at Kabara before we arrived, were trying to get up an agitation against us. We had now been waiting in vain for more than a week for news of Abiddin, and I began to think we should never hear from him, so I decided to go to Sakhaui, who, as already stated, was then chief of the Igwadaren.