ads of the new ways begin to
spread out over the whole of the territory which once was roamed only
by the Cheyennes and such nomadic tribes."

"Ai," a muffled mouth ejected.

Homer Crawford looked at the younger Targui, Guemama, the Amenokal's
nephew. "And so," he said, "they fought."

"Wallahi!" Guemama breathed.

Homer Crawford looked about the circle. "Never has tribe fought as did
the Cheyenne. Never has the world seen such warriors, with the
exception, of course, of the Ahaggar Tuareg. Never were such raids,
never such bravery, never such heroic deeds as were performed by the
warriors of the Cheyennes and their women, and their old people and
their children. Over and over they defeated the cavalry and the
infantry of the newcomers who would change the old ways and bring the
new to the lands of the Cheyennes."

The bedouin were staring in fascination, their water pipes forgotten.

"And then...?" the Amenokal demanded.

"The new ways taught the enemy how to make guns, and artillery, and
finally Gatling guns, which today we call machine guns. And once a
brave warrior might prevail against a common man armed with the
weapons of the new ways, and even twice he might. But the numbers of
the followers of the new ways are as the sands of the Great Erg and in
time bravery means nothing."

"It is even so," someone growled. "They are as the sands of the erg,
and they have the weapons of the djinn, as each man knows."

"And what happened in the end, O El Hassan?"

His eyes swept them all. "They perished," Homer said. "Today in all
the land where once the Cheyenne pursued the game there is but a
handful of the tribe alive. And they have become nothing people, no
longer warriors, no longer nomads, and they are scorned by all for
they are poor, poor, poor. Poor in mind and spirits, and in property
and they have not been able to adjust to the ways of the new world."

Air went out of the lungs of the assembled Tuareg.

The Amenokal looked at him. "This is verily the truth, El Hassan?"

"My head upon it," Crawford said.

"And why do you tell us of these Cheyenne, these great warriors of the
plains of the land of your birth? The story fails to bring joy to
hearts already heavy with the troubles of the Tuareg."

It was time to play the joker.

Crawford said carefully, "Because there was no need, O Amenokal of all
the Ahaggar, for the Cheyenne to disappear before the sandstorm of the
future. They could have ridden b