Settlers and Scouts: A Tale of the African Highlands

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH--Tracking the Raiders

  The two white men had just forded the river when they met the portersmarching to the farm to fetch the loads laid there in readiness forthem. It was plain that the chief was in earnest, for the forty youngmen were the most stalwart in his community. Each carried his bow andarrows, and as John turned and watched them striding lithely along hethought they would prove no mean antagonists in a fight. He went onwith Ferrier to the village, had a short conversation with the chief,and then set off with Bill on the trail of the raiders, leaving Coja andSaid Mohammed to bring the safari. He wished to go a few miles ahead inorder to examine the trail and get some guidance of his course beforethe others came up.

  At the outset the spoor was very easy to follow. The ground in theimmediate neighbourhood of the village was soft red soil, on which theprint of feet could be clearly seen. But it was impossible at first todistinguish the marks of the raiders from those of the villagers.Presently, however, they came to a stretch of grass-land, the grasscropped short by the villagers' cattle. Here again the trail was socrossed and mingled with the hoof-marks of the animals that had grazedthere since daybreak that it was impossible to learn anything from it.But by and by the grass grew longer, and the passage of a numerous bodyof men through it was plainly indicated. There were two distincttracks, one a narrow path, the other, a few yards to the left, broader.Both the white men were sufficiently experienced in African travel toknow that the former was the track of the bearers among the party,proceeding in single file; the latter that of the Swahilis, who,insolent in their strain of Arab blood, domineer over the native tribes.

  "They're going pretty fast," said John, as they marched on; "fast, thatis, for men carrying loads."

  "How do you know?" asked Ferrier.

  "By the look of the spoor. Stop a minute and bend down. Here are thefootprints of the niggers, you see, about thirty inches apart. Everyman trod in the steps of the man in front, so that the prints areparticularly clear. I know they went fast because their feet turned ina lot; look at the marks; you can't carry a load at any pace with yourfeet splayed. Now look at the other trail. The footsteps are fartherapart--three feet, I should think; and one or two of the men hadsandals; there's a flatter impression than bare feet make. I ratherguess that the Swahilis set the pace and made the natives keep up: theycould do that because if there's a lot of them they needn't all carryloads at the same time."

  "I say, we could have done without Bill," said Ferrier, with a laugh, asthey went on. "Did he teach you that?"

  "No. I did some scouting at school. Bill can't make any inferencesfrom what he sees, but he's got sharper eyes than I have, and can oftenspot the trail when I've lost it, especially on hard ground. The worstof this habit of marching in Indian file is that one can't tell how manythe party consists of; at least, I can't; perhaps a more experiencedscout could judge from the depth of the impression of the footprints.Look here; just as I thought. They stopped here to change loads. TheSwahilis made a group here; the carriers put their loads on the grass atthe side of the path; see how it's pressed down. Here's the mark of oneof my ammunition boxes, I'll swear; and the next man had a cargo ofmaize; here are some of the grains."

  "How far do you reckon they went before camping?"

  "Well, judging by what Said Mohammed said, they made their attackbetween one and two--the hottest part of the day, when everybody wouldbe sleepy. Allowing a couple of hours to sack the village and get theloads together, they might start at four and march till seven, so thatin about an hour's time we ought to get to their last night's camp. Thetrail runs fairly straight, so it looks as if they're making direct fortheir refuge in the hills, and I hope to goodness it's pretty far away:the farther it is the better our chance of coming up with them beforethey get there. It runs west-nor'-west, you see" (he had taken out hispocket compass), "which leads to the foothills of Kenya. We ought tofind ourselves on rocky ground presently, and may lose the trail."

  "Hadn't we better wait for our men now?"

  "We'll come to the raiders' camp first. Coja won't lose us; and I wantto see what sort of camp they made: it may help us."

  They hastened on. At one point the track swerved to the east to avoid asteep incline, but returned to its former direction immediately that hadbeen passed. At another it led due west, skirting a swamp, at the edgesof which the footprints were still deeper in the soft mud, which was,however, beginning to dry in the sun's rays. Then it crossed a shallowstream, and John wondered at first why the raiders had marched for somelittle distance up the bank before crossing, since the stream wasfordable anywhere. He understood when Bill pointed to a long depressionin the soft earth at the brink: a crocodile had lain there, and the menhad given it a wide berth, for if it had heard or seen them it wouldhave slipped noiselessly into the water and seized some hapless fellowas they crossed.

  At length, after a rapid march of two hours, during which they hadcovered, as John estimated, about eight miles, they came suddenly to anopen glade in the midst of scrub, where there were clear signs of theprevious night's encampment. A thorn boma was left partly standing.Within it there were the black marks of fires, and a circular patch ofdiscoloured grass where the loads had been stacked. Here John decidedto halt and await the arrival of the safari. The smell of burnt woodwas still so strong that he guessed the raiders had not made a veryearly start, giving him the hope of coming up with them before nightfallif his men would be content with a short rest.

  It was an hour and a half before they came up, very hot and tired, Cojahaving not allowed a halt until they reached the stream, where they haddelayed for a little while to drink and cool their feet. Judging thatthe raiders were quite out of sight, a belt of forest stretching acrossthe country about a mile ahead, John did not think any harm would comeof lighting fires; accordingly the men set about cooking theirbreakfast, and Said Mohammed made some coffee, which the white men drankout of tin mugs, with condensed milk. John took the opportunity toexplain to the men that he wished to set off without delay, promisingthat with good luck they should recover their stolen goods before nextmorning. After an hour's rest, therefore, he gave the order to march.

  They now adopted the plan he had arranged with Ferrier over night. Theyhad come into country favourable to an ambuscade, and it was advisableto take all precautions. On starting, Ferrier and the safari struck offto the right, leaving John to follow the trail with Bill. The latterkept close to the track so long as it led over open country, where notrap was possible; but as soon as they reached the wood, Johnheliographed with his pocket mirror to Ferrier, now nearly a mile to theeast, to halt until he had scouted among the trees. For some time therewas no answering flash to his signals, and he feared the safari was outof touch, but after repeated trials the answer came, and he knew thatall was well. John then entered the wood with Bill very cautiously, andfound it so thick, and the ground so densely covered with undergrowth,that it was impossible to see the trail. There was nothing for it butto penetrate to the other side, and they did this as rapidly aspossible, John thinking it scarcely probable that the raiders would haveattempted to lay a trap for them in the wood, where there was no path.John found this the most trying experience he had yet encountered. Herehe had to climb over a dead tree-trunk: there to cut his way through ajungle of bamboos, every stroke of his knife shaking a shower of dewfrom the canopy overhead until his shirt was soaked. He was unable tosee a yard in front of him. His progress was all the more difficultbecause the wood covered a steep slope. It took nearly half-an-hour toget right through, though the distance in a straight line was less thanhalf-a-mile: then they came out upon a sort of rocky plateau, and Johngot one of his rare glimpses of Mount Kenya, far to the west, itssnow-clad peaks, for once clear of mist, gleaming dazzlingly in thesunlight. Leaving Bill to recover the trail, he hastened back toheliograph that the safari might advance, and by the time he had oncemore penetrated the wood and rejoined the Wanderobbo, Ferrier had comewit
hin sight in a hollow a mile and a half to the east. Bill having notyet found the trail on the hard ground, John signalled to Ferrier tohalt again; the delay was vexatious, but it was important that theadvance should not be continued until he had made quite sure of thedirection.

  Finding Bill at fault, John cast about for the lost trail in asystematic way. He laid down his rifle to mark the spot where he hademerged from the wood, and sent Bill to the left, himself going to theright, to examine the ground in ever-widening circles. The difficultywas greatly enhanced by the fact that almost all the raiders werebarefooted, so that there was nothing to mark their passage over thehard soil. After searching for half-an-hour in the sweltering heat, andalmost despairing, John suddenly observed, about two hundred yards fromthe spot where he had left his rifle, a tribe of black ants very busilyengaged. Looking more closely, he was delighted to see that they wererunning over and over a grain or maize. Bill came up at his call, andinstantly flinging himself upon his face, and peering along the surfaceof the soil northwards, he declared he saw marks of the scraping ofsandals. John hastened in that direction, and within a few yards cameupon a small round depression whence a pebble lying near by hadevidently been kicked. He had no doubt that the trail was at lastrecovered, so he sent Bill back for his rifle, and then, finding fromhis compass that the line between the grain and the hole led in anorth-westerly direction, towards a low hill, he ventured to set hiscourse thither, finding, as he progressed, slight traces on the soilthat proved his judgment to be correct.

  The hill was about two miles away, and by the time he reached it he wasso fatigued with trudging over the shelterless plain under the fiercesun that he was glad to throw himself under a thorn-bush at the foot ofthe slope and rest, first signalling his intention to Ferrier. An hourafter, he rose and scouted to the top of the hill, being careful not toexpose himself on the skyline, and lying down to take a good look roundbefore proceeding. The plain stretched as far as the eye could reach,slightly undulating, with patches of grass and scrub. There was no signof the raiders, but a herd of wildebeeste were quietly grazinghalf-a-mile ahead, from which John concluded that no men had recentlypassed that way. The march therefore was resumed. Half-an-hourafterwards he caught sight of a party of natives on a hill to the right,and at once signalled to Ferrier to examine them through hisfield-glass. In a few minutes he saw flashes, and made out from themessage that there were no Swahilis among the natives, nor did theycarry loads, but appeared to be a hunting party. From Ferrier's reportit did not seem that any danger would attend an advance. Accordinglythe march was continued, and shortly afterwards the natives caught sightof the safari and bolted into the bush. John wondered whether theywould carry news of his approach to the raiders, but soon made up hismind to the contrary, for if what had come to his ears was true, theSwahilis had established a reign of terror in the district, and theneighbouring tribes would rather avoid them. It struck him, however,that it was very necessary to be even more carefully on his guardagainst premature discovery by the raiders, for these would force anynatives they came in contact with to join their safari and fight forthem. As it was now drawing towards nightfall, and there seemed nochance of coming up with the raiders, he decided to call a halt, and,striking to the right, joined Ferrier. The men, who had marched withouta murmur through the hottest hours of the day, were very glad to droptheir burdens and camp. Tired though they were, they at once set aboutsurrounding the encampment with a boma. While they were doing this,John and Ferrier, accompanied by Bill, scouted for about two miles aheadto make sure that the raiders had not encamped in the vicinity, in whichcase an accidental noise might betray the safari. Discovering no sign oftheir presence, they returned to the men. They deliberated whether itwas safe to light fires, and decided not to do so, though it meant acold and dry supper.

  Before they went to sleep, Bill, who was not usually communicative, toldJohn more completely, with Coja's aid, the story of which he hadhitherto given only scattered hints. He said that they were now drawingnear to his own country, which lay only four marches distant beyond themountain. Between it and their present camp was the country of the badmen. A long time ago he had been one of a considerable tribe, who formany years had enjoyed good hunting. Large herds of elephants hadinfested their country, and they had slain some with their spears inopen hunting, but more by snaring them in pits. The flesh they ate, thetusks they buried for fear of the Masai and the Rendili, who plunderedthe weaker tribes. They were waiting for the coming of a safari towhich they might sell their store of ivory.

  The waiting was long, but the safari came at last--a large safari,commanded by brown men, not white men like the _bwana_, nor black likethe people of those parts. Coja explained that Bill referred to Arabs.One member of the safari was the very man whom he had seen among theraiders. The Wanderobbo began to bargain with the Arabs, but these, assoon as they learnt where the ivory was buried, had treacherously fallenupon the tribe, and massacred all except a few women whom they spared tomake slaves of, for the transport of the treasure. Bill had escaped byshamming dead when the slaughter was going on, and, lurking in thewoods, he saw his wife among the slaves whom the Arabs loaded with theivory. He followed the safari when it marched off with the spoils, andcame in its track into the country of the bad men, who secretly gatheredaround it, and early one morning fell upon it in a fierce assault. Fromthe shelter of a thick tree Bill watched the fighting. The Arabs hadfire-sticks, and slew many of the bad men; but after a time they ceasedto make the big noises; the fire-sticks had lost their magic. Seeingthis, the bad men attacked still more fiercely, and in greater numbers.A whole day the fight lasted, and did not cease until night fell.Creeping up to the Arabs' camp and climbing a tree, Bill saw them burythe ivory by the light of their fires, working hard all night, andbefore morning came they broke out of their camp and forced a waythrough the enemy. These, following their custom, waited until daylightbefore they pursued the Arabs; then they set off, having no fear of themnow that the firesticks were silent. Bill was too frightened to followthem up, but he learnt afterwards that the bad men caught the party upin two days and slew every one, and also the Wanderobbo whom they hadenslaved. It was clear, however, that one at least had escaped. Billremained in the tree until the bad men had gone, and then slipped awayand took refuge with a Masai tribe south of his old home. But a timecame when disaster overtook the Masai. Disease seized upon theircattle: they roamed about and suffered heavy defeats in war: and atlength Bill left them, when almost starving, and built himself thelittle hut in the wood where John had found him.

  Now he was happy. The msungu had been his friend. He had brought himinto the very country of the bad men: and when he had punished thepeople who had robbed him, surely he would go farther, a little farther,and recover the ivory which lay in the earth awaiting its rightfulmaster.

  "But did not the bad men take it when they had killed the Arabs?" askedJohn.

  No: they might have sought for it, but they would never find it. Theycould not tell where it had been concealed, and if they had returned tothe camp they would not have discovered it, for the Arabs had strewedashes from their fires over the spot, to hide the disturbance of theearth. Bill knew where it was; he could lead the msungu straight to thespot; and the msungu who had been his friend would show his friendlinessstill, and would perhaps buy the treasure when it was laid bare.

  "What do you think of it?" John asked Ferrier, as they talked it overtogether.

  "It sounds like a fairy tale. You may be sure that the 'bad men' didfind it. They would naturally suppose it had been buried in the campand search for it there."

  "I'm not so sure. They're not a very intelligent lot, to begin with.Imagine a crowd of chawbacons----"

  "What are they?"

  "Oh, I suppose you haven't got 'em in Canada--raw country yokels whohaven't any ideas beyond beans and bacon. Imagine them in the samecase, chasing a party for twenty miles or more and then finding thatthey hadn't got what they
supposed they had. They wouldn't know butwhat the treasure had been hidden anywhere along the twenty miles run,and they'd adjourn to the nearest 'pub.'"

  "You may be right, though I guess no Canadian would give it up so soon.Anyway, we can't help the old fellow, can we?"

  "We've got our own job to see through first, and that will be toughenough, I expect. The beggars must have marched at a tremendous pace,and we shall be short of food soon. If we don't catch them to-morrow weshall be in a pretty bad way, for the country seems practically awilderness. But we won't croak yet. I'll take first watch while yousleep: I'll wake you at midnight; and we'll make an early start."

  The camp was astir while it was still dark, and at dawn was on its way,observing the same precautions as before; indeed, John was even morecareful, for being ignorant how far ahead the raiders were, it wasnecessary to run no risk of approaching them too rapidly. Again thecourse took a north-westerly direction, but after skirting one of thelarger foothills of Mount Kenya, it bore a little more to the west. Billsaid that they were now marching almost straight towards his old home.After two hours they came upon the site of the raiders' last camp, andJohn, finding the ashes of the fires warm, though the sun had not yetbroken through the morning mist, concluded that they had been raked overnot more than two hours before. This caused him some little uneasiness.Though no attempt had been made hitherto to trap the pursuers, he wasstill alive to the possibility of such an ambush being laid: it waspossible also that the raiders had left a rearguard to advance behindthe main body, after they had assured themselves that there was nopursuit. These considerations led him to swerve from the direct track,and proceed through a belt of scrub half-a-mile to the right of it,Ferrier with the safari marching at the same distance still farther tothe east, and only at intervals being in sight. He intended to returnto the track from time to time, when a favourable opportunity occurred,to make sure that he was still proceeding in the right direction.

  It was fortunate that he adopted this precaution, for the first time hestruck off to the left to revisit the trail he was astonished to find,distinctly imprinted on the dewy grass, the footsteps of men going inthe reverse direction. The sun being now up, he at once signalled toFerrier to halt, and then carefully examined the new trail. It wasquite fresh; the trodden grass had not had time to erect itself; andafter a careful scrutiny he came to the conclusion that the marks hadbeen made by four or five men, all wearing sandals. He suspected fromthis that they were some of the Swahilis of the party, and suspicionbecame certainty when Bill discovered a tiny strip of white cotton on aspike of a wait-a-bit thorn-bush. The conclusion was irresistible thatsome of the raiders had doubled on their tracks in order to watch forand perhaps ambush any pursuers.

  Feeling that he must find out exactly what had happened, he began withBill cautiously to follow up the new track, looking warily ahead, andobserving with especial care the few large trees that were to be seenhere and there in the distance, for any flight of birds would at onceindicate the presence of men. As they walked, they found that the trailcurved slightly westward, which seemed to show that it would presentlyjoin the main track which they had quitted. John moved now morecautiously than ever, for if his supposition was correct, the men wouldhalt before they actually reached the direct course, at some spot wherethey could overlook it.

  As they proceeded, the ground rose and the scrub became thicker. Butsuddenly the bushes thinned away and they saw, at the top of a longincline, a clump of trees. And then they stopped short and droppedhurriedly to the ground. Before them, on the knoll, at the foot of atree, they had caught sight of three white-clad men looking upwardsamong the branches. They had rifles. Without doubt this was the spotchosen for keeping watch on the trail. Wriggling under cover, at thecost of some scratches, John and the Wanderobbo saw a fourth man perchedhigh up in the tree below which the others stood. Had he not beenintently gazing towards the main track, and his companions looking up athim, it would scarcely have been possible for John to escape discovery.

  The men were speaking. At the distance John could not distinguish whatthey said; foreign words are always difficult to pick up when thespeakers are at all remote; but from a certain impatient intonation hegathered that the men had been for some time on the watch, and wereweary or disappointed at the apparent fruitlessness of it. As he laythere, his heart jumped as he thought how easy it would be to shoot themen. He could take aim at his leisure, and pick off two of them withcertainty. Taken by surprise, the others would probably bolt. But itwould not be playing the game; he could not bring himself to stalk themas he would stalk a wild animal, though he knew that if they spied himand got first shot they would have no compunction about shooting him.For a moment he thought of dispatching Bill to fetch Ferrier; with hisaid, backed by the natives with their bows and arrows, he might captureall four, or, if they showed fight, dispose of them. But he soon gaveup the idea. The men might decamp before Ferrier could arrive; theymight indeed see the Wanderobbo creeping through the bush, and, the mostimportant consideration of all, a shot would certainly give the alarm tothe main body of the raiders, and that would defeat his purpose. Ifthey took to flight he would lose his only chance of recovering hisrifles and ammunition, which was his immediate object. If they hastenedback at the sound of the firing, he would find himself matched againstoverwhelming numbers, and the result would be disaster. His only hope ofsuccess lay in a sudden unexpected blow at the main body, when hisnumerical inferiority would be compensated by the paralyzing effect ofsurprise. How this blow was to be delivered he had at present nonotion; it must be left to the guidance of circumstances; but certainlyits prospects would be hopelessly jeopardized if the raiders' vigilancewas aroused. Patience must be his watchword.

  He lay and watched the Swahilis for half-an-hour by his watch. Then,evidently tired of their fruitless errand, they started to rejoin themain body. They came down the slope, passing within a few yards ofwhere John and the Wanderobbo were concealed; but fortunately they didnot retrace their steps along the path by which they had come, butstruck off towards the direct course of the main column, which theywould probably intersect, as John guessed, at the distance of about aquarter of a mile. If they had returned by the same way the marks ofJohn's boots might possibly have escaped them unless they wereaccustomed to tracking; but if they had caught sight of them he feltthat he would have been in a dangerous predicament. At that moment Johnwished that he could march barefoot like the natives, but he knew thatit was a vain wish.

  John told Bill to creep through the scrub and follow the men up for alittle way, until he was sure that they had finally left the spot. Forhimself, he had suddenly resolved to climb the tree as the Swahili haddone, and discover what outlook could be had from it. He found that theplace had been admirably chosen. From a branch thirty feet above theground the country was visible for miles around. On the west rose thegiant mist-clad form of Mount Kenya; eastward the plain extended as faras the eye could reach. South and north he could scan the countrythrough which the raiders had passed, and westward, from the appearanceof the vegetation, he inferred that a considerable stream flowed. As hewatched, he saw the four Swahilis emerge from the scrub, strike thetrack, and hasten towards the north. There was no doubt that they haddismissed the idea of being pursued.

  When Bill came back, the two set off to rejoin the safari, which theyfound halted by a shallow stream about two miles away. John toldFerrier what he had discovered.

  "I don't think they can be more than five or six miles ahead of us," hesaid. "We can easily come up with them by the time they camp, or soonafter, and I think we ought to strike to-night."

  "Have you any idea how?"

  "None whatever. All will depend on the lie of the land and the kind ofcamp they make. I'll send Bill on ahead to make sure they don't altertheir direction, and then we'll follow up and get to them by nightfall."

  "It's to be hoped they won't get warning. I've seen two or three smallparties of natives to-da
y, and they must have seen us. I suppose theywon't give any information."

  "I hope not. The chief danger is that the news of our safari willspread, and the raiders learn of it by accident. I don't think thenatives will rush purposely to inform them, if they're the kind oftyrants we've heard they are."

  "I shall be jolly glad when we come to grips with them. This marchingis rather trying, and the men are getting the dumps. They seem to havethought we should overtake the fellows in a winking, and wipe them outwith magic. Coja tells me they haven't been so far away from theirvillage before."

  "How's our failed B.A.?"

  "Decidedly jumpy. He said just now that he feels O.K., excluding organsof ambulation, which are quite below par, owing to filamentous conditionand conspicuous absence of beefiness. He has got rather spindly calves,to be sure. By the way, an hour ago we saw two black fellows looking atus through the scrub. We gave chase, but couldn't catch them. I hopethey won't bring a horde of the 'bad men' upon us."

  "No, indeed. We've got our hands pretty full as it is."

  Bill returned by and by with the news that the whole party of raidershad rested in the scrub some distance to the north, but had now resumedtheir march. John set off at once on a parallel course, and at fouro'clock halted again, judging that the raiders would now have chosen thespot for their encampment. Once more he sent Bill forward toreconnoitre, and learnt from him on his return that the raiders hadstopped, evidently with no intention of going farther, near a smallstream. Knowing that the African native is incapable of estimatingdistance, John, though he was tired, determined to press on with theWanderobbo and discover how far off the camp was. It was an hour beforehe came in sight of it. Some of the men were engaged in erecting aboma; a few were fishing in the stream that flowed within about ahundred yards of the camp; others were cooking a meal. The ground aboutthe camp was for the most part open, but there were patches of scrubhere and there, and one or two clumps of woodland. The camp was placedon a hillock, the base of which was washed on one side by the stream.This wound away in a north-easterly direction, and at one point was atract of tall elephant grass, lining the banks due north of the camp andstretching for about half-a-mile to the west, where it merged in densescrub.

  Being unable to learn as much as he desired from his post of observationsouth of the camp, John, still accompanied by the Wanderobbo, struck offto the west, crossed the stream, which was only knee-deep but fairlyswift, and making a long circuit came down upon it again through theelephant grass, at a point directly opposite the camp, and only about ahundred yards from it. The ground rose gradually from the river to theboma. From his position at the edge of the grass John could not see thegate, but guessed from the coming and going of the men that it was onthe south-west side. The boma was constructed of material cut from thesurrounding scrub, and was of no great strength, though sufficientlyformidable to stop a rush. The fact that the men had kindled firesshowed that they were not seriously apprehensive of being followed up,and this sign of security was welcome to John, as favouring his designof surprising them.

  It was nearly dark when he rejoined the safari, so fatigued that Ferrierquestioned the possibility of his leading an attack that night.

  "Oh, I'm all right," said John. "I can rest for an hour or two. Haveyou got a pencil? I'll draw a sketch of the camp. Here's the stream:here's the elephant grass: what I propose is that we make our way tothat and suddenly spring on them. Even disciplined troops are prettywell scarified by a night attack, and if we can only fairly surprisethese beggars we ought at least to be able to get our ammunition, if notour rifles, in the confusion."

  "But if they stand we shall be in a bad way."

  "That's true. We can't match them in mere fighting strength. Everythingdepends on the completeness of the surprise, and we shall have to bevery strict with our men. The slightest sound will give the alarm, andas they're not used to marching at night they are likely to be scared byanything. That's all I'm afraid of. I don't know whether we hadn'tbetter gag them all."

  Ferrier laughed.

  "I don't think that would help matters," he said. "You had betterexplain to them what's at stake, and then take your chance."

  "Well, we'll try it to-night. D'you know I begin to get a notion ofwhat their game is. Bill says that one of them belonged to the Arabswho stole his ivory. If that's so, the fellow will know where the ivoryis buried, and I fancy this is a pretty scheme to get hold of it. Ten toone it's Juma. That would explain his bagging rifles and ammunition.He wanted to get together a strong party, so that he could keep off the'bad men' in whose country the ivory is. It will be rather a feather inour cap if we can get back our property and dish his little game too."

  "Don't fly too high, old chap. We may thank our stars if we get throughat all, and if you take my advice, as soon as we have secured theammunition if we ever do, you'll make tracks for home and not gotreasure-hunting. There's nobody on the farm, remember."

  "Well, we'll see. First things first; I'll go and harangue the men."