Chapter 9It seems as if Juin is staggering on his feet, and his mouth is hanging open.
“Colonel Le Clerq is dead?”
“This crisis had been too hard on him, Juin. He is an old man. The defeat was too great for him, and he couldn’t bring himself so far as to lead the garrison out of here. Earlier tonight, he had told me that it is impossible. On the other hand, he could not bear it that his wife was going to die.”
“Madame… is the madame going to die?”
“I have received information that they are not going to release her, like they promised. She is going to die, together with the South African, Stegmann, and El Saoed, the son of the late El Abba.”
“Can’t we try to save them, mon capitaine?”
“Juin, from this moment on, I am officially in command of Dini Salam. My first and only priority is t
