of
civilisation. Most of Western Victoria's pretty well settled, and it's
just the luck of the game and the formation of the country that this
valley's remained so long hidden away. We'll be near enough to people
all the time to be noticeable if we do anything remarkable. We've got to
go to work so that we'll attract as little attention as possible. We'll
want food, enough for several weeks, I suppose, and we've got to get it
and take it with us, and do it all in such a way that nobody's going to
wonder what we're after. Another thing that that reminds me of. Miss
Drummond here had better keep out of sight as long as she can. We two
can manage to escape observation, but people always want to know what a
woman's doing in it when there's anything suspicious happening."

"If you mean by that that you think I can be turned back at the last
moment, you're making a mistake," Moira informed me.

"I don't mean that," I said calmly, "but I want to take every precaution
that I can. I'm in charge of this expedition, elected by three votes to
nothing, and I'm going to run things the way I think best. It mightn't
be the best way in the end, but that's quite another matter. I haven't
wandered across the world from Yokohama to the White Nile and from the
Klondyke to the Solomons without knowing how to organise an expedition."

"You're right there," Cumshaw acknowledged. "You're the only one amongst
us who's had practical experience. In future what you say goes."

"That's the spirit," I said briskly. "What have you to say, Moira?"

"You know best," she answered. "As long as you don't leave me out
altogether I'll agree to anything, but I want to take my share of the
risk too."

"Apparently," I remarked, "everyone's afraid that everybody else'll have
the lion's share of the fighting. Well, if I can fix it, there'll not be
any fighting at all."

"What do you mean?" Cumshaw asked interestedly.

"That's nothing to do with the situation at present," I informed him.
"You'll all see when the time's ripe. Now what's next?"

"There's nothing more that I know of," Cumshaw volunteered.

"And you, Moira?"

"I think I've got everything fixed," she answered.

"That means we can start at the end of the week," I said with
satisfaction. "It looks as if fortune's turning our way at last."

The three of us laughed together, and Cumshaw I think it was who said,
"Success to the expedition!" It sounded very nice, and we were all so
sure that