25. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES — ECHOES OF THE PAST
The narrative commences in Dini Salam, an outpost settlement of the French Foreign Legion. Colonel Le Clerq expresses concern regarding the disappearance of Sergeant O’Reiley and his patrol in the Sahara. He discusses the situation with Captain D’Arlan, a seasoned officer renowned as the “Houdini of the Sahara”. D’Arlan suspects that the Arabs, despite their ostensible peacefulness, might be involved in O’Reiley’s disappearance, possibly as part of a broader scheme. Le Clerq is reluctant to dispatch another patrol, fearing further losses. D’Arlan volunteers to personally lead a select team to search for O’Reiley and his men.
The story now primarily focuses on Teuns Stegmann, a South African legionnaire in D’Arlan’s patrol. They follow the trail of a lost Arab, which leads them into an ambush. The Arabs, commanded by a sheikh, demand that Teuns be handed over to them. D’Arlan refuses, but the situation is complicated by the fact that O’Reiley and his men are also being held captive somewhere. Teuns feels a growing burden of responsibility, as his presence becomes the linchpin in a deadly game of chess. In an attempt to save his comrades, Teuns defies D’Arlan’s command and proceeds alone to the Arab camp.
Teuns attempts to negotiate but is confronted with a shocking revelation and an unexpected turn of events. The Arabs seek a secret map, which they believe to be in Teuns’s possession, and Danielle, a woman from Teuns’s past, is brought in to exert further pressure on him. In the face of torture, betrayal, and the looming death of his friends, will Teuns succumb to the Arabs’ demands, even while denying possession of the requisite information? The unveiling of an unforeseen truth lies concealed within the secrets of the past.
