37. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES — SWORD OF DESTRUCTION
The story commences in the French Ministry of War in Paris, where General Zelle is distressed by Colonel Pons’s news that the Sword of Doetra has vanished. This sword, a symbol of power for the Arab peoples, has been stolen from its fireproof vault. General Zelle dispatches Dubois of the military secret service to retrieve the sword, and also sends a message to General Laval in North Africa to bring all garrisons to readiness for a potential attack. Meanwhile, Teuns Stegmann, a South African legionnaire, is on leave in Algiers, where he is seduced by an alluring dancer, Lola.
Teuns Stegmann is led into a trap, where he discovers that Lola is actually a Bonnet, the sister of El Karima and Brigitte, and that he has been captured to account for his role in El Karima’s death. He learns that the Sword of Doetra, recently stolen, is being kept safe at the stronghold of the Doelak people. The narrative unfolds with Teuns in a desperate predicament. Not only must he save his own life, but he also realizes the consequences of the sword’s disappearance and the potential large-scale war that could be triggered by it. Throughout, he must devise plans to escape from the clutches of the rebels while simultaneously attempting to steal back the sword before it can unleash a full-scale war in the desert.
Teuns Stegmann formulates a daring plan involving El Hakim, a captive aviation expert. He employs his ingenuity and expertise, constantly confronting the looming dangers, to gain as much time as possible and to plunge the rebels into confusion. His final plan relies on an appeal to Lola’s conscience and a desperate attempt to escape with the Sword of Doetra. What secrets is Lola still concealing from Teuns, will she betray him again, and what other perils await Teuns Stegmann in the city of Doetra?
