mind you that, although Islam forbids bells as a sign
of Christianity, the harness of Tuareg camels are trimmed with bells?

"Neither Dom Granger nor I attach an exaggerated importance to such
proofs, which resemble too much those which make such a display in the
_Genius of Christianity._ But it is indeed impossible to refuse all
credence to certain theological arguments. Amanai, the God of the
Tuareg, unquestionably the Adonai of the Bible, is unique. They have a
hell, 'Timsi-tan-elekhaft,' the last fire, where reigns Iblis, our
Lucifer. Their Paradise, where they are rewarded for good deeds, is
inhabited by 'andjelousen,' our angels. And do not urge the
resemblance of this theology to the Koran, for I will meet you with
historic arguments and remind you that the Tuareg have struggled all
through the ages at the cost of partial extermination, to maintain
their faith against the encroachments of Mohammedan fanaticism.

"Many times I have studied with Dom Granger that formidable epoch when
the aborigines opposed the conquering Arabs. With him I have seen how
the army of Sidi-Okba, one of the companions of the Prophet, invaded
this desert to reduce the Tuareg tribes and impose on them Mussulman
rules. These tribes were then rich and prosperous. They were the
Ihbggaren, the Imededren, the Ouadelen, the Kel-Gueress, the Kel-Air.
But internal quarrels sapped their strength. Still, it was not until
after a long and cruel war that the Arabians succeeded in getting
possession of the capital of the Berbers, which had proved such a
redoubtable stronghold. They destroyed it after they had massacred the
inhabitants. On the ruins Okba constructed a new city. This city is
Es-Souk. The one that Sidi-Okba destroyed was the Berber Tadmekka.
What Dom Granger asked of me was precisely that I should try to exhume
from the ruins of the Mussulman Es-Souk the ruins of Tadmekka, which
was Berber, and perhaps Christian."

"I understand," I murmured.

"So far, so good," said Morhange. "But what you must grasp now is the
practical sense of these religious men, my masters. You remember that,
even after three years of monastic life, they preserved their doubts
as to the stability of my vocation. They found at the same time means
of testing it once for all, and of adapting official facilities to
their particular purposes. One morning I was called before the Father
Abbot, and this is what he said to me, in the presence of Dom Granger,
who express