The House in the Sand: A Gripping Adventure in Africa
Matriculation
Part I: Cairo and the Nile
Chapter 1: Good Life and Pyramids
It all started in Barcelona. Peter Vidal had answered a newspaper advertisement calling for a man between 25 and 30 years old who could swim well and speak English and German. Initially, he hadn’t responded, but after a few days, strange things began to happen. Later, he would learn that some tests were being done to see if he had lied on his application. He was instructed to stay in a small hotel in Barcelona and tell his brother that he was in Arenys de Mar. After a few days, two men appeared with new instructions. He was meant to go to Arenys de Mar. There, he got into a boat and was ordered to collect some packages located a little way from the coast. When they threw the packages to him and went away, it was the last test he had to pass. After that, they sent him to Egypt. He was to travel on to Cairo via Alexandria, and he was given a new name: Peter Whitel.
Arriving in Cairo, Peter spent several days living like a king. He took the opportunity to read some books that the organization had given him and get to know the city. After a time, he received a letter containing a train ticket to Aswan and a passage for a ship that would take him to Wadi Halfa, on the road to Abu Simel in Sudan. There, he would receive a package that he should safeguard.
Chapter 2: Turning Back Because It Is Impossible
Along with the last letter came a newspaper clipping about Peter. It spoke of his involvement in a smuggling operation. It was clear that everything that happened in Arenys de Mar was a trap, and he couldn’t go back. He boarded the Mirriekh, the ship that was meant to take him to Abu Simel. After nearly two days of travel, a man approached him and gave him the package.
Chapter 3: Henry Balus Enters the Scene
When Peter resumed his journey, a black man spoke to him in Catalan. It turned out that the man had studied in Barcelona and spoke a little English and Catalan. In the days that followed, Peter learned more about him, and they became friends. Upon arriving at Wadi Halfa, they lodged in the same hotel. Henry regretted that he would have to stay a few more days before going to Khartoum. One day, after lunch, Henry took Peter in a jeep toward the banks of the Nile. On the way, they encountered a group of French archaeologists. One of them, Verena, had fainted from the heat.
Chapter 4: The Friend and the Hyenas
Since it was getting late, they decided to end their journey and begin the return. Along the way, their car broke down. While Henry fixed it, Peter went to stretch his legs. After walking a bit, he encountered a hyena. Luckily, his friend Henry helped him, and together they returned to the French camp. There, Peter tried Maritza, an alcoholic beverage made from dates, for the first time. Back at the hotel, they were both very happy. Henry had saved Peter’s life.
Chapter 5: Henry Gives Advice
When the conversation turned serious over coffee, Henry asked Peter what he was doing in Africa. Peter dodged the question as best as he could. Henry said that the best way to repay him for saving him from the hyenas was to not do anything that would harm his country. In the evening, Peter had the same questions for Henry. He didn’t know where he was going or what he should do. There were many unknowns.
Part II: The House in the Sand
Chapter 1: Mr. Ti and the City
The next day, Peter arrived in Khartoum. A man led him to a small aircraft. He was given new orders. They covered his eyes and took away his watch. After a while, he arrived at a place underground. It was the city of Mr. Ti, an underground city built by the Egyptians. Mr. Ti was German, and the city was discovered in the midst of World War II. The Germans didn’t provide more money to finance an excavation that they considered unimportant. After the war, Mr. Ti and some colleagues who couldn’t return to their country formed the city.
Mr. Ti spoke to Peter and accepted him into his organization as a member. He also said that they had carried out some plans that Peter had to infiltrate illegally.
Chapter 2: A Crime Has Signed the Contract
The next day, after breakfast, Peter went to the shooting range. He grabbed an automatic rifle and fired at the target. At that moment, a body fell behind him.
Chapter 3: Purpose of Revenge
They brought the body to Peter, and he vomited. But he behaved as if nothing had happened. Then, they led him to Mr. Ti’s office to make him sign a paper confessing that he had killed the black man. They knew that the Maritza smugglers were illegally entering the country and visiting the old city. This proved that Mr. Ti was building a tomb for himself and everyone who lived there.
Chapter 4: Guns, Liquor, and Slaves
With time, Peter learned the routine of the city. Every day was the same, except for the days when he was ordered to go outside to sell a load of Maritza. Finally, he discovered their economic sources: the sale of weapons, the illegal sale of liquor, and the smuggling of slaves.
Chapter 5: Contempt of Henry Balus
One day, a group of black men came to the city, possibly due to smuggling. They remained in the city, and one of them, Henry, looked at Peter in a strange way. It turned out that Henry was now there, and it was possible to plan an escape. In the following days, they were preparing a hunt, and Peter took the opportunity to concoct an escape plan. At first, Henry was wary, but little by little, he began to trust Peter again. In the end, they planned everything well and clarified the details.
Part III: Escape
Chapter 1: Hunting
Almost the entire town had come out to hunt. When they arrived at the nature reserve, they stopped in a clearing where the helicopters were waiting. As they went into the woods, Henry, who was behind Peter, pretended to be bitten by a snake and got into the car. At first, his partner wanted to leave him, but Peter threatened him, and they returned to the clearing.
Chapter 2: Peter and Henry Attack
They tied their comrade to a tree and drove off in the jeep as fast as they could. They left the reservation without difficulty; the guards were drunk because of the Maritza. Henry had some maps in the jeep and a compass that would guide them well. The issue of the death of the black man who Peter had “killed” was clarified. It was all an act; Henry knew him.
Chapter 3: A Lively and Dangerous Jungle
They entered the jungle, and there was a way to continue if they pretended to be dead. Peter was sleeping, and Henry was watching. When Peter awoke, Henry gave him the news: he had seen something.
Chapter 4: Organized Persecution
When Mr. Ti’s men realized what had happened, they began to search for Peter and Henry. The men who had stopped near where Peter and Henry were shouted into their radios to alert others who were not far from the fugitives.
Chapter 5: Cornered!
Henry already had a plan to disable the jeep. He also told Peter that he was part of the Third Section, a sort of African FBI, and that he had infiltrated the organization. They couldn’t carry out the operation at night because a helicopter appeared, so they left the jeep and, after walking for a while, hid in a tree.
Chapter 6: Henry Plays Heads or Tails
Peter woke up, and now it was Henry’s turn to sleep until night. When the sun rose, he had secretly continued on the way to the White Nile. But before that, Henry found some people who were setting fire to the river. He took their guns and the drugs they were carrying, and he took out the food and left it outside.
Chapter 7: The Dream
For me, this chapter is a representation of what Peter wants, or rather, his desire for freedom, which is represented by a bottle of beer that Mr. Ti takes away from him at the end of the dream.
Chapter 8: The Target, However, Was in Africa
Peter awoke in a hospital. Henry later told him what had happened. The people who set fire to the river were a tribe who took Peter to a cave, where he remained until a government plane found him. Meanwhile, Henry communicated to the Third Section the possible locations of the city, and after a while of searching, they found it. They were so grateful to Henry that they offered him a job in the Third Section, and Peter/Peter accepted.