Legend of the Lost Page #2

as if I were a human being.

Go on, laugh, you desert pig!

I hate loud chippies.

Dirt, dirt! That's all you are!

I don't think that was very kind.

If you want to hang around here

and confuse this lady further, go ahead.

We can start tomorrow.

The desert will still be there.

- No. I have to go. Are the donkeys loaded?

- They're loaded.

Okay, I will join you.

Did you pay for this?

Yes.

No sense leaving temptation

in the lady's way.

We'll be ready to start in 15 minutes

unless you have other plans.

He is a friend of yours?

Yes.

He is a friend.

They're all friends,

all the pigs in Timbuktu!

I hate myself!

I will remember a woman

whose heart was full of pain.

I have to go.

Goodbye, Dita.

Goodbye, Dita.

Everything all right?

Good morning, Joe.

- So, you're off?

- Maybe.

- Did you find out more about our friend?

- Nope.

A man of mystery?

Surely you talked to him last night?

No. He was busy.

Oh!

With Dita!

He sat up preaching to her all night.

To Dita! No! That's impossible to believe.

He was still fanning away at her

when I walked in on them this morning.

Dita, our little touch of gay Paris

in the wilderness!

Good morning.

- Good morning. Everything ready?

- To the last can of peaches.

Good. So we are ready to start?

You ride this one.

Here is half your fee, as we agreed.

-2,000 francs.

- Thank you.

I owe you 1,000.

No. The official ledger says 1,400.

Do you want that 1,000,

or do you want me back in jail?

Joe, monsieur...

All right.

Excuse me, monsieur,

but I am opposed to that.

- Opposed to what?

- Taking liquor along.

Well, I'm not.

We'll compromise.

You live your way, I'll live mine.

For medicinal purposes,

perhaps it may be useful.

Best desert remedy on the market.

Take me along, please.

I'm used to the desert. Take me along.

I can't, Dita.

I'm going off for a long and difficult trip.

I won't be in the way.

I'm really touched that you want to come,

but it's not possible.

I can cook for you, help with the camp.

She might come in sort of handy at that.

I'd like to help you,

but I have so much to do.

I'll see you again when I come back.

- How long will it be?

- Not very long.

If you tell me where you are going,

I could arrange for

our little Dita to communicate.

What are you stewing about,

mon capitaine?

Bonnard told you

where we were going last night.

- Where?

- The Sahara Desert.

Straight ahead and turn to your left.

Joe, please, I can't.

Allons, Jeannette.

- The desert begins.

- It's all desert.

I imagine you're curious about

where we're going.

You'll get around to telling me.

I have spent 10 years preparing

for this trip.

And I studied the Sahara and its history.

I know every word that's written about

this dead sea of sand.

There's a lot to know about the Sahara.

You like the desert?

It's mine.

It's all I own.

I think this will be

the most important job of your life.

What is it?

I'm going in search of my father.

A reunion?

He disappeared in the desert 10 years ago.

Just where do you expect

to catch up with him?

I don't expect to find him alive.

Dropped out of a salt caravan.

Even camels can't make it sometimes.

I thought that happened farther out.

You missed a few lessons in your

home desert study, Mr. Bonnard.

It can happen anywhere.

I've seen dead animals and men

100 yards from water.

That wind blows, and the sand moves,

it's goodbye water holes.

The oasis of Asselar will not be covered.

You can start your praying right now.

Yes, it is Asselar. It hasn't changed.

The old Turkish fort, the well, the palms.

- I thought you hadn't been here before.

- I haven't.

This is the largest oasis, isn't it?

That's right.

- Anything you'd like me to do?

- I'll manage.

Nothing like soaking your insides

while you can.

Here is where the next camp is,

due north of us,

through the valley of Tilemsi.

We move always toward the hills of Adras.

And from there, to Tin Reroh camp

in the Tuareg country.

Fifty-nine miles as the lizard crawls.

How do you know it?

There is no map showing the mountain.

I memorized my father's letter

and destroyed it.

I was reciting a caravan route

a few thousand years old.

Oh.

One gets to imagining strange things

in the desert.

Yeah, one meets them, too.

Do you know where we go

after sighting Mount Tahat?

There's nothing out there

but a million years of dead sand.

- Yes, there is.

- What?

I will tell you

that when we get to Mount Tahat.

Holy Mother of the Pyramids!

You're out here after treasure?

Oh! King Solomon's mines

or the golden tomb of my Aunt Minnie!

Out in the middle of nowhere,

lookin' for nothing in the wrong season!

Jeannette, you have a pal on this trip.

A fellow jackass. It's me!

- Don't you hear anything?

- Yeah.

- Jackals?

- No.

Are there any other animals

that make a noise like that?

Men.

Tuaregs.

Do you suppose they have seen us?

They've been following us for hours.

Are they friendly?

Nothing is friendly out here.

I hope they are not trailing us.

There's only one way to find out.

They still might be watching us.

They must not know what I am after.

Don't worry. Nobody pays any attention

to gold hunters in the desert

except the desert.

You think I'm a fool

who believes in fairy tales.

You're paying me a salary.

If you want to go chasing a gold pot,

I'll tag along.

I am not going after the riches for myself.

The gold I find will be used

to make my father's dream come alive.

A refuge for the needy.

A haven for the sick of soul and body.

A monument to humanity

rising out of the jungle.

That was my father's dream.

They've been here.

Must have left a couple of hours ago.

If they have left.

Shall I get firewood?

There isn't any.

They burned up all the wood years ago.

- Use those chips.

- Chips?

Camel chips. Over there. See that stuff?

Find the driest. It makes a good fire.

Easy. Take it slow.

Let's just go on about our business.

How did you get out here?

The Tuaregs brought me.

- Well, they can cart you right back.

- No.

- Go on.

- No.

I said get going. There's no place for you.

We have provisions for two.

When you left, I cried all day.

I wanted to die at the end of the night

when a man came to my room.

I hit him and ran away.

I can't live like the girl I was before.

Please, let me stay.

Haul yourself out of here.

He brushed you off in Timbuktu.

Let me stay. I'll work, I'll help.

We can't turn her away, Joe.

Forget that "we. "

It's your hike from here on in.

If you want to cross the Sahara

with a loony on your coattails, I'm out.

Let me explain.

There's nothing to explain.

I like my chippies in a room.

You pig!

You're fooling nobody.

You get a crazy yen for a fella,

and come hot-footing it out here

squealing about salvation.

You're hurting me!

I'll bust you if you try that again.

She's all yours, Mr. Bonnard.

You will not leave us, Joe.

She can show you the way back.

I'm not going back.

Well, I am.

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