o fall back upon the rest of "A"
Company. Vaguely Wilmshurst began to wonder whether the outlying Waffs
had been overlooked. Sixty hours of almost continuous and strenuous
work were beginning to tell. Most of the Haussas, utterly worn out,
were sleeping in easy yet undignified postures upon the ground, the
only men keeping awake being Bela Moshi and the other section commander
and sentries posted before Wilmshurst gave the word to stand easy.

Even the subaltern found his head drooping. Half a dozen times he
pulled himself together, only to realise that the overpowering desire
for sleep had him firmly in its grip.

Suddenly the stillness was broken by the cautious challenge of one of
the sentries. Tari Barl and his companion were returning.

"Well?" exclaimed Wilmshurst interrogatively, as the stalwart blacks
stood stiffly to attention.

"Man him gone," declared Tari Barl, with the important air of a person
making a momentous statement.

"Yes, I know that, Tarry Barrel," replied the subaltern impatiently.
"Is that all?"

"Me find dis in bush, sah," continued the imperturbable Haussa, holding
up a small, glittering object for his officer's inspection.

It was a recently-fired rimmed cartridge-case. Holding his electric
torch to the base of the case he gave vent to an exclamation of
perplexed surprise.

For on it were cut the British Government broad arrow and the Roman
numeral V., which showed that the cartridge was similar to those issued
to the Waffs on leaving camp at Kilwa.

"Treachery!" muttered Wilmshurst. "I wonder----"

CHAPTER VII

A TRUE MAN OR A TRAITOR?

It was in the early hours of the morning when "A" Company marched into
bivouac. The men dismissed, Wilmshurst wrote out his report, handed it
in and promptly fell sound asleep.

The colonel, wisely deciding that little could be done with men worn
out with sleeplessness and fatigue, issued orders that the pursuit
would be abandoned until the Haussas had recovered their usual form.
Meanwhile other columns were on the track of the raiders, who, but for
the vigilance and dogged determination of Lieutenant Sutton, would have
"wiped out" the Waffs' bivouac during the latter's wild-goose chase.

For five hours the young officer, assisted by Second-lieutenant Vipont
and a handful of Haussas, held the Huns at bay. With rifle, bayonet
and bomb the plucky sons of the Empire manned the frail defences, until
the enemy, unable to achieve th