for
me to make any profit out of it, so I went into Angola to look for
German refugees. By that time I was hating Germans worse than hell.'

'But what did you propose to do with them?' I asked.

'I had a notion they would make trouble with the Government in those
parts. I don't specially love the Portugoose, but I'm for him against
the Germans every day. Well, there was trouble, and I had a merry time
for a month or two. But by and by it petered out, and I thought I had
better clear for Europe, for South Africa was settling down just as the
big show was getting really interesting. So here I am, Cornelis, my
old friend. If I shave my beard will they let me join the Flying
Corps?'

I looked at Peter sitting there smoking, as imperturbable as if he had
been growing mealies in Natal all his life and had run home for a
month's holiday with his people in Peckham.

'You're coming with me, my lad,' I said. 'We're going into Germany.'

Peter showed no surprise. 'Keep in mind that I don't like the
Germans,' was all he said. 'I'm a quiet Christian man, but I've the
devil of a temper.'

Then I told him the story of our mission. 'You and I have got to be
Maritz's men. We went into Angola, and now we're trekking for the
Fatherland to get a bit of our own back from the infernal English.
Neither of us knows any German--publicly. We'd better plan out the
fighting we were in--Kakamas will do for one, and Schuit Drift. You
were a Ngamiland hunter before the war. They won't have your
_dossier_, so you can tell any lie you like. I'd better be an educated
Afrikander, one of Beyers's bright lads, and a pal of old Hertzog. We
can let our imagination loose about that part, but we must stick to the
same yarn about the fighting.'

'_Ja_, Cornelis,' said Peter. (He had called me Cornelis ever since I
had told him my new name. He was a wonderful chap for catching on to
any game.) 'But after we get into Germany, what then? There can't be
much difficulty about the beginning. But once we're among the
beer-swillers I don't quite see our line. We're to find out about
something that's going on in Turkey? When I was a boy the predikant
used to preach about Turkey. I wish I was better educated and
remembered whereabouts in the map it was.'

'You leave that to me,' I said; 'I'll explain it all to you before we
get there. We haven't got much of a spoor, but we'll cast about, and
with luck will pick it up. I've seen you do it