A DISTANT EPISODE
45
onto the ground. They put him back into the sack and left him
there.
Two days later they arrived at one of their own encampments.
There were women and children here in the tents, and the men had
to drive away the snarling dogs they had left there to guard them.
When they emptied the Professor out of his sack, there were screams
of fright, and it took several hours to convince the last woman that he
was harmless, although there had been no doubt from the start that
he was a valuable possession. Mter a few days they began to move
on again, taking everything with them, and traveling only at night
as the terrain grew warmer.
Even when all his wounds had healed and he felt no more pain,
the Professor did not begin to think again; he ate and defecated, and
he danced when he was bidden, a senseless hopping up and down
that delighted the children, principally because of the wonderful
jangling racket it made. And he generally slept through the heat of the
day, in among the camels.
Wending its way southeast, the caravan avoided all stationary
civilization. In a few weeks they reached a new plateau, wholly wild
and with a sparse vegetation. Here they pitched camp and remained,
while the meharis were turned loose to graze. Everyone was happy
here; the weather was cooler and there was a well only a few hours
away on a seldom-frequented trail. It was here they conceived the
idea of taking the Professor to Fogara and selling him to the
Touaregs.
It was a full year before they carried out this project. By this
time the Professor was much better trained. He could do a hand–
spring, make a series of fearful growling noises which had, nevertheless,
a certain element of humor; and when the Chaamba removed the
tin from his face they discovered he could grimace admirably while
he danced. They also taught him a few basic obscene gestures which
never failed to elicit delighted shrieks from the women. He was now
brought forth only after especially abundant meals, when there was
music and festivity. He easily fell in with their sense of ritual, and
evolved an elementary sort of "program" to present when he was
called forth: dancing, rolling on the ground, imitating certain animals,
and finally rushing toward the group in feigned anger, to see the
resultant confusion and hilarity.
When three of the men set out for Fogara with him, they took
four meharis with them, and he rode astride his quite naturally. No
