26. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES — DINI SALAM UNDER SIEGE
In the southern Sahara, at Dini Salam, the main garrison of the French Foreign Legion, chaos reigns. An oppressive multitude of Arabs and desert warriors throngs around the fortress. Legionnaires, including the South African Teuns Stegmann and the German Fritz Mundt, stand ready on the ramparts. The Doelaks and even the Berbers, traditionally hostile towards each other, join the crowd. Captain D’Arlan, an astute officer, reports the menacing situation to Colonel Le Clerq, who is uncertain and fear-stricken, especially as High Command in Algiers has ordered that the captured Emir Hussein Moellah must still be executed.
Teuns Stegmann plays a pivotal role in the drama surrounding Dini Salam. He observes how the Arab forces, led by an Algerian rebel and aided by Madame Brigitte Bonnet, the white queen of the Doelaks, are becoming increasingly organised. Teuns’s efforts to delay an execution lead to desperate negotiations with the Arabs, during which D’Arlan proposes an audacious plan. Colonel Le Clerq must offer himself as a hostage in exchange for the Emir. The situation escalates rapidly when the Emir, despite the agreement, is murdered, driving the Arabs into a frenzy.
In the face of the imminent attack and the unavoidable bloodshed, Teuns acts heroically. He attempts to buy time, but the unexpected intervention of the mysterious “Riders Without Destiny” turns the tide. These strangers, driven by an intense hatred for the Arabs, save Teuns and Le Clerq from certain death and play a decisive role in the defence of Dini Salam. But who are these enigmatic riders, where do they come from, and what deeper secrets lie concealed behind their sudden appearance in the desert?
