12. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES - CURSE OF THE RUBY
The narrative commences within a droning aircraft traversing the Sahara desert. Six men, attired in the blue uniforms of the French Foreign Legion, journey towards an undisclosed destination. Among them are Fritz Mundt, a large German, Petacci, a diminutive Italian, Jack Ritchie, an Englishman, Podolski, a Pole, and Teuns Stegmann, a tall, blond South African. They are equipped with submachine guns and carry rucksacks and water canteens. Their mission is to rescue a Canadian millionaire and his daughter, whose aircraft crashed in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. During the flight, they discuss rumours surrounding the legendary Rubies of Makesser, purportedly concealed within the Ruined Temple of Makesser.
Teuns Stegmann assumes a central role. He is calm and composed, yet possesses a sharp intellect and a keen intuition for imminent danger. He shares a newspaper clipping detailing Professor Langley’s conviction regarding the existence of the rubies. Upon parachuting near the temple and eventually reaching it, Teuns experiences an inexplicable unease, a sense that they are not alone. This feeling intensifies following an incident where a stone nearly strikes him and Ritchie. Tension escalates when they discover the millionaire’s abandoned aircraft and later find their own supplies stolen. Teuns’ suspicion of a hidden presence within the temple proves accurate when Ritchie vanishes inexplicably.
Teuns’s determination to find Ritchie propels him into a series of desperate actions, even defying Sergeant Catroux’s orders. He uncovers a secret entrance within the temple but is captured by the demented Professor Oestinof. Even in captivity, Teuns remains resourceful and defiant, employing his intellect to manipulate Oestinof. At one point, he deliberately makes himself known to the Doelaks, knowing he will likely perish there, and thus whistles to attract their attention. Will Teuns’s audacity and clever schemes ultimately lead him, Jack, and the millionaire’s daughter out of this lethal labyrinth, or will they become victims of the temple’s dark secrets and its treasures? In the heart of the ruined city, where stones whisper secrets of ancient kings and blood-red gems lie hidden, the true peril might not lurk in the visible enemies, but in something far deeper and unknown.
