“He had money enough to last him perhaps a year. He would enjoy himself while the money lasted--after that he could go to work. With this in mind he joined a hunting party. While in the region of the Niger River, near Ansozo, he became separated from his friends. He wandered around, lost and finally, totally exhausted, lay down to sleep. In his sleep he was attacked by a giant tiger snake. During the struggle which followed he was badly bitten by the snake. He managed, however, to kill it with his knife, and after freeing himself from its coils, fired several shots into its body to make sure it was dead. “These shots attracted the attention of a hunter who at the time was not far away. He found the stricken man, by then unconscious and took him to his camp, where he was taken care of by the hunter’s wife, a young and full-blooded gypsy. “Blood poisoning set in and the Baron was confined to his bed for some time. During this time the gypsy nursed and cared for the sick man, probably with more ardor than was necessary. The result was obvious. One day, even before the Baron was quite recovered, the hunter discovered him and the woman in very compromising circumstances. He pulled his revolver to make an end to the unfaithful pair, but he was not quick enough. The Baron rushed at him and in the struggle that followed the hunter accidentally killed himself. “Shortly afterward the Baron married the gypsy, who as time passed gave birth to me, daughter of the Baron. That was at Temmimun, on the Gurara Oasis, where the couple had settled shortly prior to my birth. I am thus a ‘child of love.’ “My father taught me German, French and English, while my mother taught me to play the violin, at which she was an adept. When I became sixteen my father took me to England to study, and probably to find a life companion. English life and its hypocrisy did not appeal to me, so shortly afterward I went to Paris, making my home with a family I had met in London. Then I learned that my father had suddenly died of heart failure and that I would be forced to make my own way through life. “My knowledge of languages enabled me to secure work with an engineering concern, contemplating developments in the Sahara desert. This is the organization of which you spoke. “Among the promoters of this concern was de Rochelle and soon he became one of my most ardent admirers. Although I was by no means in love with him, I often went to dinner or to the theater with him. One evening after dinner, which was served in a private dining-room, he spoke to me of his hypnotic powers. I had once read a book on the subject and was interested. In a joking way he offered to show me how it worked. Before I knew it, or could say a word in objection, I was under his influence. Months afterward I discovered that that night he had commanded me to love him and to marry him.