33. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES — SIGNAL FROM THE DUNES
The narrative commences in the bustling Arab café in Dini Salam, where we are introduced to Teuns Stegmann, a South African serving in the French Foreign Legion, and his close companions, Fritz, Jack, Petacci, and Podolski. Their evenings are characterized by card games and the amusement provided by the diverse crowd. One evening, their routine is disrupted by a slender Arab beggar who places a Second World War medal on their table. The mysterious man’s peculiar eyes pique Teuns’s interest. After the man vanishes, the group discovers a name on the medal. “Sidi Omar.”
Teuns is now convinced that the medal represents more than they could have dreamed. The night takes a dark turn when the Arab beggar, seemingly more than he appeared, is found murdered in the street shortly after handing them the medal. His final words, “Go to Sidi Omar,” penetrate deeply into everyone’s thoughts. Colonel Le Clerq is persuaded that the men must uncover what lies behind the medal and the deceased Arab’s message. Teuns, driven by the hope of finding his missing brother, volunteers, accompanied by the small Petacci and Legionnaire Paxos. Thus begins their clandestine mission into the heart of the hot and perilous desert, embarking on a journey fraught with dangers and unknown threats.
The journey grows increasingly ominous, confirming Teuns’s suspicion that Sidi Omar is more than it initially appeared to him. Their trek is interrupted by fear when they confront an oasis plagued by death and a gruesome disease. Betrayal ensues when the attractive British lady, Joan Matthews, and the soldier Paxos turn back, depriving Teuns and Petacci of water and food. So begins a desperate struggle for survival that ultimately leads them to the enigmatic Sidi Omar oasis, where they discover the full extent of the danger. Are Teuns’s plans and resolve sufficient to save the day, or will the secrets of the Sahara ensnare him and Petacci forever in the eternal sands?
