The Gobi Desert Read online

  People gathered round me, led by the mechanic, helped me to get clear, and shook me by the hand. Amongst all these congratulations, another sound could be heard, an odd sort of clapping coming from the hull of the Bendigo. Could it be Sanders? Yes, there was Sanders, applauding from down below. In fifteen minutes he and I had said virtually nothing, but what a journey we had made!

  *

  ‘Oh well, that’s that sorted out’, said the mechanic. ‘You were brave. You can be pleased with yourself.’

  ‘Pleased?’ I said, trying to get rid of the dirty oil with which my hands and clothes were covered. ‘I won’t be pleased until I know what on earth’s inside that dammed crate. I can’t believe there isn’t something there that started to wriggle around just when it didn’t need to. Let’s have a look! I think I have the right to do so.’

  There was a slight crack in the left-hand side of the crate. I got closer so I could risk peering inside. Just at that moment, my God, a noise so awful, so monstrous, emanated from within the crate that everything around it suddenly fell silent, ceased to exist; a roar such that neither the mechanic, nor me, nor anyone else had ever heard anything like it before. Down below on the quayside the frightened neighing of horses rang out. Manes bristling, the horses fled in terror, trying desperately to shake off their harnesses. As for the little coolies they had all, as if under a spell, fallen to the ground. Not a single one around us got up from where they lay prostrate on the quayside.

  II

  ‘Well, my dear Michel – you don’t mind if I call you that, do you? That’s the third time that I’ve caught you looking at your watch! Are you so bored in our company?’

  ‘Not at all, Mr Sanders! But I told you that I was due to meet someone at midday. You see what time it is already!’

  ‘Half past twelve? So what’s going on? Some nice young lady you’re going to see? Take it from me, there isn’t a single woman in the world who is worth the trouble of leaving good friends like us. Isn’t that so, captain? And you, fat man, you who are always guffawing, don’t you think so? Please be so kind as to remind me of your names, both of you.’

  They complied, laughing good-naturedly. The big, smiling man was called Habrekorm, and was none other than the mechanic on the bridge who, half an hour earlier, had directed the manoeuvre just described. As for the captain, his name was Lucas. Second in command on board the Bendigo, he was responsible for everything to do with securing the cargo. It was in this capacity that Jack Sanders had sent them both to join me in celebrating the successful completion of loading the ship. I’m one of those strange creatures who don’t like it when anyone talks to them about money, but even so I didn’t see anything wrong in coming to knock back two or three bottles of champagne in the bar at the Myako, the best hotel in Fouzan, or to tell the truth the only one. We had just got to the seventh bottle. It was rather a strange sort of champagne, bubbling like seltzer water, sweet and sugary, and only slightly resembling the Pommery in the mess of my old regiment.

  ‘One more bottle, last one! Don’t say no, or I shall be offended. I’m getting to like you, you know! Besides, my assistant Streep, Otto Streep, who I’m expecting at any moment, would bear a permanent grudge against me if I didn’t introduce you to him. He is quite a remarkable fellow, as he should be, you’ll see. I recommend him to you, captain. Look after him for me. You won’t get bored with him, as he’s going to be a passenger as far as Singapore on your old tub. I’m entrusting him with the mission to convey the little item which you know about as far as Sydney. Hey, Michel, dear Michel, I can’t contain myself when I think about it, it’s something stronger than me. But tell me you’re not cross with me, eh?’

  ‘Get away with you! Don’t worry about it, please!’ I said, more than a bit annoyed.

  ‘It was a joke, honestly! Captain, I tell you, you don’t know what you missed. You should ask these two fine lads! Think of the headache they’re going to have! Now, Michel – hey! Tell me honestly, didn’t you for one moment have any idea what might be in that crate?’

  ‘How could I know that it contained a tiger, and of such a size, far greater than anything normal? I didn’t even know that anything like that could exist. But you, it was so amusing to watch you, just at that moment when you thought that the box containing your little pet might topple over . . . !’

  ‘As for me’, said the mechanic, even more amused, ‘of course, I knew straightaway. I realised what it was as soon as I saw the natives running around and bowing down, I knew what it was on the deck and on the quayside. That was an unmistakable sign, if ever there was one!’

  ‘My Vietnamese boy’ said Lucas the captain, ‘was in my cabin doing the ironing. Stricken with fear he threw all his things on the floor, and himself of course. I didn’t need to ask him what was up. I also realised straightaway. If it’s all the same to you, Mr Sanders, I hope your little protege is not going to regale us with similar activities throughout the duration of our crossing, is he? Between ourselves, a tomcat of that size, what would that fetch in the market, roughly? About the same as the cost of the passage, I imagine . . . ‘

  ‘What do you think it would be worth, in your opinion?’ said Sanders, suddenly more serious.

  ‘Eh? How should I know? . . . I’ve no idea. Thirty thousand, forty thousand francs?’

  ‘Oh yes, my friend! Add a nought, and you’ll be much nearer the real figure.’

  The three of us gaped with astonishment. ‘Is that possible?’ asked Lucas.

  ‘I’m not surprised at your anxiety just now, Mr Sanders’, said the mechanic. ‘Even so this is unbelievable. What on earth? Four hundred thousand francs!’

  ‘Three hundred and fifty thousand, or fifteen thousand dollars’, specified Sanders puffing himself up with conceit. ‘That is precisely the sum agreed between the administrative council of Sydney Zoo and your humble servant. Just think that before 1914, the celebrated Hagenbak, of Hamburg, paid one thousand pounds sterling for an ordinary adult male, not a Mikado like the one the Bendigo is going to have the honour of transporting. That was some years ago, wasn’t it? Well, since that time, given the law of supply and demand, prices have continued to rise. Don’t be surprised, in these circumstances…

  ‘What do you mean by Mikado?’ I asked politely.

  Sanders looked at me almost tenderly. He had obviously not expected that question.

  ‘Read the works of your compatriot Nicholas Baikov, my friend, since you have a taste for this type of story. For professional people like us, they don’t teach us anything, that’s true, but that is all the more reason to read them. What is a Mikado tiger? Do you others know what a Manchurian tiger is? That, Michel my friend, Baikov will teach you in no time. He was one of the first to have established that there are two regions in Asia where tigers exist. The first includes Persia, Afghanistan, India, Indochina, Malaysia, and southern China. This region is inhabited by the common tiger, the so-called royal tiger, or the Bengal tiger. This tiger is the one you can see in menageries and ordinary zoological gardens. Twenty, twenty-five thousand francs for an animal of this type, and yes, I can tell you that’s just about what it’s worth. On the other hand, as for the other type of tiger, that belongs to a different category . . But my friends, tell me if I’m boring you with all these details. You must say so, I won’t be offended!’

  ‘You must be joking, Mr Sanders!’ interjected the captain, who seemed to be sincere in his protestation, and moreover to be greatly enjoying the champagne.

  ‘All in good time! Because otherwise . . . Where was I? Ah yes, the second region where tigers can be found. This region is separated from the previous one by a barrier which perhaps you’ve heard of: the Gobi Desert. Can you imagine that! It includes the regions of the Amur and the Ussuri Rivers, as well as Korea. It’s here where the magnificent wild cat known as the Manchurian tiger lives. It resembles its friend the Bengal tiger in the same way that a huge dog resembles a noisy little puppy. If you want some figures, one weighs two hundred kilos,
the other usually weighs three hundred and twenty. The skull of the Manchurian tiger is one and a half times the size of that of the Bengal tiger. In strength, agility, ferocity, it is superior in everything.’

  ‘So your own tiger’, I said, ‘which is the reason why we are all here, belongs to the second category, if I understand correctly?’

  Sanders nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right. The type in question, which is also known as a fur tiger, includes up to now three known varieties: the Amur tiger, felis tigris amurensis; the Ussuri tiger, which is more hairy, felis tigris longipilis; and the Korean tiger, felis tigris mikado, named in honour of the emperor of Japan. It was one of the most perfect specimens of this last type that you were introduced to just now, not without some lack of delicacy, I must admit. So there are three known varieties up to now, as I said, since as Baikov wrote, the classification of tigers is still in its infancy, and in addition to these three varieties it is possible, certain even . . . . well, I’m getting ahead of myself! Why am I saying all this? What interest can all these details have for you, eh, Michel? And for you lads?’

  Again we cried out in surprise, and now I was more agitated than the other two. It was too bad that the time was getting on! Too bad for Alzire! A little earlier or a little later, it wouldn’t make any difference would it, in view of the good news which I was going to give her?

  As for Sanders, assisted by the wine and by his own enthusiasm, he was radiant with happiness. It was quite touching to see him, a good, self-taught person such as he was, revelling in all this obsolete terminology.

  *

  ‘Here’s to the health of the Mikado, captain. Not the emperor of course, but your little passenger! To his health, eh, Habrekorm? To his health, young Michel, what do you say? Hey! In the Russian style, down in one!’

  Sanders winked at me.

  ‘And also, with your permission, to the health of the next one, the one which will come one day, mark my words. Ah! that day - Felis alba! – what a day that will be, my friends! But excuse me! Once again I’m forgetting that you don’t understand. You can’t understand!’

  While he was talking he poured us out more drinks. It was from that moment, I have a very clear memory of it, when I began to lose not a single word, however rambling it might be, of this odd conversation.

  Lucas, the captain, however, raised his glass to indicate that he wanted to speak.

  ‘Mr Sanders, you must have frequently noticed the way in which life arranges things in a manner which is sometimes less than satisfactory. No sooner have we had the pleasure of getting to know each other when bang! . . We have to split up. We have just spent an hour in your company which has been so pleasant that we can only regret the fact that it won’t be followed by many more. It’s up to you to make this wish a reality. The Bendigo is not a luxury vessel, that’s true. But I am making it my responsibility to arrange a cabin for you that will leave nothing to be desired. Why stay in this unfortunate country, where you can’t have much more to do, it seems to me, since you have succeeded with the magnificent prey which you have kindly entrusted to us? Is there really a valid reason, when in three days we are going to weigh anchor, to prevent you from leaving with us and your dear little Mikado? If there is still some formality, or some task which you still have to carry out, instead of staying here can’t you give it to your assistant? So many questions, Mr Sanders, please don’t be offended. Believe me, I don’t wish to be indiscreet in talking like this. I’m just concerned.’

  In his turn and with infinite dignity, Sanders raised his glass to the captain. Putting a finger to his lips he murmured, in a voice which was getting a bit slurred, ‘felis alba. I won’t say any more about it. Evidently you have realised, in the thirty years that I have followed this profession, that I have the right, and I should add the means, to retire. But the more one continues, the more demanding one becomes. That’s the reason why, while the Bendigo is making its way down towards Shanghai and the south, I shall be sailing off in a completely different direction. Mikado, she’s a beautiful creature, that’s for sure, but compared to a certain other . . . . but that’s enough! You will have to kill me before I say any more! No, my work isn’t over yet. In fact lads, it’s far from being over . . .

  *

  We looked at this strange man in silence. He was handsome, and he was pleased with himself. The disjointed nature of his remarks created a sort of attraction about him, an aura of mystery. Outside, it had started snowing again. The grey snowflakes swirled around, back and forth outside the window panes. I shivered and moved my chair closer to the fireplace. As if to check that they were still alive, I wriggled my poor toes in my shoes, which had become hard and wet. The reflection of the flames danced on the hearth. We could hear the gentle purring sound of an unseen samovar somewhere. Ah! If only I could have taken one of those bottles of champagne to Alzire! But in quarter of an hour at the most I would have to go out again into the ice and mud of the street. And it wasn’t the thought of the welcome waiting for me at the Pension Domestici which was already getting me worked up, was it?

  Did Sanders have any inkling of my distress? He gave me a hard slap on the back.

  ‘Come on, one last bottle! And that animal Streep can go to hell! What on earth can he be doing, I ask you? To book tickets for the voyage to Tien-Tsin, and see to the registration of my equipment and ammunition, that’s not magic, and shouldn’t take up the whole morning, as far as I know!’

  ‘You’re going to China?’ asked Habrekorm.

  ‘That’s right, old man, and even a bit further. It’s in those parts around there that the little pet that I’ve got it into my head to track down has its home. You’re talking about a hunting party, captain! As for the object in question, if I succeed in bringing it back, young Michel, it won’t be three hundred and fifty thousand francs, you understand, that it will cost the gentlemen in the Sydney Zoo, but double that amount, three times, even four times as much. Hah! But I’m forgetful, and I’m forgetting that you’re not interested in money.’

  ‘Hunting, at any rate, interests me,’ I said with a smile that was somewhat forced.

  ‘Good for you, if that’s true! But I want to warn you now that this hunting trip is not a sport for men of the world. You must go into it with your eyes wide open. It’s not just a question of knowing how to pull the trigger calmly and unhurriedly, as on the rifle range of your old garrison.’

  He was beginning to get a bit too carried away. I thought the moment had come to give him another example of my savoir-faire, and at the same time a little lesson.

  ‘This morning’, I said, shrugging my shoulders, ‘you began by doubting my ability in loading the crate onto the ship. I had the chance to make you change your mind pretty quickly. Please God that I shall be equally fortunate on this occasion.’

  As I was speaking and without ceremony, I took the high-calibre revolver from its holster which as I said was hanging from Sanders’ belt. I aimed it in the direction of the bar door which had just opened. A shot rang out.

  ‘Excuse me’, I said politely and returned the weapon to its owner. ‘And do me the honour of believing me, my dear Mr Sanders, when I tell you that it was really this pretty little feather which is now floating around that I was aiming at, won’t you?’

  Caught in a draft from the door, the little feather in question made a few slow circles in the air, then at last gently came to rest on a shelf, between a bottle of vodka and a carafe of Sake.

  A man was standing at the door, motionless but somewhat taken aback. He was of medium height and had a dark expression on his face which didn’t exactly exude kindness. He made an effort to smile. He was dressed, very correctly, in a suit and a bottle-green overcoat, and a knitted woollen hat on his head in the same shade, a hat on the side of which was missing a little feather, the same feather which had just flown off.

  The whole bar burst out into laughter, laughter which went on and on.

  ‘Captain, and you Habrekorm, my friends’, said Sand
ers when he managed to control himself. ‘God is my witness that it is a long time since I have been so amused. Michel, my dear Michel, you are certainly not a man like everyone else. And what a steady hand, my God! Tell me what I can do for you, and it’s done. But just look at the head of this imbecile! What is it doing, still stuck there? You idiot, don’t you think that we haven’t been waiting for you long enough? Come on, let me introduce you to my new friends. Barman, four more bottles, right away, if you please!’

  So it was that I made the acquaintance of Mr Otto Streep, assistant to Mr Jack Sanders, and the head of the mission from the Sydney Zoological Gardens.

  III

  At that time there was only one decent hotel in Fouzan, the Myako, which I was just leaving having spent more than two hours there. As for the Pension Domestici to where I was now on my way, not in too much of a hurry, out of good manners and politeness you might as well not trouble to talk about it.

  In fact there was nothing to be said about it while the owner lived there, an old Italian who had settled in Korea straight after the Russian-Japanese war. He was familiar with Alzire, I never bothered to find out how or why, but I hasten to add that it was in an almost fatherly way. Unfortunately he died three months after we – who were somewhat knocked about by events – came to live in his house. There was going to be a whole year of that. His widow, a formidable mixed-descent woman from Manila, had taken over from him; she never missed a chance to make it clear to us that she had never agreed to put us up for free.

  She was a cantankerous woman, very close to her money, and as long as she continued to amass more money, it mattered little to her to see an establishment, which continued to bear her husband’s name, every day lose more of its reputation for honesty and comfort. Whenever I pointed this out to Alzire, she just shrugged her shoulders, and said that I saw bad things everywhere. Perhaps! But I would have been happier if I could have offered her a sanctuary more worthy of her. To tell the truth, I was greatly embarrassed a few moments before when Sanders had bluntly asked me where I lived. Normally I am indifferent to trivial matters like that, but I couldn’t help blushing when I told him the name of the Pension Domestici.